The Wheeler and Wilson Sewing Xachine....4 Model Workshop. The great inventions of modern times may be briefly enumerated. They are the steam engine, the electric telegraph, and the sewing machine. Others of great importance have been introduced, but we refer to these three, as those which have, to a great extent, revolutioned our social institutions. Cer- tainly none can have a higher standing, in this r& spect, than the last one upon the list. While the others have created for themselves a fame and his- tory which shines brilliantly among the mechanical achievements of the age, neither of them come so close to the common interests of both sexes as that machine which has signally triumphed over ob- stacles and prej udices which seemed insurmount- able. So great has been its popularity, that, in order to meet the demand for it, immense factories have been erected in different parts of the country. The feeling in favor of particular machines is per- haps something incomprehenbible, when the general xcellence of one is apparent to all. The industrial ~sociations throughout the United States, as well as the jurors at the great International Exhibition lately held at London, have declared almost unani- mously in favor of the Wheeler and Wilson pattern. Its merits, as a machine for general work, are so palpable to those who are familiar with it, as to need no praise at our hands; lightness, ease of action, simplicity of design, thoroughness in construction non-liability to derangement, these are the great es- sentials in a sewing machine, and these qualities are all combined in the one which we shall make the subject of our article. We were in East Bridgeport a few days since, where the Wheeler and Wilson Company have their factory, and thinking that a few hours could not be more profitably employed than in looking through it, we made known our desire at the office, when the President, Mr. Wheeler, at once afforded us every facility. Let us, however, premise before going further, that the Company have no secrets in the construction of their sewing machine. To any one who is desir- ous of witnessing their tools and workshops, the doors are open and permission accorded to view everything and every branch of the business, from beginning to end. From Alpha to Omega, nothing U4 is concealed; a frank and liberal spirit which it would be well for the manufacturing community at ~large to imitate. Let us, also, entreat the sometime visitor who shall come after us-,- to remark the order and discipline which prevails on every hand. After this brief diversion, with Mr. Superintendent Perry, we enter the factory. Stepping across an ante-room from his office, he opens a door, and at once, a long vista of busy machines and their attendants Is dis- closed; five hundred and twenty-six feet in length, and thirty-six feet in width, are occupied on the ground floor by a system of machinery which seems to act with almost human facility and discrimina- tion. Here the heavier parts of the sewing machine are prepared for the other fittings. In order to have a clear idea of the plan pursued throughout the establishment, it will be necessary to inform the reader that all the materials and tools are furnished by the Company, and the work is executed for them by contractors or jobbers. To each of these jobbers, a certain part of the work is assigned, one man tak- ing the beds or solid frame of the machine, the frogs, as that part is called which carries the cloth presser, and the needle arm. Auother man will make the A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION IN ART, SCIENCE, MECHANICS, ChEMISTRY AND MANUFACTURES. VOL. VIII.---NO. I. (NEW SERIES.) ____ NEW YORK, JANUARY 3,1863. ~ COPIES SIX CENTS. ____________________________ ANNUMIN ADVANCE. WHEELER A~D WILSONS SEWING MACHINE MANUFACTORY. 2 connccting rod, or the piece which goes between the hook shaft and the vibrating arm, the slide rings, that part which holds the bobbin or spooi up to the rotatin~, hook, and any other divisions of the sewin machine which his experience or natural skill has assured the Company will be xvell executed in his hands. Thus dl the details are parcelled out among the several contractors. Now, be it borne in mind, the Wheeler and Wilson machine is not made from hand to hand, as the saying is, but from its inception to the last nail driven in the packing box which carries it to its final destination, every operation performed is but one of many, tending toward completion, that be- longs to the mechanical system employed in the manufactory to insure absolute fidelity in every par- ticular. It is easy to see that, if every jobber exe- cuted his work as best suited him, and according to his own ideas of what was required in the premises, a grand era of chaos and disorder would be inaugur- ated, which would speedily put an end to the Com- panys fame and the good quality of their machines. In order that such a catastrophe may be avoided, tlaere are a set of gages, or duplicates, provided for every screw, spring, or bar, employed in the sewing machine; these gages are supplied to the various contractors, and are made from originals in the pos- session of the Company, to which no one has access lint the superintendent. For each piece there is not only one gage, but there are also separate gages for every variation and curve existing in those shapes; so that every radius and every angle is pre- cisely similar in each individual machine. It is not necessary to have a professional education in order to appreciate the benefits arising from this plan, but our mechanical readers will readily understand the advantages springing from it. We wish the man- ufacturing community at large could have one glance at the beautifully made and kept gages which the Wlaeeler and Wilson Company uses; our word for it, no one, who has a regular and stipulated pattern of an invention to make the year round, would ever be without similar devices. Not only are these tests kept for the purpose of in- suring accuracy in the forms of the working parts, but fac-similes are also made of all the screws, from the largest to the smallest; in their bodies, in their threads, and lastly, in the distance from under the henrI, to the point where the rounded top meets the s1(les. Since all the holes are drilled to just such a depth, as a matter of course, every screw must be of a standard length and size, and we can readily see how by conforming to the rules made for the guid- ance of the contractors, the whole factory works as one brain. Part after part goes through the required operations, never coming back from one machine to another, but entering at one end of the room, and so going the round of all the tools in the various stories, being finally carried into the inspecting rooms. Hero they are put together, tested, run and ap- proved. Indeed to such lengths is the principle of or(lcr and regularity carried, that after leaving the workshops, the visitor feels an irresistible inclination to step exactly square and true, and to otherwise conform to habits of regularity ard method. Thus it will be seen that these factories have also a vast moral influence which must be felt to be appre- ciated. Let us after this necessary introduction, look at the planing machine, on which the bottoms of the beds or frames are being faced; this being the start- ing point to which all subsequent parts are accessor- ies, and the other operations subordinate, it is a very simple performance, and is only mentioned as a base of operations. After the bottom is faced, the bed is then removed to another machine, called in mechan- ical parlance, a miller or slabber, this cuts out the recess for the feed-bar and trues the plate faces. The rib that receives the foot of the cloth presser or frog, anti the squared faces at the back, are done upon an- other similar machine. Thus having secured two planes at right angles with each other, everything else is done with reference to them. As for instance, the several holes with which the sewing machine is pierced for shafts or screws ; these are all in a line with some one of the other planes or faces, there is no obliquity or divergence from a right angle, unless 6nch a feature is rcc~uivcd in the :~iaehine. ~the hoVs e.mie. Ailed by wL~t. are called gang drills, that is, one drill for as many holes as ar& re- has to be drilled in this needle, and the groove poi- quired, all running in the same frame and revolving ished, we are naturally astonished, nevertheless it is together. The bed is then placed in a jig ;this is done. By means of a fine thread, the size with which an apparatus which is furnished with projections that the needle is to be used, and some flour emery, or touch all the working faces in the sewing machine its equivalent, the eye is polished and left perfectly bed. The holes to be drilled are laid off in this jig, smooth. To make perfect needles much skill and and bushed with hardened steel thimbles, so that care is necessary. Mr. Perry informed us that he their positions remain always the same. Suppos- frequently received proposals from abroad from par- ing the plate of the drill press to be perfectly square, ties desiring to furnish the company with this branch or at right angles with the tool, and the surfaces of of their manufacture, stating, as an inducement, the jig bearing upon it, also correct, the holes that they could make them much cheaper. IJnfor- which are pierced by following those laid out in the tunately, however, for the proposers in one instance, pattern, are always true, and each machine in this the sample sent was very much poorer in quality than particular is a fac-simile of the others. To see that the worst ones thrown away weekly by the company. the jig is always in a proper condition in the And we might cite many other instances which would business of the contractor, for upon it depends the support the value of the system insisted upon by the fidelity of his work. company., that isabsolute accuracy in construction. Having thus seen the process employed in this one In one of the lower shops we were shown a hook particular, we will not detail the others at great shaft which had a slight scratch in it, made by the length. To do so would require a vastly greater space turning tool; its value was not impaired in any way than that comprised in a newspaper article ; follow it would work perfectly, but yet it was, we were us on down the shop, which is closely stowed with informed, likely to be condemned, because, as our every conceivable variety of toolsome, indeed, in- guide remarked, to allow it to pass unnoticed would conceivable in their dexterity and ingenious working. be a departure from established rules, for which there Of the latter is the machine which makes the rotat- was no precedent, and to which infraction no bounds lug hook, one of the most beautiful pieces of mechan- could be set. Here lies the secret of the success of ism that it is possible to imagine. The hook and the Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine; for as all shaft are made out of a steel rod but very little larger parts are interchangeable, being exact duplicates, the in diameter than the finished piece ; it is first cut off one of the other, entire uniformity throughout is at- about seven or eight inches long, then heated in a tamed. furnace and placed under a drop press, which has dies The growing length of our article warns us to be in either face corresponding to the shape desired. brief. We must pass through this department hasti- Four distinct dies are necessary to bring it to the ly, only glancing at the bobbin or spool that runs rough form. It is then annealed or softened and between the hook and slide ring; this is, in appear- brought to the machinist, who performs all the work ance, the simplest part of the invention, but much needful to complete itsuch as turning the shaft to depends upon its construction. They are made in fit accurately, turning the hook part, which i~, in this three pieces, the two sides and a brass center; the stage, nothing but a round button, like a flattened sides are stamped out of a tin sheet, then put over pill boxplacing the shaft in the lathe and cutting the brass center, and that closed up on to them ;. the out the recess in front where the bobbin rotates spool is then apparently done, but it must be placed sawing down behind the face so as to form the clear- in the lathe, turned to an exact size at its edges, and ance requiredshaping the castoff, and, in short, to a specified shape on its sides. Mr. Perry informed executing the multifarious details which must be us that at one time great difficulties were encoun- completed before it is perfect. In all of these opera- tered in the working of their sewing machines, they tions the machinist has little else to do than superin- would go very well for a time, but on resuming oper- tend the lathe or tool that does the work. From the ations, after ceasing a while, no satisfactory work soft steel, gray, cheese-like parings come away until could be done. This, as it may be supposed, was a the whole piece is of the required dimensions. So source of much anxiety to the Company, and our in- we follow through the shop, and see first one part formant stated that the trouble was laid to the hook; and then another, brought into contact with the that whenever anything was out of order in the ma- rapid noiseless cutter, until we have traveled nearly chine, that part always took the burthen of the blame. the entire length. We stop for a moment to look in Finally, however, he took a machine home and puz- at the two steam engines of eighty-five horse power, zied over the cause of its mal-operation for some alse built in Bridgeport, which drive the works, and time, until he at length discovered that by always remark the admirable cleanliness and order visible putting the bobbin with the same face toward the there ; also to view the wash-rooms where the me- hook it ran perfectly well. This trouble led to the chanics have every facility requisite to make them- invention of special machinery for the manufacture selves presentable to the outer world, though one of this part, and no further inconvenience of any would hardly think it necessary, so neat, intelligent kind is experienced. and respectable do they look. We then hasten to With this little interpolation, let us leave the ma- follow our chaperon, Mr. Perry, to the second floor, chine shops and all their attractions behind, and en- Here the smaller, and consequently lighter, parts ter other apartments. If we look in at this large of the sewing machine arc fabricated, and we look room we shall find it full of polished and finely- upon operations similar to those we have just left, executed cabinet-work. These are the cases which Ascending once more we find, in the third story, the adorn and protect the new household god that now several appliances which belong to the sewing machine sits upon nearly every hearthstone in the land. We in various stages of construction; these are the needles, remark how the tables are put together in sections, spools, hemmers, and other extra appliances, the in- so that they shall not check or spring, each one be- vention of which has greatly increased the machines mug made of five thin pieces laid one upon top of the utility. other and then glued fast. Let us pass the packing The needles deserve more than a passing notice; room and the japanners at their labors, and go to the few persons have an accurate conception of the labor tuners or inspection rooms. This branch of the and time expended upon them. One, taken in the sewing-machine business comprises the accurate and hand, is a slightly curved steel wire with a round final adjustment of the several details which have body and a sharp point, whose eye is near the end; passed through other hands. Unto these men is but to reduce it to this form, out of a piece of stock, given the authority to reject any and every portion of requires much ingenuity. After the wire is softened, the work that does not agree with the gages; for being previously cut to the right length, it is turned these latter tools are brought into requisition again in a lathe to nearly its proper shape; the groove for the we-do-not-knowhowmany hundredth time. must then be formed in one side. For this purpose a Arbitrary accuracy is insisted upon, and the unlucky pair of steel dies are made having grooves in them jobber or workman, whose labor is thrown out, must the size of the intended needle ; in the center of this bear the expense of it himself. After the machines groove is a raised edge or rib, running along as far as are all adjusted, they are then put on a long table, it is desirable to carry the recess to be made in the and run for two hours, by belts attached to the shaft- former. The thickness of the rib varies in the stand- ing overhead, so that all their working parts may ard of the implements made; in the 0 number, for have the little asperities which still exist in them, instance, which is the finest size, the groove is not smoothed off. They are then handed in to a myste- much wider than the column rules of this journal. rious-looking apartment, closely walled in on all When we reflect that an eye or hole for tiac thread sides, having the announcement No admittance 3 staring us in the face; by reason of the presence of the superintendent, however, we march into this sanctum and see the practical operations there. The workmen alone are excluded from this room; visitors accompanied by the authorities are at all times allowed access to it, as they are to all the other de- partments within the building. It will be palpable to any one that this department requires much experience with the subject, and great business integrity, for into the hands of these two men are committed the reputation, in a great degree, 3f the Companys manufacture. No matter how well made they may be, primarily, if the adjustment is bad the machine is unsatisfactory in its operation. The machines are sewed with and tested in every way to prove them, and if they fail in any one particular, the inspector opens a little door in his apartment and thrusts the machine out with its fault affixed to it written on paper. No words pass on either side, and the affair seems quite an inquisitorial process. If every part works harmoniously, the piece of cloth that was used in trying the machine by sewing, is left on the plate with the thread still through it, both above and below, remaining in the needle. This prevents any suspicion on the part of purchasers that the piece was ingeniously manufactured for business purposes and then attached to the Wheeler and Wilson machine. It is almost superogatory to say in concluding this division of our article, that none but the best materials are used. The steel for the hook and shaft (it being all in one piece) is English, the cast iron is American, and the wrought iron is also native, from Ulster county, one of the finest brands in the world for tenacity and integrity of fiber. It is with much regret that we pass, with only a slight mention, the several branches of decorating the machine, of silver-plating, and the foundry and blacksmith departments. In the artists rooms we saw several machines most beautifully finished in gold and pearl, and indeed, in all the different trades and operations carried on within the workshop, such as cabinet-making, the foundry, the japaners, fin- ishers, decorators, blacksmiths, adjusters and needle makers, matters of new and striking interest pre- sented themselves. It is only left us in concluding our article, to remark upon some of the most no- ticeable features of this vast manufactory. These are the cleanliness, order, and good discipline which prevail, and also the system of gages, and the thor- oughness and utter fidelity throughout of the differ- ent attachments of the sewing machine with relation to each other. Such a complete and perfect principle of accuracy as the gages used secure to the Company has never fallen under our notice before. We have seen many shops where perfection was supposed to be the rule, but it was so far from being the case that any irresponsible person altered the drills, or rimers, as best suited his own sovereign pleasure. Of course, where such departure from established rules occur, the routine once broken is never re-es- tablished. The perfect good feeling and mutual re- spect co-existing between the Superintendent and the employes, was not the least agreeable part of our visit. And for one we can bear witness to gentle- manly qualities on the part of our guide, to whose modesty we hope we shall not do violence, if we mention his initials Mr. Perry. It is remarkable also, to see a machine shop where no files are used; we mean by this, none in compar- ison to what are generally consumed. The various tools do all the work without further finishing, ex- cept such as is given to them by emery wheels and the operations. Those who have seen Messrs. Wheeler and Wilsons invention need not be told how beautiful that is. Near the factory is a beautiful brick engine- house which shelters a fine steam fire-engine, called the Seamstress, one of the handsomest pieces of work- manship we have ever seen, belonging to the Com- pany and manned by its employes. A brass band and drum corps, recruited from the 320 men in the Works, discourses music of an excellent quality. We leave the factory, but cannot throw off so soon the impressions which have fixed themselves upon us during our visit. To look upon the long row of workmen, intelligent, well to do, and industrious, gives one new ideas of the value of well-directed la- bor. Among the cOntractors are some who have matte fortunes by their own industry and ingenuity. One of these persons was pointed out to us, who made his drawings for new machines so perfect that the men constructed these directly from the design and if the tools were found inoperatve or useless, the defect was through some radical fault, not in any want of precision in the drawing. It has been remarked and lamented by various writers that the romance of the seamstress or sewing womans life has been destroyed by the introduction of machinery. If, in speaking of romance it is in- tended to recall dark and cold garrets, fireless and foodless rooms, scanty and insufficient raiment, and starvation and temptation to nameless vice generally, then we fully agree with those poetasters, who de- plore the loss of their occupation, that the gloomy pictures which we have mentioned are among the past. Aladdin wore a ring upon his finger, which caused, when he rubbed it, a fierce genii to appear who gave him sundry and manifold possessions. But what was Aladdin and his swarthy slave to our modern servant, who performs tasks with an ease and celerity that would have made the homely old ogres in ancient story stretch and strain their mighty sinews in vain? It would be a fine fancy to suppose all the material operations of nature suspended for awhile, and to let sound cease, and the roar and rush of clashing humanity still for a time its turbulence. Then from the remote parts of the globe, nay even from the borders of the desert, let the sewing ma- chines begin their song ; say, what theme could be like that? No English lark, soaring at day dawn from the green bosom of the fields, trills forth such strains; for the birds hymn is but the natural im- pulse which the earths bounty suggests, while the whir of the sewing machine tells of the power and strength of the human brain. It boasts of the at- tributes imparted to it, and carries conviction to every hearer, that, through the steady pursuit and triumphant achievement over great obstacles, the sewing machines have won their way in the world until they stand almost as new mechanical forces. We cannot imagine anything more capable of being wrought into an original and beautiful romance than the invention and results of the sewing machine. By the fountain in the desert the Bedouin may fill his water-skins, if he chooses, whose seams no longer let ~through the precious fluid. The Turks in their lethargic sittings may band their dusky foreheads with turbans white and fair with pearl-like stitches or away through the tall grass of the Western prairies, the horseman flies like the wind, with the scarlet blanket streaming from his back, bound and hemmed by the Wheeler and Wilson sewing machine. The contemplation of its resources opens at once to the reflecting person a long vista of delightful fancies upon which we should like to dilate at length. Let us, however, close our article with the assurance that whatever old associations have been removed by the use of the sewing machinethe good wife sitting at her fireside with the slow-plodding needle, or the maiden at her lattice singing over her embroidery the loss has been more than repaid by the increased benefit to mankind and the great human family, throughout the habitable globe, by increased comfort as well as great pecuniary gain. To the able and indefatigable President of the Corn- pany, Mr. Wheeler, we are under great obligations for facilities afforded and much valuable information, as also for personal courtesies, to do justice to which type are wholly inadequate. VALUABLE RECEIPTS. CIDER AND OmEn WINEsWhen cider has fer- mented for about one week in a cask, add half a pound of white sugar to every gallon; then allow it to fer- ment further until it has acquired a brisk and pleas- ant taste. An ounce of the suiphite of lime is then added for every gallon of cider in the cask, and the whole agitated for a few minutes and then left to settle. The sulphite of lime arrests the fermentation and in the course of a few days the clear cider may be poured off and bottled, when it will retain the same taste that it had when the sulphite was added. About an ounce of the suiphite of lime added to the gallon of cider in any stage of fermentation will pre- serve it from further change. A sparkling cider wine is produced by the mode described. The following is another method of making cider wine Take pure cider as it runs fr6n~ the press and ~4d a poi~rtd of brown sugar to every quart, and put it into a clean cask, which should not be filled to wit in ab )ut two gallons of the top. The cask is tb-n placod in a moderately cool cellar or apartment and the cider allowed to ferment slowly by the bunghole being left open until it has acquired the proper taste and sparkles when a small quantity is drawn. The cask is then bunged up tight. We have given these receipts for what they are worth, because they are followed by many persons in making wine artificially from cider, but a real pure and first-class wine cannot be manufactured by the use of cane sugar in vegetable juices. It is a re- markable fact that currant, cider, grape and other wines that are made by adding common cane sugar to fruit juices are very similar in tastethe flavor being what is called smoky. This is due to the fermentation resulting from cane sugar. The vinous fermentation of the pure juice of the grape is due to grape sugar, which is entirely different from that of the cane. Grape wine should be allowed to remain for a long period in oak casks after it is made, before it is bottled, otherwise it will be comparatively sour to the taste. This is owing to the great quantity of the tartrate of potash in the juice ef the grape. When standing in a wooden cask tlse tarteato is deposited from the wine and adheres to the interior surfaces of the vessel, and it forms a thick and hard stony crust called argol. This is the substance of which our cream-of-tartar and tartaric acid are made. In its crude state it is employed by silk and woolen dyers in producing scarlet, purple and claret colors in conjunction with cochineal and logwood. This explains the cause of wines becoming sweeter the longer they stand in casks in a cool situation. Wines may be made of the juice of the sorghum cane by permitting it to ferment for a short period in the same manner as has been described for cider, then closing up the cask tight to prevent access of air. The fermentation of all saccharine juices is due to the combination, chemically, of the oxygen of the air with some of the carbon in the sugar of the juice. A small quantity of alcohol is thus generated and ab- sorbed by the fermented juice. Carbonic acid gas is also generated; when absorbed by the liquid and retained under pressure this gas imparts the spark- ling property to wine. When the saccharine juices are undergoing fermentation they must be tasted fre- quently for the purpose of arresting the fermentation at the proper stage, because there are two stages of fermentation, called the vinous and acetous. The first is that in which alcohol is prod need; the second vinegar. Many artificial wines have a slight vinegar taste which is caused by allowing the fermentation to proceed a little too far. These hints will be use- fial to those who prepare light domestic wines. These are now made very generally, and are held to exert a favorable influence in many cases of dyspepsia. OINTMENT FOR CHAPPED HANDS.----take sweet oil, 3 ounces ; spermaceti 4 ounces ; and pulverized cam- phor, 1 ounce. Mix them together in a clean earthen- ware vessel by the aid of gentl~ heat, and apply it warm to the hands night and morning. Another very good ointment for chapped hands is made with a little fresh newly-churned butter and honey. SULPHTJRIZED Oia ron Woon M. Lapparent, in- spector of timber for the French navy, states that he prepared a paint for preserving timber composed of linseed oil, sulphur and manganese, which was found very effectual. The flowers of sulphur were stirred into linseed oil in about equal quantities, by weight, and about twelve per cent of the oxide of manganese added. This was applied to some oak logs which were buried in a manure heap for six months, when the wood was found to be uninjuredno fungi were formed upon it. Unprepared wood subjected to the same treatment was covered with fund. DEcLINE IN TuE PRICE OF ilAcsThe Boston Jour- nal says : Usgs are going down. On Wednesday they fell two cents, and greater declines are threat- ened. The amount of paper stock which the present high prices has brought forward is immense. Old paper has fialle-in to four ccnts a pound, and one party in tisis city, who has been buying very largely, has stopped purchasing, having now over 60,000 pounds on hand. Those who are hoarding their rags or old paper had better shil at once. 4 POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. The Association held its regular weekly meeting at its room at the Cooper Institute on Thursday even- ing, Dec. 18th the President, Mr. Tiliman, in the chair. SISAL hEMP. Mu. STETSON-The town of Sisal, on the north coast of Yucatan, gives its name to a vegetable fiber which is attracting a great deal of attention at the present time. The fiber is obtained from a species of cactus, the Agave Americana, and has been used heretofore principally in the manufacture of cordage. It is col- lected by the natives and prepared for market by a very laborious proccss. After brnising one of the leaves with stones, they scrape off the fleshy portion, by (Irawing the leaf with one hand a great many times under a scraper or comb, which is held in the other hand. A great deal of effort has been made to devise machinery for performing this labor, and at last these efforts have been crowned with success. The leaf is fed, between two finted rollers, into tile space between a swiftly-revolving drum and the inside of a cylindrical case tile drnm carrying upon its periphery a number of combs which scrape the fleshy portion of the leaf from the fiber. One man can clean by hand two or three pounds of the fiber per day, wilile with this machine two men will cleah say 500 pounds per day and the fiber prepared by the ma- chine is far superior to that prepared by hand, as you see, from these samples. Tills mat was made by the natives in Yucatan, and these bundles were prepared by the machine. This fiber has been col- lected heretofore ill small quantities from the na- tives, but by the introduction of machinery the la- borers will be gathered at manufactories, and this simple machine promises to effect a complete revolu- tion in this industry, similar to the effect produced on the cotton culture by the invention of the gin. Mr. Patrullo has six machines running on his plantation, and he hires his laborers at 10 to 12 cents per day. [[he maclIme referred to was Patrullos, illustrated on page 353, Vol. IV., SCIENTIFIC AuaaIcAN (new se- ries), improved and simplified by subsequent inven- tions.] VENTIRATION. Mr. I-Ivsao~Mr. Chairman, in order to show the utility of my invention I will make some experi- ments to illustrate the principles of ventilation. I will first show that a room cannot be ventilated simply by one opening in the top. This bell glass has a large opening, ns you see, in the top, and I will place it over this lighted candle. You see the candle fades for want of air and goes out. Now I will show that an opening in the top of a room and an opening in one side near the bottom, produces very imperfect ventilation. I place these two candles under the bell glass, and raise the glass a little on one side. You see that the flame just above the open- ing is exting-lisiled for want of air; while tile flame upon the opposite side of the glass is agitated by the incoming currents of cold air. Now I will close the 3 opening below and, place my ventilator in the orifice at the top. This ventilator consists, you see, of two concentric pipes, the inner one for the escape of the warna air extending higher than the outer one through which the cold air enters. Now I will hold this smoking paper at the mouth of the cold air pipe, and the course of the smoke will show you how even- ly and gently the incoming air is distributed through- out the room. STEAM ENGINE VALVE. Mr. FISHERThe piston valve for steam engines would be used n~ore than it is were it not for one oh- jection. The piston is liable to be heated more quick- ly than the valve cylinder, causing the piston to bind so firmly that the valve stem has been pulled apart. Mr. Davis has overcome this difficulty by inclosing the valve cylinder in a steam jacket so that the cylinder will expand as quickly as the piston; an(l by a plan for tightening the piston in the cylin- der. [This plan of tightening would require engrav- ings to make it intelligible.] BREECH-LOADING RIFLES. The PRESIDENTThe regular subject of the evening, Modern Improvements in Warfare, will now be taken up, and will be opened by Mr. Bartlett, who will present the Baruside rifle. Mr. BARTLETTThis is the rifle which was invented in 1556 by Major General Burnside. In 1857 the Secretary of War appointed a commission of military officers to examine all the breech-loading small-arms in the country with a view to the selection of the best one for use in the army. The board met at West Point and had some twenty guns submitted to their inspection, including the most famous breech-loaders in the country. They submitted them all to tests for accuracy, range, convenience of loading, liability to get out of order, and other material points, all in the thorough manner characteristic of our West Point officers. In their report they unanimously give their preference to the Buraside rifle. In 1858 a second board was appointed by the War Department, and they had about a dozen breech-loaders submitted to their examination. After trying them in the same thorough manner, this board also gave their prefer- ence unanimously to the Burnaide gun. [The speaker then explained the gun, and passed it around among the crowded audience, most of whom came for the express purpose of seeing the weapon, as its ex- hibition had been announced in the morning papers. The Bnrnside rifle was fully illustrated on page 385 Vol. VII. of the ScIENTIFIC AMERICAN (new series).] Dr. IlrcmiI would like to know on what grounds this rifle is pronounced superior to all other breech loaders? Mr. BARTLETTI shall have to refer the gentleman to the military boards. To my mind the peculiar solidity of the breech is a very important advantage over any other breech-loader that I have examined. When the parts are in place the breech-piece is sur- rounded by thick plates of iron at the sides, and it rests against a solid wall of metal in the rear ; this construction rendering the arm remarkably safe from being blown to pieces or from injuring the holder in any way. Mr. DIunINOne advantage of this gun over those breech-loaders that use a paper cartridge, is the per- fect closing of the joint against any escape of gas. If the gas escapes it wears away the metal and con- stantly enlarges the opening. Many people seem to have an idea that a gun is valuable in proportion to the rapidity with which it can be fired, but for army use very rapid firing is of no great value. I doubt whether breech-loaders will ever come into general use for infantry. Dr. RICHThe opinion is becoming very general among army officers that the power to load very quickly is of the very highest value. If a soldier hurries through a long process of loading he is very likely to raise his gun and fire in the same hurried manner without any care in regard to his aim; but if he can leisurely slip his cartridge into the breech in a moment, he is more apt to spend the proper time in taking aim. The battle of Balls Bluff was won by the rebels in consequence of their being provided with Maynards breech-loading rifles. Mr. STETsoNThe difference in the time required for loading a gun at the muzzle and that required for loading it at the breech is less than is generally supposed. Dr. RICHBreech-loading rifles are loaded and fired without difficulty fifteen times in a minute; can any muzzle-loaders approach this? Mr. BARTLETTMr. Chairman, there is one point in relation to this rifle that I omitted to mention. In my experience in hunting deer and other game, and in shooting at targets, I have never yet found a breech-loading rifle that would carry with any accu- racy. The manufacturers of this rifle claim that the bullet is so placed in the gun that its axis coincides precisely with the axis of the bore, and that it is as accurate as the very best muzzle-loader. This is the claim, whether it will turn out to be well founded ~r not I do not know. I have for some time regarded as one of the most interesting problems of the day the production of a breech-loadin, rifle that will shoot with perfect accuracy. Dr. RIcIII can inform the gentleman that May- nards rifle challenges any gun, either breech or muzzle-loading for accuracy of shooting. Mr. BARTLETTThe Burnside Company are manu- facturing at present exclusively for the army, but as soon as they are ready to put their target rifles in the market, if the challenge of which the gentleman speaks is still sianding, there will probably be a very interesting trial - Mr. PAGEWhen Sharps rifles were first brought out we had one at Utica and tried it in competition with one of Jamess muzzle-loaders. We could not succeed in hitting the bulls eye with the Sharps rifle, and finally discovered that it was owing to the fact that the bullet was not placed in the gun with the point exactly forward, and consequently, as it was sent with a whirling motion out of the gun, it wabbled wide of the mark. I believe that has been remedied, however, as well as the escape of the gases. Dr. RlcmmIn stating the challenge of the Maynard arm, I should say that it refers to rifles only that are in actual military service. Mr. BARTLETTI am glad to hear this explanation, as I have never yet met with a breech-loader that could compare in accuracy with a good muzzle-loadQr, Clarks for instance. But the makers of the Burn- side gun claim that it is equal in accuracy of shoot- ing to the very best muzzle-loader. The shot is. placed in the cartridge by mechanism, and then the cartridge is so placed in the gun that the axis of the bullet coincides with that of the bore with mathe- matical precision. Dr. RICHThis ~5 secured by any gun that uses a metallic cartridge case. Mr. BARTLETTIt iS necessary not merely to employ a metallic cartridge case, but to place it in the gun so that the axis of the shot shall coincide with that of the gun, not pretty nearly, but with mathemati- cal precision. A good rifle-shooter will not take a gun as a gift unless it carries with perfect accuracy. SPHERICAL CANNON. Mr. WIARDThe latest experiments seem to prove that shot will pierce armor plates of greater thick- ness than any vessel can carry, and we must have forts for the defense of our harbors. This drawing illustrates a fort for the defense of New York harbor that would be impregnable and that would be an ala- solute bar to the passage of vessels. It is a conical mass of masonry surmounted by a revolving turret fourteen feet in diameter and provided with twa spherical rifled cannon, each weighing 51 tuns and carrying a shot of 1,000 lbs. [The details of the in- vention were exhibited by drawings.] The turret is. revolved and the guns are turned and loaded by steam power; the engine and workmen being placed in the body of the masonry. The guns are composed of three metals so combined as to compensate for the expansion of the inner portions of the walls from heat, and thus prevent the guns from being burst by the heat. REVOLVING TURRETS AN AMERICAN INVENTION. The PRESIDENTIt has been supposed that Captain Ericsson originated the revolving turret, but the truth is it is an American invention. It was first invented in this country by Mr. Vandervere; then it was invented and patented by Mr. Timby; and here is a model of a revolving fort which we have just found in the model room of the American Institute. It is marked Caleb L. Ferris, 1846. You see that it is a perfect revolving floating turret. The same subject in connection with that of In- land N~ vigation was selected for the next meet- ing, and the Association adjourned to Friday evening, Dcc. 26th. Pea Cheese. There is a very close resemblance between several animal and vegetable substances. Thus animal milk contains a large quantity of caseine, which is the principal substance in cheese ; and peas also contain a large amount of the same substance. The Chinese, who have exhibited such an aptitude for domestic economics, that they even make soup of birds nests, have also found out that cheese can be made of peas. For this purpose peas are boiled into a thin paste, then passed through a sieve, and an acid added to the pea solution, which becomes curdled like sweet milk by the action of the common rennet upon the latter. The solid part is then salted, pressed in ciloese molds, and it gradually acquires the taste and smell of cheese. It is sold in the streets of Canton under the name of Taofoo, and when fresh it is a favor- ite article of Chinese food. IN the second half of the 15th century, Russia was but 18,000 square miles in extent. Now it covers 392,000 square mLes. In 1722 the population of the empire was 14 millions; now it is 6-5 millions. 