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[.From Eon. J. C. Spencer,"] 

ALBAJTT, June 18th, 1851. 

More than twenty years ago I procured the Quarto edition, and have used it constantly ever 
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I 


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,/f, 


. 


ANNUAL 


lL j 


_ : : 

5S WASHINGTON STREET. 

1853. 


ANNUAL 


SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY: 


OB, 


YEAR-BOOK OF FACTS IN SCIENCE AND ART, 

FOE 1853. 


EXHIBITING THE 


MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS 


IN 


MECHANICS, USEFUL AETS, NATUEAL PHILOSOPHY, CHEMISTEY, 
ASTEONOMY, METEOEOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, MINER- 
ALOGY, GEOLOGY, GEOGEAPHY, ANTIQUITIES, &o. 


TOGETHER WITH 


A LIST OF RECENT SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS ; A CLASSIFIED LIST OP 

PATENTS ; OBITUARIES OF EMINENT SCIENTIFIC MEN ; NOTES ON 

THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE DURING THE TEAR 1852, ETC. ETC. 


EDITED BY 

DAVID A. WELLS, A. M. 


BOSTON: 
GOULD AND LINCOLN, 

oil WASHINGTON STREET. 

1853. 


Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1853, 

BY GOULD & LINCOLN, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 


G. C. RAND, Printer, 8 Cornhill, Boston. 


PREFACE, 


THE present number completes the fourth yearly vol- 
ume of the Annual of Scientific Discovery. In its 
preparation, the Editor has followed the general plan 
indicated and developed in the former numbers of 
the work. 

The mental activity at present displayed in developing 
new principles and modifying old ones, to meet the 
wants of practical industry, in cheapening and improving 
the production and preparation of all raw materials, and 
disseminating useful knowledge, is probably greater than 
at any former period of the world's history. Under 
these circumstances, the labor of preparing an annual 
retrospect has been greatly increased. The Editor has, 
however, endeavored to present as faithful an abstract 
of the progress of science and the useful arts during 
the year eighteen hundred and fifty -two, as the limits 
of the present volume would allow. The field for 


PREFACE. 

enlargement is ample, and would willingly be entered 
upon, were sufficient promise of encouragement afforded 
by the public. 

The annual summary of " Notes by the Editor on the 
Progress of Science ' has been considerably enlarged, 
and embraces several topics of interest, which could not 
conveniently be included in the body of the work. 

We present our readers for 1853 with a portrait of 
Prof. ALEXANDER DALLAS BACHE, President of the 
American Association for 1850-51, and Superintendent 
of the United States Coast Survey. 

BOSTON, February, 1853. 


NOTES BY THE EDITOR 


N T H E 


PROGRESS OF SCIENCE IN 1852. 


IN reviewing the progress of Science during the past year, 1852, it is 
especially to be remarked, that the annual record of discoveries in all the 
branches of science and the useful arts, is more characterized by its utility 
than by its brilliancy. The following remarks, appositely observed of the 
transactions of the British Association for 1842, apply equally well to the 
general scientific progress of the year 1852 : " We have this year no great 
scientific novelty, theory, or discovery, brought upon the tapis, and claim- 
ing the attention of philosophers. There is no voyage to the South Pole 
to be promoted, there is no hypothesis of glaciers to astonish the world, 
there are no observations of the nature of storms to throw a light on those 
terrible visitations, there is no doctrine and measurement of waves, or on 
the form of vessels, there is no new feature in the grand research into the 
mysteries of magnetism, in short, except the idea of following up the 
investigation of meteorological phenomena by means of balloons, we have 
heard of nothing very particular. Let it, however, be understood, that in 
all branches of science, steady progress has been made and recorded. Data 
of high consequence are collected, both to check future mistakes, and 
advance future information. Induction, the true basis of all truth, will 
flourish upon these ; and therefore, though there is nothing extraordinary 
in this stage of the onward journey, the distances and milestones are fairly 
marked so far, and the prospects in the distance are rendered much more 
clear and distinct. The way to the field is beaten, and its ample survey 
defined. There is nothing needed but to march on, take time, and labor to 
a useful end." 

Europe, as if her energies were overtasked by the demands of the Great 
Exhibition year of 1851, has given us in 1852 nothing particularly new, 


6 NOTES BY THE EDITOR, 

striking, or wonderful ; no new application of science to art, and no mechan- 
ical or chemical discovery of striking interest have been announced in the 
United States during the same period. Notwithstanding, many great plans 
are now in the process of development, many new ideas are germinating, 
and many old ones, which have long slumbered in the domains of theory 
are passing into real, substantial, practical facts. During the year 1852, 
more than one thousand patents for discoveries, inventions, and applications, 
" new and useful " were granted by the United States. More than three- 
fourths of these patents were granted to citizens of the five states of Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. As many as 
three applications for patents from the same sources were probably rejected, 
where one was granted. The public journals are filled with accounts of the 
commercial prosperity induced by the gold discoveries of Australia and 
California ; but the journalists and the public little know how many secret 
springs and incentives to invention and practical application, the same influx 
of gold, and the consequent revival of manufactures, has occasioned. 
There is an intensity of mental action and thought, devoted to the realiza- 
tion of the useful and the new, now pervading some portions of our country, 
especially in Massachusetts, the like of which the world has never before 
witnessed. The American operatives, mechanics and manufacturers, who 
have in vain sought protection from the National Government, are now 
creating protection for themselves; educated industry, and skill are rapidly 
forming a tariff, which in a few years will undoubtedly put foreign compe- 
tition at defiance. Another curious fact in relation to this subject, is the 
intensity of competition which the mental activity referred to has engen- 
dered. An original thought, or a new idea, admitting the possibility of a 
practical application, when once promulgated becomes common property. 
A hundred minds at once seize upon it, elaborate it, perfect it. The engines 
of Ericsson had barely made a successful revolution before an improvement 
by another was announced in the New York Journals. The U. S. Court 
were recently occupied at Boston with a closely contested case respeiting 
the validity of two patents for cotton-gins ; the trial had not concluded 
before a new gin was put in operation which will undoubtedly render all 
others valueless. The discussions and experiments in England respecting 
the manufacture of flax by new processes, have awakened great interest in 
the subject in the United States, and more is probably known here at pres- 
ent in relation to this matter, than in Europe. We believe the day is not 
far distant, when the manufacture of flax will be conducted in the United 
States upon a most gigantic scale. We turn, however, from these generali- 
zations to some of the more particular events of the past year. 

The annual meeting of the American Association, for 1852, appointed to 
be held in Cleveland, in August, was postponed on account of the prevail- 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 7 

ing cholera in that region, and the great heat of the season. The place and 
time for the next regular meeting have not yet been determined by the 
Executive Committee. 

The twenty-second annual meeting of the British Association, for the 
Advancement of Science, was held at Belfast, Ireland, September 1st ; Col 
Sabine presiding. The attendance was somewhat less numerous than in 
1851, and the papers read, had for the most part, a local rather than a gen- 
eral-interest. Among the important measures taken by the Association, 
was a strong representation to the British Government, respecting the 
importance of sending out an expedition for the purpose of studying the 
phenomena of tides, especially those of the Atlantic Ocean. The President 
elected for 1853 is "William Hopkins, President of the Geological Society, 
and of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 

From the annual address of the President we copy the following passa- 
ges : "Hitherto the researches of Sidereal Astronomy, even in their 
widest extension, had manifested the existence of those forces only with 
which we are familiar in our own solar svstem. The refinements of modern 

u> 

observation and the perfection of theoretical representation had assured us 
that the orbits in which the double stars, immeasurably distant from us, 
revolve around each other, are governed by the same laws of molecular 
attraction which determine the orbits of the planetary bodies of our own 
system. But the Nebulae have revealed to us the probable existence in the 
yet more distant universe, of forces with which we were previously unac- 
quainted. The highest authorities in this most advanced of all the sciences 
acknowledge themselves unable even to conjecture the nature of the forces 
which have produced and maintain the diverse, yet obviously systematic, 
arrangement of the hosts of stars, which constitute those few of the Spiral 
Nebulae which have been hitherto examined. Hence the importance of 
increasing our knowledge of the variety of forms in which the phenomena 
present themselves, by a similar examination of the Southern Heavens to 
that which Lord Rosse is accomplishing in the Northern Heavens. In 
addition we can scarcely forbear to covet at least an occasional glance at 
bodies which from their greater proximity have more intimate relations with 
ourselves, and which, when viewed with so vast an increase of optical power, 
may afford instruction of the highest value in many branches of physical 
science. In our own satellite, for example, we have the opportunity of 
studying the physical conformation and superficial phenomena of a body 
composed, as we believe mainly at least, of the same materials as those of 
our own globe, but possessing neither atmosphere nor sea. "When we 
reflect how much of the surface of the earth consists of sedimentary 
deposites, and consequently 'how large a portion of the whole field of geo- 
logical research is occupied with strata which owe their principal charac- 

2 


8 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

teristics to the ocean in which they were deposited, we cannot but anticipate 
many instructive lessons which may be furnished by the points of contrast, 
as well as of resemblance, which the surface of the moon, viewed through 
Lord Rosse's telescope, may present to the best judgment we are able to 
form of what the appearance of the earth would be if similarly viewed, or 
with -what maybe more difficult perhaps to imagine what we may 
suppose the earth would appear if it could be stript of its sedimentary strata, 
which conceal from us for the most part the traces of that internal action 
which has played so large a part in moulding the great outlines of the 
present configuration of its surface. It is understood that Lord Rosse him- 
self participates in the wish that such an examination of the surface of the 
moon should be made, and, should the desire of the Association be 
expressed to that effect, is willing to undertake it in conjunction with one 
or two other gentlemen possessing the necessary physical and geological 
knowledge. It will be for the Association to determine the form in which 
a report on the " Physical Features of the Moon, compared with those of 
the Earth," may most appropriately be requested. 

The German Association for the advancement of Science held its 29th 
annual meeting at Wiesbaden, commencing September 18th. The attend- 
ance was very numerous, nearly 800 members being present. Dr. Fresen- 
ius was President of the Association, and Prof. Sandberger, Secretary. A 
public address was delivered by Prof. Nees von Esenbeck, of Breslau. 

To be a privileged member of this Association, with the right of speak- 
ing and voting in the meetings, it is necessary to have written some work 
bearing on natural history, physics, or medicine ; but to become a temporary 
associate, with the right of being present as a listener merely at all the 
scientific meetings, as well as of taking part in all the festive social reunions, 
is free to every one on the very moderate payment of two Prussian dollars. 
The next meeting of the Association was appointed to be held at 
Tubingen. 

A " Hygienic Congress," consisting of gentlemen of different countries, 
who take an interest in promoting the health of towns and the welfare of 
the working classes, was held in Brussels, in September About 200 gen- 
tlemen, Belgians and foreigners, were present, nearly all the Scientific 
Societies of Europe being represented. The work was done in four differ- 
ent sections : one, charged to occupy itself with workmen's houses, baths, 
wash houses, and hospitals ; another, with sewers, &c., the distribution of 
water, and ventilation the third, with the organization of public health, the 
maintaining of children, interments, and cemeteries ; and the fourth, with 
the adulteration of food, the labor of children in work shops, and 
prostitution. 

The Scientific Congress of France, held its annual session at Toulouse, 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIEXCE. 9 

commencing on the 13th of September. Count de Peyronnet, of the Acad- 
emy of Bordeaux, was elected President of the meeting. 

A new Geological Institute has been formed during the past year at 
Vienna, the principal object of which will be, the production of a series of 
geological maps of the Austrian dominions : the whole of which gigantic 
undertaking may be completed, it is to be hoped, within thirty years, 
beginning] with Austria proper, and proceeding gradually to the Italian, 
Hungarian, and Bohemian dominions. The institution is under the direc- 
tion of Prof. Haidinger. 

A circular has been issued by several of the prominent geologists of our 
country, proposing the organization of an Association of American geolo- 
gists, somewhat on the plan of the Geological Societies of England and 
France. It is not intended, that the members of the society should sever 
their connection with the American Association, but it is thought, that by 
means of meetings or sittings of the Society, or of its Committees, to be 
held at regular and irregular intervals, to be fixed by the Association, and 
at places where interesting and disputed questions arise, or even of ambu- 
latory character, in the field, quicker and surer results would be arrived at ; 
and the conclusions would be more satisfactory at home, as well as more 
respected abroad. 

A National Agricultural Society composed of delegates from the different 
States and Territories, has been formed at "Washington, during the past 
year. Marshall P. Wilder, of Massachusetts, has been elected President, 
with a Vice President from each State. 

The French Government have recently instituted a General Horticultural 
Society for all France, which is to consist of titular and honorary members , 
and of an unlimited number of foreign correspondents. It is to occupy 
itself with all matters connected with horticultural science ; to publish a 
monthly volume of " annals" thereon ; to give prizes for elementary works ; 
and to grant certificates of horticultural merit. 

A most noble and princely donation to the cause of science and art has 
been made by Mr. Peter Cooper, of New York. The plan proposed is 
essentially educational in its features, and has in view the moral and intel- 
lectual elevation of the youth of the city of New York. - A large building 
is now erecting in New York as the nucleus of the institution, the cost of 
which, together with the land will amount to $300,000 ; the building is to 
contain a " sculpture and picture gallery, exhibition hall, library, lecture- 
room and observatory. Books, apparatus, instructors, &c , are to be provided, 
and it is intended that the institution shall enjoy an annual income of 
$25,000." 

Among the other donations made in behalf of Science in the United 
States during the past year, we would mention the following : George 


10 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

Peabody, Esq., the eminent London banker, has given to the town of Dan- 
vers, Mass., which is his native place, the sum of twenty thousand dollars 
for the establishment of a lyceum and library and the erection of the neces- 
sary buildings. 

The sum of $50,000 has also been given by Joshua Bates Esq., of London, 
to the city of Boston, to aid in the establishment of a free public library. 

Dr. George C. Shattuck, of Boston, has presented Dartmouth College 
with $7,000, to be used in the erection of an observatory, on condition that 
the trustees of the college will raise the further sum of $8,000 for the pur- 
chase of instruments. 

The sum of $1,000 has been given by Hon. Jonathan Phillips, of Boston, 
to the American Academy, for the purpose of defraying the expense of its 
publications. 

The expenses of a new Expedition in search of Sir John Franklin and 
for Arctic exploration, are to be defrayed by Henry Grinnell, of New York, 
and George Peabody, of London. 

Five hundred dollars have been voted by the Board of Underwriters to 
the Geographical Society, at its solicitation, to be devoted to a series of 
magnetic observations to be made under the direction of Dr. Kane, the 
Arctic Explorer on his next expedition. 

Within a few years, a number of projects have been set on foot in New 
York, for the establishment of an astronomical observatory in that city or 
vicinity, but they have all failed, mainly from want of means and encour- 
agement. A new enterprise has recently been started, with a fair prospect 
of success. The "American Observatory Association," issue a prospectus 
for the establishment of an Observatory on the Palisades, above Fort Lee, 
on the basis of a joint-stock association, self-governed. Four hundred 
shares are to be offered at twenty-five dollars each, and the names of many 
prominent citizens of New York are pledged to the work. The originator 
of the plan is Mr. Leon Lewenberg, of New York, who proposes to endow 
the Observatory with a sufficient tract of land, one mile distant from Fort 
Lee. He also offers a Telescope of his own manufacture, as an additional _ 
donation. The building to be erected will be 150 feet in height; giving the 
Telescope, with the elevation of the ground 320 feet above the Eiver 
an altitude of 500 feet. This height will be sufficient to relieve the instru- 
ment from the influence of a smoky or impure atmosphere, and will insure 
a \vide range of vision. 

In relation to the progress of astronomy in England, Prof. Piazzi Smyth, 
observes, that if it were not for private enthusiasm, England would be left 
quite behind in some branches of astronomy ; for while the Russians, Ger- 
mans, and Americans, are continually ordering for their observatories the 
largest telescopes that can be made, the English Government will not supply 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 11 

any such to those of Britain. The recommendation of the Britsh Asso- 
ciation, and of the Royal Society to the Government, to send a superior 
telescope to the clear climate of Australia, has been refused ; the East 
India Company have also shown themselves unwilling to do anything 
towards aiding the establishment of an observatory on the Nilgheny Hill?! 
India, 6000 feet above the level of the sea. The great purity of the atmos- 
phere which prevails in these regions, would undoubtedly lead to many 
important and signal discoveries. What the East India Company have 
refused to do, Capt. Jacobs is endeavoring to do on his private responsibility. 

At the session of the French Academy on the 22d of March, the prize in 
Astronomy for 1851, was divided between Mr. Hind, and M. Gasparis. the 
former for the discovery of the new planet Irene, and the latter for that of 
Eunomia. The Cuvierian prize, (a triennial prize, and never before 
awarded, ) was given to Prof. Agassiz, for his researches on fossil fishes. 

Among the prizes offered by the Academy is one for 1854 in the depart- 
ment of Mathematics, as follows : To determine the equations of the 
general movements of the earth's atmosphere, having in view the rotation 
of the earth, the calorific action of the sun, and the attraction of the sun 
and moon. The authors are desired to exhibit the concordance of their 
theory with the best observations on the atmospheric movements. Even if 
the whole question is not resolved, but some important steps are made 
towards its solution, the prize will be awarded by the Academy. The prize 
is a medal of 3,000 francs. There is also an extraordinary prize for 1853. 
on the application of steam to navigation. It is offered " for the best work 
or memoir on the most advantageous employment of steam for steam- 
ships, and upon the best system of mechanism, stowage and armament for 
such vessels." The prize is 6,000 francs. 

The French Government, through the Moniteur, have officially offered a 
prize of 50,000 francs for the discovery that "shall render the voltaic pile 
applicable, with economy, to industry, as a source of heat to lighting, 
chemistry, mechanics, or medical practice. All nations are admitted to 
compete during five years. 

The Germanic Diet at Frankfort, have voted a sum of 3,500 to M 
Schonbein, and others, the inventors of gun-cotton, as a reward for the 
discovery. 

An Exhibition of the Industry of all nations will be opened in the city of 
New York, in May of the present year. The plan of the Exhibition, as 
well as the building erected for the purpose, is essentially that of the Great 
Exhibition of 1851. The enterprise has been entered into with great spirit, 
and the display of the products of American science and art, together with 
the agricultural and mineral productions, of the United States will be proba- 
bly unequalled. The productions of foreign countries will be also well 
represented. 2* 


12 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

The scientific expeditions, surveys and explorations prosecuted, or pro- 
jected during the year 1852, have been numerous, and attended with valua- 
ble results. 

The survey of the coast of the United States, under the superintendence 
of Prof. A. D. Bache, has been prosecuted with great energy. With only 
one link of twenty-six miles south of the Chesapeake to be filled up, an 
unbroken triangulation now extends from the mouth of the Kennebec river, 
in Maine, to the harbor of Beaufort, in North Carolina. The topography 
and hydrography have made corresponding progress. In a few years an 
unbroken series, with points well determined by astronomical aud other 
observations, will cover the coast from the Penobscot river in Maine, to the 
St. Mary's in Florida. The progress of the survey on the Florida reef 
and the shores of the Peninsula is entirely satisfactory, in view of the 
limited appropriations, compared with the vast extent arid variety of the 
whole work. The entire reef and western shore has been examined in a 
preliminary way, and nearly one-half of the survey of the reef has been 
made. A recounoissance has been made of about one-half of the distance 
between St. Mark's and Mobile bay, and the triangulation and topography 
now extend from Mobile bay to Lake Ponchartrain, and nearly all the 
hydrography has been, completed, and an examination made of the delta of 
the Mississippi. Galveston bay has been surveyed excepting a small por- 
tion of the hydrography, and the triangulation now extends to the vicinity 
of Matagorda bay. On the western Coast, in consequence of the extraor- 
dinary difficulties in securing hands and means owing to the discoveries of 
gold, the survey did not fairly get under way till about three years since. 
A very good preliminary reconnoissance has been made of the whole coast, 
from San Diego to the Straits of San Juan del Fuca, and of nearly every 
important harbor. In connection with this rapid progress of the survey on 
this coast, observations have been made for latitude and longitude, and the 
magnetic variation. The geographical position of the coast, from the 
Straits of San Juan del Fuca to San Diego, has been established ; the lati- 
tude and longitude of the most important headlands having been determ- 
ined by sufficiently numerous and reliable preliminary observations. 

The exploration of the Gulf Stream has been continued. Great progress 
has been made in publishing the results of the survey. Forty-two charts, 
elaborate and highly finished, and forty-two preliminary charts have already 
been published, and twenty-seven sheets are in various stages of engraving. 
The geographical positions determined by the survey from its commence- 
ment to July, 1851, have been published. The latitude and longitude of 
over 3,200 points have thus been given to the public, furnishing infor- 
mation of great value for general and local purposes. 

Under the direction of the U. S. Government a strong naval expedition 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 13 

t 

has sailed for the purpose of endeavoring to establish relations of amity and 
commerce with the Empire of Japan. Looking to the magnitude of the 
undertaking, and the great expectations which have been raised both in this 
country and in Europe, in reference to its results, this expedition is full 
of interest, and will undoubtedly be productive of many valuable results, 
scientific, as well as commercial and moral. The expedition has on board 
a variety of articles as presents to the Emperor of Japan, to conciliate him 
and 'prepare the way for the desired negotiation. A locomotive and a 
quantity of railroad iron have been taken with which to show the operations 
of a railroad; telegraph apparatus with which to demonstrate how the 
lightnings have been converted to the use of civilization. An apparatus for 
taking daguerreotypes will also be used and explained for the information 
of His Majesty. A beautiful barge is on board to be presented to him. 
Also, boxes of domestic goods, comprising a great variety of manufactured 
articles, which are to give the Emperor an idea of the industrial pursuits of 
this country, and perhaps awaken a desire on his part for an exchange of 
commodities between Japan and the United States. 

Somewhat allied in character and importance to these projected opera* 
tions of the Japan squadron, is the expedition now prepared for the explor- 
ation and survey of the China seas, the Northern Pacific, and Bhering's 
Straits. This expedition, in aid of which $125,000 has been appropriated 
by Congress, is provided with a corps of scientific men, an astronomer 
hydrographer, botanist and naturalist. 

Under the direction of the Navy department, Lt. Lynch, well-known from 
his connection with the Dead Sea Expedition, has been detailed on a tour of 
African exploration, especially of that portion of the Continent lying east of 
the settlements of Liberia. It is supposed that an exploration of this region 
would lead to the discovery of a broad tract of fertile and healthy country, 
well adapted to the extension of that system of colonization, which for 
some years past has greatly interested public attention in the United States. 
Lt. Lynch will land at Liberia, Cape Palmas, and other points, and will pur- 
sue his inquiries as far as the river Gaboon, with a view to the ascertain- 
ment of such localities on the margin of the African continent as may 
present the greatest facilities, whether by the river courses or by inland 
routes, for penetrating with the least hazard into the interior. He will col- 
lect information touching the geographical character of the country; its 
means of affording the necessary supplies of men and provisions ; the tem- 
per of the inhabitants, whether hostile or friendly; the proper precautions to 
be observed to secure the health of a party employed, and all other items 
of knowledge upon which it may be proper hereafter, to prepare and com- 
bine the forces essential to the success of a complete and thorough explor- 
ation of the interior , 


14 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

A fourth expedition under the direction of the United States Government, 
commanded by Capt. Page, has sailed to explore the long-sealed and exclu- 
ded countries lying on the tributaries of the river La Plata, South Americaa. 
By a decree of the Argentine Government, there has recently been opened 
to the access of all nations, a vast territory of boundless resource, prover- 
bial for its treasures of vegetable and mineral wealth, extending, like the 
Mississippi from south to north, and reaching through twenty-four parallels 
of latitude, with every climate between the temperate and torrid zones, and 
with every variety of product which may be gathered from the alluvial 
plains of the ocean border to the height of the Andes. 

An expedition under the charge of Lt.'s Herndon and Gibbon, U. S. N., 
charged with the exploration of the Amazon and its tributaries, has in part 
returned. These officers were directed to cross the Cordileras in Peru and 
Bolivia, and by a selection of the most judicious routes of travel, with a 
small company of men, to explore the valley of the Amazon, and to de- 
scend that river to the sea. More than a year has has been spent in the 
active prosecution of this duty. Lieut. Herndon reached the United States 
in July last, bringing with him a large amount of interesting and useful 
facts, industriously collected by him in the course of his long and hazard- 
ous journey, embracing many valuable statistics of the country, and adding 
most important contributions to the hitherto unknown geographical charac- 
ter of this region. He is now engaged in preparing a full report of the 
incidents and discoveries of his travels. 

Another expedition to the Arctic Sea under the charge of Dr. Kane, in 
search of Sir John Franklin, and for scientific exploration, is now fitting 
out under the auspices of our countrymen, Mr. Henry Grinnell, and Mr. 
George Peabody, of London. Their endeavor will be directed to an ex- 
ploration of the upper coasts of Greenland, by land as well as sea, and will 
furnish occasion for valuable scientific observation tending to the ascertain- 
ment of the magnetic poles and the intensity and dip of the needle ; and 
interesting also, as regards geological questions connected with the sup- 
posed existence of an open polar sea, and other subjects of much impor- 
tance in the natural history of our globe. 

The course adopted by the British Government in relation to the discove- 
ries made by the last American Expedition under Lieut. De Haven, is in 
the highest degree discreditable and dishonorable. In the Charts published 
by the authority and under the direction of the Admiralty, the localities 
discovered up Wellington Channel, by the Americans in Sept., 1850, are 
for the most part ignored, or altered. The " Grinnell Land " first seen by 
De Haven in 1850, and subsequently by Capt. Penny in 1851, has had its 
original name, given in honor of a noble American merchant, changed to 


OX THE PROGRESS OE SCIENCE. 15 

that of " Prince Albert's Land." Courtesy, if no other motive, should have 
prevented a change. 

Lieut. Gillis, who, for more than three years past, has been employed, in 
pursuance of the directions of Congress, in conducting in Chili the obser- - 
vations recommended to be made by the American Philosophical Society 
and the Academy of Arts and. Sciences, has recently returned to the United 
States, bringing with him a rich contribution to science, in a series of ob- 
servations, amounting to nearly forty thousand, and embracing a most 
extensive catalogue of stars. 

Under the auspices of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, 
Mass., Mr. Lapham has recently made series of complete surveys of numer- 
ous ancient mounds now existing in the State of Wisconsin. Mr. Lapham's 
report will be shortly published by the Smithsonian Institution. 

An expedition under the charge of M. Deville, is about to be sent out 
by the French Government, for the purpose of exploring some parts of 
Brazil, Paraguay and the provinces of Para, Pernambuco, and Bahia. 

A mission is about to start, under the auspices of the Geographical So- 
ciety of St. Petersburgh, for Kamschatka, the Kurile Islands and Rus- 
sian America. The objects are to study the ethnography of these 
districts, to collect specimens of their Flora and Fauna, to report on their 
physical characteristics, and to make maps and plans of their roads, coasts, 
and other topographical features. 

An English exploring expedition, consisting of two vessels under the 
charge of Capt. Denham, R. N., sailed for the South Pacific in June last. 
The ibjectof the expedition is to survey and explore all the islands be- 
tween Australia and Valparaiso, and particularly the Fejee Islands. Mr. 
McGillivray, the well known naturalist, was appointed to take charge of 
the department of Natural History, and Mr. S. G. Wilson was appointed 
artist, to make drawings of any objects in these islands likely to prove 
interesting, and for which purpose he has been supplied with a photo- 
graphic apparatus. 

Some months ago a Scientific Expedition was sent out from Copenhagen 
to explore the hills of Greenland and report on their mineral resources. 
This expedition has recently returned to Denmark, with a cargo of miner- 
als as the fruits of their industry. The explorers have failed to find any of 
the more precious metals ; but they have brought back iron, lead, nickel, 
tin, and copper mixed with a little silver : the whole valued at nearly 
two thousand pounds. The society appears to be encouraged by these 
first-fruits of its enterprise to renewed exertions ; but the rigors of the 
climate of Greenland deter even the Norwegian miners from embarking in 
the adventure. 

The exploration of different portions of Africa have been continued with 


16 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 

such success, that even in the brief space of a year the vast blank on all 
former maps has been materially reduced. Mr. Oswell, and the mission- 
ary Livingston, his companion, to both of -whom we are indebted for our 
acquaintance with the Ngami Lake, have pushed their researches north- 
wards to 17 deg. 25 min. S. latitude, and between 24 deg. 30 min., and 
26 deg. 50 min. E. longitude, and have traversed a considerable track, 
watered by deep and constantly flowing streams, which they believe to be 
feeders of the river Zambesi. We learn from them, that the Zonga, which 
was to the east from Lake Ngami, is dissipated and absorbed in sands and 
salt-pans, and the travellers passed over a large salt incrustation of about 
100 miles in length and 15 miles in width, and saw many others lying 
to the north of the spot where the Zonga loses itself. Considerably to 
the north of these great natural salt pans, a population was met with, 
more advanced in intelligence than most of the tribes of South Africa. 
They also relate as a striking incident, that shortly before their arrival, 
the slave-dealers had, for the first time, penetrated from the west coast, 
and through the temptation of gaudy European goods had purchased 
many children. 

Researches made in Africa by Mr. Galton, an English traveller, between 
latitude, 17 deg. 58 min. S., and longitude, 21 deg. E., taken also in con- 
nection with the explorations of Messrs. Oswell and Livingston, show, 
that the central region of Southern Africa, instead of being mountainous, 
is a watershed of no great elevation, and that the most central portion of 
it is occupied by a succession of lakes, of which Ngami is the southern- 
most. 

Under the direction of the Swedish Government, a topographical survey 
extending over 8700 geographical miles is now in progress. Levellings 
and trigonometrical surveys fromTorneo to Alten, in the North Sea, will, 
when finished, give not only the relative heights of the Gulf of Bothnia, 
and the North Ocean, but will also serve as fixed data from whence to 
calculate the greater or less irregularity of the rise, or depression of the 
Scandinavian lands. 

The most perfect topographical and geographical maps which perhaps 
have ever been produced, are those of the cantons of Appenzel and St. 
Gallenj in Switzerland, brought out during the past year, by M. Ziegler. 
These maps, the part only of a large survey, are on a scale of 2 1-2 inch- 
es to amile, or 1-25,000. The lights are all thrown in perpendicularly, and 
the altitudes of each terrace, valley, or mountain-top is inserted in num- 
bers on a most exquisitely finished lithographic relief. 

The great military map of France is also in active progress ; and 149 
sheets out of 258 have been already published. As an illustration of the 
gigantic nature of this work, it may be stated, that since this survey was 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 17 

commenced in 1818, 2250 officers have been employed on it i.e., in 
the geodesic and topograpical operations alone. The annual expense is 
about 8150,000 per year. 

Mr Bartlett, Commissioner for running the boundary between the United 
States and Mexico, has devoted much attention to the Indian vocabularies 
of the districts visited during the progress of the survey. His researches 
have corresponded exactly with those submitted to philological inquiry by 
the lamented Albert Gallatin, with the addition of forty words discovered 
by Mr. Bartlett during the progress of this Commission. The number of 
words now ascertained is two hundred. Mr. B. will return accounts of 
the Vocabularies of nineteen languages west of the Rio Grande. These 
results will prove highly important and useful. 

Considerable interest has been of late excited in Russia among the scien- 
tific men in regard to the prosecution of meteorological investigations, and 
at their request observations are now being constantly taken in England, 
France, Prussia, and other parts of Europe. The Russian Government 
has liberally encouraged the desire of its savants to investigate thoroughly 
this important branch of science, which has hitherto not received so much 
attention as others. It has established for them not fewer than ten magnetic 
and meteorological observatories ; viz., one at St. Petersburgh, another at 
Catharineburg in the Ural Mountains, two at Barnoual and Nertschinsk 
on the Chinese frontier, one at Sitka in North America, one at Tiflis, anoth- 
er at Pekin, two others at Bogoslowsk and Zlatouste on the western side of 
the Oural mountains, and one at Lougan in the steppes of the Don. In 
addition there are also a considerable number of stations in different parts 
of the Empire. At all these establishments observations are taken at every 
hour of the day and night. 

An important step in relation to the system of weights and measures, 
was recently taken by the Bank of England. The only weights to be here- 
after used in the Bullion Office of that establishment will be " the Troy 
ounce and its decimal parts," superceding by that change the present 
system of pounds, ounces, pennyweights and grains. Practically the 
change will be one of great convenience. 

Among the scientific publications of 1852, issued by the United States 
Government are the following : Report on the Iron Region and the Lake 
Superior Mining District, by Messrs. Foster and Whitey, U. S. Geologists; 
Part second, with volume of maps ; Patent Office Report for 1851, 2 vols. 
Mechanical and Agricultural, by Thomas Ewbank ; Expedition to the 
Great Salt Lake, by Capt. Howard Stansbury, U. S. N ; Maury's Winds, 
Currents, and Sailing directions new and enlarged edition ; Scientific 
Report of the Dead Sea Expedition, Lieut, Lynch, U. S. N. ; U. S. Explor- 
ing Expedition, Conchology, Dr. A. A. Gould ; Chart of the Arctic Re- 


18 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

gions, with the explorations and track of the Grinnell Expedition ; Amer- 
ican Nautical Almanac, Lieut. Davis; Annual Report of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution ; Eeport on the Geology of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota, by 
Dr. D. D. Owen, U. S. Geologist, 

The Mechanical volume of the Report of the Patent Office contains a 
Report on the Great Exhibition, by Edward Riddle, U. S. Commissioner, 
and is by far the best publication, both as regards contents and typo- 
graphy that has been issued by the Patent Office. The agricultural volume 
is also superior to any that has preceeded it, and contains valuable papers 
on wool and sheep-breeding by P. A. Browne, Esq., and on the American 
Ruminants, by Prof. S. F. Baird; the remainder of the volume consist of 
odds and ends, of little or no value, apparently made up by supplying suffi- 
cient paste to agglutinate scraps of paper taken from all sources, to a 
substratum of stout grocer's paper. The letter-press of the Conchology of 
the U. S. Exploring Expedition, by Dr. A. A. Gould, has been published 
during the past year; the accompanying volume of plates, is also in a 
state of forwardness. Of the published results of this expedition, twelve 
volumes quarto and four volumes of plates, have already been issued, leav- 
ing fifteen yet in the course of preparation. The series already published 
embraces the Narrative, 5 vols. and atlas ; Zoophites,"! vol. and atlas; 
Philology ; Races of Men ; Mammals and Birds ; Geology and Mineralogy, 
1 vol. with atlas ; Meteorology ; Charts ; Conchology. Those yet to ap- 
pear will embrace the following subjects ; Herpetology , Ichthyology, Crus- 
tacea, Medusae, Echinoderms, Annelids, Insects, Ferns, Fungi, Algae, 
Botany, (Phanerogams,) Mosses, Geographical Distribution of Species, 
Hydrography, Astronomy and Magnetism, Charts. Naturalists, generally, 
who have been watching the progress of this great national work, will 
learn with deep regret that all the undistributed copies of the first 
seven volumes already published were destroyed in the same fire which 
consumed the library of Congress in December, 1851. This is the more 
melancholy, since but seventy copies were distributed. 

The first volume of the American Nautical Almanac, for 1855, publish- 
ed by authority, has been issued. It has been prepared under the super- 
vision of Lt. C. H. Davis, and is a material improvement on the British 
Nautical Almanac ; it having more correct lunar tables, which give more 
accurate predictions, as tested in the case of the solar eclipse of July, 
1851. At Washington, the British Almanac was in error for the beginning 
of the eclipse, 78 seconds, and for the end, 62 seconds. The American 
Almanac was in error for the beginning only 13 seconds, and for the end 
only one second and a half. The errors exposed in this eclipse may give rise to 
an error of from 15 to 20 miles in the determination of the longitude at 
sea by means of lunar distances, and to an uncertainty of twice that 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 19 

amount. The possibility of such an error, arising from this source, 
is removed in the American ephemeris. There are other points of su- 
periority ; one of the principle being " a more complete, full and accurate 
table of latitudes and longitudes, particularly of American latitudes and 
longitudes, than is now anywhere to be found," and the other relates to 
the tide tables and other practical information concerning the tides. 

Under resolutions of the two Houses of Congress, the valuable report of 
Dr. D. D. Owen on the geography of Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, (and 
incidentally of the " Mauvaises Terres " in Nebraska,) has been published. 
Its preparation reflects the highest credit upon the author, while the me- 
chanical execution of the work is excellent, and forms a striking contrast 
with the usual style adopted for Government publications. The report is 
voluminous and constitutes a quarto of about 650 pages, with a volume of 
maps. A report has also been submitted to Congress by Dr. Owen, 
recommending a geological survey of Oregon and a special reconnoissance 
of that singular region of Nebraska, knoAvn as ther" Mauviases Terres. 1 ' 
The interest awakened throughout the Scientific world by what has been 
already made known respecting the latter district is very great. It is a 
tertiary deposite, abounding to a most extraordinary extent with the fossil 
remains of extinct animals, some of which combine the distinctive char- 
acteristics of several existing and distinct races. The discovery of an 
entirely new family of mammalia, embracing eight new genera, is one re- 
sult of the examinations already made by Dr. Leidy. In reference to this 
region. Dr. Owen states that " it is not too much to assert that since the 

O ~ 

disclosures by the opening of the gypsum quarries of Montmatre, in 
France, that made us first acquainted with those singular extinct fossil 
races entombed in the Paris basin, no discovery in geology has divul- 
ged such extraordinary and interesting results in palaeontology. 

The Legislature of Massachusetts have published during the past year a 
new and enlarged edition of Dr. Harris' valuable work on " Insects Inju- 
rious to Vegetation," and the Legislature of New York, " A Report on the 
Great Exhibition of 1851," by B. P. Johnson, Esq. 

We would also in this connection call attention to the following scientific 
works of great interest, issued during the past year in this country, by pri- 
vate individuals. " Mastodon Giganteus," a description of the skeleton of 
the Mastodon Giganteus of North America, with plates. This elegant and 
costly work, the fruit of many years' investigation, has been brought out 
by Dr. J. C. Warren of Boston, and is intended for private distribution. 
Several valuable geological and zoological memoirs have been publishd by 
Isaac Lea, Esq., of Philadelphia, and a valuable " Catalogue of shells 
collected at Panama with notes on their synonomy, station and geographi- 
cal distribution," has been issued by the late Prof. C. B. Adams. The num- 
3 


20 


NOTES BY THE EDITOR 


ber of specimens of Mollusks collected by Prof. Adams, while at Panama, 
amounted to 41,830, embracing 516 species, of which 160 were new and 
undescribed. The department of mechanics and civil engineering has been 
enriched by the publication of a work entitled " The naval Dry Docks of 
the United States," by Charles B. Stuart, Engineer in Chief of the U. S. 
Navy. 

Two new scientific periodical publications have been started during the 
past year ; " The Annals of Science, being a record of the inventions and 
improvements in applied science," conducted by Hamilton L. Smith > 
Cleveland, Ohio ; and the "American Polytechnic Journal," conducted 
by Messrs. Page, Greenough & Co., Washington, D. C. Within the same 
period, the Journal known as the New York Farmer and Mechanic has 
been discontinued. 

A descriptive catalogue of the plants indiginous to is Ohio in the course 
of preparation by James W. Ward, Esq., of Cincinnati. 

Chemists and others interested in the progress of science will regret to 
learn that the reprinting and translating into English of Liebigand Kopp's 
" Annual Report of the Progress of Chemistry " has failed, after a trial 
of three volumes, for want of sufficient encouragement. 

Under the auspices of the French Government, a Chinese work on the 
production of silk has been translated by M. Julien, an eminent scholar 
of Paris ; in consequence of which the Chinese method has been intro- 
duced with great benefit into some of the silk-growing districts of France. 
M. Julien has also translated a Chinese manual on the fabrication of por- 
celain, which, it is anticipated, will be equally beneficial to that branch of 
industry. 

The Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, has continued silently, but 
effectually, to enlarge the sphere of its influence and usefulness, and to 
elicit from every part of the civilized world commendations, not only of the 
plan of organization it has adopted, but also of the results it has produced. 
By a judicious management on the part of the Regents, the funds of the 
Institution have been increased by the interest on the original bequest, 
until they now amount to a little more than 750,000. A portion of the 
original bequest is also yet remaining in England, as the principle of an 
annuity settled upon the mother of the nephew of Smithson. The Insti- 
tution is also by the recent decease of a citizen of New York made contin- 
gent legatee of an estate of considerable magnitude, depending on the de- 
mise without issue of a single individual. 

Since the adoption of the plan of organization, nearly fifty original me- 
moirs, purporting to be additions to the sum of human knowledge, have 
been presented to the Institution for publication. Though a number of 
these have been returned to their authors, principally on account of not 


OX THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 21 

falling withm the restricted class of communications accepted for publica- 
tion, yet they have generally been productions of much merit, and have 
evinced a surprising activity of mind, and manifest a growing attention in 
this country to original research. The probable success of this part of the 
plan of organization was not overrated ; for, were the whole income of the 
institution devoted alone to publishing the results of the labors of men of 
literature and of science, which otherwise would never see the light, it 
could be profitably expended. In this respect, the Smithsonian bequest 
supplies the wants which in Europe are met by richly endowed academies 
and national societies. 

Each memoir is printed separately, and with a separate title and paging, 
so that it can be distributed to persons most interested in its perusal as 
soon as it comes from the press, without waiting for the completion of the 
volume to which it belongs. In this way, the author is enabled to present 
a full account of his discoveries to the world with the least possible delay, 
while, by the rules of the Institution, he is allowed to publish an abstract 
of his paper in the proceedings of the American Association for the ad- 
vancement of science, or in those of any other properly organized society. 
The number of copies of the Smithsonian Contributions distributed, is 
greater than that of the transactions of any scientific or literary society, 
and therefore, the Institution offers the best medium to be found for diffus- 
ing a knowledge of scientific discoveries. Every memoir published by the 
Institution is issued with a stamp of approval of a commission of compe- 
tent judges, and in order to secure a cautious and candid opinion, the 
name of the author, and those of the examiners, are not made known to 
each other unless a favorable report is given; and, in this case, the names 
of the commission are printed, as vouchers for the character of the me- 
moir, on the reverse of the title-page. 

This plan secures an untrammelled expression of opinion, while it 
induces caution on account of the responsibility which it involves. 

That the encouragement of the discovery of new truths, the publication 
of original memoirs, and the establishment of new researches, are in con- 
formity with the design of Smithson, is not only manifest from the terms 
of his will, but also from the fact, which has lately come to our knowledge, 
that he at first left his property to the Royal Society of London, for the very 
object embraced in this part of the plan. And what prouder monument 
could any man desire than the perpetual association of his name with a 
series of new truths ! This building and all its contents may be des- 
troyed, but the volumes of the Smithsonian Contributions, distributed as 
they are among a thousand libraries, are as wide-spread and lasting a 8 
civilization itself. 

The following memoirs have been recently published by the Smithsonian 


22 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

Institution, or ai*e now in the course of preparation. On the "Dip, Intensi- 
ty, and Inclination of the Magnetic Force in several parts of the United 
States," by Dr. John Locke of Cincinnati. " On the Winds of the South- 
ern Hemisphere," by Prof. James Coffin. The data used in the prepara- 
tion of this memoir have been collected with great labor, and consist of 
observations made at no less than five hundred and seventy-six different 
stations on land, and a large number taken during numerous voyages at 
sea. The field of observation includes a zone which extends from the 
equator to nearly the parallel of 85 deg. north latitude, and occupies a 
period, taken in the aggregate, of 2,800 years. 

A memoir is also in the course of preparation on the extinct family of cri- 
noids found in thejicinity of Nashville, Ter.n., founded on drawings, collec- 
tions, and descriptions left by the late Dr. Troost of Nashville. The labor of 
preparing this work has been gratuitously undertaken by Prof.'s Agassiz & 
Hall. A memoir by Dr. Leidy, " The Flora and Fauna of Animals." This 
is an elaborate history of a most remarkable series of plants, in many cases 
accompanied by parasitic animals, found growing, as an ordinary or natu- 
ral condition, within the interior of the bodies of living animals. In some 
of the latter, it is stated, growing plants are never absent ; and in a 
species of insects, viz : Papulus Cornutus, a forest of vegetation is always 
found covering the inner surface of the ventriculus or second stomach, 
The plants of course are Cryptogamic, and are algoid in their character. 
Some are as long as half an inch, but usually they are very much smaller. 
They grow attached to the mucous membrane of the cavities in which they 
are found, and occasionally from the exterior covering of worms infesting 
the same cavities. The researches are prefaced by some observations on 
the laws of parasitic life in general, which are presented in a highly philo- 
sophical manner, and entirely free from hypothesis the whole forming 
one of the most remarkable papers on physiology, which has ever been 
produced by our countrymen. " On the Dynamic Effect of the Tides," by 
Lieut. Chas. H. Davis. 

A volume of tables of use in Meteorolgy and other branches of scientific 
observations, has been prepared, under the direction of the Institution, by 
Prof. Guyot. The following are the contents of this volume, viz : 1. 
Thermomctrical tables for the conversion of the scales of different ther- 
mometers into each other. 2. Hygrometrical tables, giving the elastic 
force of vapor, the relative humidity, &c. 3. Barometrical tables for the 
comparisons of different scales, reduction of observations to the freezing 
point, and correction for capillary action. 4. Hypsometrical tables for 
calculating altitudes by the barometer, and by the difference of the boiling 
point. 5. Tables of the corrections to be applied to the monthly means to 
obtain the true mean. 6. A set of miscellaneous tables frequently re- 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 23 

quired in physical investigations. These tables supply a desideratum in 
the English language, and will doubtless be highly prized by all engaged in 
physical research. It is proposed to extend their number so as to include 
a wider range of objects, and to publish them in parts to suit different 
purposes. 

" Researches on Electrical Rheometry," by Prof. Secchi; " Description 
of Ancient Works in Ohio," by Charles Whittlesy; "On the Ancient 
Works at Prescott, Canada West," by William E. Guest. The great size 
of the remains of trees which occupy the ground, evince the long time 
which must have elapsed since these works were constructed, and the 
entire absence of stone pipes and arrow heads has induced the belief that 
they are of a higher antiquity than those in the Ohio valley. 

List of occultations and tables of reductions have been published from 
1848 to 1852, inclusive. The primary object of these tables is, to facilitate the 
accurate determination of the longitude of places within the territory of 
the United States; and in this respect they have done good service, espe- 
cially in the hands of the officers of the coast survey, and the explorers 
and surveyors of our new possessions on the coast of the Pacific. Their 
extension will render them useful to geographers in every part of the 
world. 

It will be recollected that Mr. Sears C. Walker, astronomical assistant 
of the United States coast survey, prepared for the Smithsonian Transac- 
tions a memoir containing a determination of the true orbit of the planet 
Neptune, and that from this orbit, and the mathematical investigations of 
Professor Pierce, an ephemeris of Neptune was compiled. The epheme- 
ris has been generally adopted by the principal astronomers of the world; 
and Professor Airy, the astronomer royal of Great Britian, has undertaken 
the labor, in his last volume of Greenwich Observations, of critically 
comparing his observations on the planet in the heavens with the predic- 
tions of the Smithsonian ephemeris. From these comparisons it is found 
that the ephemeris gives the position of the planet with a degree of pre- 
cision not interior to that with which the planets longest known are 
calculated. The labors, therefore, of Mr. Walker on the elements, and 
Professor Pierce on the theory of the planet Neptune, have been crowned 
with complete success. It is proposed hereafter to collect all the observa- 
tions which may have been made on the planet, and compare them with 
the ephemeris, in order, if necessary, still further to correct the orbit. 

The general system of meteorology now in operation in this country un- 
der the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, is continually enlarging 
and extending. The Institution has at the present time a corps of trained, 
intelligent men, between two and three hundred in number, extended over 
the entire continent, and making frequent observations, many with stand- 
3* 


24 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

N 

ard instruments. All the observations at the military ports and naval 
stations, as well as the vessels of the mercantile and goverment marine 
(through the National Observatory,) are freely at its command, and are 
used. The returns for each month fill a large folio volume. Nor does this 
matter accumulate unused. A competent gentleman has been long engaged 
in noting down the observations for particular days of interest, upon a large 
physical map of North America and the Atlantic Ocean, developeing laws 
of great importance. No institution or government in the world is now 
doing anything like as much for Meteorology as the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion. The results already obtained give promise of interesting and valua- 
ble additions to our knowledge of the nature of the storms, which traverse 
this continent during the winter seasons, and will probably serve to 
settle definitely several theoretical questions of much interest to the mete- 
orologist. 

Considerable progress has been made in the formation of the library 
and museum of the Smithsonian Institution. The whole number of books, 
pamphlets, engravings, &c., at present collected is nearly twelve thou- 
sand ; of these 4,608 were obtained by purchase; 3,218, by donations; 
3, IDG by copyright law ; and 873 by deposite. The number of books re- 
ceived by exchange is large; an unique feature in this system of exchange 
consists in the number of academical publications received from almost all 
the Universities of Europe. The series from many are very full, particu- 
larly for later years ; and very few are to be found in any other American 
library. These works are generally of great value to the student. 

The museum of natural history, besides plants and minerals, numbers 
eighteen hundred and fifty jars, containing specimens in spirits, of mam- 
malia, reptiles, fishes, articulata, mollusca, and radiata, amounting in all 
to twenty-five hundred species. Besides these, there are about nine hundred 
specimens of skulls and skeletons, and three thousand skins of European 
and American birds. 

A magnificent collection of Scandinavian mammalia has been presented 
by the Swedish Academy, at Stockholm. Some very valuable European 
mammalia have also been received from Mr. Steeuberg, of Elsinore, includ- 
ing skins of wolves, seals, arctic foxes, &c., and several skulls of the rein- 
deer of Greenland. 

The following statistics, obtained from official documents, afford some 
idea of the present resources, wealth, and commerce of the thirty-one 
United States at the present time; 

The annual value of the agricultural, mineral and manufacturing pro- 
ductions of the country is supposed to at least equal three thousand mil- 
lions of dollars, (3,000,000,000.) A large portion of these productions 
are transported by river, canal, or coasting vessels, or on railroads, and 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 25 

which in the course of trade changes hands several times before reaching 
the domestic consumer ; making, in the aggregate, an amount of traffic 
counting by thousands of millions ; whilst the whole amount shipped to 
foreign countries is but $140,000,000, being only one-thirtieth part of 
the entire production of the country, which thus finds an outlet in foreign 
markets. 

The single article of coal annually transported coastwise, and in canal 
boats, or on railroads, is of sufficient bulk to furnish fall cargoes for four 
times the quantity of all the American tonnage employed in foreign com- 
merce, and probably affords the means of livelihood to a greater number 
of persons than the latter. 

The coastwise trade to and from the American ports in the Gulf of Mex- 
co is of itself, probably, nearly equal, in point of value, to the entire 
export of American productions to foreign nations. 

The statistics of exports during the year 1847, when famine prevailed 
so extensively in Europe, furnish some curious illustrations respecting the 
home markets and the foreign ones. There was some difficulty, at that 
time, in procuring sufficient shipping, including both American and for- 
eign, to convey our breadstuffs to the famishing nations of Europe, and 
yet our entire exports during that year of the two principal articles of 
food Indian corn (maize) and flour were only about three per cent, of 
the former, and about ten per cent, of the latter, estimated on the whole 
crop produced in the United States ; leaving ninety-seven per cent, of the 
Indian corn, and ninety per cent of the wheat crop, for the supply of the 
home market, where it was actually consumed. Our exports of bread- 
stuffs at present are only about one-third of what they were during the 
above year of unusual demand; exhibiting, in a still more striking con- 
trast, the immense difference between the home and foreign markets in 
favor of the former. 