5 On the Formation of Clouds. MESSRS. Enirons Throughout nature we see the peculiar affinity that air has for water, and, in fact, most liquids; it would seem clear that this must be due to some more direct and powerful cause than ordinary endosmic action, which latter, in fact, like capillary attraction, would seem to be an effect better expressed than in the case of either term as the attraction of surfaces ; for, as a boulder thoroughly pulverized will float in the atmosphere, would we call this endosmic action, much less capillary attraction? This remark is made as bearing upon the wonderful phenomenon of water in the form of clouds being elevated and sus- tained in the atmosphere, at an altitude where the gravity of the water must preponderate 1,000 fold. The cohesive qualities of ice are well known, yet a piece of ice suspended in an atmosphere or air cur- rent of its own temperature rapidly disappears. Bet it will be evident at once that this evanescence of the ice cannot be due to heat in the common sense of the term, and only to a very trifling ex- tent to the mechanical impact or attrition of the air current. It is that the atoms of air act by induc- tion upon the atoms of the ice, because of the differ- ence of their specific electricities, and thus they unite in a species of electro-mechanical combination (the ice being disintegrated parnicle by particle, even per- haps without immediate or simultaneous fusion), an(l If this view be correct it will at once be evident and consistent that water in a liquid state would be still more readily absorbed or lifted in suspension by the air even in a state of rest, and much more rapidly and extensively when either or both (the air and the water) was in motion or agitated in contact with the other. The rapidity with which evaporation takes place under such conditions without any important elevation of temperature is well known, though the latter enhances immensely the rapidity and extent of the combination. Now, when water atoms are so held in suspension in the air and the solar rays act upon them, each water atom becomes, as it were, a burning lens to its contiguous neighbor, and aids its conversion into an atom of steam, or water im- bued with what is termed latent heat, the solar ray or some property of it being thus converted into the something that is popularly expressed by that term. And as each of these water atoms, at the instant of being Imbued with this latent heat, or becoming nascent steam, does, by an electrical affinity, ab- sorb air and become an inflated vesicle or cloud- atom, and as the latent heat, so called, is simulta- neously developed in the form of free electricity, the absorbed air is in turn electrized and highly rarefied, the vesicles thus becoming not only so many micro- scopic balloons as it were, but so many minute Ley- den jars, and being insulated become instantly polar- ized, yet mutually repellant ; the similar equatorial electricity of the vesicles preponderating, in this re- spectrepulsionwithin certain limits of juxtapo- sition over their polar attraction, which must like- wise exist, and the vesicles arrange themselves in the relatibns shown thus This figure represents four vesicles and their po- larities, the plain lines be- tween them representing lines of repulsion, and the dotted lines lines of attrac- tion. The latter causing their aggregation in the form of a cloud, and the former preventing the ac- tual contact of its constituent vesicles. It woul4 seem necessary to this part of the theory and the reconciliation of the observed phenomena, to assume that, initially, the polar forces of attraction between the vesicles preponderates ; but when the vesicles have aggregated within a certain proximity, their compound mutual inductive forces cause or enable the equatorial repulsions to balance the polar attiac- tion. An isolated cloud, it may necessarily be in- erred, becomes polarized as a whole, and its upper N .14 and lower surfaces relatively positive and negative, according to the relative electrical condition of the air- stratum above or the earth below. The commotions and changes of forms in clouds, plrticularly the nimbus, are only observed to take place to any material extent and with rapidity when the cloud has a corresponding motion of translation, and may be attributed to the varying inductive in- fluences of different air-strata, or currents in unequal electrical conditions, through or near which the cloud is passing. It is deemed that the foregoing is sufficient to sug- zest to the meteorologist and electrician deductions as to any other of the various sub-laws governing the various phenomena connected with the formation of clouds and their dispersion, whether from gradual absorbtion or sudden deposition in the form of rain, hail, & c.; it being remarked, in conclusion, that the gradual or sudden discharge of a cloud by the re- moval of its electricity, permits the collapse of its vesicles (previously supporting the pressure of the atmosphere) into mere water drops with correspond- ing rapidity, and gravity does the restit rains. WILLIAM Mr. STORM. Tempering Steel Tools. MEssRs. Enirons In a recent number of the ScI- ENTIFIC AMERICAN I noticed an inquiry in relation to hardening cast steel articles, and keeping them straight during the operation. The conditions most favorable in preserving the shape of steel articles, during the process of hardening, is uniformity of thickness in their entire length and breadth, also uniformity of heat, and the application of the harden- ing medium to all parts alike. If the articles are long they should be dipped, while heated, perpen- dicularly in the direction of their length, and should not be swayed from side to side. Even with these favorable conditions success is beyond the skill of man unless the metal is homogeneous. The remedy which I have recently discovered is within the reach of all. It consists in a mode of straightening the hardened steel article. I apply a gentle heat to the concave side of the hardened article and pres- sure upon the opposite side. I have taken a piece of steel about five inches long, an inch wide, and one- fourth of an inch thick, which had been sprung in hardening over one-fourth of an inch, and by the method described have brought it straight without drawing the temper below a pale straw color. I have also succeeded in making cast steel very soft by annealing, without injuring its qualities for work- ing. In using steel thus treated for small tools I hammer it cold. This treatment seems to increase its conducting power, and causes it to harden at a low temperature. When I can use a dry grindstone in grinding the article into shape I do not heat it in the fire, as by the ordinary method of dipping it into oil or water to harden it, as by proper manage- ment I bring the tool up to the proper heat on the grindstone by the friction, about the time it is re- duced to the shape desired. I have in this way fin- ished small drills three-eighths of an inch in thick- ness, at the rate of one in five minutes. E. Buanouous. Chicago, Ill., Dec. 22, 1862. Mxssns. EDITORS In the Notes and Queries of the ScIENTIFIc AMERICAN of December 6th there is an inquiry from G. S., of Connecticut, respecting the best method of tempering large flat tools without springing them. Those who have had much com- munication and business with smiths know that each claims to possess a secret by which he can harden and temper tools better than any other person. Cop- peras and salt dissolved in water forms a very com- mon hardening medium among them. It is pretty well known that the quicker steel is cooled the harder it becomes, and all the mixtures used in water are chiefly to cool the metal rapidly. Having been employed in a manufactory of edge tools and in another where mill picks were made, I have endeavored to learn something of the art of tempering tools of all kinds, from a cold chisel to a trip hammer. Thousands of mill picks were made annually at one of these places, and these were all tempered by one man, who was so noted for his skill in this line that I have known of picks being sent to him for dressing and tempering from west of the Mississippi. He told me that the great secret of his art was in preparing the steel right. When a large thin tool or a mill pick is hammered more on one side than the other, or flattened considerably at one heat and then narrowed at another, it cannot be hardened and tempered without cracking or spring- ing at the corners. The steel should be heated equally for hammering and for tempering, otherwise the contraction will be unequal when it is cooled. The best way of heating large thin tools for harden- ing is in a vessel containing molten lead. The tool is dipped into this and retained until it is heated equally throughout; and as the temperature of the lead is known and equal, it is a safe medium for heating tools. Warm water, which has been proposed by some persons, is not a suitable medium for hardening tools. In proof of this assertion being correct, take a large die of about twenty pounds in weight, heat it for hardening, and then plunge it into a tub of cold water, and it will come out soft. The steel con- tains so much heat that its surface is kept hot until the surrounding water becomes hot, and then it will not become hard. Dies are hardened by permitting a stream of water to fall upon their surface. Many other articles can be hardened in no other manner. H. WIJEELER. Silver Creek, N. Y.. Dec. 24, 1862. [Files are hardened by heating them first in a bath of molten lead, then plunging them into cold salt brine. Before heating they are coated with a paste of flour and salt. Anvils are hardened as described by our correspondent for dies. We have seen many anvils hardened, and the cold water was always per- mitted to fall upon their surfaces from a bight of several feet. Mr. Henry Diston, of Philadelphia, who is distinguished for the manufacture of flat steel tools, informed us that the best way to temper dies was to hold them slightly inclined, and allow the cold water to fall from a head upon their faces. Ens. Rifles and Projectiles. MEssRs. Enirons :I am exceedingly pleased to see the Rifle question still discussed in your valuable journal. II. H. II., of Indiana, and J. D., of Chatham, C. W., have raised the question of different sized bores and balls for riflesa very important one indeed. It seems to me that neither of them are ex- actly right, while both are partially so. The first is in favor of the small bore, and the latter, large ones. I agree with J. D., as to the small bore answerinc- for short, but not for long distances, because of the want of sufficient weight of metal in the ball, and want of room in the chamber to burn sufficient pow- der. But cannot this be overcome? I think it can. He evidently goes upon the supposition that the balls of the large and small bore guns shall be made of of the same shape, and consequently that their rela- tive weight shall be in proportion to their diameter, or that of the bore. In other words, if I understand him, he takes as his standards of comparison, round balls. But why need we adhere to the same shape of balls La large and small bore guns? In fact we do not. Almost every variety of shape has been already tried, amounting to, at least, a thousand in number. Now, my idea is this, that the ball of a small bore gun, by changing its form, may have the required weight and quantity of metal, without increasing its diameter, and consequently without increasing its atmospheric resistance. It being admitted that tile resistance is in proportion to their respective diame- ters, it follows, of course, that with two balls of equal weight, propelled by equal power, the ball having the least diameter (provided it be not reduced to too great an extent) will meet with the least resistance, and, therefore, go furthest. Now, if this be correct, as I believe it is, then all we have to do is to use the small bore, and increase the length of the ball sufficiently to give it the required weight, in fact, to make it resemble a short bolt, rather th.an a sphere in shape. Of course, care must be had, that the front end of the ball be of the best form for cleaving or penetrating the air, and also that the front portion be heavier than the rear, in order to secure its keep- ing point foremost during its flight. I anticipate the objection to this, suggested by J. D., namely, want of room in the chamber to burn sufficient pow- der to create the required projecting force, and the effect of side wind in varying the long ball from its direct course. I propose to remedy or avoid the first objection by enlarging the chamber sufficiently to contain and burn the required quantity of powder. I am aware that this involves several very nice ques- tions as, for instance, the best shspe or form of the enlargement of the ch mber, the resistance of the converging walls of the chamber, & c. Yet, when we bear in mind the fact that the gas produced by the combustion of the powder operates in the same man- ner and is governed by the same laws as steam or other expansive forces, this objection will not be found to exist in practice. It may be that the force exerted upon the ball at the instant of combustion may be less than in the ordinary-shaped chamber, but if so, it will continue to operate for a greater length of time, and to a greater extent of the passage of the ball through the barrel, which I believe would be an advantage, for these reasons 1st, the ball will start with less initial velocity, and thus avoid the danger of stripping ; 2d, the force will continue to be exerted upon the ball during its entire passage through the barrel, which we know is not ordinarily the case, in long barrels. This ~vill secure the use of longer barrels, thus ensuring ereater accuracy of sight and aim, and consequently of range. The other objection, of the effect of side winds, will be counterbalanced by the increased velocity of the ball, or partially so, at least. This is a difficulty against which we have to contend in all projectiles, and can only be overcome by a thorough understanding of the whole subject, and a nice calculation, at the time of firingdepend- ing upon the force of the wind, the leugth of range the extent of area presented to the wind, and the velocity of the bil. rphis whole subject is one of great interest to me and 1 believe to the public at large. I ehould greatly rejoice to see Congress make an approprition sufli- cient to conduct a series of experiments which should settle, not only these, but all the other vexed ques- tions in regard to the hest style of gun, and ball including length of barrel, kind of twist, size of bore, & c. IlIFLEMAN. Washington, D. C., December 20, 1862. The Size and Pitch of Machine Screws. A correspondent having seen an article in this journal lately, upon the above subject, sends us the following sensible arid practical remarks Massas. Earroas -The Pitch of Machine Screws is the title of an article in your paper of the 13th nit. and as I experience the troubles therein set forth daily, I will give you my views on this raitter. I find, on en paring the number of threads per inch given in your article for several diameters, that they do not agree with the Whitworth standard, now used by the best machinists ad bolt-makers in Philadel- phia and other cities, [a mistake look again. EDs] and also adopted by Haswell, Scribner, and other compilers of works for mechanical engineers. As some of your readers may not have the list of sizes of heads and threads, I will copy it Diameter 1-16 i 7~16~ 4 ~1 1k U 11 14 a No. of threads perinch 20181614121110987766 Short diam. of head and nut..7-16 4 4 4 1~ 14 14 14 2 24 24 2l Depth of nut... About the same as the diameters. Another trouble exists in the screw quite 55 im- portant as the pitch of the thread, viz., the diame- ter. The bolt manufacturers conform their U ps and dies to suit the iron, in-stead of adopting some stand- ard measure or parts of an inch of their own for the reason, probably, that the rolling mills fill orders for 1-inch iron, but in a tun there will be found some rods which will exceed the proper size by one-sixteenth of an inch. This should not be the case, and consumers of iron should insist on having iron of the size ordered. They should not change their tools to suit inaccurate rolliagmills. The ma- chinist is now compelled to have two sets of taps and diesone set to suit the bolts manufactured, the other to conform to standard measurements. This practice involves trouble in the shop as the taps are marked alike, the workmen will use the rough-bolt tap where it was intended to use the standard one. We have found it less trouble to use the bolt-makers size, and conform the finished screws to it. I hope, however, some arguments may induce the bolt mann- Lecturers and machinists to adopt the Whitworth standard of diameters, or some other equally good, as well as an even number of threads to the inch. Some of the bolt manufacturers are large consumers of iron, and require the full capacity of a rolling mill for their supplies. They could easily demand to have the iron made of the proper size to finish to the standard. The iron merchants would certainly find it to their interest to supply the sizes called for New York, Dec. 17, 1862. New Inflammable Gas. Ar a late meeting of the London Chemical Society, Mr. Parrett stated that some time ago, while MM. Buff and Wdhler were making some experiments upon electrolytic decomposition, they employed a plate of the metal aluminum as the negative ter- minal of the battery for the decomposition of water; and as soon as the electric current was established, they were surprised to find that, instead of pure hydrogen gas being evolved, as is usual with a pla- tinum plate, a gas was evolved which inflamed spon- taneously. Upon investigation, this gas was found to be composed of hydrogen and silicium, the latter being an impurity in the aluminum plate. Several processes have recently been adopted for preparing this gas. Silicated hydrogen and the silicate of mag- nesium were found to furnish the best materials for producing it. Dr. Hoffman recommends the follow- ing mode of making it ;Take 80 parts of fused chloride of magnesium, 70 parts of silico-fluoride of potassium, 40 parts of sodium cut into small pieces, and 20 parts each of the chloride of potassium and sodium. These ingredients are mixed together dry, placed in a clay crucible, and quickly heated to red- ness. The product thus obtained is a silicate of mag- nesia (Mg2 Si.). When this is triturated in a mortar with hydrochloric (muriatic) acid, it gives off an abundance of gas, which keeps up a lively combus- tion in the mortar. A bottleful of this gas, pre- pared by Dr. Hoffman, was let off by a tube through a trough containing dilute hydrochloric acid, and as it ese-aped in bubbles at the surface of the liquid, these inflamed immediately and spontaneously when they came in contact with the atmosphere. Each bubble produced a white flame, like that of phos- phoreted hydrogen. The combustion formed flakes of silica, which resembled fumes of burning zinc. This is one of the most dangerous gases, and further investigation may prove that many mysterious fires, directly attributed to spontaneous combustion, may be due to it. Dr. Hoffman believes it is a marsh gas of the silicon series. Every new discovery in science, while it extends the domain of useful knowledge, also opens up a wider and grander prospect for future exploration. What triumphs are due to recent chemical research, and yet how very little is known of natures grand operations! The discovery of this new inflammable gas may be a golden wedge which will cleave and open up some of natures deepest mysteries. Iron-works in America. The manufacture of iron in the United States may be divided into three departmentsfirst, the blast fur- naces using anthracite coal, charcoal, raw or coked bi- tuminous coal; second, bloomeries or mountain forges, which turn ore or cast iron into blooms or malleable iron ; aid third, rolling mills converting these into bar, rod, sheet and nail-plate iron, and into rails. In 1857 the works of these kinds amounted to about 1,131, namely, 121 anthracite furnaces, 500 charcoal and coke furnaces, 300 forges, and 210 rolling mills and the entire production of iron was about 783,000 tuns, a decrease upon the previous year of 73,235 tuns, for in 1856 the total domestic produce of pig and of rolled and hammered iron was 856,235 tuns. In 1859 there were only eight States of the Union destitute of iron-worksMississippi, Louisiana, Flori- da, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, California and Oregon. The remaining twenty-five were employing 560 fur- naces, 389 forges, 210 rolling mills ; in all, 1,159, producing 840,000 tunsan increase, in two years, of twenty-eight works and of 57,000 tuns of iron. In 1856 the Pennsylvanian iron-works produced 243,484 tuns of anthracite iron ; in 1857, 237,318 tune; in 1858, 185,000 tune; and, in 1859, 286,332 tune. To this may be added the production of charcoal iron, amounting to 39,500 tune. The fall in the manufac- ture of 1858 was caused by the crisis of the previous year, produced by over-speculation in the West. The quantity of iron of all kinds, need in every form of manufacture in the United States, was calculated, in 1856, to be 1,330,548 tune. Of this quantity 817,356 tune were rolled and hammered iron, 298,275 tune of which were imported, the remaining 519,081 tune being domestic produce. The domestic pig iron con- sumed in the same year was 337,154 tune, and of foreign 56,403. In 1859 there was a marked increase in the produc- tion of the Pennsylvanian rolling mills ; large orders were received for rails from the South and West. The railroads in those parts of the Union had originally been mainly constructed of imported rails, of a cheap and inferior quality, which had very soon become unfit for use, and it was soon discovered to be better policy to pay a higher price for more durable iron. The larger rolling mills for railway iron in Pennsyl- vania are the Cambrian Mills at Johnstown, the Pheenix Iron Company at Phcenixville, the Montour Mills at Danville, the Lackawanna Mills at Scranton, and the Rough and Ready at Danville. The production of rails in 1859 was 104,350 tune; in 1858, 65,500 tune; in 1857, 70,000 tune ; and, in 1856, 76,300 tune. Daring the latter part of 1857 the mills were wholly or partially closed. The activity of the iron manufacture in Pennsylvania continued during the first part of 1860, but since October in that year it has of course experienced a severe check. Many of the mills that had stopped work through the secession more. meat have again resumed active operations, especially those devoted to the rolling of plates. The demand upon them for Government iron-plated vessels has been greater than the capacity of such mills to sup- ply. Wonders of the Atmosphere. The atmosphere rises above us with its cathedral dome arching towards heaven, of which it is time most perfect synonym and symbol. It floats around us like that grand object which the apostle John saw in his vision, a sea of glass like unto a crystal. So massive is it that when it begins to stir it tosses about great ships like playthings, and sweeps city and forest like snowflakes to destruction before it. And yet it is so mobile that we have lived for years in it before we can be persuaded that it exists at all, and the great bulk of mankind never realize the truth that they are bathed in an ocean of air. Its weight is so enormous tbat iron shivers before it like glass, yet a soap ball sails through it with impunity, and the tiniest insect waves it aside with his wing. It ministers lavishly to all our senses. We touch it not, but it touches us. Its warm south wind brings back color to the pale face of the invalid ; its cool west winds refresh the fevered brow and make the blood mantle to our cheeks ; even its north blasts brace into new vigor the hardened children of our rugged climate. The eye is indebted to it for all the magnificence of sunrise, the brightness of midday, the chastened ra- diance of the morning, and the clouds that cradle near the setting sun. But for it, the rainbow would want its triumphant arch, and the winds would not send the fleecy messengers on errands around the heavens ; the cold ether would not shed snow feathers on the earth, nor would drops of dew galber on the flowers. The kindly rain would never fall, no~hail- storm nor fog diversify the face of the sky; our naked globe would turn its tanned and unshadowed forehead to the sun, and one dreary, monotonous blaze of light and heat dazzle and burn up all things. Were there no atmosphere, the evening sun would in a moment set, and, without warning, plunge the earth into darkness. But the air keeps in her hand a shield of her rays, and let them slip but slowly through her fingers, so that the shadows of evening are gathered by degrees, and the flowers have time to bow their heads, and each creature space to find a place of rest, and to nestle to repose. In the morn- ing, the garish sun would at one bound burst from the bosom of the night, and blase above the horizon; but the air watches for his coming, and sends first but one little ray to announce his approach, and then another, and then a handful; and so gently draws aside the curtain of night, and slowly lets the light fall on the face of the sleeping earth, till her eyelids open, and like man she goes forth again to labor until evening. Quarterly Review. 6 ~r~e ~denti& ~ English Iron-dads. The progress of the Royal Sovereign, an English line- of-battle ship, cut down to be fitted with Capt. Coles revolving shields, is thus described by the London Engineer The Royal Sovereign shield-ship, being converted at Portsmouth, is making rather more satisfactory progress now than a short time since. The massive timber beds on which the towers, guns, and shields will revolve, are very forward, the foremost bed, in fact, being finished, and the manner in which it has been put together reflects the highest credit on the shipwright department of the yard. The circular rims of these beds are formed of bent strips of Ameri- can white oak. The central iron cylinders, one of which will be fixed ia the centre of each bed, as a supporting pivot for the guns and shields, have been commenced ia the smithery, but each cylinder will take some weeks in its manufacture, owing to the want of the requisite mechanical means for carrying out such unusually heavy and peculiar work. In building up each cylinder two plates are first forged, each plate being 7ft 6 iaches in length, 3ft. 7 inches in width, and 4 inches in thickness. They are bent, each longitudinally in a semicircle. After this last oper- ation has been completed under the Nasmyth ham- mer, they are conveyed to the steam factory to have their edges bevelled, for welding, which is carried out in the smithery with bindings iron. The rough cylinder thus completed, is afterwards turned inside and out in the lathes of the steam factory. No. 1 cylinder of the Royal Sovereign has gone through about one-half of this process. 210 hands are now employed upon the ship, chiefly on the beds for the guns and shields, fixing the iron beams of the upper deck in readiness for receiving the plating and plank- ing, and the fitting of the main deck. The exter- nal planking round the stern is now completed, and a gang of men are employed, under the direction of the officer who has charge of the ships conversion, working overtime to get out the molds for her after armor plates as quickly as possible. The machinery for bending her plates is not yet in working order, but it has now reached such a stage that hopes are entertained of its being available in about ten days or a fortnight. The building which contains the hydraulic machinery and the annealing furnaces for preparing the plates has been built at the north end of the yard, near the shed under which the Royal Alfred is being converted from a 90-gun line-of-battle ship to a 40-gun iron-plated frigate. Workmen are now employed in preparing the launching ways and cradle for the launch of this ship, which is ordered for January next. Upwards of 200 hands are em- ployed upon her, but great delay has taken place owing to the non-delivery of her iron beams and up- per deck plating by the contractors. It is almost needless to say that as yet she has none of her armor plating attached to her sides. Proposed Submarine Battery for New York Harbor. Among the numerous plans of harbor defense which have been suggested to us, one by Mr. James Cochrane, of this city, possesses considerable novelty. This gentleman proposes to sink iron pipes between the forts at the Narrows, in New York harbor, or at other convenient points, from which charges of pow- der may be exploded under passing shipsthe operator being within the pipe or tunnel, and in- formed by telegraph, or otherwise, of the position of the enemys ships. An objection arises to this plan frm the possibility which might arise of the tunnel being destroyed as well as the ship or battery. Since water is a non-elastic fluid, the force of the explosion would be severely felt, and it is doubtful whether such a plan could be safely adopted. We should like to receive plans and descriptions of other methods for protecting our cities from invasion by a foe. Explosion of a Submarine Torpedo. The Union gunboat Cairo, while ascending the Ya- zoo river, on the 11th of December last, ran on to a sunken torpedo which exploded, and so shattered the vessel at the point of contact that she sunk fifteen minutes afterward in forty feet of water. The char- acter of her injuries is such that she cannot be raised even if the stage of water would permit it, and she will prove a total loss to the Government. No lives were lest by the catastrophe. The Cairo was one of he first fleet of seven iron-dads built for the West- t em rivers, carried ten guns, and was one of the staunchest of the fleet. She took part in the battle of Fort Donelson, Feb. 16, 1862, and in the bom- bardment of Island No. 10, in the Mississippi river, in March and April. This is only remarkable as be- ing the first instance on record of one of those ma- chines operating successfully. A Naval What is It,, At the Brooklyn navy yard a queer nonde- script, which was commenced last summer at the yard and left in stain quo ever since, is to be finished at once and launched. The New York papers state that on Tuesday the employes of the yard and a few privileged visitors were thrown into excitement by the appearance in the yard of a weapon as singular as the nondescript itself. It is a gun of the strangest aspect imaginable, and seems capable of discharging 60 pounds of shot. It is made of brass or compo- sition, and its breech and muzzle rest on a frame or pedestal of the same material as the gun. There are none of the ordinary appliances for firing a cannon attached to it. And this irregular arm is to be the battery of the What is It. The What is It, is a huge box near fifteen feet high and twelve feet wide, or thereabouts. It is caulked so as to be almost air-tight, and has an internal diameter of about twen- ty-four feet, and looks very like a tunnel inside. The gun will be within, and although, in firing it will protrude through the port-hole, a porch or portico covers its muzzle, That is all that can be known of the What is It,, which may be a submarine bat- tery, with an air-gun, or a Delano infernal machine, for all the outside public may know. MISCELLANEOUS SUMMARY. ARTIFICIAL LEGS DISTRIBUTED AMONG DISABLED SOLDIERsA Washington dispatch states that on Tuesday, for the first time, artificial legs were dis- tributed among the soldiers who have lost their pedal extremities in the service of their country. These patients are all congregated in one hospital, the St. Elizabeth. The soldiers were much pleased with the new aids to locomotion, and many amusing scenes occurred among them while trying on the artificial legs. The first individual who tried one was lustily cheered by his companions as he paraded through the wards of the hospital. All the patients will be supplied in the course of a few days. No artificial arm and hand have as yet been adopted by the Medical Department. OBITuARyWe regret to learn that Mr. John Mar- shall, so long and favorably known as an engineer of skill and experience in this city, recently lost his life in China by the explosion of a defective boiler on board of an English steamer. Mr. Marshall had been for many years in the employ of most of our large steam hues, but of late, since the introduction of American traders in Chinese waters, he has resided wholly in those parts. Mrs. Marshall, who recently arrived out, was so much prostrated by the accident and her loss that she also was taken ill and died short- ly after. In Mr. Marshalls death the country and company have lost the services of an efficient and energetic officer. A Goon RzconD.The steamship Bienville,of the blockading squadron off Charleston, has been under steam 380 days out of 420 days, the period of time which elapsed before she left her station for repairs. This is most creditable to all of her officers, and it affords a remarkable contrast to the performance of those miserable transports which so nearly went to the bottom with all their passengers. A Crnazsz stove, one of the curiosities taken from the Emperors summer palace at Pekin, has been ex- hibited in London. It is a fine specimen of enamel- ling, consisting of a basin-like foundation, with a broad flat rim inclining upwards, upon which rests a dome-like arrangement formed of three bands and crowned by a brass knob, and from the lower portion of the basin three curtain or apron-like parts are pendent between elephant heads. BEFORE the war broke out, 5,000,000 persons were supported in England by cotton, 30,000,000 spindles employed in the production of the yarn, and the capital absorbed exceeded $750,000,000. Four-fifths of the cotton consumed in EnglandS00,000,000 poundswere American. 7 Manufacturing Items. Manufacturing Profits..The Everett Mills Company, Lawrence, Mass., lately held a special meeting, at which a report was read. The capital of the com- pany is $700,000, and the profits, up to last Novem.- her, were 138,000, or over 19 per cent. The ye. to- rials and goods on hand cost $215,000, and if sold at present prices would yield a very large profit. New FoundryThe Commercial Bulletin (Boston) states that a company has been formed, called the Boston & Fairhaven Iron Company, with capital stock of $30,000, of which $10,000 have been subscribed by citizens of Falihaven. 1-laying secured a good location, the company commenced vigorous opera- lions last week. They purchased the old cotton fac- tory on Laurel street, Fairhaven, known as the Acushnet Mill, which is 72 feet long by 40 wide, and 2~ stories high. To this, brick extensions are to be made on each side, viz., one story, 12 feet high and 40 feet long. A short railroad track will be laid from the rear of the works to the Fairhaven Rail- road. New Woolen Mill.The Kennebec (Maine)fournal says that the erection of the new woolen mill of Colonel Thomas S. Lang, of Yassalboro, affords a remarkable instance of business energy. This mill is 200 feet long and four stories high, and required 400,000 bricks, & c. In twelve weeks from the time that Mr. Lang gave the orders for these bricks they were made, burnt and laid. T/sr~fty Cotton MillThe Baltic Cotton Mill of A. & W. Sprague, on the Shetucket river, Conn., seven miles from Norwich, is 954 feet in length, in which there are in operation 1,334 power looms, with othes- machinery to match. Nine hundred and thirty-four of these looms are in one room. All the machineiy is new, and comes forth from the workshop of the manufacturer with all the latest hnprovements. There are now employed about 900 hands, who earn $12,500 per month, and manufacture at the rate of 12,480,000 yards a year. A Big ShaftThe Nashua Iron Company, Nashua, N. H., have lately forged a shaft for a new side-wheel steamer. Its length is 28 feet 5 inches; diameter 21 inches; weight 29,340 lbs. This company .uses a steam hammer, the head of which weighs six tons. The shaft of the steamer Golden Gate, that was lately lost in the Pacific, weighed 54,000 lbs INTERNAL REVENUE STAMPS UPON PATENT DOCUMENTS. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE, ~ WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 15, 1862. Notice is hereby given, that the following rules have been adopted for the purpose of conforming to the requirements of the Act of Congress of July 1st, 1862, entitled, An Act to provide Internal Revenue to support the Government and to pay Interest on the Public Debt,~ and of the decisions of the Com- missioner of Internal Revenue. 1. A stamp, or stamps, of the value of one dollar, will be required upon all Powers-of-Attorney dated after the FIRST DAY OF JANUARY, 1863, authorizing an attorney or agent to transact business with this office relative to applications for Patents. 2. All assignments of Patents, whether stamped or not, will be recorded, and the fact whether or not the instrument recorded is stamped will be noted upon the record. 3. No assignment directing a patent to issue to an assignee, or assignees, dated after the 1st day of January next, will be recognized by this office, unless every sheet or piece of paper, upon which such as- signment shall be written, shall have affixed thereto a stamp of the value of five cents. D. P. HOLLOWAY, Commissioner. A Scientific Problem. That pioneer of the penny press, The New York Sun, maintains its issue at one cent per copy and with undiminished size, in spite of the high price of paper and mate~ials. Its proprietor is evincing a de- gree of combined:spunk and liberality for which he ought to be rewarded in the hearts of the great pub- lic, if not in his own pocket. The Sun, moreover, is one of the most interesting and readable papers which falls into our hands. It has the news of the day with- out unnecessary repetitions and prolix details. Its present daily circulation is between 60,000 and 70,000 copies. S Improved Grain Scourer. The object of this invention is to obtain a machine which can be attached to the curb of a millstone, and which will scour and clean the grain and prevent the accumulation of moisture. It consists of a frame (Fig. 1) supported on pedestals, which contains two cylinders, A B ; in these cylinders are the fan wheel and the scouring apparat~s. There is also a hopper, C, through which the grain runs down to the second hopper, D, situated on the top of the frame. The lever, E, is jointed at one end, and carries a sleeve or sliding joint, a, in its center, which limits the flow of grain into the scourer below; the other end of the lever works through a slot in the pedestal. At the top of the machine are two pulleys secured to the shafts, which oper- ate the fan and the scour- ers ; these parts are driven by the belt, a. A rect- angular box, b, forming an air passage, communi- cates with the scourers below and the fan above; a section of the same be- ~ng being shown at 1/. Fig. 2 shows a section of the machine, disclosing the working parts. The fan, F, in the cylinder, A, communicates, as afore- said, with the cylinder, B, by the air passage, in- dicated by the arrows. In the cylinder, B, are the indented plates, m, n and o, between which the scourer, G, works; attached to its lower surface are a number of radial b~aters, 1, arranged similar to the furrows in a millstone. The diameter of the scourer, G, is less than the cylinder; but the beaters referred to extend beyond the scourer in such a manner as to nearly fill the cylinder. Through the plate, o, and the frame is an aperture in which a funnel, J, is in- serted. There is, furthermore, an inverted truncated cone, I, situated in another funnel, J, whose sides are nearly parallel with the last-mentioned fun~ nel, d, is merely a box in - closing the air passages leading from the scouring apparatus to the fan. The operation of this machine is as follows :When it is attached to the curb, U is the spindle of the stone, and it receives mo- tion from the bail ; when not so affixed, power is transmitted through an extra pulley on the shaft, D. The grain enters the funnel, C, passes down between the shaft and journal into the saucer K; here the amount de- livered to the scourer is regulated by the sleeve, a, which is raised or low- ered as required ; thus ob- structing or permitting the free discharge of grain from the saucer, K. The grain being thrown out centrifugally, from the last-named part, it flows down between it and the funnel D, through the aper- tures in L and M, on to the scouring machinery. The rapid motion causes the grain to work toward the circumference of the scourer, between the roughened plates, m and n; the upper one being stationary while the other revolves, and the grain is thus thor- oughly scoured. As the grain works off the plate, m, it drops down to o, where it is caught by the beaters, 1, and drawn over the last-named plate to the funnel, J, through which it falls on to the cone, I. This revolves rapidly, and throws out the grain centrifugally; it then meets, lastly, with the current of air generated by the fan, and, freed from all re fuse, drops into the eye of the stone. There is also Oxygen Gas fo~ Fevers. a register in the box,f, which regulates the draught In the hospitals at Danvills, Ky., Dr. Shumard, in the air passages. The cone, I, obstructing the fun- Medical Director, has used oxygen gas in the treat- nel, J, causes the air to enter it from all directions, ment of typhoid fever with much siccess. The gas over the top of the stone and from the eye, thus is given by inhalation, and several patients who ap- preventing moisture from accumulating about the peared to be in the last stages of disease and beyond curb. the benefits of common medical treatmeo* have re At the Globe Mills, Tecumseh, Mich., four of these covered after taking the gas. He states ~nat three cleaners are in use, placed over the stones. The ac- patients who had been pronounced hopeless by their tion of the draught of air made by the fan removes attending physicians have been cured. Before giving the moisture about the stone, keeping it cool and the gas the pulse was low and the body chilly, but dry. After the wheat is received into the mill, sMeks, after the gas was administered, warmth slowly re turned to the extremities, JYq / the pulse increased its volume; delirium, which had existed, disappeared, and the involuntary dis- charges of the bowels ceased. The gas was given in the form of nitrous oxide (laughing gas), and was made from nitrate of ammonia, by Prof. Brick- ford, of Danville. For want of better vessels it was administered from bladders. Dr. Shumard says, in reference to the gas used :- Although oxygen was employed in these cases in the form of nitrous oxide gas, I would not propose to seu it so in all cases. In cholera and severe cases of congestive chill, I am persuaded that oxygen gas, in its pure form, or slightly diluted with at- straws and large objects in it are screened out. Next, mospheric air, would be better; nor would I hes- it is acted upon by one of Shaw & Browns improved itate to give it in any form of disease in which the smut machines, one of the best cleaners that has ever vital powers are depressed, since the cases recorded been brought to our notice. When this has been show that it relieves delirium and irritation instead done, the wheat passes down into the garner, to all of producing them. appearance perfectly clean ; the grain is then received into the grain cleaner, and one of these will take out Clean the Tools. about two bushels of foul stuff out of every two hun- Nothing looks more slovenly or impairs the value dred bushels that has undergone the operations of of a tool quicker than the accumulation (f dirt and grease in its joints or about its bearings. The ______ filthy oil that most manufacturers use,from a mistaken idea of econ- omy, forms a glutinous mass outside of the bearings of lathes and other machinery, in which east and wrought- iron dust and grit col- lects, to the great de- triment of the working parts. Aside from this fact, the drill shavings and chips from cutters, if allowed to gather in the bed, or about the foot of the tools in ques- tion, give the shop a slovenly appearance, which greatly prejudi- ces it in the minds of observing people. A lathe or planing ma- chine that is clean will do twice the work that a dirty one will, at less cost often ; and over and over again we have watched some clumsy fellow wading around in chips or else catching one up every now and then just be- fore it fell into some of the gears. Such a man can- not do good work, because his mind is distracted by side issues. In some shops there are rules which en- force the matter spoken of, but we should like to see it more generally practiced than it is at present. the previous machines. At the above mill the pro- prietor hadin operation several grain cleaner of dif- ferent patterns. They were all given a fair trial, but though as good as any machines of the kind, he has thrown them aside and adopted one of Simpson & Haydens. The patent for this invention was procured, through the Scientific American Patent Agency, on October 14, 1862, for John Simpson and William Hayden, of Tecumseh, Mich. Further information can be had by addressing Messrs. Simpson & Hayden as above. POSTAGE 5TAMP5 are now being redeemed with post- age.currency at city post-offices. BURNING Coiia LWe learn that the DeIzell Steam Mills, at Atlanta, are now run with corn for fuel in- stead of wood, that article being cheaper and more easier obtained than either wood or coal. We suggea the plan of using damaged cornLincoln (ill.) .Journs SIMPSON AND HAYDENS GRAIN SCOURER. 2 1 MUNN & COMPANY, Editors and Proprietori. PUELISHED WEEKLY & t No.37 Park Row (Park Building), New York. 0. D. MUNN, S. H. WALES, A. E. BEACH TERMSThree Dollars per annumOne Dollar In advance, for four months. Single copies of the paper are on sale at the office of publication, and at all lieriodical stores in the United States and Canada. Sampson Low, Son & Co., the American Booksellers, No. 47 Ludgate Hill, London, England, are the British Agents to receive subscriptions for the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. I~ See Prospectus on last page. No traveling agents employed. VOL. Viii. NO. 1.. . . [NEW SERIES.].... Nineteenth Year. NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 1863. TO OUR FHENDS. NOW IS THE TIME TO FORM CLUBS. With the present number a new volume of this journal Commences. We appeal to its friends in all sections of the country where mail facilities exist to endeavor to form clubs for the present year. We feel justified in asserting that no other journal in this country furnishes the same amount of useful reading, and especially at the extraordinarily low price at which it is furnished. The present high price of paper has rendered it necessary that we should some- what increase the subscription price of the SCIENTIFIC AMERiCAN, but by availing themselves of our clubbing rates persons may obtain the journal on very reason- able terms even now. We are obliged to pay more than double the price we did one year ago for the same quality of white paper that the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is printed on, while the subscription price to clubs is only a fraction more than formerly. The long winter evening must be relieved of its dullness, and we must keep reading and thinking, and thus be prepared to overcome temporary difficul- ties and open new channels of wealth and prosperity. Friends, send in your clubs; at least renew your own subscriptions promptly. PROGRESSIVE SCIENCE AND ART. Every new discovery in science is like an increase of power in the telescope, by which a more extended view into space is obtained. New inventions do not circumscribe, but expand the range of discovery. A new abstract truth is almost apparently valueless to art when first discovered. It is like the seed of a tree or flower, that requires planting and careful cultivation It was observed seveoal centuries ago that light turned certain white metallic salts black, but this abstract truth was like a field of grain long covered by an avalanche in an Alpine valley. The sunshine of genius at last thawed it out, and it has now developed into the wonderful and beautiful art of photography. In 1790, Dr. Galvina noticed that a dissected frog executed a hornpipe when it was at- tached to a copper wire suspended over an iron bal- lustrade. This was the germ of chemical electricity, from which have emanated electro-magnetism, elec- tro-telegraphy, and electro-metallurgy. These two cases we have cited out of many as examples of pro- gressive science and art. The pursuit of truth in every form is one of the chief distinctions of the human mind. Every new fact, therefore, in science however abstract and valueless it may appear at first, should be welcomed as a treasure, for it may become the foundation-stone of a splendid temple of art. During the past year we cannot point to any re- markable new discovery in science, but there has been a steady progress made in nearly all the arts. Two years ago, by the improved instruments of Pro- fessors Kirchoff and Bunsen, it was discovered that the flames of different substances possessed specific 9 properties of color, with bright and dark bands. Al- ready this invention has been applied to analytical chemistry, several new metals have been discovered, and it has opened up a boundless prospect for scien- tific investigation. Chemistry and mechanics are intimate companions. The one furnishes the materials, the other the in- struments of the arts. Metallurgy may be called both a science and an art. There is such a depend- ance of one art upon another that any improvement in one benefits all the others. From foreign peri- odicals we learn that some improvements have been made in Europe during the past year in the manu- facture of steel. To these, and to the production of the finer qualities of steel, the attention of our metal manufacturers should be intensely devoted. Coarse steel is now made in considerable quantities at Pitts- burg, Pa., but the finest qualities, that are used for making our saws, cutting instruments and wire, are imported from England. All that is wanted for the manufacture of fine steel in America is trained skill. In England, the best steel is made from Russian and Swedish iron. Every variety of iron known is native to America. We have the best materials in profu- sion for the manufacture of fine steel, and encourag- ing inducements are now presented, by the increased import duty, for our metallurgists to experiment, and thus acquire that skill which must end in suc- cess. The scarcity of cotton has instituted a demand for new substitutes that may be employed in the manu- facture of cloth and paper. Improvements in pro- cesses and machinery for treating flax may render this beautiful fibrous substance a cheap substitute. There are thousands of vegetable substances from which fibre can be obtained for spinning and weaving, but the trouble and expense of treating them to remove their gluten and bitumen and obtain the fiber are ob- stacles to their cheap production. The fibre of some substances is more easily obtained than others, hence attention should be directed to the cultivation, or discovery of those which are the most easily treated. Paper can be made from an endless variety of veget- able substances. The semi-civilized inhabitants of Japan, in several respects, are in advance of the skilled nations of Christendom in the art of paper- making. Had we space we could allude to quite a number of other subjects connected with science and the arts to which the attention of inventors, manufacturers, scientists and others should be directed in com- mencing a New Year. Let not small things be over- looked; observation should be minute and pene- trating. There is not a single science or art that can yet be called perfect: By patient thought and in- dustry great improvements may be made in them all. Who knows but that some neglected or obscure truth in science may be developed into a splendid art during the incoming year? The past is fraught with encouragement, the future is full of hope, STEAM WAGONS UPON COMMON ROADS. THE introduction of steam carriages on common roads has been a pet project of inventors for many years. The advantages arising from their use are many, but the objections to them must also have due weight when their employment is proposed. The progress of the street locomotive, practically considered, has been very slow in this country, few comparatively having been built which can be noticed at all. Of those lately in operation, the Lee & Lamed steam fire-engine is, perhaps, the most successful one, viewed either in point of speed or capacity for carrying moderately heavy loadsboth of these features are comprised in this engine. The British Society of Engineers have discussed the sub- ject of steam carriages at great length in one of their recent meetings, and we cull from their report some accounts of what previous inventors have achieved, so that if our own people should take the matter in hand, they may not be ignorant of what has been heretofore attempted. In 1824, W. H. James, of England, took out a patent for improvements in steam carriages, and several were constructed on his plan. He employed four cylinders, each pair coupled on to one driving wheel, the axle of which was divided in the middle; pendent of the other, and to avoid the necessity of throwing the inner one out of gear when turning curves, at the same time to allow both engines to be in motion. The motion of the springs was allowed for, by making the engines, and the frame in con- nection with them, vibrate upon hollow axles pro- vided with stuffing-boxes, constituting the steam and exhaust passages. A few experiments were tried with these engines, during which, it is said, they attained a speed of twenty miles an hour. They were too complicated, however, and were soon abandoned. In 1826, Mr. F. Andrew patented a carriage, the steering apparatus of which is worthy of special mention ; this consisted of a simple wheel placed in front of the carriage, revolving between two lateral bars of a framing; by guiding this wheel with a sever, the direction of the two fore wheels could be altered, thus turning the wagon in every direction. This carriage had oscillating engines, acting directly on the main axle, but the invention was a failure through a defective boiler, The next candidate for fortune and renown was a Mr. Gurney, who, after repeated trials and failures, at last succeeded in establishing a line between Cheltenham and Gloucester, England. Mr. Gurney, like many others, commenced his experiments with a machine having a sries of legs, which struck out behind in order to obtain the necessary adhesion this plan was abandoned in favor of direct-acting en. glues, coupled on to the cranked axle of the after- drivers. There was also an upper and under fram- ing, the engines being attached to the under one, while the boiler, passengers, & c., were carried