The mere tolls collected by the canals and railroads on the transporta- 
tion of merchandise for the internal trade of the country, exceeds in 
amount the total value of all the breadstuffs purchased from us by foreign 
nations. 

The annual value of the crop of Indian corn, of wheat, and of hay, 
each respectively, is fully equal to the entire value of our productions ex- 
ported to foreign countries. The annual amount of the manufactures in 
the States of New York or Pennsylvania, in either of those States, greatly 
exceeds the value of such exports ; and even those of the comparatively 
small State of Massachusetts are fully equal to all the productions of the 
country consumed by foreign nations. The latter State probably con- 
sumes breadstuffs that are produced in the middle and western States to a 
greater amount than is shipped to all Europe. 


26 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

The manufacture of beet-root sugar is at present receiving great atten- 
tion in some parts of Europe, and in consequence of some valuable 
improvements in evaporation and purification recently effected, its manu- 
facture lias greatly extended, accompanied with a reduction of prices. 
In France, especially, this branch of industry is increasing beyond prece- 
dent. The following statistics were recently published officially in the 
J\floniteur. The factories at work in France on the 1st of December iu 
1851, were 254, and on the 1st of December of 1852, they numbered 335, 
an increase of 81. The quantity of sugar made in 1851 was 10 millions 
of pounds, while that of 1852 will not be far from 87 millions of pounds. 
The best quality retails at 16 cents a pound. 

Beet-root sugar has also made its appearance for the first time during 
the past year in American ports, as an article of traffic. 

The scarcity and high price of all kinds of animal oils, have within a 
few years past called into requisition and use the various kinds of vegeta- 
ble oils, especially those derived from rosin. The uses to which this oil is 
already applied are innumerable, and a great number of patents for improv- 
ments in its manufacture and purification have been grunted. A process 
has been recently brought out, first in France, lately in the United States, 
by which the rosin is made to yield a substance resembling tallow in many 
respects, which can be advantageously and cheaply applied for the lubri- 
cation of heavy gearing, and other coarse machinery. This process has 
not yet been made public. 

Napthaline, formerly a chemicarproduct of great rarity, is now extracted 
in considerable quantities, from the refuse coal tar of gas works. This 
substance in external appearance greatly resembles purified stearine, 
and the use to which it is applied is somewhat curious. Put up in cakes, 
and enclosed in waxed cloths to prevent evaporation, it is sent to California 
and other distant regions, where dissolved in weak alcohol it furnishes the 
best of burning fluids, a great saving being thus effected in freights, 
risks, &c. 

American Madder, grown in the valley of the Connecticut, has been in- 
troduced to some extent during the past year into the Merrimac Print 
Works, and found to be superior in some respects to the best foreign 
article. The introduction of madder as a staple production of the United 
States, is greatly to be desired, and that it can be raised profitably and suc- 
cessfully by the agriculturalist, is beyond a doubt. 

The preparation and manufacture of flax-cotton, introduced in 1851 by 
Chevalier Clausscn, and from which so much was anticipated, is generally 
regarded as a failure. The most serious objections to the plan proposed 
seem to be these: it has for its object the conversion of a superior article 
into an inferior one, or in other words, the changing of the long and strong 


ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIEXCE. 27 

fibre of flax into a short and weak fibre, inferior to cotton ; the product so 
prepared is wanting in any regularity of staple, or length of fibre ; the 
fibres of the flax are not split longitudinally as has been represented, by 
the expansive action of a gas generated within them, but they are merely 
separated from one another, and broken irregularly. If it is desired to 
reduce the flax fibre to a condition resembling the short fibre of cotton, it 
can be accomplished more expeditiously, cheaply and securely, by mechan- 
ical, rather than by chemical agents. "With a view of examining into the 
plans and projects proposed by Claussen and others for the improved 
manufacture of flax, agents have been sent to Europe from time to time by 
several of the large manufacturing corporations of New England, but their 
report has been uniformly unfavorable as regards the success of the under- 
taking. The introduction and discussion of the subject of the manufacture 
of flax in Europe, has excited much interest in the United States, and a 
variety of new machines and processes for preparing and dressing flax 
have been invented during the past year, most of which have not yet been 
made public. 

Some new improvements in the manufacture of paper have been brought 
out, or attempted during the past year. The consumption of this article 
in the United States at the present time is immense, and is continually on 
the increase. It is already a matter of some difficulty to obtain stock in suffi- 
cient quantities to supply the various mills now in operation ; a large pro- 
portion of the rags used in this country are derived from the rag-producing 
countries of the South of Europe, the home supply not being at all com- 
measurate with the consumption of paper. Vast quantities of fibrous 
materials imported from the East Indies, such as refuse gunny, manilla, 
jute, coir, &c., are also worked into the poorer qualities of paper. 
There is, however, in all these substances, an inherent difficulty which 
prevents their being made available for the manufacture of white paper ; 
they all contain a natural fixed color, which, hitherto, it has not been 
found possible to eradicate, except by the use of expensive chemical 
agents, as chlorate of potash, oxalic acid, and the like. 

The number of patents issued by the Patent Office in 1852, was upwards 
of one thousand, a number exceeding that of any former year. The num- 
ber of Patents issued in 1851, was eight hundred and sixty-five ; the 
number of applications for patents during the same period was two thousand, 
two-hundred and fifty-eight. An important measure has been recommended 
to Congress, both by the Secretary of the Interior, and the Commissioner 
of Patents, viz : the preparation of an analytical and descriptive index of 
all inventions for which patents have been issued by the United States. 
In regard to this index, the late Commissioner says : "its importance, 
utility and necessity are becoming more and more apparent. No State 


28 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 

paper, and no mere human volume can ever surpass it in immediate 
and enduring value. A greater boon to science, to inventors, and to the 
world at large, could hardly be named. It would be consulted as long as 
the arts are cherished, and would rather increase than diminish in interest 
as time rolls on." 

Among the inventions for which patents have been applied for during 
the past year, are two of more than ordinary interest : The first for an 
improved grain reaping machine. This machine not only cuts regularly 
and completely the grain, but also collects it, bundles it in nearly equal 
quantities, binds and delivers. The other is for a wool-combing machine, 
which entirely supersedes the old method of hand-combing. This ma- 
chine accomplishes the labor of from six to eight men, separating the 
long from the short fibres in the most perfect and thorough manner. 

Among the various important contributions made to Science during 1852, 
other than mechanical, we would call attention to the following : the re- 
searches of M. Melsens, of Brussels, on the pix>duction and formation of 
artificial cellular tissue ; the researches of Arago, on the physical con- 
stitution of the sun, one of the most brilliant and interesting of the publi- 
cations of this eminent astronomer ; the researches and discoveries of 
Prof. Stokes, on the " epipolic dispersion of light," and of M. Nicpce, of 
France, on the production and fixation of colored photographs. Some 
interesting researches have been also published by Renault, the Director 
of the Veterinary School of Alfort, France, " On the Effects of Swallow- 
ing virulent matters in the digestive organs of man and animals." This 
author shows that the baking and roasting of meats, and the boiling of 
liquids arising from animals aifected with contagious diseases, have the 
effect of completely annihilating the virulent properties of these substances 
The practical value of this fact will be appreciated by many of the inhab- 
itants of large cities, who are obliged to use milk and some other articles 
of food, which are not of the best quality. 

The year 18-52, will also be memorable for the discovery of eight new 
asteroidal planets, making the whole number of planets now known to 
exist between Mars and Jupiter twenty-three. 

The following geological surveys have been authorized or continued dur- 
ing the past year: 

The legislature of Massachusetts have authorized a re-survey of some 
portions of the State under the direction of its geologist, Pres. Hitchcock. 
Steps have also been taken for the completion of the survey of Vermont, 
commenced by the late Professor C. 13. Adams. The State of Mississippi 
has also authorized a survey under the direction of Messrs. "Wailes and 
Millington, and has appropriated $6,000 per annum, for the maintamance 
of the same. The survey of Illinois has been commenced under the direc- 


OX THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 29 

tion of Dr. Norwood. Surveys are also continuing at present in North 
Carolina under Dr. E. Emmons ; in Alabama, under Prof. M. Tuomey; in 
Canada under Mr. Logan; and in Pennsylvania, under Prof. H. D. Rog- 
ers. The report of this last elaborate survey will appear in two quarto 
yolumes, with a large map, and among other points of special interest, 
will contain a monograph of the coal plants of the United States by Mr. 
Lesquereaux. The States of Missouri and Florida, are now the only ones 
which have not yet authorized surveys. 

A geological reconnoissance of the Territory of Oregon, is now being 
made under the direction of the General Land Office, by Dr. Evans. 

The obituary register for 1852, both in the United States and in Europe, 
contains the names of many who have been distinguished in the annals of 
science, and have been useful to their fellow-men. The American list 
includes the names of Norton, Downing, James Rogers, Johnson, Overman 
Woods Baker, Drake, Lassel, and others. We have also to record since 
the commencement of 1853, the death of Prof. C. B. Adams, and the dis- 
tinguished American astronomer and mathematician, Sears C. Walker. 

Satisfactory information has also been obtained during the past year 
respecting the fate of Jaques Compagnon, the long lost African traveller, 
and of Dr. Ludwig Leichardt, the missing explorer of Central Australia. 
The first named died in captivity in the interior of Africa, among the tribe 
of Kommenis. He departed from Senegal in 1758 and was last heard from 
in 1760. Dr. Leichardt left Sidney a few years since for the purpose of 
exploring the interior of Australia, the extent of Sturt's desert, and the 
character of the western and north-western coast, and to observe the gradual 
change in vegetation and animal life, from one side of the continent to the 
other. This expedition was expected to occupy two and half years in 
reaching Swan River. One letter only was received from him by a friend 
in Sidney, when he was eleven days out, closing with these words : " See- 
ing how much I have been favored in my present progress, I am full of 
hope, that our Almighty Protector will allow me to bring my darling 
scheme to a successful termination." Since then his fate has remained a 
mystery, until within a recent period it has been definitely ascertained 
that he was killed by the natives, after haying penetrated 1200 miles into 
the interior of Australia. 


T .- 
THE 


ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 


DRAINAGE OF THE GREAT LAKE OF HAARLEM. 

THE drainage of the great lake of Haarlem by the Dutch Govern- 
ment, a work which stands unrivalled in the history of hydraulic 
engineering, and which has been prosecuted with energy since 1848, 
has been nearly completed within the past year. The origin and 
history of this great enterprise is as follows : 

In the year 1539, the Xorth Sea, long restrained by artificial dams 
and dikes, as well as by some natural ridges of sand, suddenly burst 
its barriers, and brought horror and desolation into the fertile flats of 
Xorth Holland. Twenty-six thousand acres of rich pasture land, with 
meadows, cattle and gardens, were covered by the waves, and the 
village of Xieuweinkirk was submerged and all its inhabitants lost in 
the tremendous calamity. The inundation resulted at first in the 
formation of four lakes, but the barriers of soft alluvial soil which 
separated them were gradually destroyed, and the four lakes became 
merged into one. The degradation of the shores also continued, 
until, at the commencement of the 18th century, the waters covered 
an area of 45,000 acres, with an average depth of 13 feet below low 
water in the Zuyder Zee. This lake constituted what has since been 
known as the Haarlem Meer, or Sea. The people of Holland saw 
with much alarm, the rapid extension of its boundaries, and, at an 
expense of about 33,000, succeeded in partially arresting its pro- 
gress ; an expense of about 4,000 per year was moreover entailed, 
for the preservation and repair of the works of defence. More than 
two centuries elapsed from the time of the first inundation before any- 
one began to dream of recovering this vast tract of country, and then, 
for a long period, all plans proposed were deemed impracticable. At 
length, on the 9th of November, 1836, a furious .hurricane from the 
west drove the waters of the Lake upon the city of Amsterdam, and 
4 


82 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

drowned upwards of 10,000 acres of lowland in the neighborhood. 
On the 25th of December following, another hurricane from the east 
drove the waters in an opposite direction upon the city of Leyden, 
the lower parts of which were submerged forty-eight hours, and 19,000 
acres of land were inundated. The enormous loss occasioned by these 
two storms induced the government to determine on the drainage of 
the Lake, and a credit of 8,000,000 florins was voted by the States 
General. In May, 1840, a commission was appointed to superintend 
the work. 

The first operation was to cut a canal round the Lake, to isolate it 
from the neighboring waters, and to afford the means of navigation to 
the enormous traffic which previously passed over the Lake, amount- 
ing to 700,000 tons per annum. This canal was 37 miles long, 130 
feet wide on the west side, and 115 feet on the east side of the Lake, 
with a depth of 9 feet water. On the side next to the Lake, the 
mouths of all water-courses entering it, were closed by earthen dams, 
having an aggregate length of 3,000 yards, made in 10 feet depth of 
water. Other great works were executed by enlarging the sluices at 
various points, and in erecting powerful steam engines to assist in 
discharging the water from the canal during the time of high water. 
The water of the Lake has no natural outfall, being below the lowest 
practicable point of sluicage. The area of water enclosed by the 
canal was rather more than 70 square miles, and the quantity to be 
lifted by mechanical means, including rain water and springs, leak- 
age, &c., during the time of drainage, was estimated at 1,000,000,000 
tons. In determining the motive power to be employed, two points 
were to be kept in view ; first, the cost of draining the Lake ; second, 
the cost of annual drainage ; for, when once the work was accom- 
plished, the site of the Lake could only be kept dry by mechanical 
power. With the exception of a few steam engines, the wind had 
hitherto been the motive power employed to work the hydraulic ma- 
chines used in the Netherlands to keep the country dry. And the 
power of 12,000 wind-mills, having an average aggregate power of 
60,000 horses, is required to prevent two-thirds of the kingdom from 
returning to the state of morass and lake, from which the indomitable 
energy and perseverance of the Dutch people have rescued what is 
now the most fertile country in Europe. 

The Haarlem Meer Commissioners were convinced that the old 
means must be laid aside, and new ones adopted to suit the magnitude 
and peculiarities of their work. They accordingly determined to 
erect three gigantic steam engines of a peculiar construction, which 
was accordingly done, and the whole put in operation in 1848. These 
engines consume but two and a half pounds of coal per hour, for each 
horse power, and are capable of raising 112 tons of water 10 feet high 
at each stroke, or of discharging 1,000,000 tons in 25^- hours. 

A short description of one of these engines may prove interesting. 
It has two steam cylinders, one of 84 inches diameter, placed within 
another of 144 inches diameter; both are fitted with pistons; the 
outer piston is of course annular, and the two pistons are united to a 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 33 

great cross-head, or cap, which is furnished with a guide-rod, or spin- 
dle ; both pistons and cross-head are fitted with iron plates, and 
together, with parts of the engine attached, have an effective weight 
of nearly 90 tons. The Engine House is a circular tower, on the 
walls of which are arranged 1 1 large cast-iron balance-beams, which 
radiate from the centre of the engine. Their inner ends, furnished 
with rollers, are brought under the circular body of the great cap, 
and their outer ends are connected to the pistons of 11 pumps of 63 
inches diameter each; the stroke of both ends is 10 feet; and the 
discharge from the pumps 66 cubic metres, or tons, of water per stroke. 

The action of the engine is very simple ; it is on the high-pressure- 
expansive-condensing principle. The steam is admitted first beneath 
the small piston ; and the dead weight of 90 tons is lifted, carrying 
with it the inner end of the pump balances, and of course allowing 
the pistons to descend in the pumps. 

The equilibrium valve then opens, and the steam in the cylinders 
passes round to the upper surface of the small and annular pistons ; 
puts the former in a state of equilibrium, and presses with two-thirds 
of its force upon the annular piston, beneath which a vacuum is 
alwavs maintained : thus, the down stroke of the engine, and the eleva- 

* O 1 

tion of the pump pistons and water, is produced by the joint action of 
the descending dead weight in the cap and pistons, and the pressure 
of steam on the annular piston. The engine has two air pumps, of 40 
inches diameter, and 5 feet stroke each. The water is lifted by the 
pumps into the canal, from which it passes off towards the sea sluices. 

The total weight of iron employed for the engine, pumps, &c., is 
640 tons. The cost of the machinery and buildings, 36,000. 

The pumping was actively commenced in May, 1848, and has been 
continuously carried on up to the present time. The Lake is now 
nearly dry ; much of the bottom is exposed, only large pools of water 
being left. The remains of the unhappy village of Nieuweinkirk have 
been found, with a mass of human bones, on the very spot where the 
old charts of the province fixed its site. From May, 1848, up to 
April, 1851, the Lake was lowered 7 feet 3 inches. The level reached 
at the end of October of the same year was 9 feet 7 inches below the 
original surface, or at an average rate of 4.79 inches per month. In 
November, 1851, a great quantity of snow and rain fell, raising the 
level of the Lake about four inches, and in December the weather 
was still unfavorable, so that at the end of that month, the level stood 
at 9 feet 5.38 inches below the original surface, showing a total gain 
since April of 2 feet 5.58 inches, or 3.32 inches per month. This pro- 
gress may appear to some inconsiderable ; but when it is recollected 
that the lowering of the Lake one inch involved the raising of up- 
wards of 4,000,000 of tons of water, and allowing f jr rain and snow 
falling during these eight months, there could not have been less than 
186,000,000 tons of water pumped up during that period, the per- 
formance will appear great indeed. To give a better idea of this, it is 
stated that 186,000,000 tons of water are equal to a mass of solid rock, 
one mile square, and 100 feet high, allowing 15 cubic feet to a ton. 


34 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

The average progress has been less during the last year than during 
the preceding ones, but this is readily accounted for, by the increased 
lift of the pumps, and by the difficulty of forming the channels which 
lead the water to them. 

The annual drainage hereafter, is estimated at 54,000,000 tons of 
water, which must be lifted on an average 16 feet; it may occur, 
however, that as much as 35,000,000 of this amount must be dis- 
charged in one month, in order to preserve and render the space 
formerly occupied by this Lake habitable. 

CRYSTAL PALACE IN NEW YORK. 

IT having been determined to open an Exhibition of the Industry 
of all Nations in the city of New York, during the summer of 1853, 
the following plan of an edifice suitable for the purpose has been 
adopted ; the plan being furnished by Messrs. Carstensen & Gilde- 
miester, of New York. The general idea of the edifice is a Greek 
.cross, surmounted by a dome at the intersection. Each diameter of 
the cross will be 365 feet 5 inches long. There will be three similar en- 
trances one on the Sixth Avenue, one on Fortieth, and one on 
Forty-second Street. Each entrance will be 47 feet wide, and that on 
the Sixth Avenue will be approached by a flight of eight steps. Each 
arm of the cross is on the ground-plan 149 feet broad. This is divided 
into a central nave and two aisles, one on each side ; the nave 41 feet 
w r ide ; each aisle 54 feet wide. On each front is a large semi-circular 
fanlight, 41 feet broad and 21 feet high, answering to the arch of the 
nave. The central portion, or nave, is carried up to the height of 67 
feet, and the semi-circular arch by which it is spanned is 41 feet broad. 
There are thus, in effect, two arched naves, crossing each other at 
right angles 41 feet broad, 67 feet high, to the crown of the arch, and 
365 feet long ; and on each side of these naves is an aisle, 54 feet broad 
and 45 feet high. The exterior of the ridge way of the nave is 71 feet 
The central dome is 100 feet in diameter 68 feet inside from floor to 
spring of arch, and 118 feet to the crown ; and on the outside, with the 
lantern, 149 feet. The exterior angles of the building are filled up Avith 
a sort of lean-to, 24 feet high, which gives the ground-plan an octagonal 
shape, each side or face being 149 feet wide. At each angle is an octa- 
gonal tower, 8 feet in diameter, and 75 feet high. Each aisle is covered 
by a gallery of its own width, and 24 feet from the floor. The building- 
contains, on its ground floor, 111,000 square feet of space, and in its 
galleries, which are 54 feet wide, 62,000 square feet more, making a 
total area of 1 73,000 square feet for the purposes of exhibition. There 
are thus in the ground floor two acres and a half, or exactly two acres 
and 52.100 ; in the galleries, one acre and 44.100; total, within an 
inconsiderable fraction of four acres. There are on the ground floor 
190 columns, 21 feet above the floor, 8 inches diameter, cast hollow, of 
different thicknesses, from half an inch to one inch thick; on the 
gallery floor there are 122 columns. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 35 


XAYAL DKY DOCK AXD RAILWAY AT PHILADELPHIA. 

THE Journal of the Franklin Institute gives the following description 
of the U. S. Dry Dock and Railway, recently completed at Philadel- 
phia ; the dock and its appendages being the largest in the world. 

The lifting power consists of nine sections, six of which are 105 feet 
long inside, and 148 feet over all, by 32 feet wide, and 11 feet 
deep ; three of them are of the same length and depth as the others, 
but two feet less in width ; the gross displacement of the nine sections 
is 10,037 tons, gross weight 4,1-15 tons, leaving a lifting power of 5,892 
tons, which far exceeds the weight of any vessel yet contemplated. 
The machinery for pumping out the sections consists of two engines 
of 20, and two of 12 horse power. In connection with the sections 
(which form the lifting power of the dock.) is a large stone basin, 350 
feet long, 226 feet wide, and 12 feet 9 inches deep, with a depth of 
water of 10 feet 9 inches at mean high tide. At the head of this basin 
are two sets of ways, each being 350 feet long, and 26 feet wide. 
These ways are level, and consist of the bed pieces, which are three 
in number, and firmly secured to a stone foundation ; the central way 
supports the keel, while the side ways receive the weight of the bilge ; 
these ways are of oak, and are finished off to a smooth surface. On 
the top of the bed pieces or fixed ways, comes the sliding ways or 
cradle, which are also 350 feet long and 26 feet wide, so constructed 
as to admit of being adjusted to the length of any vessel. The opera- 
tion of the dock is as follows : The sections are sunk so as to allow 
the vessel to be floated in ; as soon as she is secured in the proper 
position, the pumps are put in operation, when the sections begin to 
rise, and as soon as they come to a bearing on the keel, the bilge 
blocks are run in until they fit the ship. When all is secure, the sec- 
tions are pumped out until the keel is some two or three feet above 
the water. If repairs that will only require a short time are contem- 
plated, the vessel is kept on the sections, and no other portions of the 
dock used. When this is accomplished, the sections are filled with 
water, and rest on the bottom of the basin, which is of stone. Bed 
ways are now laid on the sections in line with those before mentioned. 
When they are secured they are greased, and the cradle is now slid 
under the ship, and she is blocked up on the cradle, and the blocks on 
the sections are removed. At this point of the operation a new instru- 
ment of power is brought forward for the purpose of hauling the ship 
from the sections to the bed ways in the Navy Yard. It consists of a 
large hydraulic cylinder, having a ram of 15 inches diameter and 8 
feet stroke, and a power of 800 tons. On the top of this cylinder, 
and attached to it, are two vertical direct acting engines, with cylin- 
ders 16 inches in diameter and 16 inches stroke, connected at right 
angles to one shaft, on which are four eccentrics for working four 
hydraulic pumps of H inches bore, and 6 inches stroke ; the tank 
which carries the water for the press is also on the top of the cylinder, 
and forms the bed on which the pumps are secured. The boiler 
which supplies these engines with steam, is on a sliding cast iron bed 
4* 


36 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

way, some 12 or 15 feet ahead of the hydraulic cylinder, and connected 
to it by two cast iron rods. This boiler is of the usual locomotive 
form, and has 85 tubes of 2 inches diameter, and 9 feet long. To get 
ready for operation, the hydraulic cylinder is slid down to the edge 
of the basin, its ram is run in, and a connection made by means of two 
side rods of wrought iron from the cross head of the ram to the sliding 
cradle which carries the ship. The central bed way has key holes 
mortised through it horizontally, every 8 feet, and there are projec- 
tions from the hydraulic cylinder, which have corresponding key holes 
in them. Two cast iron keys, 24 inches wide, and 6 inches thick, 
are slid throuo-h the key holes on small wheels : these keys secure the 

" ** - 

cylinder to the central bed way ; the engines and pumps being now 
put in operation, a pressure is brought on the 1 5 inch rani, and as 
soon as the pressure overcomes the resistance, the vessel must move. 
As soon as the vessel has been moved 8 feet, the keys which hold the 
cylinder to the central way arc withdrawn, and by means of a screAv 
which is attached to the head block of the ram, and driven from the 
engine, the cylinder and boiler are in their turn rapidly slid ahead, 
(the water in the cylinder being allowed to escape into the tank,) 
when the cast iron keys are again slid in place, and the vessel moved 
another 8 feet. To push the vessel off, the cylinder and appendages 
are moved to the head of the ways, put on a turn-table and reversed, 
when it is a^ain brought down to the cradle, and the cylinder being 

O o *> c* 

secured as before, the head of the ram is applied directly to the cradle, 
and the vessel shoved back on to the sections, which requires the same 
time and power as to haul them off. The capacity of this dock ex- 
ceeds that of the stone, docks at New York, Boston, and Norfolk, 
combined, for united they can take but three vessels, while here, two 
of our longest war steamers may be hauled out on the ways, and two 
frigates lifted on the sections. The advantages that must result from 
the facilities of repairing a vessel elevated into light and air over one 
sunk in a stone dock, are very great, and have only to be seen to be 
appreciated. 

BEACON ON KOMEK SHOALS. 

A NEW beacon, having some peculiarities of structure, has recently 
been erected on the Romer Shoals, at the entrance of New York 
Harbor, under the direction of Mr. J. W. Lewis, C. E. The Beacon 
is built on the southeast crest of the Eomer Shoal, about two miles 
from Sandy Hook Light, in lo feet water, and is in plan an octagon 
20 feet in diameter and 50 feet in height. The principle of its con- 
struction consists in screwing into the sand of the shoal, at each angle 
of the octagon, and in the centre, one of Mitchell's screw piles ; the 
blade of each screw being 2 feet in diameter, and entering the sand 
to a depth of 10 feet; attached to the screw are nine wrought-iron 
shafts or piles, each G inches in diameter and 32-J- feet in length, 
extending to a height of 8J- feet above high water mark; on the 
top of these piles, heavy cast iron sockets are keyed, to which aro 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 37 

attached also by keys the cast iron shafts, which rising form the pile 
heads, and uniting in a centre frame at the tops, form the supporting 
braces for the basket frame, or distinctive mark of the Beacon, which 
is secured to a prolongation of the centre pile at a height from the 
level of the sand of 63 feet. The whole of the piles and shafts are 
securely braced and counter-braced bv wrought iron tie-rods, keyed 

/ * ^j ^ 

to the sockets, rings or pile heads, forming altogether one of the most 
efficient systems of frame work ever erected for such a purpose. The 
whole weight of the structure is but 75 tons, and it cost the Govern- 
ment but 810,000, whereas a stone structure would not cost less than 
$35,000, that being the cost of a stone beacon on the same shoal, and 
but 40 feet in height. 

GREAT TUNNEL IX HUNGARY. 

OXE of the longest, if not tlie longest tunnel in the world, is now in 
a forward state of completion. It is situated in Hungary, and leads 
from the shores of the river Gran, not far from Zarnowitz, to the 
mines in the Schemnitzer hills ; it is two geographical, or about ten 
English miles, long : it is intended to answer the double purpose of a 
channel to drain off the water accumulating in the works, and of a 
railway to transport the ore from the mines to the river. 

MODERN CYCLOPEAN WALL. 

A RECEXT number of the Allgemeine Zeitung contains an interesting 
account of a visit which the writer had made to inspect the progress 
of building a wall in the manner called Cyclopean, near Kiel, in 
Schleswig-Holstein. He considers the effect of the work and the 
style of execution far superior to any of the numerous remains called 
bv the same name which he had seen in Italy, and sfoes so far as to 

v * C 1 

give it the preference over any other kind of wall, so far as the plain, 
vertical surface of the material, apart from ornamental accessories, is 
concerned. He thinks that the polygonal stones, exerting their pres- 
sure in all directions, must insure stronger work than squared stones, 
however closely iointed, which only act in the direction of oravitv. 

* ^^ 

Indeed, the innumerable many-sided and multangular stones of all 
sizes seem run together into one compact mass, of which neither time 
nor age will get the better. Neither mortar nor any other means of 
binding the stones together is employed ; but the greatest care is taken 
in fitting the granite blocks one into the other, the vacant spaces in 
the wall as it is carried up being accurately taken off with a lead tape 
forced with a hammer into all the angles of the openings, and then 
applied to the flat hewn face of the block best suited, and next to be 
brought to its proper shape by the workman. From the Avorkmen he 
learned that the directions given them by the architect were, " Five- 
sided and six-sided blocks, seldom four-sided ; straight lines, obtuse 
angles, joint upon angle and angle upon joint ; all according to the 
lead tape, and only inclined junctions." In tact, all the junctions be- 


38 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

tween the blocks were found to be in every gradation between the 
perpendicular and the horizontal, without coinciding with either of 
them. In this obliquity of the joints the author detected the arch 
principle of construction as applied to the work, and the workmen 
pointed out to him, that each stone either pressed or supported, with 
every one of its sides, however numerous. Generally, the writer 

*/ / 7 

holds this polygonal or Cyclopean kind of building to be especially 
applicable in, first, hydraulic works, as it offers nowhere a continuous 
joint to the water; second, in fortifications; third, for railways in 
substruction and steep coverings, and in the cellar story and even in 
the next story of large buildings and palaces. In these mortar would 
be used, not as a means of connecting the stone, but only as pointing 
to the joints, so that the immediate contact of the stone should not be 
interrupted. In conclusion, the writer recommends the adoption of 
this method of building according to determined and clearly defined 
principles and rules, as altogether practical, wherever the material for 
polygonal blocks is found, a method which is at least to us a new 
one, and not simply a more careful execution of the long-used rock 
walls, or an ornamental imitation of an old style. London Builder. 

WHITE'S WOODEN SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 

BY this invention the Patentees claim to have solved the problem 
of spanning broad and rapid rivers with a structure which requires no 
piers, yet is suitable for railroad purposes, and can be built at a rea- 
sonable and practical cost. The principal feature of the invention is 
the substitution of wooden stringers constructed of boards cemented, 
dowelled and bolted, for iron chains or wire cables. There is no 
question as to the strength which may thus be attained ; a reference 
to any tables of the strength of materials will show that the tensile 
strength of hard wood is much greater in proportion to its weight than 
bar iron. Any number of these stringers considered necessary for a 
given structure may be placed one above another and each be firmly 
anchored beyond the points of support, by back stays fastened into 
the abutment ; the, only question seems to be, whether the stringers 
can be locked to the back stays with a sufficient degree of firmness. 
The principal advantage which is claimed for this invention is that it 
can be entirely freed from that tendency to vibration, which is fetal to 
the use of the iron suspension bridge upon railroads. The means used 
to effect this are very simple, and certainly seem to be effectual. 
Perpendicular oscillation is partly overcome by springing a direct arch 
from one abutment to another which in the centre rises nearly to the 
road bed, and which is firmly connected with the stringers above by 
the suspension rods which sustain the floor ; and lateral oscillation is 
overcome partly by making the bridge diminish in width from the 
extremities to the centre ; while all possibility of vibrations would 
seem to be avoided by the mode of covering. This is done as follows : 
the entire 1 structure-, is covered with a double diagonal bonrding, and 
the planks of the road bed are also laid double, crossing the floor joists 
also diagonally. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 39 

The weight of the structure decreases in a geometrical ratio as the 
distance from the towers increases, so that at the centre, though the 
full strength of the stringers and the direct arch below them is retained, 
the weight of the structure is diminished to an exceedingly low point. 
As to economy of construction this bridge can be surpassed by none, 
especially where a great span is required. There is no heavy timber, 
the entire structure being built of plank and boards. No piers are 
necessary, the only stone work being the laying the abutments, etc. 

The. manner of constructing the stringers speaks well also for their 
durability, being put together with oil cement between each board 
which will render decay next to impossible ; it is very well known 
that wood prepared in this way has been excavated from the ruins of 
old cities, after being buried more than three thousand years, in a state 
of perfect preservation. Railroad Journal. 

FLYING RAILROAD BRIDGE. 

THE Scientific American states that C. B. HUTCHEXSOX, of Water- 
loo. X. Y., has invented and taken measures to secure a patent for a 
valuable improvement on Railroad Bridges for navigable waters. 
The object of the invention is to have a bridge perfectly open and 
free at all times for vessels to pass, except the few minutes required 
for a train to pass over, and to carry over trains expeditiously and 
safely. A certain number of piers or abutments are built in the river, 
with space between them for the passage of vessels. Instead of having 
a stationary platform to the roadway extending across on the piers, 
he employs a flying or running platform, which carries the train 
spanning and springing over the successive spaces between the piers 
from the one side to the other. There are tracks or rails on all the 
piers, and on the flying platform there are wheels that run on the 
tracks, like a long railroad car. The length of the flying platform is 
in proportion to the width of space between the abutments, so that it 
will be impossible to overbalance it while springing from one pier to 
the other like a sliding drawer. The flying train is stationary at one 
side or the other, when the train is not passing. It is to be propelled 
across by having stationary power on itself, or to have it so constructed 
that the locomotive of a train may propel it across. It may be called 
" a flying railroad bridge." 

THE GENESEE HIGH BRIDGE. 

THE bridge by which the Buifalo and ]^ew York Railroad crosses 
the Genesee river, near Portageville, is one of the most gigantic 
structures in this country, being eight hundred feet in length, and 
two hundred and thirty-four feet above the stream. About one hun- 
dred feet below the bridge is a perpendicular fall in the river of 
sixty-six feet; hence, from the top of the bridge to the bed of the 
river below the fall, it is three hundred feet. The Genesee High 
Bridge towers above all similar structures in America ; even the sus- 


40 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

pension bridge at Niagara is only two hundred and thirty feet high, 
and no longer than this. Some more definite idea of this immense 
structure may be gathered from the following statistics; --rising from 
the bed of the river are eight stone abutments, each thirty feet high. 
On these rest the truss work of wood, extending one hundred and 
ninety feet above the abutments. On the top of this structure stands 
the bridge itself, which is fourteen feet high. The base of the truss 
work is seventy-five feet in width, and the top of the bridge, twenty- 
five feet. To furnish the timber for it, over two hundred and fifty 
acres of land have been required. More than a million and a half 
feet of timber, board measure, have been used in the construction, 
together with sixty tons of iron in bolts. The work was completed in 
eighteen months at a cost of about $140,000. The bridge was 
designed by Mr. H. C. Seymour, and so perfect is the model, that from 
the supporting truss-work any piece of timber can be removed, in 
case it becomes defective, and a new one placed in its stead, without 
affecting the strength of the work, or displacing any other timber. 
The truss-work is composed chiefly of timbers placed on their ends in 
an upright position, and so braced, and counter-braced, and the whole 
structure made so firm, that it is estimated it will sustain with safety 
twenty times the weight of any train that can pass over it. 

NOVELTIES IX SHIP BUILDING. 

THERE is now building at the Clyde, at Carts' Dyke, an immense 
iron steamship, to be called the Atrato, of much greater capacity and 
considerable larger, than that leviathan steamer, the Great Britain ; 
indeed so large is the Atrato to be, that the Cunard steamship Arabia, 
of 2,400 tons, might be put inside the new steamer, with a good deal 
of room to spare. 

The origin of the Atrato is somewhat singular. Her builders, hav- 
ing constructed the engines (of 850 horse power) for the Demerara, 
which got jammed across the Severn, and had to be broken up in 
strains she received, got an order from the West India Mail Steam- 
ship Company, to whom the Denierara belonged, to build a vessel of 
iron instead of wood, to which the new engines might be adapted. 
They were permitted to modify the design of the hull so far as the 
length was concerned, although the retention of the original paddle- 
shafts compelled an adherence to the same breadth of beam at that 
line as the original vessel. The result has been that the engineers 
submitted plans which were approved of, and are now being carried 
out in the building of the largest vessel ever afloat. The entire length 
of the keel is laid resting on blocks. The enormous bar is in nine 
pieces, joined by scarf-joints, and firmly riveted together. The stern 
post is in one piece, and so is the stem, which runs for about ten feet 
into the horizontal keel. The stem alone weighs 65 cwt. Only one- 
half of the ribs or frames are as yet in place, and even with the long 
length of bare keel terminated by the stem standing up some forty 
feet or more, the enormous dimensions of the vessel can hardly be 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 


41 


appreciated, but they will be understood from the principal measure- 
ments of the Atrato, and those of the largest ship-of-war in the British 
service, the Windsor Castle, now on the stocks at Pembroke Dock 
Yard, which is stated to be " the largest vessel in the world." Their 
principal measurements are : 


THE ATRATO. Feet. 

Length of keel, 310 

Do. of keel and forerake, 340 

Breadth of beam, ' 52 

Depth of hold, 34 


WINDSOR CASTLE. Feet. 

Length extreme, 278 

Do. of keel and forerake, 2401 

Breadth, 2o" 

Depth of hold, 24 


It would thus appear that the Atrato will be about GO feet longer 
than the " largest vessel in the world," and about 1 feet deeper in 
the hold ; the only dimension by which she is exceeded by the Wind- 
sor Castle being in the breadth of beam, and in that particular the 
builders were bound down by the existing machinery, which as above 

* flj * ' 

stated, was made for the Demerara, a much shorter vessel. The floor 
of the new steamer will have a rise of four feet at the flattest part, so 
that the easy curves afforded by such a sweep of midship section, 
combined with the enormous length, can only be appreciated by those 
conversant with ship-building. There are to be four decks ; the upper 
or spar deck being flush from stem to stern, and presenting a prom- 
enade of about 330 feet in length, by about 38 in breadth. The hull 
is to be divided into seven compartments by six iron water-tight bulk 
heads, extending from the keel to the main deck. This will give 
rigidity to the hull, and afford security against sinking. 

A new and beautiful steamer, called the " Light of Heaven," has 
been recently launched at Glascow, for the Pacha of Egypt. Her 
engines are of 300 horse power, and of the most beautiful make and 
finish. The fittings of the interior are gorgeous beyond comparison, 
consisting of papier-mache ornaments and rich brocaded silks, which 
will alone cost Si 25,000. The ceiling of the saloon will be divided 
into a number of panels of rich white silk, having upon the centre the 
device of the crescent and the star, encircled with most elaborate and 
richly colored wreaths of Eastern flowers of silk. The borders of 


the panels are to be richly ornamented Raffaelesque decorations. 
Other portions of the ceiling between the beams, are to be covered 
with a silk of a white ground and groups of flowers of gold thread. 
The panels on the sides are of papier-mache. The ottomans in the 
saloon are covered with cloth of gold, formed with a warp of gold and 
a weft of glass thread. The awning of the deck is to be formed of 
entirely brocaded silk, the fringe being of gold and costing twenty 
guineas per yard. The cost of the silk for the awning alone will not 
be less than $10,000. 

A new steamer has recently been built in England, with the follow- 
ing remarkable proportions. Her length exceeds 200 feet ; while her 
breadth is little more than 13 feet. She is fitted with engines of 80 
horse power. Her wheels, which are on the feathering principle, are 


42 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

remarkably small, and, to a casual observer, appear totally inadequate 
to the propulsion of a boat of such great length ; this, however, we 
are assured is not the case. 

STEAMBOAT PROPELLERS. 

THERE have been brought to light, recently, two new inventions : 
the one adapted to give increased speed to screw, the other to paddle 
navigation. Mr. G. Bovill's screw propeller, described in the Mining 
Journal, is an entirely novel affair. Its central portion is fitted up 
with a hollow sphere, occupying one-third of the entire diameter of 
the propeller, and the blades are made narrower at the outer extrem- 
ity than at the base. The blades are also made to revolve, so as to 
admit of the pitch being altered to meet the various circumstances of 
speed and power. From a table of the comparative result of trials 
on three different boats, it appeared that important advantages have 
been obtained from the new propeller. 

The paddle invention is that of a Liverpool shipwright named 
Hampson. A piece of wood, perhaps about a foot square, and con- 
nected to a movable framework, so as to be capable of being moved 
to and fro, was fixed to the stern of the boat ; the paddle, so to speak, 
being covered by the water, and assuming a slightly diagonal position. 
By moving two handles rapidly with his hands in the direction of his 
body from the stern, Mr. H. brought the paddle in rapid motion, 
the action resembling that of the fin of a fish, the result being to pro- 
pel the boat with great speed through the water. Mr. Hampson 
contends, that by this simple appliance alone he can propel row-boats 
at much more than their ordinary speed, and with infinitely less 
manual labor; but his grand object is to apply it to sea-going vessels 
by means of steam and machinery. 

The Sidney papers contain accounts of a new propeller invented 
by Sir Thomas Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, 
a trial of which in a small steamer at that port had excited great 
interest. It is called the Bomerang propeller, and is constructed on 
the principle of the weapon of that name used by the natives to kill 
game. Although the experiment was only on a small and imperfect 
scale, a speed of 1 2 knots an hour against a head- wind -is stated to 
have been obtained. The instrument is described to combine great 
strength and simplicity, while it has also the advantage that its motion 
in the water causes but a comparatively slight agitation, so that it is 
capable of being adapted to canal boats as well as to other vessels. 
At the conclusion of the trial Sir Thomas Mitchell expressed his con- 
viction " that the weapon of the earliest inhabitants of Australia has 
now led to the determination, mathematically, of the true form, by 
which alone, on the screw principle, high speed on water can be 
obtained." 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 43 


NEW BOAT LOWERING APPARATUS. 

THE want of a ready means of lowering boats from vessels in dis- 

/ o 

tressed circumstances, has been of late years exemplified in numerous 
cases of the most tragical character. Mr. W. S. Lacon of the East 
India Company's Service, has recently invented a plan for making the 
boats attached to a ship quickly available, which seems likely to be 
entirely successful. Mr. Lacon takes as his principle the well-known 
axiom in mechanics, that what is gained in power is lost in time ; and 
although he approves of the method at present in use, as being the 
best for hoisting up boats ; he (seeing that the hoisting need never be 
a hurried operation) substitutes two single ropes or chains, which 
being secured to two broad slings passing round the body of the boat, 
are then brought inboard on davits, and carried to two concave bar- 
rels connected together by means of a shaft. The ends of the ropes 
or chains are secured to the barrels in such a manner that they will 
support any amount of weight until such time as the boat has reached 
the water, when they will disconnect and fall away from their attach- 

>' * 

ment by their own weight, by which means he prevents the possibility 
of a ship, in its onward progress through a rough sea, dragging forward 
a lowered boat sideways, and capsizing or swamping it. By means, 
then, of a friction strap and pulley round the shaft, one man is ena- 
bled to regulate the descent of the boat, which will go down by its 
own weight ; and by means of the parallel action of the two barrels, 
he lowers both ends uniformly, and insures the boat falling in a proper 
position on the water. 

Two several trials made at Folkestone on this method of lowering 
boats, gave great satisfaction to a committee of nautical men. In the 
first trial, a boat was lowered from the steamer by one man, with sev- 
eral persons on board, and alighted on the water, abaft of the larboard 
paddle-box, with the utmost safety and apparent comfort, the tackle 
being released momentarily by the weight of the boat's descent, the 
vessel at the time steaming at the rate of 1 2 knots per hour. It was 
afterwards hoisted up again by two men. At the second trial, the 
boat was lowered and cleared from the ship by one man, with Mr. 
Lacou and three men on board, the vessel at the time maintaining 
full speed. 

PATENT SELF-ACTING SAFETY-PLUG FOR BOATS. 

THE self-acting safety-plug for ships' boats, river barges, lighters, 
&c., invented by Mr. Lisabe, consists of a hollow brass box, with per- 
forations at the top and bottom, let into one of the lower planks of a 
boat or barge. In the interior is a loose ball, with sufficient room for 
play, so that when the boat is immersed the pressure of the external 
water urges and retains the ball lightly against an India Rubber seat- 
ing^ at the top, thereby effectually closing the upper perforations 
against the admission of water ; while, on the boat being suspended, 
the ball, by its own gravity, rests upon the bottom of the chamber, 


44 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

and allows any rain or other water which may accumulate in the boat 
while in suspension to drain out through the upper perforations. Pro- 
vision is also made for the retention of water in boats when in the 
davits, as often such is rendered necessary, by the addition of a 
" turn-table" at the top, which, being turned round, closes the upper 
perforations, and retains the water in the boat. The object of this 
simple but important invention is to guard against the frequent casual- 
ties which occur Avhen, in cases of shipwreck, or vessels striking on 
rocks, the ships' boats are suddenly lowered into the water to afford 
means of escape to the passengers and crew ; but in too many instan- 
ces the boats become immediately filled, and swamp, owing to the 
neglect or forgetfulness of stopping the plug-holes which all boats have 
in their bottoms for their drainage, while suspended along the ship's 
side. The patent accomplishes this important result with unerring 
certainty, and by its self-acting principle requires no attention ; and, 
while it answers the object of drainage of the old method of plug- 
holes while in suspension, the act of immersion instantaneously closes 
the orifice by the pressure of the external water against the ball. 

ERICSSON'S CALORIC ENGINE. 

WE copy the following popular description of this much talked-of 
engine, from Hunt's Merchants' Magazine. 

This invention, by Capt. John Ericsson, Avas first brought before 
the public in 1833, at London, where he made an engine of five 
horse power, and exhibited it in operation to several scientific gentle- 
men. It was timidly, but generally, approved, by intelligent men ; 
but Brunei (the engineer of the Thames tunnel) and Prof. Faraday, 
decided against the feasibility of the machine, and by means of the 
powerful indirect influence of that decision, the English Government 
which had at first seemed inclined to give the matter their atten- 
tion let it drop, and it was soon forgotten by the public. Latterly 
Mr. E. has revived the Caloric Engine in this country, and built two 
or three, which have been in successful operation. 

It is stated in the journal above referred to, that his Caloric 
Engines are at work in the foundry of Messrs Hogg and Delamater, 
in New York ; the one of five, and the other of sixty horse power. 
The latter has four cylinders. Two, of seventy-two inches in diame- 
ter, stand side by side. Over each of these is placed one much 
smaller. Within these, are pistons, exactly fitting their respective 
cylinders, and so connected that those within the lower and upper 
cylinders move together. Under the bottom of each of the lowev 
cylinders a fire is applied. No other furnaces are employed, 
Neither boilers nor water are used. The lower is called the working 
cylinder ; the upper, the supply cylinder. As the piston in the sup-, 
ply cylinder moves down, valves placed in its top open, and it 
becomes filled with cold air. As the piston rises within it, these 
valves close, and the air within, unable to escape as it came, passes 
through another set of valves, into a receiver, from whence it has to 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 45 

pass into the working cylinder, to force up the working piston within 
it. As it leaves the receiver to perform this duty, it passes through 
what is called the regenerator, which we shall soon explain, where it 
becomes heated to about four hundred and fifty degrees, and upon 
entering the working cylinder, it is further heated by the fire under- 
neath. We have said the working cylinder is much larger in 
diameter than the supply cylinder. Let us, for the sake of illustration 
merely, suppose it to contain double the area. The cold air which 
entered the upper cylinder will, therefore, but half fill the lower one. 
In the course of its passage to the latter, however, we have said that 
it passes through a regenerator, and let us suppose, that as it enters 
the working cylinder, it has become heated to about four hundred 
and eighty degrees. At this temperature, atmospheric air expands to 
double its volume. The atmospheric air, therefore, which was con- 
tained within the supply cylinder, is now capable of filling one of 
twice its size. With this enlarged capacity it enters the working 
cylinder. We will further suppose the area of the piston within this 
cylinder to contain a thousand square inches, and the area of the 
piston in the supply cylinder above, to contain but five hundred. 
The air presses upon this with a mean force, we will suppose, of 
about eleven pounds to each square inch ; or in other words, with a 
weight of 5,500 pounds. Upon the surface of the lower piston, the 
heated air is, however, pressing upward with a like force upon each 
of its one thousand square inches ; or, in other words, with a force 
which, after overcoming the weight above, leaves a surplus of 5,500 
pounds, if we make no allowance for friction. This surplus furnishes 
the working power of the engine. It will be readily seen that, after 
one stroke of its pistons is made, it will continue to Avork with this 
force, so long as sufficient heat is supplied to expand the air in the 
working cylinder to the extent stated ; for, so long as the area 
of the lower piston is greater than that of the upper, and a like 
pressure is upon every square inch of each, so long will the greater 
piston push forward the smaller, as a two pound weight upon one end 
of a balance will be quite sure to bear down one pound placed upon 
the other. We need hardly say, that after the air in the working 
cylinder has forced up the piston within it, a valve opens, and as it 
passes out, the pistons, by force of gravity, descend, and cold air 
again rushes into, and fills the supply cylinder, as we have before 
described. In this manner the two cylinders are alternately supplied 
and discharged, causing the pistons in each to play up and down, sub- 
stantially as thev do in the steam engine. 

*-^ 

The most striking feature of the Caloric Engine consists in what is 
called the regenerator. Before describing this, we will present the 
idea upon which it is based. First, let it be remembered that the 
power of the steam engine depends upon the heat employed to pro- 
duce steam within its boilers. It will be seen that from the very 
nature of steam, the heat required to produce it, amounting to about 
1,200, is entirely lost by condensation the moment it has once 
exerted its force upon the piston. If, instead of being so lost, all the 


46 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

heat used in creating the steam employed could, at the moment of 
condensation, be reconveyed to the furnace, there again to aid in 
producing steam in the boilers, but a very little fuel would be neces- 
sary ; none, in fact, just enough to supply the heat lost by radiation. 
The reason is obvious. Let us suppose the steam has passed from the 
boiler, has entered the cylinder, has driven the piston forward, and is 
about to pass into the condenser, there to change its form, and to be 
again converted into water. This steam, yet in the cylinder, and 
uncondensed, possesses all the heat it contained before passing out of 
the boiler. It has driven the piston forward, but in that effort it has 
lost no heat. That source of power it still contains. Let it be sup- 
posed that the heat contained in the steam could, at the moment it is 
converted into water within the condenser, be saved, and by some 
device be again used to create steam from water within the boiler, 
with what exceeding cheapness could the power of the steam engine 
be employed. But it is quite impossible thus to re-employ the heat 
of steam ; it cannot thus be saved : and hence every effort to econo- 
mize in this manner would be unavailing. 

Let us now attempt to describe the regenerator, to which we have 
referred. Without this, the machine we examined would possess, in 
point of economy, no advantage over the best constructed steam 
engine. With it, the advantage is incalculable. 

We have before stated that atmospheric air is first drawn into the 
supply cylinder, whence it is forced into a receiver, and that from this 
it proceeds toward the working cylinder, before reaching which, it 
passes through the regenerator. This structure is composed of wire 
net, somewhat like that used in the manufacture of sieves, placed side 
by side, until the series attain a thickness, say of twelve inches. 
Through the almost innumerable cells, formed by the intersection of 
these wires, the air must pass, on its way to the working cylinder. In 
passing through these, it is so minutely subdivided that the particles 
composing it are brought into close contact with the metal which 
forms the wires. Now, let us suppose, what actually takes place, that 
the side of the regenerator nearest tlie working cylinder is heated to 
a high temperature. Through this heated substance the air must 
pass before entering the cylinder, and in effecting this passage, it 
takes up, as is demonstrated by the thermometer, about 450 of the 
480 of heat required, as we before stated, to double its volume. The 
additional 30 are communicated by the fire beneath the cylinder. 
The air has thus become expanded ; it forces the piston upward ; it 
has done its work - - valves open - - and the imprisoned air, heated to 
480, passes from the cylinder, and again enters the regenerator, 
through which it must pass before leaving the machine. We have 
said that the side of this instrument nearest the working cylinder is 
hot, and it should be here stated that the other side is kept cool, by 
the action upon it of the air entering in the opposite direction at each 
up-stroke of the pistons. Consequently, as the air from the working 
cylinder passes out, the wires absorb the heat so ellectually that, when 
it leaves the regenerator, it has been robbed of it all, except about 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 47 

30. In other -words, as the air passes into the working cylinder, it 
gradually receives from the regenerator about 450 of heat ; and as 
it passes out, this is returned to the wires, and is thus used over and 
over, the only purpose of the fires beneath the cylinders being to 
supply the 30 of heat we have mentioned, and that which is lost by 
radiation and expansion. Extraordinary as this statement may seem, 
it is nevertheless incontrovertibly proved by the thermometer, to be 
quite true. 

The regenerator contained in the sixty-horse engine we have 
examined, measures twenty-six inches in height and width internally. 
Each disc of wire composing it contains 676 superficial inches, and 
the net has ten meshes to the inch. Each superficial inch, therefore, 
contains 100 meshes, which multiplied by 676, gives 67,600 meshes, 
in each disc, and as 200 discs are employed, it follows that the regen- 
erator contains 13,520,000 meshes, and consequently, as there are as 
many small spaces between the discs as there are meshes, we find that 
the 'air within it is distributed in about 27,000,000 minute cells. 
Hence, it is evident, that nearly every particle of the whole volume 
of air, in passing through the regenerator, is brought into very close 
contact with a surface of metal, which heats and cools alternately. 
The extent of this surface, when accurately estimated, almost sur- 
passes belief. The wire contained in each disc is 1,140 feet long, and 
that contained in the regenerator is consequently 228,000 feet, or 41^- 
miles in length, the superficial measurement of which is equal to the 
entire surface of four steam-boilers, each forty feet long, and four feet 
in diameter ; and yet the regenerator, presenting this great amount of 
heatino- surface, is onlv about two feet cube less than 1-1920 of the 

C 1 v 

bulk of these four boilers. 

Involved in this process, of the transfer and retransfer of heat, is a 
discovery which justly ranks as one of the most remarkable ever 
made in physical science. Its author. Captain Ericsson, long since 
ascertained, and upon this based the sublimest feature of his caloric 
engine, that atmospheric air and other permanent gases, in passing 
through a distance of onlv six inches, in the fiftieth part of a second 

fi 

of time, are capable of acquiring or parting with, upward of four 
hundred degrees of heat. He has been first to discover this marvel- 
lous property of caloric, without which, atmospheric air could not be 
effectively employed as a motive power. The reason is obvious. 
Until expanded by heat, it can exert no force upon the piston. If 
much time were required to effect this, the movement of the piston 
would be so slow as to render the machine inefficient. Captain Erics- 
son has demonstrated, however, that heat may be communicated to, 
and expansion effected in, atmospheric air, with almost electric speed ; 
and that it is, therefore, eminently adapted to give the greatest desir- 
able rapidity of motion to all kinds of machinery. 

In order to afford a practical trial of the caloric engine upon a 
large scale, a gigantic vessel has been built, and fitted with engines 
constructed on the principles described. This vessel is said to be the 
finest specimen of naval architecture, (especially in point of strength 
5* 


48 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

ever created in this country. The engines being placed in the centre 
of the vessel, admit of a better form of midship section than in 
steamships. Of this the builders have availed themselves, by giving 
such a rise to the floor, that strength and easy lines for passing 
through the water, are appropriately combined. The floor of the 
vessel is built entirely solid from stem to stern, and in order to give 
additional strength to the ample timbers, the entire frame is banded 
by a double series of diagonal braces, of flat bars of iron, let into the 
timbers at intervals of about three feet, each series being riveted 
together at all the points of intersection. In addition to the ordinary 
central keelsons, there are six engine keelsons, bolted on the top of 
the floor timbers, for three-fourths of the length of the ship. On 
these keelsons the bed-plates of the engines are secured by bolts 
passing through the floor timbers. These bed-plates extend over the 
entire area occupied by the engines, and present a continuation of 
iron flooring, not witnessed in any steamship. The security thus 
attained is further enhanced by dispensing entirely with the numer- 
ous holes through the bottom of the vessel, which in steamers are 
necessary, and have often brought that class of vessels to a sinking 
condition. The engines being arranged in the centre of the vessel, 
the decks are not cut off as in steamers ; and as the whole of the 
machinery is confined within a vertical trunk 76 feet long and 18 feet 
wide, ample space is left on each side of the ship for state-rooms along 
its entire length, with unbroken passages, fore and aft, on either side. 
The freight deck also presents an unbroken area fore and aft, dimin- 
ished only in width in the central part of the vessel. The coal being 
carried in the bottom, at each side of the engines, the fore and aft 
hold are clear for freight. The central arrangement of the engines 
involves, of necessity, a central crank, and thus the spar-deck pre- 
sents an uninterrupted area, on both sides, the ordinary objectionable 
crank hatches being dispensed with. The slow combustion peculiar 
to the caloric engines renders the huge smoke funnel unnecessary. 
A short pipe to carry off' the gases produced by the combustion in the 
furnaces takes its place in the caloric ship. The absence of steam in 
every form is sufficiently important in producing a more pleasant 
atmosphere than in steamers, but far more remarkable is the fact that 
the quantity of air which will be drawn out of the ship by the action 
of the supply cylinders of the engines, will exceed sixty tons in wciy/tt 
every hour ! Each supply piston presents an area of 102 superficial 
feet, with a stroke of six feet. <>12 cubic feet of atmospheric air 
will therefore be drawn into the engine at each stroke ; and when 
the engine makes fourteen strokes per minute, 8,5G8 cubic feet. But 
as there are four supply cylinders, they will in this space of time 
draw in 34,272 cubic feet. The weight of atmospheric air is nearly 
l.'H- cubic feet to the pound: and thus it will be seen that 68 tons of 
air are drawn from the interior of the ship, through the engines, and 
passed off into the atmosphere, every hour. The effect of such an 
extraordinary system of ventilation, in purifying the atmosphere of 
the ship, is self-evident. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 49 

The simple construction of the caloric engine, and the small quan- 
tity of coal to be handled, will reduce the number of engineers and 
firemen, in the aggregate, to less than one-fourth the compliment 
required for steamers. This great reduction in the number of men, 
whose duties are incompatible with strict cleanliness, will still further 
promote a purer state of atmosphere in caloric ships than in steamers. 
Ao-ain, as no smoke whatever is produced, when anthracite coal is 
employed, the masts and rigging of the caloric ship will be as clean 
as in sailing vessels. 

The following are some of the dimensions and statistics of this ship : 
Length, 250 feet; beam, 40; hold, 27; tonnage, 2,000 to 2,200; 
diameter of wheels, 32 feet; face of wheel, 1H feet; power of 
engines, 600 horse ; consumption of coal per day, (24 hours,) 8 tons ; 
number of men in engine department, 10 ; number of sailing crew, 
20 ; passenger accommodation for 200, with room for enlargement to 
double the capacity; room for 1,500 tons freight; cost, in the neigh- 
borhood of $300,000. 

The scientific and commercial world will watch with deep anxiety 
the result of this grand experiment with the caloric engine. Should 
it fail, a contingency, by the way, which its friends deem most improb- 
able, the world will lose nothing, and the experimenters comparatively 
little, since the strong and beautiful ship may be put to other uses in 
ordinary steam navigation. Should it succeed, the days of steam are 
numbered. 

OX CERTAIN rOIXTS IX THE COXSTRUCTIOX OF MARIXE BOILERS. 

MR. J. SCOT RUSSELL, the celebrated ship architect of England, 
having arrived at certain theoretical results relative to the construc- 
tion of marine boilers, put them into practice, about ten years back, 
in designing the boilers for the Royal Mail Steam Packets Clyde, 
Tay, Tweed, and Teviot ; and as they have been in constant work 
ever since, running from 42,000 miles to 48,000 miles per annum, 
without material repairs, he believes their durability, combined with 
effective combustion, and economy of fuel, to have been fully estab- 
lished. The principles upon which these boilers are constructed, 
differ from those generally recognized. In the first place, it was 
considered that a judicious distribution of the most intensely heated 
surfaces would be conducive to durability ; and for this purpose, 
instead of returning the ilues over the furnaces, the top of the fur- 
naces and the hottest flues were brought to the surface of the water, 
and the cooler, or return flues, were taken to the bottom of the water. 
The water was admitted at the bottom, and was gradually warmed as 
it rose, the greatest heat being imparted at the last moment, by which 
means the "bubbles of steam were prevented from accumulating in 
contact with intensely heated metal. In the next place, the capacity 
of the furnaces, or fireboxes, was unusually large, and their height 
above the incandescent fuel much greater than usual. The evapo- 
rating surface in these boilers was also much more than customary, 


50 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

there being no less than three feet of evaporating surface for every 
foot of furnace bars. The process of blowing off was provided for 
by arranging, under the flues and furnaces, large water spaces, as 
reservoirs for the collection and blowing off of brine, and other 
deposit. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eny. 

DIAPHRAGM STEAM GENERATOR. 

THE principle upon which this steam generator, invented by M. 
Boutigny, is based, is that " bodies evaporate only from their sur- 
faces." This being received as an axiom, it must necessarily follow, 
that in the construction of steam boilers, either the evaporating sur- 
face of metal should be extended to its utmost limit, or the water 
should be so divided, and its evaporating surfaces be so multiplied, as 
to arrive at the same end, of obtaining the greatest amount of steam, 
by the expenditure of the least amount of fuel. The steam generator 
is described as consisting of a vertical cylinder of wrought iron, 25 
inches high, by 12| inches diameter ; the base terminating in a hemi- 
spherical end, and the upper part closed by a curved lid, upon which 
w r as attached the usual steam and safety valves, feed, steam, and other 
pipes, &c. The interior contains a series of diaphragms of wroifght 
iron, pierced Avith a number of fine holes and having alternately con- 
vex and concave surfaces. They were suspended by three iron rods, 
at given distances apart, in such a manner as not to be in contact with 
the heated exterior, or shell of the boiler. When any water was 
admitted through the feed-pipe, it fell upon the upper (convex) disc, 
which had a tendency to spread it to the periphery, the largest quan- 
tity falling through the perforations in the shape of globules ; the 
second diaphragm, being concave, tended to direct the fluid from the 
circumference to the centre, and so on, until, if any fluid reached the 
bottom of the cylinder, it mingled with a thin film of water, in a high 
state of ebullition, that being the hottest part of the boiler. It 
appeared, however, that in its transit through these diaphragms, the 
water was so divided, that, exposing a very large surface to the caloric, 
it was transformed into steam with great rapidity, and with great 
economy of fuel. The boiler described has been worked for a long 
time at Paris with great success, giving motion to a steam engine of 
two horse-power. The consumption of coal is stated to be very 
small; 789 pounds of water having been converted into steam by 182 
pounds of coal in nine hours, under a pressure of ten atmospheres. 
The chemical part of the question has been carefully examined, and 
it has been shown that at that temperature the iron was exactly in the 
best condition to bear strain. M. Boutigny has only proposed this 
system for small boilers, and under circumstances of wanting to obtain 
a motive power in situations of restricted space, and where first cost 
was a great object. Cicil Engineer's and Architect's Journal 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL AETS. 51 


NEW TUBULAR BOILER. 

MR. FAIRBAIRN, at the last meeting of the British Association, 
described a new tubular boiler, which consists of two furnaces, the 
same as the double-flue boiler, but with this difference, that the cylin- 
drical flues which contain the grate bars are united at a distance of 
eight feet from the front of the boiler into a circular flue which forms 
the mixing chamber, and which terminates in a disc plate, which 
contains a series of three-inch tubes, eight feet long, and similar to 
the locomotive boiler. These tubes in a boiler seven feet diameter 
are 104 to 110 in number, and, from the thinness of the metal, become 
the absorbents of the surplus heat escaping from the mixing chamber 
and the furnace. On this principle of rapid conduction, the whole of 
the heat, excepting only what is necessary to maintain the draught, 
is transmitted into the boiler, and hence follows the economy of 
entirely dispensing with brickwork and flues, an important desider- 
atum in those constructions. 

CORNISH ENGINES. 

THE following statistics of the famous Cornish engines of England, 
for the months September, October, and November, 1851, are given 
in Lean's Engine Reporter. These engines, it is well known, are 
among the most perfect and powerful ever constructed, and the 
result of their working strikingly illustrates the wonderful precision 
and magnitude of the steam power. They are employed in raising 
water from the deep mines of Cornwall. The number of pumping 
engines employed in September was 21 ; consumption of coal, 1,512 
tons ; water raised, 13,000,000 tons, ten fathoms high. Average duty 
of the whole is, therefore, 50,000,000 pounds lifted one foot high by 
the consumption of 94 Ibs. of coal. 

October, number of engines employed was 20 ; consumption of 
coal, 1,960 tons; water raised, 16,000,000 tons, ten fathoms high. 
Average duty, 49,000,000 Ibs., lifted one foot high, by 94 Ibs. of coal. 

November, engines employed was 21; consumption of coal, 
1,525 tons ; water raised, 13,000,000 tons, ten fathoms high. Average 
duty, 49,000,000 Ibs., by 94 Ibs. of coal. 

MILLER'S MONOZYMATIC CONDENSER. 

THE object of this condenser is to condense the steam as it passes 
from the exhaust pipe of the cylinder, by the application of cold 
water to the outside of the metal, separate from the steam, and to 
return the condensed steam pure water as feed, to the boiler. 
The primary object of a condenser is to obtain a vacuum behind the 
piston, by the sudden reconversion of the steam into water, thereby 
reducing its bulk. The vacuum obtained in common condensing 
engines, in good order, is about 13 Ibs. to the square inch, which is 
just about 2 Ibs. less than the pressure of the atmosphere, and is 


52 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCO \ 7 ERY. 

therefore so much gain to the engine, excepting the power required 
to work the air-pump, which must be deducted. The common 
method of condensing, is to let the steam come in direct contact 
inside of the condenser, with the cold condensing water, and keep 
pumping out the hot, at 100, and supplying the condenser with cold 
water. The principle of condensing the steam by the outside appli- 
cation of water, is older than the injecting of cold water among the 
exhaust steam, but it has always been considered an inferior mode of 
condensation. In Miller's condenser an exhaust pipe conveys the 
steam from the cylinder, after it has acted upon the piston, to the con- 
denser. This exhaust steam, however, is allowed to pass into a 
heating vessel, before entering the condenser, where it is condensed 
in the inside of the tubes of the condenser, by the application of a 
constant stream of cold water to the outside of the tubes. The con- 
densed steam inside falls to the bottom of the condenser in the state 
of water, from which it is pumped, and forced into the boiler, as pure 
feed water, by two air pumps, which thus serve as feed pumps. 
Before entering the boiler, it passes through a metallic vessel, and is 
there raised by the exhaust steam to about the boiling point. The 
great object in condensing the exhaust steam to save power, is to get 
a good vacuum behind the piston, and the great object in saving fuel 
is to return the water to the boiler as hot as it is possible to do so, 
and in as pure a state as possible ; this is believed to be successfully 
accomplished by this arrangement. There is an air chamber on the 
top of the heater, to let the accumulated elastic gas and air in the 
water escape from time to time ; this can easily be done by the engi- 
neer, according to where the heater is situated, by the cock on the 
top of the air chamber. It was a great improvement in sudden con- 
densation, when the cold water was first applied inside of the cylinder 
injected among the steam instead of on the outside, because it 
requires so much cold water to condense the steam - - no less than 
22.24 cubic inches of water to one of water converted into steam. 
Watt endeavored, by his first condenser, to obtain enough of cooling 
surface to condense the steam inside by using thin hollow chambers, 
but he soon resorted to mixing the cold water with the steam again. 
Hall's condenser, for the same purpose, consisted of a faggot of small 
copper tubes, but this condenser, we believe, is nowhere in use. 
Plenty of cooling surface can be obtained by pipes, &c., but owing 
to the expansion and contraction of the metal, at the joints, there is 
a continual tendency to leakage, and a leak destroys the whole object 
of the condenser. To construct a condenser upon principles to 
obviate the evils of leakage by the expansion and contraction of the 
metals, has been the object and aim of Mr. Miller. The tubes of the 
condenser are united by screw joints, with vulcanized india-rubber 
between the flanges. The steam coming from the boiler, through the 
heater, has free passage at once to all the condensing tubes. These 
tubes are of a peculiar construction ; each one is double, and the 
interior end, where the steam at first strikes it, is round and uncon- 
nected, and free to expand and contract without affecting the joints. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 58 

The steam passes into each pipe, and the cold water is applied both 
upon the outside, and also upon the inside surfaces ; there is therefore 
a double cooling surface for the steam in each pipe. This arrange- 
ment is said to work excellently in practice, and to save a large 
amount of fuel. 

HYDEAULIC REGULATOR FOR STEAM-ENGINES. 

THIS regulator, invented by Messrs. Thurston and Green of New 
York, is a cast iron cylinder, about 18 inches high, and 6 in diameter. 
This cylinder contains two brass cylinders, with plungers and piston 
rods attached, one being 3 inches in diameter, and 4 inches high, and 
the other is 2 inches in diameter, and 12 inches high. Connected 
with the two inch cylinder at the bottom is an escape faucet, by which 
the fluid which is forced into that cylinder may escape when open. 
The piston rod connected with the plunger of the two inch cylinder 
or pump, is connected at the top with a lever attached to the stem of 
the steam valve of the engine, and the piston of the three-inch cylin- 
der is connected with the engine in such a manner as to drive the 
pump's plunger 100 motions per minute. This pump forces the fluid 
from the outer cvlinder into the two-inch cylinder at the bottom, and 

V V 

the faucet is opened just far enough to allow the fluid forced into the 
two-inch cylinder to escape without the plunger of the cylinder being 
raised more than four inches, being the amount of play or vacillation 
allowed this rod and plunger when the engine makes the number of 
revolutions per minute required. Attached to the upper part of this 
piston rod is a weight capable of opening the valve at all times when 
there is not fluid enough forced in to hold the plunger up high enough 
to close the valve. By this means engines can be held, regardless of 
the kind of work to be performed, so as not to vary more than half of 
one revolution per minute ; for when the engine increases in speed, 
by machinery being thrown out of gear, or on account of a higher 
pressure of steam, the pump is driven faster, more fluid is thrown into 
the two-inch cylinder than provided for, the plunger in the cylinder 
is thrown higher up, and the top of the piston rod of the plunger 
being connected with the steam valve, the valve is partially or entirely 
closed, so that no more steam can pass the valve than just enough to 
give the desired number of revolutions. If the engine does not run 
so as to drive the pumps at one hundred revolutions, there is not fluid 
enough forced into the two-inch cylinder to keep the plunger up ; 
consequently it drops down and opens the valve, until the exact vol- 
ume of steam to drive the engine the desired number of revolutions 
is received. JV. Y. Farmer fr Mechanic. 

IMPROVED GOVERNOR FOR STEAM ENGINES. 

JOHN TREMPER, of Buffalo, X. Y., has invented a very simple 
and beautiful improvement on Governors for steam engines. It can 
be made at a very small cost in comparison with the common governor. 


54 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC t DISCOVERY. 

A vertical spindle receives motion from the main shaft ; on this is 
placed a sliding collar, which is connected by a rod to the throttle 
valve. The slide, however, has no flexible arms attached to it, to ele- 
vate the rod by centrifugal action. The construction and operation 
are different in principle, entirely, from the common governors. Two 
straps are attached to the top of the spindle opposite one another, and 
the lower ends secured to balls on horizontal rigid anus, which are 
secured to the sliding collar. The straps partake in a moment of the 
motion of the spindle, and act upon the balls at once on the outer 
ends of the horizontal arms and lift up the sliding collar in an instant. 
The action of this governor is by velocity and gravity, the velocity 
of the spindle and the gravity of the sliding collar. A sudden increase 
of velocity in the spindle makes the cords of the arms wind around 
the top of the spindle, and this lifts the sliding collar instantly, when 
the steam is cut off, and then the gravity of the balls and collar, when 
the velocity of the spindle is thus checked, soon restores the cord to 
its angular rigidity. It is a unique system of checking and balancing 
for governing the quantity of steam required for the engine, so as to 
preserve a uniform motion of machinery. Scientific American. 

WILLIAMS' ALARM WATER GUAGE. 

THIS water guage is constructed simply on the principle, that 
water will find its own level. A tube, containg a float, is brought into 
connection with the boiler by two pipes, through which the water 
flows ; a glass tube at one side shows the height of the water. When 
the water falls to a certain level in the boiler, the float within the tube 
rests on an arm that opening a valve produces a whistle or warning 
to the engineer. The lower cock of the instrument is attached to 
the boiler on a line with the top of the flues or lowest water line ; the 
tube is sufficiently long to make allowance for the proper fluctuations 
of water 10 to 20 inches. No matter how the water foams within 
the boiler, the indications of the guage are those of solid water. 

IMPROVED SAFETY VALVE. 

THE following is a description of an apparatus patented in Eng- 
land by Messrs. Bloomer & Co., for the prevention of steam-boiler 
explosions. It consists of a valve, which is screwed to the top of the 
boiler, over which stands a hollow fluted column about three feet high, 
forming a box to contain the weights on the valve, and a pillar for a 
wheel, over which works a flat chain connected with the buoy in the 
boiler, having at equal distances two long links, one on each side of 
the pillar. 

Two levers, connected with the valve, and fixed on centres, pass 
between the long links, so that the water in the boiler, rising or fall- 
ing beyond a given level, depresses the lever, opens the valve, and 
permits the steam to escape. An index is fixed on the wheel which 
gives the height of the water in the boiler ; the steam is also weighed 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 55 

without the addition of levers, and the weights are securely locked in 
the pillar to prevent alteration. 

MAMMOTH LOCOMOTIVE. 

A MAMMOTH locomotive has recently been built for the Camden 
and Amboy Railroad, weighing 30 tons, and of 350 horse power. The 
Railway Times gives an account of the mechanical peculiarities of 
this engine, as follows : This engine differs from other locomotives in 
several particulars. The first is, the manner in which the motive 
power is communicated to the wheels, namely, by connecting the cross- 
head by a rod, with a pendulum, or long lever suspended from a shaft, 
supported by pedestals fixed on top of the boiler. This lever, vibra- 
ting, gives a very slight angle to the first connection rod, and conse- 
quently occasions very little friction, between the cross-head and 
guide. The main connection takes hold with a fork, at the lower 
extremity of the first connection, and passes back to a wrist in the 
third pair of wheels ; from this passes another connection rod to the 
fourth or rear wheels - - then to complete the arrangement forward, 
the third pair of wheels has fixed on the centre of the axle, a spur 
gear, communicating through an intermediate wheel to another fixed 
on the axle of the second pair or rear truck wheels ; these wheels are 
connected by side rods to the front truck wheels, making the whole 
eight wheels, or four pairs, driving wheels. Another striking pecu- 
liarity of this engine is the manner of heating the water before it 
enters the boiler. In the first place, the tank is connected by hose to 
the ash pan, which is made with a double bottom, so as to form a space 
of three inches between the sheets, to contain water ; from this the 
water passes through an internal pipe, enclosed by the exhaust pipe ; 
thence to the smoke-box, where it passes out to the pumps, which are 
vertical, and fixed on the outside of the smoke-box, and worked from 
an arm fixed on the pendulum shaft ; by this arrangement the water 
is heated to nearly the boiling point before it enters the boiler. 

The engine is calculated for freight trains, having wheels only four 
feet in diameter. The boiler is 24 feet in length, and 50 inches in 
diameter, tapering each way, forming a line on the bottom. The fur- 
nace is 47 inches wide and 7 feet long, having a bridge 12 inches 
from the tube sheet. 

/ 

IMPROVEMENTS IX LOCOMOTIVES. 

MESSES. REMSEX, and HUTTOX, of Troy, N. Y., have taken 
measures to secure a patent for improvements in Locomotives. The 
steam is admitted to the cylinders on one side of the pistons only, so 
that the cylinders are single-acting the piston rod only acts upon 
the crank and driving-wheel during one half of the revolution, and 
that while the crank pin is above the axis. To insure a constant 
application of power, three cylinders are employed, with their pistons 
acting upon cranks placed at an angle of 120, to each other. Each 
6 


56 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

cylinder, however, is so constructed, that the pistons can be operated 
in both directions, for reversing the motion. One immovable eccen- 
tric for each cylinder is made to work the engine both ways, and thus 
the complicated mechanism of the ordinary reversing gear is dis- 
pensed with. Each cylinder is furnished with two valve boxes and 
two valves, one valve opening and closing the steam and exhaust pas- 
sages leading to and from one end of the cylinder, and the other, 
those leading to and from the other end of the cylinder. Both valves 
are attached to the same rod, and both are always moved when the 
engine is working, but the steam is only admitted to one valve box at 
a time. Two steam pipes and two exhaust pipes are thus rendered 
necessary to each cylinder, one steam and one exhaust communicating 
with either end. Two main steam pipes only are required, each 
branching to the separate cylinders, and each provided with a valve 
for opening and closing its communication with the boiler. By simply 
opening one valve, and closing the other, the engine may be worked 
in either direction, according to which valve is opened and closed. 
Scientific American. 

NEW RAILROAD CAR FOR GRAIN, COAL, ETC. 

THE American Railway Times gives the following description of a 
new car, for the transportation of grain, coal, &c., the invention of 
Mr. Myers, of Philadelphia. 

This car consists of two wrought iron cylinders, of sufficient length 
to suit the track, with the felloe or rim of a raihvay wheel, slipped 
over each end and substantially riveted to it. In the centre of each 
cylinder is placed a partition, the whole length and depth of the same. 
On the head of each cylinder is fastened the journal, which rests on, 
and works in boxes placed underneath the frame, and thus connected 
together. The door extends lengthwise the cylinder, between the 
wheels ; is in four equal parts, and hinged in the usual manner, and 
is secured by an iron rod, passing through the wheels and over the 
same. The contents thus revolve with the cylinder, and their abra- 
sion is prevented, by the centrifugal force produced by the usual 
velocity attained on railways, and the partition placed in the cylinder 
also effectually prevents the same during the necessary slow motions 

on the road. 


IMPROVED CAST IRON SLEEPERS FOR RAILWAYS. 

MR. GODWIN at the British Association suggested an improvement 
in cast iron sleepers for railways, which consists in substituting a cast 
iron chair and sleeper for the permanent way of railways, in cases 
where, from the decay of the wood sleeper, it may be necessary to 
reconstruct the line. The fastening of the rail to the sleeper is the 
main feature in the invention, and consists in driving a cast iron wedge 
between the rail and chair, forcing the rail upwards, and thus produc- 
ing a simple and permanent fastening. Mr. Godwin suggested, as a 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 57 

further security against the wedges shaking loose, that they may be 
driven in with sal ammoniac, and thus ensure an immovable and per- 
manent line of road. 

IMPROVEMENTS IN VENTILATING RAILROAD CARS. 

Fame's Ventilating Car. The principle upon which this improve- 
ment is founded, differs from that of the ordinary systems of ventila- 

V 

ting cars in this respect : that, with Mr. Paine's apparatus, the currents 
of air which pass through the car enter at the top, and pass out through 
the windows at the side. Hitherto the open windows of cars have 
been relied upon for supplying fresh air, and the ventilators in the 
top of the car have been exhaustive, designed to draw out the impure 
air. 

The car to which this system is applied is built like any other car, 
with the exception of the windows, and these form an important part 
of the apparatus. Instead of opening like a common house window, 
they open like a door, and each one is opened, say two inches, the 
opening looking outward, in the opposite direction to which the car is 
running. The car being set in motion, the friction of the external air 
upon the points where it comes in contact with the air within the car 
has the tendency to exhaust the latter, or exercise a traction, if we 
may so express it, upon the whole volume that the car contains. The 
second part of the invention has for its object, the supplying of 
external air to the constantly exhausting volume within, free from 
dust, and in the proper quantity. This is done by apparatus fixed 
upon the roof of the car. Suppose a tin pan full of water upon the 
roof, with an opening into the car around and beneath it. Over this 
tin pan place a lid, made up of short, aggregated tubes, which stand 
perpendicularly to the water. Now adjust it so that all the air that 
enters the car at this point, shall enter through this lid, or screen of 
tubes, and set the car in motion. The air rushes in through the tubes 
and must take its direction perpendicularly to the water, striking the 
surface of the water at a right angle, and projecting and depositing 
upon its surface the dust for the time suspended in it. The air itself 
passes over the edge of the pan, the lid not coming down to the edge, 
and enters the car pure. The roof of the car is supplied with a series 
of ventilators, each of which has wings attached to receive as much 
air as possible. The air entering these, it will be observed, is not 
strained of the dust and cinders it contains by passing through the 
water, but the whole mass of air merely comes in contact with the 
surface of the water, before it passes over the edge of the pan, and 
thus deposits its dust, or the dust, by its superior weight, possesses a 
momentum which carries it through the current as it shifts to pass 
over the pan, and throws it upon the water before the new current 
changes its direction. 

The advantages of the car are obvious. A fine ventilation is 
secured, and all dust is obviated. Both these advantages are invalua- 
ble, but added to these is the advantage of stillness in the car, all the 


58 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

noise from the outside being obliged to enter the car against the strong 
current of air passing out of the windows. 

There are also two objections to this system of ventilation. The 
first is that when the car is not moving, (for instance in the station- 
house,) the passengers will be in danger of becoming stifled, since the 
rapid motion of the car is necessary in order to force any considerable 
quantity of air into the car through the ventilators. 

The other objection is, that in cold weather the new apparatus will 
force too much cold air down upon the heads of passengers ; and that 
the open windows, which form an essential part of the plan, will then 
be found disagreeable. 

The New Haven Courier gives the following description of another 
invention designed to promote the comfort of passengers travelling by 
railroad : " The invention consists merely in a connection formed 

/ 

between all the cars by inclosing the platforms, so that the external 
air, with the dust, smoke and cinders, are entirely excluded from the 
usual ways of ingress. The front of the baggage car is open, but pro- 
tected from the smoke of the locomotive by a screen. The air rushes 
in through the front of the car, and circulates freely through the whole 
length of the train, keeping up at all times a gentle motion of the 
air, without the possibility of annoyance from dust, &c. It has its 
advantage over Mr. Paine's ventilator, that when the air is at rest, 
the passengers have the free use of the ordinary means of ventila- 
tion by doors and windows, and thus the intolerable heat is avoided, 
while there is no fear of the admission of smoke, which forces itself 
into Paine's ventilators when passing under bridges, or on a wet day, 
when the wind is dead ahead, and rolls it along the roof." 

At the Fair of the American Institute in October, 1852, at New 
York, some twenty-five different models of improvements for ventila- 
ting cars were on exhibition. The two of most apparent importance, 
were those mentioned above. Editor. 

RAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS. 

Trink's Doitlle Acting Brake. The principle of this is to raise 
the wheels off the track in this manner : The brake, which is made of 
transverse pieces of wood, forming a frame, is placed behind the 
wheels, and is connected by a rope or chain with the screw or lever 
on the platform of the car, by which the brake or frame can be drop- 
ped or raised instantly. On this frame or brake are inclined planes 
forming part of a circle, and when the frame is dropped for the pur- 
pose of stopping the train, the momentum of the train causes the cars 
to run on the axles of the wheels up the inclined plane, thus lifting 
the wheels off the rails and throwing the weight of the cars on the 
frame, pressing it on the rails, and acting as a brake. The frame 
when down, rests upon iron shoes, three upon each side, which are 
prevented from sliding off the rails by means of flanges on the inside, 
similar to those on car Avheels. The brake thus unites two capacities : 
First, in raising the cars, by which operation, although the wheels 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 59 

may revolve, yet it is without effect, as they do not rest upon the rails ; 
and secondly, the frame is a heavy brake, creating an immense fric- 
tion on the shoes, by which, though the train will slide a short distance, 
it will very soon be stopped. The application of the brake can be 
done by the engineer, conductor, or passengers, by simply pulling a 
rope which passes through and on the top of the cars, and a slight 
pull will detach the catch on the lever, when the frame-work drops 
from its own weight. One advantage here is, that in case an axle or 
wheel breaks, the car will rest upon the frame, checking the speed of 
the train, and communicating intelligence to the engineer that some 
accident has happened. The winding up of the frame can be done 
by hand, or steam power, if desired. 

Railroad Car Replacer. This invention, by Mr. S. H. Bean, con- 
sists of an inclined plane, constructed of wood, or iron, attached to 
each end of an axle, which is placed in front of each wheel of the 
car that has run off the track, which inclined plane extends some 
distance above the tops of the rail, and by the gravity of the car, 
slides down a transverse inclined plane to its proper position on the 
track, after which the replacer is attached to the car, it being of an 
e'asy portable nature. 

Locomotive Mirrors. The practice of placing a looking-glass 
before the engineer in a locomotive, inclined in such a way as to 
enable him to see the whole train behind him without turning, is 
gradually becoming universal on the continent of Europe. Many 
roads in France have adopted this plan, the greater part of those in 
Austria have tried it successfully, and the locomotives on the line from 
Brussels to Antwerp have been just fitted with the necessary reflec- 
tors. Should a car or any portion of the train become detached, 
should an axle break, or in short any accident happen, the engineer 
sees it at once. 

Improvement in Boxes for Axles. An improvement in boxes for 
axles of railroad cars, has been invented by Messrs. Pro vest and 
Smith, of Germantown, Pa., which is thus described : The steps in 
which the spindles of the car axles run are made in two pieces, so 
that when any strain may come upon them in the line of the running 
of the car, they may be forced apart sufficiently to allow the axle to 
come up into proper position, to prevent the otherwise twisting of it 
by being cramped between the rails. The two-part step may have a 
tongue both upon the top and bottom, which may work in correspond- 
ing grooves in the top and bottom of the box, or it may slide in a 
rebate ; in either the box may be so provided with flanges as to form a 
receptacle for the oil. Behind each of these parts of the step, springs 
are arranged, which admit of the step being opened when turning 
curves, and closing it when coming on straight lines, thus allowing the 
axle to adjust itself as the nature of the case may require. The spring 
behind the step also allows it to yield slightly when the wheels strike 
against any obstruction on the road, thus taking the sudden jar or strain 
upon the springs instead of the spindles of the axle, as in cases where 
the boxes are tight, and which often bend or break the spindle. 
6* 


60 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

Several premiums for improvements in railroad cars, &c., having 
been offered by Mr. Ray, of Brooklyn, N. Y., through the American 
Institute, a great number of inventions and improvements were 
brought out at the fair of the Institute, in October, 1852, at New 
York. Nearly one hundred different novelties in methods for ventila- 

i/ 

tion, brakes, seats, spark catchers, wheels and axles, rails, &c., were 
brought forward, all of which seemed to embrace decided improve- 
ments on the methods now in vogue. Among them was a sheet or 
plate iron car, constructed and designed by Mr. F. E. Warren, of 
New York. The points arrived at in this instance, are greater 
strength in the car, combined with less weight than is requisite in all 
passenger cars now in use ; greater durability ; an increased width 
(" in the clear") of nine inches, which will enable the car to be fitted 
up so that three rows of berths or sleeping places for passengers, three 
tiers high, may be placed in each car, with two passage ways, suffi- 
ciently wide to admit of free locomotion in the carriages. The result 
of this arrangement is, that in one of these cars designed to seat sixty 
passengers during the day, quite as many can be comfortably and 
conveniently bedded at night. They can also be ornamented with 
cast iron ornaments even more beautifully than they are now 
embossed and ornamented, and at far less expense. In case of an 
overturn or collision they cannot fly into splinters as at present, and 
are therefore hardly ever to be so damaged by accident as to be ren- 
dered worthless. As a matter of course, they can be finished or fitted 
up and lighted in any desired style. By the use of non-conducting 
lining they may be made as impervious to heat in summer as to cold 
in winter; and they will receive and permanently retain any descrip- 
tion of ornamental painting now in vogue for cars or coaches. The 
supports and braces of these cars are made of plate or drawn iron 
tubes standing in cast iron plates, and the joints of the thin plate 
metal, which takes the place of the panelling, floors, and roof of wood 
in the cars now in use, are made close and very strong by a system of 
flange riveting. It is understood that this description of car can be 
afforded at a considerably loss cost than the ordinary first class passen- 
ger cars now in use, and when no longer serviceable, the materials of 
which they arc constructed will be valuable for other purposes. 

SUBSTITUTE FOU THE COW CATCHER. 

AN invention has been made by Mr. Darling, of Utica, N. Y., 
designed as a substitute for the cow catcher now generally used in 
front of locomotives on railroads. The object is to clear the track not 
only from cows, but all other objects obstructing the passage of the 


The cow catcher now in use does not invariably succeed in throw- 
ing the obstacle from the track. It frequently passes over it, suffering 
the obstacle to remain, when the whole train passes over it, often 
throwing the cars from the track. The design of Mr. Darling's inven- 
tion is to render more certain the work of clearing the track, and 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 61 

preventing these disastrous occurrences. This is accomplished by 
setting in motion in front of the locomotive a horizontal wheel which 
with quick motion sweeps over the track. This wheel runs close to 
the rails, and either throws aside the opposing obstacle at the instant 
of contact, or if it falls upon the wheel, it is no less instantly disposed 
of. The wheel is connected by gearing, to the front axle of the loco- 
motive, and receives a swift circular motion from its movement. An 
apron of plate iron is wrapped round in front covering about one 
half of the disc of the wheel and presenting the convexity of its arch 
forward; so that any object falling upon the wheel is instantly brought 
against the opposing front of the apron. This, sloping back at the 
side, the quick motion of the wheel instantly throws the object side- 
ways from the track. N. Y. Farmer 8f Mechanic. 

STRAINS UPOX THE DIAGONALS OF LATTICE BEAMS. 

THE London Journal of Arts and Sciences gives an account of 
experiments recently made in London upon lattice beams. 

The experiments were made on a model 12 feet in length, so con- 
structed that the diagonals in compression, (which were strips of 
mahogany, let into the top and bottom, but not fastened to them, and 
the ties which were of hoop iron chains,) must of necessity take their 
respective bearing and strain ; and by the substitution of a dynamo- 
meter for any one of the ties, the strain on it could be accurately 
measured. 

The results of the investigation were, that for a parallel beam of 
one span, supported at each end and loaded at the centre, the strains 
throughout the diagonals were uniform, and the horizontal strains 
were greatest at the centre, decreasing uniformly at the points of 
support. For a similar beam, uniformly loaded over its entire length, 
the strains at the diagonals commenced at the centre, increasing uni- 
formly to the points of support ; while the horizontal strains decreased 
from the centre to the ends in the ratio of the ordinates of a parabola. 
These results were arrived at by different methods of reasoning, and 
the formulae derived from them were stated to be applicable to the 
more complex form of a closely intersected lattice, taking into consid- 
eration the increased number of triangulations. 

OX THE FORM OF IROX FOR MALLEABLE IRON BEAMS, OR 

GIRDERS. 

THE following is an abstract of a paper read before the British 
Association, by Mr. T. M. Gladstone: It is, said Mr. Gladstone, on 
the application of wrought iron beams or girders I propose to make 
some remarks, by contrasting their powers and properties with those of 
cast iron ; to show what form of iron I conceive best adapted for such 
use, and to state, as a manufacturer, what may be expected as the capa- 
bilities of iron works to produce the same bpyond previous efforts, so 
as to meet the increased requirements of the times. It is found that, 


62 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

by converting iron from a cast into a malleable state, the adhesion of 
the fibres of the metal, under tension, becomes increased from 7 to 27, 
and indeed much beyond that when the best quality of material is 
manufactured. At the same time, it is stated that the compressive 
strength is somewhat reduced. In this latter assumption I do not alto- 
gether concur, from a permanent feature in the experiments not being 
sufficiently taken into account namely, that in experimenting with 
wrought iron, at a given extension, from pressure, it is necessary, 
before you obtain even a medium value of the resistance, a modicum of 
deflexion must take place to bring into play each of the fibres ; conse- 
quently, not like as in a rigid cast beam, where the full action of com- 
pression acts at once, some allowance must be made for the change 
from the first position, in calculating the compressive forces. Assum- 
ing generally that the increased strength of tensive power of wrought 
compared with cast iron is 27 to 7, it at once reduces the sixfold area 
of the bottom web of the iron beam, and nearly reduces to one- 
half the required sectional area throughout, yet retaining an equal 
strength for every purpose. In many cases this increase of strength, 
enabling to reduce the weight, will fully compensate for the difference 
in price, so that up to this point the market and effective value of both 
may be said to be equal. The wrought iron beam, however, posseses 
this material advantage, and that is, it will always give good warning 
before the point of danger is reached, and this, mainly from its vastly 
increased deflective power, --indeed, before its maximum is reached a 
great deflexion can safely take place ; therefore, both for life and prop- 
erty its advantage is most conspicuous. With regard to the best form 
for carrying the greatest weights with the least metal, I have come to 
the conclusion, from actual experiment on a large scale, that the double 
T section is the best, provided the flanges are sufficient to prevent lat- 
eral action from the load. At the Belfast Iron Works the members 
can see iron of the section shown in bars of twenty-six feet long, and 
weighing nearly half a ton, so that it will be seen the mills are now 
constructed so as to roll iron almost any dimensions which may be 
required, and such bars, from the breadth of the flanges, have never 
before been attempted, in the three kingdoms. When I had the honor, 
some four years ago, to read a paper at the Society of Arts on a means 
of constructing bridges without any centering of such proportions of 
iron, no ironmaker would attempt to produce such a proportion of 
material, while now I have accomplished it, and would have no hesita- 
tion in making them much larger if required. I have not a doubt for 
warehouses, mills, public buildings, and bridges, its value will now 
become extensively applied and appreciated. As these bars are rolled 
solid throughout, on comparison I have found they will bear nearly one- 
third more than any made beams of equal sectional area, --that is, 
with a beam of which the centre rib is of plate iron and the flanges of 
angle iron, and riveted thereto, and so distributed as to make the dou- 
ble T form. This is easily accounted for, as you necessarily weaken 
he. whole by its being requisite to introduce riveting, while a due and 
equal resistance is offered from all parts by the solidly rolled bar. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 63 


STRENGTH OF IRON. 

THE following result of an experiment on coupling cliains lately 
made at Manchester, in England, by the London and North- Western 
Railway Company, will be interesting to the consumers of iron : 

Best Staffordshire Iron -- first experiment diameter of chain 1^ 
inch; stretched of inches; broke with 27 tons, 10 cwt. 

Best Staffordshire Iron second experiment diameter of chain 
l^inch; stretched 4| inches; broke with 25 tons, cwt. 

Lowmoor Iron -- diameter of chain l inch; stretched 7 inches; 
broke with 55 tons, 16 cwt. 

The Staffordshire Iron was made expressly for the trial, and when 
great strength is desired, it is proper so to state, as there is a wide dif- 
ference in the preparation of the different qualities. The New York 
Herald contains an account of several highly interesting experiments 
which have recently been made, with a view of testing the strength of 
iron manufactured from the Franklinite ore of New Jersey. The fol- 
lowing table exhibits the strength of this iron, compared with the best 
manufactures of other countries : 

Best Swedish bar iron, Ib. 72,804 

Inferior Swedish bar iron, 53,224 

Best English bar iron, 61,660 

Inferior English bar iron, 55,000 

American manufactured from N. J. Franklinite bar iron, 77,000 

Iron manufactured of Franklinite, drawn down from a bar about one 
inch square, and accurately gauged, required a weight equal to 77,000 
Ibs. per square inch, to tear it asunder. This shows it to be nearly 
fifteen per cent, better than any other iron known to commerce. 

The annexed assay on a bar of iron made from Franklinite, sent to 
the national forges of the government of France, from the mines in 
New Jersey, is the best evidence of its importance and immense value : 

" The bar obtained by direct treatment of the ore in the Catalan 
forge, is 25 millimetres by 24.5 millimetres, and presents a section in 
square millimetres of 612, in. 50. 

Kilograms. M. 

Charge under which bar began to stretch., 15,000 
Elastic force per millimetre, - - 24 5 

Charge under which the bar broke, - 25,000 

Absolute tenacity per millimetre, - 40 8 

Elongation of the bar at the moment of fracture, 
per millimetre, 

Aspect of the fracture, all nerves ; the bar was imperfectly welded 
and contained fissures which diminished the real surface exposed to 
fraction, in consequence of the absolute tenacity. Had the bar been 
sound, it would have been greater than here appears ; at the moment 
of fracture but little heat was disengaged." 


64 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 


IMPROVEMENTS IN IRON SMELTING. 

THE mode of smelting iron consists in mixing the ore with lime and 
coal ; the former producing a glass or slag with the impurities of the 
ore, while the coal reduces the oxide of iron to its metallic state. 
Much heat is required in the process of smelting, but the cold air 
blown in, as the blast, lowers the temperature and compels the addi- 
tion of fuel, as a compensation for this reduction. Science pointed to 
this loss, and now the air is heated before being introduced to the 
furnace. The quantity of coal is wonderfully economised by this 
application of science ; for instead of seven tons of coal per ton of 
iron, three tons now suffice, and the amount produced in the same 
time is nearly sixty per cent, greater. Assuredly this was a great 
step in advance. Could Science do more ? 

Prof. Bunsen, in an inquiry, in which I assisted, has shown that she 
can. We examined the furnaces, in each portion of the blazing 
mass, so as to fully expose the operation in every part of the blazing 
structure. This seemingly impossible dissection was accomplished by 
the simplest means ; the furnaces are charged from the top, and the 
materials gradually descend to the bottom ; with the upper charge a 
long graduated tube was allowed to descend, and the gases streaming 
from ascertained depths, were collected and analyzed. Their com- 
position betrayed with perfect accuracy the nature of the actions at 
each portion of the furnace, and the astonishing fact was elicited, that, 
in spite of the saving produced by the hot blast, no less than 81 per 
cent, of fuel is actually lost, only 18^ per cent, being realized. If, in 
round numbers, we suppose that four-fifths of the fuel be thus wasted, 
no less than 5,400,000 tons are every year thrown uselessly into the 
atmosphere ; this being nearly one-seventh of the whole coal annually 
raised in Great Britain. This enormous amount of fuel escapes in the 
form of combustible gases capable of being collected and economised ; 
yet in spite of well ascertained facts, there are scarcely half a dozen 
furnaces in Great Britain, where this economy is realized by the utili- 
zation of the waste gases of the furnace. 

Large quantities of ammonia are annually lost in iron smelting, 
which might readily be collected. Ammonia is constantly increasing 
in value, and each furnace produces and wastes at least one cwt. of its 
principle salt daily, equivalent to considerable money lost. Prof. 
Play fair, on the Results of the Great Exhibition. 


THE MINIE RIFLE. 


THE following is a description of this weapon, which has lately been 
ntroduced into the British service. The Minic musket or rifle, most 
approved and ordered to be generally introduced into the service, is 
a remarkably well finished article, and lighter and more easily used 
than the previous percussion muskets. The Minie rifle has four 
grooves inside, and the mode of loading it is first to bite off the twisted 
waste paper at the end of the cartridge, pour in the powder at the 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 65 

mouth of the barrel, and by a turn of the thumb and finger, holding 
the cartridge, reverse the ball that the conical point may be upwards. 
The ramrod is then drawn and reversed, and the head being concave, 
or cup form, it has a good purchase over the ball, which is easily 
rammed home, and does not require a second, or subsequent ram- 
mings. The piece is then fired with great ease, and is said to be 
capable of carrying the ball 1,200 yards, and with correct aim up to 
900 yards, the aim for all distances from 300 to 900 yards being taken 
correctly by a parallel groove marked with the respective distances 
it is wished the ball should be carried when directed at an object, a 
slide in the groove being raised or lowered to take the ' sight." 

Mr. Fairbairn, at the meeting of the British Association, observed 
that, until of late years, all the gun barrels for the army, and other 
descriptions, had to be welded upon mandrils, some of them formed 
by a bar of iron rolled upon the mandril, in a spiral direction, and 
then welded, by repeated beatings from the muzzle to the breech. 
Others were differently constructed, by welding the bars longitudi- 
nally, in the line of the barrel, and not in the spiral direction adopted 
in the former process. Now the whole is welded at one heat, and 
that through a series of grooves in the iron rollers, specially adapted 
for the purpose. This, with other improvements, has rendered the 
manufacture of rifles and other arms a matter of much greater cer- 
tainty and security than at any former period. Admitting the advan- 
tages peculiar to this manufacture, it does not, however, affect the 
principle of the rifle itself, in which there is no alteration, but in every 
respect similar, even to the spiral grooves, which, I believe, are not 
altered, but are the same as in the old rifle. This being the case, it 
has been a question of much interest to know wherein consists the 
great difference in the practice with the new rifle, as compared with 
that of the old one. It is not in the gun, and must, therefore, be in 
the ball, or that part of the charge which generates the projectile 
force. But, in fact, the improvement consists entirely in the form of 
the ball, which is made conical, with a hollow recess at the base, into 
which a metallic plug is thrust by the discharge. The plug is so con- 
structed as that when driven into the ball, it compresses the outer 
edges against the sides of the barrel, and, at the same time, forces a 
portion of the lead, from its ductility, to enter the groove, and to give 
the ball, when discharged, that revolving motion which carries with 
such unerring certainty to the mark. In the practice which I wit- 
nessed, with one of those rifles, on the marshes at Woolwich, the 
following results were obtained. Out of twelve rounds, at a distance 
of 700 yards, as near as I can remember, only one bullet missed the 
target, and the remaining eleven rounds were scattered within dis- 
tances of about six inches to four feet from the bull's eye. At 800 
yards three shots missed the target, and the remaining nine went 
through the boards, two inches thick, and lodged themselves in the 
mounds behind, at a distance of about twenty yards. The same re- 
sults were obtained from a distance of 900 yards, and at 1,000 yards 
there were very few pf the bullets but what entered the target. In. 


66 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

these experiments I have to remind you that the end of the rifle was 
supported upon a triangular standard, and the greatest precision was 
observed in fixing the sight, which is graduated to a scale in the ratio 
of the distance, varying from 100 to 1,000 yards, which latter may be 
considered the range of this destructive instrument. 

IMPROVEMENT IX FIRE ARMS, ORDNANCE AND PROJECTILES. 

A NINE-POUNDER field battery gun has been proved at the Royal 
Arsenal, Woolwich, on the rifle principle, and experiments will be 
shortly made with it to ascertain its merit, compared with the usual 
nine-pounder field battery gun when charged with spherical shot. 
The four grooves in the rifle cannon are about half an inch deep by 
half an inch broad each, and the shot and shell intended to be fired 
from it are made of the cylindro-conical or sugar loaf shape, with four 
projecting parts on each, to enter and fill the grooves. Both shot and 
shell are galvanized, and not liable to rust, and are so smooth that 
they may be rammed home with the greatest ease, the simple pressure 
of the hand being sufficient to place them an arm's length into the 
mouth of the cannon, although they are made to fit more fully than 
the spherical shot does, and consequently they will have less windage 
and require a less charge of powder. The sugar-loaf shape of the 
new galvanized iron shot renders it of a far greater weight than a 
nine-pounder spherical shot, and the principle on which it will pro- 
ceed, after being fired from a rifle cannon, being similar to an arrow, 
instead of revolving in the same manner as spherical shot, is expected 
to cause it to go more directly to the mark, and to have a much longer 


range. 