by the upper one, the object of this arrangement being to keep the body of the carriage well suspended, while the engines always maintained their relative position with the axle. The proprietors ran these steam coaches for four months, four times a-day, between Cheltenham and Gloucester, during which time they carried 3,000 persons, and ran 3,500 miles at the rate of a little over nine miles per hour. They were, however, driven off by opposition, and the project was finally abandoned by Mr. Gurney. We now come to Mr. Walter Hancock, of Strat- ford, who commenced his career in 1827. His car- riages were much superior to any others hitherto constructed, bath in point of workmanship and plan. The cause of failure in most of his predecessors lay with the boiler, and the one he adopted is said to have been remarkably ingenious, considering the state of the mechanic arts at that period. One of his coaches, called the Infent, had a boiler with six square feet of grate surface, and one hundred feet of upright surface. This supplied vapor to engines of 9-inch cylinder, and 12-inch stroke. The weight of the whole carriage was about six tons. lie used an artificial draft, and, it is said, raised steam from cold water in twenty minutes. The following is a de- scription of his invention In order to avoid twist- ing the main shaft, which was always breaking in other inventions, an endless chain was adopted in preference to direct action, and a vibrating link was placed between the engine shaft and the axle, to take the strain caused by the transmission of power, as also to preserve a uniform distance between the two parts. The driving-wheels were outside of the frame, ran loose on the axle, and connected with clutches, so that the stoker could throw them out of gear when desirable. The piston worked downwards, and the driving-axle and crank shaft were geared to the same speed. Hancock constructed nine engines of this pattern, which ran several months in public service, but he also was obliged to discontinue them through popular prejudice. Coming down to later years (1859) we find that a Mr. llickctt, of Stony Stratford, England, has been quite successful, in a mechanical point of view, with his inventions. The main features of his carriage are the framing and the boiler; the former is hollow, and contains the supply of water for the boiler in addition to supporting the working parts; the boiler is very short, is made of steel, is nineteen inches in diameter, and affords nn area of thirty-one square feet of heating surface. The cylinders are three inches diameter and nine inches stroke, and work at an average pressure of one hundred pounds. This carriage has run upwards of twelve miles an hour on common roads. the object of this was to render each wheel inde- With these extracts we conclude. The meeting 10 discussed at great length many other forms of steam carriages, among which was a plan for a street omni hus, which would carry thirteen persons besides the fireman and steerer. The objections to its use were novel, the principal one being that horses were un- able to understand or rather comprehend the nature of a wagon that moved without any apparent means of propulsion. The exhaust steam was also a source of annoyauce to horses which it was desirable to avoid. This it was thought could he overcome by working the steam at a high pressure, and cutting it off short, thus diminishing its volume. The cost of working street carriages by steam, as compared with horse power, was also considered in balancing the merits of the two systems, and resulted by a small amount in favor of steam. The English roads and streets are so much better than ours, generally, that inventors in that country have not the same dis- advantages to contend with as we have. Whether the steam wagon will ever supersede, to any extent, the employment of cattle is a question that remains to be solved. Years ago, he would have been a rash man who predicted the universal system of railroads that now twine almost every country on the globe ns with a net. Who shall say, then, that when the difficulties and prejudices which now exist are over- come, what new schemes and inventions may not be inaugurated? SINKING OF IRON CYLINDERS FOR PIERS. The employment of cast iron cylinders for founda- tions in water, such as bridge and dock piers, has been tried in America to a limited extent, but with such satisfaction that in all likelihood their future use will be upon an extensive scale. They constitute an improved development of foundations laid by the diving-bell system. In 1779 the celebrated Smeaton first used the diving-bell for repairing the founda tions of Hexham Bridge, in England, instead of mak- ing coffer-dams. The next good improvement was D. Pottss pneumatic process of sinking iron cylin- ders, which was illustrated on page 1, Vol. VIII, (old series) of the SCIENTIFIC AaIEEIcAN. The principle of this method may be briefly stated as follows :An iron cylinder to be sunk as one of the piles of the foundation is covered with an air-tight cap, placed in position, and allowed to sink through the water and soil it is then connected by a flexible hose to a re- ceiver, which is furnished with a trap valve in the bottom, opening downwards, and put in communi. cation with a three-barreled air-pump. The pump is put in motion, and the air is exhausted from within the cylinder and receiver, the silt or sand is forced up in the reservoir by the external pressure of the atmosphere, and, as soon as the reservoir is filled, a valve at the bottom is opened and the contents al- lowed to flow out, after which the valve is closed and the operation repeated until the pile is sunk to the required depth. The cylinder sinks by its own weight and the external pressure of the atmosphere. The method is not available when applied to stony ground, as water would flow in under the edges of the cylinder and vitiate the external vacuum. A plan the reverse of this, called Hughess pneu- matic system, has been employed for sinking the cast- iron cylinders of the new bridge at Harlem, near this city. This method consists in filling the cylinder with compressed air by which means the water is ex- pelled from below the tube, and men excavate and work inside. In both of these methods, the cylinders used are plain castings; an air-tight trap hood being used on the top of each cylinder during the opera- tions of excavating. Another method consists in forming each cylinder with a screw on its lower ex- tremity, and giving it a rotary motion by which it is forced into the ground. In many situations this plan has been very successful. Another plan consists in forming each screw cylinder with a disc at its lower end, leaving a hole in the center through which a wrought-iron pipe is carried down through the pile, projecting some inches below its bottom. Water is forced down this pipe under pressure, and a rotary motion is given to the cylinder at the same time. This method has been found very successful in sinking such cylinders in very hard river bottoms. THE number of applications for pensions made at the Pension Bureau at Washington, up to December 12th, this year, was 7,911. WHAT A UNIT OF HEAT CAN DO. In talking and writing about heat, physicists have felt the need of some mode of expressing a definite quantity, and the idea was suggested of calling that quantity which is sufficient to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree of Fahrenheits scale a unit. Having thus exactly defined a given quantity of heat, it is surprising to find how many truths in relation to the action of caloric may be briefly and clearly expressed, which before, it was difficult to comprehend and convey. It is an impres- sive illustration of the value of accurately defined terms in scientific discussions. Specijic heat, for instance, may be explained in a very few words by the medium of units. A unit of heat will raise the temperature of a pound of water one degree, but it will raise the temperature of a pound of mercury 330, and of a pound of tin 20D. Or, it takes one thirty-third of a unit of heat to raise the temperature of a pound of mercury one degree. We accordingly say, that the capacity of mercury for heat or its specific heat is one thirty-third, or three one hundredths, expressed decimally 0.03, and that of tin is 0.05. A clear idea of latent heat, also, may be very briefly conveyed by means of units. To raise the tempera- ture of a pound of water from 6O~ Fah. to 2120 the water must absorb 152 units of heat ; then it will absorb 1,000 units more without raising its tempera- ture atall, but these 1,000 units convert it into steam. As this heat which changes the water from the liquid state to that of vapor does not show itself either to the touch or when tried by the thermometer, it is called hidden or latent heat. A unit of heat applied tc mechanical efi~rt will raise 772 pounds of matter one foot ; in other words, it will perform 772 foot-pounds of work. As it takes more heat to raise the temperature of water one degree at some temperatures than it does at others, it was necessary to fix some temperature at which the measure should be taken, and 600 Fah. has been agreed upon ; water at that temperature being easily obtained. THE CHANGES OF A PIECE OF SILVER. If we place a piece of pure silver in nitric acid and add a proper quantity of water, the silver is dissolved as completely as sugar is in water, and wholly disap- pears ; the solution looking exactly like pure water. If now we evaporate a portion of the water and set the solution away, we shall find in the course of a few hours that the bottom of the vessel is covered with beautiful, white, flat plates, which are crystals of nitrate of silver, the metallic silver in combination with nitric acid. The nitrate of silver has some very singular properties. If kept free from contact with other substances, it may be exposed to the light for any length of time without any change from its pure white color. Or it may be applied to cotton or the skin or hair in the dark without any change in color. But if it is applied moist to any vegetable or animal substance and exposed to the light, it turns black in a few minutes. It is the coloring agent in indelible ink. If we place crystals of nitrate of silver in water, they are quickly dissolved, and if we throw a little table saltthe chloride of sodiuminto the solution, the silver leaves the nitric acid, and combines with the chlorine in the salt, forming the chloride of sil- ver. This is a white lustreless powder, and gradually turns black when exposed to the action of the light. Metals may be silvered cold by means of the chloride of silver. If we mix chloride of silver with carbonate of soda, and heat the mixture in a crucible to a very bright red, it is dissolved, and both of the substances are decomposed. The chlorine leaves the silver and combines with the sodium of the soda, forming chloride of sodiumtable saltthe carbonic acid es- capes as a gas, and the silver is left in the metalic state in the bottom of the crucible. GENERAL BURNSIDES LETTER. General Burnside has written a letter to President Lincoln in reference to the late disaster at Fredericks- burg, in which he most characteristically and mag- nanimously assumes the whole responsibility of the occurrence. The pen is mightier than the sword, and in this respect the General has shown himself the greatest soldier of the war. We cannot recall, at this writing, any other case of a like nature, in which the commanding officer so nobly and generously bared his own forehead, and laid himself open to whatever criticism might be visited upon him. In speaking of the honored dead who fell upon that day, fighting superhumanly, the General conveys to those who mourn, the assurance, at least, that he also being a man, grieves with them and shares their sor- row. Our losses, says the same authority, have been as usual, greatly overated. They amount to 1,152 killed, with about 7,000 wounded ; we also took 700 prisoners, which last have been paroled. The re- treatwhich seems to have been carried out only after the enemy refused to leave their intrenchments and attack uswas a masterly affair, and was ex- ecuted without loss. The President, in acknowledg- ing this letter, has issued an address to the army under General Burnside, in which he congratulates them upon their valor and endurance, and assures them that although they were unsuccessful, the at- tempt was not an error, nor was it anything but a pure accident. Well may Mr. Lincoln thus eulogize our brave men; surely a cause that has such hearty supporters was not born to die. In common with most of the Northern people we were overwhelmed, at first, when the news and extent of our disaster reached us, but we feel like adopting the backwooclmans ad- vice to his comrade when his tifle missed fire, i. e. to pick the flint and try her again. And this is just what the North will do. No lawful means will be left untried to secure those rights and privileges for which we are fighting and which we properly deem inestimable ; without these life itself is valueless. PAPER FOR SHIP-BUILDING. Much has been said and written about the wooden walls of old England, meaning thereby the war-ships of that nation; but, from late experiments, we judge they are not quite so good as paper. The special Government committee that was appointed to make experiments with guns and iron-clad targetsthe latter representing the side of a shipdeserve credit for developing many new facts connecting with the power of resistance possessed by various materials, and the penetrating powers of others. Thus it has been found that steel and wrought-iron shot will penetrate plates which break cast-iron shot like glass. A target was constructed entirely of iron, under the impression that it would prove superior to one com- posed of wood and iron combined; hut it was found inferior, owing to the greater amount of vibration induced by the shot striking. Hard wood, especially teak, was supposed, until lately, to be the best back- ing material which could be employed for the iron plates; but, strange to relate, it has been found by experiment to be inferior to paper. Two targets were lately constructed with one-inch plate-iron the one backed by fourteen inches in thickness of teak-wood, the other backed by the same thickness of paste-board. They were fired at with a Whitworth 6-pounder, using elongated shot 5~ inches in length, and 2~ in diameter, and the penetration was found to be twice as great in the timber-backed target that it was in the paper one. The targets were then fired at with a 12-pounder, and with like results. The re- sistance of paste-board to shot has attracted so much attention on the other side of the Atlantic that fur- ther experiments are to be made with it. A denser and tougher material than wood can be made of straw and cornstalk paper. Who knows but the seas may yet be navigated in paper ships? POMPEIAN window-glass, of which panes have been Thus we have silver first as a white solid metal discovered as large as 20 by 28 inches, has proved, on then a liquid like water, then in crystals like salt, examination, to have been cast in a manner similar then as indelible ink, then as a gray or black pow- to that now followed in making plate-glass, except der, and finally again as a metal. And these are that it was not rolled flat, as now, by metal cylin- only a very small part of the forms which it may be ders, but pressed out with a wooden mallet, so that made to assume. ,its thickness is not uniform. LITERARY NOTICES. DIGEST OF AMERICAN CASES RELATING TO PATENTS FOR INVENTIONS AND COPYRIGHTS, FROM 1789 TO 1862. By Stephen ID. Law, Counsellor at Law, No. 52 John street, New York. This is a handsome and large volume, containing a digested abstract of all the American cases, so far as they could be obtained, relating to patents for in- ventions, copyright and trade marks. It owes its origin to a want (experienced by its author) of some work containing a summary of the statute law and decisions of the courts in relation to patent cases. There are no less than eight hundred and thirty-four cases digested, and seven hundred and thirty-four of these have reference to patents for inventions. Of such cases about four hundred are to be found in the reports of the Supreme and Circuit Courts of the United States, contained in more than one hundred volumes, fifty cases from various law periodicals, and eighty are manuscript cases. All sources of in- formation on American patents have been examined, such as decisions of the justices of the Circuit Court in Washington, on appeals from the Commissioner of Patents, & c., & c. Mr. Law has been very pains- taking and laborious in preparing this work, and he has arranged the information in a most convenient manner for reference. It is not a mere dry digest, for all the most important points are carefully dwelt upon, so as to present correct and satisfactory infor- mation in relation to them. The decisions on par- ticular patents are arranged in classesthose on reaping machines in one group, those on sewing ma- chines in another, and so for all the patents, accord- ing to their specific character. It is the most val- uable contribution to American patent laws that has yet been published, as a work of reference and re- liable authority. The author deserves tile thanks of the profession for his rich and valuable work. MANUAL OF GEOLOGY. By Prof. James ID. Dana MA., LL.D. Published by Theodore Bliss & Co., Philadelphia. This is a much-desired volume, which supplies a want long felt by students of American geology. It is intended for the use of colleges, academies, and schools of science, as well as persons devoted to literature. It is illustrated by a chart of the world and over one thousand figures, mostly from Ameri- can sources, it having special reference to American geological history. Its author is Professor of Geology, & c, in Yale College. American geology is written out by itself as a continuous history, and we have here presented a natural history of the earth its continents, seas, climates, and life. The style of the author is not only instructive, but graceful and attractive. Geology has become a most instructive and inter- esting science. In its survey- of the earth science has recognized three kingdoms of nature, namely, the animal, vegetable, and inorganic or mineral. According to geology, the earth has been brought to its present condition through a series of changes or progressive formations, and under the guidance of the Almi,,hty it has passed through a regular his- tory, or growth, in seas and lands, rocks and mount- ains, in the physical conditions of heat and moisture, and in ~egetable and animal life. As a historical science, geology finds strata of granite, sandstone, clay rock, and limestone lying above one another in many successions and it assumes that the sand- stones were made of sand by some slow process, clayey rocks of clay, and that these were successively formed and belong to successive periods of the past, the lowest bed in a series being the earliest. Geology, therefore, infers that the character of each rock in- dicates some facts respecting the condition of the sea or land during the period of its formation. The rocks are, therefore, regarded as records of successive events in the history of the earth. Every rock marks an epoch in the earths history; groups of rocks, periods; and large groups, ages; and the ages reach- ing through geological time are represented by the rocks that extend from the lowest to the uppermost series. A fossil shell, coral, bone, or leaf, found in one of the beds of rocks, is a record of some species that existed when that rock was forming, and it tells a tale of life of that epoch. By studying the charac- ter of these remains of past ages, geologists and paleontolegists restore the populations which have succeeded one another on the earth. Like the scholar who has studied the hieroglyphics and cuni- form characters on the tombs of E5ypt and Assyria, and deciphered the history of past ages, so the geolo- gist has constructed his alphabet of fossils, and given us the testimony of the rocks to the history of our planet in ages long before man raised a monument or wielded a pen. Geology has, therefore, become a most deeply interesting science to all men, and in this volume of Professor Dana we have the best work of the kind yet given to the public. EMPLOYMENT FOR WOMEN. By Miss Virginia Penny. Published by Walker, Wise & Co., Boston, Mass.; and may also be obtained at Room 44, Bible House, this city. To find out suitable channels in which women might successfully exercise their talents, hands, and brains has long been a subject of inquiry among philanthropists generally. So few branches have been hitherto known in which they could compete with men, that their sphere of usefulness has been som ~what restricted. We are not of those who be. lieve in confining women to teaching, shop-tending, or a few of the simple avenues of trade which has been their walk heretofore. In most of the manual, mental, and mechanical operations of the day our sisters now compete with us; and we think it will prove a surprise to many men when they are told that out of five hundred and thirty-three articles which the book in question contains, more than five hundred are descriptions of work in which women have, or may be, engaged. The work also gives the average prices paid for labor, for board in the van ous towns of the several States, and furnishes, in brief, a compendious account of information upon this subject which would be otherwise unattainable. RECENT AMERICAN INVENTIONS. The following are some of the most important im- provements for which Letters Patent were issued from the United States Patent Office last week. Tile claims may be found in the official list. New Mode of Operating Railroad PumpsThis inven- tion consists in the application of steam from the locomotive boiler to operate the piston or pistons of one or more steam cylinders which connect by suit- able mechanism with the plunger of a railroad pump, in such a manner that whenever the locomotive ar- rives in the neighborhood of a pump, and when it is desired to throw water into the tender or into a tank situated at the side of the track from which it can be let down into the tender, this object is effected by connecting said steam cylinder or cylinders with the locomotive boiler, thereby operating the pump by steam power instead of the ordinary slow process of operating the pump by hand. Gilbert M. Cole, of Folsom city, Cal., is the inventor of this device. Knitting Mac/sineThe principal object of this in- vention is to provide for the easy insertion and re- moval of the needles of a circular knitting machine, and to this end it consists mainly in a peculiarly con- structed grooved conical needle plate and a peculiarly applied needle-operating ring, working in combina- tion with such needle plate. The inventor of this knitting machine is W. B. Evans, of Holderness, of Grafton, N. H, Cartridge-tearer.This device is composed of two horns and an interposed fleam-like tooth to be at- tached to the barrel of the gun, near the muzzle, the horns being for the reception of the folded end of the cartridge between them and the fleam-like tooth be- ing for the penetration and tearing of the paper while it is confined between the said horns. Daniel Kelly, of Grand Rapids, Mich., is the inventor of this device. THERE 15 now exhibiting on the Boulevard Magenta, at Paris, the figure of a woman so constructed as to sing various songs. A tube of india-rubber represents the larynx; the voice has a compass of two octaves. The inventor is Mr. Faber, formerly a professor of mathe- matics in Germany. COPPER cents, nickle cents and three-cent pieces are all of much less intrinsic value than the sums they represent, and people will make nothing by hoarding them. 11 FOR THE WEEK ENDING DEcEMSER 16, 1862. Reported Offi lly for lhe Seienl~fie Americas. ~ Pamphlets giving full particulars or the mode of applying for patents, under the new law which wentioto force March 2, 1561, speci- lying size of model required, and much other information useful to nventors, may be had gratis by addressing HUNK & CO., Publishers of the ScsstsiTsrso AMERICAN. New York. 37,146.Knapsack Collar.J. E. Atwood, Washington, D.C.: I claim the use of a stiff leather collar constructed as described, when combined and arranged in the manner set forth, wilh a knap- sack. 37,147.Cider MilkP. J. Berlin, Blairsville, Pa.: I claim the arrangement of the stripper, D, oscillating lever, 1, spring lever, m, and crushing rollers, d d, with the wiper, m, and master wheel, in the manner herein shown and described. [The obiect of this invention is to combine on the same platform an apparatus for crushing apples, & c., operated by means of a horse- posver, and a device for pressing the crushed apples or other fruit, said platform being supported on sleigh runners, in such a manner that the whole cider mill can be readily moved from place to place and operated wherever it may be put up.] 37,148.Grain SeparatorMurrin Burr, Plymouth, Mich.: I claim the arrangement of the horizontally-vibrating shoe, D, and the screen, L, having an independent, vertical, reciprocating move- noent, for the purpose of agitating it sufficiently to discharge the foul seed and to prevent it from choking, as herein set ffirth. In combination with the screen, L, I also claim the segments, H H, or their equivalents, pivoted to the shoe, and having shasiks, ii, rest- ing in sockets of retaining cross pieces, P U, for the purpose of giving a reciprocating vertical movement to the said screen, with the hori- zontal vibrations of the shoe, substantially as herein specified. I also claim the arrangement of the double-inclined spout, H, spaces, r r, between the shoe and walls of the mill, and seed recepta- cle, v, so arranged as to discharge the loul seed around the lower screen, U, and collect it, substantially as herein described, I also claim the arrangement of the screen, U, ledges, t C, segments, H It or equivalents, and blocks, s 5, arranged in coiiiiection with the shoe, D. and walls, B B, of the mill, as herein spectied. 37,149.Combined Shoulder Brace and Suspenders.D. W. Canfield, ~ew York City: I claim the combined shoulder brace and suspenders, composed of the shoulder straps, A A, back straps, 0 0, front straps, D B, and end pieces, a a and c c, the whole arranged and combined as herein set lbrth. [This invention consists in a novel mode of arranging and com- bining the several straps and pieces of which the combined shoulder brace and sespender is composed, whereby it is made to serve as an effective shoulder brace, and to support the pantalcoiss or ether gar- ment with greater ease and comfort to the wearer than with lbs ar- rangements of parts in common use, and is rendered more perfectly adju. table.] 37,150.Attaching Handles to Knives.Mattltew Chap- man, Greenfield, Mass.: I claim tlse fiat tang, 0, of the implement, provided with a V-shaped notch, a, at its end, in combination with the rivet, B, aIsd the slot, b, in the handle, B, provided svith a projection, c, at its bottom, of such a shape as to fit into the notch, a, ol the tang, substantially as and for the purpose herein specilled. [This invention consists in having the handle of the knife or other article slotted longitudinally a certain distance from its inner end, and9 having the knife or other article provided with a fiat tang, equal in length to ths slot, the end of the tong havisg a V-shaped notch made in it, and lbs cud of the slot provided with a corresponding shaped projection, which fits in the notch in the tang, when the latter is in- serted in the slot in the handle, the above parts being sited in connec lion with a rivet which passes through the handle and tang. 37,151.Grinding Mill.J. M. Clark, Lancaster Pa. First, I claim the mode substantially as described of attaching he cross-tie, r, and lever, H, to the hoop, d, for the purpose specified. Second, I claim a revolving grain cup or disk, II, having couplings or tugs, h, and an attached tube, rG, in comhiIsation wills ihe rhine, e. Third, I claim applying to millstones a silent feed which is not af- fected by the act of settiisg the stones to grind either coarse or fine, substantially as described. Fourth, I claim suspending the revolving cup or disk, H, from the cross-lie, r, by the tube, rS, or its equivalent, in the manner and for the purpose set forth. Fifth, I claim suspending the stationary grain guard, H, over the eye of the stones, and so that it may be removed therefrom wills the cross-tie, r, for the purpose set forth. Sixth, I claim the combination nd arrangement of the levei H cross-tie, r, and hoop, d, substantially in the maImer and for the piur. pose set forth. Seventh, I claim the combination of the feed-lever rod, in, and rod, m2, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. Eighth, I claim operating an alarm and also an indicating sops- ratus, by means of a shaft which receives motion directly froni the central portion of the mill-stone runner, for the purpose specified. Ninth, I claim the combination of the alarm apl)aratus and the in- dicating apparatus with the centrally-located shaft, i2, substanlially as described, for the purpose set forth. Tenth, I clams a lighter staff, j, in combination with the seresv shaft, m, substantially as described. Eleventh, I claim the head blocks, 11 2, whether stationary or ail- justable, in coInbinaliun with the way, L, substantially as de- scribed, for the purpose set forth. Tsvellth, I claim applying to the hell shaft, K, a belt arm, xl, and bctl, B, which, by their centrtfiigal action, effect the alarm, in con- unction with head blocks, 1 and 1 2 or their equivalents, subolantially as described. Thirteenth, I claim In a bell which constitutes a part of a centri- fugal governor, so hanging the clapper on a pivoted spring-arm, that it has unobstructed freedom to move back aisd forth in the line of rotation of the bell, against the inner side of the bell, but is prevented from coming in contact with the bell in a direction at right angles thereto, substantially as described. 37,152.Mode of operating Railroad Pumps.G. M. Cole, Folsom City, Cal.: 1 claim the application of one or more cylinders, B, which are sup- plied wtth steam from the locomotive through pipes, c c, in combina- tion with the pump, B, as and for the purpose shouim and described. 37,153.Expanding Bedstead.Nelson Cross, New York City: I claim the combination of the side and cross levers or bars with the canvas top or bed piece, as and for the purpose aforesaid. 37,154.Straw and Grain SeparatorA. B. Davis, Phila- delphia, Pa.: I claim, first, Separating the straw from the grain In Ibreshing ma chines by means of a series of rocking rakes, arranged iIi respect to and operating in unison with each other, substantially as set forth. ISSUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ~Ixe ~ientifi ~nwvh~n. Second, Imparting the desired motion to the said rocking rakes by means of reversed racks, arranged on a reciprocating frame, in rela- tion to pioions on the shafts of tise said rakes, substantially as set forth. 37,155.Air EngineWilliam Denkmann, Washington, D.C.: I claim, first, The use of a plurality of separate heating chambers, operatin~ sstccessirely in connection with each working end of the striving cylinder, K, sul)stantially as set forth, to admit of heating the air in advance of the time at which it is used. Second, An air pump, L, employed in combination with heating chambers, substantially as set forth in the foregoing claim, to supply the said chanobers successively with cold air. 37,156.Tourniquet.Jacob Dunton, Philadelphia, Pa.: claim the combination of the adjitotable slotted plates, A A A A, pads, F F, and straps, G G, as set forth. [This tourniquet is adjustable to soil limbs of any sine, and is adapted to sri-eat arterial circulalion, without interfering with that of the veins.] 37,157.Wave Propeller for Shallow Water.J. B. Eads, St. Louis, Mo.: I claim providing light-draught vessels with a chamber, in which the propeller svorko when said chamber is filled wills svater by atmos- pheric pressure, to a hight above that of the ss-ater in svhicls the vessel Iloats, for the psirpose and in the mausser sobotaistially as hereiss de- scribed and represented. 37,158.Tiding StirrupIl. N. Eagle, New York City: I claim first, Giving any desis-ed longiludinal, lateral, or oblique in- clination to use tread of a stirrup (with arms of equal lengths or wills the issuer arm thse alsorter), by means of the location given to the point of suspension, substasstialhy as isereinbefore described. Second, A metal cap or its equivalent employed to connect the arms of a stis-rup, and constituting the means of attaching the susepending straps, and for confusing the upper part of the cover, whess one is used. Tlsird, A cover composed of two or more pieces of leather or its equsivalent, and applied susbetantially as hereinbefore described. Fossrtls, The coinbissatiumn of tlse rawhide or pelt with the frame or body of a stirrup, osibstantially as and fos the purposes specified. Fifth, The arrangemeist of the shaft, H, in inclined positiosse, as represented in Fig. 6, sind described, for the purposes specified. Sixth, The combination of an adjusting snapeusnion with a stirrup or its cap, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. Seventh, Giving to this sides os arms of a stirrup, whether of wood or other material, an oblique direction iii frusnt, and a perpendicular direction or line in sear, substantially an represented in Fig. 4, cur this cosiverse or described equivalent thereof, fos the purpose specified. 37,159.Centrifugal Gun.--G. C. Eaton and S. W. Turner, Cleveland, Ohio: We claim, first, The stirrup, I, and bridge tree, I, in combination soith the plate, G, and turn-table, (.4, arranged as specified, for the purpose of giving horizontal range to the ball. Seesund, We claim the turn-table, G, in combinatioss with the ar- ticulation. K K, for the purpose set forth. Third, We claim the frame, M K, in coisibinatlois wills this articuha- finn, K K, for givin~ altitude to the proentile, a5 specitied. Fourth, We claim tYse arms, T T, operatiiig in concert within the frame, K K, for Ilse purpose specified. Fifth, hYc claim the stops, g h, operated as antI for the purpose set forth. flioth, We claim the clutches, p and weightesh lever, p, in combina- tisuis n-ills the cain, W, asrasuged and operating as and for tise pusrpose specilied. 37,160.Apparatus for teacising Military Tactics.W. S. Engle, Brooklyn. N. Y.: I claim the employment or sine of lbs military figures or pieces, representisug privates assd otficers pertaining to a battalion or regi- ment, for the purpose herein specified. (This invention consists in the employmeist or use of military figures composed of rectangular blocks representing companies in line, aisd detachsed figures reprerenting oflicers and privates, whereby a learner may practice all the movements of the privates and officers, both in battalion and company drills.] Second, The arrangement and couxibination of the compartments g h, in the extractor, II, pipes, a and b, heating tubes, i, still, A, doubles-, C, worms, c and m, trouglas, D and F, and pump. E, alt con- structed and operating as and for the purposes shosvn and described [An engraving and full description of this apparatus will be found on page 289, vol X~II. of the Scm~yxirm~ AsnxmcMe. o7,lGS.....Water Motor-Daniel Hunsicker, Laurelton Pa.: I claim tlse endless chain provided nith hinged floats and arranged to work over a rotating block, esthatantially as described. And in combination with the endless chain and floats, I claim the guide rollers, K K, and guide pieces, N and P P for the purposes set forth. 37l69.Skate.Benjamin Irving, New York City: I claim as an nen article of manufacture an inspi-oved skate, the runner or shoe of which is made of a plate of steel, with a narrosv groove near each edge, when the body or frame of the skate is made ol iron or some other softer metal or material, and when said frame is adapted equally to either loot as herein described. 37,l7O.Machine for Punching and Eyeletting Shoes, & c.Jeremiah Keith, New Bedford, Mass.: I claim my improved punching and eyelettisg machine, the same coussisting of the vibratiuig hopper or eyelet magazine, C, the inchiused director, D, the eyelet retaiuier, K, the rotary punch, L, and tipsetter, L2, the rotary punch bed, t, and the eyelet separator and cam-inter, sin, the whole being constructed and made to operate substantially as set forth I also claim the combination of the rotary puncls, L, and uspoeller, LI, withs the rotary punch bed, t, and the eyelet separator, u, the same being arranged substantially as set forth. also claim the combinatiosm of the mag azine, C, the condusslor, D, the retainer, K, the revolvable eyelet separator and carrier, u, and thse upsetter, LI, the same being arraisged amid matte to operats as 551 forth. 37,l7l.Cartridge.tearer for Muskets.Danifll Kelly, Grand Rapids, Mich.: I claim a cartriogetearer composed of a ring or band with to-n horns, a a, and tooths, c, between the horns said lsorns, tooth and risig being all made us one piece and operating as herein set forth. 37,1 72.Claw-har.jsaac Lamplugll, Peoria, Ill.: I claim thse shifting fulcrum arm, K, havimig an auxiliary bearing point, d, in combinaujoms with the shot, b, recess, a, and tlse heel, H, in the manner and for the PO~PO55 substantially as described. 37,173.Air Guns..~Edward Lindner, New York City: I claim, first, The formation of a lever conotruscied conformably in shape ivuths tise handle or stock of time gun or pistol, and so arraisgiuig auid csnsbining with it a piston and spring as to compress the latter by direct actioms on the piston rod, substantially as herein shoon and described. Secinsmid, The emumbination with a cylinder tins which the air is com- pressed as descritmed, of a pistusms with an automatically expandimig isackimig as herein shosvn and set fords. Tisird, The hiinrmuation of an anninmlar recess at the joint of the barrel wills the breech tim combination with a puojectimig immdia-rusbbes- ring, sinhes-eby an air-tight jesuit is eflecledsubslamstiauly as herein described. Fommrmh, Providing thse cylinder contaissing the air-couspressing pis- linus with an aperture and slide valve, or any other equivalent means of ad] usatimig the size of the said apertmsre, to reginslate the size of the veist msr the force of consluression as hereims descritued. Fifths, TIse construiction of the projectiles with an elastic and ex- pandiming back or bottons n-hereby in sir pistols or gususs rifled barrels nsay be useth to insure accuracy of aim as herein described. I7,l7l.Asla-sifter.~William McConnell, Philadelphia, Pa.: I claim, first, A hopper, A, of any semilable form, provided with the lid, a, or its equivalent, and sieve, b, whems the whole is so cinsonected to a permaneust brackein, K, or its equivalent, asto be readily vibrated. Second, I claim, in combination with the vibrating hopper, a cur- tain, D, of such shape and dimensions as to inclose tine mouth of the receptacle for the ashes without interfering with the free movement of the hopper. 37,l75.Post-mark and Cancelling Stamp.M. P. Norton, Troy, N. Y.: I claim, first, The cancelhin~ device, C, Isaving on the face or lower 37,561.Knitting Machine.W. B. Evans, Holderness, surface thsereofkmsives or cutters, and a guard or guards mis combina- nith each sthser, by nseans of us-hich the N. II. : poolage stamp is can- celled by the sminld cutter, and at tIne same time prexent any injury to I claim, first, The combinalion of the needle plate, A, having its the helter or any contents thiereiss fiom inhe said knives mum cutters by face composed of tuvo conical surfaces, b c, and cylindrical surface, d, meamins of the said guard or guards, stibstantially as lserein described ainid needle grooves, e e, opening into the said cylindrical surface, and and set forth. the tsvn rings, B C, baring betiveen them an open space, s s, opposite Second, I also claim the combination of the cancelling-stamp, C, to the openimigs of the grooves sins said cyhindrucal surface, substantially antI the post-markising or mattining-stainmip, D, ivith the cross-piece, K, as amind for the purpose herein specified. substasslially as and her the purpose herein described ainid set forth. Second, The plate, L, applied in combination with the said needle plate and the ring, B, substantially as and for the purpose herein 37,l7tI.Earth-scraper.~Nelson Peck, Jay, N. Y. specified. I claim the combination of tIme scraper, C, draughi-pole, D, axle, A, Tlsiruh, The inclined surfaces, g g, provided on the ring, C, substan- amid levers, K E E, all arsanged 10 operate substantially as and lhr the tiahly as and for the psirpose herein specified. purpose herein set forths. 5~,1t32.Machine for Thresllin5, and Hulling Clover Seed. [This invention relates to a nesv andimproved earth-scraper designed (5. W. Fosdick ahld John Crawford, Dowagiac, Mich.: for repairiming roads and for geinseral gradimig purposes. The invention We claim the arrangement of the threshing cylinder, D, concave, cnssoists in a novel and improved combination and arrangement of C, picker, R, aproms, E, screen, F, and pessdants, f, with the carrier (4, in Ilse mausser liereims shown and descrilued. the scraper-wheels, draught-pole and levers, whereby the scrapes- The combination of the parts above messlioned, whems srranged in may with the greatest facility be raised or Inweredlosm-ered to per- fan, P, and elevator, N, as hereims shun-mm and described. I, shoe, L, for - the manner stated, with the aproms, It, hmstling cylinder, m us svork and elevated to discharge its load.] Tue arrangemneist of the apron, K, and boards, m K, with Ilse con- cave, J, cylinder, 2, and shue, L, in the manner hereums shown ainid de- 37,177.Pantographic Engraving MachineBenjamin L. scribed. Phillips, Providence, 11. 1. (The object of this invefition is to obtains a machine by which cloves- I claim, fist, Tise method of communicating Ilse molisns of the from the straw, amid the hatter separated from tracer-point, a, asid carriage, K, to the cylinder, C, substantially as seed may be threshed described. the heads, and the seed also separated from the hullsthe whole Second, Supportimig the bars, T, on lixed inclined nays, 5, smibstan. performed simultaneously, and thins done in tially as and for the purpose set forth. operation luessing wins.,,. ~ Third, A cnmpemssatimsg connectisu betsmeen the es-cighted arm, gI, perfect manner.] amid graver arm, ml, substassliahly as described. Fourthin, Pivotimig inhe weighted arm, g2, at a different poisst from 37,163.Iron Bedstead.J. M. Frencln, East Camhl-idge, thust at irhiels the graver arm, ml, is pivoted, that they may be nioved Mass. : sepam-atemy, substasslially as described. not only suiths its angle troms Filth, The imuchined groove, 8, fur guidisig the graver carriage sub- I claim the improved bedolead as made stantiahiy as described. rails, B B, and head and fumot frames comsimecled by lessons and mor- Sixths, Inclissimig the bar, F, br the purpose specified. hoes, but with each of the amid rails fuissished nith bearers, e e, COO. Seventh, Changing the relative speed uf tine carriages, E and C, struincted and arranged with respect tins tine tenosso and mortises, amid by connectimug them ninth puiniheys of a duflerent sinne, stinhslanmtially ins the linusses bars of the head amid hoot frames, in maimer and so as to the usanner and for the purpose set forth. operats thsereoimh, substantially as specified. Eighth, The autonsatic feed connected u-ills the ptslhey, El, for re in- 37,161.Lock for Mail Bagne.W. W. Gingrich and C. S. hating the spaces between the groninudmog lines substaminally as de- Coates, Mexico, Pa.: scinibed. ~ve claim the arrangement of tIme jaws. A B, the plates, E D, amsd 05~~~nth The employment of screw-scored pulleys such au, W El Cl, i and the several usrts beimsg t~ and pantograplihe engraving machine, for the puirpose specihied. the springs, a so ins, I- cinininisrucine0 used Tenth, The em~shinuymemst muf tempiets cut munt to thue form nuf amy fnr locking the mouth ol the bag at several points at sine tinse, as figuire ohich is to be repeated, in combination nith a sininluplemeiininarm herein fushly set forth, tracing-point, s3, to be used substantially as set finurtb. 37,165.Gearing for Machinery.S. p~ Eleventh, Reversing the motions of the graver carriage by clamping Gary, Oslakosh, the wire, x, to the carriage, G, either at si or al. Wis.: I claim tIne combinatioms of the stationary wheel, B, within the revoly 37,178.Horse-power.Wihliam Pierpont, Salem, N. J. og wheel, C, the junimit, G, and the em-ank, B, finur the purpinuse of tramis. I claim, first, TIne combinatiomi of the snucket pieces, a, and lever milling rotary motion from the shusit, D, to the shaft, E or the re suppos-tiisg piece, b, smith the mauint schisel, A, substamitially as and for verse, substantially as hereims set forth amid described. - the purpose set forthin, J. Heaton, Peoria, In. : Second, The combissation of the draft levers, B, wills the braces, C, 37,166.Cultivator.H. and ninain wheel, A, smsbstantialhy as set forth. I claim the arrangement of the sliding bars, C C, dramight-pole, D, 37 179.Head Block for Lasts.C. F. Pollard, Lynn, bar, E, and lever, F, in connection with Ihe finames, J J, having tise lows, P, attached, all arranged as amid for the purpose herein set Mass. P ortb. I chaimim, first, The Inhales, B K F, insotchued tlange, C, with Itne wedge, [This invention relates to an improved cultivator of that class in Dopirsi spring, d, amnd pin, b, svhen combined amnd arranged to ohserate in the manner and for the ptinrpuuse sisecified. which adjustable or laterally sliding shares or teeth are employed. Second, TIne shidimig toe rest, K, pivoted catch, p in combination The object of the invention is to obtain a cinmltivator of the class speci- with the inclined plasse, I, mnotchined bar or rack, no, cinirved sprumng, n, and pivoted lever, H, when arramnged to operate in thue manner and fled, which will enable the operator or attendant to have more per- for the purpose specified. fed control over the implement thams hitherto, so that the shares or [This invention consists in a pecuilam- manmuer of attachstmng Ilne table teeth may be readily adjusted and made to plow- up to the plants and supporliming the heel and toe rest to the pedestal, whereby tine last may follow the sinuosities of the rows however crooked or curved they be easily and expeditinusly adjusted to ninny desired angle or imnclisa. may be.] tion also in an arrangement of sliding toe rest which admits of homing 37,167.Apparatus for Distilling Alcohol. P. L. Ilowlett, or short lasts being used wilhout materially changing its inclination.] Springfield, Ill.: 37 180.Belt-shifting Device.Wilhiamxi Sellers, Philadel. I claim, First, the arrangement of one or more heating tubes, I, in the extractor, B, in combination with the still, A, and doubler, c, phia, Pa.: constrsscted and opematning substantially as and for the purpose I damn the use of an interisal anul external segment wheel arranged specified. substantially as amid for the purpose specified. 37,181.Elastic Cups, Dippers, & c.-Tliomas Smith, Bos- ton, Mass.: I chains tIne improvement ins tIne manufacture of elastic or semi- elastic vessels, svhich conesists in so brining them as to cause them to eusgage and be firmly held in a band or bands of metal or otlner rigid material, substantially as deucrinhed. 37,lSS.Apparatus for Steaming Oysters in the Shell. Isaac Solomon, Baltimore, Md. I clainsin, first, Thue combimnation and arrargement in an apparatus for steaming osslers of ihe receiner, a a nn a, constructed substan- tially as deocribed, with the steam supply pipes, valve and perforated shelf tubes consiructed and arranged fiur comujoint operation in the manner set fuurth. Second, In ama nyster-oteamiming apparatus, the combination of the steam-tight doors A, cunnstmtmcted amsd operating substantially as set forth, with the atm valves, F, asud steanus-escape valve arranged amid Olserating as and for the pospose desemibed. Third, The eusphoyment inn sins oyster-steaming apparatuins of a re- ceiver at the bottom for the receptjon and preservation of the hiqumor from the oysters to be draw-n olf for minse as described. 37,lSI.Spring Fastening for Lamp Chimneys.W. S. Thonapeon, Rochester, N. Y.: I claim securing Ilse chimney liv means of the flexible, elastic wires, D D, on the opposite sides, onnitnuinly connected tengether, and having the portiomus, cc, rsoling respectively in the slob, a a, of inhe flamuge of the lamp top, in ouch a manuer as to fininruishn ains exnennied, countinsumomins bearmining oms tse base of the chimney to humid it mesintrahly in place amnd allow it to expainsfi freely amid to adopt it no dilterent sizeni clnimneyo, the whole arranged, combined amud operaling substantially as hereims set lorib. 