Another large piece of ordnance has also been recently constructed 
at the Royal Arsenal, England. Some idea of its strength may be 
formed, when it is stated that it is 32 inches in diameter, and has 13 
inches of solid metal round the bore, which is only 8 inches in diam- 
eter. It is intended for firing solid shot, or shells of the elongated or 
sugar-loaf form, similar to the JVIinie rifle balls. This metal has only 
two grooves, placed horizontally opposite each other, which are of an 
oval, without an}' flat part, as in small rifled arms. The weight of this 
piece of ordnance is 114 cwt. 

Some experiments have been made during the past year in Prussia 
with an explosive ball, that may be fired from the gun as easily as its 
peculiar cartridge, and that explodes the moment it strikes the object ; 
if combustible, setting it on fire. Experiments made with this missile 
were perfectly successful. Cases filled with powder or inflammable 
matter were set on fire, or blown up with certainty, at several hun- 
dred paces distance, or nearly full range of the weapon, which is a 
very long one. The object of the invention is the capability of blow- 
ing up an enemy's powder t wagons by a weapon that can be more 
rapidly and easily handled than a rifle if they come within reach. 

Improved Rifle Barrel. Benjamin D. Sanders, Brooke Co., Va., 
has taken measures to secure a patent for an improvement in rifle 


MECHANICS AXD USEFUL ARTS. 67 

barrels. The improvement consists in making the grooves of the 
barrel of a form somewhat resembling the letter V in their transverse 
section, that is to say, the bottom of a groove is formed by a single 
alible, instead of bv two angles in the ordinary wav. The object of 

~ ^ %/ t/ 

the improvement is to make the patch, when inserted with the ball, 
fill the grooves more tisihtlv than can be done bv the common grooves. 

o a * o 

The barrel, by the new grooves, is kept more clean, as each patch 
cleans out the barrel completely in its course, and the explosive force 
of the powder is more directly confined and exerted upon the bullet 
than can be done in a barrel where the grooves are not so tightly 
packed by the patch. Scientific American. 

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 


MR. BRAITHVTAIT POOLE, in a recent work, gives the following 
interesting statistics of Great Britain. Pitt and Canning stated 
the yearly production of the agricultural and mechanical interests of 
Great Britain at an amount equal to the national debt ; but nobody 
knew how thev made it out. The summarv of these statistics, how- 

* 

ever, prove that these great statesmen were right. 

Mr. Poole shows that the Railways of Great Britain have cost 240,- 
000,000; the Canals, 26,000,000; and the Docks, 30,000,000. 

The Mercantile Marine consists of 35,000 vessels, 4,300,000 tons, 
with 240,000 men ; and one vessel is lost on an average with every 
tide. The "navy consists of 585 vessels, 570,000 tons, and 48,000 men. 
Yachts, 250, and 23,000 tons. 

The ancient Britons knew only six primitive ores, from which 
metals were produced ; whereas the present scientific generation use 
fifty. The aggregate yield of minerals is equivalent in value to about 
25,000,000 annually.' 

The agricultural produce of milk, meat, eggs, butter and cheese, is 
3,000,000 tons, of the value of 50,000,000. "The ale, wine and spirits 
consumed annually exceed 3,300,000 tons, and 54.000,000; while 
sugar, tea and coffee scarcely reach 450,000 tons, and 2 7,000,000. The 
Fisheries of Great Britain net 6,000,000, annually. In Manufac- 
tures, the cotton, woolen, linen and silk altogether amount to 420,000 
tons, and 95,000,000; while hardwares exhibit 360,000 tons, and 
20,000,000 ; in addition to which 1,250 tons of pins and needles are 
made yearly, worth "1,100,000. 

Earthenware, 100,000 tons, 350,000.000; glass, 58,000 tons, 
1,600,000. The Gazette shows an average of four bankrupts daily 
throughout England and Wales. 

TIN PLATES. 

TIN PLATES, thin plates of iron dipped into molten tin, which 
covers the iron completely, are manufactured in South Wales and 
Staffordshire, to the extent now of about 900,000 boxes annually = 
56,000 tons, value 1,500,000; affording employment to upwards of 

7 


68 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

20,000 individuals. In England, almost every article of tin ware is 
formed from these plates. Nearly two-thirds of the total manufacture 
are exported, principally from Liverpool to the United States, where 
they are also used considerably instead of slates for the roofs of build- 
ings. The trade has been rapidly increasing. The exports of tin 
plates were for the years ending the 5th January, 1847, declared 
value, 639,223; 1848, 462,889 ; 1849, 532,142; 1850, 711,649 ; 
1851, 928,181. Poolts Statistics. 

THE LOCK CONTROVERSY. 

THE London Practical Mechanics' Journal thus reports a paper 
which was read before the Society of Arts, London, by Mr. Hobbs, 
the ingenious American lock-picker : Mr. Hobbs began by showing 
the construction of the old form of what is called the Egyptian or pin- 
lock ; he also showed how readily, by obtaining wax impressions of 
its vulnerable points, it readily yields up the treasures it would not 
have touched by profane hands. The first modification of this form 
was made about forty years ago, and another by Mr. Williams in 1839. 
The objections to its use were pointed out by the facilities they all 
afforded in being picked with false keys, which were easily made. 
These, therefore, were in the abstract without utility for purposes of 
perfect security. 

The ring-lock and the letter-lock were also shown to be in the same 
predicament. Each ring was moved to that position where it was 
found not to " bind," and retained there until all the rings had been 
similarly treated, when the " open sesame " formed the best proof of 
what he said. The letter padlocks, indeed, Mr. Hobbs alledged to be 
really less secure than the pin-lock. He greatly amused those present 
in detailing his adventures in picking a lock of something of this de- 
scription in the Great Exhibition. There were a number of different 
locks exhibited in one foreign department. Mr. Hobbs was there 
with a friend. Mr. Hobbs took up the identical thing that was to 
puzzle the nations, and examining it with educated lock-picking eyes 
and fingers, soon conceived a means of overcoming the power ob- 
jected to him. Cutting off a splinter from a wooden bench near him, 
and quickly forming it to his purpose, and accomplishing that purpose 
while his friend was otherwise engaging the attention of the exhibitor, 
he brought forward the lock, and requested him to show the secret of 
opening it. The exhibitor twisted the rings about, and got the letters 
into their proper order. " There !" said the exhibitor. But the 
charm had no effect. The exhibitor, in despair, consulted his memo- 
randum. That was the magical word there was no doubt but the 
cause of the non-success was inexplicable, until Mr. Hobbs kindly 
explained, that in less than the three minutes in which he began and 
finished his manipulations, he had discovered the key-note, and had 
altered it! Mr. Hobbs showed the construction of the celebrated 
Bramah lock, which he had succeeded in picking to the pocket-loss 
of 200 to the celebrated and too confident patentee. Mr. Hobbs 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 69 

next demonstrated the non-perfect security of the no less distinguished 
Chubb form of lock, in which great ingenuity is displayed in the com- 
bination of what are called -'tumblers;" and concluded by suggesting 
that the true mode of construction consisted not in multiplying diffi- 
culties which, with patience, might be overcome, but by the applica- 
tion of new principles ; and he shortly pointed out the advantages 
resulting in this respect from the elaborate performance, for which 
his peculiar genius must be held in high respect. 

An interesting discussion followed, in which Professor Cowper, Mr. 
Gregory, Mr. Hodge, and others, took part. The result of which 
seemed to indicate, that as long as it required so much time and so 
great ingenuity, in a practised hand, to pick locks, and as long as it 
would be necessary to give 40 or 50 to become the owner of one 
of Mr. Hobbs' unpickable locks, the locks of Bramah and Chubb the 
best of which, for ordinary purposes, might be obtained for less than 
3 would lose nothing of their true value for the common purposes 
to which they are applied. 

NEW MILITARY TACTICS. 

SIR CHARLES SHAW, in a recent letter to a London Journal, on 
the changes necessarily made in military tactics consequent on the 
introduction of new and improved weapons into the service, states, 
that the improved musket-rifle can render cavalry and artillery use- 
less at nine hundred yards distance, and the nail ball, out of the old 
musket, can do the same (as I have witnessed,) at a distance of six 
hundred and fifty yards. But suppose I am said to be mistaken as to 
cavalry and artillery ; I believe at this moment there is not a regi- 
ment of cavalry that could be brought to make an effective charge 
against a well served field-battery, owing to the confusion and fear of 
the horses at the noise and smoke of the cannon. To remedy this, 
and give the horses confidence, the Russians, in the wars of the 
Caucasus, in drilling, had batteries before the watering places of the 
cavalry. The cavalry got no water the morning of the drill, but 
after some hours of hard work, the horses became thirsty. The cav- 
alry were posted in front of the field batteries, which began to play. 
Loose reins were given, and, at full gallop, the cavalry passed between 
the guns of the batteries, and thus lost fear of artillery. 

IMPROVEMENTS IX LIFE-BOATS. 

WITHIN a comparatively recent period, a circular was issued by 
the Duke of Northumberland, England, offering a premium of 100 
guineas for the best model of a life-boat, and pointing out, as the 
three principal defects of existing life-boats, the want of self-righting 
power, inability to free themselves from water, and a heaviness which 
prevented their being transported along the beach. In consequence 
of this offer, no less than 280 models and plans were submitted, by 
different inventors throughout Great Britain. In addition to the 


70 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

three desirable improvements pointed out in the circular, the commit- 
tee to whom the award of the prize was referred, indicated two other 
essential qualifications for the prize boat, viz., smallness of cost, and 
the capability of rowing well. 

These qualities were found combined only in the boat constructed 
by Messrs. Beeching, of Great Yarmouth, to which the prize was 
adjudged, and on which experiments, thoroughly testing its powers, 
have been made during the gales of the past year. 

A curious instance of the REINVENTION which is of such frequent 
occurrence, is, that the power of self-righting, the demand for which 
was received with ridicule by the boat builders of 1850, was actually 
possessed by a life-boat, for which their silver medal and twenty 
guineas were given by the Society of Arts, in 1809, to the Rev. 
James Bremner, of Orkney, who had then for many years had his 
boat in use, and under severe trial, on the Scotch coast. The Society 

fave a gold medal and fifty guineas, in 1802, to Mr. Greathead, of 
outh Shields, who designed and built for the then Duke of North- 
umberland, a life-boat which has hardly been since surpassed. 

NEW DRILLING MACHINE. 

DURING the past season, a gigantic machine has been constructed, 
for the purpose of cutting or boring a tunnel through the Hoosac 
Mountain, Massachusetts, to afford a passage for the contemplated 
Troy and Boston Railroad. This machine was planned with a view 
of cutting a circular passage or tunnel, 24 feet in diameter. Its 
construction is as follows : A large wheel, having a thin rim project- 
ing forward from its outer edge, is attached to a revolving shaft. The 
rim of the wheel is mounted with steel cutters, which are of such 
size, and so arranged, as to cut, when in motion, a circular trench or 
groove in the face of the rock, one foot in width, and of the diameter 
of the tunnel. The shaft of the drill is supported on a sliding frame, 
which rests upon a main bed, supported upon Hanged carrying wheels 
b^ feet in diameter. The main shaft is fed forward with the sliding 
frame, by means of a powerful screw. The distance through which 
the shaft, with its wheel and cutters, is made to pass, is five feet for 
each adjustment of the machine, this distance being the depth 
of the rim upon the main wheel. Upon the end of the shaft, 
and in the centre of the circle described bv the motion of the cutters, 


a drill of six inches diameter is attached. This drill enters with the 
cutters, and to the same distance in the rock. On the rim of the 
main wheel are buckets to conduct the rock cut away into an adit, or 
receptacle. The machine is intended to operate as follows : When 
the approaches to the tunnel are prepared, the drill will be brought 
up to the face of the rock, upon a track laid for the purpose. The 
shaft with its wheel and cutters will be put in motion, and fed forward 
into the rock. The circular trench will be cut, and the small central 
drill will enter at the same time. When the rim of the wheel has 
entered the rock to its full depth, the machine will be drawn back, a 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 71 

charge of powder placed in the central hole, and the rock within the 
circular trench will be removed at one blast. One of the arms of the 
main wheel is made removable, so as to allow a car to pass under the 
machine to the rock. The fragments broken away by the blast will 
then be loaded and drawn back to the mouth of the tunnel. The 
machine is again fed forward and its successive operations will be the 
same as already described. The main carriage is properly braced so 
as to be immovable. The weight of the whole machine is from eighty 
to ninety tons, the weight of the shaft eleven tons, and the weight of 
the main wheel is thirty tons. It is to be driven by two stationary 
engines, of forty horse-power each. The designer and inventor of the 
machine is Charles Wilson, Esq., of Springfield, Mass. 

The practical operation of the machine above described, has not, as 
yet, been wholly successful. The cutters proved too frail to stand the 
quartz found in the mica slate, of which the mountain is composed, 
and were soon broken, and rendered unfit for service. It is proposed 
to replace these cutters with others of a firmer and more substantial 
character. The machine has, however, cut into the rock to the depth 
of about four feet, very smoothly and successfully. The wheel cuts 
from a 16th to an 8th of an inch at each revolution, and makes five or 
six revolutions in a minute ; which more than meets the warrant of the 
builders. The core of the rock is blasted while the machine remains 
close by, but there is no apprehension that it will be essentially injured 
by the exploding masses of rock. A difficulty, however, presents 
itself in the disposal of the rock, after it is cut and blasted out, it being 
a slow and tedious process to break it and draw it out through the 
machine. This difficulty will prevent the working of the machine for 
more than a third or half of the time, all the remainder being occupied 
in removing the stone. 

We copy from the Scientific American the following notice of a new 
drilling machine, invented by Mr. C. W. Coe, of Ohio. There are 
two improvements in this invention. The first has reference to the 
feeding motion, and also to the mode of raising the drill from the work. 
The nut which works the feeding screw has on it a pinion capable of 
gliding up and down, but causing the nut to revolve by means of a 
groove and feather. This pinion gears into the driving-wheel when 
at the upper part of the nut ; a rapid motion is then given to the 
screw, which draws the drill quickly upwards. But when it is desired 
to give the feeding motion, the pinion is depressed by a lever, and 
thus released from the teeth of the driving-wheel. The pinion is 
then moved by two lugs or dogs attached to the inner part of the 
driving-wheel ; now, if the driving-wheel has a motion given to it the 
reverse way to that used when raising the drill, it is evident a slow 
feeding motion will be given to the screw. If desirable, of course, 
more than the two lugs can be used. 

The second part of the invention embraces a mode of holding the 
work to be drilled in any oblique direction. A clutch is employed for 
this purpose of a hollow conical shape, with a screw on the outside 
this clutch is cut open in a vertical direction, so that if the work be 


7* 


72 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

placed within, it can be compressed by a taper nut working in the 
outside screw. A spring is used to open the clutch, when the nut is 
relaxed, and, as it is attached by arms to the bed of the machine, this 
clutch can be set to any ano;le. The bed of the machine is movable, 

~ 

so that the work can be shifted horizontally. 

t? 

CONVERTING ROTARY INTO RECIPROCATING RECTILINEAR 

MOTION. 

HENRY BAKER, of Catskill, N. Y., has taken measures to secure a 
patent for a new method of converting rotary into reciprocating rec- 
tilinear motion. The invention is more particularly designed for the 
purpose of driving the bed of a printing press, or the bed of any part 
of a machine to which it is desired to communicate a reciprocating 
rectilinear motion from a revolving shaft, but it is also applicable in 
almost any case where the said change of motion is required. The 
motion is communicated in the first place from the revolving shaft to 
one or tw r o wheels or pulleys, around which an endless belt or chain is 
placed, the said wheels and belt being so arranged that the belt will 
move in a direction parallel, or nearly so, with the desired reciprocat- 
ing movement. To the bed or object which is to receive the recipro- 
cating movement, there is attached a ring which lies near to the belt, 
its inner diameter being about equal to that of the wheels or pulleys 
on which the belt runs. Two pins slide freely through the periphery 
of the ring on opposite sides, both pins being parallel with the band, 
and made to project by springs a short distance into the ring. A stud 
is attached to the endless band, and is made to project into the ring 
close within its periphery, at right angles to the pins mentioned. As 
the bind moves, this stud catches one or other of the pins, and pro- 
pels the ring, and whatever is connected with it. One part of the 
endless belt or chain, on one side of the wheels, moves in the opposite 
direction to the other side, alternately, and the sliding pins are so 
placed, that, when the $tu<I spoken of moves in one direction, it catches 
with one, and when it moves in the other direction it catches with the 
other, and the pins are drawn back from the ring. At the time the 
stud on the running belt reaches either of the pulleys, it runs around 
it on the belt and catches the other pin, and by its reversed movement 
drives back the ring in the opposite direction to that in which it moved 
before, and thus by an alternate reversal of the ring by the action of 
the stud on the pins, there is a continual change of motion from rotary 
to the reciprocating rectilinear, and there is also an intermittence of 
the motion, which is very desirable in the working of some machines. 
Scientific American. 

NEW COMPACT GEAR. 

THE Scientific American thus notices a new compact gear invented 
by Messrs. Dibben and Bollman, of New York, and exhibited at the 
Fair of the American Institute. This invention, exhibiting great 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 73 

ingenuity and skill, consists of an arrangement of cog-wheels ; and the 
main advantage claimed over the system now in use, is the capability 
which this new plan imparts of varying the speed of shafting, Avhilst 
only a pair of geared wheels is used for all the different speeds 
required. The inventors have three models, each showing a different 
application of the principle : one is applied to a horse-power, another 
is for increasing the speed of a prcpsller, and the third is for an appli- 
cation to water-wheels. A few words will explain the invention as 
adapted to the latter use ; the motion here, however, is compound ; 
two small wheels being employed, we should presume, to reduce the 
dimensions to a commodious size. On the main shaft is fixed a wheel, 
which gears into another of the same size, both resembling crown 
wheels, although the shape of the teeth is somewhat different. Around 
the rim of the driven wheel is another larger one, of the same descrip- 
tion, and in fact, it is all one casting ; this last named wheel gears into 
another fixed one of the same diameter. But now follows the main 
departure from the old routine ; the shaft which carries the driven 
wheels, instead of being in line, and having its further extremity to 
revolve in a fixed bearing, is thrown, at that extremity, out of line, 
and is attached at that end to the face of a wheel at some distance 
from the centre on which the wheel rotates in short, it is a crank 
motion, with the shaft acting as a connecting rod. The consequence 
is, as the shaft is forced round by the cog-wheel, a species of rocking 
motion is oiven to the crown-wheel on the shaft, so that the teeth are 

^5 

alternately thrown in and out of gear when the teeth on one side 
are liberated, those on the other are thrown into gear. Such is a gen- 
eral account of the plan ; the inventors, according to circumstances, 
using a universal joint, &c., as may be required, to allow of the pecu- 
liar motion. They say, in their statement, that they can vary the 
speed as many times as the Avheel has teeth, without changing the pair 
of wheels. Another advantage is, that the axis of the driving shaft is 
in a line with the shafting that is to be driven. 

MACHINE FOR CRIMPLIXG IROX BARS. 

MESSRS. SLOCUM and SALES, of Lansingburgh, N. Y., have 
recently invented a machine, for bending bars of iron into a shape 
that is often employed, particularly for ornamental fences, house work, 
&c., the zig-zag shape. The rolling mill employed for this purpose 
consists of two under rollers placed side by side, and of two upper 
rollers, the latter two running in be; rings which can slide up and 
down in the framing, so as to recede fi o:n, or advance to, the under 
rollers. Between these two sets of rollers there slides a bed, which 
carries the dies intended to impress the desired form on the iron. The 
invention particularly applies to the construction of these dies. They 
are formed in pairs, so that the projections of the upper die fit into 
the recesses of the lower one. Their shape, in general, is angular ; 
and the upper die is so formed with joints, that each angular piece can 
be forced into its corresponding cavity in the lower die, without the 


74 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

necessity of its fellow projections partaking of the motion. The bar 
of iron being placed between the dies, which are fixed on the movable 
table, a chain or cord is attached from the table to the further of the 
lower rollers, so that the former may be drawn along as the rollers 
revolve. The upper rollers, which give the pressure, are forced down 
to their work by weighted levers ; hence, when the machine is set in 
motion, the table and dies are drawn between the rollers, and the first 
jointed projection of the top die is forced into its recess in the lower 
die, thus giving the iron bar the desired shape. The table continuing 
to advance, is caught between the second pair of rollers, which hold 
the bar from shifting whilst the second projection is descending ; and 
in this manner the process goes on, until the whole length of the bar 
is fashioned into the shape required. The inventors do not confine 
themselves to this sort of die alone, but propose another mode also, in 
which both top and bottom dies are made flexible. Scientific 
American. 

NEW PRESSES FOR BALING COTTON. 

THE Mobile Tribune notices an invention of a new press for baling 
cotton. The only drawback upon it is, that the bales are round, and 
round bales are pretty generally proscribed. The Tribune says : - 
" By connecting it to the gin, the cotton is made up at once into bales, 
by the same power, and at the same time. To appreciate the great 
degree of compactness to which a bale may be pressed by this machine, 
one has only to take a small piece of cotton, and press it slightly while 
rolling it between the fingers. The principle embraced in this machine 
is precisely similar --and by a continuous layer of cotton revolving 
round itself under constant pressure, while the rollers are turning, 
the bale is formed of extreme compactness, requiring no after com- 
pressing. It is thought that this mode of forming the bale will super- 
sede the necessity of roping." A further description of this arrange- 
ment is given by the inventor as follows : 

" The operating part of my press consists mainly of three wooden 
or iron rollers or cylinders, the length of each being equal to that of 
the bale which it is intended to form. These cylinders are placed so 
as to represent a triangle at equal distances apart, and parallel to each 
other. When used tor pressing, their surfaces at first approach so 
closely together as to be nearly in contact ; and as the cotton which 
forms the bale accumulates between them, they recede from each other 
under any required pressure, the cotton being fed in between them 
directly from the cotton gin, by means of an endless apron. 

" An endless chain operating on each side of the machine, imparts 
motion to the cylinders. 

" The cotton, in passing into the space between the rollers, revolves 
upon itself so as to form a cylindrical bale, which goes on accumulating 
until it is of sufficient size and compactness. At this time, the bale is 
easily secured by passing the bagging so as to surround the bale 
and the next moment, by knocking away the catches, the cylinders 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 75 

recede into slots left in the frame of the machine for the purpose, 
and the bale lies at your feet, ready for market." 

A new cotton press, the invention of Nathan Chipman, of Conn., 
is also described in the Scientific American. This press is intended 
to supply the desideratum of a quick motion for the follower, when 
the cotton is first compressed. As is evident, the cotton yields at first, 
with comparative facility to the compressing power, but on the bale 
becoming more compact, it is necessary to employ a greater intensity 
of power when a less amount of speed is required. The inventor 
attains his object by employing spiral cams, or, in other words, conical 
drums with a spiral groove cast or cut around the periphery. Two of 
these cams are employed, one on each side of the press, and chains 
winding round them raise the follower, which slides longitudinally 
within the box containing the cotton. As the chains are attached to 
the larger part of the cam or conical drum, it is evident that on begin- 
ning to work the press with a regular motion, the chains will have to 
wind around a larger circumference at first than afterwards, and thus 
their speed, and consequently that of the follower, will gradually 
diminish, while, in accordance with the well known law of mechanics, 
the intensity of the power will increase in the same ratio. The 
motion is transmitted through the agency of geared wheels, and the 
box for the cotton has a cover capable of being removed at pleasure. 

ADORXO'S CIGARETTE MACHINE. 

THIS machine consists of two travelling chains, whose parts are 
made with great accuracy. Each link is composed of 12 pieces, which 
are cut out of iron by machinery. One portion of the link is fixed on 
the chain, and the other portion is moveable. It is necessary that the 
machine be so adjusted as to provide tor the proper quantity of tobacco 
and paper, and which must be regulated to the thickness of very thin 
paper. 

The machine makes and finishes the cigarrettes with greater neat- 
ness and perfection than by manual labor; and the economy of 
tobacco is so great, that, solely in this respect, the price of the entire 
manufacture by hand labor is wholly saved. JJore than eighty 
cigarettes may be made by this machine in a minute. Paper of the 
proper width and thickness is caused to pass over one of the travelling 
chains, consisting of links corresponding with the scantling of the 
cigarette. When the paper has a sufficient number of indents, fine 
tobacco is put into them, and the waste falls into a trough beneath the 
machine. As the chain on which the paper is first placed moves for- 
ward, a knife, by means of a reciprocating motion across the machine, 
separates the paper to form the cigarettes, which are finally folded 
entire, by passing to the other travelling chain ; and by pressure from 
above the cigarettes are completed ready to be removed from the 
machine. In the English market there is scarcely any demand for 
cigarettes, but in Spain and the American republics its importance is 
great. This will be better understood, when we state, that, in Mexico, 


76 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

8,000,000 dollars worth of cigarettes are consumed in the course of a 
single year. The consumption of cigarettes in Spain and Havana is 
proportionably greater. 

NEW TYPE-CASTING MACHINE. 

AT the Fair of the American Institute, ~N. Y., II. H. Green exhibited 
a new type-casting machine, which is thus described by the Scientific 
American. The principal intention of the inventor of this curious 
little machine has been to cast type under a powerful pressure, so 
that the letter formed may be a more exact and sharp counterpart of 
the matrice. The apparatus, which is placed on a stand so as to be 
conveniently worked by the hand, consists, in the first place, of a 
small furnace, in which a quantity of type metal is maintained in a 
molten state by a fire beneath, the fire door being at the side of the 
furnace. In the midst, and rising above the molten metal, is a force 
pump, intended to inject a small portion of the fluid metal into the 
moulding-box. To the pump is fixed a pipe running through the 
furnace so as to connect with a corresponding aperture in the mould- 
ing-box, when the latter is brought forward to the furnace to receive 
the metal. The moulding-box is made of steel, and the top of it 
moves on hinges so that it can be lifted up to set the matrice in its 
place. The matrice or die consists merely of a piece of copper, the 
shape of the type, and having the particular letter, which is to be cast, 
sunk into it. As in every description of type, it is only the size of the 
letter which differs, it follows that the copper matrice alone has to be 
shifted when it is required to cast a different letter. The moulding- 
box is made to slide between guides to and fro, and is moved forward 
to receive the metal by a cam fixed on a shaft, which is worked by 
hand. On approaching the force pump, motion is given to the plunger 
by levers acted on by the above-mentioned shaft, and sufficient metal 
to form a letter is thereby injected into the matrice. This latter 
operation is aided by a stop-valve, which prevents the flow of metal, 
and as the shaft withdraws from the furnace, it falls back and permits 
the injection of the metal as above described. During this operation 
the box is held together by a species of clamp or spring ; a spiral 
spring then forces the box back, the hold of the clamp is relaxed, and 
a spring, acting on the newly-cast letter, loosens it so as to allow it to 
fall into a spout, and from there into a receiving box. The inventor 
estimates that this machine will cast, on an average, 1 75 letters per 
minute. The operation is altogether very unique, and is deserving of 
hi<rh commendation. We therefore willingly award our meed of 

o ~ / f 

praise to the inventor for the improvement that he has made in the 
work of type-casting. The great benefit derived by this machine is 
that it casts metal 10 per cent, harder than any in use. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 77 


NEW METHOD OF MAKING SHOT. 

Ax apparatus for manufacturing shot by means of centrifugal action, 
has been devised by M. Bonnet, of Xew York. It is intended as a 
substitute for shot-towers, and other apparatus now employed for this 
purpose. It consists in substance of the following parts : A circular 
trough made of iron, is secured on a vertical shaft, which is made to 
revolve. The upper part of the trough is of a funnel-shape, and there 
is a pipe inserted in this funnel for conveying the molten lead into 
the trough. The sides of the trough are perforated with a number of 
small holes of different sizes. The metal being poured into the trough, 
and the shaft made to revolve at the rate of 350 revolutions per min- 
ute, the molten lead will fly from the centre to the circumference and 
through the holes against a circular partition of cloth surrounding the 
apparatus, at a suitable distance, which depends altogether on the 
fluidity of the metal and rapidity of the motion. 

NEW PRINTING PRESS. 

THE Lowell Courier gives an account of a new Printing Press 
recently invented by Mr. Reach of that city. Its main advantage 
over other presses is said to be its cheapness ; and the following is a 
brief description of its construction : " The method of operating dif- 
ferent from the Adams press is that the nippers are rotary, being 
carried round the platen by a chain geared upon pullies there being 
two pairs, by which means impressions are given as fast as the rollers 
are driven across the form one way one nipper taking in a sheet 
while the other is carrying out the first on the opposite side. The 
sheet, after being printed, is carried by the nipper over a fly and 
thrown off, without any belting or bellows arrangement. The impres- 
sions are given by the moving up of the bed of the press, operated by 
the common toggle-joint, while the lever which drives up the toggle is 
' shipped ' from one pin or driver in the side of the main shaft gear, to 
another on the opposite side. A stationary frisket keeps the sheet 
from dropping upon the inking rollers. The nippers are simple clamp 
fingers, operated by a spiral wire spring." 

An improvement in Printing Presses is also announced by Mr. Dins- 
more, of Pennsylvania. The object of this invention is to make a 
cheap press of a convenient form to be worked by hand, but capable 
of doing a greater amount of work in a given time than the common 
press. The printing is performed by passing the paper round a cylin- 
der hung in a carriage, which is moved backwards and forwards along 
a stationary frame or railway, upon which is fixed a type-bed which 
carries the form, and at each end of which there is a feeding-board, 
from which the sheets are supplied to the cylinder. The cylinder is 
made to revolve by the movement of the carriage revolving in opposite 
directions. It is furnished with two sets of fingers, which take a sheet 
from each feeding-board, alternately, the cylinder carrying the sheet 

O v * > / O 

over the form and printing it as the said carriage moves towards the 


78 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

feeding-board ; the fingers release the sheet at the proper time by suit- 
able mechanism. Scientific American. 

IMPROVEMENT IX POWER LOOMS. 

THE Scientific American describes the following improvements in 
Power Looms, devised bv Mr. Reynolds, of Columbia County, N. Y. 

tf V I/ > 

The first part of the improvements relates to the harness motion usually 
employed in plain weaving ; he attaches the leaves above and below 
to straps, cords, or chains, which are connected to the peripheries of 
two rollers, whose axes are hung in suitable bearings one above and 
the other below the harness, in a plane which equally divides the space 
between the front and back leaves ; the straps or cords, from the two 
leaves of the harness, pass in opposite directions around the rollers 
spoken of, hence, if a rocking motion be given to one roller, and the 
other be left free, one leaf will be raised and the other depressed 
alternately. It is a desideratum, in weaving at a high speed, that the 
warp be always opened to a certain width at the line where the shuttle 
passes through, and that the upper and lower threads of the shed 
always occupy the same position when the shed is open ; if a suitable 
motion be given to keep the shed open, it only requires to be opened 
just wide enough for the shuttle to pass through ; to do this the back 
leaf that furthest from the filling or weft must be moved further 
than the front leaf. The way to produce this difference in motion, 
consists in making that portion of the periphery of each of the rollers 
mentioned, to which the back leaf is attached, and which are termed 
compensating rollers, of a larger diameter than the portion to which 
the front leaf is attached ; by properly regulating this difference in the 
parts of a roller, the required effect is produced. Another improve- 
ment relates to the stop motion of a loom ; the fork of the common 
stop motion, to arrest the action of the loom when a weft thread breaks, 
is made in one piece of steel or iron, and must really be made stronger 
than the work it has to perform, as the shuttle frequently strikes against 
them, if, by any accident, it is thrown from the raceway of the lay ; 
when this happens, the tines are either bent or broken, and to repair 
this, the loom has to be stopped for a considerable time. The tines 
are detached by Mr. Reynold's plan, and they are inserted in an elas- 
tic socket, in which they can easily be placed ; this allows of their being 
made of metal or wood, whalebone, or split rattan the last material 
is preferable. The girl attending the loom keeps a number of spare 
tines on hand, and when one becomes bent or broken, she puts in 
another, and thus saves the labor of machinist and tenter in repairing 
the said stop motion ; the bent tines can be straightened again, and 
very slight interruptions are thus occasioned to repair such breakages. 
The improvements of Mr. Reynolds, enables power looms to be 
driven at a far higher velocity, than they now can be, and thus a most 
important impulse will be given to the art, as it respects economy in 
repairs, saving of time in stoppages, and the greater quantity of work 
done in a given time. 


MECHANICS AXD USEFUL ARTS. 79 


MANUFACTURE OF BAGS BY MACHINERY. 

THE Stark Mills, of Manchester, N. IT., are now engaged in the 
weaving of bags, which is accomplished by the so-called " seamless 
bag-loom." This loom produces a bag of any required length or size, 
weaving sides and bottom without seam, of strong and durable mate- 
rial, in the space of a few minutes. About one hundred and twenty 
hands are now employed in the manufacture, and 30,000 bags a week 
are made, which can be afforded at 25 cents each, or four per cent, off 
for cash. 


IMPROVEMENTS IX SPINNING. 

MR. W. ROUSE, of Taunton, Mass., has recently made some valua- 
ble improvements on the self-acting spinning mule, which are thus 
described in the Scientific American. The improvements of Mr. 
Rouse are designed to simplify the construction of the mule, in relation 
to governing the revolution of the spindles in laying the thread on the 
cops, and in backing off, preparatory to the said laying on, by a cam 
barrel having an irregularly formed periphery, both in its length and 
circumference. The cam is made to give motion to the spindles, by 
means of a finger which bears continually on its periphery, and which 
is attached to a swinging frame, furnished with toothed segments that 
gear with toothed wheels upon a shaft, which, through a train of gear- 
ing, drives the spindles. The cam is made to revolve at the time the 
backing off should be performed, and also during the time the mule is 
running up to the beam, when the winding of the thread on the spin- 
dle is to be performed. Its periphery is of such a form, circumferen- 
tially, that the finger will be running towards the axis at the 
proper time for backing off, and from the axis at the proper 
time for laying on. Thus, by causing the segments to move in oppo- 
site directions, it drives the spindles in opposite directions. The cam 
is of such a form on that part where the fi Hirer bears durino- the running 

l ^^ ^3 C5 

of the carriage, as v to drive the spindles with a constant accelerated 
motion, which is necessary, owing to the decreasing diameter of the 
cop towards the top, where the laying on of the thread finishes ; its 
circumferential form varies at different parts of its length, which gives 
it the longitudinal irregularity of form spoken of before ; this is to suit 
the degree of speed, and the amount of back-off, at different stages of 
the building of the cop, the form of which is a constantly changing 
one, from the commencement to the termination of lavino- on the last 

V ^J 

inch of thread. The finger spoken of having a slow movement from 
end to end of the cam, it gives a changing movement to the segments, 
and consequently to the spindles of the cops. There are some other 
minor improvements connected with the working of this cop-making 
cam. It is well known that the self-acting spinning mule is a compli- 
cated machine, and does not produce such good work as the carriage 
worked by hand. The improvements of Mr. Rouse greatly simplify 
the construction of the mule bv reducing the number of parts, and 
8 


80 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

substituting other mechanical devices, which make a better thread and 
also build a better cop. 


CROSSLEY'S PATENT CARPETS. 


THE following is a description of a new style of Carpets invented 
by Mr. Thomas Crossley, of Roxbury, Mass., and recently patented. 

First. The Patent Ingrain Carpeting is woven plain, without colors 
or figure, in two or more substantial plys or layers of cloth, and 
ingrained or connected together at various points, which is done by 
causing the warp of one ply or layer at such points to be woven in and 
become a part of the other ply or layer. 

By thus ingraining together the several plys of cloth, great strength 
and firmness is given to the fabric. And generally the nearer such 
points of ingrained cloth come together, the better may the carpet be 
expected to wear. In the patent ingrain carpeting this ingraining 
occurs at short intervals. In ordinary ingrain carpeting, the ingrain- 
ing or connecting together of the several plys is regulated wholly by 
the kind or size of the figure woven ; as, for instance, in large figures 
where the several objects combined to make up the pattern are bold 
and striking, there will be found great quantities of plain or open 
cloth in sections of considerable size when the several plys of cloth are 
not at all connected together. This absence of ingraining is wholly 
unavoidable, as when the pattern is woven the contrast between the 
figure and the ground cannot be preserved but by keeping the colors 
of the several plys, and therefore the plys themselves, entirely separate. 
Hence people generally prefer small figures to large ones, owing to the 
greater amount of ingraining, and consequently of service contained 
in the former over the latter. 

Secondly. The cloth after being sheared and dressed, receives the 
pattern and colors from blocks or rollers, upon one or both sides. 
When both sides are figured, the back or under surface is stamped first 
with one style of pattern and colors, and the face or upper surface with 
an entirely different style of pattern and colors, giving a variety of 
style never before obtained in any other kinds of carpeting. 

Another neAv and important feature in the Patent Ingrain Carpeting 
is discovered in the fact that the colors stamped upon one surface do 
not appear through on the other side. This is prevented by the pecu- 
liar construction of the cloth. No other fabric of woolen, or where 
wool is a component part, has ever been printed upon one side, with- 
out more or less showing through upon the other surface. 

Felt Carpets. - - This novel style of Carpets manufactured at the 
Bay State Mills, Lawrence, are printed in block work, and designed 
according to weight either as a floor cloth or drugget. The threads of wool 
are not spun or woven, but drawn out and laid together, the whole 
mass being felted like a hat body. Fabrics of this character are also 
put together, showing a different color on either side, and designed for 
coats to be made up without lining. The Bay State Mills make this 
cloth with a white ground, about 40 inches wide, weighing from 4 to 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 81 

24 ounces per yard, ar.d print it in elegant carpet designs, showing the 
richest combination of brilliant colors, and furnish it at 75 to 90 cents 
per yard. 

SEWING MACHINES. 

THE effect of the introduction of the power-loom and spinning 
frame upon hand labor, seems about to be repeated so far as the needle 
woman is concerned, in the introduction and general use of the various 
sewing machines. Six of these machines are now in general use viz : 
That of Elias Howe, Jr., patented Sept., 1846, sold for $125. 2. That 
of I. M. Singer, sold for $125. 3. That of A. B. Wilson, patented 
Nov., 1850, sold for $50. 4. That of J. M. Magnin, a French inven- 
tion. 5. That of Morey and Johnson, of Massachusetts. 6. That of 
Dr. Otis Avery, patented Oct., 1852, sold for $25. 

The machine of Mr. Howe was the first practical invention of the 
kind, and it is claimed that all the subsequent inventions infringe upon 
his patent. He uses two threads, and an accurate idea of his seam 
will be formed by twisting two threads together and imagining them so 
disposed as that the point where they cross each other is always in the 
cloth, one of them forming the visible portion of the stitch on one side, 
and the other on the other. The machines of Singer, Wilson, and 
Morey and Johnson, use needles of a kind different from Howe's, but 
produce the same stitch as his. Of these four, all are equally correct 
and good in respeet to mechanical principles, but as they differ widely 
in many particulars, one being vertical and another horizontal, one 
carrying its own cloth and another requiring that it should be carried 
by hand, actual trial can alone decide which is the best for practical 
use. The N. Y. Tribune states, " that it has seen shirts, pants, coats, 
shoes, and the like, made by them, in all of which the strength of the 
seams are satisfactory. In most, if not in all cases, the material would 
give way and tear, but the sewing would not rip. The perfect regu- 
larity of the stitches made by these machines renders them very useful 
for fancy work like shirt bosoms. For an inch of seam, three inches 
of thread are used. A person with a machine will do from five to ten 
times as much work as with the needle. In several large shops they 
are used, and many persons wear garments made by them without a 
suspicion of the fact." 

Magnin's machine operates w^ith a single thread, and produces what 
is known as the tambour stitch. It may do for embroidery, and has 
even been arranged with several needles and used for that purpose, 
but it is worth nothing for sewing. Its principal defects are, that when 
one stitch is broken the whole seam will unravel ; that it requires eight 
inches of thread for every inch of sewing ; and that in fancy work it 
gives different results on the two sides of the cloth. 

The machine invented by Dr. Avery was first exhibited at the Fair 
of the American Institute in New York, in October, 1852. The 
arrangement is comprised in two cam wheels, two shafts, two spools, 
two needles, two crank wheels, and a weight. The crank wheels turn 


82 ANNUAL OE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

the cam wheels, and these communicate motion to the shafts, and the 
shafts work the needles, between which the cloth to be sewed is 
placed. The cloth is held in its place and drawn along as fast as it is 
sewed by the weight. The spools contain the thread, and unwinding, 
furnish a supply as fast as it is needed. The peculiarity of the 
machine, however, consists in the stitch, which is of such a nature 
that each is independent of the other. The seam will not rip if a few 
stitches be cut ; and seams of all shapes and kinds can be sewn with 
equal facility. It uses more thread than either of the other American 
machines, but less than the French. In respect to rapidity of work, 
there is no great difference. The great advantages of Avery's 
machine are its more simple mechanism and its greater cheapness. 

The Scientific American furnishes a description of an additional 
sewing machine recently invented by Mr. Titeman of New York. In 
this machine two. threads are used to form the stitch, one being in the 
form of a loop, and the other thread being passed through the whole 
series of loops, thus preventing them from following the needle when 
it is Avithdrawn. The arrangement is very compact, and is well 
adapted to sew, besides the ordinary sort of work, any thing in a cir- 
cular or endless form, To admit of this variety of sewing the work 
is placed around the outer circumference of a hollow cylinder, as on 
a bed, and is moved forward for another stitch by an endless chain 
revolving inside, which is furnished with a number of points or teeth 
projecting through a slot that grasps the cloth which is being sewed. 
On the cylinder are fixed a vertical standard and slides from which 
the needle works like wire vertically. This needle has two eyes, one 
near the point and the other close to the head. Within the cylinder 
is placed the apparatus for forming the thread (which is carried into 
the cloth by the needle,) into a loop, and then securing the loop by a 
longitudinal thread. This last mentioned arrangement consists prin- 
cipally of a circular shuttle (or, rather, the shape is of an oblate 
spheroid,) Avith one part cut away, so as to form a point, which is used 
to open a way for the shuttle to pass through the loop. The shuttle 
has a recess, which contains a bobbin for supplying the longitudinal 
or lock thread. When the needle is made to descend Avith its attached 
thread (which is supplied from a bobbin,) it perforates the cloth, and 
continuing its course, passes through an aperture in the cylinder. 
Whilst in the act of returning a portion of the thread (which at that 
moment is rather slack,) is caught by the point of the shuttle and 
extended into the form of a loop. By a novel arrangement, the loop 
is freed from the shuttle, although the thread from the shuttle bobbin 
remains Avithin the loop, thus holding it from re-passing the cloth. 
The Avork is pressed down in the cylinder by a spring, and is moved 
at each successive stitch by an endless chain, as before mentioned, the 
motion of which is repeated by a ratchet wheel ; all of Avhich gearing 
as Avell as the main driving shaft, &c., is contained within the cylinder. 
We must mention that the proper tension of the vertical thread is 
maintained by two neatly contrived fingers, which grasp it until the 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 83 

needle has entered the cloth, when they relinquish the duty to the 
needle. 

WEAVING AND PRINTING CARPETS AND SHAWLS. 

JAMES MELVILLE, of Renfrewshire, Scotland, has enrolled a patent 
for an invention, the peculiarity of wliich is, the weaving a duplex 
fabric, or, in other words, two foundations or backs of fabrics, con- 
nected together bv a Ions? pile of the material, forming the face of the 

/ C7 A CJ 

pieces the pile being afterwards severed transversely, to form distinct 
pieces of pile fabrics without the use of intermediate slips or needles 
lor raising and adjusting the pile. This important system of weaving 
is as simple as it is ingenious. Instead of weaving both backs, so that 
each shot of weft in the upper and lower backs is thrown at the same 
time, in the same vertical line, the lower back is always kept several 
shots ahead of the upper one ; that is to say, the woven portion of the 
lower back always extends several shots further forward on the reed 
side than the upper one. Then, during the process of weaving, the 
angular distance between the two sheds of the upper and lower backs, 
regulates the length of the intervening pile of wool. This system is 
carried out by adding to the ordinary reed a species of secondary 
reed, earned bv the slav in front of the usual reed. The latter acts 

V 

only on the lower shed, whilst the secondary reed, the dents of which 

V * 

project down from the lower edge of their frame-bar, is similarly con- 
fined to the upper shed, and each shot of weft in the upper shed is 
held until secured by the succeeding one, by a row of hooks on a 
holding-frame passing across the piece. 

Another portion of the improvements embodies a system of printing 
shawls and other goods, by stretching the fabric on an impression 
cylinder of large diameter, such cylinder being arranged to work in 
concert with a printing roller, on which the " repeat " of the pattern 
is engraved. In printing a border by this plan, the two opposite 
parallel edges of the piece are stretched on the large cylinder in a 
line with the cylinder ends, and the color apparatus being set on a 
rail in front of the cylinder, the two borders are printed in succession ; 
and the print-ing apparatus being then detached, is removed to another 
cylinder, to make way for the succeeding color on the first. The 
printing roller is so contrived as to be capable of the most accurate 
adjustment to the impression cylinder on each change, so as to keep 
perfect register ; and the attendants are thus enabled to print all the 
colors in a series of pieces by continually running through a series of 
impression cylinders, with the corresponding color rollers, one after 
the other. By another modification, Mr. Melville also prints shawls 
and other fabrics stretched upon a square table, hung vertically, the 
printing roller revolving in fixed bearings, whilst the table traverses 
in contact with it. But the most curious process is that in which the 
pattern is engraved upon a conical printing roller, and the fabric is 
stretched on a square table, revolving on a vertical plane. If a shawl 
corner is to be printed, the pattern is so placed on the roller that the 
8* 


84 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

angle shall be on the widest end of the cone, a diagonal line drawn 
through the center of the corner coinciding with the axial line of the 
cone. Then, as the shawl revolves on its table, the impression is suc- 
cessively laid on, so that the corner device shall exactly fill up the 
corners of the fabric. Another peculiar plan consists in stretching 
some classes of square fabrics upon a round table, when wet, so that 
the square temporarily assumes a circular form. In this state it is 
printed by a conical roller, and a peculiar distorted effect is obtained 
by reason of the corners of the piece being very little stretched, whilst 
the parallel sides, which have undergone excessive stretching, will 
shrink to their original state in drying, thus contracting the impression 
at those parts. We are, of course, enabled to give but a mere outline 
of these valuable improvements here. 

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER. 

THE following is a description of a process lately brought out in 
England for the manufacture of paper, by Messrs. Coupler and Mellier. 
The first part of this invention consists in manufacturing pulp for paper- 
making from straw and other similar vegetable matters, and from the 
bark of the osier or chestnut-tree, by the use of a boiling solution of 
hydrate of soda or potash, in conjunction with other chemical means, 
and without mechanical operations. 

The patentees conduct their processes as follows : They make use 
of an open vessel with a perforated false bottom, on which are placed 
the materials to be operated on, previously cut or otherwise divided 
into short lengths. From the top of this vessel (which is to be closed 
while the operation is proceeding) a pipe leads to a second vessel 
capable of holding from CO to 70 gallons, in which is placed the alka- 
line solution, and which is employed at a strength of from 7 to 10 
Baume. The end of the pipe in the first vessel is provided with a 
rose-head. When the process is to be commenced, steam is to be 
turned on into the alkaline solution, and its temperature raised to the 
boiling point. An excess of steam is then admitted, and the solution 
forced through the pipe, and dispersed in a shower over the straw ; 
when the solution is exhausted in this way, a fresh supply is introduced, 
and this operation repeated. A communication is established between 
the vessels by another pipe from underneath the false bottom of the 
first, and a circulation of the heated liquor is thereby maintained for 
about eight hours. Hot water is then forced through, and this washing 
is continued until the liquor comes off of a strength of about 1 Baume. 
Cold water is then supplied to the materials, and passed through until 
it comes off clear. In order to bleach and disaggregate the fibres, 
they are then submitted to the action of a solution of hypochlorite of 
alumina, or other hypochlorite, of a strength of about 3 Baume, and 
again washed in hot water in order to remove the superfluous bleach- 
ing liquid. This reduces the mass to the condition of half stuff which 
is manufactured into paper according to the usual modes, operating 
with or without the addition of rag pulp. The quantity of alkaline 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 85 

solution consumed by the above process will be about thirty to forty 
gallons for every hundred weight of fibre, and of hypoehlorite about 
25 per cent, of the weight of fibre. The hydrate for the alkaline 
solution may be obtained by dissolving soda or potash in lime water, 
and decanting the clear liquor; and the hypoehlorite of alumina for 
the bleaching process by dissolving sulphate of alumina in a solution 
of hypoehlorite (common chloride) of lime. The Avaters obtained by 
the first process when evaporated, yield a resinous soap, which may be 
mixed with other materials, and burnt as fuel, or used in the unmixed 
state. The above process is applicable also to flax waste, cotton waste, 
hemp, tow, &c., but does not supersede the necessity of first converting 
these materials into half stuff. 

The second part of the invention consists in treating wood shavings 
(pine, ash, elm, and beech are suitable for this purpose) with nitric 
acid in order to obtain therefrom a pulp to be used in the manufacture 
of paper. 

In carrying this part of the invention into effect, the patentees em- 
ploy two vessels in connection with each other, having perforated false 
bottoms on which the shavings to be operated on are placed in a damp 
state, and pressed. About 80 per cent, by weight of white nitric acid, 
(of a strength of 36 Baume,) diluted to about 5 or 6 Baume, is then 
added to the shavings in one of the vessels, and after standing about 
four hours, heat is applied until ebulition commences, and . nitrous 
fumes are evolved. These fumes are caused to pass into the second 
vessel, where they come in contact with the damped shavings, and are 
partially converted into hyponitric acid. When the boiling has been 
continued for a sufficient time, the shavings are subjected, for about 
two hours, to the action of solution of hydrate of potash or soda, of a 
strength of about 2 Baume, in the manner before described, are 
washed, and they are then bleached by hypoehlorite of alumina, using, 
however, only about two per cent, by weight of the materials in mak- 
ing the solution. This last operation, with the aid of subsequent 
washings, converts the shavings to a state of half stuff, which may be 
used atone or with rag pulp, according to the usual methods. The 
acid liquor employed in operating on the first batch of shavings, after 
having about 40 per cent, of the weight of the materials added to it, is 
used for treating another quantity, the nitrous fumes evolved being 
applied as before described. By evaporating the used acid liquors, 
oxalic acid may be obtained, as well as an acid of a character analogous 
to nitropicric acid. 

PAPIER-MACHE. 

ME. C. BIELEFELD, of London, has obtained a patent for the man- 
ufacture of papier-mache, of which the following is a description, as 
given in Newton's Patent Journal. " Sheets of papier-mache, of 
considerable thickness, have been commonly produced by causing 
numerous sheets of paper to be successively pasted together and dried, 
until the required thickness of sheet is obtained. The desired thick- 


86 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

ness of sheet lias also been obtained by piling a suitable number of 
sheets of paper in a wet state (as they come from the paper-mould or 
seive) one upon another, and then expressing the water by a press, 
and drying the sheet, so produced, whilst in a state of compression, 
between metal plates. Sheets of less thickness have been made by 
running the pulp on to a mould or seive, having a frame thereon cor- 
responding in depth to the thickness of sheet required, and then 
pressing such sheets between felts and drying them. Moulded orna- 
ments, and other articles of papier-mache have been usually manufac- 
tured by reducing fibrous and other matters by grinding, in a suitable 
machine, to the consistency of stiff dough or putty, and then moulding 
and drying the same. The above remarks are made in order to point 
out more clearly, the nature of this invention, which consists in rolling 
or pressing fibrous and other matters, ground to the state of stiff dough 
or putty, into sheets, and treating such sheets with oil and heat, in like 
manner to that in which sheets and moulded articles of papier-mache, 
made by the above methods, have been heretofore treated. 

Either flat or roller presses may be used in carrying out this inven- 
tion. The press which the patentee prefers to employ consists of a 
rectangular moving table, with a pressing-roller above it. The table 
has a rack on each side, and is supported in such a manner that it 
may be moved to and fro at the same surface speed as the pressing- 
roller ; for which purpose two cog wheels are fixed on the axis of the 
roller, and gear into the racks affixed to the table ; and the roller is 
kept pressed down upon the table by weighted levers. The table 
supports a wooden platform, somewhat larger than the intended sheet 
of papier-mache ; over this platform is spread a sheet of moistened 
canvass or other suitable fabric ; and upon the fabric is laid a rectan- 
gular or other frame of wood, corresponding in height to the thickness 
of the sheet of papier-mache, or substance in the nature thereof, to 
such an extent, that considerable pressure will be necessary to reduce 
the same to the level of the frame. Over the composition another 
sheet of moistened canvass or other fabric is laid ; and then the press- 
ing-roller being caused to rotate, the table carries the platform, with 
the plastic papier-mache thereon, beneath the roller. The composition 
is passed several times beneath the roller, until it is considered to be 
sufficiently pressed ; after which the upper sheet of moistened fabric 
is removed, and a flat frame or rack ofHvood (composed of numerous 
bars) is laid upon the sheet of papier-mache ; then the wooden rack 
and platform, with the sheet of papier-mache between them, are turned 
over ; and the platform and the first-named sheet of canvass are now 
removed, leaving the papier-mache upon the rack to dry. During 
the process of drying, the sheets are turned over from time to time ; 
and the patentee prefers, when time and season will permit, to dry by 
the ordinary atmosphere in sheds, or otherwise in rooms, heated to a 
slight degree above summer heat ; the longer the time allowed for 
drying the better will lie the result. The sheets, by day, arc placed 
in a stove, heated from 150 to 180 Fahr., and left therein until 
heated throughout: and thev are then immersed in boiled oil, which 

O * 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 87 


is kept at a temperature of from 150 to 180. The sheets are kept 
in the oil for a greater or less time, according to the thickness thereof 
and the degree of saturation desired ; for sheets of one inch thick, 
half an hour has been found sufficient. After saturation with oil, the 
sheets are again dried on racks, either by the atmosphere in sheds or 
in heated rooms ; and when they appear to be dry, they are kept for 
some time in a stove, heated to 180. The patentee states, that the 
above is the practice pursued by him when the sheets are to be used 
for forming partitions in steam and other vessels, and for panelling 
and other work of the cabins of such vessels, or the parts of railway 
and other carriages, and for making furniture and other structures 
where it is desirable to use a material that shall be little affected by 
extremes of temperature. 

The sheets, produced as above described, may be cut into the de- 
sired forms, and framed together in panels or otherwise ; and the 
surfaces may be planed, smoothed, and polished, as when operating on 
other papier-mache ; and they may be varnished without painting, in 
which case various effects may be obtained by mixing colors Avith the 
fibrous materials employed ; or the papier-mache may be painted and 
ornamented in like manner to carriage-painting. Various composi- 
tions of fibrous with other matters may be used in carrying out this 
invention ; but the patentee prefers the following, although he does 
not confine himself thereto : He makes a paste by boiling together 80 
Ibs. of water, 32 Ibs. of flour, 9 Ibs. of alum, and 1 Ib. of copperas ; with 
this paste he mixes 15 Ibs. of rosin, dissolved by 10 Ibs. of boiled oil, 
adding 1 Ib. of litharge ; and then he adds to the mixture from 55 to 
60 Ibs. of dry rag-dust or other suitable fibre, and grinds the whole 
together. He has found that paper makers' " half stuff" or pulp may 
be used, when deprived of fluidity to such an extent that it is of a like 
consistency to stiff dough or putty. When size is used in preparing 
the fibrous and other matters, it is best to employ a hollow pressing 
roller, heated by steam. In the manufacture of sheets of papier-mache 
by the above process, if one or both of the fabrics, which are used 
when pressing, be left adhering to the surface or surfaces of the sheet, 
instead of removing the same previous to drying, the fabric or fabrics 
will continue to adhere when the sheet is finished and form part 
thereof. 

VALUE OF PAPER IX ARCHITECTURE. 

THERE is, says Dickens' " Household Words," a paper church 
actually existing near Bergen, Avhich can contain nearly one thousand 
persons. It is circular within, octagonal without. The relievos out- 
side, and the statues within, the roof, the ceiling, the Corinthian 
capitals, are all of papier-mache, rendered water-proof by saturation 
in vitriol, lime water, whey, and white of egg. We have not yet 
reached this pitch of audacity in our use of paper ; but it should 
hardly surprise us, inasmuch as we employ the same material in pri- 
vate houses, in steamboats, and in some public buildings, instead of 


88 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

r 

carved decorations and plaster cornices. When Frederick II. of 
Prussia set up a limited papier-mache manufactory at Berlin, 1765, 
he little thought that paper cathedrals might, within a century, spring 
out of his snuif boxes, by the sleight of hand of advancing art. At 
present, we old-fashioned English, who haunt cathedrals and build 
churches, like stone better. But there is no saying what we may 
come to. It is not very long since it would have seemed as impossible 
to cover eighteen acres of ground with glass, as to erect a pagoda of 
soap bubbles ; yet the thing is done. When we think of a psalm 
sung by one thousand voices, pealing through an edifice made of old 
rags, and the universal element bound down to carry our messages 
with the speed of light, it would be presumptuous to say what can 
and what cannot be achieved by science and art, under the training 
of steady old Time. 

QUARTZ CRUSHING MACHINE. 

A NEW and very well contrived machine has been constructed in 
New York, by Mr. John A. Collins, for the purpose of extracting 
gold from quartz rocks. On a round cast iron plate, which forms the 
bed plate of the machine, six or more conical wheels, whose axes con- 
verge toward the center, are made to travel round, and to crush in 
their way the pieces of rock which are put under them. The neces- 
sary pressure and the motion are given by an ingenious contrivance, 
which consists of another "circular plate resting on the wheels, and 
which is fixed by keys on the axis, this axis being put in motion by a 
steam engine. Above the second plate is a third, connected with the first 
by vertical columns, and held down to the required pressure by india- 
rubber springs, so that if a piece of rock is harder than the others, 
the wheel, rising over it, presses the springs, which give back a 
stronger counter pressure, sufficient to crush the piece ; at least, it 
prevents any danger of breaking the machinery. 

By the above arrangement, there is no friction in the machine, 
either by rotary axes, or by sliding pieces. There is only rotation 
of wheels on plane surfaces, so that very little power is consumed by 
the machine itself. There are necessary contrivances to make a cur- 
rent of water pass over the powdered rock. 

LATH CUTTING MACHINE. 

THE following is a brief description of a lath cutting machine 
invented and patented by Henry C. Smith, of Cleveland, Ohio. 

A series of rotating knives are keyed into a cylinder, which is 
placed over the log to be cut. The cylinder is one foot in diameter, 
and the length of the log is four feet. Grooves are planed in this 
cylinder, about one inch deep, for the reception of the knives. These 
knives, when placed in the cylinder, are of such width as to set out 
from its face one-half of an inch, and arc some twenty-five in number, 
being placed the width of the lath apart, and are the length of the log or 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 89 

cylinder. As the log rotates under these knives, they are caught in 
the same, and revolve similar to one roller rolling under another, and 
are forced into the log by the action of a rack. The knives are thus 
constantly in the log, and feed upon the same at the rate of the thick- 
ness of a lath at one revolution of the log, or say one-third of an inch, so 
the surface that passes under them comes over cut into the thickness of 
the lath ; it will also be observed that these cuts are just the width 
of the lath apart, and this surface is presented to the clipping knife, 
which has a reciprocating motion, and cuts the laths from the log as it 
revolves against its edge. This knife also advances to the log at the 
same rate that the rotating knives move downward ; this is done by 
means of the screws at the sides, cut upon the shafts which move the 
iron frame forward toward the log, and upon which another iron frame 
is placed for securing the clipping knife, the edge of which advances 
on a center with the log. This iron frame rests upon rollers, so that 
the friction is but little, while the knife is playing back and forth. It 
will be observed, that the laths are cut off from the log, similar to 
cutting of veneering. By the inclination of the apron under the log 
upon which the laths fall, they are conveyed to the end of the 
machine. The reciprocating motion of the clipping knife prevents 
any chicking or shivering of the lath, which makes them equal to 
sawed lath. 

NEW BRICK MACHINE. 

THIS machine, the invention of Messrs. Mower and Woodworth, 
of Boston, operates as follows : The clay used, enters the machine 
dry, and by means of a combination of rollers and sieves is reduced 
to a uniform degree of fineness. The pulverized clay then passes 
into the press of the machine, where there are moulds for six bricks, 
into which it falls, and immediately receives two severe blows from 
above, succeeded by powerful pressure from below. These blows and 
pressure give it the shape and character of bricks directly. The 
clay, in the shape of bricks, is now delivered from the machine upon 
a little frame so rapidly, that it requires the constant labor of two men 
to put the bricks into wheelbarrows. They are thus forthwith con- 
veyed directly to the kiln, without the necessity of any intermediate 
process whatever. The moulds being exactly shaped, and made of 
metal, and the clay being, by the immense, force brought to bear upon 
it, perfectly fitted to the moulds, these unburnt bricks have a marble- 
like smoothness of surface, and an exquisite accuracy of shape, alto- 
gether surpassing those made in the ordinary way. The number of 
bricks which this invention is capable of making in a given time can 
easily be estimated. At each revolution of the machine, six new 
bricks are delivered ; and the number of revolutions is seven or eight 
in a minute. The number made in an hour thus certainly exceeds 

*/ 

twenty-five hundred. When it is recollected that this number can be 
continued day after day, without regard to the accidental changes of 
weather, the great capacities of the machine for accomplishing a large 


90 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

amount of work in a short time, are apparent. It should be observed, 
that although it is no part of the plan that the clay used in the 
machine should be at all wet, yet the pulverization of the lumps of the 
material in the first part of the process brings out a slight degree of 
moisture, so that the powder which is subjected to pressure is slightly 
damp ; and this doubtless adds somewhat to the tenacity and firmness 
of the bricks. This dampness, however, does not exceed that which 
is usual in bricks when they are considered dry. enough to be placed 
in the kilns. 

The hammer or ram which descends upon the clay in*the moulds 
weighs about four thousand pounds. The mechanical force which is 
brought to bear upon each brick is estimated at one hundred pounds. 
The whole weight of the machine, including the pulverizer and 
screens, exceeds twenty tons. The cost is $3,200. 

. The bricks, when burnt, are found to have shrunk less than those 
made in the ordinary way, probably on account of their greater den- 
sity ; and, for the same reason, they retain their smoothness of surface 
and accuracy of form. On breaking one, its compactness and sound- 
ness are immediately obvious. As they thus can absorb but little 
moisture, they are capable of standing the frost of the severest climate 
without injury. An experiment in a crushing machine, by the super- 
intendant of the Capitol at Washington, showed the strength of the 
bricks to be sixteen thousand six hundred pounds to the square inch. 
At the same time it was found that, by the absorption of one of the 
bricks and the atmospheric evaporation together, during fourteen 
hours, there was consumed less than half a gill out of a gallon of 
water. 

The actual use of the bricks, so far as we have heard, justifies all 
the expectations which would be formed from a knowledge of the 
process of their manufacture, and shows that they are in no respect 
inferior to those made in the ordinary way. Indeed, they are unques- 
tionably better. We are told that they have been used in buildings 
with entire satisfaction, and that some of them exposed during the 
last winter, in sidewalks in Boston, remain as perfect as when they 
were laid. The best quality of bricks can be made by these machines 
at a less expense than the coarse common bricks made by the ordinary 
processes. 

The present invention is so different, both in principle and opera- 
tion, from all former machines, and is so perfect in theory, simple in 
construction, and successful in its results, that we can hardly doubt 
that its use will eventually entirely supersede that of all other 
processes. 

We derive the foregoing facts from the Boston " To-Day." - Editor. 

A CIRCULAR SAW RUN WITHOUT AX ARBOR. 

AN invention has recently been made by Mr. A. C. George, of New 
Hampshire, by which a circular saw can be run without an arbor, in 
such a manner as to cut a board nearly the width of the saAv. The 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 91 

main principle by which this is effected, is, we understand, by the 
application of small trucks applied to the external part of the disc, 
and by which the necessary motion is communicated, and the saw held 
at the same time in place. 

IMPROVED PLOUGH. 

MEASURES to secure a patent for improvements in ploughs have 
been taken by J. B. Wilder, of Belfast, Me. The nature of the in- 
vention consists in employing a revolving mould-board, so arranged 
and attached to the share and land-side plate, that it may be turned 
independently of the share, which also revolves. By this improvement 
both the mould-board and share can be shifted to either side of the 
land-side plate, so that the dirt or sod may be turned in either direc- 
tion. The object in making the mould-board in this manner is to 
allow of its having an independent motion irrespective of the share, 
which hitherto has not been done. In every improvement of this 
kind, with revolving share and mould-board, the two have been 
always connected, so that the efficacy of the latter has been materially 
sacrificed in order to make it suit in the opposite positions to which it 
may be required to be altered. Scientific American. 

MACHINE FOR PICKING UP STONES. 

THE New England Farmer describes a machine recently devised 
for picking up stones, one of the most laborious duties of the farmer. 
The arrangement consists of a large cylinder on a common axle and 
cart wheels, containing four rows of teeth or lifters. Gearing on the 
hubs of the wheels and on the ends of the cylinder, gives the latter a 
rotary motion, when the teeth pick up the stones and deposit them in 
a box. When the box is full, the cylinder is raised and the load 
carried off and upset as from a common cart. 

PLASTERING MACHINE. 

A MACHINE for the purpose of superseding manual labor in the 
operation of plastering walls, has been invented by Isaac Hussey, of 
Ohio. It consists of a movable frame upon rollers that can be adjusted 
to suit an}' height, and of a smaller frame sliding within it. The latter 
serves to support a mortar box containing the trowel, which is raised 
and lowered by means of a drum and endless chain. When in opera- 
tion the trowel is supplied w T ith mortar by a rod and follower, which 
are worked by a lever, the quantity being regulated or shut off, as 
required, by a slide that covers the opening in the box. For plaster- 
ing ceiling it is only requisite to raise the mortar box to the top of the 
frame, and for side walls it is adjusted accordingly by turning it to a 
proper position. For this last-named operation the box is shifted by 
the sliding frame, which is moved back and forth for that purpose by 
means of the already mentioned lever. There are also various cords 
9 


92 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

and pulleys attached to the machine for facilitating the operations of 
the different parts, which are included in the invention and form a 
part of it, Scientific American. 

DITCHING MACHINE. 

THE following is a description of a machine recently invented by 
Charles Bishop, of Ohio, for the purpose of excavating ditches by 
horse power. The machine is provided with a revolving excavator, 
the shaft or axle of which lies in the direction of the length of the 
ditch. The excavator is of a screw form, and is operated by an end- 
less chain. The ditch is cut of a semi-circular form, and it deposits 
the cut clay or other kind of excavated earth in a box, from whence 
it is delivered at one side of the road by scrapers attached to the end- 
less chain, the machine being propelled forward by a friction wheel, 
or roller, moving in the ditch, and operated by the excavator's shaft. 
Cleveland Visiter. 

PATENT SPOONS. 

INVENTIONS generally claim the attention of the public from their 
real, or fancied importance, but occasionally some are brought into 
notice from their very insignificance, or from some inherent absurdity 
in their design or object. Of such a character as the latter class, is 
an invention of Mr. I. C. Taylor, of Ohio, of a spoon for administer- 
ing medicine, which is thus described in the claim of the patent 
granted February, 1852. " I claim the particular construction of my 
spoon with a sliding bottom, and a piston slide, exactly fitting the cav- 
ity of the spoon, and the sliding rod so arranged, that it may be slid 
in the same moment that the slide tongue or bottom is drawn out, 
thereby quickly emptying the spoon of its contents. 

" I do not claim that mv spoon should be a graduating or measuring 

T * ^ ^ 

spoon, but merely for administering medicines already graduated by a 
physician." 

MANUFACTURE OF GUTTA-PERCHA. 

THE following is a general description of the method of preparing 
and manufacturing gutta-percha, as followed in the large English 
establishments. The crude blocks of gutta-percha, as received from 
the docks, are in the first place cut into slices by means of a machine 
formed of a circular iron plate of about sixty inches diameter : in this 
iron plate are three slots placed radially for the reception of as many 
knives or cutters ; the blocks being placed in an inclined wooden 
shoot, an end of each is set in the plane of rotation of the cutters ; 
the slices thus cut off are transferred in baskets, though machinery 
might readily be applied for the purpose, to a wooden tank containing 
hot water, in which they are left to soak until they are found to be in a 
plastic state. The next part of the process is to subject the material 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 93 

to the action of a mincing cylinder, somewhat similar to that used by 
paper makers for the conversion of rags into pulp ; afterwards, the 
whole is thoroughly cleaned in cold water tanks ; and when the gutta- 
percha is found to be very impure, which is frequently the case as an 
article of commerce, a solution of common soda or chloride of lime is 
added to the water. From the cold water tanks the material is con- 
veyed to the masticating machine, in which it is secured by the doors 
being bolted down. By this operation it is subjected to very great 
pressure, and this part of the process is the same as that used in the 
manufacture of caoutchouc. From the masticating machine it is 

^5 

passed between large metal rollers, and thus converted into extensive 
sheets, of thicknesses regulated by the distance between the rollers. 
Sometimes it is passed two or three times between the rollers. These 
sheets are cut into bands of various widths by vertical knives placed 
at the end of the web or cloth by which the sheets are moved away 
from the rollers. The sheets are either cut into the proper width for 
lathe bands, or are stamped out for shoe soles, and various other 
purposes. 

MANUFACTURE OF COMBS. 

THE greatest comb manufactory in the world is in Aberdeen, Scot- 
land ; it is that of Messrs. Stewart, Rowell & Co. There are 36 fur- 
naces for preparing horns and tortoise-shell for the combs, and no less 
than 120 iron screw presses are continually going in stamping them. 
Steam power is employed to cut the combs, and an engine of fifty 
horse power is barely sufficient to do the work. The coarse combs 
are stamped or cut out-- two being cut in one piece at a time, by a 
machine invented in England in 1828. The fine dressing combs and 
all small tooth combs, are cut bv fine circular saws, some so fine as to 

tt 

cut 40 teeth in the space of one inch, and they revolve 5,000 times in 
a minute. There are 1,928 varieties of combs made, and the aggre- 
gate number produced, of all these different sorts of combs, average 
upwards of 1,200 gross weekly, or about 9,000,000 annually ; a quan- 
tity that, if laid together lengthways, would extend about 700 miles. 
The annual consumption of ox horns is about 730,000 ; the annual 
consumption of hoofs amounts to 4,000,000 ; the consumption of tor- 
toise shell and buffalo horn, although not so large, is correspondingly 
valuable ; even the waste, composed of horn shavings and parings of 
hoof, which from its nitrogenized composition, becomes a valuable 
material in the manufacture of prussiate of potash, amounts to 350 
tons in the year ; the broken combs in the various stages of manufac- 
ture average 50 or GO gross in a week ; the very paper for packing 
costs 83,000 a year. 

A hoof undergoes eleven distinct operations before it becomes a 
finished comb. In this great comb factory, there are 456 men and 
boys employed, and 164 women --in all 020 hands. 


94 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 


NORMANDY'S FRESH WATER CONDENSER. 

Ax apparatus lias been devised in France by M. Normandy, for 
converting sea water into fresh, for use on ship-board. 

Briefly described, it is a series of discs, placed one above the other, 
communicating by concentric galleries, and placed in a vapor bath at 
a pressure a little above that of the atmosphere. " The sea water," 
says the inventor, " circulating in the galleries heated by the surround- 
ing vapor, gives off a certain quantity of vapor, which, mingling with 
the atmospheric air, introduced by a tube from the outside, finally 
condenses as perfectly aerated fresh water in a refrigerator, which is 
also in communication with the atmosphere. No other means of agi- 
tation or percolation is so efficacious or economical." The apparatus 
which is free from the defect of depositing salt while distillation is 
going on, is rather more than three feet in height, and eighteen inches 
diameter. It will yield two pints of water per minute, at an expen- 
diture of about 2 Ibs. of coal for each 45 Ibs. of water. 

MACIIIXE FOR PRINTING CALICO. 

A NEW calico machine has been invented by Dr. R. L. Hawes, of 
Worcester, which will print twelve different colors at one operation. 
In relation to this machine the Boston Transcript says : 

It was but quite recently within five years, we believe that it 
was not thought practicable to print calico with the use of more than 
six colors at one operation. If additional colors were required to 
complete the design, they were given by hand blocks. Latterly, how- 
ever, the English inventors have produced machines that will print 
eight and ten colors, but it has remained for an American to outstrip 
them all in this important branch of mechanic art. The principal 
improvements introduced into this machine (for which application for 
a patent has been made,) consists in the mode of applying pressure 
to the print rollers, by which a yielding pressure of several tons may 
be given to each roller with great ease ; also in the construction of 
the frame work in a peculiar manner, so that either print roller may 
be removed from the machine without disturbing the others. By means 

CJ ** 

of these improvements, this machine is made to operate with nearly 
the same facility and ease as any six color machines hitherto con- 
structed. The weight of the machine is eight or ten tons, standing 
some nine or ten feet high, and necessarily has, not only great strength, 
but a very nice adjustment of its parts to enable the operator to print 
twelve colors on the cloth, so that each shall be exactly in its place, 
and this, too, when cloth is passing through the machine at the rate of 
a mile per hour. 

MANUFACTURE OF BEET ROOT SUGAR IN IRELAND. 

THE subject of cultivating the beet root, with a view to the manu- 
facture of Sugar, is now engrossing a good deal of public attention. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 95 

Ireland is said, by Mr. Sulliyan, the chemist to the Museum of Irish 
Industry in Dublin, to possess great capabilities for the production of 
beet root in large quantities, and of very superior qualities the 
Irish root possessing at least as much saccharine matter as that of 
France or Germany. The statistics of beet root suirar are curious 

tT^ 

and instructive. In -1841, the production of this article in Europe 
was estimated at ."> .">.<"> 00 tons ; in 1847, it was said to be 100,000 tons, 
and in IS.jO, 190,000 tons. The manufacture is said to be rapidly 
increasing, and realizing a great profit to those who are engaged in it. 

IMPROVEMENT IX THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR. 

THE following is a description of some new processes for the manu- 
facture of sugar, recently patented in England, and introduced with 
success into Cuba. 

The new processes are fourfold in their character, comprising, first, 
a new mode of obtaining the saccharine juice from the cane ; secondly, 
a new mode of defecating and filtering the juice so obtained ; thirdly, 
the boiling and concentrating of the juice ; and fourthly, the crystal- 
lization and final curing of the sugar. By the first improvement, in 
the construction of the cane press, a difference in the yield of the 
cane is obtained, as compared with the old rolling mill, of about 20 
per cent. In the new machine, the pressing tubes are reduced in 
length from 30 inches to 12, the first four of which are parallel, and 
3 inches wide - - the next four inches of their length being taper, and 
terminating with a width of but 1^ inch, the smaller contracted point 
extending as far as the exit end of the tube. By this change of form, 
the entire removal of the elasticity in the " magas," occupying the 
tubes is removed, and after the cane has been collapsed by the severe 
pressure, and its breadth at the same time gradually lessened, every 
fibre and cell is made to assume new relative positions not one 
remains unruptured, and an increased quantity of the juice is conse- 
quently expelled at the trough. In addition to this advantage, there 
is obviously a more equal distribution of power in each revolution of 
the machine ; the deleterious chlorophyl, or coloring matter, of the 
outer portion of the cane is not expelled with the juice, as in the 
ordinary apparatus ; the machine may be more easily fed, and weighs 
considerably less than rolling machines generally in use. 

The juice, when expelled from the cane, is unavoidably mixed with 
numberless minute fragments of cellular tissue, albumen, and other 
extraneous matters, which, if not speedily removed, tend to produce 
the acidification of the liquid. The present mode of defecation and 
filtration consists in raising the temperature of the liquor to 150 Fahr., 
when a quantity of lime is thrown in for the purpose of neutralizing 
the free acid, and assisting in the coagulation of the albumen ; the 
temperature is increased to 180 Fahr., when, after allowing time for 
settling, the scum is removed, and the clear liquor drawn oil' into the 
' grand" copper, where it is subjected to boiling heat, when the fecu- 
lent and other albuminous matters are kept constantly removed from 
9* 


96 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, 

its surface. The more completely these impurities are removed, the 
greater will be the brightness and value of the finished product. In 
the new process the juice passes through a wire strainer direct from 
the spout of the mill into the clarifiers, where it is raised to boiling 
heat by the application of steam, at which temperature it is kept for 
about three minutes, by which time the whole of its albuminous con- 
stituents and feculent matters will have been coagulated and chemi- 
cally separated, but will, of course, still remain mechanically mixed, 
and, in the form of light fleck, pervade the entire bulk of the fluid. 
These substances are then effectually removed by a process similar to 
that employed in the manufacture of paper. A drum of about two 
feet in diameter and from four to five feet in length is made to revolve 
slowly in a small semi-circular tray or vessel. This drum is covered 
with fine wire cloth, through which the water forces its way, leaving a 
muddy coating of extraneous matters on the other side, which coming 
in contact as it revolves with a fixed scraper, similar in principle to 
the " doctor" employed in calico printing, is made to fall off in a state 
something like dry mud into a receptacle prepared for it. The pro- 
cess is self-acting. It takes in its own supply of foul liquor from an 
elevated cistern, delivers the clear juice into the evaporating pan, and 
discharges the refuse as we have already stated. 

Up to this stage the advantages obtained must be evident to all who 
are acquainted with this interesting branch of manufacture. The 
liquor being received direct from the press, avoids the necessity of the 
use of liquor pumps ; the clarifiers, not being used as subsiding vessels, 
are not required to be so large ; the loss of juice in the removal of 
the scum and in the sediment is prevented ; the use of the " mont- 
jus" is rendered unnecessary ; the coagulation of the albuminous 
matter is more rapidly obtained ; the evaporating process may follow 
immediately after the pressing of the canes ; and finally, the self- 
cleansing filter performs its work much better than any continuous 
process of skimming, and renders unnecessary that watchful attend- 
ance which is now so imperatively necessary in order to obtain the 
required brightness and color of the sugar. The saving of manual 
labor by these improvements is self-evident. 

On the various modes of boiling and concentrating the juice at 
present in use, whether by a series of semi-globular pans, the vacuum 
pan, Gadsden's pan, or the apparatus of Mr. Crossly or Mr. Schroder, 
it is not necessary now to speak, the principle involved in one and all 
of them being the same --that of evaporating the fluid from the sac- 
charine matter. The inventor of the process now under consideration, 
contends that, in all the existing arrangements for the separation of 
the water from the sugar, boiling under any form, or the use of 
surfaces or pipes heated by steam, must be totally excluded, if the 
formation of molasses is to be prevented. It is a well established fact 
that a thermometer placed in a solution heated by steam or the direct 
action of fire furnishes no indication of the temperature to which the 
liquid is exposed, as a vast amount of latent heat is absorbed by fluids 
in their formation into steam. To the forge tfulness of this simple fact 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 97 

are to be traced many of the fatal mistakes at present connected with 
the manufacture of sugar. 

Thus, while the temperature of the syrup during ebullition in a 
vacuum pan indicates as low perhaps as 180 Fahr., the copper 
worm, against which portions of the sugar are constantly brought into 
contact, "is equal to and often above 220 Fahr.; the consequence 
of which is the destruction of the color, and an injury to the crystal- 
lizing powers of the sugar. By an arrangement which Mr. Bessemer 
terms a hot air evaporator, the concentration of saccharine fluids may 
now, however, be effected without the slightest injury to color or 
quality, and in an increased quantity. 

Thi's apparatus consists of a tank of thin plate iron, of about 10 
feet by 8 feet, and 2.1 feet in depth, which has a false bottom, curved 
so as to form two parallel segments of a cylinder. Above these and 
coincident with them is a hollow drum of 18 inches in diameter, 
mounted on an axis, and upon which is formed a broad spiral blade in 
the shape of a screw, or " creeper," the thread of which is about 
fifteen inches in depth, and the convolutions three-quarters of an inch 
apart ; and between each of the blades or threads of the screw, holes 
are formed spirally from one end of the drum to the other. At one 
end of the hollow drum, air, supplied by a blowing fan, and heated to 
150 by passing along a flue, is made to enter, which escapes through 
the holes in the drum in a radical direction, and sweeps like the hot 
breath of the simoon over the wet surfaces of the various revolving 
blades, absorbs the moisture thus exposed to its action, and passes oif 
in an invisible vapor. Upwards of six thousand square feet of evap- 
orating surface is thus obtained in the small space of 10 feet by 8 feet. 
The screws make about eight revolutions per minute, and as they 
revolve, the more concentrated portions of the fluid are washed off 
as they descend into the fluid, and fresh portions are being constantly 
brought up on the surface of the screw, to be in like manner sub- 
jected to the hot-air blast. Finally, after three or four hours, the 
whole of the surplus liquor is carried off; the remaining fluid is 
sufficiently concentrated, and assumes a thick gelatinous appearance ; 
and the screw, made to revolve in the opposite direction, expels the 
solution from the tank ready for the process of crystallization. By 
this process the sugar is not at any time exposed to a hotter surface 
than 140. Xo boiling, consequently, takes place, no slea is formed, 
and not one grain of crystallizable sugar is converted into molasses. 
The entire cost of fuel for evaporation is saved, the waste heat of the 
chimney and waste steam of the engine being alone employed, and 
the apparatus costs less than the ordinary vapor pans; it can be 
worked with a small amount of wind or water power. Three hogs- 
heads of sugar, it is stated, can be obtained where two only are now 
produced, whilst the quality will be superior in color and taste, and 
will be perfectly free from molasses. 

The separation of the crystals from the mother liquor in which they 
are found is effected in a most ingenious and efficient manner by the 
use of the air pump. The transformation from the most repulsive 


98 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, 

and unwholesome-looting black sugar into a fine -white sugar is com- 
pleted in one-seventh of a second by this process. The principle 
adopted is precisely that employed in "gassing" lace --an operation 
resorted to for the purpose of removing the minute filaments of cotton 
adhering to the surface of the fabric. In the case of the crystals of 
sugar, a thin film of fluid matter is required to be removed from the 
surface of the crystal, and this is effected by bringing it in contact 
with water a material which would as quickly dissolve the crystal 
itself, as the flame of the gas would destroy the delicate and fragile 
web of the bobbin net. How can the water be thus brought into 
contact with the sugar for such a short period, and in such a manner 
as only to remove the outer coating of molasses, and leave the crystal 
uninjured ? The process is a very simple one. A table of nine feet 
in circumference is made to revolve eight times per minute, having a 
coating of sugar spread over it to the depth of half an inch, and 
which consequently moves over a space of 72 feet per minute. At 
one part of its revolution the table is made to pass under a pipe of 
two inches in diameter, from which a shower of water is falling, and 
as the pipe is but one-sixth of a foot in diameter, and the table passes 
it at the rate of 72 feet per minute, it follows that each portion which 
comes under the falling water will be retained only 1-432 of a minute 
in each revolution. This table being covered with thin brass wire 
gauze, has placed immediately under it a vacuum chamber, into which 
the falling water, carrying with it the semi-fluid coating of molasses, 
is drawn as the table revolves, the crystallized sugar remains on the 
surface pure and white, and is delivered by a scraper into the hogs- 
head placed for its reception. 

IMPROVEMENTS IX THE MANUFACTURE OF ROSIN OIL. 

BY an improved process patented by Mr. Thuck, of England, the 
acid, naphtha, and oil, are produced successively from the rosin as 
follows : 

A still is filled to about two-thirds its contents with rosin, amongst 
which, by means of a pipe fitted with a perforated coil near the bot- 
tom of the still, a jet of steam is introduced at or before the time of 
lighting the fire. As in the first stage of heating, the rosin is very 
apt to boil over, the still must be disconnected from the condenser to 
avoid the injury and explosion that might ensue, were the boiling 
rosin to enter the condenser. The heat must be gradually increased 
till it reaches 325 Fahr., when acid will be discharged, and the 
temperature must not be kept stationary till the acid ceases to flow. 
During the whole of the distillation, steam is injected by the pipe 
above mentioned ; it passes through the rosin, and carries off' the 
naptha with it in the form of vapor. The quantity of naphtha so 
produced is about 15 per cent, of the bulk of the rosin under 
treatment. 

The acid and naphtha being run off, the temperature is raised to 
550 Fahr., and oil passes otf as vapor, and is condensed, being in 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 99 

quantity about 25 per cent, of the rosin. "When the oil ceases to 
flow, the temperature is raised to 600 Fahr., when more oil will be 
produced, to the extent of about 12^ per cent, of the rosin; after 
this, the fire may be extinguished. The residuum left in the still 
resembles pitch, and may be put to similar uses ; it is run off by a 
duct at the bottom of the still. The oil is partially purified as it 
passes off, by the injection of steam by means of a pipe entering the 
still near the top, and fitted with a rose. 

The patentee next proceeds to describe his processes for purifying 
the oil, and qualifying it for lubricating purposes. The oil produced 
at a temperature of 550 Fahr. is re-distilled, being mixed with 5 per 
cent, of slacked lime. The heat is gradually raised to 550 Fahr. ; 
but steam is injected by both of the pipes already mentioned, when 
it is at about 300, and by this means the oil is bleached and purified. 
It is, however, again passed through this process, caustic being substi- 
tuted for the slacked lime. The oil is then placed in a bleaching 
kettle, or pan of any convenient form, and heated to 225 Fahr. by 
a steam pipe entering and coiled in the lower part of the kettle. 
Steam is also injected through another pipe and rose, till the oil is 
fused, when the coloring matter produced in it by the atmosphere 
will be expelled, and the oil will be ready for use. 

The oil originally produced at a temperature of 600 Fahr., is treated 
in the same way as that produced at 550, except that at 300 steam 
is injected only by the lower of the two steam pipes it being 
injected by the other at 600. The oil produced in this case is 
called by the patentee, " currier's or tanner's oil." A still finer oil 
for painters is obtained from oil originally produced at 650 the 
same being treated as in the last process the steam being injected 
by the upper pipe, only when the heat reaches 650. This oil is 
afterwards boiled, and suitably prepared for admixture with pigments. 

NEW USE OF THE LEAVES OF THE PIXE, (PINUS SYLVESTRIS.) 

"\VE publish the following, as one of the scientific curiosities of the 
year, without in any way vouching for its correctness. Our informa- 
tion is, however, derived from a usually reliable source, the National 
Intelligencer, of Washington. 

Xot far from Breslau, in Silesia, in a domain called the Prairie of 
Humboldt, there exist two establishments as astonishino- for their 

^j 

produce as for their union. One is a manufacturer which converts 
pine leaves into a sort of cotton or wool ; the other offers to invalids, 
as curative baths, the waters used in the manufacture of that vegetable 
wool. Both have been erected by M. De Pannewitz, inventor of a 

g 

chemical process by means of which it is possible to extract from the 
long and slender leaves of the pine a very fine filaceous substance 
which he has named woody wool, because, h'ke the ordinary wool, it 
can be curled, felted, and woven. All the aucular leaves of the pine 
fir, and of the conifer* in general, are composed of a bundle of fibrillas 
extremely fine and tough, surrounded and held together by a resinous 


100 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT. 

substance under the form of a thin pellicle. When by decoction and 
the use, of certain chemical agents the resinous substance is dissolved, 
it is easy to separate the fibres, to wash them and free them from all 
foreign substances. According to the mode of preparation employed, 
the woolly substance acquires a quality more or less fine, or remains 
in its coarse state ; in the first instance it is used as wadding, in the 
second to stuff mattresses. If the pine has been preferred to the other 
kinds of pitch trees, it is on account of the length of its needle-shaped 
leaves. It is thought that a similar result might be obtained from other 
trees of the same species. The tree can be stripped of its leaves when 
quite young -without any injury. The operation takes place when 
they are still green. A man can gather two hundred pounds of leaves 
a day. It was first advantageously substituted for cotton and wool in 
the manufacture of blankets. The hospital of Vienna bought five 
hundred, and, after a trial of several years, has adopted them entirely. 
It has been remarked, among other advantages, that no kind of insects 
would lodge in the beds, and its aromatic odor was found agreeable 
and beneficial. These blankets have since been adopted by the 
penitentiary of Vienna, the charity hospital of Berlin, the maternity 
hospital, and the barracks of Breslau. Its cost is three times less than 
that of horsehair, and the most experienced upholsterer, when the 
wool is employed in furniture, could not tell the one from the other. 
This article can be spun and woven, resembling the thread of hemp 
for its strength ; it can be made into rugs and horse-blankets. 

In the preparation of this wool an ethereal oil of a pleasant odor is 
produced. This oil is at first green ; 'exposed to the rays of the sun, 
it assumes an orange yellow tint ; replaced in the shade, it resumes its 
former green color; rectified, it becomes colorless. It differs from 
the essence of turpentine extracted from the same tree. It has been 
found efficient in rheumatism and gout ; also as an anthelmintic, and 
in certain cutaneous diseases. Distilled, it is used in the preparation 
of lac of the finest kind. It burns in lamps like olive oil, and dissolves 
caoutchouc completely in a short time. Perfumers in Paris use it in 
large quantities. It is the liquid left by the decoction of the pine 
leaves which has been so beneficial in the form of bath. The bath 
establishment is a flourishing one. The membranous substance, ob- 
tained by filtration at the time of the washing of the fibres, is pressed 
in bricks and dried ; it is used as a combustible, and produces, from 
the rosin it contains, a quantity of gas sufficient for the lighting of the 
factory. The production of a thousand quintals of wool leaves a 
quantity of combustible matter equal in value to sixty cubic metres of 
pine wood. 

Experiments made in the United States since the publication of the 
above process, have entirely failed in producing any practical result, 
and we have little faith in the value of the scheme. Editor. 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 101 


CURIOUS EXPERIMENT IN WOOL GROWING. 

IN a lecture recently! delivered by Mr. Owen at the Society of Arts, 
the professor detailed he particulars of a highly interesting experi- 
ment, which resulted in the establishment of one of the very few 
instances in which the origination of a distinct variety of domestic 
quadruped could be satisfactorily traced, with all the circumstances 
attending its development well authenticated. We must premise it 
by stating that amongst the series of wools shown in the French 
department of the Great Exhibition, were specimens characterized 
by the jury as a wool of singular and peculiar properties ; the hair, 
glossy and silky, similar to mohair, retaining, at the same time, certain 
properties of the merino breed. This wool was exhibited by J. L. 
Graux, of the farm of Mauchamp, Commune de Juvincourt, as the 
produce of a peculiar variety of the merino breed of sheep, and it 
thus arose : 

In the year 1826, one of the ewes of the flock produced a male 
lamb, which, as it grew up, became remarkable for the long, smooth, 
straight, and silky character of the fibre of the wool, and for the 
shortness of its horns. It was of small size, and presented certain 
defects in its conformation, which have disappeared in its descend- 
ants. In 1829, M. Graux employed this rani with the view to obtain 
other rams, having the same quality of wool. The produce of 1830 
included one ram and one ewe, having the silky quality of the wool ; 
that of 1831 produced four rams and one ewe, with the fleece of that 
quality. In 1833, the rams, with the silky variety of wool, were suffi- 
ciently numerous to serve the whole flock. In each subsequent year 
the lambs have been of two kinds one preserving the character of 
the ancient race, with the curled elastic wool, only a little longer and 
finer than in the ordinary merinos ; the other resembling the rams 
of the new breed, some of which retained the large head, long neck, 
narrow chest, and long flanks of the abnormal progenitor, whilst 
others combined the ordinary and better formed body, with the fine 
silky wool. M. Graux, profiting by the partial resumption of the 
normal type of the merino in some of the descendants of the mal- 
formed original variety, at length succeeded, by a judicious system of 
crossing and interbreeding, in obtaining a flock, combining the long 
silky fleece with a smaller head, shorter neck, broader flanks, and 
more capacious chest. Of this breed the flocks have become suffi- 
ciently numerous to enable the proprietor to sell examples for expor- 
tation. The crossing of the Beauchamp variety with the ordinary 
merino has also produced a valuable quality of wool, known in France 
as the Mauchamp Merino. 

The fine silky wool of the pure Mauchamp breed is remarkable for 
its qualities, as combining wool, owin^ to the strength as weU as the 

JL ^j ^^ ^j 

length and fineness of the fibres. It is found of great value by the 
maufacturers of Cashmere shawls, being second only to the true 
Cashmere fleece in the flexible delicacy of the fabric, and of particu- 
lar utility when combined with the Cashmere wool, in imparting to 


102 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

the manufacture qualities of strength and consistence, in which the 
pure Cashmere is deficient. Although the quantity of the wool 
yielded by the Mauchamp variety is less than in the ordinary merinos, 
the higher price which it obtains in the French market 25 per cent, 
above the best merino wools --and the present value of the breed, 
have fully compensated M. Graux for the pains and care manifested 
by him in the establishment of the variety, and a council medal was 
awarded to him. 

PROTECTOR GAS METERS. 

IT is well known that the meter in general use is open to many 
objections, among which may be enumerated that it is not infallible, 
and that it can be tampered with to defeat the purpose for which it is 
intended. Mr. J. Laidlaw, of New York, has recently devised a 
meter for the purpose of obviating these defects, his object being to 
guard the gas companies against fraud on the part of a dishonest 
consumer, and also to make the public certain that they receive the 
amount of gas for which they pay. The most common manner by 
which the gas companies were defrauded was by tilting the meter to 
one side, so that more gas was consumed than was actually registered. 
On the part of the consumer it was complained that it was in the power 
of the company, by altering the level of the water in the meter to 
make him pay for more gas than he had used. These proceedings 
are prevented by such an arrangement, chiefly in the disposition of 
the pipes, that all unfair attempts are useless or defeat their own 
object. The proper quantity of water is maintained by using a pipe, 
down which the water flows when too much is poured into the meter ; 
this pipe leads the water into a lower chamber, where it is draAvn off 
by a syphon to the outside of the meter, provision being made that 
the gas cannot force the water out. If the meter is tilted to one side 
it is still quite efficient, and if tilted forward, the gas is cut off and 
cannot act on the drum, consequently the lights are extinguished. 
There is also a very handsome apparatus intended to test each meter 
before it leaves the hands of the maker or the gas company ; this 
apparatus is on the principle of the gasometer, in fact it is a small one. 
There is a clock-faced index attached to it, which serves to check the 
accuracy of the meter. Scientific American. 

AMERICAN CHRONOMETERS. 

UNTIL within a recent period the chronometers of the best character 
used in the American marine, were exclusively of English manufac- 
ture. Chronometers are now, however, manufactured in this country 
equal, if not superior to any produced elsewhere. The Grinnell 
Arctic Expedition was supplied with the best English chronometers, 
and also with American ones, manufactured by Bliss & Creighton, of 
New York. On the return of the expedition it was found that the 
error of the English instruments was five times greater than that of 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 103 

the American. One of the New York chronometers, in particular, 
was subjected to the severest tests to which it is possible to subject 
instruments of such delicate construction ; yet so exquisitely was it 
provided with adjustments and compensations for the very great 
extremes of temperature to which it has been subjected, that, having 
suffered all sorts of exposure to which such instruments are liable in a 
Polar winter, it was returned with a change in its daily rate, during a 
year and a half, of only the eighteen thousandth part of one second in 
time. In stating this fact it will be born in mind that the temperature 
registered during the winter in Wellington Straits was actually 46 
below zero. 

NEW ILLUMINATING APPARATUS FOR LIGHTHOUSES. 

A NEW illuminating apparatus for lighthouses, has been recently 
brought out by Mr. Wilson, of Providence, and Dr. Meacham, of 
Cincinnati. The improvement consists in a combination of the 
dioptic and catoptic methods of illumination, and the arrangement of 
the lamp and reflector is thus described in the Providence Journal : 
" The lamp, which is of great illuminating power, has three concen- 
tric wicks, the diameter of the larger" being 2f inches, with a 
separate oil chamber for each, and to which, by a simple arrange- 
ment of the conveying tubes, the oil is carried and constantly kept at 
its proper level, thereby dispensing with the rack-and-pinion for 
raising the wicks, as well as all the clock-work and pumps heretofore 
found indispensable in lamps of this kind. 

The reflectors, which are arranged both above and below the light, 
are constructed upon a die, the form of which is obtained by the 
revolution of a parabola around an axis perpendicular to its OAvn, and 
passing through its vertex ; and the diameter of the lamp and the 
focal distance of the reflectors are so graduated to each other, that 
the most luminous portion of the light shall always be in this univer- 
sal focus. 

To prevent the escape of any radiant light, a cylindro-plano-convex 
lens, having the same common focus, is placed 'between the middle 
and lower reflectors, which transmits and refracts it in a line parallel 
to a horizontal plane passing through the light. By this arrangement 
all the light evolved is thrown out in a horizontal belt, and is equally 
luminous or brilliant at all points. The cost of this apparatus is 
about $300." 

SAFETY FLUID LAMPS. 


Two inventions have been brought out during the past year, 
designed to obviate and prevent the frequent explosions of lamps 
containing and burning the various fluids known as camphene, burn- 
ing fluid, &c. These two inventions, by Prof. Hereford, of Harvard 
University, and Mr. Newell, of Boston, are founded to a greater or 
10 


104 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

less extent upon the principles developed by Davy, in the Safety 
Mining Lamp. 

The" lamp constructed by Mr. Newell is made as follows : In the 
center of the lamp, extending to the bottom, is a fixed cylinder of 
fine tinned wire gauze, having a mesh of 500 to the inch. A tube 
of like gauze screws on to the wick disc, and confines the wick ; this 
tube slips down inside of the gauze cylinder spoken of. The can for 
containing the camphene, or turpentine and alcoholic mixture, is 
made with a disc of this wire gauze in the spout and under the lid. 
The wick disc is also perforated with a number of fine holes, which 
thus establish a communication with the interior of the lamp and the 
external air. Should the contents of the lamp at any tune be fired, 
as during the filling, the combustion is wholly confined within the 
gauze tube running up the centre of the lamp, or rather, to the nar- 
row space between the external and internal tubes ; and all flame is 
prevented from reaching the fluid contained in the body of the lamp. 
On the other hand, the small perforations in the wick disc, at once 
relieve the interior of the lamp from the pressure of gas, or vapor 
generated by overheating, and at the same time prevent the passage 
of flame from without. 

The arrangement in the lamp devised by Prof. Horsford, is some- 
what different from that of Mr. Ne well's, but is intended to accomplish 
the same purpose. 

DISINFECTING LAMP. 

A SIMPLE and economical apparatus for disinfecting apartments, 
and purifying the air, has been used for some tune by various medical 
gentlemen in Boston. It is simply this : Take one of any of the 
various kinds of glass lamps for burning camphene, for example 
and fill it with chloric ether, and light the wick. In a few minutes, 
the object will be accomplished. In dissecting rooms, in the damp, 
deep vaults, where vegetables are sometimes stored, or where drains 
allow the escape of offensive gases, in outbuildings, and in short, in 
any spot where it is desirable to purify the atmosphere, burn one of 
these lamps. One tube, charged with a wick, is quite sufficient. 
This suggestion is really worth remembering for the comfort of a sick 
room, because it is easily accomplished, agreeable, and more econom- 
ical for purifying than any process now known. 

ON THE LIGHTHOUSE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

THE almost universal complaint of the utter inefficiency of our 
lighthouses, has at length led Congress to take measures for an exam- 
ination into the truth of the reports, and the causes of the defects, if 
such existed. In accordance, therefore, with a resolution, a Board 
of officers was appointed with instructions to inquire into the condi- 
tion of the lighthouse establishment of the United States, and make 
a general detailed report and programme to guide legislation in 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 105 

extending and improving our present system of construction, illumi- 
nation, inspection, and superintendence. The Board consisted of 
Commodore Shubrick and Commander Du Pont, of the Navy, Gen. 
Totten and Col. Kearney, of the Engineers, Prof. A. D. Bache, 
Superintendent of the Coast Survey, and Lieut. Jenkins, of the Navy 
as Secretary. The results of the investigations of these officers have 

c_j 

been given in a voluminous and valuable report to Congress, which 
discloses a state of things in reference to our lighthouses, which is 
highly discreditable to the nation, and requires instant change. It 
appears that there is no system whatever, no proper mode of deter- 
mining the position or character of the lights ; that the lights them- 
selves are of a kind obsolete in Europe, badly placed, badly con- 
structed, badly furnished, and badly tended ; that the towers are not 
always well placed, and are very frequently badly built ; and that 
with a very low useful effect, our lighthouses cost as much as, or more 
than, a proper system of first rate lights. The remedy proposed is a 
simple one, the establishment of a permanent Lighthouse Board, 
properly constituted, who shall superintend the arrangement of all 
lights ; employ competent persons to select proper sites, and deter- 
mine the character of the lights, which are to be of the most efficient 
construction; competent engineers to design the lighthouses, and super- 
intend their construction ; proper persons to test the quality of the sup- 
plies purchased, and to deliver them in proper quantities to the keepers ; 
and, finally, shall draw up a set of proper regulations for light keepers, 
and see them attended to. 

We also learn from the Report, that there is not in useful effect, a 
single first class light on the coast of the United States. That the 
lights at Neversink, (two lens.) New York, and the second order lens 
light at Sankaty Head, Nantucket, are the best lights on the coast of 
the United States. That there are few, if anv, reflector lights on the 

*/ ' C 1 

coasts of the United States, better in useful effect than the third 
order lens light, erected by the Topographical Bureau, on Brandy- 
wine shoal, while the economy of the lens light is in the ratio of at 
least 4 to 1. That the Fresnel lens is greatly superior to any other 
mode of lighthouse illumination, and in point of economy is nearly 
four times as advantageous as the best system of reflectors and Argand 
lamps. 