37,l84.Seeding MachineMorris , Quasqueton, Iowa. I claim the arrangement of the vertically adjustable hotiper-box, A, Ommspended by means of straps or penidenmo, B, from lIne hind axle, K, of an ordinary wagun in conshimiation with the gauging screen, c, and hinged bottum, G, all conuirnincted and operating in the ninannes- and finur the purpose shomvn and described. [This inventiun consists in the arrangement of a vertically aeljuslable hopper bux suspended by nseans of suitable straps or peninlents from tIne axle of the hind svheelo of an ordinnary wagon anid provided with a Ininged adjustable bottom in combinatlun with a guage screw in sunch a manner that fald hopper can easily be adjusted to suit wagons of different hniglnt, and the bottom can be set to sow different seeds or different quantities of seed per acre by means of the guage screux-, ux-hichi is provided with a suitable scale to indicate the qumantity (if seed sown per acme for diflerent positions of the lsnphscr bottom.] 37,l85.Annalgan-lator for Gold and Silver.Thomas Varney, San Fi-ancisco, Cal.: I claim, first, The employment or use of a rotating usnithem-, F, pso- viuted with cents-al openings, g, and arranged within a pains or tub, A, avith a stalionary muller, G, or an eqinmix-aheut bed-plate, smmhstaotiaihy as shown, 10 imnuore a cuirremat or circemlatioms of tine pnslp smithims the pan or tmml, and betweems the mullers, as and for the puss-pose set forlh. Second, A cinuvered or chinese pains or tub, A, cunspooed mnf tins-n hearts, a b, conmeeclect together, whseus said isass or tmsb is used for ass ore amalgamating device as specjlied. Third, The curved pinates or scrapers, I, arranged to operate in con- mnectinun with the rotary minmller, F, for the purpose herelun set forils. [Thinis iuventlnn consiots in tIne emphoymesqor use nsf a rotary and slanisunary muller placed uvitinin a suitable pan or tinib lerovided uviths a cover, and arm-anged in sninchn a manner that when the device is mm operation time ore will pass in a current or stream outuvard from the cemiter and between the mullers to line circumnierence of the same and thence inward over the ompper and rotatimmg mullers to tine center of the same and dow-si through said muller between it amid the hun-er stationary omne to be slain thrswn to the peripluemy of time muhlers, thereby causing all the particles oh tIne ore to he broumght un contact uvith the quicksilver ins the pan or tub or with the amaluamnated plates attached to the ununlier or mullers. Time invontiumo also coissists in the employmnent or use oh curved or spiral scrapers placed within the pan or tinib and arranged relatively uvith the upper surface of the rotating sculler mu such a manner as to insure the passage or movement of all heavy substances in the pulp, thereby preveinsting the same from lodg- ing on the rotatlmmg mutter. 37,186.Steans En0ine.Henry Walters, Tamaqua, Pa.: bins cylinders ob uteamn engines of otherwise ordimnusry or suitable csmmstruction, I claim vusives at either end of said cylinder and balancent by a avorking beam so as to aumumatically open amid clnse the avater pasuages by tine alternate actious of steamn on tIne pisteumm as de- scribed, when the hmmhcrum of said beunni is adjininstable, smimereby the lift oh the valves may beregulated at pleasume substantially as herein shosvn amid Oct fsr~h. 37,187.llarvcster.David Warren, Gettyshurg, Pa.: I damn the springs, A~ and Al, the bolt, e, and the guide, B, the ohohe arramuged in the manner anti for the purpuse hmereims specified. 37,188.Self-feeding Sawing Machine.T. J. Wells, New York City. I etaimim tIne ensmbinatisn of the saw, A, wiih the table, K, and guide, F, w-hneinu arramiged in rehatinn to each other, and operatimig in the mass- innem- amud for the purpuse described. 37,189-Mode of Puncfiing Countersunk Holes.J. V. Westlake, St. Louis, Mo.: I damns tine puinscining of conenternumnk holes mc metal so that the samnun shmunit be applicable 1cm the heracticol uoe of receiving the taper or miverted come-shaped heads of bolts amid oIlmen like fastenings, subsian. lally as described. 37,190.Furnace for the Manufacture of Oxide of Zinc. Joseph Wlnarton, Plsiladelplaia, Pa. I clunimam, lirst, The Irough, T, and trunk, K, for imntrodnclmw avater units tIne furnace 14cm tIne purpose oh cleaning the zinc oximle sJhihe in ihe furnace and Ci the imnstant of its prsduction, substantially as above described. Secomnd, The arrangement oh the furunce, A amid B, the division wall, c, amnd the reverberatory arch or cuvor, substantially as shnosvn. 37,191.Rocking Sled PropellerJohn Wiarda, Hoho- ken, N.J.: I tam, hiret, Time arramngennemmt of one or more pointed feet, d d, ins consbinaliomn insulin Ilne ruckimng seat, A, of a sled, constrinindled and sup. erating as and for the purpose shnomun and described. Secuinmid, TIne arranigeunent of working beams, F, in combinallun wills tIme hinged poinined feet, e e, and with the rockimig seat, A, and foot- board, b, 01 a sled constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose specified. [This inveuiinn consists ms this arrangement of one or more pointed feet hinged to tine under surface of thQrocking seat of a sled, sos- peneded from a pivot or pivots inn uuehm uninnanner that by imuparting to said seat an oncillating or rocking motion the feet are allemnalehy de- pressed on the ground ins an inclined direction so as to propel the shed, and s-abed for a freoh hold and thereby a considerable vehocily can be imparted to the sled with - cumparatin-ehy small exertion ol the person or persons occtmpying the seat.] 37,192.Manufacture of Hose and Flexible TubesH. A. Alden, Fislikill, N. Y., assignor to The New York Rubber Company: I claim the Inorein-descrihed puoceso or method of water-proofing hose by imniemmesl sluleticalisn tinmeder presscnre of ouch iiqtmmct or semi- liquid india runheber, gunita pesclma, om other cemensting subsiance or compounud as that, by sunheequemit exposunre to air or heat or by beimig otherwinse treated, shall luerum a dry flexible coating impervious to xv- ter, and wlnenm so wnm:er-ieroofed, I claim the mode described of pre- seining the cylimadrical lurm for the hose. 37,193.Rifled Muzzle for Smooth-bored GunsC. Il. Al. sop, Middletown, Coun., assignor to J. W. Alsop, of New York City: I claim a rifled muzzle in combination with a smooth-bure gun bar- rel, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth 12 37,194Ships WindlassJames Emerson, Manchester, N. H., assignor to Wut. P. Hunt, Dorchester, Mass. I eltim, first, placing the two grat)s, E E, on one vertical shaft and causing them to revolve in reverse directions for the porpose of heav- ing in she two chains of a ship at the same tune, suholantially as do- scrihed. Second, 1 claim the arrangement of the small gears, I J K L, and the clutch, N, in cossnection with the two chaits grahs on the vertical shaft, P for the purpose descrihetl. trisen arrauged substantially as descrihed. Third, I claim the separation of the shaft, Q, thus making it in tivo itieces in order to allosv nearly all of the seorking parts to he secured to the lower piece, for tise porpose named and substantially as de- scrihed. 37,195 Hydraulic CylinderDaniel Fitzgerald, New York City, assignor to himself and C. B. Tatham, Brooklyn, N. Y.: I claim consolidating and conshining the strength of concentric cyl- inders hy means of water or other liqisid, lsot or cold, filling the inter- stices in the manner suhstanlially as ahore descrihed. 67,196.Method of Securing Bits ill StocksDaniel Kelly (assignor to himself and J. A. Smith), Grand Rapids, Mich.: I claim the arrangement of the notelsed n-edge-faced iticoted htst- ton, a, witls the t,mol stock, A, and tool, a, iss Ilin manner assd for the purpose herein shots-n and described. 1Tlse obiect of his intention is to obtain a simple (levico for occur tug hits to their storks whirls may he readily applied to an ordinary round or square stock atod wisich will (iran- the hit head firmly lists the stock and at the eaton time lock it securely therein.] 17,197.Coal Oil Lamp.D. U hail, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to himself, Vasconcellos hlnughton, Win. A. Nichols atid T. C. Seat-s I claim thin fibrosis mitieral tilt, , prepared suhstantiahly as specified its comhinatiots with Site wick, 5, of librous material, as set lbrtlt. I also claim this adjustshle wick tuhe, d, is comhiisatiou with the deliectittg tube, g, for the purposes and as ilsecilied, 37,198.Smelting Ores of Gold, Silver, Copper, & c. William Quann, Philadelphia, Pa., assignsr to him- self, Win. L. Taylor, A. Ps. Wetmore and C. C. La- tisrop I clatas in site tiroceso ssf smeitisig gold, silt-er, ctmter, ticket, asid till oIlier ttres except irttn, sttsd for surtfvistg site snetsti sibdaissed titere- Irom, the tise t,f wottd ashes, chensirsi chmsrcossl, carhossate of ammo- itia, oil or stiser resitoosto usatter, salt, bsstte dttst, sulphur mid saud, sishotauhially as described. 37,199.Counting Attachment for Envelope Machines. (1. 11. Raay, tiusisots, N. J., assignor through mesne fissigunsent to J. Q. Prehie, New York City I chairs so disposing the eitvelspns so the smitne are discharged from ats envelops tosseisisse titat time Os sostirn envelopes tire issued out he- yossd ihe edge of the regishmis- pile sit isslerrals if ttvetsty-ftsttr sir assy other desired issisuher stf ettrnhtspes, stmhtstassmislhy as msmd Psr thse pur- jiose hsereits shots-st and describeti. [The invention consisis is so disiossaing the esmvelsspes, as they are discisarged from as envehope machine, that one sir usore etivehopes are puilsed out beyond she edge of the regular ~tile at intervals of Steessly-fotit- or any stimcr dlnsiredi titinsher sif ens-ehispes, mssssh tty these teseans the ishssle Itihe is divided sif so that time esrehtthtes rats be taken out withiosit comssshismg assd madIst u~s iota htmmcks of lime desired sistssbnr.j 37,200.Concussion Fuse for Slselln.S. I]. Rtissell, Middletown, Ohio, assi0noh- to himself and 13. F. Teift, Bangor, Maine: I cittim time combination oviths a proiectihe of thin perforated tesbe, Ii, ihie hilittsger, D, plug, Ii, and fesse, C, arrmsssgnd aid imperatesh iii the usaisner amsd for the htit~po5es stsbstmmiitisthly as hsereims described, 37,201.Machine for Screwing Oh the Soles and heels of Boots and ShoesEugene Lemei-cier, Paris, France, admiisisti-ator of tlse estate of L. J. Selhier, assignor to A. B. Howe, New York City: I elsitni, flu-si, cotisti-ticting atid mountiisg the machine in such a manner shsstt assy rrsiessred pi-essorn may be priuduced sri the sisse at thin n-ill ol thin operasuus- while the icrets is entering time tom asid in- stantly stopped after the posni of the screw touches the iross last, stibstantisihy as mind for the purpose described. Seconui, In combinatiusti witit a machsisse hiur cutting oust isseertitog screics iii busts asuuh sitoes, an elevating aiid depresoing apparatus, 50 shssssvn at F G hI, 1mg. 1, by means of ishicis the moehtimmn rims in eheva- tech or shepresseum 50 reuismim-ed, mis iii issositig fruits thin heel mis time shsasik of the shdse, ss-hsichi mihupsiratimo also midimits uuf plusrsssg thin isutrhtine iii curls a muosition that the screse nosy enter thin sum sit any required iou- gitudinal angle, stsbstsmstiahhy is described. Thim-d, Cusnisectisig thin machine to shin depressing lever, D, as shots-n at I~ I ~ I 0,, for time purpose ofittehittisig the mmscisioe to theright or heft, so that tue semis- may be emstered at aisy resqusired imuteral inch- isatiosi tutstrths, In coushmo-ition, the elevahisig and depressimig mumuhuaratits, F G H, svthh the cuinsmecting joint, I I flttt I I, for time Isurmusses set forth in the opecthse itiuin. hciiths, hum cosnbtnalsoii isiths thin neren-, R, and spring, V thin mnutra- bin smelt or bisecled it sit, v vt, for feedisig in mi fresh osipply dif issire stud acting in the in miser described atid fiur thin purpusses set fuurthi. Sixths, Olin niuse isith incessno, hi itt, Fig. I, usemisig as t gage for in- coring a onslorm dtstanre betiseeti the ocreuss. Six eusib, In csmbmnatson niths a ussicimimme thsst makes and suuppiien scree 5 Ii itm a contissuous wire, time cutter, ci, actuated by a lever, N, rack, e, pinsois 0 atid a spring, f, said cutter ses-nrisu~ lime sernie imnar thin stile, as soon as scresred bosom. Eighth the ii tinguhuti- sectioIs of thin cutter, ch, shown at idig. 2 Ia and 3, leavisig the lists-er suds of the screw mu the sisape of ass inverted V, for the hiurpose of spreading and nis-essiug on the hast, 37,202.Sewing MachineA. B. Shiaw (assignor to him- self and N. H. Shaw), Woicester, Mass. I claim the combinauiois of thin lifting cam and pin, x, n-ith ttse ins-ni-, H, and springs, u v, in lime manner aimd for tue ptsrpose shoss-n amid described, [A part of thu invention relates to the use of an eye-pointed looper operating in combinetion with an eye-poinied perforating needle to produce what is knon-is as the double-looped stitch and it consists in a certain moche 01 applyisug and givitog motion to such hoopes- by svhich thin machine is enabied to he simishy astd choeshohy cosostruteled and made very effective and certain iso us operation, Another part ot the inventioms relates to what is boon-st as Ihe lop feed, iii sihsichi thse h~ress- er anid feeder mire combined in one fisol-piece stiurking on the isop of he choth, and it consists its a census mode of rehievisig thin ssiid foot- piece of preosorn while it is returning to take a neir isohsh of thin etitths after every feeding noovemesit. I 37,203.Knapsack.Josepli Slsort, of Boston, Mass., as- signor to Abbie H. Short, of Salem, Mass.: First, I claim tise soosuension stra~u or stralso, c, in cuusstuimssshion niths the esutonertisig its-sit as straps, i, asid yoke or seek-strap, B, its the noansies- 0usd fir thin purpose sitissmantiahty as set hiurth. Secosuil, I rlsirn the ciscshy hums, e is, iii esunisioush isis sviths thin kssssiu- suick, A, sushustasstiahhy its the manner sind fur time ~suos-husssn set fuchs. 37,204. (h-ate fos- StovesIsmomi c Smiths (assignos- to S. lh. Ransom uV Co.), of Albany, N. Y.: I cisim combining ivithi the grate. stuopesodech by hsinges as lserein refnrred to, the dumpsng arrangensent, sesbstantiahly as described, 37,205.Bending Metallic Spcsnts.E. Valentine & M. Ridout (assignor to himself and Wihhisthas Beck), of Milwaukie, Wis. We claim the use of miii elastic corn or mandrel mm time matoutfarture of curved noessilic pipes ci- spoesis, stibstantisihy is the nosisisser here- inhefore set lorth. We shots claim the use of a seriso of thus elastic tosetathie phases in the cousts-tircioso of si stirs or ssusssslueh fir sims istttecuisuss of noessaihic spouts, susbstssstiahiy in the mansoer hoereiso set forum. When an ehasuic core or mandrel hi steed in the muir,tflaciuure of cuirved metahluc spouts, we claim the use of a shaping block, G, a retaining hook, 5, and a lever-actuated ems-aging wheel, T, or their equivalents, when combined and arranged substantially in the manner and for the pumnose herein net forth. When a lever-actuated mis-aging is-heel, T, and shapino block G are used its the inflection of metaitic spouts, ive claim the use of suntan- tie itroicetisog band, p and elastic cushion, r, or their equsis-atents, ishmems combissed amid arranged susbstanmiahty in the manner and for the psirpose herein set fortis, 37,206.Machine for Rolling Tires for Locomotive Wheels.Shermau Jaqua, of Paterson, N. J.: I claim, first, The arrangement, as described, of the tusp and hot- doin railers in ass adiustabte fuanse, which is so euunstructed sod at- tachesh to the bed a~ to aihow the axis of the said rohiers to he brought into a radial line with tires of various sizes, sshile, at the eame tune, they are niade capabie of inuvard and outward radial adisetnient, sub- stantially as set horth, Second, The arrangement of tivo bottom rollers, as herein described, in relation to thin top roller, by which thme tire is presented from sag- gingass-sy from the top rohier, and a finisusing flange roller allowed to he placed immediately under the tohi rotler, as iserein set forth, Third, Thin arrangement of the bottons railers fos- finishing the loner edge of the tire, in a differeist radial plane Irom thsat whseh is occu- pied by the driving roiters, by which they are prevented li-am inter- fering ssmth the said driving nuuhlers, and ii morn etficient and natmefac- tory arrangement of harts is usade admissable, 37,207.Military Observatory.Tltomas Welhtam, Nema- Isa county, Nebraska: I claiss the combittation of an obtervatory, isok-ocit or signal eta- lion in such a manner that it can be elevated, is-hen desired, to any required assd practicable bight by the addition of suceeseive lengths or sections to the huimier end of its supporting shaft, substantishmy in the noassner demeribed. 37,205.Breech-loading Fire-arm.Samuel Strong,Wash. ington, D. C.: I chains sosuuussstiiog the hammer upon and cecuring it to the himoged gstte asid notching the face of the hammer at esseb a point relative to thin trigger, tlssit its the act of closing the gate tus its seat in the breech, the trigger n-ill enter the notris and raise the face of the hammer off tise cssrmridge, as described Also, iss dmrtdissg time haisdie of the gate by ivhsich it is ohierated, or sectsrussg to its ion-er surface a sprimig catch, iv, ivhsicim takes into a nuitch hiss-med in time breech, its the momoner set forth, Asid she conshination and arrangemneist of the gate, hausmer, trigger, and maitispi-ing, indeisemsdnrst anti so c-instructed tisat stithess she gate so fully cituonul the hammer canusot be raised to fuit cock sior the piece dischsmrged in ammy other position, lIE-ISSUES. 1,363.Machine fot- sewing Soles to Boots and Shoes. Henry Dunham, Jr., Abinglohs, Mass. Patented Sep- tember 9, 1802 I claim the combissatious of the curs-ed amid hooked iseedhe si-itls the hast, constructed svimhm a cosseave boltom, the is-ham being substantially as described assul represented. I also chaim the arrangement of the hook on thin flank of time curve of the shouts of time needle, as described, amid mi-ith reopect to thin awl, so smetojutmuctusre mengmho-ise instead of crosess-ise of ito sectioms, shale as usode his- tiss sits-h. I muss claim ttse combination of an oust rut-u-ed isusogitudissahty ivith a sinedihe, lusrimug its shossuk etirm-ed hotugisiuchinatly mmcl pruovided osish a hutok near itt pusisot. also claim as an improveso-mesit a ens-ring machine, as conotructed situ, only si-iths its useedhe curs-ed and hooked, but ivith the souse stud thin rest cast ouf and imenuihe-closer made to operate in curs-ed patiss, isovisug a cususisnon center or axis, as described. S also claim the combination suf the curved and husoked imeedhe is-ith the hash, constructed trith a concave hanoi-s and tsittm a chamfer, or ivith their merlsassiemi eqitivalesoss, so as to form a ridge sroumsd the eaid buttons and isseide of its outer edge, as specified. I also cissim u-tie etumbissation of the last holder nith ito carrying plate, is suds maususer as to emoabie tissu lornoer, to be inclimmed osish respeet to the hatder, eustustansiahhy in manner ao ont forum I also claim the above-described arrangemeust of the feedisog non- chmanism ivitho respect to thse last carrying-plate sispisorter, Oh, suid time seuving tunehsaniens. I aiso claim mm curved ass-i and a curved hook needle, arranged and constuisted nith a guide wheel, G, asod a last having a concave bott -in, the is-hohe being in manner eubstautmaity as specified, 1,364.Metallic Car for RailroadsLa Mothe Life-pre- serving Iron Car Co. (assignees of B. J. La Motlte), Nexi- York City. Patented Sept. 24, 1861: I claim, first, The esinstruction of the irames of railroad cars asod other vehicles, of tubes or of tubes and bars combined, substanOshhy in tue manuser described. Second, Connecting she separate tubes of which the rubs are com- posed, simod strntsgthnning the corners by inserting she tubes stithin eacis otiser or by the isseertion of additional tesbes or rods, as specified. Thirst, Clamnpin~ the isoteroections by means of the sheeve suickets, i, liutisug toosely usrer time bars or tubes, midivay between the ribs, driving tightly against them. Futesreis, The pair of riveted or bolted chanspe, h, Figs. 6 and 7, se- cusrumig time mnsessecsing bars or tubes us-ithous perforasisug the hatter nith Isoins. 1,365.Grate for StovesS. II. Ransom & Co. (as- signees of Isaac Smith), Albany, N. Y. Patented Nov. 27, 1860 I clams suspendisig the grate by cranes or hinges, eubstanuiahly as set fuirtli, 1,366.Grain audi Seed Winnower.George Westing- house, Schienectady, N. Y. Patented March 4, 1862 I claim the etumbitiation of the mss-inging ehae, H, opesasing as de- scribed, ivith she fan, C, when the blast of ihe latter operatem upon use former in the manner and for the pnrpone specified, EXTEOISION. 5,966.Scoop and Elevator.Ephraim Morris, New York City. Extended Nov. 26, 1862: I claim the appiscation of the tivo-part scoop, g g, at the loss-er end of the frame, a a, conioinhly niih the arrangement described and shots-sm, by which the toggle.ioint arms, h h h h, close the scoops to load, is-hen acted on by the r~spe or chain td, which afterward raises the scoops and load, and through is-hich arrangement the same parts open the scoop to discharge the load, is-hen aesed on the toggle-joint arms, through the shafts, h and e, and drums, c c and d, substantial. hy is the manner hereinbefore described and shown, DESIGNS. 1,695.Pattern of Floor-cloths, & c.David Foyer, Dover, N. H., assignor to Abralsam Folsom & Son, Boston, Mass. 1,696.Stove Plate.Julius Hohzer (assignor to E. M. Manigle), of Phsiladeiphia, Pa. 1,697,Stove.J. D. Marshshank (assignor to himself and Wilhia-m McConkey), of Lancaster, Pa. 1,698, 1,699, 1,700.Carpet Pa-tterns.E. J. Ney (assignor to the Lowell Manufacturing Company), of Loivell Mass. 1 701.Military Hat.W. F. Warhurton, PhPladelphia, Pa. Back Numbers and Volumes of the Scientific American VOLUMES I., II., III., IV., V., (NEW SERIES) COM- plehe (bound or unbound) may be hsd at this offlee and from a period ical dealers. Price, bound, $2 25 per volumeby mail, $1which in -hide posia5e. Price, in sheets, $1 se, Every mechanic, inventor or ar- tisan in tOe United S tee should have a complete set of this pubhica. lion for reference, Subscribers should not fath to preserve thehr nuns- isers for binding. Nearly ath the numbers of VOL. VI, are out of print and cannot be supplied, 13 PATENTS FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS. The new Patent Laws, enacted by Congress on the 2d of March, 1561. are now In fun force, and prove to be of great benefit so all parties who are concerned in new inventions. The duration of patents granted under the new act is prolonged to SEVENTEEN years, and the government fee required on filing an appli- cation for a patent is reduced from 630 down to $15. Other changes isa the fees are also made as follows On filing each Caveat $10 On filing each application for a Patent, except for a design...$he On issuing each original Patent $20 On appeal sum Commissoner of Patents $20 On application for Re-issue On apphication for Extension of Patent $smj On granting the Extension On filing Disclaimer $10 On filing application for Design, three and a half years... $10 On filing application for Design, seven years On filing application for Design, fourteen years $10 The law abolishes discrimination In fees required of foreigners, ex. cepting reference to such countrhes as discriminate against citizens of she United Statesthus allowing Austrian, French, Belgian, English, hussian, Spanish and all other foreigners except the Canadians, te enjoy all the privileges of our patentsystem (exceptin cases of designs) an the above terms, During the last sixteen years, the business of procuring Patents fos new inventions in the United Stases and all foreign countries has been conducted by Itlessrs. MUNN & CO., in connection with the pubilca- lion of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN; and as an evidence of the confidence reposed in on Agency by the Inventors throughout the country, we would state that we have acted as agents for more than FIFTEEN THOUSAND Inventors! In fact, the publishers of this paper have become identtfied with the whole brotherhood of Inventors and Patentees at home and abroad. Thousands of Inventors for whom we have taken out Patents have addressed to us must flattering testimonials for the, services we have rendered them, and the wealth which has Inured to the Inventors whose Pateuls were secured through this Office, and afterward illustrated in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, would amount to many millions of dollars I We would state that we never had a more efficient corps of Draughtimen and Specification Writers than are employed at present in usur extensive Offices, and we are prepared to attend to Patent business of all kinds in the quickest time and on the must liberal terms, The Examination of Inventions. Persons having conceivumd an Idea which they think may be patent- able, are advised to make a sketch or model of their invention, and submitit to us, with a fuhldescription, for advice. The points of novelty are carefully examIned, and a reply written corresponding with the facts, free of charge. Address EUNN & CO., No. 117 Park-row, New York. Preliminary Examinations at the Patent Office, The service we render gratuitously upon examining an invention does riot extend to a search at the Patent Office, so see If a hike invention has been presented there, but is an ophulon based upon whal knowledge we may acquire of a similar invention from the records in our Rome Office. But for a fee of $5, accompanied with a model or drawing and description, we have a special search made at the United Stases Patent Office, and a report setting forth the prospects of obtaining a Patent & c., made up and maihed to the Inventor, with a pamphlet, giving in. structions for further proceedings. These preliminary examinations are made through och Branch Office, corner of F and Seventh-streets, Washington, by ex5serienced and competent persons. More than o,OOi) such exasofietations have been made through this office during the past three yess. Address MUNN & CO., No. 37 Park-row, N. Y. How to Diake an Application for a Patent. Every applicant for a Patent must furnish a model of his invention if susceptible of one; or if the invention is a chemical production, he must furnish samples of the Ingredients of which his composition consists, for the Patent Office. These should be securely packed, the uventors name marked on them, and sent, with the government fees by express. The express charge should be prepaid. Smahh models from a distance can often be sent cheaper by mall The safest way to remit money is by draft on New York, payable to the order of Enun & Co. Persons who live In remote parts of lbs country can usually purchase drafts from their merchants on their New York correspondents; but, If riot convenient to do so, there Is but little risk In sending bank bills by mall, having the letter registered by the postmaster. Address MUNII k Co., No. 57 Park-row, New York. Foreign Patents. We are very extensively engaged In the preparation and securing of Patents in the various European countries. For the transaction of this bunsluese, we nave offices at Nos. 66 Chancery-lane, London; 29 Boule- vard St. Martin, Paris; and 26 Rue des Eperonniers, Brussels. We think we can safely say that TuENE-FousaTus of all the European Pat- ents secured to American citizens are procured through our Agency. Inventors will do well to bear In mind that the English law does nc-i limit the issue of Patents to Inventors. Any one can take out a Patent there. Circulars of Information concerning the proper course to be pursued in obtaining Patents in foreign countries through our Agency, the re- quirements of different Patent Offices, & c., may be had gratis upon ap- plication at our principal office, No. 117 Park-row, New York, or either of our Branch Offices. Rejected Applications. We arepreparedso undertake theinvestigation and prosecution of re- meted sees, on reasonable terms. The close proximity of our Waib- nov-mum Ageuscy to she asent Office affords usrare opportunities for the examination and comparison of references, models, dnawing~, deco ments, & c. Our success in the prosecutiou of rejected cases has been very great. The principal portion of our charge is generally left de- pendent upon the final result. All persons having rejected cases which they desire to have prose- cuted are invited to correspond with us on the subject, giving a brief story of the case, inclosing the official leiters. & c. Assignments of Patents. The assignment of Patents, and agreements between Patentees and manufacturers, carefully prepared and placed upon the records at the Patent Office. Address MLTNN & CO., at the Scientific American Pat- entAgency, No. 37 Park-row, New York. It would require many columns to detail all the ways in which the Inventor or Patentee may be served at our offices. We cordially invite all who have anything to do with Patent property or inventions to call at our extensive offices, No. 37 Park-row, New York, where any ques- lions regarding the rights of Patentees, will be cheerfully answered. Communications and remittances by mail, and models by express (prepaid), should be addressed to MUNN & CO., No. 37 Park-row, New York. Caveats. Persons desiring to file a Caveat can have the papers prepared in the shortest time by sendfng a sketch and description of the invention The government fee for a Caveat, under the new law, is $10. A pam- phlet of advice regarding applfcations for Patents and Caveats, in En- glish and German, furnished gratis on application by mail. Address MUNN & CO., No.37 Park-row, Nsw York. J. W. R., of 111.There is no good work published on milling and millwrighting according to American practice. There is a great variety of opinion among millers respecting the beat (tress an(l the speed of stones. We advise you to visit some of the best mills and examine alt the machinery. Tise information you would thus acquire would be of immense benefit to you. C. H., of N. Y.Jordan almonds are the bitter almonds which are natives of Syria. The common bitter almontis will an- ssver your purpose in making cosmetics. W. R. B., of N. 11.We have no data at handrfom which we can give you reliable figures for the frictional grooved wheels in question. The dimensions in question will be readily supplied by the makers of suds machinerythe Novelty works its this city. J. F., of Wis.Wm. Gates, of Frankfurt, N. Y., is a re- liable manufacturer of friction matches. We cannot answer your other inquiries satisfactorily there is no accounting for the whims and conceits of mess. $1 received for four months subscription. L. V. II., of N. Y.You can obtain pistols laaving metallic cartridges of J. W. Storro, No. 256 Broadavay, this city. J. E., of C. W.-We do not think you could employ any method, practically valuable, more advantageously than your present one. There are several methods of making carbonic acid gas known to science, but the quality moat suitable for your use is made by sulphuric acid and marble dust. W. M., of N. Y.We do not care to discuss the currency question at any letsglls in our columns. We devote but little space to such subjects and therefore mttst decline your article. We do not undertake to preserve contributions sent to us for publication. Par- ties should keep copies if they avish to preserve their papers. J. W. M., of N. Y.There are certain kinds of powder on sale at druggists, whicla are good to drive away roaches. Get some. thing of this kind and use tt Iltoroughty and you may succeed in get- ting rid of the peat. We know of noilsing better. L. L., of PaYour suggestion to divide postage.stamps in the center by a series of holes so as to allow one half tise stantp to be torn off is a good one, bstt it is not new. The same thing has been sssggested to us before. H. V. DeW., of N. Y.; L. K., of Olalo., nud several otlsers.Your ittleresting commtsnfcations isave beets received and will appear as soon 55 p(tSOiblO. A. XV.., of MassTue Ruhmkorff coil is the most powerful electrical apparaliss for decotuposing tvater. Mr. Ritelsie, of Boston, manufactures a superior apparaists of this character. H. A. U., of MoIf you wish to become an engineer you tnust serve ass apprenticeshsp until yost are tsventy-one years of age. Apply to any sleam-engine builder, and if he wants your services he will give you the conditions under which you will be accepted. J. B., of Cal.It affords us pleasure to know that the chemical information publialted in our colssmns has been tlse source of so much pleasure attd profit to yost. The aniline colors which have so interested yost m y be those which are eliminated in na- tures laboratory in embellishing the flowers of the field, but man knows very little about the forces which govern the functions of plants in secreting their colors. H. S., of 111.You could undoubtedly boil the liquid at a much ton-er presastre of steam by isacreasing the ansount of radial sssrface throssgh whicla it passes precisely taosv muds less would de- pend wholly sspon Site isscreased radiation. You will not experience any difliculty, we tlsink, from the cause you apprehend, tsnless you wire-draw the steam by crowslistg it through narrow Isthes none less in diameter than ~ths of an isach should ho used. These are tise size of those svhich are inserted isa use cossdcnsers of ussr ocean steamers. D. C. S., of Iosva.Magnesions wire cannot he obtained here. D. S., of Wis.Smees work on electro-metallurgy is put)tished by J. Wiley, of this city. Napiers work on the same subject is of more recent date. It is ats English pssblication. We do not know its price. Electroplating, if well executed, and a good thtck coating put on, is said to be as j:cs-naoocut as the-plating for carriage irons. We have not heard of any experiments being made betrayer, to test the comp~rativs dtsrability of she tsVo systemS. D. S., of N. Y.-Every speck of mold or mildew upon a sail or other cloth injures the cloth beyond recovery, because the mildew is really a decay of the fabric canned by fungi. Every spot of mildecv should be brushed off the moment it is noticed. Fssngi or mildew generally appears whesa sail-cloth is reefed or folded up damp. A. P. T., of Mass.The information which we can give you respecting the preparation of dry collodson.paper for artists has been pubitabed in our columns. Many artists state that they have never seen good pictures produced with dry sheets. M. & S., of PaLight iron patterns can easily be coated with wax, btst shellac varnish is the best tlsat can be applied to wooden patterns. The shellac is dissoteed in alcohol, and three coats of varnish shosstd be put on. We have been informed that a coating of bees wax mixed with turpentine is easily applied and is excellent for both iron and wood patterns as a priming for a second coating with shellac varstish. G. B. F., of CounThe fiber of the milk-weed is beautiful and silky, but it appears to be too weak even for the manufacture of paper. Some experimessla however, should be made to test its capabilities for this object. Your torpedo is original so far as it re- lates to its mode of propulsion by rockets, bsst we think it would be difficult to control. Thus far submarine torpedoes have, in most instassees, proved failures. D. W. W., of N. Y.We are not in possession of practical information received from any of our correspondents as to the rela- tive userits of the diamond and the steel pick in dressing millstones, Most all otsr correspondents who are millers use the steel pick. A. lvi., of Wis.Parallel shafts generally run easier when connected with small than large cog gearing. We would prefer a wIsed of one foot in diametes- to one three feet, when the distance betsveesa the shatts is of no consequence and the speed of the shafts is equal. C. C., of D. C.Tlae chloride of calcium and the chloride of lime are lu-o vosy different tlsings. You have been using the lat- ter to snake artificial stosses and no wonder you failed. The chlor- ide of calcium is made with hydrocloric acid (mtsriatic) and chalk, or carbonate of lime. The common chloride of lime is made with hy- drab of lime and chlorine gas. hardings process for making the silicate of soda is patented. T. S. S., of VaIt has been proposed to us several times to arm gunboats with a submarine gun on the bow of each, which is a more plausible application than furnishing them with a per- cussion shell each, because the submarine gun embraces a mode of loading and firing under water. The muzale of the stsbmarine~gun was also to be used as a ram. Money Received At the Scientific American Office on account of Patent Office business, from Wednesday, December 17, to Wednesday, December 24, 1862 W.H.W..ofR.I.,$25;A.H.E.,ofN.Y.,slso;p& GoINY 50; c. D., of Itin., $50; H. L. C., of N. Y., $15 T. N. D., of Ind., $20; M. It. S., of N. Y., $45; T. U. L., of N. H., $21; J. C. C., of Pa., $21; J. W. L., of N. Y., $22; D. I. S., ofN. Y., $15; C. F. J. C., of N. P., $15; W. H. F., of Mass., $20; L. S., of N. Y., $25; J. A. L., of N. Y., $45; J. E. S., of Me., $20; S. W., of N. Y., $20; A. SI., of N. Y., $12; XV. J. D., of N. Y., $25; E. B., of N. Y., $15; A. B. II., of Pa., $35; S. L., of 0., $10; S. T. S., of Mass., $15; J. B. 51cC., of Mo., $40; W. T. SI., of IlL, $25; S. W., of Mass., $30; H. B., of Cat., $10; F. B., of Coun., $45; A. L., of N. Y., $20; C. J., of N. Y., $20; J. A., of Pa., $45; C. Xv. P., of N. Y., $20; W. H. S., of N. Y., $55; J. T. B., of Ill., F. D. D., of 0.,$20; T. W. B., of N.J., $25; A. S. L., ofN.Y., $136; L. 0. C., of Pa., $30; C. C. W., of Pa,, $25; W. F. G., of Pa., $25; C. W. F., of N. Y., $15; C. B., of Me., $25; L. C., of Mass., 15; J. H., of Iou-a, $15; P. Ac C., of N. Y., $25; A. C., of N. B., $40; A. H., of N. Y., $22; P. MeG., of Iowa, $20; W. It. G., of N. Y., $20; H. B. F., of N. Y., $15; W. P., of N. Y., $35; IS. H. S., of N. Y., $20. Persons having remitted money to this office will please to examine the above list to see tlsat their initials appear in it, and if they have not received an acknowledgment by mail, and their initials are not to be found in this list, Shey will please notify us immediately, and in- form us the amount, and how it was sens, whether by mail or ex- press. Specifications and drawings and models belonging to parties with the following initials have been forwarded to the Patent Office from December 17, to Wednesday, December 24, 1862: P. Ac C.. ofN. Y.; J.W. L., of N. Y.; A. itS., of N.Y.; W. H. xv., of R. I.; G. F. J. C., of N. J.; A. B. IS., of Pa.; W. J. D., of N. Y.; xv. F.G.,of Pa.; C. C.W.,of Pa.; E.J.M.,OfN.Y.;F.C.G.H ofN Y.; W. T. H., of Ill.; H. F., of 0.; C. U., of hIm.; A. H. C., ofN. Y L. S., ofN. Y. TO OUR READERS. RECEIPTS.Wlien money is paid at the office for subscrip- tions, a receipt for it will always be given ; but when subscribers remit their money by mail, they may consider the arrival of the first paper a bona tide acknowledgment of our receptin. of their funds. INVARIABLE RuLE.It is an established rule of this office to stop seuding the paper when the time for whirb it was pre-paid has expired. Models are required to accompany applications for Patents nuder the new law, the same as formerly, except on design patents when two good drawings are all that is required to accompany the peSition, specification and oath, except the government fee. PATENT CaAnes.Persons desiring the claim of any inven- tion which has been patented wiShin thirty years, can obtain a copy by addressing a note to this 0 cc, stating the name of the pat- entee and date of patent, when known, and inclosing $1 as fee for copying. We can also furnish a sketch of any patented machine issued since 1853, to accompany the claim, on receipt of $2. Address MUNN & CO., Patent Solicitors, No. 37 Park Row, New York. NEW PAMPHLETS IN GERMANWe have just issued a re- vised edition of our pamphlet of Itt.slcsctisss to Incesstsro, containing a digest of the fecs reqeirest undo the nesv Patent Law, & c., printed in the German language, which persons can have gratIs upon appli- cation at this offsce. Addrecs MUNN & CO., No. 57 Park-row, New Tht Binding the Scientific American. It is insportant that all works of reference should be well bound. The Scssxcsrsc AasEascAN being the ossly publicatiesa in the country whicla records the doings of the Ussited Stales Palent Office, it is pre- served by a large class of its patrons, lassyers and others, for referesace sine complaints have been made Shat our past mode of binding in cloth is not serviceable, and a wish has been expressed that we would adopt the style- of binding used on the old series, 4. e., heavy board sides, covered with marble paper and morocco backs and corners. Believing that the latter style of binding will better please a large portion of our readers, we shall commence on the expiration of this present volume to bind the sheets sent. to us for the purpose in heavy board sides, covered with marble paper asad leather backs and corners. The price of binding in she above style wilt be 75 cents. We shall be unable hereafter to furnish covers to the trade, but wilt be happy to receive orders for binding at the publication oflice, 37 Park Row New York. RATES OF ADVERTISING. Twentyfive Cents per line for each and every insertionpay. ble sn advance. To enable all to understand how to compute the amount they mssst send in when they wish advertisements inserted, we will explain that ten words average one line. Engravings will not be ad- mitted into our advertising columns; and, as heretofore, the publish- ers reset-re to themselves the right to relect any advertisement they may deem objectionable. THE CHEAPEST MODE OF INTRODUCING INVENTIONS. INVENTORS AND CONSTRUCTORS OF NEW AND useful Contrivances or Machines, of whatever kind, cast have theis Inventions illustrated and described in She columsas of the SCIENlI. FIC AMERICAN on payment of a reasonable charge for the engrav fog. No charge is made for the publication, and the cuts are furnished to the party for whom they are executed as soon as they have been used. We wish lt understood, however, that no secondhand or poor engrav- ings, such as patentees often get executed by inexperienced artists for printing circulars and handbills from, can be admitted into these pages. We also reserve the rsght to accept or reject such subjects as are pre sented for publication. And it is not our desire to receive orders for engraving and publishing any but good Inventions or Machines, and such as do not meet our approbation in this respect, we shall declino 10 publish. For further particulars, address ML7~N & CO., Publishers of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, New York City ANUFACTURERS WANTED IN NEW-YORK State Eastern, Southern and Westerts Pennsyh-attja, to essgage in the manufactory of a Hay, Stran- and Corstasalk Cutter. St costs from $250 So $300 and setla faster than can be made for $10. Os-er twessSy thousand now in use. Is will cusS a bushel in from one to three msnutes, according So the length cut. The patent u-ill he rented out by counties for so much a year, the purchaser paying only for the tsme he keeps it. A traveling agent will visit Pennsylvania its De- cember and January, and Ness- York iu Fehrssary. Tisose wishing So look at it wilt be called on. Address, PATENTEE, Chicopee Falls, Mass. 1 55 FOR SALETHE WHOLE OR PART OF A MACHINE Shop, Foundry attaelsed. A very desirablo location br a man of esaterprise. Address GROVE BROTHERS, Newark, N. J., or CHAS. H. 5.511Th, 135 North 3d Street, Philadeipisia. 1 P TO AGRICULTURAL INSTRUMENT MAKERSSEND lonest casts price lists to J. WYATT REID, Platttation Supply Store, 15 Old Slip, Ness- York. 1 2 RARE AND BEAUTIFUL FLOHER SEEDS FREE TO all who join the RURAL KEYSTONE CLUB. 25 do, in $1 clear saving on all suhocripSions so newspapers sod periodicals. For full particulars send stamps to P. SUTTON, Rastsom, Pa. 1 3 THE UNDERSIGNED WISh TO CORRESPOND WiTH Manufactssrers of wooden boss-la. StaSe sizes, prices, of arhat ktsad of avood, and all other particulars. H. B. ALLEN Ac CO., 180 Ac 191 Water St., Nesv York. 5 5* T OVES PRACTICAL DYER AND SCOURER, 12 Mo JJ $3. Smiths Dyers Instructor, 12 mu., $1. Napiers Chemis sty Applied so Dyeissg, 12 ins., $2. Dyers Conapanion, 75 cents. Bairds American Csstssn Spinner, illtsstrated, 12 ins., $5.25. Scott Ac Byrnes Cotton Spinnes-, sllusirated, S vo -, $1.50. Tise above or any of my books sent by snail free of postage. ISENRY CAREY BASRD, publisher of Practical Scientific Books, 406 Watout Street, Philadelphia. 5 1 TJ ADLEYS PATENT TAP GUIDEFOR SALE STATE, 11.. ConuSy and Shop Rights, or the n-hole patent See eneravtt asad description in the Seseaccirse AastsuscAN of Dcc. 20, Vol. VII., No. 25. WM. S. BADLEY, Norwalk, Bursts Co., Ohio. 1 55 THE SUBSCRIBER IS DESIROUS OF OBTAINING A eicssatiosa as Stiller isa Ohio, Wisconsin or IltIssosa. Baa lsad 12 years experience in England and Canada. Address WILLIAM HILL, Erubro P. 0., C. W. 1 1 THE UNDERSIGNED WISHES TO MAKE ARRANGE- ments with parties having capiSal So enable him to manufac- Sure, on an extensive scale, -- Brady Ac Nobles Self-Loading Gun titluotrated its No. 6, Vol. VI., of the Srs xcsrsc AM Lt5CAN mess series). Its range is 1,000 yards. For acuity of loading anti rsspiditv of fising it is equalled by no gun in use. Address FREESIAN BEADY, Ja., xvashingsots, Pa. FOR SALESIXTEEN CONSECUTIVE VOLUMES O~ slse Sessexcirse AassnscAN, heginnittg ssith Vol. VI, old c0lee, Sn firot-rate order. Address Box 23, Carissle, Pa. 2 - DANIELS PLANING MACHINES, COMBINING RE- cent and very valuable insprovemessts, with first-class ss-ork- massslsip, plassissg the full-rated ssidth of tise machisso, u-f lb the dead weight on. Deeided b~ compe:esa S judges se the beet Daniels Ptases- yet.made. Parties about urchasing should address, she only useoss faettsrers, RICHARDSON, SIERIAM Ac CO., Worceoter, Msss. lii ~1ie ~denU(h~ ian. NORRISS HANDBOOK FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGI neers and Machinists, 12 mu., $1.50. A Treatise on Scresv Pro- pellers and their Steam Engines, by J. W. Nyotrom; illustrated by 32 large drawings, 8 vo., $3.50. Culburn on the Locousotive Engine including a description of its Structure, & e., 12 iou., 75 cents. Rail- road Engineero Pocket Companion for the Field, by W. Griswold. 12 mo,, tucks, $1. Practical Examinator on Smcom and lie Steam Engine, by Win. Templeton, 12 mu.. 75 cts. Treatise on a Box 01 to struments and die Slide Rule; heinga guide to the Gauger, Engineer, Seamen and Student, by Thuman Kentish, 12 mu., $1. Eastons Prac- tical Treatise on Street or Huron pots-er Railicays. 23 plates, S vu., $2. JIENEY CAREY BAIRD, liubliOher of Practical Books, 406 Walnut St., Philadelphia. 1 THE NEW YORK OBSERVER TS A RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR NEWSPAPER, PUB- .L lished on a double sheet, so an tu he easily separated into two dis- tinct papers. In Religion it in fins from sectarianism, and gives a full, fair and impartial report every week uf all matters of general interest in all the denominations. In Politics it is entirely free from party relations or affinities, din. ensoitig great principles svith freedona and u. odor, and giving the full- est atid ititest intelligence of all the movemeists uf thu day. It sup- ports the Government stitli vigor, Odelily and zeal, in its efforts to crush the rebellion and restote the Uttion and preserve the Cunstitu. tion. It criticises svith Ireedona svliatever measures are nut adapted to the accomplishment ol these ends; but its oteady purpose, from the beginning of the war, has been, and svill be, Is uphold the hands and strengthen the heart of the Government, while it puts forth its energies to protect no agaitist the most unholy rebellion that ever din- turland the peace of aiiy country. The N. Y. Observer is the most complete family nen-spaper in lbs world. Iii the variety of its Departments, in the lulneos of its Infor- mation, in the extent of ito Correspoisdence, in the number of minds enlisted in its R~toriah and other columiss, in the amount of nioney expended in livocaring materials to enrich and adorn its pages, iii time healthful, religions, conservative, genial tone that pervades the papei-. In its stores of anecdote, biogi-aphy, poetry, scinitee, art and general literature, it will strive to exceed every other weekly paper. GREAT INDUCEMENTS. The proprietors of the Nesc York Observer suffer the following valu- able premiums for new subscribers. In all canes, the new suit- scribers must be thuns who have not in their own or others names taken the paper during thus past year. TO IsItNISTERS AND OTtIERS. The Annals of the American Pulpil, by Rev. William B. Sprague, D. D., ni-n etumprised in seven large octavo volumes, viz., Congregational, 2 vuls.; Iresbylcriau, 2 vols.; Ihetliodist, 1 vol.; Episcopal, 1 voLt Baptist, 1 vol. They coiitsuiii the biography of inure thais a thousand ministers, anda history of each ileisoinination, with a statement of ts doctniiial viesvs, makitig a complete library of religious biography aisd history. The lives of these miusisters are interspersed uvith mensurable anecdotes and incidents, and illustrated by letters from ulistiuguuised statesman and clergymen, rendering the volumes an in- exhaustible sutures cuf instruction and entertainment. The publishers price fur the sesen volumes is $18 50. We st-ill furnish the whole set mu the order of any persun svhu will send on tuvelve nesv subscribers seith this payment fom one year, or any tics volumes for four tuew sub- scribers, or any nun volume for tusu ussr subscribers. In all cases the mousy ($2 50 fur each stibseciberi mist lie paid in advance. TO FARMERS AND OTHERS. We uvill furnish thus schole set of thin fullsustiuug storks to any one scho scill send its fifteen nesv subucribersscith payment oh $2 50 in advance on each for one year, viz: American Farmers Encyclopedia ~ 00 Allens itt. L.l American Farm Book 1 00 Allen (.1. Fiskel on the Culture of the Grape 1 00 Barrys Fruit Garden 1 25 Hutuissingaults Rural Economy 1 25 BridgnmaIus Young Gardeners Assistant 1 50 Buists American Flue-er Garden Directory 1 25 Comprehensive Farm Reciurd ~ Dadde Modern Hums Doctor 1 00 Dadds American Cattle Doctor 1 00 Danas Muck Manual 1 00 Frenchs Farm Drainage 1 00 Garlicks Fish Culture 1 00 Herberts Itints tu Hurse-Keepern i 25 Warders Hedges amid Evergreens 1 00 To ammy one sending us ten ussr subscribers and advance payment for each, outs year, sce st-ill send the Farmers Encyclopedia, Farm Record, and ausy live other husks on thus listor the entire list, except the Encyclopedia and Record. For live isew subscribers, with payment in advausce, we will send the Farmers Ruucyclopedun and Farm Record, ur any other five books n the list. For four new subscribers and payment, the Encyclopedia and any book less than $3. For three new subscribers, the Farm Recurd and any dollar book. For tn-u new subscribers, any tsvus husks in the list costing lens than $3 each. And for one new subncrmber any book costing less than $3 on the list. These books trill be semit y mail or express, at the uption or expense of the subscribers. Every esening devuted to camsvassing may secure one or more of these volumes. They are usmong the most practical svorks now pumbhistoed un the sub- jects treated. With this collection if books in his libram e, neither the beginner nor the more advasuced farmer mused go fnrth~r for the in- strumetiun desired in any branch of isis pursuito. They are here placed within the reach of every young man in the conustry, without a duuhlar iii money. Specimen copies tuf the paper neuit free to any aduhress. T~ATENTS, & C., FOR THE EUROPEAN MARKET. .L MR. THOMAS RAWLINGS respectiully imsforuuo his friends and others, ssho have American interests to disluose if imi Europe, Iltat he has taken his departure fur England, for the hurhutuse of establishimig an agemucy there, devuted especially tu the negociatiomi of patents and other American interosts. All letters fuir him, aululcesoed (prepaid) to the care of Messrs. SMITII, TAPSCOTT & CO., Shimihsing 51cr chants, Liverpool, will be duly forwarded and puompily answered. 24 eowl5 (iPx REAT INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EX ~ hibition at Hamburg, (lermany, of 186:1. To Iisventors and 2uhuunuufacturers of Agricuultnrtul Imphemeusts amid Machinery. This ex- hibitioms, sehich is to open umn Jimmie 1, 1863, will be thus first oluportumo. ity offered tu American Insemutors amid Manufacturers to briuug to ihe immediate notice of the people ol Northern md Centrsh Ruuriupe, the great improvementn of this country in Agricultural Implemenus amid Machinery, and such other lmnpurtant invenhions pertutiusing ts domes- tic econumy and uther variusus Occuhsatiuuns of lothui5tiy Mr. Januen R. McDonald, Ex United States Consul, and for many years a resi- dent of Hamburg. has besut selected as one of this Directors 01 tlsis Exhuibitiun, with a vinur if oecuuuiuug tu Americami Exhibitors a pro~ueu- interest iii their contribuuhisuis, amid tu athemid to their sale if requireth. Immediate apphicatitun sluoulul be mutde hum proper accomodation to AUSTIN BALDWIN & CO ,No 72 Broadway, New York. 25 3 ~~HE HUMAN FACE DIVINE.A NEW SYSTEM of Physmognumy. Eyes, Ears, Lips, Mouth, Head, Iholi-, Neck, Itando, Feel, Skin, seith all Signs of Character, in the Phsrenolugical Josurnol and Life Ilhumeimated, br 1863. devomeul to RIb- nslo~y, Pisysiology, Plureusolusgy, Phusniognonty, Psyclsohuigy, amid to ill that relates to the huutehtectrmal, Social, Muiral. cusul Spiritual Nuitturus uuf Man. Amuilt- ithuislrateul, and adapted I:) thin comprehension uuf all. Samples, 10 ~euuis. Neuc vols us. Ouuly $1 a ycutr. Addincos 100W. LEE uk WELLS, 308 Jhutuadway, Nesv York. 25 IATANTED A PARTNER WITII SONIE CAPITAL TO VT juiin iii an lu-un nliip-liuiullnig eotabhiolsmeuut ausul machiuse shout, in a moot favorable hoc tutu. Address Ruugiuueer, Letter Box SoS, Phihadeltihia P - 0~, Pa. 23 6 ~FIE BEST AND CHEAPEST PORTABLE PRINTING L Press is the Loire Press. Ity the muse of stiticli yuuu caum pu-tutu Cards, Bill Iteads, Circumlutro, Lalsels. uke., at ut suuriuug (if sevenuc-pre per ceust. Seutul for cireumlars tus LOWE 1EESS COMPANY, 13 street B stun so. 23 4 JNCRUSTATION IN BOILERSA POSITIVE REM- edy. Wtuisumso Antu-iuucruistatiutuu Pointer, seven years in eumecess hush tins-. truthout uuujuiry. This shouhul give mu lureference ovet- nesv and uuskusuuus-n mixtures lately itt in hise market. Refem-eumces, George Shietul, Miles (3ruceuuurs.ud and utheus in Ciuseinusati; American Bank Note Company, & e., Nesv York: n-nd over 1000 more threughuuut the country. Cir8ullars ota application bus hi. N. WItANS, Box 6, P. 0., N~w I~ork. 21 7ut ATTENTION, MASONS AND MECHANICSAGENTS will send (ums sample) usm the receipt uuf $1, a band- sums Gold Masonic Pin or Riuug. or Gentlemans Clustre Pin uvith Chain attached, or New Style Su,arf Pimi, or Plated Yest Chain, or a Fuse Gold Pets and Pencih, uir Rogmaved Locket or Bracelet, or Neck Chain, or a bnaumtifuuh set of Jewelry, together stith my wholesale cir- cular. C. P. GIRTON, .llamuufaeturing Jeuveler, 200 Broadway. 22 10 REYNOLDS PATENT CONCENTRAL PRESSURE Water Wheel. For illustrated cirenhars and information con- cerning this sumuerior wheel, address arith particulars. TALLCOT & UNDERIIILL, Oswegu, N. Y., or D. TALLCOT, agent, 482 Broad way, New York. 24 Sf VALUABLE DOCK PROPERTY FOR SALETHE ~ subscriber offers for sale a valuable plot of ground on Newtssvn Creek, neuur Penny Bridge, in the city of Brooklyn. The property is very desirably situated in the Seventeenth Ward, Steeker avenue, a great thoroughsfare forming the southerly bound ry of the premises. A valuable dock privilege of over 400 feet on Newtosvn Creek, renders the property very desirable for large manufacturing or storage pur- poons. Yessjs of six ur eight feet draft can navigate the creek at low tide, and uf mitch greater capacity at high avater. The upland and svater privilege comprise about nineteen acres, and u-ill be sold very cheap, and the terms of payment made liberal. For further particu- lars, address J. H. BULLOCK, attorney for the owners, No. 39 Nassau street, New Yurk. 22tf OIL! OIL! OIL For Raihruads, Steamers, and for Machinery ammd Burning. PEASES Improved Engine and Signal Oil, indoroed and recom- mended by the highest authority in the United States. This Oil possesses qualities vitally essential for lubricating and burning, anfi found in no other oiL It is offered ts the public upon the most reli- able. thorough and practical test. Our most skillful engineers and machinists huronounce it superior to and cheaper than any other, and the only oil that is in all canes reliable amid will nut gum. The Sc SENTiruc AumenugAN, after several tests, pronounces it superior to any other they have ever used br machinery. For sale only by the Imuventor and Manufacturer, F. S. PEASE, No. 61 Main street, Buffalo, N. Y. N. BReliable orders filled for any part sf the United States and Eutrope 15 13 T OPHOTOGRAPHERS.4MPROVED PHOTOGRAHIC Camera, Patented March 25, 1562, by A. B. WILSON (Patentee of the Wheeler and Wilsun Sewing Machine), adapted to all photographic work; such as Landscapes, Stereoscopic Yiew-s, Carte Visites, Am- brotypes, & e. Can be used by amateurs and others from printed directions. Send for a circular. Address A. B. WILSON, Wamerbury, Cunn. l6tf D AMPERREGULATORS.GUARANTEED TO EF- fect a great saving in fuel, and give the most perfect regularity of pow-er. For sale by the subscribers, whu have established their ex- clusive right to manufacture damper regulators, using diaphragms or flexible vessels of any kind. Orders prumptly attended to, or in- formatiun given, by addressing CLAnKS PATENT STEAM AND Fuan REGULATOR COMPANY, 229 Broadway, N. Y. Responsible agents uranled. 14 26~ T~URNITURE WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.DEGRAAF 12 and Taylor still continue the Wholesale and Retail Furniture and Beddioff easiness at No. 87 Bowery, New York, and have now on hand the largest surplus stock ever before offered in this city, which they are determined to close out at very low prices; ahsu Carhls Patent Tuwel Stand and Clothes Duyer, the most utonvenient article in use. All work guaranteed as represented, DEGRAAF & TAYLOR, No. 87 Bosvery, New York. 12 22~ OLID EMERY YULCANITE.WE ARE NOW MANU- kJ facturing wheels of this remarkable substance for cutting, grind- ingand polishing metals, that will outwear hundreds of the kind cum- monly used, and will do a much greater amount of work in the saute time, and more efficiently. All interestedean see them in operation at our warehouse, or circulars describing them will be furnished bymaik NEW YORK BELTING AND PACKING CO., 14 13 Nos. 37 and 38 Park-row, New York. 1~ULTONS COMPOUND, FOR CLEANSING STEAM L boilers of scaleThis article is powerful to remove scale, and will not injsmre the builer, Western agents, WALWORTH, HUB- BARD & CO., Chmcago, IlL Sole proprietor, E. H. ASHCROFT, Ne. 82 Sudhury street, Boston, Mass. 9 If (~UILD & GARRISONS CELEBRATED STEAM 5sA PumpsAdapted Is every variety of pumping. The principal styles are the Direct Action Excelsior Steam Pump, the improved Balance Wheel Pump, Duplex Yacuom and Steam Pumps, and the Water Prupeller, an entirely new inventiun for pumping large quan- tities at a light lift, Fur sale at Nos. 55 and 57 First street, Wil- liamsbnrgh, and No. 74 Beekinan street, New York. 1 If GUILD, GARRISON & Co. 1~ MPLOYMENT! AGENT WANTED!! A NEW EN- LU terpriseThe Franklin Sewing Machine Company want agents, at a salary of $40 per mouth and expenses paid. For particulars ad- dress, wuth stamp, HARRIS BROTIIERS, Box 302 Boston, Slass. 20 If JI~ AIRDS PATENT PREPARATION FOR THE PRO- 1) tection of Steam Boilers frum IncrustatiunIt dues nut injure the metals; is a great saving of fuel; does not foam, and works equally well in salt and fresh seater. For sale by JAMES F. LEVIN, No. 23 Central Wharf, Boston, Mass. New York depot, COLES & CO., No, 91 West street, 4tf QUARTZ MILLS OF THE MOST APPROVED KIND. Manuifactured by BUEDON, TIUBBARD & CO., 102 Front street, Br ,uuklyn, N. Y. Also agents and manulacturers of the best Patent Premium Amalgutmalor, the best and simplest in use for saving both fine amid roam-se gold. 14 13 DORTABLE STh~AM ENGINES6, S AND 10-HORSE L at$500, $625 and $780. For sale by S. C. HILLS, No. 12 Platt treet, New York. ~ LIDE LATHES, IRON PLANING MACHINES, UP- K) right Drills, Gear Cutting Engimues, Bolt Cutters, Universal Chucks, Pumusehing and Shearimug Machines, amid a large assortment ol toutis br uvorking in iroma and stood. Address CHAS. II. SItITIl, 335 Nsrth Third street, Philadelphia, Pa. 21 cowO- A GENTS WANTED MALE OR FEMALE AGENTS L1 wanted iii every county and town iii the United States to sell on cononuission (by sample) the best nuid cheapest Sest-ing Machine in the market. Agents usake from $30 ho $10 per months. For hems and fart her imuforinalirui thesse inciose a letter Stanip and address S. N. SEhANNON & CO., Manchester, N. H. 25 4* ANDREWS PATENT TOBACCO PIPETHE SUB- t1 scriber, being engaged in other busimuess, is desimoums of dispos- imig of rights tom uhe mnuintifuetumme of this valuable improvement, illus- trated iii ScunNTirmc AumenucAN of Nov. 29. AddressT. C. ANDREWS, P. 0. Box 1,320, Philadelphia, Pa, 24 3 RELIEF FOR THE DEAF.HASLAMS ARTIFICIAL Iii Ears cuts be irorn round the head and concealed from view. Send a pootuge smamp ho HASLAM BROTHER, 181 Broadwsy, New You-k, and us descriptive circular of the above insiruinuent will be sent tu any suhdress. 24 3 ~ TEVENSONS JONVAL TURBINE WATER WHEELS kJ us-hutch gutre tlse greoleot useful ellbot over all others, at the trials at Phuiledelisbia, ore nuiouufuuettired by P. E. STEVENSON, at the Nuvolty intuit Works, Nesv York. 25eow5~ MESSIEURS LES INVENTEURSAVIS IMPOR.. A taut. Les Inventeuum-s non famihiers ayes ha langue Anglalse e qni pr6ifuiremaient nuns cummuniquer henre inventions en Francais,peu vent noums addmesser dans uguer tails. Envuyez Dons no dssin et mine descl-iption goncuse pour notre exam n. Toufes 50mm ira. lions s ront u~uI8s en effi~fld~n~e.- MUNN& CO.-,- Stiufrcm-ru117 A~8) ukus 013c8 2(o. ST P5r~-ro , I~, w Yt-~. IMPORTANT TO INVENTORS. MESSRS. MUNN & CO., PIIOPRIETORS OF THE SCIENTIFiC AMERICAN, continue to solicit patents in the Unilnd States and all foreign countries, on the most reasonable terms, They also attend tu various other depart. ments of business pertaining to pat- ents, such as Extensions, Appeahs before the United States Court. Interferences, Opinions relative to Infringements, & c. The long ex- perience Messrs. MUNN & Co. have had in prepsring Specifications and Drawings, extending over a pe- riod of sixteen years, has rendered Ihem perfectly conversant with the mode ob doing business at the United States Patent Office, and with the greater part si the inventions which have been patented. Information concerning the patentability of inventions is freely given, without - charge, or sending a msdel or drawing and description to this office. Consultation may be had with the firm between NINE and SOUR oclock, daily, at their PnmwcmrAL Orrucs, No. 37 PARE Row, Nsw YORE, We have also established a BRANCH OFFiCE in lbs CITy OF WAIRINOTON, on the CORNER OF F AND SEvENTo STREETS, opposite the United States Patent Office, This office is under the general superin- tendence ob one of the firm, and is in daihy communnication with the Principal Office in New You-k, and personal attention will be given a the Patent Office to all such cases as may require it, Inventors and others who may visit Washington, havingbusiness at the Patent Offices are cordially invited to call at their office, They are very extensively engaged in the preparation and securing oh Patents In the various European countries, For the tramusaction of this business they have Offices at Nos. 66 Chancery Lane, London 29 Boulevard, St. Martin, Paris, and 26 Rue des Eperonniems, Brussels, We think we may safely say that three-fourths of all the European Patents secured to American citizens are procured through otur Agency. A pamphlet of information concerning the proper course to be pur- sued in obtaining Patents through their Agency, the requirements oh the Patent Office, & c., maybe had gratis upon application at the Prin~ cipal Office, or either of the Branches. They also furnish a Circular of information about Foreign Pat uts. The annexed letters from lormer Commissioners of Patents we com- mend to the perusal of all persons interested in obtaining Patents MEsSRS. MUNN & Co. I take pleasure in stating that while I held the office of Commissioner of Patents MORE THAN ONE-FOURTH OF ALL THE SUSINESS OF THE OFFICE came mhrough your hands. I have no doubt that the public confidence thus indicated has be-sn fully de- served, as I have always observed, in all your intercourse with the Office, a marked degree of promptness, skiti and fidelity to the inter- ests of your employers, Yours, very truly, CHAS MASON. Immediately after the appointment of Mr. Molt to the office of Post- master General of the United States, he addressed to us the subjoined very grateful testimonial: MESSRS. MUNN & Co. It affords me much pleasure to be I sti mony to the able and efficient manner in w-hich ysu discharged your duties as Solicitors of Patents while I had the houuor of holding ths office of Commissioner, Your business was very large, and you sus tamed (and, I doubt not, justly deserved) the reputatitin of energy marked ability, and uncompromising fidelity in performing your pro. fessional engagements. Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, i. MOLT. MESSRS. MUNN & COGenthem It gives me much pleasure to say that, during the time of my holding the oflice of Cummminsisuer of Patents, a very large proporlion of the business of inrentors before the Patent Office was transacted through your Agency, and that I bare ever found you faithful and devoted to the interests of your clients, as well as eminently qualified to perform the duties of Patent Altomneys with skill and accuracy. Very respectfully, WM. D. BISHOP. Communications and remittances should be addressed to LUNN & CO Publishers, No. 37 Park-row, New York. DUMPS! PUMPS!! PUMPS! ! !CARYS IMPROVED 1. Rotary Force Pump, unrivaled for pumping hot or cold liquids Manufactured and sold by GARY & BRAINERD, Brockuort, N. Y. Also, sold by J. C. CARY, No. 2 Astor House, New Ysurk. Vol.7 ltf URDON, HUBBARD & CO. MACHINISTS.MANU. B admirers of Horizontal, Portable and hoisting Steam Musgumues, Steam Engines, Sugar Stills, Saw- and Grist Shills, Bsiiers, Ilydrauhius Presses, Pumps and Gearimug for working mines, & c. & c. No. 102 Front street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 14 13 1~fACHINE BELTING, STEAM PACKING, ENGINE .LT.L HOSEThe superiority of these articles, manumactured of vul- canized rubber, is es bhished, Every belt will be warranted superior to leather, at one-third less price. The Steam Packing is made in every variety, and warranted to stand 300 degs. of heat. The Hosenever need. oiling, and is warranted to 5 ud any required pressure; together wit ativaruetiesofrubberadaptedto mechanucalpurposes. Durections, prices & c., can be obtained by mail or otherwise at our warehouse. NF~ YORK BELTING AND PACKING COMPANY. JOHN H. CHEEVER, Treasurer, 14 13 Nos. 37 and 38 Park-row New York. TRON PLANERS, LATHES, FOUR SPINDLE DRILLS L Slilling Slachiuues, and other Machinists Tools, of superior quality on hand and finishing, and for sale low. For descripsiun and prices address NEW HAVEN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, New Ma- ven, Coun. 26 DORTABLE STEAM ENGINES~ COMBINING THE maximum of efficiency, durability and Scunomywith the minimum of weight and price, They are widely and favorably known, more than 200 beimug in use. All warranted eauisfactury or no sale. A large stock on hand ready for immediate application. Descriptive circuhars sent on application. Address J. C. HOADLEY, Lwreuce, Mans. 20 13 ~3lzt ~eaftjtun~ ~ bCittfdje ~ffin~c~-. Lie Iltutcr-ridscclcn IssIrn clue IIn(chlutm~, We ~rfmll)cfn tI BcrIIhn Leo hhlgibt, hIllI fid~ ih;rc FIlcIule 30 fiulhinll, h?crltudgcgchelm, HII) lelIbf I- 3f3 fuldhe grusli In kicfclbclm, ~rfittfer, heciduc mtid~i 0531 ~er eh3Iifd~ctm i~jsrIdlc tueteoni fusS, liotmeis (I~rc dJiilhl~cilnllgrlu ill Ser behlbfd(en Egrorise uilldels. Rh)33rmm tesm ~r- finismhuu3elt Hil Itlrlell, bethlfid~ 3efd7ciebehlelm Pcfd(rciilll;gclt Lc)icise mae 10 OSSte(ficefi ~ ~1uiue ~ Euf See Zf~ce Ibieb bethtfd, defllffi4jelh. ~afeI~fi 1ff so ~lIbee - ~ ie ~afeuf ~JeJef3e be~ ~ereinigfeu $taafeu ceSfi Scil Rrc)it t~ ~cr l~4 Y ifldc Clung Scr Wutcttb--Z (mm lust iIeIcL ttll53ehu tfm dcli (irfiI~er hIs finds l7eteusic ~t (iilSmr:t, ut O.in fn ite51 III ni ~cfc)2. ~isfu- I Ilti A- ~l 01:3 Sf0 ItutlPlli-lS7 m t -cnuS~e ti-aS Se~ao~ Je5uehm e uOIIuStlmSg-c; thfitfil(4J gLetm - 9RuaIt foe 15 ~irh;e ~nt~fk ~nxi~ux. Improved Steam-boiler Furnace. Manufacture of Copal Varnish. The improvements in the steam-generating quali- M. H. Violette, a French chemist, has been making ties of boilers are of great importance, and we present important investigations respecting the nature of illustrations of a plan for effecting the object, which copal gum and the manufacture of copal varnish. has been lately patented. The advantages of this He states that there are three principal varieties of method are, increased amounts of heating surfaces copal used in the arts. They consist of hard, semi- without enlarging the size of the boiler; and the in- hard and soft copal. The best hard comes from Cal- vention consists in the combination for the grate of cutta and the semi-hard from Africa; these two va- a boiler furnace, of a series of elliptical tubes, or rieties only are employed in making oil varnish, the those of a similar form with others of a like shape soft copal is used for making varnish for indoor work. placed around the sides of the firebox. Fi~g. 1 in Although copal is vulgarly called a gum, it is really our engraving is a perspective view of the firebox, a resin, in being insoluble in water. These with the crown sheet removed so as to expose the in- exude in a fluid state from trees, and harden on the tenor. The seven bars or tubes, A, are those through outside in lumps. The solvents employed for gum which the water circulates, and to which the action copal are a mixture of oil and turpentine, and yet of the fire is applied. Above these may be seen a these will not dissolve the resin cold or in a natural long round tube, B, having seven other oval pipes, state. The method employed to dissolve the copal C, in communication with it. The square bolt heads is to fuse or distil it first in an iron vessel, then ndd 2 EVANSS PATENT STEAM-BOILER FURNACE. hot linseed oil and turpentine. In this process the hard copal is first decomposed by heat, otherwise it will not dissolve. This resin becomes dark in the color just in proportion to the temperature to which it is subjected. Hard copal fuses at 3400 Fah., and distils at 3600 semi-hard fuses at 180~ and distils at 2300, and neither will dissolve in common turpen- tine merely melted. M. Violette states that these copals only become soluble in a mixture of turpen- tine and oil, after losing 25 per cent of their weight by heating; and, in order to obtain the largest quan- tity of the best varnish from them, they should be distilled at a temperature not exceeding 360g. He also mentions a peculiar mode of dissolving the co- pal, when it has lost only about 10 per cent of its weight by fusion. The solvent in this case is tur- pentine which has become thick by prolonged ex- posure to light and air. The cause of this solvent power in turpentine, so treated, is unknown at pres- ent. Were it possible to impart this quality to tur- pentine by a short and easy process, a great improve- ment in the art of manufacturing such varnish would be effected. M. Violette asserts that the art of making copal varnish has made no progress in several hundred years, and chemists and manufacturers are exhorted to devote attention to this subject, as this is the most important of all varnishes for woodwork that is subjected to out-door exposure. Eave the Valuable Papers. roicoti ng are merely those which close up the aper- ures left for getting at the work. Upon the front end of the furnace there is an apparatus attached for clearing the grates of loose ashes and cinders, thus maintaining at all times a clear fire. An upright handle, a, is jointed at its lower end to a long lever, b, this lever is fastened at the other extremity to a shaft, c, which is fixed to the gang of seven grate bars, d, beneath the elliptical tubes, A, through the agency of seven cranks, e, these latter are all con- nected by the bar, f, at the bottom of the firebox, so that a vertical motion of the handle, a, operates the whole set. The inventor states that this will be found convenient for the purpose previously set forth. Fig. 2 represents the lower part of the grate, a, which is of cast-iron, riveted to the boiler plates, and the arrangement of the feed pipes, respectively b and b, also the elliptical tubes, A, which are in the fire. The feed pipe of the pump is attached at c, and the water then circulates through the tubes just men- tioned. A perfect distribution of the feed is thus in- sured to all parts, it passing as well through the elliptical pipes, C, in Fig. 1. The edge& of the cast- ing, a, are beveled in~vardly so as to permit the ashes to deposit themselves around the feed pipes, and protect them from injury. It will be seen from the exposure of these combined tubes to the direct action of the fire, that a large amount of evaporating sur- face is produced. The lower tubes, A, in Fig. 1, are at all times surrounded by incandescent fuel, and the smaller pipes, through which the feed water is in- jected, also insure its delivery in a state of or ap- proaching ebulhition. These pipes, tubes and cast- ings may, if desired, be tested before applying or riveting them in place. The patent for this invention was procured through the Scientific American Patent Agency, April 6, 1862, and further information in relation to it may be ob- tained by addressing the inventor, Joseph P. Evans, of Hazieton, Luzerne county, Pa. Now that such urgent calls are being made by those interested in supplying stock for the manufacture of paper, including old papers of every description, there is great danger that it will lead to the destruc- tion of much valuable matter which cannot be re- placed. A gentleman residing in Woodstock,NH. , who has been so thoughtful as to remind us of the spolia- tion in progress in the midst of the fever created by the paper famine, nays in a private note that he re- cently found in the shop of a buyer of that place many newspapers of from 20 to 50 years of age, old pamphlets, registrers, & e., & c., with a curious old music-book published in 1771, containing memoran- dum notes relating to the Revolutionary war, writ- ten therein. Some means should be devised to res- cue from such wholesale destruction whatever may be found to be of interest, in the hands of the collec- tors of paper material, and that immediately, or it will be too late, Much may and should be done by individuals in their own vicinity, especially by those who reside near paper-mills. NEW PROSPECTUS OF THE FOR 1863! VOLUME VIII.NEW SERIES. The publishers of this popular and cheap illustrated newspaper to announce that on the third of January, 1863, a new volume now commences. The journal will be issued in the same form and size as heretofore, and it will be the aim of the publishers to render the con- tents of the paper more attractive and useful than everbefore. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has been published weekly for eighteen years, and is the moat popular and largely-circulatedjournal of its kind in the world. Owing to the enormous increase in the price of printing paper the publishers are, to Ilseir regret, compelled to increase the subscription price of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN to $3 per annum for single subscribers. An heretofore, every number of the SCIENTIFIC AMEEScAN will be profusely illustrated with first-class original engravings of new in- ventions and scientific diecoveries, all ol which are prepared express ly for its columns. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is devoted to the interests of Popu- lar Science, the Mechanic Arts, Manufactures, Inventions, Agricul- ture, Commerce, and the Industrial pursuits generally, and is valuable and instructive not only in Ilse Workshop and Manufactory, but also in the Household, the Library and the Reading Room. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has the reputation, at home and abroad, of baing the best weekly journal devoted to mechataical and industrial pursuits now published, and the proprietors are determined to keep up the reputation they have earned during the eighteen years they have been connected with its publication. To the Inventor! The SCiENTIFIC AMERICAN is indispensable to every inventor, sail not only cotatains illustrated descriptions of nearly all the best in- ventions as they come, but cacti nutuber contains an Official List of the Claims of all the Patents issued from the United States Patent Office during the week previous; thus gsving a correct history of the progress of inventions in this country. We are also receiving, every week, tlse best scientific journals of Great Britain, France and Ger- many ; thus placing in our possession all that is transpiring in me- chanical science and art in those old countries. We shall continue to transfer to our columns copious extrasts from those journals of what- ever we nasy deem of interest to our readers. chemists, Architects, Mitlws-ights and Faa-met-s The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN will be found a most useful journal to them. All the new- discoveries to the science of cisemistry are given toils columns, and the interests of the architect and carpenter are not overlooked ; all the new invetitions and discoveries appertaining to those pursuits being published from week to week. Useful and prac- tical information pertaining to the interests of millwrights and miii- owners will be found published in the ScIERTIFIC AMERICAN, whtch information they cannot possIbly obtain from any other source. Sub- jects in which planters and farmers are interested will be found dis cussed in the ScIENTIFIc AMERICAN ; most of the improvements in agricultural imptements being illustrated in its columns. To the Mechanic and Manufactures-! No person engaged In any of the mechanical pursuits should think of daing without the ScsEaxs,-Ic AMERICAN. It costs but six cents per week ; every number contains from stx to ten engravings of new machines and inventions wlatch cannot be found its any other publica- tion. Ills an established nile of the publishers to insert none but original engravings, and those of the first class its the art, drawn and engraved by experienced artists, under Ilseir ow-n sstpervision, cx. pressly for this paper. TERMS. To mail subscribers Three Dollars a year, or One Dollar for fosir months. One Dollar and Fifty Cents pay for one complete volume of 416 pages ; two volumes comprise one year. A Itew- voltime com- mences on the third of Jantaary, 1861. CLUB RATES. Five Copies, for Six Months Ten Copies, for Six Months Ten Copies, for Twelve Moaths Fifteen Copies, for Twelve Months 31 Twenty Copies, for Twelve Islouths 40 For all clubs of Twenty and over the yearly sistsscriptioia is only $2 811. Names can be sent in at different times and from different Post-offices. Specimen copies trill be sent gratis to any part of the country. Western and Canadian money, or Post-office stamps, taken at par for subscriptions. Canadian subscribers will please to remit 25 cents extra on each years subscription to pre-pay postage. ItIUIIN & CO., Publishers, Park Row, New york. ~as ass assos esass os -ces a sssv 16

A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION IN ART, SCIENCE, MECHANICS, CHEMISTRY AND MANUFACTURES. VOL. VIII.---NO. ~ NEW YORK, JANUARY 1863 (NEW SERIES.) 10 ~SINGLE COPIES SIX CENTS. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ $3 PER ANNUMIN ADVANCE. Improved Saw Bench. pierced with flat-fronted steel shot. In no case was Printing in Colors. Much inconvenience is felt by wood-workers, who any of such shot deflected by the metal being at an Inventors have long sought to produce a press do not employ steam or water power on their prem- angle. The effect of the incline is simply to in- which should be capable of printing, at one opera- ises, in re-sawing heavy planks and timber; it is a crease the horizontal thickness to be penetrated by tion, a number of colors. There have been many work occupying much time and involving great labor. shot, and the increase is in proportion to the angle machines designed to effect this object, some of them To remedy this difficulty, Mr. J. A. Talpey has in- of inclination. But as more plates are required in a working very successfully. We are informed that vented the machine which is represented in our en- vessel with angulated than vertical sides, if this extra there is one press in this city capable of printing the graving. It consists of a short wooden bench, A, weight of metal be given in thickness to vertical seven colors at one operation; how correct this state- having bearings upon each side, in which runs the plates, the same amount of resistance to shot is ob- meat is we have no means of ascertaining. We can usual arbor provided say, however, from a per- with the saw, B; be- sonal inspectWrn, that hind the saw, a small Messrs. R. Hoe & Co., roller, a, is let into the the celebrated printing- bench, which facilitates press makers of this city, feeding the stuff. The have invented a machine transverse shaft, C, has for tle~ purpose alluded a small toothed wheel, to, which does very good b, fixed in its center, work. The one we saw which catches in the working printed four col- lumber as it is presented to the saw and draws it ors, and did it well, too. The arrangement of. the in; the shaft being driv en, during this opera- PresS, which we are al- lowed to make public, is tion, by the rag wheel, as follows The paper D, and another upon a to be printed is fed in shaft which is invisible. from a table on to a cyl- The cone pulleys, E and inder the same as usual, E, drive the circular but for every color which saw through the mc- is to be printed there dium of the belt, e, the must be a separate form. upper one, E, being at- For instance, supposing tached to the slotted the national coat-of-arms frame, f. This frame to be the subject we de regulates the bight of sire to print in its natural the feed shaft and al- tints, we must have one lows it to be elevated or depressed for any stereotype for the eagle, another for the red thickness of stuff; it is stripes in the banner and secured in place by the yet another for the thumb-screws, g. It will unions in the same. also be seen, by glancing These are all arranged at the engraving, that on a long platen in the the operation of feeding order in which the colors the stuff is materially aided by the position in occur; or so that they which it is offered to will alternate regular4y the saw, that is, from in reference to their posi behind; the teeth re- tions in the print. The volving from the work- feeding and distributing man instead of toward TALPEYS PATENT SAW BENCH. color-rollers are at either end of the platen and him, as is usually the case. The operation of this tamed. The resisting force of a plate is in propor- are actuated similarly to other rollers. The paper self-feeding saw is very simple, involving no other tion to its thickness; and deflection is not secured remains upon the cylinder during the whole opera- labor than that required to turn the handle of the by angulated plates against flat-fronted steel or flat- tion of printing, consequently the register is un- fly-wheel, and to place the board to be cut in posi- fronted wrought-iron projectiles, changed and the artistic appearance of the picture tion; the toothed roller then takes the operation in greatly improved thereby. For ornamental work, charge, and, by means of the ordinary guide, Ii, at To render Glazed Roofs Waterproof. such as illuminated cards, posters and advertisements one side, cuts to a straight line. The inventor states A correspondent of the London Builder says generally, this press seems to afford a neat and con- that a two-inch oak plankean be sawed without dif- Having seen it repeatedly stated that it was impos- venient machine which will doubtless be highly ap- ficulty on this machine; it seems very convenient, sible to render a glazed roof waterproof when the predated by the trade. It Will be but a short time, and we do not doubt it will be found useful in a great ribs were of iron, in consequence of the expansion we venture to say, before our illustrated papers will many shops. and contraction of that material, I beg to place on avail themselves of this invention, and present their Patented July 1,1862, by Mr. J. A. Talpey, of record in your columns the result of my experience readers with pictures done in the real red, white Somerville, Mass. Fut,ther particulars can be oh- to the contrary. Having long known the value of a and blue. tamed from him. compound of tallow and resin when laid on hot, with a lap of linen or calico, to fractures in water pipes, A LARGE LEATHER BELT.A leather belt was lately Are Angulated Armor Plates of any Use? it occurred to me try it on the roof of my conserva- manufactured at Pawtucket, B. I., for a Western The London Meclzaaic8 Magazine states that no par- tory, which is of iron. It was laid on hot, over the woolen mill, which belt was 120 feet (240 single) in ticular benefit can be derived from angulated armor sash-bars and putty ;- extending. about a half or quar- length and 28 inches in width. It weighed 600 lbs. plates that cannot be secured with the same weight ter inch on the glass. I have found this to answer of metal in vertical plates. Experiments were re- admirably, as the mixture expands and contracts TEE Norfolk Arms Company at Norfolk, Coun -, cently made at Shoeburyness, with plates set at an without breaking its continuit~r. The proportions I are turning out bout 70 rifles of the Springfield pat- angle of 45 degrees, in a target, and they were have used are two of resin to op~ of tallow. tern daily. 18 GAS CARBON FOR SMELTING IRON, In the retorts which are employed in gas-works for the distillation of coal, a coating of very pure carbonsometimes called graphinegradually accu- mulates. It adheres to the surface of the metal and forms in thin scales. No other substance has been found equal to it for making the carbon points of electric lights. It has a metallic lustre, resembles black lead in appearance, and it makes marks upon paper similar to those of a plumbago pencil. Carbon is one of the most wonderful substances in nature. Under different conditions, it possesses diverse properties. In one state it is the brilliant diamond, prince of gems; in another it is black opaque coal. As plumbago, it is one of the most fractious of sub- stances, it being used for crucibles in which iron may be melted without producing the least appear- ance of fusing it. How different are the properties of plrimbago, which cannot be burned, and the coal which is employed to warm our houses and smelt the hardest of metals; and yet they are the same- substance in a chemical sense. The carbon which forms on the interior of gas retorts, although it is very hard and greatly resembles plumbago, is quite different in its nature as it respects combusti- bility. At a high heat, it burns freely, and could it be obtained in sufficient quantities, it would surpass nil other kinds of fuel for smelting iron. When used in cupola furnaces for smelting pig iron to be used for casting, three tuns of it will smelt as much iron as five tuns of common anthracite coal. Being so pure, none of the heat is absorbedas is the case with anthracite-by ashes, and as a consequence a far more intense heat is generated in the furnace. Indeed, the heat obtained in a cupola furnace from g~s carbon is so intense that it will fuse fire-bricks. it is well known that the quality of iron is greatly affected by the character of the coal that is employed to reduce it from the ore, or melt it in the pigs for casting. Yery small quantities of sulphur and phosphorus in the coal and coke employed for smelt- ing iron tend to render it brittle and deficient in tenacity. This is the reason why wood charcoal is so superior for smelting purposes. It contains nei- ther sulphur nor phosphorus, while mineral coal al- ways contains certain quantities of them. In Pitts- burgh and the Ohio valley very great value is at- tached to those coal seams which contain the smallest amount of sulphur, because such coal pro- duces the best iron when it is used for smelting. A discovery by which coke could be made from bitu- minous coal as cheaply and as pure as the graphine carbon in gas retorts would be a most valuable ac- quisition to the practical arts. Iron could be smelted with it at much less cost, and the quality of the metal would also be vastly improved by its use. Such a discovery should not be considered impossi- ble, for this substance is derived from the very same coal that produces common coke. COAL TAR PERFUME. Coal tar has a most disagreeable odor, and yet the chemist obtains from one of its products a most agreeable perfume. This is nitro-benzolea com- pound of nitric acid (aqua-fortis) and benzole. Coal tar when distilled yields naphtha, which is a liquid poesessing great solvent powers. It dissolves gutta- percha, india-rubber and many resinous gums. Naphtha when distilled at a low temperature yields benzole, which is a very volatile liquid. It has been used for making gas for illumination upon a small scale without distillation, but it is chiefly employed for cleansing soiled gloves, silks, & c. It dissolves grease and oils, hence its utility in cleaning light colored soiled articles. Beuzole combines with nitric acid in definite proportions, and forms the heavy oily-looking liquid called nitro-beuzole. Its odor is like that of the oil of almonds, and it is extensively used in perfumery as a substitute for it. We have also seen it stated that it is used in confectionary as a substitute for the oil of almonds. This is a dan- gerous application of it, because it is a poison, and is deeply injurious to the human system when taken in very small quantites. As a perfume, it may be employed without much danger, but it~ use for this purpose should also be avoided. It may be safely, assumed that It Is not required excepting ~-~dlsgnlse flupleasant odors. SORGHUM SUGAR-~-CONVENTION OF CULTIVATORS AND OTHERS. A large convention of cultivators of the sorghum and imphee and manufacturers of sirup and sugar was held at Springfield, Ill., in the first week of last month. Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa were represented, and a number of inventors, having improved apparatus and machinery for extracting and concentrating the juice, were present. From the conversations which took place at the convention we learn that there is quite a variety of sorghum and imphee. Mr. J. M. Moss, of Waverly, Iowa, related some very useful experience. He stated that there were five kinds of black imphee, one of sorghum and two of yellow imphee. The large yellow imphee ripens too late for seed, but in making sirup he knew no difference between the different kinds. After being made into sirup it all turns to sugar in eight months afterward. Out of a quantity of sirup from which 100 lbs. of sugar were obtained, there was only one pint of sirup left. He makes sugar simply by boiling down the sirup, and any process of evapora- tion which obviates scorching is suitable. After boiling down the sirup, he sets it away in a cool place and allows it to stand, stirring it about once per week, and without any other treatment it grad- ually granulates and turns into sugar. It is a singu- lar fact that the sirup does not taste so pleasant during the period of changing to the granular state. Most of the 2,753 gallons of sirup which Mr. Moss had made in the Fall of 1862 has now become granu- lated, and he exhibited several samples of the sugar. In obtaining sirup the cane is first crushed between iron rollers and the juice transferred to evaporators to be concentrated. Mr. Cory, of Indiana, exhibited and explained his evaporator. He stated that the Chinese sugarcane was the best for sirup and sugar, and that Otaheitan seed was worth its weight in silver. A committee appointed to examine and report on sugars and sirups stated that the samples were so very numerous that they could not designate any one as having a claim to superior excellence, but considerable improventent had been made during the past year in the manufaeture generally. A committee appointed on seeds reported that opinions were so various that no de~nite conclusion could be arrived at respecting the best kind of seed, but the yellow imphee or African cane was the most suitable for ob- taining sugar, and that seed of a medium size, be- tween the largest and smallest varieties, appeared to be excellent. More experiments, however, were necessary to determine which was the best. The conclusions arrived at from the proceedings of this convention are that the cultivation of the sorghum and imphee is a success in the great West, at least for the production of sirup for home use, but how far it will be practical to manufacture the sirup and sugar from it for sale and export remains to be determined. We believe it only wants perseverance to insure complete success. U& iUbOWS. We recently received a letter from a correspondent in relation to primary and secondary rainbows, and we have since found the following facts upon this subject in the Journal of Popular Sciences: There are frequently two rainbows seen, primary and secondary; the former is by far the brightest one, being formed by the rays of light falling on the upper part of the rain drops; for a ray of light, en- tering the upper part of a drop of water, will by re- fraction be thrown upon the inner part of the spher- ical surface of that drop, where, undergoing a second refraction it will be sent toward the eye of the spec- tator. Since the rays which fall upon the primary bow come to the eye after two refractions and one re- flection, and the colors of this bow, reckoning out- ward, are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. The secondary bow is formed by the rays of light falling on the lower part of the drops of rain. These rays, like the former, undergo two refractions, namely, when entering the drops of rain and when emerging from them in passing to the eye, hut they suffer two or more reflections in the interior surface of the drops, hence the colors of their rays are not so strong or so well defined as those In the primary bow anti appenr In an itrv~rtet1 otd~. Propositions to Supply the Navy Department. The following propositions were received at the Navy Department during the week ending December 18, 1802 Peck & Chase, New York, offer the steamer Union; price $35,000. Cyrus Moore, Washington, offers eight steam pro- pellers; price $8,500 each. Samuel Strong, Washington, offers Broads Patent Life-saving and Troop-landing Rafts, at $800 each, pro- vided not less than fifty are ordered. Copeland & Howe, New York, offer the steamer Cl~/ton at $122,400, and the Oneata at $57,400; also, to complete a steam-tug boat for $41,850. By the Bureau of OrdnanceWin. Andrews & Brother, New York, offer some superior old English gun iron at $45 per tun. D. C. Sage, Middletown, Conn., offers to furnish cartridges at the following prices Pistol cartridges, with caps, in wood, $13 per 1,000; without caps, in wood, $11 per 1,000. Rifled muskets, with caps, in wood, $23 per 1,000 ; without caps, in wood, $21 per 1,000; with caps, in paper, $21 per 1,000; with- out caps, in paper, $19 per 1,000. Philip S. Justice offers to deliver in Liverpool gun- blocks, manufactured of homogeneous cast-steel, at 100 per tun. J. J. Asheroft & Co., Cincinnati, offer to make all sizes of cast-iron projectiles, from best charcoal iron, the ruling prices paid for them. Novelty Works, Pittsburg, Pa., offer to manufac- ture shell and shot f~r the Government at the s me prices others are paid. E. D. Saxton and others propose to make arrange- ments with the Government for the manufacture of iron and steel in any quantities that may be desired, and at prices which shall be a great saving, after the improved smelting and refining process invented and patented by E. G. Pomery, of New York. To enable the parties to carry out their plans and establish the works, they ask the Government to furnish the re- quisite means, the estimated cost of which will be $100,000; to be applied and disbursed under the su- pervision of an agent of the Government, & c. By the Bureau of Provisions and ClothingJ. H. Copeland, President of the American Desiccating Com- pany, offers to furnish desiccated potatoes during the ensuing year, at 13 cents per pound. L. L. Anderson, Louisville, Ky., offers 100,000 pounds of tobacco at 60 cents per pound. H. Chamberlain offers to deliver at the Brooklyn navy yard 30,000 yards of standard blue flannel, at 65 per yard. The Alabama Again. The Anglo-Confederate pirate, Alabama, has again signalized herself by capturing the California steam- ship Ariel. There was a file of 120 malnes on board of the latter ship, who were paroled. The Arid is an old, side-wheel vessel, built many years ago. She was at one time given up for lost, when in the trade between Liverpool and this port, having been un- heard of here for something like forty days. It was ascertained, however, that she had put into South- ampton on account of a broken shaft. She has a beam engine, with a cylinder 65 inches in diameter and twelve feet stroke. She is also slow in her move- ments, so that the Alabama need not brag much over this achievement. One of the express companies lost $8,000; this, with the arms and ammunition on board, was the only reward the pirate obtained. We live in the hope that before many d ys we shall have the satisf ction of announcing that the steamer Van- derbilt has captured this rover, thus reatoring confi- dence to those who go down to the sea. PAPER Srocn.Since the publication of our article on the paper stock famine, we have received a great many letters from persons residing in the country, requesting us to either act for them in selling their old papers or direct them to some one who will buy. We cannot possibly attend to such business, and would advise all parties who have paper stock to sell to entrust it to their local merchants. The prices here are fluctuating and unsettled. Tun literati of Russia are chiefly Germans; the mechanics and merchants, to a great extent, are English and French ; the bravest of her officers have always been Poles~ Cossacks and Britons. MISCELLANEOUS SUMMARY. AN AMERICAN CITIZEN DECORATED. The Emperor Napoleon his conferred upon Col. John E. Gowen, of Boston, the order of Chevalier of the Legion of honor. The Boston Ikrald says : Col. Gowen has fulfilled his premise to clear the harbor of Se- bastopol of the obstructions occasioned by the late Crimean war, but the work not having been per- formed within the time specified, the Russian Gov- ernment seized and confiscated all the property ac- cumulated by him, even the smallest articles, as well as all the apparatus sent by him from the United States, the value of which would not be less than $300,000. AMERICAN STEAMERS IN CnINA.A gentleman resid- ing at ilankow, China, in a letter dated Sept. 12th, says that a fine new American steamer arrived out there at the beginning of the week, for river traffic, and the captain gave a grand banquet on board to all Europeans in Hankow. She is a magni- ficent boat, with a splendid saloon, elegantly fitted up, is of about 2000 tuns register, and beat Dent & Co. s fastest steamer in Pie trip from Hankow to Shanghai. r1~his must be the llankow, built in this city some time ago. A large number of American steamers are now plying in Chinese waters and doing a thriv- ing business. HERE is a bit of English eccentricity in sufficiently bad taste even for John Bull Mr. Queensly, the Cambridge savan, a great admirer of the Greek poets, has given orders in his will that after his death his body shall be dissected and his skin taken off and tanned in such a manner as to convert it into parch- inent, on which the hlliad of Homer shall then be copied, the singular MS. then to be deposited in the British Museum. We should think John would make very good hook-covers. The thickness of his skin would doubtless make a very durable binding. Brazil is now the chief country in the world for the cultivation of coffee, and yet it is scarcely a century since it was introduced into that region. Previous to 1825, Java, Cuba, and the English colonies in the East and West Indies were the principal producers of coffee. Since that time Brazil has distanced them all. For a number of years she has produced for ex- portation nearly half the coffee of the world, and some years she even exported more than half. In 1809, Brazil only exported 3,000 bags; in 18612, no less than 1,633,114 bags were exported. Tiiz year 1862 was one of the bad years for wine- growing in the West, and the crop was almost a fail- ure. Less than one-fourth the usual average was re- alized. The very wet weather in May and June, 1862, caused first mildew and then rot in the grape. The quality of the wine manufactuied, however, was excellent, owing to the richness of the grapes in sac- charine matter, produced by the warm, dry weather in last August and September. How TO MARE GOOD TEA .M. Soyer recommends that before pouring in any water, the teapot with tea in it shall be placed in the oven till hot, or heated by means of a spirit lamp, or in the front of the fire (not too close, of course), and the result, he says, will be, in about a minute, a delicious cup of tea, much superior to that drawn in the ordinary way. A lADy in Boston was seriously burnt, recently, by the explosion of an air-tight can of tomatoes which she was heating upon the stove. Ivlanufactnring Items. Musachusetis :The following items are condensed from the Boston Ooeoaerciel Bulletin The new set of machinery for the manufacture of horse-shoes, at the Goshold Mills, New Bedford, has been completed, and is now in successful ope- ration. The rolling mill of Charles Washburn & Son, at Quinsigamond, Worcester, so recently burnt, will be started again this week. The new building is con- structed entirely of iron. The Holyoke Water Power Co. have sold the prop- erty known as the old Smith Coffee Mill to the Hampton Mills. The building will be filled with cotton machinery, and is capable of containing 3,000 spindles. Lamson & Goodnow, of Shelburne Falls, have re- built their factory buildings which were destroyed by fire a few weeks since. The pocket-book and wallet shops in South Deer- field are running full time. Win. S. Arms, formerly of the firm of Arms Brother & Co., has associated himself with others in the pocket-book business. A novel machine has just been constructed at the Lowell Machine Shop, to manufacture kerosene and carbon oil lamp-wicks. The Excelsior wick (as it is called) is tubular, with raw cotton filling, having complete capillary attraction, making a perfect feeder for all the heavier oils. The wicks are cut off by the machine of the required length, of three sizes. Meinc :In Biddeford some manufacturing busi- ness is in progress. The Pepperell Co. have a gov- ernment contract, and their mills are now running about one third of their machinery nil the time. The Machine Lhop, in addition to a recent large con- tract for machines, has received another contract for furnishing the Porter Mill, at Lewiston, with $50,- 000 worth of cotton machinery, besides a quantity of additional frames for Lowell, Mass. The saw-mills at Gardiner are in active operation, business never being better than now, but the owners complain of the trouble they find in getting work- men. Messrs. Allen & Warren, at their tannery, in Frye- burg, have just finished setting up and putting in operation a new leaching apparatus, by which liquor is obtained in a few hours (from clear water) nearly three times the strength of that heretofore got by the old way of leachingthe barometer indicating 300 and containing less coloring and resinous matter. A Rebel Infernal Machine. A member of the Thirty-third Massachusetts Regi- ment, now in this city, has shown us a portion of a cartridge taken from a rebel prisoner, consisting of three cones, passing one within the other, something as one thimble would be placed in another. In a crease around these was found a white powder, con- nected by means of a thread, acting as a slow match to the powder of the cartridge. This was so arranged as to explode in a certain time after leaving the musket from which it might be fired, thus making the load consist of three projectiles instead of one. If an explosion should take place while the bullet was in the body of a person struck by it, it would make a terrible wound. The weapon used by the prisoner from which these cartridges were taken, was an Austrian musket, with a large bore.Bostea Traveler. 19 on attemuting to start the engines, we found that with thirty pounds of steam we could not make them move either forward or b~ckward, and after uiiscon- necting the eccentrics and removing the he ivy link, valve slide, and bonnet, of the forward engine, we found that the lug was broken from the main slide valve, rendering it impossible to work the engines until a new valve is put in, which operation will re- quire a week or ten days. It is the opinion of the engineers that the engines are far two heavy. Messrs. Peisey, Jones & Co., have performed their part well, and it is not their fault that the machinery failed. Philede~phia Inquirer. Demijoha Torpedoes. It appenis, according to the letter of a correspon- dent, who gives an account of the blowing-up of the cairo, heretofore mentioned, that the torpedoes were made of ten-gallon demijohas filled with powder, and so anchored that they were about four feet under water. They were discharged by means of ordina- ry friction primers attached to cords designed to come in contact with ascending boats. They con- tained no machinery whatever, totally differing from the complicated and useless inventions sunk near forts Henry and Donelson, and above Columbus. This is the first instance in the war in which a boat has been injured by a torpedo. The means used in the present instance were as simple as they were effectual. The force of the explosion threw up a huge column of water that thoroughly drenched the men in the immediate vicinity. A hole of consider- able extent was made in the bow, the planks being loosened and torn apart, so as to admit the water at a rapid rate. The entire boat was shaken from stem to stern, and her bow was lifted so high in the air that the water swept over the portion of the stern aft of the casemate.PiUsburgh Dispatch. The Uses of Walking. Walking for young and active people is by far the best exercise ; riding is good for the elderly, middle- aged and invalids. The abuse of these exercises con- slits in taking them when the system is exhausted, more or less, by previous fasting or by mental labors. Some persons injudiciously attempt a long walk before breakfast, under the belief that it is con- ducive to health. Others will get up early to work three hours at some abstruse mental toil. The effect in both instances is the same ; it subtracts from the power of exertion in the afterpart of the day. A short saunter or some light reading before this meal is the best indulgence of the kind; otherwise the waste occasioned by labor must be supplied by nour- ishment, and the breakfast will necessarily become a heavy meal, and the whole mornings comfort sacri- ficed by a weight at the chest from imperfect diges- tion of food. These observations apply especially to elderly persons, who are prone to fi siter themselves into the persuasion that they can use their mental or bodily powers in age as in youth. The Early Days of Steam Locomotion. The Patent Museum at South Kensington, London, has lately received a very interesting addition to its contents, in the celebrated Rocket engine, con- structed by the late George Stephenson in 1829, and which, it will be remembered, competed successfully at the famous trial of locomotives at Rainhill, near Liverpool, in that year. The engine, which is ex- tremely curious, is wonderfully perfect, beaming in mind its age and she hard work that it his gone through. An inscription states that many missing parts have been restored by Messrs. G. R. Stephen~on & Co. Near this engine stands the Puffing Billy, which was constructed in 1813, for Mr. Blackett, the proprietor of the Wylam collieries. This is the o14est locomotive in existence. After many trials ~nd alterations, it commenced working in 1813, and con- tinued working until June 1862, when it was re- moved to the Patent MuseumLeaden Athenceum. Charleston Harbor. We are informed by an officer of the blockading Trial Trip of the Iron-clad Battery, 3uniata. squadron off Charleston, who has recently arrived in Yesterday morning at half-past eleven oclock the this city, that the Confederates have fortified that United States steamer, Jeaiata, arrived off the navy- place most strongly; our informant assures us that yard in tow of the tug A. E. Buraside, and anchored they have no less than six large torpedoes which they off the navy yard. The vessel sailed from this port can attach to rafts and float to any place in a few about a week since, but was obliged to return on ac- minutes, the torpedoes being wholly under control count of some defect in her machinery. The follow- aS regards the time and point of explosion. This lag statement of the trip of this vessel is given by officer thinks that the entrance of iron-clad vessels one of the officers on board ______________________________ will be stoutly contested by the insurgents, they hay- Tuesday morning we left Philadelphia on our lug, in addition to the above, an immense number of second trial trip, the first one having proved a fail- guns, whose fire converges on every point of the chan- ure. The engines worked well, pushing the ship nel. It is well known that a narrow passage yet re- through the water at the rate of almost eight knots mains open through whiels vessels are obliged to pro- per hour. Wednesday night we anchored near New MILEs GREENWOOD, of CincInnati, has made for the deed. This channel la well guarded by the means just Castle, and on Thursday morning proceeded on onr army and navy twenty-nine batteries ~f btdS~ ~Iifl~, I /1. wii~ tow~t1 the oce~ii. At ab0~t iiotn oh that day, at a cost to the qoverfiltoflt of Tnz cranberry crop in Barastable county, Mass., in 1862, reached 1,525 barrels, which were sold for $12,259 60. 20 VALUABLE RECEIPTS. UNINFLAMMAnLE CLOTHES.COttOfl and linen cloth- ing are very inflammable and during the winter season many fatal accidents occur from clothes taking fire. Flannel or other clothing made of wool should be used exclusively for the winter clothing of children, both on account of their warmth and their greater safety from fire. Wool and silk do not inflame when they come in contact with fire, but singe away slowly; and when cotton cloth is so high in price, woolen cloth may be considered the most economical for wear because it is the most durable. Woolen cloth and flannel are generally held to be uninflammable fabrics. Cotton and linen clothes however will al- ways be worn to a great extent when they can be ob- tained; therefore, a knowledge of the mode of render- ing them non-inflammable, to the same extent as woolen clothes, will be useful to very many persons. This is a subject which has engaged the attention of chemists and others for a long period, and various modes and compositions have been tried and used to prepare such fabrics and impart to them non-inflam- mable qualities. Gay Lussac made a great many ex- periments with linen and he found that the chloride of ammonium (sal ammoniac) the sulphate, the phos- phate and borate of ammonia rendered it inflam- mable. In 1867 a mixture of three parts of sal am- amoniac and two parts of phosphate of ammonia was patented in France for rendering linen uninflam- mable, and it is a very good composition for this pur- pose. It is dissolved in water, the solution being moderately strong, the cloth handled in it and per- fectly saturated, then taken out and dried in the at- mosphere. Among the numerous substances and compounds which have been tried, the sulphate of ammonia and the tungstate of soda are stated to be the best by Messrs. F. Versmann and A. Oppenheim, London, who are engaged in the business. A con- ccntrated solution of tungstate of soda diluted with water to 28~ in Twaddles hydrometer, and then mixed with 3 per cent of the phosphate of soda, is used in the laundry of Queen Victoria for pre- paring muslins. The clothes are immersed in it, then wrung out, dried and ironed. The tungstate of soda may be mixed with starch and thus applied in a vcry convenient manner. About one ounco is sufficient for a pound of starch. No sub- stance that absorbs moisture after the clothes are dry should be used for mixing with the starch of clothes or for treating them in solution. Sail cloth has been rendered uninflammable as fol- lows :Two parts of the protochloride of tin (a com- mon salt of tin sold by druggists and others) are dis- solved in one of water, and according to these pro- portions the solution is made in such a quantity as will cover the extent of sail cloth to be treated. The canvas is then soaked for two days in this solution; then soaked for one day afterward in another strong solution of the carbonate of soda. The sail cloth is then rinsed in cold water and again dried. Salt water will not remove this substance from the canvas. Such a preparation tends to prevent mil- dew in the canvas, but it also weakens the fiber of the cloth. These substances also render paper non- inflammable. PUTTYA very good substitute for putty may be easily prepared by mixing calcined plaster-of-paris and water to the consistence of thick cream. It should be prepared in small quantities and applied immediately, for it quickly hardens, when it loses its plasticity. For repairing broken windows, when putty is not at hand, it answers a very good purpose. THE MINERAL RICHES OF THE LAKE SUPERIOR REGION. Copper and iron are found in exhaustless quantities in the Lake Superior region, forming the northern peninsula of the State of Michigan. Their existence has long been known to geologists, but it was not till the completion of the Sank St. Marie Canal, in the year 1856, that these mineral treasures became commercially available. Since that time, the great impediment to transportation being removed, the resources of the districts severally known as Ontona- gon, Keweenaw Point and Portage Lake have been wonderfully developed. The aggregate value of copper exported from theve points in the year 1845 was $390; in 1860, the amount reached $2,944,000. Seventy sail of vessels and twelve steamers were in- adequate to do the business between ports on lakes Erie and Superior. Yet the assertion is made that we have only reached the morning of copper won- ders The great range comprised within the districts above-mentioned for the most part remains in its primeval state, though mining is being practically methodized; the most approved apparatus is in course of introduction for stamping and separating the rock; and the time is looked forward to, as not far distant, when this region will supply the demand not only of the United States but of Europe. The U. S. Mint refuses to receive any but the pure metal to be obtained from Lake Superior. The most ex- traordinary features, however, presented by the mines of Lake Superior, are the enormous masses of pure copper blasted out at various points, some of them weighing 800 or 400 tuns. The copper stamping mills generally stop once per year to make repairs, and an account of the years work is generally made out at the period of stoppage. We learn from the Mining Gazette that, during twelve months operations in 1862, the five stamping mills on Portage Lake crushed and washed 130,000 tuna of rock, and taking lOOThs for each cubic foot of rock, it amounts to 2,600,000 cubic feet. On Portage Lake, within a radius of five miles, there are seven copper mines in operation. Their produce in 1862 was over 4,000 tuna of copper. The Isle Royal mine is the oldest in the district; it has been opened to a depth of 474 feet. It produces stamp work, that is, the rock containing copper is crushed by stamps, thenlwashed, the debris being carried into the lake, and the copper, containing about fifteen per cent. of impurities, is retained for smelting. The deposits of iron in this region are of great ex- tent, and in several places they form hills of ore several hundred feet in height. The mines (or quarries, for the ore is simply thrown down by the use of powder from the side of a cliff) are fourteen miles back from Marquette, at which point several blast furnaces are now in operation. Large quantities of Lake Superior iron ore are exported to Ohio, lower Michigan and Pennsylvania, where it is made into pig iron. As every special kind of ore requires special treatment, considerable experience is necessary in the smelting of this ore. We have been informed that the pig iron obtained from it in some establishments is of an inferior character, it being what is called burnt iron ; while in other establishments pig iron of an excejient quality is obtained. These dif- ferences of quality in iron obtained from the same ore are due to differences in the modes of treating it in the smelting furnace. As it is a very pure ore, we have been told that it should be smelted under a moderate blast, and a comparatively low head of furnace. FATTENING OF POULTRY. In the hands of many persons the fattening of poultry has almost become a science. They know how to take a lean turkey, for example, and so feed it as to double its weight in a few days, and at the same time they render its flesh savory and agreeable. There are two modes of feeding poultry for fatten- ing; namely, the natural and the artificial methods, The former is that most generally pursued in Eng- land and America; the latter is the French method. The natural mode consists in allowing the fowls a degree of liberty in the barnyard, and supplying as much nourishing food as may satisfy their appetite. This method is generally preferred in America, and many experienced poulterers affirm that they can ob- tain as good fowls in this way as by any description of forced feeding. The artificial method consists in forcing food at regular intervals down the gullets of the fowls. This food consists of a mixture of corn meal, milk and water; or, as in France, barley meal, which is fed by means of a filler and funnel, the latter being made of tin with an india-rubber ring on the bottom to pre- vent injury to the throats of the birds. Some per- sons instead of using a filler, employ the finger for stuffing down the food, which is pvepared in a more solid form, and consists of a hash made of boiled potatoes, corn meal, sweet milk, and finely chopped suet. During the period of artificial feeding, the fowls are kept in boxes, which are well littered and placed in a moderately warm situation. They are usually fed three times per day, and the period of fattening is from fifteen to twenty days. In apply- ing the food with a funnel, the fowl is seized by the wings near the shoulder, the head is held forward between the knees and grasped by the left hand; the beak is opened, the funnel inserted, and the proper quantity of the mixture poured down. Two persons can feed quite a large number of fowls in this man- ner in a very short period. Some persons who make a business of fattening poultry are exceedingly careful of the food which they apply, and they keep their mixtures somewhat secret, ascribing a mysterious influence to their par- ticular modes. A mixture of boiled Indian meal, mashed potatoes and sweet milk, with a little finely chopped suet, is as good food for turkeys as can well be provided. Fowls should always have access to gravel during the period of fattening, as they swal- low small stones, these being found necessary to pro- mote digestion. Some feeders of poultry assert they can give the flesh of fowls any particular flavor they desire by the kind of food which they give to them. This is probably true, as the flesh of wild game acquires the flavor of the berries and aromatic buds upon which the birds feed. APPLICATIONS FOR THE EXTENSION OF PATENTS. The following persons have applied to the Commis- sioner of Patents for the extension of their patents for a term of seven years Steam Engine.George H. Corliss, of Providence, R. I., obtained a patent on March 10, 1849, for an improvement in steam engines. This patent was surrendered and re-issued on the 18th of May, 1851, and again surrendered, re-issued and divided into six patents on the 12th of July, 1859, said patents being numbered respectively Nos. 758, 759, 760, 761, 762 and 763. The patentee now prays for an extension of the last patent (768). The testimony will close on Feb. 9, 1863, and the petition will be heard at the Patent Office on the 23d of that month. Cutting Teeth of Beveled Gear.George H. Corliss, of Providence, R. I., obtained a patent on March 10, 1849, for an improvement in cutting teeth of beveled gear. The testimony will close on Feb. 9, 1863, and the petition will be heard at the Patent Office on the 23d of that month. LoomErastus B. Bigelow, of Boston, Mass., ob- tained a patent on March 10, 1849, for an improve- ment in looms for weaving Brussels carpets, & c. The testimony will close on Feb. 9, 1863, and the petition will be heard at the Patent Office on the 23d of that month. Persons who wish to oppose the extension of these patents should attend to it without delay. Copies of the claims in each case will be promptly forwarded from the Scientific American Patent Agency upon the receipt of $1. Great Ages of Trees. There is a glory in trees as they lift their tall branches on high, giving shelter to the merry squirrel or the singing bird in summer; or when forming Eolian lyres in winter as the winds sing in their leafless boughs. There are many trees which have become a. cred by the endearing associations of family scenes. Generation after generation con- nected with the old homestead have sported beneath them in infancy, and reclined in their shadow in old age. That exquisite ballad, Woodman, spare that tree 1 is brimful of poetry, because it is full of truth and vibrates on the tendrils of every heart. Some trees attain to a great age. In a recent lecture on geology by Mr. Dentondelivered in Montreal, C. E., and reported in the Gazette of that cityhe said that there was a tree cut down in Cali- fornia 96 feet in circumference. He had counted on a block of it, shown in Wisconsin, 13 rings of annual growth to an inch! Here then was a tree 2,496 years olda tree that was a sapling when Nebuchad- nezzar was a boythat was nearly 200 years old when Socrates was born. A yew at Forthingall, in Scotland, was calculated to be 2,600 years old, and one in Kent, 3,000. There was a tree in Senegal in which an incision was made and the concentric rings counted, from which it was calculated to be 5,150 years old! ~Ixe ~denti& ~mevi~n. TOBACCO. we find a few remarks on the cultivation of this staple in that State. It is estimated that 1,000 pounds Perhaps the most eminent vegetable the earth has per acre of Havana tobacco could be produced there. ever produced is that one which we shall discuss in The principal sources of supply, however, were found, tbis article in its several bearings upon societyin previous to the war, in the Southern border States, a pecuniary, physical and in an esthetic sensc. We Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and to some extent, have made the assertion and have taken the bold Southern Ohio and Missouri. Illinois has also grown ground at the outset, that tobacco was the most dis- tobacco, though not as a staple, we think. The tinguished member of the agricultural kingdom, and plant is emphatically a tropical one, and flourishes we reiterate and maintain our position by these ar- much better under calm skies and lazy trea~nent guments From remote ages, even when Sir Walter than with our energetic Northern cultivation. Per- Raleigh sat in his library soothing his philosophical haps, the gentle tickling the slaves give it with hoes mind with the smoke from a pipe, down to the pres- is better adapted to the secretion of its wondrous ent time, it has been the choice companion and chief juices than the vigorous attention it receives from solace of the most eminent and worthy men of science patent plows or drills. Evidently, some causes con- that the world has produced. Poets have sung its spire against the successful growth of the choicer praises in all meters and with greater or less en- brands of the weed at the North. These will be dis- thusiasm, encomium~ have been pronounced upon it, covered in time, and if the difficulties are inherent in words have been declared weak to express its virtues, the plant or only local, they will be surmounted in short, the whole vocabulary of complimentary ad- and Northern grits will bring to market tobacco jectives has been exhausted in its honor. Thus has grown under shelter, of a finer quality than ever. it it been distinguished. But the truth of history So far as relates to the Southern States, all our in- prompts us to admit that the opposition tobacco has telligence goes to prove that but very slender crops met with, though not in the least detracting from its have been planted this yearas would naturally be hopularity or its stability in the public estimation, the case in a country disturbed by war. All rumi- pas been, at any rate, no less vehement after its nants, therefore, must expect to pay an increased kind than the opposite fact. The pulpit has thun- price for their consolation. dered its fulminations at it unavailingly; preachers But let us look at the effects produced by tobacco have composed sermons, and lecturers have made upon the human bodythat wonderful organization raids~ upon the weed with, as they fondly which repulses with more or less vigor the assaults imagined, the most terrific onslaught and unqualified of poisons in every shapeof fever, of hunger and success ; but alas! the fact remains indisputable and thirst and all the ills that besiege its many fortresses. unchanged, that there is more tobacco used to-day Let us see how we shall fare if we make the weed our than at any former period of the worlds history. lingual and labial friend. Ilees C~yclopedia says that Whether we may attribute this to the obstinacy of a drop of the oil placed on a cats tongue causes con- human nature, or to the energy of the great family vulsions and death in the space of a minute; and cer- of nations in overcoming obstacles that are opposed to tam of the wise medical men of the day have de- them, or to its cheapness, is a question which we shall dared that not less than twenty thousand in our not here discuss; what the causes are which lead to land die annually by the use of tobacco. Dr. Shaw its increased consumption we cannot determine; the names a catalogue of some eighty diseases which, he simple, isolated fact thnt it is so, stands incontrovert- says, may be traced to the use of this poison; and ible. There may be some ingenuous spirits who would yet another authority asserts that a relative used the be disposed to deny our dictum in that tobacco is the weed to such an extent that he literally snuffed the most widely-known of the vegetable kingdom, and light of his existence out. Dr. attribute those honors of popularity with which we tobacco was the cause, Twichel believed that not unfrequently, of sudden have crowned the narcotic weed to cotton. They deaths. Bocame, of Belgium, was murdered in two may ring the changes in vain upon that trite theme. minutes and a half by the use of nicotine or alkali of The sound of the guns which daily thunder upon tobacco. Three young men formed a smoking club our Southern coast and States and of those which and they all died within two years from the time they so rudely smote the walls of Sumpter dispelled had instituted it. A doctor gave it as his opinion any lingering doubts we might have had as to which that they fumigated themselves to death; this worthy of the potentates rightfully claimed our allegiance, must have been akin to Dr. Aiken, who declared Cotton is not king. A man may go without a shirt that if he wished to make a sacrifice to the devil, he gladly, but deprive him of his tobacco and there will would take a pig and stuff it with tobacco. A boy be a hiatus in his nature, which, when he is once un- of eighteen fell dead in a dramshop with a cigar in der the influence of tobacco, nothing can supply. his mouth; the verdict on this feat was that he died Nay, he may be so entirely uncivilized as to be by the mysterious visitation of God; physicians said wholly independent of those wants and usages which it was the heart disease, but a person knowing the society has declared indispensable. Cotton in any youths habits said it was tobacco that killed him. form may be to him a drug and a detestable nuisance, It deranged the action of his heart, which, ceasing a pocket-handkerchief may be more cumbrous than to beat, caused him to fall. Still another shining its bulk in lead. But if we search in the turban of light of science says of the weed in question, that it the Bedonin Arab or the folds of talpa cloth which is an acid narcotic, a few grains of which cause death; are wound about the loins of the indolent Otaheitan, that it is a source of intemperance, induces drinking, we shall find some little store of the precious weed brings on jaundice, and, closing all, death. hidden in its folds, secure and unattainable save to These are, doubtless, learned opinions and reliable his own personal fingers. Or of what value indeed Is ones, but some of them bear traces of intolerance and corn, wheat, in brief, any cereal, to him who is de- bigotry. It is comparatively easy for one having an prived of his matutinal cigar, pipe or other instru- antipathy against a certain article to search the ment that man employs to titilate his throat and cyclopedias and bring ponderous bolts to bear upon nostrils with the pungent smoke? Simply of no it, and so endeavor to batter it out of existence. In value. The prisoner in the jail will deprive himself this case, unfortunately, tobacco, the object of all the of a portion of his scanty ration so that he may have disquisition of which the opinions above quoted are his tobacco-box full. The devotee to this luxury extracts, refuses to be abolished; and people smoke, will deny himself food and even clothing, so that his chew and snuff with, as the novelists say, a persever- craving for tobacco be allayed. But who ever heard ence worthy of a better cause. It may be indeed of the contrary practice? Does the Arab give his that the philosophers before-mentioned have at one plug, supposing him to have such an article, for time been made deadly sick by too ardent an appli- a new turban? No. Or will any semi-civilized frag. cation to their idol, and conceiving therefore, an in- ment of humanity barter away that, to him, priceless tense dislike for it, have resolved upon its ruin. We roll which, while he is under its influence, merges cannot think that their wishes will be realized; the kingdoms, principalities, powers and poverty into effects of tobacco are undoubtedly bad, as is, in fact, one grand brotherhood. water or anything harmless per se; taken in excess it Assuming conviction to be liresistibly carried to gives distress and all the symptoms of sudden death the minds of our readers by these arguments, let us so feelingly alluded to heretofore. Of the large ma- dwell first upon the production of tobacco in our own jority of deaths in the country it is saying a great land. It is grown to some extent in the Connecticut deal to assert that twenty thousand of them are Valley, but for the finer kinds a richer soil and caused by narcotics in the shape of tobacco. We are warmer climate are required. In the California Farmer not of those, therefore, who mak~ a hue and cry 21 against customs and habits without a surer basis than mere hearsay evidence, and we cannot expect that any one will throw away his cigar on the instant be- cause we have printed Dr. Dryasdusts opinion. Our mission is fulfilled when we point out the results likely to ensue from the abuse of it. Neither do we advocate or decry its use, conceiving it to be for the interest as it is the solemn duty of all men to in- quire into their habits so far as they bear upon the pre- servation of health; not present comfort more than the welfare of future generations depends on their practices. The Turks undoubtedly understand how to smoke better than any other nation. They do not seem to be harmed by it, since they live to healthy old age in the constant use of the weed; but whether harmed or not, they evidently excel all other people in the luxury. The Turk smokes a clean clay pipe. He also uses a long wooden stem. This is the important characteristic of the chibouk, and the theory of the thing is this ~All woody fibers in burning are de- composed, giving off quantities of water or of oxygen and hydrogen, which compose water. ThIs water passes off in steam or vapor, having in solution the nicotine and other component parts of the tobacco. What is commonly called the oil in a pipe is ninety-nine hundredth parts water. It cannot but be evident that this hot water or steam, passing as it does directly from the fire to the mouth when one smokes a short pipe or a cigar, is uncomfortable, if not unwholesome. A long wooden stem, three to five feet in length, with a large bore, is therefore ad- vantageous in this respect, that it permits the smoke to rest in the tube some time before it is taken into the mouth. It deposits its steam and a large part of the nicotine In the wooden tube, and the smoker takes into his lips a dry smoke. The Turks clean these stems daily with strong coffee. They prefer the wood of the jessamine or the wild cherry to all others, although they make pipe stems of every kind. Indeed it is not uncommon for a luxurious Turk to send out for the branch of a large rose-bush, have his servant bore the stem with the ever-ready gimlet and string, and then hand the pipe to his guest blooming with fragrant roscs. Jessamine and cherry stems cost in the Turkish bazaars from one to ten and even fifteen dollars each. It is on the stem and the mouthpiece that the expense is wanted. The amber mouthpiece is in itself costlychoice amber, milky and delicate in color, being worth almost its weight in gold in Oriental countries. The mouthpiece is or- namented with jewels, according to the wealth of the proprietor. Thus, a mouthpiece worth ten or twenty thousand dollars may be frequently seen, while the bowl of the pipe is worth but a tenth of a cent. These habits and properties, as the theatrical men say, may be very well for Turks, but at the present state of prices such luxury could hardly be supported. A paragraph in a late paper says that a gentlemen in this State has recently built a three- thousand-dollar smoke-house. Or more properly, perhaps, he has just converted the cash, which would otherwise have been blown to the winds, into a sub- stantial dwelling. Finding that the habit was in- juring his health he discontinued the practice. He was encouraged by the pecuniary saving it was con- stantly effecting. By an accurate arithmetical calcu- lation he ascertained that the daily cost of cigars, with annual and compound interest, would amount to over three thousand dollars in twenty years. Having already effected this saving he concludedto build a handsome dwelling. We should regard this as a most precarious investment. The fear would be always recurring that at some day fire and smoke would claim their own, and that the house would vanish from the earth as swiftly as the blue rings from the cigar, at whose expense it was erected. Finally, we may assert without the fear of doctors before our eyes, that the use of tobacco like every other indulgence is injurious to some while it is in- noxious to others. Practiced to excess the habit will lead to serious evils, but a very temperate use of this celebrated vegetable will not be attended with any worse results than a gradual but steady diminution of its devotees loose change. A Lxvz gorilla has lately arrived in Liverpool from Africa, and is the first living animal of the species that has been brought to Europe. 22 The Properties of Guns and Projectiles. Massas. Eurroas :At a time like the present, when the ingenuity of man is taxed to its utmost cajacity in the contest between armor dads and ar- tillery when the strife for the mastery is still un- decided, it will be permitted in an individual who is a believer in great guns, to record his testimony and experience in their favor, and if necessary, to de- monstrate by trial the great superiority of guns over anything which has, as yet, been constructed or projected to baffle their power. General Haupt, of Washington, in a series of interrogatories recently published, furnishes an excellent opportunity to the friends of the two antagonistic arrangements to give their views on the subject; I will therefore give my views and also answer some of the questions pr& pounded. To his query, Have you given any attention to the subject of ordnance in connection with iron armor for ships of war ? I can say : I have; during the last twelve months that subject has had much of my time and attention, experimentally and otherwise. What is your opinion of the propriety of placing 15-inch cast-iron guns in the turrets of the 3ioai- bra p For the perforation and actual demolition of iron and stone structures, the charge for a smooth- bore should not be less than one pound of powder to three pounds of shot, and for a rifle gun not less than one pound of powder to four pounds of shot. The 15-inch guns will not bear such charges, and are consequently unfit to do that kind of work. They are, undoubtedly, good shell guns, but time will show that they are wholly unfit to throw solid shot. Can a high velocity be given to a projectile without a heavy charge of powder in proportion to its weight? Certainly not ; after reducing the windage and friction of the shot in the barrel to a minimum, the work remaining must be performed by the powder. - Does a large diameter of projectile with a given velocity reduce the power of penetration, and in what ratio ? The resistance to penetration is directly as the diameters of the projectiles ; a shot 74 inches in diameter meets with half the resistance that one of 15 inches experiences. What should be the ratio between the powers of penetration of a projectile 15 inches in diameter, moving with a given velocity, and a projectile of equal weight and half the diameter, moving with double the velocity ? Conceding it to be true that the penetration of projectiles is directly as their weight, while it is as the square of their velocity, the ratio is as eight to one in favor of the smaller di- ameter. Is it probable you could, with equal safety to the gun, impress upon a projectile from a 74-inch bore, nearly double the velocity that could be given a pro- jectile from a 15 inch bore ? ~ It is possible to more than double it, as the 15-inch gun is now used; lnasmuQh as a solid shot weighing 75 lbs. can be tWed from a 74-inch rifled bore with safety to the gun, with a charge of 25 lbs. of powder; while the lightest solid shot used in the 15-inch gun is of cast- Iron, spherical, and weighs about 425 lbs., and the maximum charge for the 15-inch gun is, I believe, 50 ~s. of powder. If in the case of the large shot, an initial velocity of 1,050 feet is attained, per second, in the other it will not be much less than 2,500 feet. The power of demolition will be as great in the small shot as in the large; while that of perforation will be as two to one in favor of th~ former. During the earlier part of my investigations of this subject, it occurred to me, that guns of a large diameter of bore might be made more effective by placing shot of a less diameter in a wooden sabot made to fit the bore, in this way a shot 10 inches or of any other desirable diameter, might be fired from a 15-inch gun with a charge of 75 lbs. of powder or more, with perfect safety to the gun. This plan will not an- swer, for the reason that it would be impossible to give accurate direction to the shot, save for very short distances. Rifled cannon must, in all casas where solid shot are used, take the place of the smooth-bores. It is a great mistake to suppose that a much higher velocity can be attained from the latter than from rifled guns. If the proper proportion of powder and shot are used, the difference in velocity will be trifling, while the advantage in accuracy will be largely in favor of the riflea gun. The charge for a 100 pound Parrot gun is 10 lbs. of powder, the caliber being 6 -~ inches, the same as the 32-pounder smoothbore. The 100 lbs. shot is equal in weight to more than three solid spherical shot for the same gun. If, in this case, the shot were reduced to 50 lbs. and the charge of powder increased to 15 lbs., greater range and greater power of penetration and demolition would be at- tained than it is possible to give the heavier shot, with the necessarily light charge of powder. These opinions are based upon research and experiments carefully made. M. RITNER, C. E. New York, Dec. 30, 1862. Wintering Bees. MEssRs. Eurroas :To winter bees successfully in our cold Northern climate is a question of great moment with every apiarist. There seem to be almost as many ways recommended as there are bee- keepers. Having had several years experience in this business in Northern Vermont, I have arrived at this conclusion, that bees should have fo1 their welfare in winter a dark, cool, dry, mUll place, where the tem- perature is as even as possible, and about five degrees above the freezing point, or 35 degrees Farenheit. In this temperature the bees will remain very still and quiet, and will require but little honey to what they would if kept in a warmer place. In the first of my experience, I was advised to put my bees into a tight dark room in the house. I did so, and the consequence was I lost many of my bees before spring. During the warm days in the winter the bees would become very lively and crawl out of the hives upon the floor, and if there was a ray of light they were sure to find it, and would there perish; if shut into the hives, they would create such a heat in trying to get out that they would melt their comb and become drowned in their own sweats. This I found was owing principally to the outside temperature being so changeable and the want of proper ventilation. Wintering bees out of doors, as practiced by a large proportion of amateur bee-keepers, is always attended with bad results, as nearly one-half of the stocks are frequently lost, and those that are not are so reduced in number that they will not swarm in the coming season, there not being bees enough to permit of it, consequently are worth but littl~ to their owners. When bees stand out of doors, every warm day during the winter they are inclined to fly from the hive, and thousands of them get chilled and are lost, and where there was a peck of bees in the hive in the Fall, by spring there may be but a handful left. In the Middle or Southern States, bees can be allowed to stand out of doors during the winter with safety. In my more recent observations and experiments, especially in the Northern States, I have found no place to winter bees in equal to a dark, dry cellar. If the hives are rightly arranged, and the cellar ventilated by opening either a door or window in the night time, occasionally, there will be no loss of bees only what die of old age, and the comb will look nearly as white as in the Fall previous. Bees, when kept in a cellar of this kind, will not make a dis- charge to soil the comb during the whole winter, and will consume but a very few pounds of honey-say about a pound to a thousand bees; for ordinary swarms it would require from ten to twenty pounds of honey. At this low temperature the bees will re- main very quiet and still, and if the cellar is kept perfectly dark they will remain so during the whole winter, and will hardly know when spring approaches, which will not be the case when kept in a room above ground or out of doors. Bees frequently receive more injury in being confined in the hive on the approach of spring than they will if allowed to fly out. The time to put bees into winter quarters depends somewhat upon the severity of the weatherusually the last of November or the first of December ; if the weather is not too cold, they may safely remain until near January. They generally suffer more in the lat- ter part than in the beginning of winter. As to the position of the hives when placed in the cellar, if straw or the old-fashioned board hive is used, it should be turned bottom-side up with the bottom boards removed. Their animal heat will then drive all the dampness and mold out of the hive. The only disadvantage in turning a hive bottom-side up, is, all the dead bees and particles of comb will drop among the combs in the bottom of the hive. But if there is honey enough there will be no trouble resulting from it, as when the hive is carried out- of- doors, and placed right-side up, the bees will readily clear it out. If movable-comb hives are used, the cap, boxes, & c., should be removed and the hive al- lowed to remain right-side up, with the entrance closed. The time to remove bees from the cellar depends in a great measure upon the forwardness of the spring, and care should be taken that the weather is warm enough, that the bees can safely fly from ths hive and return again, always observing to never set but a part of the hives out on the same day, and always place them as near as practicable on the same stand that they occupied the year previous, to avoid confusion and robbery. After the bees have all m.ade their excursion, as they always will do on the first day, and discharge themselves, thousands of bees might then be saved by setting them back into the cellar again for three or four weeks, and at the same time supply each hive with a substitute for bee bread, which is rye meal (or common flour will answer), as bee bread or pollen is the first thing the bees will visit the fields for in early spring; by supplying them with this useful article the lives of a large number of bees xviii be saved, which if allowed to stand out would be lost. Burying bees in the ground is a practice that some inexperienced bee-keepers have resorted to, and no~ unfrequently with fearful loss. The object aimed at seems to be the low, even temperature that our cellar affords. In a light, loose, sandy soil, if the bees are properly buried, there are instances where they have lived through it. I have frequently heard it remarked by those who advocate this process that the hives were as heavy in the spring as they were in the Fall before; should the bees all perish as I have repeatedly seen, this theory might prove true. I have yet to learn if bees can be wintered in any place without consuming some honey. It is true, if bees are kept in a damp place and should they survive the the dampness, the amount of honey they will con- sume will be small, the weight of which would be balanced by the dampness and mold which the combs will take up, so that the hive would be nearly as heavy in the spring as it was in the Fall previous. K. P. KinDER. Burlington, Vt., Dec. 31, 1862. Pulpit Lights. Mz~eas. EDITORs A convenient method of light- ing the desks of pulpits, so as to illuminate the manu- script without offending the eyes of the preacher or the congregation, has long been a desideratum. By the usual arrangement of candelabra on the front of the desk, which seems to be in most churches the only way of arranging them, provided their eleva- tion be sufficient, which is not always the case, the reader may be protected from the blare of light across his face, or that reflected from the paper on the desk but the auditory are always annoyed by the effect of the rays which, diverging from the gas jets, cross and interrupt their vision. It is said that in some churches in Holland this is obviated by placing con- cealed lamps upon the huge canopy sounding boards which surmount their pulpits, and passing their lights through slits therein, which direct their rays down upon the desk. There is to be seen in the new St. Pauls church, Albany, N. Y., a novel mode of accomplishing this object, which seems to the writer so admirably arranged that it should be made known extensively as a matter of general interest :The pul- pit being an octagon in form, its desk is small, not much laiger than a large folio bible, and is like an ordinary writin,, desk in shape, having a raised back of about four inches high, and sides starting from the ends of this back, sloping down to the front edge of the desk. Along the angle formed by the junction of the desk and this back a small pipe is laid, pierceti on its upper surface with six small holes for gas jets. Behind and over this pipe, rising up nearly to the top of the back, is a metal reflector whose upper part curves over and forward, forming a hood to intercept the light from the eyes of the reader, a small slit be- ing made along its upper edge to pass off the heated air from the gas. By this arrangement the light is reflected from the jets in lines slightly downward, so as to illuminate the bible or manuscript page bril- liantly, the rays reflected from the surface of the paper passing off at a very slight upward angle, so as to permit a very bright illumination of the page, without the inconvenient and injurious effect of the direct return of the light from the page to the read- ers eyes. The gas tube of the desk is connected with the tubing of the church by a flexible joint, so as to allow the desk to be raised and lowered a few inches. This ingenious and beautiful arrangement was intro- duced by the architect of the church, Mr. William Hodgins. D. Albany, N. Y., Dec. 30, 1862. The Scientific American as an Advertising Medium, There are comparatively few, even of our own readers, who fully appreciate the value of the ScIENTIFIc A IERICAN as an advertising medium. Doubtless one reason for this arises from the fact that we have never made advertising a particular feature of the paper. We cannot forbear, however, to publish the following letters from two of ou~ oldest patrons. These letters speak for themsdv~g. GENTLEMEN ~ Let me say for the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN (and you are at liberty to use my name publicly or otherwise), it is the only newspaper I ever advertised in, that does not re- quire the exercise of faith. It always, invariably pays me; and that, too, within a fortnight; and I know it. Faith in this matter of advertising has ruined many a man. I am glad to know that your paper gives me something substantial and tangible that it does not demand faith. Philadelphia, Dec. 20, 1862. HENRY CAREY BAIRD. GENTL MEN It gives me pleasure to state to you that, having noticed in your columns your intention to advance the price of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, on and after Saturday the third day of January next, from $2 to $3 per year, if the price were even put at twice that sum, I for one should not discontinue subscribing for the same. I do not think that there is a journal in this or any other country that is so useful and beneficial to inventors and mechanics as the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. I have found its columns replete with matter in every way interesting and useful; and as a medium for bringing useful inven- tions before the public, I do unhesitatingly say that the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is equalled by no paper ex- tant. Having advertised in 100 other papers at the same time that I have in yours, and with much more lengthy advertisements, I will give you the results, not for your especial benefit, but for those who may have improvements which they wish to disseminate throughout the land. The experiment to which I refer was continued only about four months; but during that time I received about three thousand communications from various parties re- siding in every State of the Union and its territories, from all parts of the Canadas, from England, France, Germany, Sweden, and even from Syria! Of this large number not over fifty of the communications were received from parties who apparently had read my advertisement in the columns of any of the other 100 papers; and of this fifty, many of them may have been from parties whose attention had been called to my advertisement in the SCIEN- TIFIC AMERICAN, inasmuch as many of them did not state iu what paper they had noticed it. Even if the demand for my knitting machines did not fully come up with the supply, I should not have discontinued advertising in your journal; for funds thus spent have been to me like seed corn planted in well-tilled ground-it has yielded by a hundred fold a golden harvest. It hardly seems that Aladdins lamp could have been more magical in its effect than the lumin- ous columns of the SCIEaTIFIc AMERICAN. J. B. AIREN. Franklin, N. H., Dec. 22, 1862. 