The whole subject of lighthouse illuminations and improvements, 
although one of occasional discussion in Congress, and in certain cir- 
cles, within the last ten years, has not occupied the public mind to 
any great extent in this country ; while in Europe generally, but 
more especially in France, England, Scotland, and Ireland, the ablest 
and most distinguished statesmen, philosophers, and philanthropists, 
have devoted themselves, for the last twenty-five years, to this subject, 
in endeavoring to apply practically the aids which science and the 
mechanic arts have developed. Experiments to ascertain the truthful 
practical test of the relative useful and economical value of illuminat- 
ing apparatus, and their accessories, in the most minute detail, have 
been made by Fresnel, Faraday, Stevenson, and other distinguished 
individuals ; the results of their investigations have been published 


106 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

to the world, and their conclusions hare served for the formation of a 
system for lighthouse illumination, approximating to perfection. Leg- 
islation, too, has taken a prominent part in this important branch of 
the public service in Europe. In 1825, the French government 
adopted definitely the French system on the coasts of France, and 
took, as the basis of their future lighthouse establishment, the pro- 
gramme proposed by the Board organized for that purpose, at the 
head of which was Admiral Rossel, of the French navy. About this 
time the subject, which Sir David Brewster had foreshadowed in 
1811, was revived in England and Scotland, through Col. Colby and 
Mr. Stevenson, the engineer of the Northern lights, (and the distin- 
guished architect of the Bell Rock tower ;) however, no important 
step was taken on the English side of the Channel, to introduce the 
Fresnel apparatus, until after a most careful and rigid examination, 
and until after trials of comparative usefulness and economy with that 
and the reflector apparatus. Although the Fresnel lens has met with 
much favor in England, and has been gradually getting into use, until 
nearly one-half of the sea coast lights have been changed since 1837, 
still Scotland has introduced a larger number in proportion to extent 
of coast, than the Trinity Board. Notwithstanding these improve- 
ments in the lights of Great Britain, the subject was again taken up 
by the House of Commons in 1845, and since then a large number of 
lens apparatus have been introduced both in Great Britain and in the 
colonies, and the rape-seed oil, on account of its superiority and 
economy, has been substituted for the best sperm oil, in most of the 
lighthouses of the kingdom. While improvements in illuminating 
apparatus, and construction, ventilation, combustibles, c., have made 
rapid progress in lighthouse engineering in Europe, hardly any 
attempt has been made in this country to improve the lights, and no 
efficient protection is now afforded to the immense foreign and domes- 
tic commerce, which is now daily risked upon our dangerous and ill- 
lighted coasts. 

TO PREVENT WOOD FROM WARPING. 

FRANCOIS TACIIET, of Paris, has taken out a patent for the fol- 
lowing method of preparing wood, to prevent it from warping or 
shrinking. The ordinary method of doing this is to employ two or 
more thin pieces, which are united together with the grain cross-wise, 
by means of glue or liquid cement, but this only partially answers its 
intended purpose, as glue, or cement, applied in a liquid state, is 
always liable to be affected by a moist atmosphere, and the expansion 
produced thereby, and the subsequent unequal contraction in drying, 
causes a certain amount of warping. Now the object of the patentee 
is to unite pieces of wood together, so as to render them independent 
of atmospheric influences, and this he effects by employing the cement 
in a dry and powdered state, and applying heat to the exterior of the 
pieces of wood to be united, so as to effect the melting of the cement 
by transmission. The cement which the patentee employs is gum lac, 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 107 

alone or in combination with other materials. This he reduces to a 
powder, and sprinkles evenly over the surface of one of the pieces of 
wood to be united. He then lays the other pieces of wood on the 
cement-covered surface, and repeats the process of sprinkling cement 
and applying thicknesses of wood, according to the ultimate required 
thickness to be produced. He then clamps the pieces of wood 
together, and applies sand, heated to about 300 Centigrade, to the 
exterior surfaces, and continues this applicaiion of heated sand until 
the cement is melted, when the sand is removed, and the air admitted 
to cool the wood and set the cement. When quite cold, the prepared 
wood is removed from the clamping press, and may then be applied 
to any useful purpose. London Mechanic's Magazine. 

EFFECT OF STEAM ON TIMBER. 

MR. VIOLITTER has lately presented to the Academy of Science 
in Paris, a communication on the dessication of different kinds of 
wood by steam. He stated that steam raised to 482 Fahr., was 
capable of taking up a considerable quantity of water, and acting 
upon this knowledge, he submitted different kinds of oak, elm, pine, 
and walnut, about 8 inches long, and half an inch square, to a current 
of steam at 7 pounds pressure to the square inch, but which was 
afterwards raised to 482. The wood was exposed thus for two hours. 
It was weighed before it was exposed to the steam, and afterwards put 
into close stopped bottles until cool, when the samples of wood were 
again weighed, and showed a considerable loss of weight, the loss of 
which increased with the increase of the temperature of the steam. 
For elm and oak, the decrease in weight was one-half, ash and walnut 
two-fifths, and pine one-third. The woods underwent a change of 
color as the heat was rising from 392 to 482 ; the walnut became 
very dark, showing a kind of tar, formed in the wood by the process, 
which was found to have a preserving effect on the wood. 

It was found that wood thus treated became stronger having an 
increase in the power of resisting fracture. The maximum heat for 
producing the best resisting fracture power for elm, was between 302 
and 347, and between 257 and 302 for the oak, walnut and pine. 
The oak was increased in strength five-ninths, walnut one-half, two- 
fifths for pine, and more than one-fifth for elm. These are but pre- 
liminary experiments, which may lead to very important results, and 
are therefore interesting to architects especially. By this process, the 
fibres of the wood are drawn closer together and maple and pine 
treated in the steam to a temperature of 482, were rendered far 
more valuable for musical instruments, than by any other process 
heretofore known. 

ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE FESTE ARTS. 

THE British Society of Arts, in order to afford the greatest facili- 
ties for the study and prosecution of painting and drawing, have 
10* 


108 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

recently had prepared under their direction, boxes of colors, and sets 
of mathematical instruments, which are sold at the following prices. 
The box of colors retails for one shilling, and contains the following 
colors gamboge, lake, light red, ultramarine, vermillion, indigo, 
yellow ochre, Vandyke brown, sepia, burnt sienna, and three hair 
pencils. The cases of instruments are of two kinds : 1 . Those 
necessary for learning the elements of geometric construction ; viz., a 
graduated boxwood ruler and set-square, a pair of six inch compasses, 
with moveable pen and pencil legs in a slide box ; these are sold to 
the public for half a crown. 2. Those necessary for affording artisans 
and others who have some knowledge of drawing, the means of 
putting their draAving into practice in their various trades, viz., a 
pair of six inch compasses, with pen and pencil legs, a drawing pen, 
a bow pencil, a bow pen, and a boxwood protractor : these are sold 
for six shillings. 

INSTRUMENT FOR OBTAINING CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS 

FROM NATURE. 

AT the Belfast meeting of the British Association, Mr. H Twining 
presented an ingenious instrument, designed to aid in obtaining cor- 
rect representations of objects from nature. This little instrument 
was on the principle of a theodolite ; by which the angular positions 
of the several objects in a scene in nature, which the artist had 
resolved to transfer to his canvas, could be accurately recorded in his 
note-book, and afterwards, at leisure, by the aid of a square frame of 
crossing threads, accurately placed in a picture of any determined 
size, according to certain simple rules, which the author pointed out. 

CULINDRON PIANO. 

THE above is the name applied to a new form of the piano, invented 
by Messrs. Speer & Marx, of N. J. The novelty of this instrument 
consists in the form of the sounding board and the consequent 
arrangement of the strings, &c. In order to obtain a larger surface 
for sound than would otherwise be possible, the sound board is shaped 
cylindrically, forming an upright pillar, Avith the strings keyed on the 
exterior. There is, accordingly, a great difference in the arrange- 
ment from that of the ordinary piano, as the strings, &c., are placed 
in a vertical instead of a horizontal position. But the chief improve- 
ment consists in the sounding board, which from its peculiar shape, 
presents many advantages of tone as well as of larger surface. There 
is a pedal attachment for piano and forte in the usual manner, which 
is connected with the top of the cylinder. 

ON THE PRESERVATION OF FRUIT. 

AT a late meeting of the Farmers' Club of New York, Mr. "W. R. 
Smith, of Wayne County, Pa., gave an explanation of a new method 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 109 

which he had adopted for preserving fruit. He introduced no foreign 
substance, but preserved the fruit entirely in its own juice, extracted 
by a chemical process, without sugar or alcohol. He had a few thou- 
sand bottles, all produced from his own farm. About three years ago 
he commenced experiments to attain a superior method of preserving. 
At first they failed, and hundreds of bottles spoiled in color or taste ; 
but now they had, though not brought to perfection, attained a very 
superior degree of preservation. It was a principle that two fluids, 
with a porous substance between them, would unite. So, in preserv- 
ing fruits in alcohol, the weightier fluid, or juice contained in the fruit, 
was replaced by the lighter fluid, alcohol ; and we eat alcohol instead 
of fruit ; while in preserving them in Sacharine juice the flavor went 
entirely into the syrup, leaving the fruit comparatively tasteless. 
The plan pursued of preserving the fruit in its own juice, obviated 
these difficulties, by making the syrup of equal density with the juice 
within the fruit, thereby preserving both aroma and flavor. Success, 
Mr. Smith said, depended not so much on skill, as on close attention 
to every manifestation, and choosing the fruits and vegetables at the 
moment they were fit for the dessert. The cherry, as generally 
brought to market, was not wholesome, but when ripe and fresh it 
was very healthy. From the various specimens produced, tomato, 
raspberry, quince and peach were remarked as most perfectly pre- 
served, containing the natural aroma and taste of the fruit. 

PRESERVATION OF EGGS. 

M. CHAMBORTD in the Belgique Industrielle gives the following 
receipt for the preservation of eggs : 

" By submitting a thin stratum of the white and yolk of eggs about 
1-12 inch thick upon glass or porcelain plates, to the heat of an oven, 
a mass will be obtained after 24 hours drying, readily pulverized, and 
which is not altered by the action of the air after drying ao-ain a day. 

J J O 9 O J 

Each pound of powdered eggs thus prepared, when desired for use 
requires two pounds of cold water, with which it is to be beaten up, 
and is equivalent to fifty eggs, and may be used for omeletts, pastries, 
or other culinary purposes." 

A MUSEUM OF DOLLS. 

M. JULES LECOMTE, in the Courier des Etats Urns, gives the 
following account of a collection of dolls which is soon to be exhibited 
in Paris. He says, " At first there seems only a fanciful and useless 
idea in such a collection. But reflection and examination soon 
demonstrate how curious, instructive, philosophical, geographical, and 
historical is this collection which at first seems so puerile. The 
attempt has been to bring together an incredible variety of types of 
races, of dresses and customs, which comprehends all countries and 
several centuries. There are, for example, five dolls of the fifteenth 
century, which give an exact representation of the fashions of that 


110 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

time, and a carefully prepared picture of the kind of beauty then 
admired, and tell more about that epoch than many great books, 
which it would take a great while to read, could do. Here is the doll 
with which a noble young lady under Charles VI. amused herself 
at the time the council of Constance was burning John Huss. Here 
is the model of Yseult with the white hands, giving the prize of the 
tournament to the valiant Chevalier Jean de Bethencourt, who was 
not long after to discover the Canary Islands ; here is the model of 
the proposed costume of the soldiers of Lancaster, the defenders of the 
red rose at the battle of Wakefield. Here is, on the hurdle, the 
figure in miniature of a sufferer of the first inquisition of Spain 
in 1478. Here is the exact costume worn by the Princess Mary, 
daughter of Charles the Bold, on the day of her marriage with 
Maximilian, of Austria. I remarked that the hair of the Princess is 
red, and I imagine this is the local color. You can thus see the 
interest of this odd museum. Spain has furnished for it almost all her 
religious orders, and under the hair-shirt or the robe, the type of the 
monk, his head covering, his complexion, his air. There is a puppet 
which enabled the nobles to judge how Montesquieu killed the Prince 
of Conde at the battle of Jarnac, a dancing figure of that time, making 
undoubtedly a part of some popular spectacle, which represents 
Charles IX. armed with the contested arquebus which Catherine de 
Medicis put into his hand on the day of Coligny's death. The image 
of the dead Marguerite de Yalois, the first wife of Henry IV., on her 
bed of state. Models of the native inhabitants which were found by 
the Dutch in the Indies, when they founded Batavia. Puppets, with 
which noble misses under Casimir V., Kins of Poland, amused them- 

^^ 

selves. The model presented to the king for the grand uniform of 
the order of St. Michel, founded in 1G65. The costume of the Doge 
Francesco Erizzo in 1631. A figure dressed as did the widow of 
James III., of England, who died at St. Germain. The state-dress of 
the Doge's wife, Gremani, or her way to throw the ducal ring into the 
waves of the Lido. Here are four dolls found at Ecouen in the cells 
of the pupils there : one represents a young musqueteer. And, 
finally, the puppet arranged by David, by which he submitted to the 
Emperor Napoleon the model of the coronation dress. These indica- 
tions may give some idea of the extreme curiosity of this singular 
collection. It furnishes a type of almost every part of the world. 
Savages are represented by figures of great simplicity of execution. 
There are religious images and pagan idols, Egypt and Hindostan, 
the Bosphorus and the Mississippi, Canada and China, all are repre- 
sented. Wood, paste-board, paste, earth, skin, porcelain, wax, are 
materials of which all these bodies are made ; the remains of all epochs 
of all countries. The ingenious collector purchased costumes at the 
Crystal Palace Exhibition, at great expense, of Swiss, Italians, Indians, 
Laplanders, and even the exact costume of rose-colored satin in which 
Queen Victoria was crowned. He has spent more than 100,000 
crowns in forming this museum of the human race, and human 
coquetry. The latest individuals placed in his glass cases, are beauti- 


MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. Ill 

ful dolls, half a metre in height, showing models of the various fashions 
of the last winter. 

NEW METHOD FOR TAKING IMPRESSIONS OF STAMPS, SEALS, &C. 

To TAKE exact impressions of stamps, or in fact of any device, 
raised or imprinted, that is sunk upon paper, cut a piece of card-board, 
say to the breadth of half an inch, with which form a ring just the 
dimensions of the impression to be taken ; then pour within the said 
ring, which surrounds the spot, melted fusible metal ; the carding will 
prevent the metal from running away, and in a feAv minutes it 
will cool and take the impression, without the slightest injury to the 
paper from Avhich it was taken. It need not be said that the impres- 
sion, &c., taken, must be the same as the original. Fusible metal is a 
compound of eight parts of bismuth, five of lead,' and three of tin, 
which liquifies at 212, and below that if one part of quicksilver be 
added. London Chemist. 

IMMENSE MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENT IN ENGLAND. 

THE London Times gives the following account of a new and 
immense establishment now erecting at Bradford, England, for the 
manufacture of alpacas. The magnitude of this concern, says 
the Times, may be inferred from the fact that it is calculated to cover 
six statute acres of ground. The principal building will be a massive 
stone edifice, with considerable architectural pretensions, having a 
single room in it of 540 feet long, and the machinery will include the 
latest inventions of acknowledged merit. The engines to move the 
immense mass of machinery required are calculated at 1,200 horse 
power. The gas works alone will be equal to those of a small town, 
and will be erected upon White's hydro-carbon system, at a cost 
of 4,000 ; it is estimated that 5,000 lights will be required, and the 
gas works are constructed for a supply of 100,000 cubic feet of gas 
per diem. In addition to this extensive factory, Mr. Salt is building 
seven hundred cottages for the workpeople in the immediate neigh- 
borhood. The site is at a place which has been named Salt-Aire, 
being on one of the banks of the river Aire, and will be approached 
by a tubular bridge over the river, which is also to be of elegant 
construction. The estimated cost of the whole is not known, but has 
been spoken of as upwards of half-a-million sterling. Unrivalled for 
extent as these works are at present, perhaps, in the world, and with 
masonry also of the most substantial character, and machinery the 
most perfect, it is said that a cotton mill is in contemplation at Bolton, 
of nearly, if not quite equal magnitude. 

REDUCTION OF PRICES BETWEEN 1810 AND 1851. 

AMID the busy innovations of this active time, it is very difficult to 
appreciate as it deserves the great social progress which has been 


112 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

made in defiance of all obstacles within the last forty years. The 
immense fall, for example, which has taken place in the cost of all 
articles of food and clothing that enter into the consumption of the 
working and middle, as also of the higher classes, is in its effect 
equivalent to a social change of the most important kind. The London 
AtheiiEeum furnishes the following differences in the cost of commodi- 
ties in England in the year 1810, and in the year 1851. The price of 
a hat in 1810 was 20 shillings, and in 1851, it had fallen to 7 shillings 
or if a laborer's weekly wages had been paid for in hats, he would 
have had three times as great a supply in the present year as he had 
forty years ago. A gown cost 21 shillings in 1810 and only 6 
shillings in 1851. Calico was 2 shillings and 9 pence a yard against 
6 pence at present. Tea was 8 shillings per pound against 4 shillings 
now. Brown sugar was 10 pence now 4 pence. Salt was 18 
shillings per bushel, and has now fallen to 1 shilling. A bushel of 
flour was 20 shillings in 1810, and 5 shillings in 1851. In reply to 
these facts it may be said that this rate of money wages has fallen with 
money prices. This assertion is difficult of proof. In some few cases 
money wages has declined, but as a general result, they have not 
declined in the same ratio as money prices. Therefore the condition 
of the people is materially improved, inasmuch as the real or commodity 
price of the labor of the English working classes is probably as much 
as one-half, or three-fourths better than it was in 1810. 

MISCELLANEOUS NOVELTIES. 

Diptliera Bonnets. This name has been applied to a new style of 
bonnets, brought out during the past year in Paris, which are manu- 
factured from the well known polished or " patent leather." 

Improved Slates. A manufacturer in Wurtemburgh has invented 
a mode of applying a surface coating to sheet-iron, which enables it to 
take freely the mark of a slate pencil. It is said to be much lighter, 
and much less liable to injury, than a common slate. 

New Enamel for Cards. Zinc white, instead of the lead salt, is 
now used Avith creat success for the enameling of cards. 

O O 

Improvement in Purifying Gas. Peat charcoal has been substituted 
with economy and success in some of the English gas works instead of 
the lime ordinarily used. 

The London Athcnajum states, that an architect of that city, has 
found that the ordinary window-sashes may be made of glass, instead 
of wood or iron as at present ; and from the greater beauty of the 
material, it is obvious that sashes of red, blue or green glass --accord- 
ing to the taste of the glaizer or according to the other decorations of 
the window would add considerably to the brilliant effects of a fine 
shop front. 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 


NEW ARRANGEMENT OF THE VOLTAIC PILE. 

M. LA GRANGE in the Comptes Rend us of April 5th, states that 
he has found a means of rendering the current of the voltaic pile per- 
fectly constant and invariable, even for weeks or months, of whatever 
metals the electrodes may be formed, and whether they be set in 
action by two liquids as in the combination of Bunsen, or by one, as 
in that of Volta. This continuity of electric action is obtained in the 
same way that we obtain the continuity of the calorific action of a 
stove, which is furnished below with a grating to let the ashes fall, 
whilst we continually add fuel at the top. The method which he 
employs is simple and fulfils all the conditions which can render it 
practicable in an industrial point of view instead of increasing the 
expense it diminishes it. 

Let us first see the disposition of a single pair with one liquid. 
Take a vessel with a hole in the centre of the bottom, such as a flower 
pot, and round the hole let one end of a cylindrical diaphragm of 
cloth be attached by cement to the bottom of the pot. The axis of 
the hollow cloth cylinder when erect, will coincide with the axis of 
the vessel, and its height is somewhat less than the walls of the latter. 
Within the diaphragm is placed a stick of very hard coke, such as is 
found in the gas-retorts, surrounded by small grains of the same coke, 
and round the diaphragm a cylinder of amalgamated zinc, and some 
acidulated water, furnished drop by drop from a reservoir above. 
Let us now unite the two poles by a conducting wire, and see what 
takes place in the interior of the apparatus. The acidulated water, 
which continues to drop into the vessel, will pass in part over the 
margin of the cloth diaphragm on to the grains of coke, ^ which will 
thus be continually bathed by the movement of the liquid, without 
being inundated, so that the polarization will be suspended, and the 
bubbles of hydrogen will be freely disengaged through the interstices 
between the* particles ; besides which, the lower strata of the acidu- 
lated water, in consequence of the pressure which they have to sup- 
port, will filter slowly through the cloth, which will not be the case 
to any extent with the upper and middle strata. Now these lower 


114 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

strata are precisely those which contain the sulphate of zinc, which it 
is necessary to eliminate. The result is an electric current, which is 
perfectly constant until the entire disappearance of the zinc, and 
which is obtained with no more care than that of keeping the reser- 
voir filled. 

Plis method of uniting a number of pairs is as follows : The stone 
ware pots in which they are contained, which are three or four diam- 
eters in length, and consequently have the appearance of tubes, are 
united and cemented into a bundle or block, which is readily trans- 

tf 

ported from place to place. The upper surface being horizontal, 
small gutters are employed to convey the acidulated water to each 
pot. With this arrangement by placing a second reservoir above the 
pile and altering the nature and elevation of the diaphragm, it is easy 
to employ a second liquid, which may be made to fall directly drop 
by drop on the grains of coke, such as nitric acid ; it may be used 
with advantage when very weak, and when it will no longer serve for 
the battery of Bunsen, from its ceasing to absorb hydrogen. The 
liquids on leaving the pots are collected, and may continue to be used 
until saturation. 

IMPROVED TELEGRAPHIC BATTERIES. 

A SERIES of experiments was recently made on the sub-marine 
telegraph between England and France, by Mr. Reid, of London, for 
the purpose of testing a pair of double needle instruments and two 
new batteries which he had constructed. One of these instruments 
was placed in the company's office at Dover, and the other in the 
French office at Calais, with a battery to each. Two of the sub- 
marine wires were then connected with the instruments, and put in 
circuit with the batteries. The length of the sub-marine cable in the 
channel is about 24 miles, and about five miles of land telegraph on 
each side, making in round numbers a circuit of 68 miles. The bat- 
tery that was to work this distance formed a strong contrast to the 
present battery now in use, the length being only 4 inches by 1| deep, 
and the weight 1 Ib. 5 oz., while the old common battery used on the 
lines is 36 inches long, 7 inches wide, 8^- inches deep, and weighs 64 
Ibs. Some of the telegraph clerks in the office smiled incredulously 
when Mr. Reid connected the miniature battery with the instrument, 
but were surprised to find the signals to and from Dover and Calais 
quite equal to the signals they were receiving from their former batte- 
ries. The next experiment was for the purpose of testing an improve- 
ment in the double needle instrument, and will require the utmost 
stretch of faith on the part of our readers to believe. It was as 
follows : The miniature batteries were removed from the instruments 
on each side of the channel, and a piece of zinc, three-fourths of an 
inch square, and a piece of silver to correspond, were then introduced 
into the mouth of the operator at the office in Dover, and instructions 
sent to do the same at Calais. The wires, attached to these pieces of 
metal were then connected with the instruments, and by this simple 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 115 

means, and by the simplest of all batteries, the telegraph clerks sent 
several messages to and fro from England to France. The next 
experiment was similar to this, only a larger piece of zinc and a 
larger piece of silver were introduced into the mouth of the operator. 
The result was an improvement of the signals. On a subsequent 
occasion, in the presence of a large number of scientific gentlemen, 
the instruments with the miniature batteries transmitted all the com- 
mercial messages, prices of stocks, funds, &c. It was thought that 
during these operations the miniature battery would become exhausted ; 
on the reverse, it improved, and seemed perfectiy to maintain its 
character. 

An improvement of the well-known Grove's batteries has been 
recently introduced on one of the telegraphic lines between Boston 
and New York. It has been found that in the battery, if instead of 
immersing platinum strips of one or two square inches in the exciting 
fluid, platinum wire be used, an equally powerful effect is produced. 
If the zinc element be as small, it will, so long as it lasts, be of equal 
avail. But since the zinc is constantly and necessarily decomposed 
by the action of the acid, so great a reduction in size is not advisable. 
But the platinum never wastes. In the prime cost of a battery, the 
platinum is by far the largest item, and by its reduction, the expense 
of a battery is diminished about one-half. In order to retain the pla- 
tinum in its place, the end of the wire that is immersed in the fluid, 
may terminate in a bead, either of platinum or of glass. The weight 
of this bead will counteract all tendency of the wire to bend or curl, 
and will keep it constantly immersed in the fluid. The reduction in 
the size of the plates, does not modify, in the least, the nature of the 
working current. 

The London Athenaeum gives the following account of a new gal- 
vanic batterv recently exhibited in that city by Mr. Marty n Roberts. 

f tf if m 9 

The battery consisted of fifty plates of tin about six inches by four, 
each plate being adjusted between two plates of platinum of the 
same size. These were placed in stone-ware cells about two feet 
deep, which were filled with diluted nitric acid. The object of these 
deep cells was, to obtain a marketable product which should be suffi- 
ciently valuable to cover the cost of the agents employed to effect the 
development of electricity. The upper stratum of nitric acid acts on 
the tin, and forms with that metal an oxide, which falls off from the 
plate the moment it is formed, and is precipitated as a hydrated oxide 
of tin to the bottom of the cell. This oxide is combined with soda ; 
and as stannate of soda is extensively employed in dyeing and calico 
printing ; it is stated that this product will yield a profit of 20 per 
cent, on the cost of the battery but this is a point which we are not 
at present in a position to determine. The electrical action of the 
fifty pairs of plates was considerable. The current was employed to 
exhibit the electrical light, and the effects produced were certainly 
very brilliant. It was not possible to compare it with the result 
obtained from a Grove's battery, but we judge their powers to be 
nearly equal. An experiment made on the decomposition of water 
11 


116 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

gave about 27 cubic inches of the mixed gases, oxygen and hydrogen, 
per minute. We cannot but regard this very ingenious arrangement 
as an improvement on the ordinary batteries, as far as economy is 
concerned, where an electric current is required, since the stannate 
formed must always be of considerable commercial value. It is curi- 
ous, too, that the stratum of fluid in the immediate neighborhood of 
the voltaic plates is kept uniformly of the same specific gravity, not- 
withstanding that the acid is rapidly removed. The oxide of tin 
formed takes down water with it, and at the same time establishes a 
current by which fresh acid is applied to the plates. We were 
informed that the battery continued in most uniform action for sLxteen 
hours. 

KILLING WHALES BY ELECTRICITY. 

THE New Bedford Mercury describes a process invented at Bre- 
men, and brought forward at New Bedford, for killing whales at the 
moment of striking them with the harpoon, by means of electricity. 
The object of the expedient is to produce an immediate paralysis of 
the A r ital powers of the whale at the moment at which he is struck, so 
as to obviate the danger, the labor, and the hazard of loss, from the 
struggles of the whale after he is struck. The process is thus described 
by the Mercury. 

" The electricity is conveyed to the body of the whale from an electro- 
galvanic battery contained in the harpoon, and so arranged as to re-con- 
duct the electric current from the whale through the sea to the machine. 
The machine itself is simple and compact in construction, enclosed in 
a strong chest weighing about 350 pounds, and occupying a space in 
the boat of about three and a half feet long by two feet in width, and 
the same in height. It is capable of throwing into the body of the 
whale, eight tremendous strokes of electricity in a second, or 950 
strokes in a minute, paralyzing in an instant the muscles of the whale, 
and depriving it of all power of motion, if not actual life." 

This invention has been partially tried by the Captain of a Dutch 
whale ship, which left for the Pacific in July, 1851. This vessel was 
provided with three rotation machines of various sizes, in order to 
ascertain the degree of power necessary to secure sperm, or right 
whales ; one machine containing one magnet, another four, and another 
fourteen. 

The Captain, in a letter dated New Zealand, Dec., 1851, writes as 
follows : 

" The first experiment we made with the new invention was upon a 
shark, applying the electricity from the machine with one magnet. 
The fish after being struck, instantly turned over on its side, and after 
we had poured in upon him a stream of electricity for a few moments 
by turning the handle of the machine, the shark became stiff as a 
piece of wood. We next fell in with a black fish. As soon as the 
whale iron was thrown into him, and the machine handle turned, the 
fish began to sink. The operator then ceased turning the machine, 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 117 

and the fish immediately rose, when the machine was again set in 
motion, upon which the fish lay stiff on the surface of the water, and 
was taken alongside of the ship. At this time we made use of the 
four magnet machine. 

" We saw sperm, and other whales, and lowered our boats, but were 
unsuccessful in getting fast to them, as they disappeared on our 
approaching them ; while at all other times the weather was too bois- 
terous to permit us to lower our boats. Thus we had but one chance 
to try the experiment upon a whale, which was made with the four 
magnet machine. The whale upon being struck made one dash onward, 
then turned on his side and was rendered perfectly powerless. 
Although I have as yet not been fortunate enough to test the invention 
in more instances, I have the fullest confidence in the same, and doubt 
not to be able to report the most astonishing results on my return from 
the Arctic Seas, where I am now bound. 

THE ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF FLAME. 

PROF. BUFF, of the University of Giessen, has recently published 
an interesting paper on the electrical properties of flame. He has 
come to the conclusion that gaseous bodies, which have been rendered 
conductable by strong heating, are capable of exciting other conduc- 
tors, solid as well as gaseous, electrically. 

Two small strips of platinum were introduced into a glass tube 
closed at one end ; they were separated by an interval of a thin line 
of air. The air within the tube could not be heated to a degree suffi- 
cient to permit the electricity of two of DanielPs cells to pass through 
it. When the glass became soft by heating, and both pieces of plati- 
num were permitted to touch it, a strong deflection of the needle of 
the galvanometer was the consequence. 

When the strips of platinum were exposed to the direct action of 
the flame of a spirit lamp, the first notice of the passage of the elec- 
tricity was obtained, when they were placed at about three inches 
above its extreme point, and began to show signs of redness. The 
deflection increased as the strips were lowered in the flame. When 
the flame was strongest there was a permanent deflection of 70. The 
flame current passed always from the hottest platinum strip through 
the separating interval of gas to the other strip. When the metallic 
wires or other conductors, connected at one end, are brought into con- 
tact with highly heated gas, it formed an electric circuit. One 
platinum wire was introduced into the obscure centre of the flame of 
a lamp, and the other wire was brought near the outer surface of the 
flame, a current of electricity immediately exhibited itself, which 
passed through the flame from the inner to the exterior wire. By 
properly connecting a platinum wire, which was dipped into the cen- 
tre of the flame, with a condensing plate, the latter became charged 
with negative electricity, and hence Prof. Buff concluded that positive 
electricity is given off by the outer surface of the flame. 


118 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 


ANIMAL ELECTRICITY. 

PROF. BECKEINSTEINER, of Lyons, in investigating the origin of 
the electrical power exhibited by the Torpedo, Gymnotus, &c., was 
struck by the analogy of the cells of electric fishes with certain minute 
vessels, united by nerves and moistened by mucus, which exist in 
nearly all kinds of animals, and are found most developed in man at 
the period of the greatest strength, but collapsed and dried up in old 
age. He began a series of experiments, and after three years' inves- 
tigation has lately published the following results : When the temper- 
ature is below 32, the wind north and the sky clear, expose a cat to 
the cold until his fur lies close to the skin and appears greasy ; expose 
your hands to make them equally cold ; then take the animal on your 
knees, apply the fingers of your left hand on its breast, and pass your 
right hand down its back, pressing moderately ; at the fifth or sixth 
pass you will receive a slight electric shock. At first the cat appears 
pleased, but as soon as it feels the shock it jumps away, and Avill not 
stand a repetition of the experiment during the same clay. After the 
experiment the animal looks tired ; some days after it loses its appe- 
tite, seeks solitude, drinks water at rare intervals and dies in a fort- 
night. The same experiment has succeeded with rabbits ; they die 
the same day. It is unsuccessful with dogs. Once only it has been 
made on a cow ; she was tied to an iron ring ; the ground was frozen ; 
one hand was placed on the breast, and the other passed down the 
back, when such an electric shock occurred that Mr. B. was thrown 
to the ground. The cow appeared very much irritated, but it was 
impossible to know if she suffered from it, since she was killed by a 
butcher three days afterwards. 

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC MOTIVE POWER. 

A PATENT has been taken out in England, by Dr. Kemp, for an 
arrangement of machinery for the obtaining of a maximum power 
from numerous short strokes of electro-magnetic power, acting on one 
long piston-rod in the cylinder of a hydraulic press, thus neutralizing 
the difficulty which is presented of the rapid decrease of force with 
the increase of the magnetic distance. This result is obtained by an 
arrangement of cylinders and pistons, in pairs, connected by levers, 
in such manner, that as one ascends, the other descends, and forces 
water, in a continuous circle, through valves into a chamber in connex- 
ion with a long cylinder and piston, or hydraulic press, in connexion 
with the prime moving crank of the engine. London Builder. 

ON THE HEATING EFFECTS OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM 

THE following is an abstract of a lecture delivered before the Royal 
Institution, England, by Mr. Grove, the eminent writer and experi- 
menter on electricity and magnetism. 

After remarking on the predisposition, during the early periods of 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 119 


philosophy, to refer all unusual phenomena to preternatural causes, 
and on the like disposition in later times to introduce, or at all events 
to develope, the notion of fluids as agents .which effected the more 
mysterious phenomena of nature, such as light, heat, electricity and 
magnetism, Mr. Grove, continues : Air being proved analogous in 
many of its characters to fluids as previously known, the idea of fluids, 
or an ether was carried on to other unknown agencies appearing to 
present effects remotely analogous to air or gases. Sound was included 
by some in the same category with the other affections of matter, and 
as late as the close of the last century, a paper was written by 
Lamarck to prove that sound was propagated by the undulations of 
an ether. Heat was at an early period so viewed. Mr. Grove, how- 
ever, in a communication published in 1847, shewed that what had 
hitherto been stumbling blocks in this theory of heat, viz., the phenom- 
ena presented by what have been called latent and specific heat, 
might be more simply explained by the dynamic theory. His object 
at present was to extend this view to electricity and magnetism, which 
extension was, in his opinion, supported by many analogies. The 
ordinary attractions and repulsions of electrified bodies present no 
more difficulties when regarded as being produced by a change in the 
state or relations of the matter affected, than did the attraction of 
the earth by the sun, or of a leaden ball by the earth ; the hypothesis 
of a fluid is not considered necessary for the latter, and need not be 
so for the former class of phenomena. 

In the cases of heating, or ignition of a conjunctive wire, or con- 
ducting body, through which what is called electricity is transmitted, 
we have many evidences that the matter itself is affected, in some 
cases temporarily, in others, permanently changed ; thus if a wire of 
lead is ignited to fusion by a voltaic battery, the fused lead being kept 
in a channel to prevent its dispersion, it gradually shortens, and the 
molecules seem impressed with a force, acting transversely to a line of 
directions, of the electricity ; at length the lead gathers up in nodules 
which press on each other, to use a familiar illustration, as do a string 
of figs. With magnetism we have many instances of the molecular 
change which a ferreous or magnetic substance undergoes when mag- 
netised. If the particles are free to move as for instance iron filings, 
they arrange themselves symmetrically. An objection may be made 
arising from the peculiar form of the iron filings, but Mr. Grove has 
shown, that the supernatant liquid in which magnetic oxide had been 
formed, and which contains magnetic particles, not mechanically, but 
chemically divided, exhibits when magnetised a change in the arrange- 
ment of the molecules, as may be seen by its effect on transmitted 
light ; a molecular change is also evidenced by the note or sound pro- 
duced by magnetism, and by other effects. 

Assuming that the molecules of iron change their position inter se, 
upon magnetisation, then by repeated magnetisation in opposite direc- 
tions, something analogous to friction might be produced ; and just 
as a piece of caoutchouc when elongated produces heat, so a bar of 
soft iron when subjected to rapid changes in its magnetic state, might 
11* 


120 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

| 

be expected to exhibit thermic effects. (This Mr. Grove has been 
enabled to effect in a sensible degree.) 

The effect of electricity in the disruptive discharge, as in the voltaic 
arc and the electric spark, would seem at first sight to offer greater 
difficulties of explanation on the dynamic theory. The brilliant phe- 
nomenal effects of the electric discharge, and the apparent absence of 
change in the matter affected by it, would at first lead the observer to 
believe that electricity was a specific entity. With ordinary flame, or 
the apparent effects of combustion, however, the idea has to a great 
extent been abandoned that such visual effects are due to specific mat- 
ter, and it is regarded by many as an intense motion of the particles 
of the burning body. So with electricity. If in regard to the disrup- 
tive discharge it can be shown that the matter of the terminals, or of 
the intervening medium is changed, the necessity for the assumption 
of a fluid or ether ceases, and to say the least, a possibility of viewing 
electricity as a motion or affection of ordinary matter is opened. To 
make evident the relation of the electrical discharge to combustion, 
and the fact that the terminals were themselves affected, the voltaic 
arc was taken first between silver, and then between iron terminals ; 
in the first case a brilliant green-colored flame was produced, and in 
the second a redish scintillation, as in the ordinary combustion of the 
metals. The known transport of particles of the terminals from one 
pole to the other, and the different effects of different intervening 
media on induction, are instances of the, train of molecular changes 
consequent upon electrical action. 

Hitherto the polarity of the gaseous medium existing between the 
metallic or conducting terminals of the electrical circuit was only 
known as a physical polarity and not shown to have an analogous 
chemical character with that existing in electrolytes anterior to elec- 
trolysis ; but Mr. Grove stated, that he had recently shown, that 
mixture of gases having opposite electrical, or chemical relations, such 
as oxygen and hydrogen, or compound gases such as carbonic oxide, 
were electro-chemically polarized, or had their electro-negative, or 
electro-positive elements thrown in opposite directions ; thus, if a 
silvered plate be made positive in such gases it is oxidized ; if negative, 
the dark spot of oxide is reduced. Here, as in other experiments, was 
an effect on the terminals, and an effect of polarization of the inter- 
medium. In the experiments hitherto referred to, solid terminals had 
been used ; it became important to examine what would be the effect 
of liquid terminals, for instance, water : the spark, or disruptive dis- 
charge of electricity was readily obtained from its surface, but hitherto 
no voltaic battery had been found to show a discharge at any sensible 
distance from the surface of water. A nitric acid battery consisting 
of 500 cells had been constructed by Mr. Gassiot, which as regards 
intensity of action was probably the most powerful ever constructed. 
With this Mr. Grove was able to shew an experiment which he had 
first made when experimenting with Mr. Gassiot some time ago, and 
which produced the effect he had long sought for, viz., a quantitative 
or voltaic discharge at a sensible distance from the surface of water. 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 121 

The experiment was made as follows : a platinum plate forming the 
anode of the battery was immersed in a capsule of distilled water, the 
temperature of which was raised. A cathode, or negative terminal of 
platinum wire, was now made to touch for an instant the surface of the 
water, and immediately withdrawn to a distance of about a quarter of 
an inch ; the discharge took place, the extremity of the wire was fused, 
and the molten platinum attached to the wire, but kept up by the 
peculiar repulsive effect of the discharge, was exhibited as it were sus- 
pended in mid-air, giving an intense light, throwing off scintillations 
in directions away from the water, and only detaching itself from the 
wire when agitatc'd. Here water in the vaporous state must be trans- 
ferred, for the immersed electrode gave off ga's, without doubt oxygen, 
and the molecular action on the negative fused platinum resembled, if 
it were not identical in character with, the currents observed on the 
surface of mercury when made negative in an electrolyte. It may be 
objected to the theory proposed, that electrical effects are obtained in 
what is called a vacuum, where there is no intermedium to be polar- 
ized ; but this objection though not applicable to the projection of the 
terminals, could hardly be discussed until experimenters had gone 
much farther than at present in the production of a vacuum. The 
experiments of Davy and others had shown that we are far from 
obtaining any thing like a vacuum where delicate investigations are 
concerned. The view of ancient philosophers, that nature abhors a 
vacuum, which had been much cavilled at, and was supposed to be 
exploded by the discovery of Torricelli, Mr. Grove thought had been 
unjustly censured ; giving the expression some degree of metaphori- 
cal license, it afforded a fine evidence of the extent and accuracy of 
observation of those who were unacquainted with inductive philosophy 
as a system, but who necessarily pursued it in practice. Whether a 
vacuum was possible might be an open question ; experimentally it 
was unknown. 

TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM. 

COL. SABIXE, in his address before the British Association at their 
last meeting, gives the following summary of the recent progress of the 
study of terrestrial magnetism. 

The magnetic phenomena, or as it is now customary to call them, 
the three magnetic elements, declination, inclination and magnetic 
force, appear to be everywhere and in both hemispheres the resultants 
of a duplicate system of magnetic forces, of which one at least under- 
goes a continuous and progressive translation in geographical space, 
the motion being from west to east in the northern hemisphere, and 
from east to west in the southern. It is to this motion that the secular 
change in all localities is chiefly, if not entirely, due ; affecting syste- 
matically and according to their relative positions on the globe the 
configurations and geographical positions of the magnetic lines, and 
producing conformable changes in the direction and amount of the 
magnetic elements in every part of the globe. The comparison of the 


122 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

earlier recorded observations with those of the present epoch gives 
reason to believe, that viewed in its generality, the motion of the 
system of force which produces the secular change has been uniform, 
or nearly so, in the last two or three centuries. Under favorable 
conditions the regularity of this movement can be traced down to 
comparatively very minute fractions of time. By the results of careful 
observations continued for several years at the observatory of St. 
Helena, where, in common with the greater part of the district of 
the South Atlantic, the secular change of the declination exceeds 
eight minutes in the year, and from its magnitude therefore may be 
advantageously studied, every fortnight of the year is found to have 
its precise aliquot portion of the annual amount of the secular change 
at the station. This phenomenon of secular change is undoubtedly 
one of the most remarkable features of the magnetic system ; and 
cannot with propriety be overlooked, as it too frequently has been, 
by those who would connect the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism 
generally, mediately or immediately with climatic circumstances, 
relations of land and sea, or other causes to which we are assuredly in 
no degree entitled to ascribe secular variation, and who reason there- 
fore as if the great magnetic phenomena of the earth were persistent, 
instead of being, as they are, subject to a continual and progressive 
change. It may confidently be affirmed that the secular magnetic 
variation has no analogy with, or resemblance to, any other physical 
phenomenon with which we are acquainted. We appear at present 
to be without any clue to guide us to its physical causes, but a way is 
preparing for a future secure derivation of its laws to be obtained by 
a repetition, after a sufficient interval, of the steps which we are 
now taking to determine the elements corresponding to a definite epoch. 
The periodical variations in the terrestrial magnetic force, are small 
in comparison with the force itself; but they are highly deserving of 
attention on account of the probability that by suitable methods of 
investigation they may be made to reveal the sources to which they 
owe their origin and the agency by which they are produced. To 
investigate these variations bv suitable instruments and methods, to 

o / 

separate each from the others, and to seek its period, its epochs of 
maximum and minimum, the laws of its progression, and its mean 
and numerical value or amount, constituted the chief purposes for 
which magnetic observatories were established for limited periods at 
certain stations in Pier Majesty's dominions, selected in the vieAv that 
by a combination of the results obtained at them a general theory of 
each at least of the principal periodical variations might be derived, 
and tests be thus supplied whereby the truth of physical theories pro- 
pounded for their explanation might be examined. We are just 
beginning to profit by the collocation and study of the great body of facts 
which has been collected. Variations corresponding in period to the 
earth's revolution around the sun, and to its rotation around its own 
axis, have been ascertained to exist, and their numerical values approx- 
imately determined in each of the three elements, the Declination, 
Inclination, aud Magnetic Force. We unhesitatingly refer these 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 123 

variations to the sun as their primary source ; since we find in what- 
ever part of the globe the phenomena are observed, the solstices and 
equinoxes are the critical epochs of the variation whose period is a 
year, whilst the diurnal variation follows in all meridians nearly the same 
law of local solar hours. To these unquestionable evidences of solar 
influence in the magnetic affections of the earth, we have now to add 
the recently ascertained fact, that the magnetic storms, or disturbances, 
which in the absence of more correct knowledge were supposed to be 
wholly irregular in their occurrence, are strictly periodical pheno- 
mena, conforming with systematic regularity to laws in which the 
influence of local solar hours is distinctly traced. 

But whilst we recognise the sun as the primary cause of variations 
whose periods attest the source from whence they derive their origin, 
the mode or modes in which the effects are produced constitute a 
question which has been and may still be open to a variety of 
opinions : the direct action of the sun as being itself a magnet, its 
calorific agency occasioning thermo-electric and galvanic currents, or 
in alternately exalting and depressing the magnetic condition of sub- 
stances near the earth, or in one of the constitutents of its atmosphere, 
have been severally adduced as hypothesis affording plausible 
explanations. Of each and all such hypothesis the facts are the only 
true criterion ; but it is right that we should bear in mind that in the 
present state of our knowledge, the evidence which may give a 
decided countenance to one hypothesis in preference to others does 
not preclude their possible co-existence. The analysis of the collected 
materials and the disentanglement of the various effects which are 
comprehended in them, is far from being yet complete. The corres- 
pondence of the critical epochs of the annual variation with the solstices 
and equinoxes rather than with the epochs of maxieujm and minimum 
temperature, which at the surface of the earth, in the subsoil beneath 
the surface, or in the atmosphere above the surface, or separated by 
a wide interval from the solstitial epochs, appears to favor the 
hypothesis of a direct action ; as does also the remarkable fact which 
has been established, that the magnetic force is greater in both the 
northern and southern hemispheres in the months of December, 
January, and February, when the sun is nearest to the earth, than in 
those of May, June, and July, when he is most distant from it ; 
whereas if the effect were due to temperature, the two hemispheres 
should be oppositely instead of similarly affected in each of the two 
periods referred to. Still there are doubtless minor periodical irregular 
variations which have yet to be made out by suitable analytical pro- 
cesses, which, by their possible accordance with the epochs of maxi- 
mum and minimum temperature, may support in a more limited 
sense, not as a sole but as a co-ordinate cause, the hypothesis of calo- 
rific agency so generally received, and so ably advocated of late in 
connexion with the discovery by our great chemist and philosopher, 
of the magnetic properties of oxygen, and of the manner in which 
they are modified and affected by differences of temperature. It may 
indeed be difficult to suppose that the magnetic phenomena which we 


124 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

measure at the surface of the globe, should not be in any degree 
influenced by the variations in the magnetic conditions of the oxygen 
of the atmosphere in different seasons and at different hours of the 
day and night ; but whether that influence be sensible or not, whether 
it be appreciable by our instruments or inappreciable by them, is a 
question which yet remains for solution^ by the more minute sifting of 
the accumulated facts which are now undergoing examination in so 
many quarters. 

To justify the anticipation that conclusions of the most striking 
character, and wholly unforseen, may yet be derivable from the 
materials in our possession, we need only to recall the experience of 
the last few months, which have brought to our knowledge the exist- 
ence of what may possibly prove the most instructive, as it is certainly 
at first sight the least explicable of all the periodical magnetic variations 
with which we have become acquainted. I refer to the concurrent 
testimony which observations at parts of the globe the most distant 
from each other bear to the existence of a periodical variation or 
inequality, affecting alike the magnitude of the diurnal variations, and 
the magnitude and frequency of the disturbances or storms. The 
cycle or period of this inequality appears to extend to about ten of our 
years ; the maximum and minimum of the magnitudes affected by it 
being separated by an interval of about five years, and the differences 
being much too great, and resting on an induction far too extensive, 
to admit of uncertainty as to the facts themselves. The existence of 
a well-marked magnetic period which has certainly no counterpart in 
thermic conditions, appears to render still more doubtful the supposed 
connexion between the magnetic and calorific influences of the sun. 
It is not a little remarkable that this periodical magnetic variation is 
found to be identical in period and in epochs of maxima and minima 
with the periodical variation in the frequency and magnitude of the 
solar spots which Mr. Schwabe has established by twenty-six years of 
unremitting labor. From a cosmical connexion of this nature, suppos- 
ing it to be finally established, it would follow, that the decennial period 
which we measure by our magnetic instruments is, in fact, a solar period, 
manifested to us also by the alternately increasing and decreasing 
frequency and magnitude of obscurations on the surface of the solar 
disc. May we not have in these phenomena the indication of a cycle 
or period of secular change in the magnetism of the sun, affecting visibly 
his gaseous atmosphere or photosphere, and sensibly modifying the 
magnetic influence which he exercises on the surface of our earth. 

We recognise in terrestrial magnetism the existence of a poAver 
present everywhere at the surface of our globe, and producing every- 
where effects indicative of a systematic action ; but of the nature of 
this power, the character of its laws, and its economy in creation, we 
have as yet scarcely any knowledge. The apparent complexity of 
the phenomena at their first aspect may reasonably be ascribed to our 
ignorance of their laws, which we shall doubtless find, as we advance 
in knowledge, to possess the same remarkable character of simplicity 
which calls forth our admiration in the laws of molecular attraction. 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 125 

It has been frequently surmised, and the anticipation is, I believe, a 
strictly philosophical one, that a power which, so far as we have the 
means of judging, prevails everywhere in our own planet, should also 
prevail in other bodies of our system, and might become sensible to 
us, in the case of the sun and moon particularly, by small perturbing 
influences measurable by our instruments, and indicating their respec- 
tive sources by their periods and their epochs. As yet we know of 
neither argument nor fact to invalidate this anticipation ; but, on the 
contrary, much to invest it with a high degree of probability. 

ON THE MOTION OF FLUIDS FROM THE POSITIVE TO THE 
NEGATIVE POLE, OF THE CLOSED GALVANIC CIRCUIT. 

WIEDEMANN has communicated to the Prussian Academy of 
Sciences, a memoir on the mechanical action of the voltaic circuit 
which is of essential interest and importance. The apparatus employed 
consisted of a porous earthenware cell, closed at the bottom and 
terminated above by a glass bell firmly cemented to the upper edge 
of the cylinder. Into the tubulure of the bell a vertical glass tube was 
fitted, from which a horizontal tube proceeded so as to permit the 
fluid raised to flow over into an appropriately placed vessel. A wire 
serving as the negative pole of a battery passed down through the 
glass bell into the interior of the porous cylinder, where it termi- 
nated in a plate of platinum or copper. Outside the porous cylinder 
another plate of platinum was placed and connected with the positive 
pole of the battery. The whole stood in a large glass vessel, which, as 
well as the interior porous cylinder, was filled with water. The inten- 
sity of the current was measured by a galvanometer. As soon as the 
circuit was closed, the liquid rose in the porous cylinder and flowed 
out from the horizontal tube into a weighed vessel. The results 
obtained by means of this apparatus were as follows : 

1. The quantity of fluid which flows out in equal times is directly 
proportional to the intensity of the current. 

2. Under otherwise equal conditions, the quantities of fluid flowing 
out are independent of the magnitude of the conducting porous 
surface. 

To avoid any uncertainty arising from the laws of the flow of liquids 
through small orifices, Wiedemann measured the intensity of the 
mechanical action of the current by determining the height of a 

tt 

column of mercury which would hold the transferring force in equili- 
brium. For this purpose a graduated tube or manometer filled with 
mercury was attached to the extremity of the horizontal tube above 
mentioned : with different currents and porous surfaces of different 
extent, the mercury in the manometer rose to different heights. By 
the measurements of these heights the following results were ob- 
tained : 

3. The height to which a galvanic current causes a fluid to rise, is 
directly proportional to the intensity of the current and inversely pro- 
portional to the extent of the free porous surface. 


126 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

The mechanical action of a galvanic current may also be referred 
to its simplest principles by the following proposition : 

4. The force with which an electric tension, present upon both 
sides of a section of any given fluid, urges the fluid from the positive 
to the negative side, is equivalent to a hydrostatic pressure which is 
directly proportionable to that tension. 