23 Great Men from Humble Life. From the barbershop rose Sir Ilichard Arkwright, the inventor of the spinning jenny and the founder of the cotton manufacture of Great Britain; Lord Tenterden, one of the most distinguished of English Lord Chief Justices ; and Turner, the very greatest among landscape painters. No one knows to a cer- tainty what Shakspeare was ; but it is unquestionable that he sprang from a very humble rank. The com- mon rank of day laborers has given us Brindley, the engineer; Cook, the navigator; and Burns, the poet. Masons and bricklayers can boast of Ben Johnson, who worked at the building of Lincolns Inn, with a trowel in his hand and a book in his pocket; Ed wards and Telford, the engineers; Hugh Miller, the geologist, and Allen Cunningham, the writer and sculptor; whilst among distinguished carpenters we find the names of Inigo Jones, the architect; Harri- son, the chronometer maker; John Hunter, the physiologist; Romney and Opie, painters; Prof. Lee, the Orientalist, and John Gibson, the sculptor. From the weaver class have sprung Simpson, the mathema- tician; Bacon, the sculptor; the two Milners, Adam Walker, John Foster, Wilson, the ornithologist; Dr. Livingstone, the missionary traveler; and Tannahill, the poet. Shoemakers have given us Sturgeon, the electrician; Samuel Drow, the essayist; Gifford, the editor of the Quarterly Review; Bloomfield, the poet, and William Carey, the missionary ; whilst Morrison, another laborious missien~ry, was a maker of shoe- lasts. Within the last year a profound naturalist has been discovered in the person of a shoemaker at Banif, named Thomas Edwards, who, while maintain- ing himself by his trade, has devoted his leisure to the study of natural science in all its branches ; his researches in connection with the smaller crustacea having been rewarded by the discovery of a new species to which the name of Praniza Edcardsii has been given by naturalists. Nor have the tailors been altogether undistin- guished, Jackson, the painter, having worked at that trade until he reached manhood. But what is, per- haps, more remarkable, one of the most gallant of British seaman, Admiral Hobson, who broke the boom at Vigo in 1702, originally belonged to this calling. Cardinal Wolsey, De Foe, Akenside, and Kirk White, were the sons of butchers; Bunyan was a tinker, and Joseph Lancaster a basket-maker. Among the great names identified with the invention of the steam engine are those of Newcomen, Watt, and Stephenson; the first a blacksmith, the second a maker of mathematical instruments, and the third an engine fireman. Dr. Hutton, the geologist, and Bewick, the father of wood engraving, were coal miners. Dodsley was a footman, and Holcroft a groom. Bnffin, the navigator, was a common sea. man, and Sir Cloudesly Shovel a cabin-boy. Herschel played the oboe in a military band. Chantrey was a journeyman carver; ~tty, a jsurneymet~ printer; a~id Sir Thomas Lawrence, the son of a tavern-keeper. Michael Faraday, the son of a poor blacksmith, was in early life apprenticed to a book-binder, and worked at that trade until he reached his twenty- second year ; he now occupies the very first rank as a philosopher, excelling even his master, Sir Humphrey Davy, in the art of lucidly expounding the most dif- ficult and abstruse points in natural science. Not long ago, Sir Robert Murchison discovered at Thurso, in the far north of Scotland, a profound geologist, in the person of a baker there named Robert Dick. When Sir Robert called up at the bake-house, in which he baked and earned his bread, Dick delinea- ted to him by means of flour upon a hoard, the geo- graphical features and geological phenomena of his native county, pointing out the imperfections in the existing maps, which he had ascertained by traveling over the country in his leisure hours. On further inquiry, Sir Robert ascertained that the hum- ble individual before him was not only a capital baker and geologist, but a first-rate botanist, I found, said the Director-General of the Geographi- cal Society, to my great humiliation, that this baker knew infinitely more of botanical science, ay, ten times more than I did; and that there were only some twenty or thirty specimens of flowers which he had not collected. Some he had obtained as presents, some he had purchased; but the greater portion had been accumulated by his industry, in his native county of Caithness, and the specimens were all arranged in the most beautiful order, with their scientific names affixed. Self-Help, by Samuel Smiles. [Had Mr. Smiles extended his remarks to the great men of other countries beside England he could have swelled his comments to volumes, because he could have included nearly all the greatest men of America. The object of Mr. Smiles is the presenta- tion of examples to mechanics and men in humble circumstances of life, to aim hibh and strive for true honor and distinction in any walk of life to which they may aspire. The loftiest positions in literature, science, and art have been attained by men who have worke(l as tradesmen; and what has been achieved in past times may be accomplished again. At the present time, several of the living poets and literary men in great Britain and America were working tradesmen a few years ago. Gerald Massey was a factory spinner, John C. Prince a weaver, and A. Smith, author of Lifes Drama, a pattern-drawer. Ens. Robert Stephenson and Electricity. On another occasion he played a series of tricks of a somewhat different character. Like his father, he was very fond of reducing his scientific reading to practice ; and after studying Franklins description of the lightning experiment, he proceeded to expend his store of Saturday pennies in purchasing about half a mile of copper wire at a braziers shop in New- castle. Having prepared his kite, he sent it up in the field opposite his fathers door, and bringing the wire, insulated by means of a few feet of silk cord, over the backs of some of Farmer Wighams cows, he soon had them skipping about the field in all dir- ections with their tails up. One day he had his kite flying at the cottage-door as his fathers galloway was hanging by the bridle to the paling, waiting for the master to mount. Bringing the end of the wire just over the ponys crupper, so smart an electric shock was given it, that the brute was almost knocked down. At this juncture the father issued from th~ door, riding-whip in hand, and was witness to the scientific trick just played off upon his galloway. Ah l you mischievous, scoundrel I cried he to the boy, who ran off. He inwardly chuckled with pride, nevertheless, at Roberts successful experiment. Lives of tile Engineers. Balloon Barometer. The barometer which was employed in testing the pressure of the atmosphere during the recent high balloon ascent in England, for scientific purposes, was made as follows A good tube, six feet in length, was selected, the mercury was boiled throughout its whole length; a cistern was blown at its lower end, which was furnished with a stop- cock. These exactly equal portions of mercury were allowed to fall from the tube into the cistern, which was thus gradnated. Then three feet of the tube was taken, and a scale applied to it, and which scale was then graduated from the lines on the cylinder. By this means a standard barometer was made of great accuracy, having also the advantages of being light and having the power of locking in the mercury in the tube when necessary. Under Fire. A French soldier, who first smelt gunpowder at the battle of Solferino, thus describes his sensations How each shot electrifies you ! It is like a whip on a racers legs. The balls whistle past you, turn up the earth around, kill one, wound another, and you hardly notice them. You grow intoxicated, the smell of gunpowder mounts to your brain. The eye becomes bloodshot, and the look is fixed upon the enemy. There is something of all the passions in that terrible passion excited in a soldier by the sight of blood and the tumult of battle. VEGETABLE OILs OF AUsTRALIAIn Australia there are vast forests of trees which yield several varieties of essential oils. There is one large treethe Euca- lyptus Amygdelznathe leaves and twigs of which yield three pints of essential oil to each 100 pounds. Thirty-five different kinds of essential oils have been distilled from the trees of the Australian forests, and about 12,000,000 acres are covered with such trees. Some of them are aromatic and yield de- lightful perfumes. They are also solvents for various resins which are employed in making varnishes. Improved Air Valve, the sudden concussion against the projectile is less- In working pumps, their operation is sometimes ened by the yielding property of rubber and confined iropeded by a portion of air which enters with the air, and enabling the artillerist to use a larger charge water or becomes ~separated from it; this is an evil of powder, as previously stated. The object claimed of no small magnitude, as it prevents the formation to be gained is that which has long baffled the world of the necessary vacuum. The accompanying en- of inventorsthe use of a larger charge of powder graving is a representation of a sim- ple but efficient invention for re- moving the difficulty alluded to. It is simply an ordinary brass cock, A, provided with a hemispherical top, In the upper face of which a series of small holes, I~, are perfor- ated ; these holes are closed by an India-rubber valve, aa portion of which is removed to disclosed the apertures beneath~ The cap, C, screws over the top of B, and pro- tects the valve, while it also gives the invention a much neater ap- pearanco than It would otherwise have. The operation of the air c~ck is very simple. When the pump refuses to work, from the difficulty previously specified, the confined elementwhether vapor or airIs readily discharged by turning the plug, D; the valve, a, then opens upward and permits it to escape ; this operation can be repeated as often as desired until the cause of the trouble is re- moved. This appurtenance can be attached to any pump in a few moments, and will be found very useful ~ it can also be used as an oil vup by pimply removing the valve. Patented August 9, 1862, by Thomas Shaw. For further infor- m tion address Philip S. Justice & Co. 64 Cliff street, New York city, or 21 North Fifth street, Philadel- phia, Pa. Elastic Breech Cannon and Sabot. Numerous patents have recently been taken, both in this country and Europe, for devices to lessen the strain and liability of explosion in ordnance by the use of vulcanized india-rubber or gutta-percha ap- plied in the breech to confine the air, against which the explojled powder will act, whereby the sides of the bore are relieved from the immense strain of the ignited charge. The ob- jects of these inventions are to lessen the danger of explosion and enable the gun to give a greatly- irfereased velocity to the shot by using a larger charge of powder than is allowed or deemed safe in the old kind of guns. One of these inventions is that patented by Horace H. Day, the celebrated india- rubber manufacturer, of this city ; another is that patented by Mitchell iRit- ney, of Vincennes, md., and a third is that pat- ented by Col- J. W. Bird, of Trenton, N. J. Nu- merous experiments have been made with these devices, and we are informed that they were very satisfactory. Col. Birds inven- tion is a solid wad, made of india-rubber combined with fibrous substances; it is cut in disks to fit the bom of the gun, and is placed between the powder rsni the shot, and serves to rotate the latter. The elastic property of the rubber acting against the shot, it is claimed, gives it a perfect rotation, and at the same time it fills the space in the gun and prevents windage. Much of the strain due to all wedge- shaped leaden rings, is avoided in Col. Birds wad and projectile, and the inventor claims an increased power of at least one-tenth. The Invention of Mr. Ritner is to confine air in sabots of vulcanized rubber, ~o be placed between the powder and shot, so that without increasing the strain upon the gun. We here illustrate the last patentthai of Mr. Day. The tendency of the sudden blow imparted to the base of the missile, by the explosion of the powder, was to upset the base of the projectile by expansion, ren- dering it, if not immovable, at least dangerous to the gun. To overcome this, the inventor placed the hollow sabot between the powder and the shot. Mr. Day uses the india-rubber cushion, a, having a coni- cal recess at its base. The charge is inserted upon the top of this, and another thinner disk, b, of the vention, it was found to be 69,000 lbs. The cushion has also been worked in a rifled 60-pounder with a charge of 8 lbs., from which the charge has been in- creased to 12 lbs., without any apparent evil effect on the gun ; using shot of various sizes and weight, from 40 to 50 lbs. Two of the holes made in the tar- get so long laying in Wall street, this city, were made by shot in connection with this elastic breech, fired with a 10db. charge from a rifled 60-lb gun. This invention is readily adapted to any gun, and may be used in connection with all kinds of shot; it was patented by Mr. Horace H. Day, Dec. 2, 1862, and further in- formation can be had by address- ing him at New York city, The Value of a Caveat. The importance of securing the patentable features of new inven- tions by caveats is aptly illustrated in the case of Mr. T. II. Timby, the owner of the broad patent from the United States for a re- volving tower for land and water fortifications. Mr. Timby filed his caveat some twenty years since, he being then but nineteen years of age ; he now receives a royalty on every turreted vessel built for the United States service. Had it not been for the protection afforded him by these papers, Mr. Timby might indeod have reaped the barren honor of the invention, but the pecuniary benefit of the device would have escaped him. From the day of the discovery, 1841, down to the present time, Mr. Timby has been engaged in perfecting his invention, and has spent large sums of money in so doing. Modern Discoveries. Bayard Taylor, the celebrated traveler, thus sums up the result of modern discoveries : Within the last twenty-five years, all the principal features of the geography of our own vast interior regions have been accurately determined ; the great fields of Cen- tral Asia have been traveled in various directions from Bokhara and Oxus to the Chinese wall; the half-known river systems of South America have been explored and sur- veyed ; the icy continent around the Southern pole has been discovered; the Northwest passagethe ignis fatuits of nearly two centuries has been at last found; the Dead Sea is stripped of its fabulous terrors ; the source of the Niger is no longer a myth, and the sublime secret of the Nile is almost wrested from its keeping; the Mountains of the Moon, sought for 2,000 years, have been beheld by a Caucassian eye; an En- glish steamer has ascend- same substance, is placed on top of it; the projectile, ed the Chadda to the frontiers of Bornou; Leichard c, is then put in, and the weapon is fired in the usual and Stuart have penetrated the wilderness of Austra manner. The cushion, a, is not destroyed by the ha; the Russians have descended from Irkoutak explosion; and it is said one of them will last nearly to the mouth of the Amoor; the antiquated walls as long as the piece itself ; the thin wad, which ob- of Chinese prejudice have been cracked and are fast viates all liability of windage, is of course fired tumbling down, and the canvas screens that surround out with the charge. The effect of the elastic cushion Japan have been cut by the sharp edge of American is to impart a gradual movement at the moment of enterprise. Such are the principal results of modern explosion, which starts the bolt gently from its seat; exploration. What quarter of a century, since the the gases then follow it up and expel it with as much form of the earth and the boundaries of its land and force as the powder is capable of exerting. The sabot water were known, can exhibit such a list of achieve- has been tried (the inventor says) in a lOO-pounder ments ? gun, and the strain at the breech was ascertained to be 48,000 lbs., while with the same gun and the same The first double hyacinth was obtained in the charge, namely, 10 lbs., without the iso of this in- year 1710. 24 SHAWS AIR VALVE FOR 1~U.~IPS. DAYS ELASTIC BREECH CANNON AND INDIA-RUBBER SABOT. ~rhe ~4entifie ~nxM~an. ~4~e ~dcidific ~n~cvican+ MUNN & COMPANY, Editors and Proprietors. PUBLISHED WEEKLY & t No.37 Park Row (Park Building), New York. 0. D. MUNN, S. H. WALES, A. E. BEACH tERMSThree Dollars per annumOne Dollar in advance, for four months. Single copies of the paper are on sale at the office of publication, and at all periodical stores in the United States and Canada Sampson Low, Son & Co., the American Booksellers, No. 47 Ludgate Hill, London, England, are this British Agents to receive subscriptions for the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. ~ See Prospectus on last page. No traveling agents employed. VOL. Viii. NO. 2... .[NEW SERIES.]... .Nineteenth Year. NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1863. TO OUR FRIENDS. NOW IS THE TIME TO FORM CLUBS. On Saturday, January 3d, a new volume of this journal commenced. We appeal to its friends in all sections of the country Where mail facilities exist to endeavor to form clubs for the present year. We feel justified in asserting that no other journal in this country furnishes the same amount of useful reading, and especially at the extraordinarily low price at which it is furnished. The present high price of paper has rendered it necessary that we should some- What increase the subscription price of the ScIENTIFIC AMERICAN, but by availing themselves of our clubbing rates persons may obtain the journal on very reason- able terms even now. We are obliged to pay more than double the price we did one year ago for the same quality of White paper that the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is printed on, while the subscription price to clubs is only a fraction more than formerly. The long winter evening must be relieved of Its dullness, and we must keep reading and thinking, and thus be prepared to overcome temporary difficul- ties and open new channels of wealth and prosperity. Friends, send in your clubs; at least renew your own subscriptions promptly. ARCHITECTS--LIGHT AND VENTILATION. The progress of discovery resembles the unrolling of a mighty scroll. Every age has witnessed new triumphs of mind over inanimate matter. Innumer- able are the improvements which have been made in mechanism, but no improvements connected with the interests of humanity are of greater importance at present than those which relate to artificial light. The pine torch of the barbarian and the rush-light of an ignorant age have given place to Incomparable gas light and beautiful argand lamps for burning the oil obtained from mysterious subterranean caverns. And yet, with all our numerous improvements, much has yet to be achieved before perfection is reached. Indeed, it is a fact that many improvements but serve to reveal imperfections which had previously escaped notice. It is the office of science to point out evils and defects, and to concentrate attention upon se- curing arrangements for their removal. Thus, upon another page will be found the communication of a correspondent respecting improved modes of lighting and beautifying a church in Albany, which affords us gratifying intelligence respecting a very proper en- largement of the architects province and duties. In 1858, on page 125, Vol. XIV (old series) of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, we pointed out the want of ap pliances in churches and other buildings for the re- moval of the poisonous gases emitted from open gas lights, and said : This is a question which deserves the attention of architects and others in regard to the erection of new buildings, all of which can be fitted up with the improvements suggested. Since that period such improvements have been carried out in several new public buildings in this country, and it is pleasant to know that many architects are now taking a deep interest in such questions. They are generally men of scientific attainments and much in- telligence, and it is right that they should embrace within the scope of their profession a far more ex- tended application of science and art than the mere erection and decoration of buildings, chiefly with re- spect to what has been called the legitimate princi- ples of architecture. All buildings should be de- signed and erected with regard to the health and comfort of those who may occupy them temporarily or permanently, and provision should certainly be made in them for the removal of the foul gases arising from gas and other lights. Every person knows that the burning of an open charcoal fire in a room is dangerous to life, because the product of combustion is carbonic acid gas, which is as injurious to the human system, when inhaled by the lungs, as the taking of arsenic into the stomach. Now, as ten gas jets are equal to a moderately-sized fire in a stove for producing carbonic acid, it is not difficult to estimate the injurious effects of burning open gas jets in apart- ments. We regret that the suggestions referred to have as yet been acted upon in a very few cases, but the good work is begun, and all honor to the archi- tects who have been the pioneers of the improve- ment. Not only churches and other public buildings in which gas is burned should be arranged with pro- vision for the removal of the subtle poison arising from burning gas, but dwelling houses also. Indeed, such appliances are more necessary for them than public buildings, such as churches, court rooms, & c., because persons in the former are constantly exposed to carbonic gas during evening hours, whereas in public buildings the exposure is only temporary. The application of such improvements is just as necessary In places where oil is consumed in lamps, as in those where gas is burned. Niches may be made in the wails of buildings to communicate with the atmosphere outside by valve tubes for carrying off the gas, and these recesses may be constructed with reflectors, and so formed as to be suitable for stationary lights and for receiving movable lamps. We trust that such improvements may soon be very generally applied, and thus unfold another cheering record on the scroll of progress. THE WONDERS OF THE GLOBE. From the creation of the world down to the pres- ent day, a series of organic changes has been con- stantly developed, which have not only altered in a material degree the outlines of continents and the land-marks of the mariner, but have changed great- ly its constituent particles. For instance the miners have delved In the bowels of the earth and with- drawn from thence thousands of tuns of coal, which, in their turn, have been consumed and wasted by fire; their elements being so wholly transmogrified that nothing remains of all their bulk but a heap of dust. Through all these processes a gradual but constant diminution has gone on; the gases elh~a- mated by the combustion of the fuel have been first set free, then ignited and finally resolved, as to their components, into the atmosphere. So also with the metalsprecious and base; they, too, have parted with their individuality as earths, and have lost In bulk during the refinement to which they have been subjected. The rough and ragged edges of the ores have been smoothed into close and tenacious sur- faces. The loose and striated masses have been knit closely, as to their fibers, until they are one and homogeneous throughout. Here, again, have the atoms comprising a whole parted, each one, with some portion of their identity whilst being transfused into one mass. Not only do these changes occur in the metals and the minerals of the globe, but they also take place in the vegetable kingdom. The flowers of the field, the grass, the herbage; these wither and shrink be- fore the fervent heat of the sun, and lose in weight and bulk. Nay! even the monarchs of the wood, unto whose roots the settler lays his civilizing ax, these come crashing down through their fellows and make the earth resound with the force of the im- pact. They also obey the dictates or the impulses of naturethey become green with mold, they rot to their cores, through all their sturdy branches the sap oozes out until they are utterly dead. Weigh the dead tree and the living one, and tell us which is the more ponderable. Far to the north, among those huge icebergs, the formation of which no human eyes ever beheld, the cliffs that crop out in the polar re- gions waste slowly and silently away. Dr. Kane has told us that at their bases may be found, when not covered with snow, an impalpable dust ; this is the debris of the rocks, cliffs, or whatever the nature of the structure may be. The silence of those regions is, at times, intense, if such an expression may be allowed. Except when the storms rage in their fury when the grinding of those phantom towers against the loose pancake-ice ceases, when the floating floes circle idly in some eddythen proceeds during the short northern summer the waste of the world. The tumuli of ice resolve to water; the monuments reared by the hand of the Frost King topple and fall ; and, loosened by the genial warmth, streams trickle slowly down the rocks, carrying in their course the granulated particles liberated by the cold. In the dead of night, in the awful silence of those extreme latitudes, great masses of ice, or earth, or rock, loosen themselves and tall with a mighty crash into the sea beneath. Thus, through all the zones that belt the globe torrid, temperate and frigida continual waste, an incessant abstraction of the vital functions of nature transpires; these operations are both artificial and inevitable. How far do these organic and elementary changes affect the integrity of the sphere? Gases, as we well know, enter into the composition of our food, our bodies, and the very air and water that we breathe and drink. So also the cloud, silver-lined, that stretches its dark shadow over the summer or the winter heaven, surcharged with cooling showers or else with-moisture which is changed in the atmo- sphere into star-like crystals of snow, these also hold in suspension some portion of the etherial forces of the globe and descend to revivify and fertilize its various functions. The ashes of the coal part with their chemical ingredients, and make the grass green in the field, or drive the marauding worms from the crops of the farmer. The wasted form of the oak or ash is absorbed by nature, tenderly buried as it were, and enters once more into the shafts which tower above its resting place. So it is with all the mate- rial forces which have their being and which are rooted in the world. They arise or exist; they shoot from the soil or lie dormant within it; they are gar- nered, mined or burned; they vanish utterly in their natural forms, and are seen no more. Yet are they not lost. The several parts wanting are, as we have seen, absorbed by other plants completing their growth and ripening to maturity. In place of the coals that are consumed, thereare other veins of them slowly gathering their forces for the comfort of mil- lions yet to be. There are mines also accumulating those wonderful accretions whichnow sullen and black, it may be ~covered by the restless seashall one day be exhumed and shine upon the brow of beauty. The globe parts with no portion of its mat- ter to its ultimate loss ; through all its vast lungs, the millions upon millions of pores in plants, the yawning ghastly craters of volcanoes, the fissures of the ground in various lands, the subtle vapors and essences from the vast laboratory of nature trans- pire. Yet all of them, as we have seen, are com- bined in some other form. The motion of the earth Is no swifter than usual; in our headlong race around the sun, we come and go with as much reg- ularity as ever ; the stars move upon their nightly rounds, the moon appears and disappears, the planets circle in their orbits, and follow out the plan laid down for them by the Creator; and the vast and grand earth revolves rapidly through space, in obe- dience to the impulse which first gave it motion. Nothing changes to our loss. Man fights his petty battles, he slaughters those who cherished him, and he rises up in his weakness to mock at God and His works; but yet, through all and over all, the majes- tic operations of nature go forward with a certainty and surety that can only proceed from an origin and power beyond the knowledge of mankind. A UNITED STATES TUN.The Treasury Department has decided that the measure of a tun, in making assessments for the internal revenue, shall be two thousand two hundred and forty pounds, in all cases, under the excise law, unless the contrary is specified. 25 26 THE COMPARATIVE SOCIAL STAEDING OF lilE CHANICS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. To the lover of his kind, to the philanthropist generally, few things in the wide range of social questions present a more interesting spectacle than the condition of the toilers and moilers who underlie the whole political systems of the world. The foundations of society rest, in a great measure upon the mechanic nrts. This is a broad as- sertion, and is supportcd by the following argu- ment Although laws are framed for the guid- ance and protection of the community, these laws and enactments are of themselves, in our country at least, projected, carried out, and supported in force by members of the mechanical world at large. Take the working classes, that is, those who exist by man- ual labor, for they are in excess of the professional ones who live exclusively by their brains or those of others, and we shall find that the masses are repre- sented by the followers of the several handicrafts; the hewers of wood and drawers of water form a noble army recruited from underneath all suns, gath- ered from every quarter of the globe, and exercising their several vocations alike in the torrid and the tem- perate zones. The comforts, the preeminence, the dis tinctions which are open to these men, the political privileges they may enjoy, their hopes, and the mun- dane prospects open to them, should excite no small part of our consideration. In a state of turbulence they excite the utmost alarm in any Government, but quietly fulfilling their destinies, rising with the sun and toiling long after the going down of the same, they accomplish and carry out the inevitable course of natural laws. The well-being and, consequently, the tranquillity of this class of men depend upon several things among these may be found the standard of wages, their social status, and their general intelligence. I These material matters are, in their turn, dependent, as to the first issue, upon the demand for the work- mens services ; as to the second, upon the particular form of government under which they live; and, lastly, upon the liberality of the State. A man who lives solely by selling his labor, will, in most in- stances, carry it to the market where it will com- mand the best price. Various causes conspire against the consummation of this plansuch as the natural ties of locality, home attachments, or encumbrances of one sort or another, and these al-c providential so far as they restrict emigration. Were it not for these irrevocable laws the country that is especially favored in respect to the points mentioned would soon be overrun and reduced to a level with the others. Let this be taken as a solution of the question, why all countries are not alike, or why one is not as good as another, and we have, limitedly, the secret of supe- riority. As we have said, the capital of the work- man is his hands and brain; and the country which pays him the most for the use of one and the devel- opment of the other is the one which he will select as the theater of his operations. We make a distinction between the use of hands and the development of brain power, as the best means of conveying the idea of invention. Inven- tion is the product of thought, and this thought ori- ginates in the brain ; consequently, wherever there is the best field for inventionwhere the discoverer is the most fully protected in his rightsthat, most as- suredly, will be to him the promised land. Compar- atively few workmen, in this age, are satisfied to jog contentedly along with the saw and the hammer as companions. No! this is the era of enlightenment and useful discovery. And as the incentives to men- tal action are great, viewed in the light of ordinary human aspiration, just so strong is the struggle to obtain the prize of wealth which it holds out. Let us look at our own country today, or rather as it was before the broils of politicians had ob- scured all the fair landscape with the smoke and tur- moil of battle, and threatened for a time to over- throw all law and order ; let us see what our foot- ing is in reference to the caption of our article. With us the workman is respected as an important mem- ber of society ; in return for the years of his appren- ticeship, he will receive, on an average, from $450 to $600 per annum, Not that a great many do not ob- tain more, but the rather that this is a fair average of the compensation received by all trades. This sum, depleted by the holidays and necessary relaxa- tion fi-om toil which is demanded by the body, is all that he has to support his family and establish them in some decent occupation. The State cares for their education, and he need be only at the expense of maintenance. On his table the mechanic in our country c-in place all kinds of meat, also fish and poultry, if he be luxurious in his tastes; fruits, vege- tables, flowers, these are all within the reach of his means, and can be indulged in limitedly. Thus far the inner man ; what of the brain and its needs? In nearly every ward of the cities which spread them- selves broadly over the land there are well-stocked schools and academies which will take not only the workmans shildren and make able scholars of them, but also himself in the evening, if his education has been neglected, and put at his disposal the primary branches of knowledge, which, once mastered, make all others comparatively easy. Thus are the two great and most pressing wants provided forthe body and the brain. So also, if we look at the operations of the commercial transactions of the country and the bearing these have upon the mechanics interests, we shall find so moderate a scale of prices in respect to food, clothing and the intellectual pleasures, that he may have not only enough to feed himself and little ones abundantly, but also find a surplus with which he may clothe himself like a gentleman, and visit the concert or theater as often as is necessary. Also, in the legisla- tion of the land, his voice may be as loud and his influence as strong as any millionaire of the metrop- olis; he exerekes his own judgment, and if oppress- ive or corrupt laws are put in foree, it is the fault of the class to which he belongs. Nay! he may him- self, enjoying the confidence of his fellow-citizens, aspire to any seat of power in the land. Few names shine more brightly on the roll of honorable dis- tinction than those who were formerly heard of only ia the workshops and mills. From these observations we deduce the fact that America must be, of all places, the most desirable one for mechanics, and certainly, compared with other parts ot the globe, it would appear so. Look for a moment upon the social standing of mechanics in the old countriesin England for instance. The me- chanic in that kingdom is as widely different from his co~djutor here as the countries are distinctly separated by the sea which flows between them. It is true that there are institutes and places for public gatherings, where the artisan may listen to lectures and themes discussed by the most eminent of his pro- fession ; there are, moreover, protective societies, in which the compliance with certain fixed rules and the payment of a monthly subscription entitle the member to the support of his fellows, both morally and materially. With all these advantages, how- ever, there is, in the English workman, a lack of the particular individuality which is so dear to the heart of the American artisan. Merge the latter in the mass, and you destroy his efficiency. Appeal to his personal skill and knowledge and you incite, not him alone, but the whole of his comrades, to act in such a man- ner that they also shall receive this coveted reward. The English form of government may be adduced as the reason for this. The aristocrats are so powerful that the laborers and petty tradesmen associate only with themselves, and are denied, generally, those op- portunities of social cultivation which are here at- tainable ; though it may be remarked that gentility, like poetry, is inborn and cannot be assumed. So also as regards the wages, the American workman has decidedly the advantage. English artisans with whom we have conversed, assure us, however, that the average amount of wages received per week by them is about thirty shillings, or $7-SO of our money. Now, if these figures are correct, we cannot think that the prices of food are so vastly less abroad than they are with us ; for, at the same scale of prices, even, the mechanic here would have much the advan- tage of his brother in Europe. At all events those mechanics who come to this country will not compare favorably with the mass here. Throughout Europe the case is much the same; the Government is the controlling power, for or against the workman, and allows him just such privileges as it pleases. If we look at France, we shall find the wine-shops and cabarets full of police, who, clothed in the dress of honest citizens, listen to conversations and ingratiate themselves into the confidence of groups, in order to find out the topics discussed. By such means the Government is always informed of the tranquillity or restlessness of the so- called lower classes. In Austria it is the same, and as well in Italy and some other of the smaller prin- cipalities that border on the Danube. In Germany the workman is free, comparatively; he goes to his beer-shop, sings, dancesdoes, in short, what he will, so that he only keep out of mischief. In all of these aspects of mechanic life we see features that are exclusively national and which enable the proficient to rec~gnize artisans of different nationalities at a glance wherever they are met. The British mechanic is apt to be lowering, beery and sulky; but he is steady when at work, a skillful man, generally, in the de- tails of his business, and thorough. The Frenchman is gay, vivacious, and volatile to a fault; he is often found over his via erdiaeire, and is an enthusiast in his profession, but not by any means so thorough as his neighbor across the Channel. So also the Ger- man ; his traits are sluggishness, a general-tobacco- and-lager halo surrounding him, and a heavy lump- ish way of working, which is in strong contrast with the otheis previously mentioned ; these qualities act against the production of any very fine mechani- cal work; in general, German wares are coarse and heavy. If we look at the American mechanic we shall find a combination of all the qualities above cited. He is energetic, enthusiastic and full of ways and means to overcome special difficulties. His dis- position is to hurry through with his business as fast as possible. Time is money with him, and a deal of it, too ; he consequently urges his powers to their fullest extent. It would seem that the attention of the me- chanic in this country is given chiefly to invention, so many are there brought forth, and this can be account- ed for by the value of the patents. Many and many a handsome fortune owes its existence to the well-di- rected efforts of a few hours thought. The number of discoveries of this kind multiply every year in all branches of art, science and manufacture, and we hold to-day, as we have always held, the reputation of being the most ingenious people on the globe. Much more time and thought could be profitably employed upon the subject of this article than it is in our power to bestow ; it is one full of interest, and we hope from time to time to say a few words upon our progress in the mechanic arts, as also upon the superior intelligence and mental qualities generally of our American mechanics. HOMES FOR MEN OF MODERATE INCOMES. There are some peculiar phases of city life which present food for thought, and afford opportunities for observation which, if properly improved, cannot fail to be of service to a vast majority of our citizens. In our last volume we presented our readers with some statistics concerning the cost of living, or, rather, of the bare support of life; living being a general term, which includes many things besides the mere staff of life. Let us now look at the manner in which families are obliged to live with reference to their apartments. It is a well-known fact that, owing to the value of real estate, and the enormous taxes with which property-holders are saddled, rents are high and the accommodation given therefor cor- respondingly limited. It is by no means uncommon to pay $1,000 or $1,200 per year for the use of a house whose surroundings, in the way of neighbors and the streets adjoining, are very far from being de- sirable. As we descend in the scale of prices, we shall find dwellings in the heart of the poorer quar- ters, on the eastern side of the city, which are rented to many familiessay from four to forty, and in some cases to still greater numbers (these figures do not designate individuals, they represent families) ; from the curbstone to the garret every room is thickly crowded with human beings. Such tenements are rented in suites of separate apartments, for which a monthly rent is exacted, varying with the distance from the street, those nearest the sky being of course the cheapest. The average receipts for one of these tenements will amount to the astonishing sum of $600 or $800 per annum. This in houses which are not by any means worth ten times those sums; indeed, we are told by those who ought to knowthe landlordsthat fifteen per cent is not at all an un common return for the capital invested. In some of the retired streets of the city, further up town, the rents