In this manner, therefore, we obtain a simple measure of electric ten- 
sion and its mechanical action in terms of atmospheric pressure, and 
consequently of gravity. 

The above laws hold good only for fluids of the same nature. When 
different fluids are subjected to the action of the currents, the mechan- 
ical action is greatest upon those which oppose the greatest resistance 
to its passage. The requisite data are still wanting to determine the 
precise connection between the mechanical action and the resistance ; 
but observations made with sulphate of copper, of different degrees of 
concentration, appear to show that the quantities of fluid transferred 
in equal times by currents of equal intensity, are nearly proportional 
to the squares of the resistances. 

MAGNETIC SCIENCE. 

AN article in the London Builder, alluding to the discovery made 
by Mr. George Little, electrical engineer, in which continuous streams 
of electricity can be produced from single magnets, and be made to 
decompose water, produce constant power in electro-magnets, and 
work the chemical printing and double needle telegraph, states that 
the magnetic science is still in its infancy, and starts the idea that it 
may be possible to witness such a temporary subversion of the cohesive 
forces in a deal board, or a stone wall, as would enable a magician like 
Faraday to pass through it as if it were so much air or so much dust 
in the sunbeam. 

EXTENSION AND USE OF THE MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH. 

FROM the report of the Superintendent of the U. S Census, and 
from other sources, we derive the following facts relative to the exten- 
sion, construction and use of the magnetic telegraph in the United 
States and elsewhere. The telegraphic system is carried to greater 
extent in the United States than in any other part of the world ; and 
the numerous lines now in full operation form a net-work over the 
length and breadth of the land. The receipts of the " Magnetic Tel- 
egraph Company " extending from Washington to New York, from 
its organization in January, 184G, to July, 1852, were $385,641. 
This company was the first organized in this country and its capital 
stock is only $370,000. It has six wires from Washington to Phila- 
delphia, and seven from Philadelphia to New York. The number of 
messages sent over this line in the six months ending July, 1852, was 
154,514, producing $68,499 23. It is perhaps the most productive 
line in the world. 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 127 

The amount of business which a -well-conducted office can perform 
is immense. Nearly seven hundred messages, exclusive of those for 
the press, were sent in one day over the Morse Albany line, and, a. 
few days after, the Bain line at Boston sent and received five hundred 
communications. Another office with two wires, one five hundred, 
the other two hundred miles in length, after spending three hours in 
the transmission of public news, telegraphed, in a single day, four 
hundred and fifty private messages, averaging twenty-five words 
each, besides the address, sixty of which were sent in rotation, without 
a word of repetition. The instruments cannot be worked successfully 
without skilful operators, good batteries and machines, and thorough 
insulation of the conductors. The expense of copper wire, which was 
at first used, has caused it to be superseded by that of iron, which is 
found to answer the purpose as well, though the wire in this case must 
be of increased size. About 300 pounds of iron wire are required to 
a mile. The cost of construction, including wire, posts, labor, &c., is 
about $150 per mile. The average performance of the Morse instru- 
ment is to transmit from 8,000 to 9,000 letters per hour. 

In the majority of electric telegraphs in actual use, batteries com- 
posed of heterogeneous metals, chiefly zinc and platinum, moistened 
by a liquid or liquids, are employed for the generation of force. The 
earth itself has been made to furnish a supply of electric force ; in 
other words, a single pair of zinc and copper plates have been buried 
sufficiently below the surface to be in the wet subsoil, when the earth, 
saturated with water, represents the sand saturated with acid- water of 
an ordinary battery cell. By this means a current of low intensity 
can be obtained, even when the plates are miles apart. The earth 
acts as the return wire to any given number of distinct wires, without 
in the least affecting the regularity of the action of any of them. 

The only constant and economical battery which is used in the 
United States is Grove's, of cups of zinc with strips of platinum in an 
earthenware or porcelain cup, which cup is filled with nitric acid, 
which is placed inside of the zinc cup, in a tumbler containing diluted 
sulphuric acid. The main battery on a line (from 30 to 50 cups) 
requires renewing only once in every two weeks, and daily in local 
batteries of two or three cups. 

Messages passing from one very distant point to another have 
usually to be rewritten at intermediate stations ; though by an im- 
proved method the sea-board line has in good weather transmitted 
communications direct between New York and Mobile, a distance of 
nearly 1,800 miles, without intermediate re-writing. By the Cincin- 
nati route to New Orleans, a distance of nearly 2,000 miles, the news 
brought by an Atlantic steamer at 8 o'clock, A. M., has been tele- 
graphed from New York to that distant point, and the effects produced 
on the market there returned to New York by 11 o'clock, A. M. 
The Congressional reports from Washington are usually received 
simultaneously in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York ; and all 
that is necessary at the intermediate stations is the presence of an 
12 


128 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

operator to receive the message as it is developed on paper by the 
instruments. 

To show the great extent to which telegraphing is now carried, and 
its importance to the community, reference may here be made to the 
arrangements of the newspaper press in New York, and their expenses 
for telegraphic dispatches. The Associated Press, consisting of the 
seven principal morning papers published in New York, paid during 
the year ending November, 1852, nearly $50,000 for dispatches, one- 
third of which was for foreign news. The several newspapers com- 
posing this Association paid during the same time about 814,000 for 
special and exclusive dispatches. 

The telegraphs in England are the next in importance and extent 
to those in this country. They were first established in 1845, and 
there is about 4,000 miles of wire in operation. 

The charge for transmission of dispatches is much higher than in 
America, one penny per word being charged for the first fifty miles, 
and one farthing per mile for any distance beyond one hundred miles. 
A message of twenty words can be sent a distance of 500 miles in the 
United States for one dollar, while in England the same would cost 
seven dollars. 

In June, 1852, the sub-marine telegraph between Dover and Ostend 
was completed, and on the 1st of November the first electric commu- 
nication was established direct between Great Britain and the conti- 
nent of Europe. By a line of wires between London and Dover, via 
Rochester and Canterbury, in connection with the sub-marine cable 
across the Straits of Dover, instantaneous communication is obtained 
between London, Paris, Sweden, Trieste, Cracow, Odessa and Leg- 
horn. The wires are also being carried onward to St. Petersburg ; 
also to India and into the interior of Africa. 

A project has been formed for constructing a sub-marine telegraph 
between Great Britain and the United States. It is proposed to 
commence at the most northwardly point of Scotland, run thence to 
the Orkney Islands, and thence by short water lines to the Shetland 
and Faroe. Thence, a water line of 200 to 300 miles conducts the 
telegraph to Iceland ; from the western coast of Iceland, another sub- 
marine line conveys it to Kioge Bay, on the eastern coast of Green- 
land ; it then crosses Greenland to Juliana's Hope, on the western 
coast of that Continent, in GO 42', and is conducted thence by a 
water line of about 500 miles, across Davis's Straits to Byron's Bay, 
on the coast of Labrador. From this point the line is to be extended 
to Quebec. 

The entire length of the line is approximately estimated at 2,500 
miles, and the sub-marine portions of it at from 1,400 to 1,600 miles. 
The peculiar advantage of the line being divided into several sub- 
marine portions is that if a fracture should at any time occur, the 
defective part could be very readily discovered and repaired promptly 
at a comparatively trifling expense. From the Shetland Islands it is 
proposed to carry a branch to Bergen, in Norway, connecting it there 
with a line to Christiana, Stockholm, Gottenburg and Copenhagen ; 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 129 

from Stockholm a line may easily cross the Gulf of Bothnia to St. 
Petersburg. The whole expense of this great international work is 
estimated considerably below 500,000. 

Another enterprise has been actually started, with every prospect 
of consummation. A portion of the line is being prosecuted with 
vigor, and the company propose transmitting intelligence between the 
Old and Xew World in four or fiye days. A charter has been granted 
by the British Colonial Government to the " Newfoundland Electric 
Company," with a capital of 100,000, to construct a line of telegra'ph 
from Halifax, X. S., to Cape Race, touching af St. Johns, and crossing 
the Island of Newfoundland to Cape Ray, thence by a sub-marine 
line of 149 miles, across the gulf of St. Lawrence, a landing being 
made at Cape East, on Prince Edward's Island and going through 
that island, it crosses Northumberland Straits by another sub-marine 
line of 10 miles, landing at Cape Torment in New Brunswick, and so 
on to the boundary of the United States, whence by an independent 
line to New York, the connection is completed. The total distance 
traversed by this line will be between 1,400 and 1,500 miles, of which 
150 are sub-marine. It is stated that steamers can make ordinary 
passages between Cape Race, Newfoundland, and Galway, Ireland, in 
five days. 

Three several attempts have been made to connect England and 
Ireland by a telegraphic line, but as yet the enterprise is unsuccessful. 
In the last attempt, the contractors had got within seven miles of the 
Irish coast all right ; and when they found they could not reach the 
land, they began to arrange for marking the end of the rope with 
buoys, when it unfortunately slipped away from them and sank in 
deep water : and the whole task must be commenced anew. 

The telegraph between Paris and Bordeaux is probably the most 
perfect line of magnetic communication in existence. The wires, ten 
in number, go the whole distance under ground. They are five inches 
a part, and form a hollow square. To guard against humidity, they 
are supported upon wooden blocks, with the necessary isolation, and 
encased in a coating of gutta percha and lead. 

A sub-marine line between France and Algiers, a distance of 400 
miles, is about to be constructed by the French Government. 

In Prussia the wires are generally buried about two feet below the 
surface, and carried through rivers in chain pipes. About 1,700 
miles of telegraphic lines are in operation. 

In France about 750 miles, and in Germany about 3,000 miles are 
completed. 

In Austria, Saxony, Bavaria, Tuscany, Holland, Italy, Spain and 
Russia, great progress has already been made in establishing lines of 
telegraph, and communication will soon be had between the capitals 
of eyery State on the European Continent. 

In India, a line has been laid between Calcutta and Kedgeree, 71 
miles, and an extensive system is projected for that country. 

The following interesting description of the telegraph in India is 
given for the instruction and encouragement of those interested in the 


130 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

prosecution of telegraph lines through somewhat similar regions of 
our own country : 

From Calcutta to Rajmoole, the conductor is laid under ground, in 
a cement of melted resin and sand. From that village through the 
remaining distance to Kedgeree it is carried ever ground on bamboo 
poles, 15 feet high, coated with coal-tar and pitch, and strengthened 
at various distances by posts of saul wood, teak and iron wood from 
Ainerica. The bamboo posts are found to resist the storms which 
have uprooted trees, the growth of centuries. Though the bamboo 
soon decays, its amazing cheapness makes the use of it more economi- 
cal than that of more durable and more costly materials. The branch 
road from Bishlopore to Moyapore passes through a swamp ; the 
country is little less than a lake for five months ; the conductor runs 
on the foot paths between the island villages, and for some miles 
crosses rice swamps, and creeks on Avhich no road or embankment 
exists. 

The most difficult and objectionable line was selected to test the 
practicability of carrying the conductors through swampy ground, and 
it has been perfectly successful. The Huldee River crosses the Ked- 
geree line halfway, and varies in breadth from 4,200 to 5,800 feet. 
A gutta perclia wire, secured in the angles of a chain cable, is laid 
across and under the river, and the chain is found to afford perfect 
protection from the grapnels of the heavy native boats which are con- 
stantly passing up and down. 

The overground lines differ totally from those in use in any other 
country in this important respect. No wire is used. Instead of wire 
a thick iron rod, f- of an inch diameter, weighing one ton to a mile, is 
adopted the heaviest wire elsewhere used being only one cwt. to the 
mile. The advantages of these substantial rods are these : they pos- 
sess a complete immunity from gusts of wind or ordinary mechanical 
violence ; if accidentally thrown down they are not injured, though 
passengers and animals may trample on them ; owing to the mass of 
metal, they give so free a passage to the electric currents that no 
insulation is necessary; they are attached from bamboo to bamboo 
without any protection, and they work without interruption through 
the hardest rains ; the thickness of the wire allows of their being 
placed on the posts without any occasion for the straining and wind- 
ing apparatus, whereas the tension of wire exposes them to fracture, 
occasions expense in construction and much difficulty in repairs ; the 
thick rods also admit of rusting to take place without danger to an 
extent which would be fatal to a wire ; and lastly, the rods are no 
more costly than thin wire, and the Avoiding occasions no difficulty. 

The importance of this discovery of the superiority of rods over 
wire will be fully appreciated in a country like In,lia, where the line 
must often run through a howling wilderness, tenanted by savage 
beasts or more savage men. The lines must therefore protect them- 
selves, and this is secured by the use of thick rods. 

The entire expenditure on this line was about 450 rupees a mile, 
and it is estimated that the future overground lines will be at the rate 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 131 

of 350 rupees a inile for a double line, river crossings and erection of 
offices being a separate charge. The pecuniary returns from the 
Calcutta and Kedgeree line were originally calculated at about 200 
rupees a month, but they have been more than three tunes that 
amount A rupee is about 56 cents U. S. currency. 

BATCHELDER'S IMPROVED TELEGRAPHIC REGISTER. 

THE following account of a new telegraphic register, invented by 
Mr. Batchelder, of Boston, we copy from the " To-Day." This 
instrument, like those used in the Morse and Bain offices, requires 
the employment of the telegraphic alphabet of dots and lines. It 
consists of a cylinder, about six inches in diameter, around which is 
rolled a rectangular sheet of pink tissue or silver paper, exactly as it 
is bought, since it requires no peculiar preparation. This cylinder 
slowly revolves ; and the writing is effected by means of a pointed 
copper wire, heated by a small alcohol lamp, which is pressed against 
it, and withdrawn at intervals, according as the circuit is opened or 
broken. It proves that the heat of Jhe wire is sufficient to blanch the 
paper as it touches it, and thus turn its pink color to yellow ; and so 
the characters appear in yellow upon a pink ground. Effecting the 
change of color in this simple way, is not, however, the only merit of 
the invention. The wire and lamp are upon a stand, so connected 
with the clock work machinery necessary for the other parts 
of the apparatus, of whatever form, that they move very slowly 
down the cylinder; so that, after it has made one revolution, 
the second line does not fall again upon the first, and interfere with 
it, but comes a short space below. The result of this is, that, when 
the paper is full, it can be removed from the cylinder, and read like a 
common printed page, across from left to right, in lines following 
under each other. These papers can thus be conveniently preserved 
for future reference. 

The operation of the machine is beautiful, and its simplicity is 
apparent from the few words we have found it necessary to employ in 
describing it. In stating its further advantages, we expect only to be 
understood by those who are acquainted with the technical terms of 
telegraphing, when we say that it does not require the use of a local 
or office circuit, and can be used with a closed or open circuit, as may 
be preferred ; and that the motion of the recording part, of the 
instrument is produced by the action of an axial magnet, or a deflect- 
ing needle. 

The advantages enjoyed by this instrument, in simplicity, accuracy, 
and legibility, are so apparent, that it would seem as if it must com- 
mend itself at once to the attention of the telegraph companies, and 
be introduced into those offices, at least, where the telegraphic alpha- 
bet is employed. 
12* 


132 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 


ON THE PHYSICAL LINES OF MAGNETIC FORCE. 

THE following is an abstract of a lecture recently delivered before 
the Royal Institution, England, by Prof. Faraday, " on the physical 
lines of Magnetic Force." A magnet presents- a system of forces 
perfect in itself, and able, therefore, to exist by its own mutual rela- 
tions. It has the dual and antithetic character belonging to both 
static and dynamic electricity ; and this is made manifest by what are 
called its polarities - - i. <?., by the opposite powers of like kind found 
at and towards its extremities. These powers are found to be abso- 
lutely equal to each other ; one cannot be changed in any degree as 
to amount without an equal change of the other ; and this is true 
when the opposite polarities of a magnet are not related to each other, 
but to the polarities of other magnets. The polarities, or the north- 
ness and southness of a magnet, are not only related to each other, 
through or within the magnet itself, but they are also related exter- ' 
nally to opposite polarities, (in the manner of static electric induction,) 
or they cannot exist ; and this external relation involves and necessi- 
tates an exactly equal amount of ihe new opposite polarities to which 
those of the magnet are related. So that if the force of a magnet a 
is related to that of another magnet &, it cannot act on a third magnet 

^j ' CJ 

c, without being taken off from ft, to an amount proportional to its 
action on c. The lines of magnetic force are shown by the moving 
wire to exist both within and outside of the magnet ; also, they are 
shown to be closed curves passing in one part of their course through 
the magnet ; and the amount of those within the magnet, at its equa- 
tor, is exactly equal in force to the amount in any section, including 
the whole of those on the outside. The lines of force outside a mag- 
net, can be affected in their direction by the use of various media 
placed in their course. A magnet can in no way be procured, having 
only one magnetism, or even the smallest excess of northness or south- 
ness one over the other. When the polarities of a magnet are not 
related externally to the forces of other magnets, then they are related 
to each other ; i. e., the northness or southness of an isolated magnet 
are externally dependant on and sustained by each other. Now all 
these facts, and many more, point to the existence of physical lines of 
force external to the magnets as well as within. They exist in 
curved, as well as in straight lines ; for if we conceive of an isolated 
straight bar magnet, or more especially of a round disc of steel mag- 
netized regularly, so that its magnetic axis shall be in one diameter, 
it is evident that the polarities must be related to each other exter- 
nally, by curved lines of force ; for no straight line can at the same 
time touch two points having northness and southness. Curved lines 
of force can, as I think, only consist with physical lines offeree. The 
phenomena exhibited by the moving wire confirm the same conclu- 
sion. As the wire moves across the lines of force, a current of elec- 
tricity passes or tends to pass through it, there being no such current 
before the wire is moved. The wire when quiescent has no such 
current, and when it moves, it need not pass into places where the 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 133 

magnetic force is Greater or less. It may travel in such a course that 
if a magnetic needle were carried through the same course it would 
be entirely unaffected magnetically, i. <?., it would be a matter of 
absolute indifference to the needle whether it were moving or still. 
Matters may be so arranged, that the wire, when still, shall have the 
same diamagnetic force as the medium surrounding the magnet, and 
so in no way cause disturbance of the lines of force passing through 
both ; and yet when the wire moves, a current of electricity shall be 
generated in it. The mere fact of motion cannot have produced this 
current ; there must have been a state or condition around the mag- 
net and sustained by it, within the range of which the wire was 
placed ; and this state shows the physical constitution of the lines of 
magnetic force. What this state is, or upon what it depends, cannot 
as yet be declared. It may depend upon the ether, as a ray of light 
does, and an association has already been shown between light and 
magnetism. It may depend upon a state of tension, or a state of 
vibration, or perhaps some other state analogous to the electric cur- 
rent, to which the magnetic forces are so intimately related. Whether 
it of necessity requires matter for its sustentation will depend upon 
what is understood by the term matter. If that is to be confined to 
ponderable or gravitating substances, then matter is not essential to 
the physical lines of magnetic force, any more than to a ray of light 
or heat ; but if, in the assumption of an ether, we admit it to be a 
species of matter, then the lines of force may depend upon some 
function of it. Experimentally, mere space is magnetic ; but then 
the idea of such mere space must include that of the ether, when one 
is talking on that belief; or if, hereafter, any other conception of the 
state or condition of space rise up, it must be admitted into the view 
of that, which just now, in relation to experiment, is called mere 
space. On the other hand, it is, I think, an ascertained fact, that 
ponderable matter is not essential to the existence of physical lines of 
magnetic force. 

ON THE LOCATION OF COMPASSES IN IKON SHIPS. 

THE following paper was read at the meeting of the British Asso- 
ciation, Belfast, by Capt. E. W. Johnson, of the iron ship of war, 
Trident. He says : While the Trident was in the basin at Wool- 
wich, it occurred to me to try whether a position could be discovered 
where the influences of the ship's iron upon the compass were so 
equalized, as to render the amount of deviation so small as to be of no 
practical importance. The correct magnetic direction of the ship's 
head- having been determined by a compass on the shore, and that 
proving to be near to one of the points of maximum deviation, (the 
standard compass on the quarter deck there indicating 20 westerly 
deviation,) I moved the standard compass several feet further forward 
in the centre line of the ship, and there found the westerly deviation 
increased to 29. I now commenced to move the compass aft, six 
or seven feet at a time, observing the deviation at each position, and 


134 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

found the westerly deviation decreased ; and on placing the tripod of 
the compass directly over the rudder-head, easterly deviation was pro- 
duced ; and hence it folloAved that there must be a position somewhere 
between the last two places of observation where there would be no 
deviation while the ship's head remained in the same direction. This 
position I practically discovered by moving the compass a few inches 
at a time, till it indicated the correct magnetic direction of the ship's 
head. The question which now remained to be proved was, to what 
extent the deviations of the said compass had been lessened (or what 
they actually were) when the ship's head was placed upon different 
points ; and I was gratified to find that after swinging the vessel, and 
observing upon the eight principal points, the compass placed as before 
described, proved to be correct within a quarter of a point. It is 
necessary to mention, that the Trident has wooden beams under the 
quarter deck, aud therefore it remains to be seen to what extent such 
observations may be useful in vessels which have iron beams. It will 
also be requisite to ascertain, by actual observation, how far a position 
so selected shall prove advantageous when the ship changes her geo- 
graphical position ; and as the Trident is about to proceed to the 
southern hemisphere, and is amply provided with instructions and the 
means of ascertaining such changes, and as I shall swing her again on 
every point before she leaves, we may hope for much useful informa- 
tion on this important subject. I must observe, that it may not always 
be practicable to find the position of no deviation, or where the influ- 
ences of the iron in the ship upon the magnetic needle are equalized, 
because such a point might be found in a most inconvenient position, 
or be too near movable ironwork, machinery, &c. ; but if we succeed 
in approximating towards it, and thereby reduce the deviations within 
moderate limits, a point of great practical importance will be gained 
in navigation. 

Mr. John Gray, of Liverpool, has published a letter, in which he 
proves, by the example of the Sarah Sands, that the compass can be 
as accurately adjusted in iron vessels as in those of wood. He says : 
" This steamboat has been a most valuable agent for the determination 
of a mooted point now being investigated, whether iron ships undergo 
a very important change after crossing the equator, or not. For years 
I have entertained the opinion that, for all practical purposes, the 
adjustment on Professor Airy's principle will answer equally well in 
both north and south latitudes, and which this vessel has demonstrated 
beyond all doubt. Simultaneous bearings were taken by Captain 
Thompson and his chief officers, in various parts of the Straits of 
Magellan, and the result clearly showed that no deviation whatever 
took place. " 

RELATION BETWEEN THE SPOTS ON THE SUN AND THE MAG- 
NETIC NEEDLE. 

ACCORDING to observations made by M. Rodolphe Wolf, Director 
of the Observatory at Berne, it appears that the number of spots on 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 135 

the sun have their maximum and minimum at the same time as the 
variations of the needle. It follows from this, that the cause of these 
two changes on the sun and on the earth must be the same, and con- 
sequently, from this disco very, it will be possible to solve several 
important problems, whose solution has hitherto never been attempted. 

ARAGO OX THE PHYSICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE SUX. 

FROM a paper recently submitted to the French Academy by M. 
Arago, we copy the following extracts. They embody many of the 
author's investigations and results, and are of the most interesting 
character. 

After briefly reviewing the phenomena of the solar spots, and the 
peculiar radiance, less luminous than the rest of the orb, with which 
they are surrounded, the penumbra, M. Arago says : This 
penumbra, first noticed by Gallileo, and carefully observed by his 
astronomical successors in all the changes which it undergoes, has led 
to a supposition, concerning the physical constitution of the sun, which 
at first must appear altogether astonishing. According to this view 
the orb would be regarded as a dark body, surrounded at a certain 
distance by an atmosphere, which might be compared to that envelop- 
ing the earth, when composed of a continuous bed of opaque and 
reflecting clouds. To this first atmosphere would succeed a second, 
luminous in itself, and which has been called the photosphere. This 
photosphere, more or less removed from the interior cloudy atmos- 
phere, would determine by its circumference the visible limits of the 
orb. According to this hypothesis, spots upon the sun would appear 
as often as there were found in the concentric atmospheres corres- 
ponding vacant portions, which would permit us to see exposed the 
dark central body. Those who have studied with powerful instru- 
ments, professional astronomers, and competent judges, acknowledge 
that this hypothesis concerning the physical constitution of the sun, 
supplies a very satisfactory account of the facts. Nevertheless, it is 
not generally adopted ; recent authoritative works describe the spots 
as scorite floating on the liquid surface of the orb, and issuing from 
solar volcanoes, of which terrestial volcanoes are but a feeble type. 

It was desirable then, to determine, by direct observation, the nature 
of the incandescent matter of the sun, but when we consider that a 
distance of 95,000,000 of miles separates us from this orb and that 
the only means of communication with its visible surface are luminous 
rays issuing therefrom, even to propose this problem seems an act of 
unjustifiable temerity. The recent progress in the science of optics, 
has, however, furnished the means for completely solving the problem. 

None are now ignorant that natural philosophers have succeeded in 
distinguishing two kinds of light, viz., natural and polarized. A ray 
of the former of these lights exhibits, on all points of its surface, the 
same properties ; whilst, with regard to the polarized light, the prop- 
erties exhibited on the different sides of its rays are different. These 
discrepancies, manifest themselves in a multitude of phenomena which 


136 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

need not here be noticed. Before going further, let us remark, that 
there is something wonderful in the experiments which have led nat- 
ural philosophers legitimately to talk of the different sides of a ray of 
light. The word " wonderful" which I have just used, will certainly 
appear natural to those who are aware that millions and millions of 
these rays can simultaneously pass through the eye of a needle, with- 
out interfering one with the other. Polarized light has enabled 
astronomers to augment the means of investigation by the aid of some 
curious instruments, from which great benefit has accrued already, 
among others, the polarizing telescope, or polariscope, merits attention. 
In looking directly at the sun with one of these, telescopes, two white 
images of the same intensity, and the same shade will be seen. Let 
us suppose the reflected image of this orb to be seen in water, or a 
glass mirror. In the act of reflection the rays become polarized, the 
lens no longer presenting two white and similar images ; on the con- 
trary they are tinged Avith brilliant colors, their shape having experi- 
enced no alteration. If the one be red, the other will be green ; if 
the former be yellow, the latter will present a violet shade, and so on ; 
the two colors being always what are called complementary, or sus- 
ceptible, by their mixture, of forming white. By whatever means 
this polarized light has been produced, the colors will display them- 
selves in the two images of the polarizing telescope, as when the rays 
have been reflected by water or glass. The polarizing telescope, thus 
furnishes a very simple means of distinguishing natural from polarized 
light. 

It has been long believed, that light emanating from incandescent 
bodies, reaches the eye in the state of natural light, when it has not 
been partially reflected, or strongly refracted, in its passage. The 
exactitude of this proposition failed, however, in certain points. A 
member of the Academy has discovered that light emanating under a 
sufficiently small angle, from the surface of a solid or liquid incandes- 
cent body, even when unpolished, presents evident marks of polariza- 
tion ; so that in passing through the polarizing telescope it is decom- 
posed into two colored pencils. The light emanating from an 
inflamed gaseous substance, such as is used in street illumination, on 
the contrary, is always in its natural state, whatever may have been its 
angle of emission. The means used to decide whether the substance 
which renders the sun visible is solid, liquid or gaseous, will be noth- 
ing more than a very simple application of the foregoing observations, 
in spite of the difficulties which appeared to arise from the immense 
distance of the orb. 

The rays which indicate the margin of the disc, have evidently 
issued from the incandescent surface under a A r ery small angle. The 
question here occurs, The margins of the two images, which the 
polarizing telescope furnishes, do they, when viewed directly, appear 
colored? then the light of these margins proceeds from a liquid 
body ; for any supposition which would make the exterior of the sun a 
solid body is definitely removed by the observations of the rapid changing 
of the form of the spots. Have the margins maintained their natural 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 137 

whiteness in the glass ? then they are necessarily gaseous. The incan- 
descent bodies which have been studied by a polariscope, the light 
being emitted under angles, are the following : of solids, forged iron 
and platinum ; of liquids, fused iron and glass. From these experi- 
ments it may be said, you have a right to affirm, that the sun is neither 
fused iron nor glass ; but what authority have you further to general- 
ize ? My response is this ; following the two explanations that have 
been given of the abnormal polarization which presents rays emitted 
under acute angles, all ought to be the same, with the exception of the 
quantity, whatever be the liquid, provided that the surface of emer- 
gence lias a sensible reflecting power. There would remain only the 
case, in which the incandescent body would, as to its density, be anal- 
ogous to a gas ; as for example, the liquid of an almost ideal rarity, 
which many geometricians have been led to place hypothetical!}*, at 
the extreme limit of our atmosphere, where the phenomena of polar- 
Nation and colorization may perhaps disappear. I shall however, 
Anticipate a difficulty which may suggest itself. It ought to be observed, 
that the lights proceeding from two liquid substances, may, according 
to the special nature of these substances, not be identical in reference 
to the number and position of the black bands of Frauenhofer, and 
which these prismatic hues offer to the eye of the philosopher. These 
discrepances are of a nature to be considerably augmented by the 
differently constituted atmospheres through which the rays have to 
travel before reaching the observer. 

Observations made any day of the year, looking directly at the sun, 
with the aid of powerfully polarizing telescopes, exhibit no trace of 
colorization. The inflamed substances then, which defines the circumfer- 
ence of the sun, is gaseous. We can generalize this conclusion, since, 
through the agency of rotation, the different points of the surface of the 
sun come in succession to form the circumference. This experiment 
removes out of the domain of simple hypothesis the theory we have 
previously indicated concerning the constitution of the solar photo- 
sphere. These results, let it be loudly proclaimed, are entirely due 
to the united efforts of the observers of the 17th and 18th centuries, 
and also in a certain measure to those of our cotemporary astrono- 
mers. And, here, let me make a remark, which, when endeavoring 
to determine the physical constitution of the stars, we shall have occa- 
sion to apply. If the material of the solar photosphere were liquid, 
if the rays emitted from its margin were polarized, the two images 
furnished by the polarizing telescope would not only be colored, but 
they would be different in different parts of the circumference. Is 
the highest point of one of these images red, the point diametrically 
opposite will be red also. But the two extremities of the horizontal 
diameter will each exhibit a green tint, and so on. If, then, one suc- 
ceeds in concentrating to a single point, the rays emitted from all parts 
of the sun's limb, even after their decomposition in the polarizing tel- 
escope, the mixture will be white. 

The constitution of the sun, as I have just established it, may equally 
well serve to explain how, on the surface of the orb, there exist some 


188 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

spots not black but luminous. These have been called faculae, others 
of much smaller dimensions and generally round, have been called 
lucules. These latter cause the surface of the sun to appear spotted. 
It is a singular fact; but I may trace the origin of the discovery of the 
facula? and lucules, to an administrative visit to a shop of novelties on 
the Boulevards. " I have to complain," said the master of the estab- 
lishment, " of the Gas Company ; it ought to direct on my goods the 
broad side of the bat- wing burner, whilst, by the carelessness of their 
servants, it is often the edge which is directed on them." " Are you 
certain," said one of the assistants, " that in that position the flame 
gives less light than in the other ?" The idea, appearing ill-founded, 
and I would say, absurd, it was submitted to accurate experiment ; and 
it was determined that a flame sheds upon any object as much light 
when it illuminates by its edge as when its broad surface was presented 
to it. Thence resulted the conclusion, that a gaseous incandescent 
surface of a determined extent is more luminous when seen obliquely 
than under perpendicular incidence. Consequently, if, like our atmos- 
phere, when dappled with clouds, the solar surface presents undulations, 
the parts of these undulations which are presented perpendicularly to 
the observer, must appear comparatively dim, and the inclined portion 
must appear more brilliant ; and hence every conic cavity must appear 
a lucule. It is no longer necessary in accounting for these appear- 
ances, to suppose that there exists on the sun millions of fires more 
incandescent than the rest of the disc, or millions of points distinguish- 
ing themselves from the neighboring regions by a greater accumula- 
tion of luminous matter. 

After having proved that the sun is composed of a dark central 
body, of a cloudy-reflecting atmosphere, and of a photosphere, we 
should naturally ask if there is nothing besides. If the photosphere 
terminates abruptly and without being surrounded by a gaseous atmos- 
phere, less luminous in itself, or feebly refracting ? Generally, this 
third atmosphere would disappear in the ocean of light with which the 
sun always appears surrounded, and which proceeds from the reflec- 
tion of its own rays upon the particles of which the terrestrial atmos- 
phere is composed. A means of removing this doubt presented itself; 
it was selecting the moment, when, during a total eclipse, the moon 
completely obscures the sun. Almost at the moment when the last 
rays emanating from the margin of the radiant orb, disappeared tinder 
the opaque screen formed by the moon, the atmosphere, in the region 
which is projected between the moon, the earth, and the neighboring 
parts, ceased to be illuminated. In all our researches upon solar 
eclipses, innumerable unexpected appearances invariably present 
themselves ; thus the observers were not a little surprised when, after 
the disappearance of the last direct rays of the sun behind the margin 
of the moon, and after the light reflected by the surrounding terrestrial 
atmosphere had also disappeared, to see rose-shaped prominences from 
two to three minutes in height, dart, as it were, from the circumference 
of our satellite. Each astronomer, following the usual bent of his 
ideas, arrived at an independent opinion regarding the causes of 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 139 

these appearances. Some attributed them to the mountains of the 
moon ; but this hypothesis would not bear a moment's examination. 
Others \vislu-d to discover in them certain effects of diffraction, or of 
refraction. But the touch-stone of all theories is calculation; and 
uncertainty the most indefinite must follow, in reference to their appli- 
cation to the remarkable phenomena specified, those, namely, of which 
we have just been speaking. Explanations, giving neither an exact 
account of the height, the form, the color, nor the fixity of a phenom- 
enon, ought to have no place in science. Let us come to the idea, much 
extolled for a short time, that the protuberances were solar mountains, 
whose summits extend beyond the photosphere covered by the moon 
at the moment of observation. Following the most moderate compu- 
tations, the elevation above the solar disc of one of these summits, 
would have been 19,000 leagues. I am Avell aware that no argument 
because based on the vastness of this height, should lead to the rejec- 
tion of the hypothesis, but it ma}' be much shaken by remarking that 
these pretended mountains exhibit considerable portions beyond the 
perpendicular, which, consequently in virtue of the solar attraction 
must have fallen down. 

Let us now take a rapid glance at the hypothesis, according 
to which the protuberances would be assimilated to solar clouds float- 
ing in a gaseous atmosphere. Here we find no principle of natural 
philosophy to prevent our admitting the existence of cloudy masses 
from 70,000 to 90,000 miles in length, with their outlines serrated, and 
assuming the most distorted forms, only in further pursuing this hypoth- 
esis, one could not fail to be astonished that no solar cloud had ever 
been seen entirely separate from the circumference of the moon. It 
is towards this determination, the subject otherwise eluding us, that the 
researches of astronomers should be directed. A mountain being 
incapable of sustaining itself without a base, the fortuitous observation 
of a prominence, separated in appearance from the margin of the 
moon, and, consequently, from the real margin of the solar photosphere, 
should be sufficient utterly to overthrow, the hypothesis of solar moun- 
tains. Such an observation has really been made. M. Kutochi who 
observed the eclipse of July 8th, 1850, writes :--" the slender and 
redish striated appearance Avhich was found near the northern promi- 
nence seemed to be completely detached from the margin of the 
moon." In the eclipse of the 28th of July, 1851, Messrs. Mauvais 
and Soujon, of Dantzic, and the celebrated foreign astronomers who 
had repaired to the different parts of Norway and the north of Ger- 
many, saw in all the selected stations without exception, a spot uni- 
formly red, and separated from the limb of the moon. These obser- 
vations put a definite termination to the explanations of the 
protuberances, founded on the supposition that there existed in the 
sun, mountains whose summits would reach considerably above the 
photosphere. When it shall be clearly demonstrated that these lumi- 
nous phenomena cannot be the effect of the inflexions which the solar 
rays might experience in passing near the rough parts which fringe 
the circumference of the moon : when it shall be demonstrated that 
13 


140 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

these rosy tints cannot be assimulated to simple optical appearances, 
and have, in truth, a real existence, that they are not real solar clouds, 
it will then be necessary to add a new atmosphere to the two of which 
we have spoken ; for these clouds cannot be sustained in vaccuo. The 
existence of a third atmosphere is moreover established by phenomena 
of quite another nature, namely, by the comparative intensity of the 
border and the centre of the sun, and also in some respects by the 
zodiacal light, so perceptible in our climate during the equinoxes. 

TRUE PLACE OF THE SUN IN THE UNIVERSE. 

IN addition to the remarks contained in the foregoing article on the 
physical constitution of the sun, M. Arago submitted the following- 
observations on the true place of the sun in the universe. 

Archelaus, who lived in the year 448, B. C., was the last philoso- 
pher of the Ionian Sect ; he said, regarding the sun, "It is a star, 
only it surpasses in size all other stars." The conjecture, for what is 
not based upon any measurement, or any observation, deserves no 
other name, was certainly very bold and very beautiful. Let us pass 
over an interval of more than two thousand years, and we shall find 
the relation of the sun and the stars established by the labors of the 
moderns, upon a basis which defies all criticism. During nearly a 
century and a half, astronomers endeavored to determine the distance 
between the stars and the earth ; the repeated failures with which 
their researches were attended, seemed to prove that the problem was 
insolvable. But what obstacles will not genius, united to perseverance, 
overcome ? We have discovered within a very few years the distance 
which separates us from the nearest stars. This distance is about 
206,000 times the distance of the sun from the earth, more than 
206,000 times 95,000,000 of miles. The product of 206,000 by 
95,000,000, would be too much above the numbers we are in the habit 
of considering, to warrant its annunciation. This product will still 
more strike the imagination, when I refer to the rapidity with which 
light travels. Alpha, in the constellation of the Centaur, is the star 
nearest to the earth, if it be allowable to apply the word near to such 
distances as those of which I am about to speak. The light of Alpha, 
of the Centaur, takes more than three years to reach us, so that were 
the star annihilated, we should still see it for three years after its 
destruction. Recall to your recollection that light travels at the rate 
of 192,000 miles in a second ; that the day is composed of 86,400 sec- 
onds, and the year of 365 days, and you will feel as thunderstruck 
before the immensity of these numbers. Furnished with these data, 
let us transport the sun to the place of this, the nearest star, and the 
vast circular disc, which in the morning rises majestically above the 
horizon, and in the evening occupies a considerable time in descend- 
ing entirely below the same line, would have dimensions almost imper- 
ceptible, even with the aid of the most powerful telescopes, and its 
brilliancy would range among the stars of the third magnitude, you 
will thus see what has become of the conjecture of Archelaus. One 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 141 

may perhaps feel humiliated by a result which reduces so far our 
position in the material world ; but consider that man has succeeded 
in extracting every thing from his own resources, whereby he is ele- 
vated to the highest rank in the world of thought. 

We would remark that in the recent works of complete astral cata- 
logues, we shall find that the number of stars visible to the naked eye 
in a single hemisphere, namely the northern, is less than three thou- 
sand. A certain result, and one, which notwithstanding will strike 
with astonishment, on account of its smallness, those who have only 
vaguely examined the sky on a beautiful winter night. The character 
of this astonishment will change, if we proceed to the telescopic stars. 
Carrying the enumeration to the stars of the fourteenth magnitude, 
the last that are seen by our powerful telescopes, we shall find by an 
estimate which will furnish us the minor limit, a number superior to 
40,000,000, (40,000,000 of suns ! !) and the distance from the farthest 
of them is such that the light would take from three to four thousand 
years to traverse it. We are then, fully authorized to say, that the 
luminous rays, those rapid couriers, bring* us, if I may so express 
it, the very ancient history of these distant worlds. A photometric 
experiment, of which the first indications exist in the Cosniotheoros 
of Huygeus, an experiment resumed by Wollaston a short time before 
his death, teaches us that 20,000 of stars the same size as Sirius, the 
most brilliant of the firmament, would need to be agglomerated to shed 
upon our globe a light equal to that of the sun. On reflecting upon 
the well-known fact, that some of the double stars, are of very differ- 
ent and dissimilar colors, our thoughts naturally turn to the inhabitants 
of the obscure and revolving planetary bodies which apparently circu- 
late around these suns ; and we would remark, not without real anxi- 
ety for the works, the paintings, of the artists of these distant worlds, 
that to a day lightened by a red light, succeeds not a night but a day, 
equally brilliant, but illuminated only by a green light. 

But abandoning these speculations, however worthy they may be of 
admiration, we shall come back to the chief question, which I have 
proposed to treat in this account, to try, if possible, to establish a con- 
nection between the physical nature of the sun and of the stars. We 
have succeeded by the help of the polarizing telescope in determining 
the nature of the substance which composes the solar photosphere, 
because by reason of the great apparent diameter of the orb, we have 
been able to observe separately the different points of its circumfer- 
ence. If the sun were removed from us to a distance where its diam- 
eter would appear as small to us as that of the stars, this method would 
be inapplicable, the colored rays proceeding from the different points 
of the circumference would then be intimately mixed, and, we have 
said already, their mixture would be white. It appears, then, that we 
must not apply to stars of imperceptible dimensions, the process which 
so satisfactorily conducted us to the result in regard to the sun. There 
are, however, some of these stars, which supply us with the means of 
investigation. I allude to the changing stars. Astronomers have 
remarked some stars whose brilliancy varies considerably ; there are 


142 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

even some which, in a very few hours, pass from the second to the 
fourth magnitude ; and there are others in which the changes in inten- 
sity are much more decided. These stars, quite visible at certain 
epochs, totally disappear, to reappear in periods longer, or shorter, 
and subject to slight irregularities. Two explanations of these curious 
phenomena present themselves to the mind ; the one consists in sup- 
posing that the star is not equally luminous on all parts of its surface, 
and that it experiences a rotatory movement upon itself; thus it is 
brilliant when the luminous part is turned towards us, and dark when 
the obscure portion arrives at the same point. According to the other 
hypothesis, an opaque, and, in itself non-luminous satellite, circulates 
round the star, and eclipses it periodically. In accordance with one 
or the other of these suppositions, the light which is exhibited some 
time before the disappearance, or before the reappearance of the star 
has not issued from all points of the circumference. Hence, there can 
be no doubt of the complete neutralization of the tints of which we 
have just spoken. 

If a changing star, when examined by a polarizing telescope remains 
perfectly white in all its phases, we may rest assured that its light 
emanates from a substance similar to our clouds, or our inflamed gas. 
Now, such is the result of the few observations that have been hitherto 
made, and which will be highly useful to complete. This means of 
investigation demands more care, but succeeds equally well, when 
applied to those stars which experience only a partial" variation in 
their brilliancy. The conclusion to which these observations conduct 
us, and which we may, I think, without scruple generalize, may be 
announced in these terms ; our sun is a star, and its physical constitu- 
tion is identical with that of the millions of stars with which the firma- 
ment is strewed. 

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW EYE-PIECE FOR THE SUN, WITH 

REMARKS ON SOLAR SPOTS. 

THE following is a report of some remarks recently made at the 
London Astronomical Society, accompanied with the exhibition of a 
new solar eye-piece, by the Rev. W. 11. Dawes. The principal pecu- 
liarity of this eye-piece consists in a metallic slide, with perforations of 
different sizes, which crosses the eye-tube at right angles, just at the 
focus of the object-glass. There are contrivances, which can easily be 
imagined, for rapid manipulation, and though the slide is of course 
greatly heated when the sun is viewed, the conduction is cut off by 
interposing a plate of ivory. The perforations vary in diameter from 
0.5 to 0.0075 of an inch ; and, with a small field, single lenses are pre- 
ferred to complicated eye-pieces. Mr. Dawes finds that, in general, 
apertures which exceed 0.3 inch cannot be safely used for a long time 
under a hot sun. Where the usual proportions are retained between 
the aperture and focal length of an object-glass (seldom exceeding 1 
to 1G in large telescopes,) a focal diaphragm of (.;> inch transmits a 
portion of the sun's image, the size and heat of which is nearly equiv- 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 143 

alent to that of the whole image of the sun in a refractor of thirty-two 
inches focal length, and of two inches aperture. This may usually be 
employed without injury to the dark glasses, and the field is quite large 
enough for sweeping over the sun's disc in searching for spots or other 
phenomena. Tn careful scrutinies, the suitable aperture must be 
employed. In some very large spots, the nuclei alone may thus be 
examined, without any disturbance frem the brio-lit surface. " By this 
mode of observation I have ascertained the existence of a stratum of 
comparatively faint luminosity, which, as far as I know, has not been 
previously noticed. For this I would propose the appellation of the 
cloudy stratum. Its appearance gives the impression of considerable 
depth below the second luminous stratum which forms the shallow, or 
penumbra, usually seen round the nucleus of a spot ; and from all the 
examinations I have hitherto made, it seems to me probable that it is 
not self-luminous, but of such a nature as to absorb a vast quantity of 
light, and reflect very little. Its faint illumination is rarely uniform, 
presenting rather a mottled or cloudy surface ; and occasionally some 
small patches are very decidedly more luminous than the rest, though 
still incomparably less bright than even the stratum forming the penum- 
bra ; from which it also differs essentially in being destitute of the 
striated or ridged appearance so frequently presented in that stratum. 
In all spots of considerable size, and in many small ones, a black 
opening is perceivable in the cloudy stratum. In no instance have I 
perceived any light in these openings which exceeded the illumination 
of the earth's atmosphere by the sun's rays. It is obvious that any 
degree of light inferior to this cannot be rendered visible by any con- 
trivance we "can employ ; just as the red projections from the sun's 
border cannot be seen except when the solar illumination of our atmos- 
phere is nearly extinguished by the intervention of the moon. In 
order to obtain a measure of this illumination of the atmosphere, and 
to ascertain the limit, which it sets to our researches, I have usually 
directed the telescope, with a very small field, to the sky close 
to the sun's edge, using the lightest shade of darkening glass 
which my eye could comfortably bear. Then, using the same shade, 
the telescope is directed with the smallest diaphragm to the dark part 
of a large spot. In this way the cloudy stratum will in general become 
visible, frequently occupying by far the greater part of what has been 
hitherto considered the nucleus of the spot, and imagined to be, in fact, 
the body of the sun itself. A portion of it, however, will commonly 
be found to appear perfectly black, whence we may conclude that, if 
luminous at all, it is less so than our own atmosphere when illuminated 
by the direct rays of the sun. To this black part only the appellation 
of nucleus appears to be strictly applicable. A remarkable instance 
of rotatory motion was observed in a spot which was sketched on Jan- 
uary 17 and January 23. The rotation was not of the smaller round 
the 'larger portion. The whole spot had rotated round the small black 
nucleus." On examining the surface of the sun carefully, using a 
very small field, Mr. Dawes is persuaded that " the apparent rapid 
fluctuation of the porous structure is not real, but the effect of dis- 
13* 


144 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

turbance in our own atmosphere." Mr. Dawes states his conviction o 
the superiority of large apertures with high powers in viewing the sun. 
which this reduction of the field makes easy. The facula3, too, ar< 
seen far better with large apertures, especially when the power is no 
proportionally high. " These are best seen near the east and" wes: 
edges of the sun's disc, where they give the impression of narrov. 
ridges, whose sides are there presented to view. They usually lit- 
nearly in the direction of a circle of latitude on the sun's surface, and 
are rarely high enough to be seen as actual projections from his limb. 
On one occasion, however, the 22d of January last, I had an oppor- 
tunity of observing a satisfactory confirmation of the idea that they 
are ridges, or heapings up of the luminous matter ; and as the requisite 
circumstances are extremely rare, I will advert more particularly to 
the observation. A large bright streak, or facula, was observed to run, 
as usual, nearly parallel to the sun's edge for some distance, and very 
near it ; and then to turn rather abruptly towards the edge and pass 
. over it. The limb was at times very well defined ; and when it was 
most sharp and steady, the bright streak was seen to project slightly 
beyond the smooth outline of the limb, in the manner of a mountain 
ridge nearly parallel to the sun's equator." This eye-piece was 
applied to Mr. LasselFs 20 foot reflector last September, and the sun 
was examined with the whole of the 24 inch mirror. The eye-piece 
did not become more than sensibly warm after two hours' exposure to 
a brio-ht sun. Mr. Dawes points out the utility of this contrivance in 
examining the surface of the moon, in observing occultations of small 
stars, and the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, and in observing or 
detecting the faint satellites of planets. By such means, too, Venus 
and Mercury may be more pleasantly observed when near the sun ; 
and, as the author remarks, " to the practised observer such applica- 
tions will readily occur," and need not be here insisted on. 

ON THE FORM OF IMAGES PRODUCED BY LENSES AND MIRRORS 

OF DIFFERENT SIZES. 

A PAPER on the above subject was read before the British Associa^ 
tion by Sir David Brewster, the object of which was to show, that the 
photographic portraits taken with cameras with large object-glasses or 
large mirrors must necessarily be distorted and hideous, as in fact it is 
notorious they are ; and that hence all persons engaged in this ne\\ 
and most important art should receive with gratitude any scientifi 
discovery which promised to correct so serious a defect- -which b) 
some has been attributed to the imperfection of the lenses employed, 
by others to the unsteadiness of the sitter who is having his portrai; 
taken, --by others, again, to the constraint of features and limb unde 
which he submits to the operation ; but it is by all admitted and 
deplored. If we consider that the pupil of the* human eye is onh 
about 2-10ths of an inch in diameter, it is obvious that the imao-e*. 
formed by the eye of those solid objects placed in front of it, and by 
which we are accustomed to see them, to judge of them, and to recpg. 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 1-15 

nize them, cannot embrace any of the rays of light which come from 
those parts of the object which lie in such positions towards the sides, 
top, bottom, or hinder parts as cannot pass in straight lines to an aper- 
ture of the size of the pupil, in fact, unless it agree almost exactly 
with the exact perspective form of the object, the pupil being the point 
of sight. If, then, an object be placed before a lens, the part of the 
lens towards its centre of the size of the pupil is capable of forming 
a correct image of that object, consisting of rays coming from pre- 
cisely the same parts of it as an eye would receive were its pupil in 
the same position. But all the parts of the lens or mirror of the same 
size which lie around and at a distance from this portion of it, would 
receive rays coming from parts of the solid object which the true eye 
could not receive, and which must therefore form as many unnatural 
images as there Avere such parts ; and the photographic picture which 
embraces and confounds into one hideous mass all these, anv one of 

i 

which by itself would be correct, must in the very nature of things 
give a most confused and displeasing representation of the object. 
Sir David illustrated and proved these assertions by a diagram of a 
Lens with a simple solid form, a cylinder topped by a cone behind, 
placed in front of the lens, pointing out the parts which alone could 
be embraced in a correct perspective view of it, and what parts the 
large lens or mirror would moreover receive and transmit rays from, 
to be jumbled in the photographic picture with that which would alone 
give a correct idea of the object as seen. He showed from the now 
familiar illustration afforded by the binocular stereoscope, how very 
dissimilar Avere the pictures of the same object received by small 
lenses placed as near as the two pupils of the human eye ; images so 
distinct that a child could readily distinguish them ; and yet multitudes 
of such images were all received and jumbled together in those pho- 
tographic pictures where lenses or mirrors of that or larger say 
three or four inches aperture were used. "The photographer, 
therefore," said Sir David Brewster, " who has a genuine interest in 
the perfection of his art will, by accelerating the photographic pro- 
cesses with the aid of more sensitive materials, be able to make use of 
lenses of very small aperture, and thus place his art in a higher posi- 
tion than that which it has yet attained. The photographer, on the 
contrary, whose interests bribe him to forswear even the truths of 
science, will continue to deform the youth and beauty that may in 
ignorance repair to his studio, adding scowls and wrinkles to the noble 
forms of manhood, and giving to a fresh and vigorous age the aspects 
of departing or departed life." He then produced an exact diagram 
of photographic images of a simple object produced by Mr. Buckle of 
Peterborough. The acting diameter of the lens was 3 inches ; and 
by using it with all covered, except a central space of 2-10ths of an 
inch diameter, and then along with this space exposing circular spaces 
of the same size towards the outer circumference of the aperture, the 
effect of the combination of the marginal pictures was most distinctly 
exhibited and demonstrated, by halos extending round the true image, 
and the sharp cross lines ruled* on the object and shown in the iniag 


146 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

with the small leus, but all confused in that with the surrounding 
apertures. 

ON THE OPTICAL PKOPERTIES OF A RECENTLY DISCOVERED SALT 

OF QUININE. 

THE above is the title of a paper read before the British Associa- 
tion, Belfast, by Prof. Stokes. The salt referred to is stated by Dr. 
Herapath, to be easily formed by dissolving bi-sulphate of quinine in 
warm acetic acid, adding a few drops of a solution of iodine in alco- 
hol, and allowing the liquid to cool ; when the salt crystallizes in thin 
scales, reflecting (while immersed in the fluid,) a green light with a 
metallic lustre. When taken out of the fluid the crystals are yellow- 
ish green by reflected light, with a metallic aspect. The following 
observations were made with small crystals formed in this manner : 
The crystals possess in an eminent degree the property of polariz- 
ing light, so that Dr. Herapath proposed to employ them instead of 
tourmalines, for which they would form an admirable substitute, could 
they be obtained in sufficient size. They appear to belong to the pris- 
matic system ; at any rate, they are symmetrical (so far as relates to 
their optical properties and to the directions of their lateral faces,) 
with respect to two rectangular planes perpendicular to the scales. 
These planes will here be called respectively the principal plane of 
the length, and the principal plane of the breadth, the crystals being 
usually longest in the direction of the former plane. When the crys- 
tals are viewed by light directly transmitted, which is either polarized 
before incidence or analyzed after transmission, so as to retain only 
light polarized in one of the principal planes, it is found that with 
respect to light polarized in the principal plane of the length the crys- 
tals are transparent and nearly colorless, at least when they are as 
thin as those which are usually formed by the method above men- 
tioned But with respect to light polarized in the principal plane of 
the breadth, the thicker crystals are perfectly black, the thinner ones 
only transmitting light, which is of a deep red color. When the crys- 
tals are examined by light reflected at the smallest angle with which 
the observation is practicable, and the reflected light is analyzed, so 
as to retain, - - first, light polarized in the principal plane of the length, 
and secondly, light polarized in the other principal plane, -- it is found 
that in the first case the crystals have a vitreous lustre, and the 
reflected light is colorless, while in the second case the light is yellow- 
ish green, and the crystals have a metallic lustre. When the plane of 
incidence is the principal plane of the length, and the angle of inci- 
dence is increased from to 90, the part of the reflected pencil 
which is polarized in the plane of incidence undergoes no remarkable 
change, except perhaps that the lustre becomes somewhat metallic. 
When the part which is polarized in a plane perpendicular to the 
former is examined, it is found that the crystals have angle of polari- 
zation, the reflected light never vanishing, but only changing its color, 
passing from yellowish green, which it was at first, to a deep steel 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 147 

blue, which color it assumes at a considerable angle of incidence. 
AVhen the light reflected in the principal plane of the breadth is 
examined in a similar manner, the pencil which is polarized in the 
plane of incidence undergoes no remarkable change, continuing to 
have the appearance of being reflected from a metaT, while the other 
or colorless pencil vanishes at a certain angle and afterwards reap- 
pears, so that in this plane the crystals have a polarizing angle. If, 
then, for distinction's sake, AVC call the two pencils which the crystals, 
as belonging to a doubly refracting medium, transmit independently 
of each other, ordinary and extraordinary, the former being that 
which is transmitted with little loss, we may say, speaking approxima- 
tively, that the medium is transparent with respect to the ordinary 
ray, and opaque with respect to the extraordinary ; while as regards 
reflection, the crystals have the properties of a transparent medium or 
of a metal according as the refracted ray is the ordinary or the extra- 
ordinary. If common light merely be used, both refracted pencils 
are produced, and the corresponding reflected pencils are mixed 
together ; but by analyzing the reflected light, by means of a Xicol's 
prism, the reflected pencils may be viewed separately, - - at least when 
the observations are confined to the principal planes. The crystals arc 
no doubt biaxal, and the pencils here called ordinary and extraor- 
dinary are those which in the language of theory correspond to differ- 
ent sheets of the wave surface. The reflecting properties of the 
crystals ma}' be embraced in one view, by regarding the medium as 
not only doubly refracting and doubly absorbing, but doubly metallic. 
The ixietallicity, so to speak, of the medium of course alters continu- 
ously with the point of the wave surface to which the pencil consid- 
ered belongs, and doubtless is not mathematically null even for the 
ordinary ray. If the reflection be really of a metallic nature, it ought 
to produce a relative change in the phases of vibration of light polar- 
ized in and perpendicularly to the plane of incidence. This conclu- 
sion the author has verified by means of the effect produced on the 
rings of calcareous spar. Since the crystals were too small for indi- 
vidual examination in this experiment, the observation was made with 
a mass of scales deposited on a flat black surface, and arranged at 
random as regards the azimuth of their principal planes. The direc- 
tion of the change is the same as in the case of a metal, and accord- 
ingly the reverse of that which is observed in total internal reflection. 
Iii the case of the extraordinary pencil the crystals are least opaque 
with respect to red light, and accordingly they are less metallic with 
respect to red light than to light of higher refrangibility. This is 
shown by the green color of the reflected light when the crystals are 
immersed in fluid ; so that the reflection which they exhibit as a trans- 
parent medium is in a good measure destroyed. The author has 
examined the crystals for a change of refrangibility, and found that 
they do not exhibit it. Safflower red, which possesses metallic optical 
properties, does change the refrangibility of a portion of the incident 
light; but the yellowish green light which this substance reflects is 
really due to its metallic-it}", and not to the change of refrangibility, 


148 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

for the light emitted from the latter cause is red, besides which it is 
totally different in other respects from regularly reflected light. In 
conclusion, the author observed that the general fact of the reflection 
of colored polarized pencils had been discovered by Sir David Brews- 
ter in the case of chrysammate of potash ; and in a subsequent com- 
munication he had noticed in the case of other crystals the difference 
of effect depending upon the azimuth of the plane of incidence. 
Accordingly, the object of the present communication was merely to 
point out the intimate connection which exists (at least in the case of 
the salt of quinine,) between the colored reflection, the double absorp- 
tion, and the metallic properties of the medium. 

Specimens of Sensitive Media were exhibited by Prof. Stokes. 
These were : - - A crystal of green fluor spar, which, by the develop- 
ment of blue light within it, changed its color ; the solution of the 
common bi-sulphate of quinine in acidulated water, which, by its 
action on the invisible rays developed blue light ; and the solution of 
the green coloring matter of leaves in alcohol, which by a similar 
action became blood red. 

PROF. STOKES' RESEARCHES ON LIGHT. 

THE researches of Prof. Stokes took their origin from an unex- 
plained phenomenon discovered by Sir John Herschel, and communi- 
cated by him to the Royal Society in 1845. A solution of sulphate 
of quinine examined by transmitted light, and held between the eye 
and the light, or between the eye and a white object, appears almost 
as transparent and colorless as water ; but when viewed in certain 
aspects and under certain incidences of light, exhibits an extremely 
vivid and beautiful celestial blue color. This color was shown by Sir 
John Herschel to result from the action of the strata which the light 
first penetrates on entering the liquid ; and the dispersion of light 
producing it was named by him epipolic dispersion, from the circum- 
stance that it takes place near the surface by which the light enters. 
A beam of light having passed through the solution was to all appear- 
ance the same as before its entrance ; nevertheless, it was found to 
have undergone some mysterious modification, for an epipolized 
beam of light meaning thereby a beam which had once been trans- 
mitted through a quiniferous solution, and had experienced its disper- 
sive action is incapable of further epipolic dispersion. In speculating 
on the possible nature of epipolized light, Prof. Stokes was led to 
conclude that it could only be light which had been deprived of certain 
invisible rays which in the process of dispersion had changed their 
refrangibility and had thereby become visible. The truth of this 
supposition, novel and surprising as it at first appeared, has been con- 
firmed by a series of simple and perfectly decisive experiments; 
showing that it is in fact the chemical rays of the spectrum, more 
refrangible than the violet, and invisible in themselves, which produce 
the blue superficial light in the quiniferous solution. Prof. Stokes has 
traced this principle through a great range of analogous phenomena, 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 149 

including: those noticed by Sir David Brewster in his papers on " In- 
ternal Dispersion ;" and has distinguished between " cases of false 
internal dispersion," or " opalescence," in which the luminous rays are 
simply reflected from fine particles held in mechanical solution in the> 
medium, and those of " true internal dispersion," or " fluorescence," 
as it is termed by Prof. Stokes. By suitable methods of observation 
the change of refrangibility was detected, as produced not only by 
transparent fluids and solids, but also by opaque substances ; and the 
class of media exhibiting " fluorescence " was found to be very large, 
consisting chiefly of organic substances, but comprehending, though 
more rarely, some mineral bodies. The direct application of the fact, 
as we now understand it, to many highly interesting and important 
purposes, is obvious almost on the first announcement. The facility 
with which the highly refrangible invisible rays of the spectrum may 
be rendered visible by being passed through a solution of sulphate of 
quinine or other sensitive medium, affords peculiar advantages for the 
study of those rays ; the fixed lines of the invisible part of the solar 
spectrum may now be exhibited to our view at pleasure. The con- 
stancy with which a particular mode of changing the refrangibility of 
light attaches to a particular substance, exhibiting itself independently 
of the admixture of other substances, supplies a new method of analysis 
for organic compounds which may prove valuable in organic chemistry. 


DOVE'S THEORY OF LUSTEE. 


SIR DAVID BREWSTER, #t the British Association, explained the 
theory of Dove respecting the origin of lustre, which was, that the 
lustre of bodies and particularly the metallic lustre arose from the 
light coming from the one stratum of the superficial particles of bodies 
interfering on the eye with the light coming from other and deeper 
strata, the regular s^ymmetrical arrangement of the particles in these 
bodies producing effects somewhat analogous to that of mother-of- 
pearl. But the opinion which Sir David himself seemed to incline to, 
was, that since we know from the phenomena of very thin metallic 
leaves that lights of very different colors are transmitted through strata 
of different kinds of matter and of different thicknesses, and since 
from the different refrangibility of lights of these colors, the same lens 
will not bring them to a focus at the same distance, metallic lustre 
was caused by the effort used to accommodate the eye to the distinct 
vision of these colors. 

ART OF SEEING THE INTERIOR OF THE EYE BY THE EYE ITSELF. 

THE following paragraph has recently been published in several 
journals, relative to a discovery said to have been made by M. 
Andraud, an eminent French engineer. 

" Some attention has been excited by the alleged discovery, by a 
French engineer of some celebrity named Andraud, of some means of 
seeing the air. If, says he, you take a piece of card, colored black, of 


150 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

the size of the eye, and pierce with a fine needle a hole in the middle, 
you will, on looking through that hole at a clear sky or a lighted lamp, 
see a multitude of molecules floating about ; which molecules consti- 
tute the air. We shall see whether the theory will obtain the sanction 
of the Academy of Sciences, to which it has been submitted." 

An ingenious writer in the New Orleans Delta, who has given this 
subject much attention, has published the following, communication. 
The atomic globules which were rendered visible to M. Andraud, by 
means of the perforated card, are not (fried molecules. I have been, 
for some months past, familiar with this interesting experiment. The 
beautiful globules seen by means of the hole in the card are the atomic 
colorless globes which constitute the crystalline fluid within the eye. 
M. Andraud supposes they are external and in the air, when the truth 
is they are internal and within the chamber of the eye. 

The experiment may be tried, and the fact verified by any person, 
in the following manner : Take a thick visiting-card and black it with 
ink, or a piece of pasteboard opaque enough to forbid the transmission 
of light through it, and perforate the center with a pin-hole. Place 
the card between the eye and a candle-flame, or a globe-lamp, and not 
more than two inches from the eve, and the same distance from the 

ti 

light ; but this distance will vary according to the convexity or flatness 
of the seer's eye, who must adjust it till he finds his focus. Instead of 
seeing the flame of the candle, the beholder now discerns a circular 
disc the size of the iris of the eye. This disc is bright and planet-like, 
and is crossed by innumerable lines like the fibres visible on the sur- 
face of a magnified rose-leaf. It appears to be beyond the eye, between 
the card and the light; and it is this illusion which deceived M. 
Andraud, and led him to suppose that he saw a portion of the atmos- 
phere magnified. But this visible disc is, in fact, a spherical section 
of the fluidal crystalline lens within the chamber of the eye, strongly 
illumined by the concentrated pencil of light, passing from the candle 
into it through the minute hole in the card ; and the veined appear- 
ance of its surface is the reticulated materia of the ordinarily transpa- 
rent coat of the cornea rendered visible. The chamber of the eye 
thus lighted up by the intense line of light passing into it through the 
minute orifice, (Avhich acts as a strongly magnifying lens,) there is 
conveyed to the optic nerve an image (exactly the size of the pupil 
through which the ray passes) of a circular section of the crystalline 
fluid, with its atomic particles intensely magnified. The spectacle is 
one of surpassing wonder and beauty. Myriads of illuminated mole- 
cules distinctly appear in tremulous motion in the bright fluid ; some 
of them are simple globes, others are encircled by two or more con- 
centric rings like exquisite miniatures of the planet Saturn, as seen 
through a telescope. Some of them are transparent, like infinitely 
small soap bubbles, and float about as lightly, while others are of the 
white color of pearls. 

By contracting the eye, or by gently moving the head from side to 
side, these beautiful millions of globular atoms are made to undulate 
within the chamber of the eye, and change places, some ascending and 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 151 

others descending; while others thrown nearer the focus of the light, 
dart across the disc like shooting stars in a lesser firmaneiit ; while 
others revolve about each other in orbits of infinite diversity. The 
experiment is a highly interesting as well as a philosophical one, and 
will well recompense whoever attempts it. It will require some prac- 
tice in a tyro to adjust the card to the proper focus, so as to obtain 
the clearest disc : but any one who knows how to use a microscope 
will easily discover when the card is in focus. If the flame of the 
candle is seen through it it is out of focus, and it must be advanced or 
drawn back until a round planet-like shape is discernible. This 
planet-like shape, which will appear crossed by a net-work, is the 
cornea coating of the eye magnified. The pupil of the eye must now 
be expanded, as when one examines closely a very minute object, 
when the atomic world of globules that compose the crystalline fluid 
will be discerned behind the net-work surface of the cornea ; and the 
steadier one gazes, the clearer is this wonderful and beautiful spectacle 
perceived in all its surprising variety of form, beauty, and motion. 

A better medium than the card proposed by M. Andraud I have 
used in making this experiment. It is a small lens, (the eye-piece of 
a broken spy-glass.) with an inch and a half focus. This held to a 
solar lamp or candle, at six feet distance, or turned towards the full 
moon, (which is better still,) the chamber of the eye is far more 
intensely illumined than by means of the perforated card. The lens 
of ordinary magnifying spectacles will serve equally as well as the 
eye-piece named, by covering the surface with opaque paper, having 
in the center a clear space to transmit the light throughout into the 
pupil of the eye. 

A writer in the National Intelligencer remarks upon the above 
described experiment as follows : The best manner of detecting the 
globules is with a lens ; though the perforated hole shows an interest- 
ing spectacle. The iris of the eye is also superbly magnified and 
rendered beautifully visible with two lenses, a small and a large one, 
placed five feet apart ; the larger one directed to the moon or a lamp, 
and looking at it with the smaller (inch focus) placed close to the eye. 
Indeed, the experiments may be varied so as to produce the finest 
effects, at once novel and beautiful. Next to a telescopic view of the 
heavens, I know nothing in science so interesting and at the same 
time so simple as this " seeing the interior of the eye " with the eye 
itself. 

HARMONY OF COLOR IX DRESS. 

A CORRESPOXDEXT of the London Art Journal, in treating upon 
the subject of dress, says that " the optical effect of dark and black 
dresses is to make the figure appear smaller, hence it is a suitable 
color for stout persons ; black shoes diminish the apparent size of the 
feet. On the contrary white and light-colored dresses make persons 
appear larger. Large patterns make the figure look shorter, longitu- 
dinal stripes, if not too wide, add to the height of the figure, horizontal 
14 


152 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVEKY. 

stripes have a contrary effect, and are very ungraceful. Incongruity 
may be frequently observed in the adoption of colors without reference 
to their accordance with the complexion of the wearer, as a light blue 
bonnet and flowers surrounding a sallow countenance, or a pink 
opposed to glowing red ; a pale complexion associated with a canary 
or lemon-yellow, or one of delicate red and white rendered almost 
colorless by the vicinity of a deep red. If the lady with the sallow 
complexion had worn a transparent white bonnet ; or if the lady with 
the glowing red complexion had lowered it by means of a bonnet of 
deeper red color ; if the pale lady had improved the cadaverous hue 
of her countenance by surrounding it with pale green, which, by 
contrast, would have suffused it with a delicate pink hue ; or had the 
face of delicate red and white been arrayed in a light blue, or light 
green, or in a transparent white bonnet, with blue or pink flowers on 
the inside how different and how much more agreeable would have 
been the impression of the spectator ! In general the broken and 
semi-neutral colors are productive of an excellent effect in dress. 
They may be enlivened by a little positive color, but the contrasting 
color should bear but a small proportion to the mass of principal color. 
A blue bonnet and dress may be contrasted with an orange colored 
shawl, but the blue to contrast the orange must be of a very deep 
tone ; a pink bonnet may be worn with a green dress, but the hue of 
each should be carefully assorted according to their exact contrast. 
Colored shawls are instances in which a great variety of colors may 
be arranged with harmonious and rich effect. It is always necessary 
that if one part of the dress be highly ornamented or consist of various 
colors, a portion should be plain, to give repose to the eye. The 
French manufacturers pay great attention to this subject, and the 
good effects of this study are visible in the textile fabrics which are so 
highly valued." 

THE PSEUDOSCOPE. 

A NEW instrument, contrived by Mr. Wheatstone, of London, for 
producing the conversion of the relief of any solid to which it is 
directed, is called the Pseudoscope, as it conveys to the mind false 
perceptions of all external objects. It consists of two reflecting prisms, 
placed on a frame, with adjustments, so that, when applied to the eyes, 
each eye may separately see the reflected image of the projection 
which usually falls on that eye. This is not the case when the reflec- 
tion of an object is seen in a mirror; for then, not only are the pro- 
jections separately reflected, but they are also transposed from one 
eye to the other, and therefore the conversion of relief does not take 
place. The pstudoscope being directed id an object, and adjusted so 
that the object shall appear of its proper size and at its usual distance, 
the distances of all other objects are inverted; all nearer objects 
appear more distant, and all more distant objects nearer. The con- 
version of relief of an object consists in the transposition of the 
distances of the points which compose it. With the pseudoscope we 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 153 

have a glance, as it were, into another visible world, in which external 
objects and our internal perceptions have no longer their habitual 
relations with each other. Among the remarkable illusions it occasions, 
the following are mentioned : The inside of a tea-cup appears a solid 
convex body ; the effect is more striking if there are painted figures 
within the cup. A china vase, ornamented with colored flowers in 
relief, appears to be a vertical section of the interior of the vase, with 
painted hollow impressions of the flowers. A small terrestrial globe 
appears a concave hemisphere ; when the globe is turned on its axis, 
the appearance and disappearance of different portions of the map on 
its concave surface has a very singular effect. A bust regarded in 
front becomes a deep hollow mask ; when regarded en profile, the 
appearance is equally striking. A framed picture hung against a 
wall appears as if imbedded in a cavity made in the wall. An object 
placed before the wall of a room, appears behind the wall, and as if an 
aperture of the proper dimensions had been made to allow it to be 
seen ; if the object be illuminated by a candle, its shadow appears as 
far before the object as it actually is behind it. 

BINOCULAR MICROSCOPE. 

THE following notice of a new form of microscope, is taken from 
the New Orleans Medical Register. " At a meeting of the Medical 
Society, Oct. 1852, Prof. J. L. Riddell called the "attention of the 
society to an instrument of his own invention and manufacture, which 
promises to be of incalculable advantage in microscopic researches, 
especially in the prosecution of microscopic anatomy and physiology. 

" He remarked that he last year contrived, and had lately constructed 
and used, a combination of glass prisms, to render both eyes serviceable 
in microscopic observation. The plan is essentially as follows : Behind 
the objective, and as near thereto as practicable, the light is equally 
divided, and bent at right angles and made to travel in opposite direc- 
tions, by means of two rectangular prisms, which are in contact by 
their edges, that are somewhat ground away. The reflected rays are 
received at a proper distance for binocular vision upon two other 
rectangular prisms, and again bent at right angles, being thus either 
completely inverted, for an inverted microscope, or restored to their 
original direction. These outer prisms may be cemented to the inner, 
by means of Canada balsam ; or left free to admit of adjustment to suit 
different observers. Prisms of other form, with due arrangement, may 
be substituted. 

" This method proves, according to Prof. Riddell's testimony, equally 
applicable to every grade of good lenses, from Spencer's best sixteenth, 
to a common three-inch magnifier, with or without oculars or erecting 

o *~^ 

eye-pieces, and with a great enhancement of penetrating and defining 
power. It gives the observer perfectly correct views, in length, 
breadth and depth, whatever power he may employ ; objects are seen 
holding their true relative positions, and wearing their real shapes. 
In looking at solid bodies, however, depressions sometimes appear as 


154 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

elevations, and vice versa, forming a curious illusion ; for instance, a 
metal spherule may appear like a glass ball silvered on the under side, 
and the margin of a wafer may seem to ascend from the water into the 
air. 

With this instrument the microscopic dissecting knife can be 
exactly guided. The watchmaker and artist can work under the 
binocular eye-glass with certainty and satisfaction. In looking at 
microscopic animal tissues, the single eye may perhaps behold a con- 
fused amorphous, or nebulous mass, which the pair of eyes instantly 
shape into delicate superimposed membranes, with intervening spaces, 
the thickness of which can be correctly estimated. Blood corpuscles, 
usually seen as flat discs, loom out as oblate spheroids. Prof. R. 
asserted, in short, that the whole microscopic world could thus be 
exhibited in a new light, acquiring a ten-fold greater interest, display- 
ing in every phase, a perfection of beauty and symmetry indescri- 
bable." 

GIGANTIC TELESCOPE. 

A NEW and gigantic telescope, rivalling that constructed by Lord 
Rosse, is now erecting upon Wands worth Common, by Mr. Gravatt, 
for the Rev. Mr. Craig. It consists of a plain tower, with a long tube 
slung at its side. The tower, consisting of brick, is 64 feet in height, 
15 feet in diameter. Every precaution has been taken in the con- 
struction of this building, to prevent the slightest vibration ; but, if 
any disappointment in this respect should arise, additional weight can 
be obtained by loading the several floors, and the most perfect steadi- 
ness will be thus insured. By the side of this sustaining tower hangs 
the telescope. The length of the main tube, which is shaped some- 
what like a cigar, is 76 feet; but with an eye-piece at the narrow 
end, and a dew-cap at the other, the total length in use will be 85 
feet. The design of the dew-cap is to prevent obscuration by the 
condensation of moisture which takes. place during the night, when 
the instrument is most in use. Its exterior is of bright metal, the 
interior is painted black. The focal distance will vary from 76 to 85 
feet. The tube at its greatest circumference measures 13 feet, and 
this part is about 2-4 feet from the object-glass. The determination of 
this point was the result of repeated experiments and minute and 
careful calculations. It was essential to the object in view that there 
should not be the slightest vibration in the instrument. Mr. Gravatt, 
reasoning from analogy, applied the principle of harmonic progression 
to the perfecting of an instrument for extending the range of vision, 
and thus aiding astronomic research. By his improvements, the 
vibration at one emj of the tube is neutralized by that at the other, 
and the result is, that the utmost steadiness and precision are attained. 
The ironwork of the tube was manufactured by Messrs. Rennie, 
under the direction of Mr. Gravatt. The object-glasses are also of 
English construction, and throw a curious light on the manner in 
which an enlightened commercial policy has reacted upon and pro- 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 155 

moted the advancement of science. Up to a recent period, the flint 
o-lass for achromatic telescopes was entirely of foreign manufacture. 
Since the reduction in the duty, great improvements have been made 
in this department. The making of the large flint glass was intrusted 
to Mr. Chance, of Birmingham, who at first hesitated to manufacture 
one larger than 9 inches in diameter. On being urged, however, 
by Mr. Craig, he succeeded in producing one of 24 inches ; perfectly 
clear, and homogeneous in structure. Besides this, there is a second 
of plate glass of the same dimensions, cast by the Thames Plate Glass 
Companv. The tube rests upon a light wooden framework, with iron 
wheels attached, and is fitted to a circular iron railway at a distance 
of 52 feet from the centre of the tower. The chain by which it is 
lowered is capable of sustaining a weight of 13 tons, though the 
weight of the tube is only 3. Notwithstanding the immense size of 

^ . ^j 

the instrument, the machinery is such that it can move either in azi- 
muth, or up to an altitude of 80, with as much ease and rapidity as 
an ordinary telescope, and, from the nature of the mechanical arrange- 
ments, with far greater certainty as to results. The slightest force 
applied to the wheel on the iron rail, causes the instrument to move 
horizontally round the central tower, while a wheel at the right hand 
of the observer enables him to elevate or depress the object-glass with 
the greatest precision and facility. With respect to the magnifying 
power of this novel instrument, it is only necessary to state that, 
though the focus is not so sharp as it will be shortly, it has already 
separated the nebulas in the same way as Lord Rosse's. It has also 
separated some of the double stars in the Great Bear, and shown dis- 
tinctly a clear distance of 50 or 60 between them, with several 
other stars occupying the intervening space. Ordinary readers will 
better understand the extraordinasy magnifying power of the tele- 
scope, when we inform them that by it a quarter-inch letter can be 
read at the distance of half a mile. 

The London Observer furnishes the following additional particulars 
relative to the power of this new instrument ; it says : "It has been 
already ascertained, that, as a measuring instrument, or for penetrat- 
ing space, its powers are unapproachable by all other instruments. It 
separates minute points of light so distinctly, that its qualifications as 
a discovering telescope must be extremely valuable. It resolves the 
milky way, not simply into beautiful and brilliant star-dust, to use the 
language of astronomers, but subdivides this ' dust ' into regular 
constellations, showing counterparts of the Orion, the Great Bear, 
and the other brilliant galaxies of our system, adorned, in addition, 
with the most varied and gorgeous colors. The lenses are so perfectly 
achromatic, that the planet Saturn appears of milk-like whiteness ; 
and, as regards this planet, a good deal of scientific interest has been 
recently attached to it, in consequence of the distinguished American 
astronomer, Bond, of the Cambridge Observatory, Massachusetts, 
having stated he believed he saw a third ring or belt round the planet. 
Professor Challis brought the Northumberland telescope at Cambridge 
to bear upon it, but failed in discovering it. Lord Rosse's gigantic 
14* 


156 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

telescope was also employed upon it In vain ; and it became a matter 
of great interest to the astronomical world, to ascertain whether there 
was a third ring or not ; and this question has been solved by the 
Craig telescope ; the third ring, of a clear, brilliant gray color, having 
been distinctly seen. This is owing to the great quantity of light 
which the Wandsworth telescope brings to the eye of the observer 
from this planet, giving a bright appearance to what, in an instrument 
of less power, would have been completely invisible. 

" Some idea of its powers may be formed from the fact, that it mag- 
nifies the light of the moon 40,000 times ; and in coarse objects, like 
the outlines of the lunar mountains and the craters, the whole of these 
rays may be allowed to pass at once to the focal point, as they do not 
in such objects confuse it in any appreciable degree. In the Craig 
telescope, the moon is a most magnificent object, and perfectly color- 
less, enabling the beholder to trace the outlines of the various 
mountain ranges with such vivid distinctness as to make us long for 
fine clear weather, in order to bring the whole powers of this marvel- 
lous instrument upon our satellite. It is positively asserted that of a 
favorable evening, if there was a building or object of the size of 
Westminster Abbey in the moon, the whole of its parts and propor- 
tions would be distinctly revealed. As an illustration of its space-pen- 
etrating powers, and the manner in which it grasps in the light, it may 
be stated, that soon after it was erected it was directed to a test object. 
a minute speck of light in one of the constellations, which is not to be 
seen at all times by the most excellent instruments, though guided by 
first rate observers, and in profound darkness. The Craig telescope 
at once discovered that this test object was not a minute speck of 
light, but a brilliant double star. As soon as it is finally adjusted, Mr. 
Craig proposes to direct the instrument to the planet Venus, to exam- 
ine it minutely, in the hope that he may be able to settle the question 
of whether she has a satellite or not. We need not say what an 
advantage the solution of this fact would be to science. 

" But wonderful as are the effects of this telescope, it is not yet 
perfect, and it has been found that a part of one of the lenses is too 
ilat by about the five-thousandth part of an inch ! To many it may 
appear incredible that the five-thousandth part of an inch can be 
estimable so as to be appreciable and measured; but the indistinct- 
ness of a portion of the image revealed the fact. The rays of light 
which fall upon that part of the lens go beyond the focal length, and 
render the object indistinct, and confuse the image. This portion of 
the lens has to be " stopped out " when extraordinary accuracy of 
definition is required ; as, for instance, in observing so fine a point 
as the third ring of Saturn ; and, as the aperture is so large, the 
absence of this small portion of the rays is not important, the quan- 
tity of light being so great. It was at first feared that the attempt to 
correct this defect might produce the inconvenience of over correct- 
ing it, and produce an error on the other side ; but Mr. Gravatt has 
devised a plan by which the lens, which was polished in the first 
instance by four workmen, may now be repolished by machinery upon 


NATURAL rillLOSOPHY. 157 

such accurate mathematical principles as will prevent the possibility 
of error. The machinery is somewhat similar to that by which the 
reflector of Lord Rosse's gigantic telescope was polished, with the 
difference, that, the reflector being concave, and the Craig lenses 
convex, the machinery will act reversely." 

The Observer states the following additional facts of an interesting 
character, relative to the improvements made by the two scientific 
gentlemen above named, the benefits of which will perhaps be even 
more widely extended than those resulting from the single instrument 
already perfected. " Not the least of the benefits which Mr. Craig- 
has conferred upon astronomical science, is the practical demonstra- 
tion of the fact, that achromatic telescopes of this vast size and extra- 
ordinary range, may be constructed at a> comparatively small cost, 
thus doing away with the necessity for the more expensive and elabo- 
rate arrangements required for the great reflecting telescopes. The 
simple and effective mechanism devised by Mr. Gravatt is another 
illustration of the advance we have made in the mechanical arts, and 
fully justifies the soundness of the judgment evinced by Mr. Craig 
in his selection of an engineer." 

TRAVELLER'S CAMERA. 

MR. Fox TALBOT publishes the following description of a portable 
photographic apparatus arranged by him, and called " The Traveller's 
Camera." 

He says : I first mount the camera itself upon a board of its own 
breadth, but two or three inches longer than it. I then make a kind 
of table, or support, beneath the surface of which are sunk or con- 
cealed three troughs, which are retained in fixed positions. One of 
these is intended to hold a solution of nitrate of silver ; the second, 
either a solution of gallic acid, or sulphate of iron ; and the third, 
water. The usual paper holder is dispensed with, but instead of it 
there is a simple frame, to which a sheet of paper or a pane of glass 
can be attached from behind, and taken away again, while the frame 
remains in the camera. The upper part of the frame carries a long 
handle, passing through the lid of the camera, which may either stand 
upright, or, if it be jointed, it can be folded down on the camera. 
When the camera is placed on its table, or support, it can move upon 
it in one direction only, backward and forward, being confined to 
that motion by two parallel strips of wood, upon which are placed 
certain marks corresponding to a mark upon the camera, indicating 
that when either of these marks are brought into union, then the 
paper holding frame of the camera is in a vertical line over the centre 
of one of the troughs.. Now, when the photographer sets out of a 
morning upon his excursion, he carries with him two boxes, one con- 
taining the plates of glass (or the sheets of iodized paper) he intends 
to use, which of course may be freely exposed to light, not being in a 
sensitive state ; and the other box to hold the pictures which he 
expects to make. AVhen arrived at the scene of action, the modus 


158 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, 

s* 

operandi is this : having first filled the troughs with their respective 
liquids, the camera is placed upon its table or support, and this again 
upon a stand which is usually required to give it a due elevation from 
the ground. The camera is pointed at the object, and a sheet of 
ground glass is placed in the frame from behind, to obtain the focus, 
and is then removed, and a sheet of prepared iodized paper, or a 
plate of iodized glass (which of course must not be at all sensitive) is 
put in its place. A door is then shut at the back of the camera, 
which places the prepared paper of glass in the dark. The camera is 
then moved on its support to the mark indicating the trough of nitrate 
of silver. The object-glass of the camera is then closed. The ope- 
rator then takes hold of the frame by its handle, and pushes it down 
into the trough below, which he is enabled to do by reason of a narrow 
slit in the bottom of the camera, which allows a passage. He then 
draws it up again immediately. He then opens the object-glass of the 
camera, and after a due time closes it again. He then moves the 
camera on its support to the mark indicating gallic acid, or sulphate 
of iron. He then, as before, pushes the frame down and lifts it up 
again, either immediately or after a due length of time. He then, in 
a similar way, drops the frame into and out of the trough of water. 
He then opens the door at the back of the camera, and takes out and 
examines the picture he has obtained, which for that purpose he may 
freely expose to the light. If not satisfied with it, he tries again, cor- 
recting his process by his first experience. But if he is satisfied with 
his picture, he deposits it in his box. It is not yet quite finished, but 
the finishing process is deferred without inconvenience until after his 
return in the evening. In practice, I find that this simple arrange- 
ment works delightfully, and I should be glad to be allowed to name 
it the Traveller's Camera." 

ON THE SOLAR AGENCY PRODUCING CHEMICAL CHANGE. 

FROM Mr. Hunt's late work on Photography, we copy the following- 
passage relative to the solar agency, which produces the chemical 
change. 

" The operation of the antagonistic forces of light is somewhat 
remarkably shown over different regions of the earth. Advancing 
from our own lands towards the tropics, it is found that the difficulties 
of obtaining pictures by the solar influences increase ; and, under the 
action of the glowing light of equatorial climes, a much longer period 
is required for impressing a photograph, than is occupied in the pro- 
cess either in London or Paris. It has been stated by Dr. Draper, 
that in his progress from New York to the Southern States, he found 
the space protected from chemical change by the yellow rays regularly 
increasing. The same result is apparent in the differences between 
the spring and summer. Usually in April and March photographs 
are more readily obtained, than in June and July. It is worthy of 
notice, that the morning sun, between the hours of eight and twelve, 
produces much better effects than can be obtained after the hour of 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 159 

noon ; this was observed at a very early period by Daguerre. For 
drawings by application, this is but slightly, if at all, felt, but with the 
camera it is of some consequence to attend to this fact. We are not 
yet in a position to record more than the fact the cause of the dif- 
ference is not yet determined ; probably it may be found to exist in a 
greater absorptive action of the atmosphere, caused by the elevation 
of aqueous vapor from the earth. But the experiments of M. Mala- 
guti seem to imply the contrary, this philosopher having found that 
the chemical rays permeate water more readily than they do air; 
some experiments of my own, however, are not in accordance with 
M. Malaguti's results.. In the neighborhood of large towns it might 
be accounted for by the circumstance of the air becoming, during the 
day, more and more impregnated with coal smoke, &c., which offers 
very powerful interruption to the free passage of the chemical rays. 
This will, however, scarcely account for the same interference being 
found to exist in the open country, some miles from any town. Until 
our meteorological observers adopt a system of registering the varia- 
tions of light and actinic power by means of some well devised instru- 
ment, we cannot expect to arrive at any very definite results." 

IMPROVEMENTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY. 

PHOTOGRAPHY has made rapid progress during the last two years, 
especially in the mode of operating on paper and glass. To M. 2s iepce 
must be accorded the merit of having contributed to the perfecting of 
this art, by his beautiful discovery of the process of albumen on glass. 
Proofs have been obtained by this means, which, for beauty of design, 
clearness and fineness of detail, leave nothing to be desired. There 
are, however, serious inconveniences attendant upon this process. 
The length of exposure in the camera necessary for obtaining an 
image, has hitherto compelled us to limit its application to landscapes 
and architecture, and renounce its employment in portraiture. These 
difficulties have at last been overcome by Mr. Bingham, of London, 
who substitutes a layer of collodion instead of the albumen of M. 
Niepce. This process, it is stated, rivals in beauty the albumenized 
plate, and even surpasses the daguerreotype in sensibility to light. 
The manner of operating with collodion resembles, in many respects, 
the albumen process, and no operator accustomed to the manipulations 
of the albumen on glass, can fail to succeed with collodion. The 
details of the process are described at length by Mr. Bingham, in the 
Comptes Rendus of May, 1852, and in the London Chemist for July, 
1852. 

Photographs on Glass. According to a process described by M. 
Pucker, in the Arcli'w der Phann. Ixix., a thin film of iodide of sul- 
phur is formed upon plate glass, by covering the glass, which must be 
perfectly clean, with a very thin coating of sulphur, and then impreg- 
nating this" for a few seconds with the vapor of iodine. The glass 
plate is then placed in the camera, where at the same time the vapor 
of some quicksilver in an iron cup in the bottom of the camera, acts 


160 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

upon the iodide of sulphur with which it is coated, and it receives the 
photographic image within a minute. The glass plate, when taken 
out of the camera, only exhibits a trace of the picture, but this 
immediately comes out on exposure to the action of the vapor of bro- 
mine. If the picture be now held over alcohol, and some of the same 
liquid be poured upon it, it will be fixed. 

The glass plates must be breathed upon and well rubbed with a soft 
linen rag several times before use. They are coated with sulphur by 
burning sulphur sticks, made on purpose, in a proper tube, and hold- 
ing the plates over it at a distance of about three inches. These 
sulphur sticks are prepared by dipping pieces of rush pith into a 
melted mixture of sulphur and mastic, with which they become 
incrusted. For use, these sulphur sticks, which are about the size 
of a lucifer match, are stuck on a brass needle, introduced into the 
middle of a glass tube, and kindled, so that the vapor of the sulphur 
may come in contact with the glass plate held over it. 

These glass plates are so sensitive, that the coating of iodide of 
sulphur becomes instantly changed on exposure to direct sunlight, 
and give a Moser's image within five minutes when laid in a book. 
The figures thus obtained are most easily read by candlelight. In 
daylight, the blue letters can be recognized on the yellow ground 
only by looking through the plate towards the middle of the window, 
or towards a sheet of paper fastened in that place, the sulphur not 
having been removed either by vapor of bromine, or by alcohol. 

If a glass plate, covered with a solution of gum and exposed to the 
vapor of iodized sulphur, be placed in the camera, a positive picture, 
with all its details, is obtained, the outlines of which can be laid bare 
by an etching point capable of scratching the glass. If a glass plate, 
so marked, be rubbed in with printing ink, the outlines will be filled, 
and the ink will remain in them when the glass is freed from the 
coating of gum by means of water. The picture is then easily trans- 
ferred to paper, which is to be laid on the plate and rubbed over with 
a paper-knife. 

Improvements in preparing photographic paper. M. Legray, in a 
recent communication to the French Academy, describes a new 
method of preparing photographic paper, which he claims to possess 
superior qualities. The substance first used in the preparation of the 
paper, is virgin wax, which is kept at a temperature of 100 Centi- 
grade, in a large, flat vessel, and the paper is immersed therein until 
completely saturated with the wax. The sheet of paper is then 
withdrawn, and laid between several pieces of blotting paper, over 
which a moderately heated iron is passed, which causes the blotting 
paper to absorb the superfluous wax. If the paper is properly pre- 
pared, there will be no gloss whatever on its surface, and it will be 
perfectly transparent. 

The waxed paper is then immersed in a warm solution, composed 
as follows : 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 161 

1,000 parts of rice water, 
40 " sugar of milk, 

15 u u iodide of potassium, 

0.80 " " cyanide of potassium, 

0.50 " " fluoride of potassium. 

The sheet of paper should be laid in this solution for half an hour, 
and it may then be withdrawn, and hung up to dry. 

The paper is then immersed in a clear solution of aceto-nitrate of 
silver, which is thus formed : 

300 parts of distilled water, 
20 " " acetate of silver, 
24 u u crystallizable acetic acid, 
5 " " animal charcoal. 

The animal charcoal serves to render the paper more susceptible to 
receive impressions, and decolorizes the solutions when they have 
been previously used. The paper should remain three minutes in this 
solution, and in order to insure contact with the liquid, the two sides 
of the sheet should be rubbed over with a brush. The paper is then 
washed several times with distilled water, and well dried between 
pieces of blotting paper. Paper thus prepared may be taken imme- 
diately into the dark chamber, and it is not necessary to subject the 
image to the action of gallic acid on its removal from the camera ; 
this may be deferred till the evening, or even the next day, or the 
day following. 

The paper may be kept in a dark place for more than a fortnight, 
without undergoing any alteration ; and in this respect offers greater 
advantages than any of the photographic papers hitherto known. 
The solution of gallic acid is composed of one part of gallic acid, half 
part (0.5) of nitrate of silver, and 200 parts distilled water. The 
image is fixed, as usual, by the hyposulphite of soda. 

Whipple's Chrystalotype. The following is the outline of a process 
discovered by Mr. J. A. Whipple, of Boston, for the production of a 
picture on paper, to which the name chrystalotype has been given. 
A glass plate is first prepared with a sensitive coating, and on this the 
picture is taken. As in all such pictures, when prepared after Tal- 
bot's process on paper, the light objects are here represented the 
darkest, and the dark ones the lightest. A black man with a white 
hat becomes a white man with a black one. The lights in this glass 
picture are transparent. The shades are opaque. In the preparation 
of this plate, we presume, is Mr. Whipple's invention. Xow, take 
this plate, place under it a sheet of paper prepared with one of the 
photographic solutions, and let the sun strike through. The light 
parts of the plate are copied dark, and vice versa. Of course, the 
black man gets a black face again, and a white hat. 

The pictures taken by this process upon paper are of marvellous 
delicacy and finish, and surpass anything of the kind we have here- 
tofore examined. 


162 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 


DAGUERREOTYPES WITHOUT MERCURY. 

M. NATTERER, of Vienna, has discovered a process for obtaining 
proofs on iodized plates with the chloride of sulphur, without the use 
of mercury. A plate of silver is iodized in the usual manner, and 
then placed on the top of a vessel 6 or 8 inches high, having at the 
bottom, in a small cup, a few drops of chloride of sulphur ; it should 
remain exposed to the action of the vapor until the sombre yellow 
color is changed to a red, after which it is brought to a focus in the 
camera, where it is left for a time, depending upon the luminous 
strength of the focus of the objective. (With the objectives of Voigt- 
lander, not less than ten seconds and not more than two minutes.) 
The plate is then taken out and examined in the camera by the light 
of a candle. It often occurs that no trace of the image is as yet per- 
ceptible, but if the plate is heated by placing over a spirit lamp the 
unprepared side, or if left for some time in the dark, or, lastly, if 
exposed only for a few seconds to a weak dimmed light, the positive 
picture then appears with all its shades. Of these three modes of 
bringing out the image, the second is superior to the others. 

ENGRAVED PHOTOGRAPHS. 

THE idea of the prospective advantages of bringing the photographic 
process into immediate connection Avith the engraver's art, and the 
probable chance of fitting it for the part of the engraver's draftsman, 
in actually pencilling out the lines for the wood engraver, the etching 
needle or the burin, has been often discussed. The London Practical 
Mechanic's Magazine for May, contains two wood engravings, 
engraved from photographic designs taken upon a collodion film, 
which was subsequently transferred to wood. The design of the 
picture was thus, as it were, pencilled upon the block by the action of 
light. This result has been accomplished by Mr. Urie, of London, in 
the following manner : The picture is first obtained upon a collodion 
film upon glass in the usual manner. The film is then carefully 
detached, and laid upon the prepared wooden block. The engraver 
then engraves through the film, as if he were treating an actual draw- 
ing upon the wood surface. It is obvious that the whole process, more 
especially the transfer of the pictorial film from its original foundation 
to the block, is a matter involving extreme nicety of manipulation. 
The operator proceeds by floating off the film in water, by placing the 
glass plate horizontally therein, and with the picture upwards, assisting 
the dislodgment of the film, when necessary by a slight mechanical 
action. Then, the wood block, having its surface previously prepared 
with the white of an egg and lamp-black, the darkening being 
necessary to throw out the picture from its translucent ground - - the 
film is carefully laid upon the block ; the white of an egg having suf- 
ficiently adhesive power to hold it firmly down. At first, the very 
obvious difficulty of the peeling off, or disintegration of the film, 
opposed the efforts of the engraver in his subsequent treatment of the 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 163 

block, but this brittleness has been overcome by a slight wash of var- 
nish. Engravings produced in this way are light-drawn pictures 
indeed. In his execution of them, the engraver is freed from the 
mannerisms, or imperfections of the artist, or mechanical draftsman, 
escaping on the one hand the dangers of the lack of " life," or the 
missing of expression ; and on the other avoiding all inconvenience 
from chance, error, or neglect. 

Since the above was laid before the public, the process has been 
still further improved, by taking the photographic picture directly 
upon the wooden surface to be engraved. This is best effected by 
drying on a coating of lamp-black and white of egg, and varnishing 
this over with a coat of pure white of egg, before laying on the collo- 
dion. After collodionizing the wood, it is dipped into nitrate of silver 
and placed at once in the camera, the picture being subsequently 
developed, by dipping in sulphate of iron, and nitric acid, washing in 
pure water, and finally fixing with hyposulphite of soda. To preserve 
the picture a final coat of mastic varnish is laid on. 

GAUDIX OX ENGRAVING FROM DAGUERREOTYPES. 

DAGUERREOTYPES combine all the necessary conditions for engrav- 
ing by means of acids, being composed of an unchangeable coating 
deposited upon a sheet of silver that several chemical agents easily 
corrode. By this means, the parts protected correspond to the lights, 
and those corroded, to the shades precisely as the picture requires, 
and as is the case with aqua fortis engravings ; moreover, the impres- 
sions taken upon paper would be in their right position. But practice 
is far from realizing the promises of theory. The reason of this want 
of success arises primarily from the extreme delicacy of the dotted 
parts which form the half-tints, and again, from the deficiency of depth 
in shades of any extent. In fact, an .engraving fit for taking impres- 
sions is composed of deep furrows, produced, either directly, ty the 
cutting of the graver, or indirectly, by the interstices of the grain 
formed on the plate, or by the scraping of the point, as in etching. 
The shades are owing to the vast number of these irregularities on the 
same spot, while the biting of the acid on a daguerreotype may plough 
deep without leaving any irregularities necessary to retain the ink for 
the impression. For example, if there happen to be in the daguerreo- 
type open windows, forming shades of some extent, the acid will 
make a hollow of the same extent, but the bottom of it will be smooth, 
and the ink will scarcely adhere. M. Donne was the first who thought 
of engraving daguerreotypes. His first attempts were very remarka- 
ble, and no one doubted their ultimate success. He employed a very 
simple and expeditious process. Over a daguerreotype taken on a 
double-silvered plate and carefully washed with hyposulphite of soda 
and afterwards finished with distilled water, he poured a mixture 
composed of three parts of pure nitric acid and four of distilled water, 
having first covered the edges of the plate with a thick coat of engra- 
vers' wax, so as to make a flat disc of it. In the course of a short 
15 


164 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 

time there was a lively effervesence owing to the disengagement of 
nitrous gas during the disappearance of the silver. As soon as he 
judged the engraving deep enough he w r ashed the plate well in water. 
By this means he obtained very delicate engravings, from which as 
many as forty copies could be taken ; they were, however, deficient in 
vigor, and had a gray tint, almost uniform. 

Attempts have been since made to take copies by the battery, 
placing the daguerreotype in an acid, or metalliferous bath communi- 
cating with the carbon pole of a cell of Bunsen's battery, which is the 
pole of oxidation or departure. There were produced engravings of 
a high finish, but of a texture that might be called impalpable, and 
from which copies could not be taken by a copper-plate press. To 
remedy this defect, M. Fizeau thought of covering an engraving which 
had undergone the first biting process, with an oily substance that 
would fill up the smallest cavities and leave untouched the prominent 
parts, which he cut out with the greatest care ; in this state it was 
gilded by means of the battery, and then stripped of its oily coating 
by a suitable dissolvent. After this operation, the part already bitten 
was. strongly acted upon by the nitric acid, which left untouched all 
the parts that had been gilt. By means of this improvement, M. 
Fizeau succeeded in obtaining a few engravings, possessing a certain 
vigor, of casts illuminated by the sun. Delicate views subjected to 
the same operation have always been far inferior to photographs on 
paper. The increasing progress of these latter, have led to the neglect 
of engraving daguerreotypes ; indeed, the small number of indifferent 
copies that can be taken, is a great obstacle to this mode of employ- 
ment. It might be remedied by taking pictures on hardened steel 
silvered by the battery. I silvered a sheet of hardened steel, by 
rubbing it with a solution of chloride of silver dissolved in the hypo- 
sulphite of soda. The daguerreotype was successful, but not the 
engraving, from deficiency, no doubt, of the silvering. With the 
resources at present offered by the battery, it is certain that the copy- 
ing of engravings in a similar manner would be much increased. 
There would be required however great manual strength ; it would 
be a very delicate operation, which could be executed only with a 
diamond graver. No attempts have been made, that I know of, to 
copy daguerreotypes by means of lithography, yet the art might, not- 
withstanding, furnish all the required vigor, for the shades depend in 
lithography only on the chemical nature of the surface, and not at all 
on its confirmation. I propose, however, to do this ; Cover a piece 
of silk, waxed, of the size of the engraving to be lithographed, with an 
exceedingly thin coating of lithographic ink dissolved in alcohol. On 
this waxed silk take by pressure a copy of the daguerreotype merely 
washed with hyposulphite of soda and rinsed w r ith distilled water. 
With the waxed silk alone, the operation has succeeded very well ; it 
is a precedent of flattering promise. If the coating of lithographic 
ink is exceedingly thin, the catching property of the waxed silk Avill 
be only increased, and the taking of the impression will be easier. 
The taking of the impression having been successful is a great step 


NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 165 

toward completion ; all that remains to be done, is to transfer it on the 
lithographic stone. For this purpose the stone should be finely pol- 
ished with wafer and pumice stone ; then the waxed silk covered with 
a few sheets of unsized paper, is pressed down tightly with a screw, 
but not too much. For greater success, the stone is warmed, and the 
whole left in the press for several hours, to give the lithographic ink 
time to react upon the stone. It is evident, wherever the photogenic 
coating covers the silk the lithographic ink cannot act upon the stone, 
and besides,