are less, hut those which horder on the business parts command prices correspondingly great. Ilaviug now obtained a sliding scale of rents from $1,200 to $600, let us look at the means which people generally have to pay for such accommodations. It is safe to assume that one cannot, as a general rule, pay more than one-sixth of their income for house rent if any one does this, with a family always in the back ground relying on him for maintenance, they must, in order to pay the first-named sum, have an income of at least $6,000 per annum. Now, as that sort of salary is, unfortunately, remarkably scarce at the present time, we had better leave this part of our subject and come down immediately to more rational sums ; say, for instance, from $600 to $1,500 per annum. There are many modifications of this question which ought to be considered before going farther, which we are not able to discuss; and these questions may be embraced in the natures of the professions which occupy our citizens, and the requirements of them, as regards houseroom, rent, & c. For example, the mechanic, whose employ- ment is exclusively laborious ; he does not require, although his taste may exact it, so much of elegance or decoration as the man whose calling is intellectual, and who depends in a great degree for his mental cul- ture and sustenance upon the material matters with which he comes in daily contact. These things being self-evident, we shall not pursue them further. Takin~ up the amount of our incomes again, we find that for one of $1,000 we shall have, if it is divided by one-sixth, about $167 with which to satisfy the landlord. Now let any one look at the apartments, not houses, which are to rent for these prices, and it will be seen that they are wholly unfit for civilized habitation. Not only are they full of dark holes of bedrooms, where one stifles in the sum- mer, but they abound in vermin, and are uncleanly to the last degree. Something different is required, and that is, houses constructed on principles wholly at variance with those just mentioned. This sug- gestion is not at all difficult to carry out. There should be buildings put up with reference to the w~nts of bentlemen ith small incomes. A man with a limited purse may often have as much, or more, refinement than he who reckons his dollars by thousands, and it is in behalf of a large classby far the majorityof our citizens, that we raise our voice on this subject. If tenement-houses can be erected an(l made to pay a sure dividend, that is the rent in advance, of 15 per cent, certainly dwelling-houses of the new style can be run so as to amply remunerate their owners, even with the present rates of taxes. The buildings to which we have reference should embrace conveniences on one floor for satisfying all the actual wants which arise in daily life; as, for in- stance, the elevation of coals from the cellar, the con- veying away of slops, in short, the many conve- niences which modern machinery substitutes for muscle. Strict privacy should also be guaranteed to every dweller within the walls. We venture to as- sort that if such dwellings were erected, they would not only be full the year round, but command better rents than the miserable holes which are now the oniy refuge of hundreds of families in this city. New York life differs materially from that of towns and cities elsewhere in the States, and to meet the charac- ter of it we should have suitable homes to retire to at the close of the diy. Nothing has a greater or more beneficial effect upon society generally than the observance of those usages and amenities which are alike the distinguishing features of civilization and Christianity. DONALD ~IcKAY ON THE FRENCH NAVY. Donald McKay, who is now in Paris, has just com- municated to the Commercial Bulletin (Boston) a very interestin~ account of the condition and size of the French navy. According to the heading of the communication France is Mistress of the Seas a statement not quite warranted by the facts given. The transformation of the French navy to armor- clad vessels commenced in 1855, and it will be completed in 1870, when it will consist of forty first- class lion-cased frigates, with armaments varying from 36 to 52 guns each (all rifled and breach-load- ing), having engines of from 900 to 1,200 horse power, and all possessing a speed exceeding twelve knots per hour. The naval estimate for 1863 amounts to 143,418,920 francs nearly $30,000,000. The steam navy of France at present is composed of 325 vessels of all clases, and there are forty-two building There are six iron-cased frigates afloat, and ten build- ing; and there are fourteen iron-plated batteries afloat and seven building ; and there are 119 sailing vessels belonging to the navy. Mr. KcKay states that, of the sixteen iron-cased frigates afloat and in the course of construction, only two are entirely of iron; and he says It is now regretted by the Gov- ernment that these two were not constructed of wood, for experience has already proved, and without any contradiction, that these vessels, on account of their bottoms fouling rapidly, will not be capable of keep-. lug up in speed with the wooden-built and coppered frigates. The Warrior, of the English fleet, has lost from this cause two knots of her original speed, and it is generally conceded that these iron-built men-of- war ships will have to be taken into dock at least every three months, to clean their bottoms. Mr. McKay alludes to the speed of the pirate Alabama exceeding that of any vessel in the American navy, and she is wooden-built and copper-bottomed. In our opinion these views of McKay should be modified. It is indeed true that the bottoms of iron vessels become foul, and thus far no paint or cement used for coating them has prevented the adherence of bar- nacles; but the evil is not so great as has been repre- sented, else why should the mercantile classes of Great Britain prefer them to all others? Merchants are shrewd business-men; they look more to profit and loss than Governments, and if the expenses of maintaining li-on vessels were so great as has been alleged, of course merchants would prefer wooden steamers. But it is a fact that not only the English, but the French and German ship-owners have dis- carded wooden steamers, and have superseded them with iron screw-steamers. The thickness of iron casing in the French frigates afloat, as well as those on the stocks, is four and three-quarter inches near the load line, and four and three-eighths above. La Claire, Invincible and Nor- mandie are simply timber-built vessels cased with iron. They have attained a speed of thirteen and a quarter knots per hour under steam alone, with men and armament on board. They roll easily, are tight, steer well, and are efficient fighting ships. The ten new iron-clad frigates on the stocks are simi- lar to La Claire in outline, but they will carry their battery fourteen inches higher. Their dimensions are, length, 265 feet; breadth, 56 feet ; mean draft, 25~ feet. The iron-cased frigate, Normandie, has made the voyage across the Atlantic and is now at Vera Cruz. She has proved to be a good sea-vessel. Severol private establishments in France are filling orders for the Government. M. Arman, at Bordeaux, is building two iron-cased floating batteries. They are to be covered with six-inch plates, and armed with 180-pounder steel guns. At Nantes, M. Gouin is building two similar batteries, but their plates are a good ventilation on account of the many water - tight bulkheads necessarily used in their construction. 4. Their great unhealthiness, as proved already by the few cruises made by the Warrior and Defence. The second reason against iron vesseis advanced by Mr. McKay, has been proven to be groundless. How- ever, wooden vessels covered with armor may be the best for us to adept. It should not be forgotten, however, that the English entire iron frigates, so called, are composed of wood and iron. The framing, inner lining, and armor are iron; the middle casing is thick teak planking. In all likelihood the French large breach-loading navy guns will prove very in ferior, like the Armstrongs, to muzzle-loading guns. Mr. McKay has heard that several large frigates of over seven thousand tuns are to be constructed for our navy. He regrets this, because he considers them unsuited to the shoal waters of most of our ports. SCREW-CUTTING LATHES. When threads are cut with tools, in lathes, they are, provided the leading screw is a good one, more accurate than those made by dies. They require, however, much more time than the latter tools; this matter can and should be remedied. Lathe-makers seem to think that in providing changes of gear they fulfill all the requirements of the tool for this special purpose. In reality, many more appurtenances are necessaryguides, steadiments, doctors, side screws on the rest to gage the depth of the thread, & e. These might all be furnished, and a lathe turned out, for the avowed purpose of cutting screws and for doing nothing else, just as milling machines are made which will execute any curvature or angle desired In iron, brass, or any other metal. So also for cutting up nuts, there should be an attachment, by gearing or otherwise, that would cause the rest to travel back and forth like a planing machine bed; all the workman would have to do, in this case, would be to run the tool in or out, as the motion changed; he would then be sure of hitting the thread every time. In fractional threads and with old lathes this is sometimes a matter of difficulty. here are sugges- tions which we think would, if followed up, result in the production of a lathe which would be highly popular with manufacturers. AN IMPORTANT FACT. A recent editorial article in Mitchells Steam Slip- ping Journal (published at Liverpool, England,) con- tains the following item of information, relative to some peculiarities which it has discovered in our har- bor ; these will doubtless be highly appreciated, If not heeded, by mariners generally. Speaking of the Creat Eastern, it says : In the Thames she grounded at low water, but in New York, where she anchored, there is no tide, and the River Hudson keeps up a continuous flow of water. We have carefully ex- amined the remainder of the article from which the extract is taken, in the hope of being able to find some explanation of the statement that the Hudson only four cud ree quarter inches in thickness. The whole ~ockyar1 organization in France is very per- fect, and arr ngercents were lately made at Toulon and Chcrbur~ whc:cby provisions, & c., could be put on ho~rd of a fleet in half a day for an army of 60,000 men. All the oaval constructors in the French service are allowed to submit their plans to a com mission, and the plan offering the most advantages, though perhaps coming from the lowest rank, is ac- cepted, Mr. McKay recommends this excellent system to our Government. He asserts, that in comparison with the French and English navies that of America SEVENTEEN THOUSAND PATENTS SECUR E D is not worthy of the name, and he recommends that THROUGH OUR AGENCY. twelve first-class iron-cased frigates be commenced The publishers of this paper have been engaged in without delay. He also recommends that no iron procuring patents for the past seventeen years, during ships be built, but wooden ships covered with plating. which time they have acted as Attorneys for more He says : Iron ships ought not to be adopted in our than SEVENTEEN THOUSAND patentees. Nearly all the sea-going fleet, for the following reasons patents taken by American citizens in FOREIGN coma- 1. The fouling of their bottoms (against which tries are procured through the agency of this office. no remedy has been found yet) and consequent loss Pamphlets of instructions as to the best mode of of speed. obtaining patents in this and all foreign countries are 2. The weakness of their bottoms, and conse- furnished free on application. quent liability of soon breaking up whenever they For further particulars as to what can be done for touch. inventors at this office, see advertisement on anotheT 3. The impossibility to give them a good ventila- page, or address Muz-N & Co., tioa, all the artificial means having failed to produce No. 37 Park Row, New York. keeps up a continuous flow of water, and that we have no tide here ; but being unable to discover any thing bearing on these points we have reluctantly given up the search. We would like to inquire of our astute cotemporary if there are in England any rivers that operate on the palpitation principle? All the rivers in this country, so far as we know, keep up a continuous flow of water. Whenever they fail to do this we look upon them as mere mud- holessomething like the Thames at low tide. 27 ~Ixe ~aentWe ~me~h~ui~. RECENT AMERICAN INVENTIONS. The following are some of the most important im- provements for which Letters Patent were issued from the United States Patent Office last week. The claims may be found in the official list. Platform ScaleThe object of this invention is an improvement on that class of scales for which Let- ters Patent were granted to the same party on May 24, 1859, and the invention consists in the employ- ment of bell-crank levers in combination with and connected to each other and to double knife-edged pendent levers and to a graduated scale beam, in such a manner that, by the action of said bell-crank levers the oscillating motion of the pendent levers is transmitted to the scale beam pnrfectly correct and by means which are cheap and easily put up, and which, when put up, are durable, not liable to get out of order and work with as little friction as possible either up or down, rendering these scales equally applicable for weighing railroad cars, & c., and also for weigh locks. Elnathan Sampson, of Waterford Junction, N. Y., is the inventor of this improve- ment, and he has assigned his full right to the Samp- son & Tibbet Scale Company, 15 Dey street, New York city. Projectile for OrdnanceThis invention relates to projectiles which are intended to be fired from a gun having a bore of larger diameter than their own, for the purpose of concentrating, within the smaller transverse sectional area of the projectile, all the force obtained by the pressure of the gases of the gunpowder on the larger transverse sectional area of the bore ; and it consists in a jacket or case of a novel character applied to and combined with such a pro- jectile in such a manner as to center it in the bore of the gun, to leave the gun with it, and to remain at- tached to it during its flight, and only to be detached by the act of the projectile striking and after having added its momentum to the impact of the projectile. The inventor of this projectile is W. H. Smith, of Birmingham, Conn. Combination of Melodeon and Pianoforte.The object of this invention is to combine a reed musical instru- ment, such as is known as a melodeon or harmonium, with a pianoforte, in the same case, with a separate and distinct set of keys for each, so that each can be played separately or the one as an accompaniment to the other by a different player, without making the said case much larger or very perceptibly altering its appearance in any way; to this end it consists in the arrangement of the reed-board within one end of the case in an upright position, and the arrangement of the key-board to swing back into the case with the keys nearly close to the reed-board when it is not de- sired to play upon the reeds ; also in a novel arrange- ment of the action in combination with such arrange- ment of the reeds and the key-board. Ii. W. Car- penter, of Brooklyn, N. Y., is the inventor of this device. Rules to be Observed while Skating. The following excellent advice, taken from Hallz Journal of Health, will doubtless be appreciated, if not followed, by many of our readers at this season Skating is one of the most exhilarating of all pas- times, whether on the ice, or over our parlors or hall floors, with roller skates, In the days of Queen Bess, some three hundred years ago, it was a favor- ite amusement with the Londoners, whose facilities for the same were limited to pieces of bone attached to the shoes. As lives have been lost in connection with skating, the following suggestions are made 1. Avoid skates which are strapped on the feet, as they prevent the circulation, and the foot becomes frozen before the skater is aware of it, because the tight strapping benumbs the foot and deprives it of feeling. A young lady at Boston lost a foot in this way; another in New York her life, by endeavoring to thaw her feet in warm water, after taking off her skates. The safest kind are those which receive the fore part of the foot in a kind of toe, and stout leather around the heel, buckling in front of the ankle only, thus keeping the heel in place without spikes or screws, and aiding greatly in supporting the ankle. 2. It is not the object so much to skate fast as to Ikate gracefully; and this is sooner and more easily learned by skating with deliberation ; while it pre- vents overheating, and diminishes the chances of taking cold by cooling off too soon afterward. 3. If the wind is blowing, a vail should be worn over the face, at least of ladies and children ; other- wise, fatal inflammation of the lungs, pneumonia, may take place. 4. Do not sit down to rest a single half minute; nor stand still, if there is any wind ; nor stop a mo- ment after the skates are taken off; but walk about, so as to restore the circulation about the feet and toes, and to prevent being chilled. 5. It is safer to walk home than to ride; the latter is almost certain to give a cold. 7. Never carry anything in the mouth while skat- ing, nor any hard substance in the hand; nor throw anything on the ice ; none but a careless, reckless ignoramus, would thus endanger a fellow-skater a fall. 7. If the thermometer is below thirty, and the wind is blowing, no lady or child should be skating. S. Always keep your eyes about you, looking ahead and upward, not on the ice, that you may not run against some lady, child, or learner. 9. Arrange to have an extra garment, thick and heavy, to throw over your shoulders, the moment you cease skating, and then walk home, or at least half a mile, with your mouth closed, so that the lungs may not be quickly chilled, by the cold air dashing upon them, through the open mouth; if it passes through the nose and head, it is warmed be- fore it gets to the lungs. 10. It would be a safe rule for no lady or child to be on skates more than an hour at a time. 11. The grace, exercise, and healthfulness of skat- ing on the ice can be had, without any of its dan- gers, by the use of skates with rollers attached, on common floors ; better, however, if the latter are covered with oil-cloth. ISSUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATEI~T OFFICE FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 23, 1862. Repsrleui Offlciallu for lies & ienttsle Americas. s~ Pamphlets giving full particulars of the mode of applying for patents, under the new law which wentinto force March 2, 1861, sped- lying size of model required, and much other information useful to nventors, may he had gratis by addressing MUNN & CO., Publishers of the SOIENTIFIO Axaascia. New York. 37,209.Lock.John Adt, Waterbuly, Conn.: I claim the catch, C, when used in combination wills the bolt, B, and the double-pronged bit, q, all arranged as herein set forth. [This invention relates to an improvement in that class of locks which are constructed and arranged in such a manner as to admit of being readily inserted in an auger-hole made in a door, without, the trouble of mortising. The obj set of this invention is to render tha class of locks more compact and simple than any hitherto devised.] 37,210,Bed Bottom.Hiram Barber, Juneau, Wis.: I claim the combination and arrangement of the springs, A, cross- bars, 0, slats, G and F, and sheath, E, with or without the devices fer raising and lowering the slats, F, Substantially as and for the pur- pose specified. 37,211.Metallic and Wooden Roof.E. U. Benedict, Chi- cago, Ill.: I claim the combination of gutters made of metal and substantial- ly as described, with the joints and enlarged grooves of the board roof, the gutters being capable of being withdrawn, and the boards capable of shrinking or swelling Independent of the gutters, all substantial~ as and for the purposes set lortb. 37,212.Lamp Insulator.Alfred Bliss, New flochelle, N.Y.: I claiman insulating collar of gutta-percha or india-rubber, con- structed with an internal thread, b, to receive the burner, A, and an external thread, a, to screw into the socket, B. substantially as here- in shown and described, and adapted to entirely prevent contact be- tween the metallic surfaces of the lamp top and socket., as explained. [This improved form of insulator is adapted to entirely prevent con- tact between the burner and the reservoir, and may be applied by any one to lamps in common use.] 37,213.Valve for Water Closets.J. B. Boyle, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to James Stevenson, New York City: I claim the hollow valve stem with its lateral induction and educ. lion water-ways, substantially as described, in combination with the induction valve, sliding piston and cylindsi-, provided wills a small aperture or leak, to control the closing of the valve, and the dia- phragm or the equivalent thereof, for closing the valve by the press- ure of the water alone, substantially as and for the purpose specified. 37,214.ChurnJacob Brinkerhoff, Auburn, N. Y.: I claini, first, The hollow stud shaft, c, short metal shaft, b, key, d, and fly or balance wheel, D, when combined and arranged to op- erate in the manner and for she purpose specified. Second, The series of longitudinally-grooved blades, II, in combi- nation with the horizontal shaft, C, on which they are arranged in spiral lines, to operate in the manner and for the purpose set lorlb. [The nature of this invention consists in a peculiar manner of hang- ing a balance wheel, whereby its entire weight is supported indepen d sully of the driving shaft on which it acts, relieving the latter of al strain except what is required to rotate the wheel, thereby lessening the tendency of the churn to leak by the bearing nearest the wheel wearing away more than the other. It also consists in a peculiar con- struction of the dasher, whereby it is made more effective In its oper- ation both in the formation and gathering of the butler.] 37,215.Elevator Bucket.J. B. Brooks, Rochester, N.Y.: I claim the employment of a shield or facing of steel, or its equiva- lent, in any hardened metal, to elevate buckets, as and for the pur- poses described. I also claim, in combination with the above, the mode of putting the iron baud around the back and ends while they are flat, and last. suing it to the steel facing, as and for the purposes shown and de- scribed. 37,216.Cartridge Box.l?rancis Bush, Boston, Mass.: I claim, first, The adjustable inner box or boxes, B, in combination with the box or case, A, in the manner and for the purpose specified. Second, In combination with the boxes, A and B, the employment of a stop, substantially as and for the purpose described. 37,217.Combination of Reed Instruments with the Piano- forteB. W. Carpenter, Brooklyn, N. Y.: I claim, first, The arrangement of the reed-board, C, and the key- board, D, in combination with each other and with the extended por- tion, B, of the case, A B, substantially as and for the purposes herein described, Second, In combinalion with such arrangement of the reed-board and key-board within the case, I claim the combination of the reeds and keys by means of acks, G G, applied substantially as herein specified, to permit the closing-up of the key-board, 37,218.Bucket for Chain Pumps.J. D. Clark, Leicester, Mass. I cl- im a grooved bucket in combination wills an elastic packing ring, as herein described, and for the purpose set forth. 37,2l9.Cnltivator..Josephus Danner, of Milton, Ill.: I claim the combination and arrangement of the draught pole, A, the adjustable beams, B, the standards, C, and shares, c, the sup. ports, D, and the bar, E, and the strap, F, or its equivalent, all ar- ranged and constructed substantially as and for the purposes delinea- ted and set forth, 37,220.Coal-oil Burner for Lamps.Joseph Dodin, Brooklyn, N. Y.: I claim, first, The particular shape of the plate, Fig. 4, with its slots, a a, substantially as described Second, The circular plate, Fig. 5, with us slot, 31, in combination with the moveable tube, Fig. 3. 37,221.Can or Bottle Stopper.Jacob Dunton, Philadel- phia, Pa.: I claim a bottle or can stopper consisting of the socket, A, formed with a milled lsead, B, external screw thread, a, and internal shoul- der, a, the neck, ID, formed with an external lip, G, Internal screw thread, d, and annular flange, E, and the Imperforate cylindrical cock or plug, C, all constructed, combined and arranged in the man- ner and for the purposes shown and described, [This improved stopper has been extensively introduced in the army and is found well adapted for medical and other uses.] 37,222.Bayonet Scabbard and Guard.John G. Ernst, York, Pa.: I claim, first, The ring, D, adapted and employed to operate incom- binalion with the spring, C, and guard or scabbard, A, in the manner and for the purposes specified, Second, The combination of the guard ball, H, with scabbard, A, to constitute a combined scabbard and guard, as explained. [A description of this invention will be found on page 200, ~roL VII (new series) of the SCIENTIFIC A~ssaIcAse.] 37,223.LoomJolsa F. Fosdick,Lowell, Mass. I claim my improved application and arrangement, as described, of the guide, a, the take-up roller, b, the beam or roller, c, and its guides, d d, with respect to the lay and the breast beam of the loom. 37,224.Churn.llerman Gardiner, New York City: I claim, first, The secondary chamber, C, at she bottom of the churn, closed as described, having the apertures for the ingress aisd egress of the milk, in which chamber the agitating and permeating process is produced, separate from the milk in the body of the churn. Second, The combination and arrangement ol the chamber, C, the cylinders or tubes, D H ~ around the dasher, operating so as to maintain, when the dasher is in motion, a circulation and agitation of the milk and air, as described, Third, The use and application of the combined gauze cylinder, H, and sliding cylinder, E, for regulating the circulation of the milk while the process of churning is going on. Fourth, The combination and arrangement ol the inner tube, ID, and outer tubes, E H, so as to form tlse hollow space or chamber through which space the milk is drawn downward to the bottom of the churn into the chamber, C. 37,225.Attaching Handles to Cutlery.J. W. Gardner, Shelburne Falls, Mass.: I claim forming handles for cutlery and implements pertaining or analogous thereto, by meaiis of lbs parts, C C, secured to a flat tang, B, by means of lerrules, ID ID, fitted and compressed in recesses, a h. made respectively in said parts and the tang, substantially as herein set forth, [This invention consists in having the implement provided with a flat tang, and the handle formed of two parts placed one at each side of the tang and secured thereto by means of ferrules,] 37,226.Washing Machine.M. L. Grover, Duplainville, Wis. I claim the combiisation of the clothes receptacle, B, and rubber, E, constructed and arranged as shown, and used in connection with the suds-box, A, for the purpose specified, [This invention relates to an improvement in that class of clothes- machines in which a rotary or a reciprocating partially-rotating clothes-cylinder is employed and fitted within a suitable suds-box. The invention consists in the employment or use of a cylindrical clothes receptacle formed of slaves or slats with open spaces between them to admit the suds, said staves or slals being grooved or fluted at their inner sustaces, and the cloihes-receptacle having a rubber sus. psuded within it, constructed and arranged in a novel way.] 37,227.Hold-back for Cars-iages.H. A. Harris, Battle Creek, Mich. I claim the use of a graduated bar in combination with a moveable stirrup or ring and a spring, for lbs purpose and substantially as set forth, 37,228.Ileater.J. C. Henderson, Albany, N. Y.: I claim, first, The range of vertical lint-air pipes, h h, within the cylinder, d, in combination with the cone, k, that deflects the pro- ducts of combustion against the base of said pipes and cylinder for lbs purposes and as specified. Second, I claim the conical chambeI-, k, In combination with the cylinder, i, and air pipes, m m, as and br the purposes specified. 37,229.Adjustablo LinkJonas Hinkley, Norwalk, Ohio: I claim having the sides ci the two links pivoted together as shown, with an opening in eaclo link just in froIst of the pivot, all as herein set forth, [The object of this invention to to obtain a link of sImple construc- lion which may, us the coos of the breaking or parting of a chain serve as a means to cement the same and be capable of being very readily adjuoled in proper position, and also capable of being de- tached with facility, and, at the same time, not be liable to become casually detached. The inveulioss is more especially designed for a temporary fastening to be carried by teamsters and others, for the purpose of counseling a broken chain until it can be properly re- paired by a smith.] 37,230.Governor.J. S. Howell, Portsmouth, N. H.: I claim the friclion strap or box, j, on the nut, f, in combiisation 28 with the stop, h h, on the screw, substantially as described for the purposes set forth. 37,231.Treating CanutchoucLiverus hull, Charles. town, Mass.: I claim the application of carbon spirits, as described, and chloride of sulphur, to gronnd canutchooc, substantially as and for the ins- provement of it, as specified. 37,232.Floating Battery for Ships and other Navigable VesselsJames Hyde (assignor to Thomas Keech), New York City: I claim, first, The employment of a floating turret in combination with a floating tank or ships hull, substantially in the manner and for the pssrposes hereinbetore described. Second, I also claim forming a communication between the interior ol the ship, A, and inside of the floating turret, D, through the frame, B, and hollow shaft, F, substantially as and for the purpose oct forth. 37,233,Boot and Shoe.Oliver Lafreniere, New York City: I claim a boot or shoe provided with a dovetailed plate, D, grooved heel frame, E, and sole frame, A, all made and united in the manner herein shown and described. [The object of this invention is to produce cheap, durable and easy boots or shoes, and the invention consists In the employment, for the purpose of soling boots and shoes, of a metallic Iranse filled with hard wood or some other suitable material, and secured to the inner side ol the boot or shoe by means of screws or rivets, or by any other suit. able means, in such a manner that the sole can be made cheap and attached in a short time with little trouble, and that it svill wear much longer than soles of the ordinary usake.] 37,234.HarrowJohn Kelsey, of Yardleyville, Pa.: claim the construction of the oblique extended point, B, with its front tooth, C, and the scraper, M, when arranged and combined with the harrow, as herein described and for the purposes herein set forth. 37,235.Engraving Maehine.J. S. Ive~, of Morrisania, N.Y.: I claim the employment of a shaft or rod, K, hnisg by a universal joint in an adjustable stand, F, in combination svith a table, D, or its eqssivalent, ednisected by a universal joint to one end of rod, K, and a tracer or engraving tool, e, the whole operating substantially as set forth, to produce on a surface placed on table, D, various designs from patterns which guide the lower end of rod, K, in the manner hereinbefore described. I also claim making the pivots, or their equivalents, of the siniver- sal joint in stand, F, adjustable or variable, substantially as described, for the purpose of changing the proportions of the designs cut from the same pattern. I also claim the construction of the maclsioe substantially as de- scribed, so as to admit of chaisging the angles of the axes of the universal joint as set forth, for the purpose of inclining this design in either dlr~ction to its base, while the patteris has no [uclinatlois, as hereinbefore desuibed. I also claim the slidiIsg rod, k, in com5ination svsths the rod, K, and a suitable handle, i, substaistially as aisd for the purposes described. 37,236.Metallic Framing for Ships and other Navigable VesselsB. J. La Motile, of New York City: I chains a series of metal tubes forming the ribs of ships and other vessels, passing betweeii the loisgitudinal tubes forruieg the keel and keelson, substantially as specified. I also clams forniiiig the kisses ussiling the decks to the sides of tlse vessel, by bending the tubes forming er extending fi-om the deck or rib tubes, as set forth. And I claim the combination of ribs formed of pipes, wills longitudi- nal pipes passing between each other and clamped together, substan- tially as set forth. 37,237.Lantp Wick.Fredericlc McKee, Pittsburgh, Pa.: I claim as a nesv article of manufacturo a lamp wick made out of pulp, and felted or hardened together, instead of being woven, plaited or tuvisted, as herein set forth, and this I claim whether the pulp be incased in an oilIer protection or not, as described. 37,238.llailroad Car Brake.D. Myers, South Bend, md.: I claim, first, Applying the rubbers to the wlseels of a train of cars by means of ssiitable rods or chains and levers, and a sleeve sur- rounding one oh the axles of the tender or one of the axles of the hirot car of the train, when a pulley, K, with beveled edges, each edge having a spiral groove, is formed sin the said sleeve as set forth, for the purpose opecilied. Second, I claim the levers, It and It, their pulleys, s 5, and chains, and r, the u-lisle beiisg arranged and operating in conjunction with the brake levers, I and I, substantially as and for the purpose herein set ~rlh. 37,239.llailway Lamp.T. J. Newland, Utica, N. Y.: I claim the tubes, B ~ or their equivalents, constructed and operating substantially as described. 37,240.Lock.J. M. Perkins, Cleveland, Ohio: I claim, first, The guard plates, B B, and shops, F I, constructed, arranged and operating as and foi- the purpose described. Second, I chains the guard, K, the stop, K and the wards, a, ar- sanged and operated as aiid for the purpose specihied. 37,241.Combination Lock.G. M. Phelps, Williams- burgh, N. Y.: I claim, first, The key spindle, B, having boils a rotary and a longi- tudinal movement, and provided with a feathei-, f, in csmbinatiumn with the series of disk tumblers, A A A2, loosely mounted on the said key spindle, and each having an internal slot, g, aiid a yielding holder, e, substantially as and for tIme purpose herein described. Second, In combination wills the series of independent disk tum- blers, A A A2, each haviisg an histeinal - motels or slot, g, and a series of notches, k, around its pei-iphery, u-ills a click, e, applied thereto, and all mounted on a sliding anil turning spinihie, B, hirovided is-ith a feather, f, substantially as herein described, the notch or groove, , in the said spindle and pawh si stop, K, applied thereto, stibstantialfy as and for the purpose herein set forth. Third, In combination with the bolt, C, bolt tumbler, B, and series of disk tumblers, A A~ A2, mounted upoms, and formed so as to be tusroed and aihjusted by the sliding and turning key spindle, B, sub- staiitially as hdrein mhesciibed, the collam, L, or his equivalent, whneme- by the said key spiiidle, when disengaged from the said disk tumblers, can be engaged with and diseisgageil from time said bolt tumbler and bolt, substantially as aind for the purpose ~nerein set forth. Fourth, The arraingenment of the p asv , , by u- hich the toothed hubs, q, are secured to the rims, r, of the disk tumblers, with the per- foration, Q, amnd slot, a, in each of lbs said rims, the hole, R, in the lock case, and the toingtse, e, of time bolt Iiimbler, stibstanhially as and for the purpose herein described. 37,242.Boot-crimping Machinc.Corydon Pratt, Pratts hollow, N. Y.: I claim, list, Thm~ cimusbinatioms amid arrangement of misechianiom, simhistantiahiy iS described, whereby this aive, urhien mived doemiu-arih ii iii the opposite direclioms from which this heathier is forced on to thss formmsem-, isr(~ released from pressure omi time leathuem-, substantially us rehim-essnteuh amish iheoeribeih. Secumnd, lime U-shmaiieih (spandem, hroVidieuI with dlsumble.iiiciimserh phaiiis, and acting upon the springs, II II-, tin thie maimer substantially as set forth. 37,243.Umbrella.T. 11. Ray, Nortls Adams, Mass.: I claim the combination of m Ins chosimig roil, hi, with tIme spring catch, A, whets they are cinstrmmcteh, arrangeul and lihteul to prouhimre time re- stilt, ousbstaumtitshly mis lserein iheocribed. 37,244.Clsurn.Wilham Robinsoin, Bellefontaine, Olhio: I chmiini, lirsi, SmiOhiemmihimig the hotly, A, of a clmimrmi 5i~ioms a ceuttral spindle, e, its the maismier amid tsr the purpose stbstaistiahiy mis set forth. Second, his comblimation wills the cylinder, A, and spindle, c, I claim time stationary dasher, E, construmeted sumbstmtt~ially as nod lot this piur- rises set forth. Third, I claim thse cap, 5, in combimiation uvith the sphitfits, c, and opening, i, substanmially as and lorthe purpose set forth. 37,2{5.Lubricator for Steam Ehlgines.Jarnes Roscoe, Lehester, England: I clmmim constructing a himbric:itmir iridim iii it r pipe, I, iii rorisbinalion with the other parts, oumbetantialty as described suid rupr5~onteml. 27,246.Mode of operating Brakes of Railroad Cars.A. G. Safford, Boston, Mass.: I claim the combination of the equalizer, P. with the pulley, N, and the chains of the windlasses, It K, and the system of brake levers. Also, the arm-angement of the spring drum, 5, and its coupling and utuding mechanisms (viz.: the teeth, h i, and the system of one or more springs, k k), u-ith the pulley, N, arrsngsd beuveen the two trucks, and so as to operate substantially in manner as specified. Also, The conshinatioms and arrangement of two or more separate springs, k k, with lime spring drum, 5, and its rotary head or ratchet, T. Also, The arrangement and combination of a relieving mechanism (viz. : the windlass, o, with its ratchets, p q, and retaining and im- pelling pawle, r U, and connecltmins, 1 m n), u-ith the rotary spring drum, 5, and time chain pulley, N, arranged substantially as herein- before specified. Also, The arrangememst of the tripping lever, V. with the car body and the relieving mechanism, substantially as specified. Also, The combination and arrangement of the auxiliary brake levers, K K, svith the pulley, N, and the system of levers and rods connecting the brakes of trucks, as described. 37,247.Reversible Neck Scarf.A. S. Saroni, New York City: I claim a revernible scarf, provided wIth a neck piece made of card board, B, or any other suitable material, coated with hatters sizing, and provided with an elastic loop or loops, so that tlse scarf, A, is properly attached to the collar either side out, as the same time pre- senting the appearance of a carefully-adjusted cravat or neck-tie. 37,248.Metallic House.S. J. Seely, Brooklyn, N. Y.: I claim, first, The foundation sill, a a al, constructed in the man- ner and for the purpose substantially as described. Second, I claim constructing the sheet-metal walls, B B, with ribs, e, and plane-faced surfaces, e, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. Third, I claim the connecting sill, It, constructed in the manner and for tIne purpose substantially as described. Fourths, I claim the girders, G, in combination with the walls, B B, substantially as described. 37,249.Cork.XV. H. Towers, New York City: I claim the cork ivith the svire extending through it from top to hot. tom, the u-hole constructed and arranged substantially as set forth and for the purpose specified. 37,250.Operating Ordnance.Otis Tufts, Boston, Mass.: I chains the gun carriage with its attached turn-table, in combina- tion with the olidimig or recoil carriage on whiels the table turns, and the traimning carriage or slide that supports them, substantially as de- scribed. I claim operating a pivot-gun carriage and the gun thereon, subsian- tially us the manner set forth, viz. : by locating the shaft through which the piuwer is transmitted, so that it ivill be concentric with the training pivot or axis. I claim the training pin or pivot, i, when formed to admit the pass- age of a shaft concentrically through it, and combined with the train- imig carriage of she gun. I claim so arranging and combining a friction-producing clamp with the slide and ways of a gum carriage that it may be operated at one central potist, substantially iii the manner described, in the place of two separate clamps each requiring its own adjustment, as heretofore employed. 1 clttins so combining the champ, a, and the champ, v, that they are sperateth by one device in common, substantially in the maimer set forth. 37,251.Cnltivator.W. S. Weir, Jr., Monmouth, Ill.: I claim, fist, The combination and arrangement of the frame, B tongue, A, and wheels, C C, substantially as set forth. Second, The combination ivith she posts, Bi B, and plssv beams, of the loops, a, and draft-adjusting devices, b b, substantially as set forth. 37,252.Plsotographic Plate-holderA. B. Wilson, Waterbury, Conn.: I claim, first, The dsuble fusnnel and stem, with separate channels, construicted and operating substantially as and for tIne purpose de- scribeth. Second, Secusring the negative glass In position In the manner and by the means of a plate-holder, constructed and operating substan- tituhty as described. 37,253.Harvester.A. L. Darby, of White Creek, N. Y., assignor to lsimself and J. H. Balch, of Cambridge, N.Y.: I claim, first, The apparatus fur lifting and lurnimig over the fimiger bar, to wit : tlse lever, L, and chain, with slsafts, S and U-, enuipled by sin universal joint, and operated by bevel syheel gear K and It, ivith shaft and ivinch, when used in combination with the vibrating frame, B, fom the purposes set forth in the utthims specification. Second, The construction of the cutter guard or finger an described, with the cylindrical opening back of the points of the cutters and for- ward of the cutter bar, and providing the front part of the guard with cutting edges on the upper ridge and flank edges and lower ridge, or on the umpiusr ridge and flank edges alone, for the purpose specified. 37,254.ChurnThomas T. Ffirth, Camden, N. J., as- signor to himself and G. W. Adler: I chains any suitable number of flutter wheels, E and F, when ar- ranged so revolve in the direction shown, in combination with sny convenient number of ribs, II, ill, the., and their concave recesses, the uhsle being arranged and Operating 55 aind for the purpose set fuurth. 37,255.Apparatus for Pressing Hats.J. S. Giles and William Halladay, New York City, and J. A. Rue, Brooklyn, N. Y., assiguors to J. S. Giles and William Halladay aforesaid: I elsima the block, d, fitted to slide vertically in combination with Ihe hinged blocks, c c and b b, and forming the crosvn die for press- ing flaring or bell-crowned hats or bloomers substantially as specified. 37,25G.Skeleton Skirt.J. M. Kinney, Columbus Ohio assignor to himself and D. D. Winant, Brooklyn,N, Y.: I claim a skeleton skirt formed of springs radiating from a suitable waist-belt and connected to each other to retain them in a skirt. furm by elastic or mon-elastic cords, tapes or their equivalents substantially as specified. 37,257.Divided Vent-bushing for Ordnance to facilitate Unspiking.B. G. Martin (assignor to Jerome Buck), New York City: I claim the divided and dooveled cylinder, the combination of the saith bisected and perforated cylinder and vent-field detachable from the cannon or other fire-arm and from each other for the purpose of bushing any vent-hole whemnever needed, and the combination of she bisected and perforated cylinder and irrench detachable from each other as u~ell as from the vent-hole for the purpose of unspiktng can- non or other fire-arm and showing the vent-hole all operating as abttve described. 37,258.Apparatus for Condensing and Evaporating.j. J. Miller, (assignor to himself and Ernst Prussing), Chicago, Ill. I claim, first, The combination of the closed vessel, A, and alter- smately concave and convex rotating paints, B and E, with suitable indumelioms and eductioms ports, this whole being arranged to operate suibstantialty as and for the puirposes set forth. Second, The combinatioms of the surrounding jacket or coil, J, with the said closed vessel anul pans snbstantiahly - tis and for the objects shuecilied Third, Securimug the pane, B and E, upon the shafis, B, by means of Ihe collar, B, tubes, d, and clamping nut, N, substantially as and for the puirposes described, 37,259.Platform ScaleElnathan Sampson, Waterford, N. Y., assignor to tlse Sampson and Tibbits Scale Company, Green Island, N. Y.: I claim the emasphoyment or sios of bell-crank lesers, k 1 kl 11 p q, coumusected by rotls or their equivalents in combination with the oscil- lating veruteal om pendent levers, C Cl, from which the platform, A, is suispended, all constructed, arranged and operating substantially in the manimer and for the purpose herein sho vms and described. 37,260.Projectile for Rifled Ordnance.W. H. Smith, (assignor to himself and R. M. Bassett), Birmingham, Coun.: - I claim ihe seket or case, B, consirumeted and combined with the sofir, A, or projectile purper by mesuss of resin or uuthsr suitable ce- nisumI imi its snuumlar cavity, d, substantially ,,s and br lbs urpose herein spocilted. 29 37,261.VestDavid Vogl, London, England, assignor to Simon Guiterman, New York City. Patented in England, Dec. 10, 1861: I claim the construction of vests closed in front, ivithont arm-holes and held in position around the person by adjustable hands substan- tially as described. 37,262Feed-bag for Horses or other Animals.W. B. Wait, Greenwood, Mass., assignor to himself and J. A. Fairbanks, Melrose, Mass.: I claim the nose-bag as made either with the head cap provided with air inlets, im b b b, or ovish the same and an elastic moussh arran ed substantially as specified. g I also claim the nose-bag as made with an elastic hanger or its equivalent, and in other respects in manner and so as to operate sub- stantially as hereinbefore specified. 37,263.Oil Still.W. G. Warden and Thomas K. Petty, Pittsburgh, Pa.: We chains the use in stills, for distilling hydro-carbon oils, of a double trap constructed substantially as herein before described, so connected with the still, z, its worm-pipe or goose-neck, as not to return so the still the heavier vapors or any condensed products of distillation, but so that any uinvapsrized liquid or solid substance, carried over with the vapor or boiling over from the still through the still-head or goose- neck, shall be arrested before reaching the worm or condenser and either returned to the still or collected in a separate receptacle. Also, Brawing oil the unvaporized matter which is carried over from the still in the process of distillation and thereby preventing it passing into the condenser or receptacle for distilled oil by means of she apparatus, substantially as herein before described. 37,264.Passenger TicketN. D, Morgan, Mount Pleas. ant, N. Y.: I claim the combination of a new and improved form of passenger ticket to be used on railroad cars, steamboats and all other pushhic con- veyances for passengers, with a card or slip of paper printed or illus- trated or both so that the former shall inctose the latter as with an envelope or wrapper; ivith an aperture in the side of the ticket throusgh which the inclosed card or slip of paper shall exhibit some conshuicuous word or illustration to attract the attention ol she passen- ger holding the same, and also open at the ends so that the inclosed card or slip of paper may be easily removed therefrom and retained by the passengers substantially as herein before set forlh. 37,265.Canal LockS. J. Seely, Brooklyn, N. Y.: 1 claim, first, The method, substantially as herein described, of constructing canal locks, whereby metal instead of masonry is used to give the requisite strength to the whole structure. Second, Sustaining the side walls and bottom or flooring of canal locks by means of corrugated metal or, its equivalent substantially as deocribed. Third, The sustaining the walls of the gate channels by means of corrugated metal or its equivahemmt substantially as described. BE-ISSUES. 1,367.Artificial Leg.Douglas Bly, Rochoster, N. Y Patented May 17, 1859. Re-issued July 3, 1860: I claim, first, Curving or defleciting the jointed extremities of the base, J, so as so bring their axes ot motion back of their line of direc- tisms, substantially as and for the purposes set forth, Second, I claim she cord, T, and spring, X, acting upon the parts, B and L, substantially in the nianner and for this purpose herein set forth, Third, I claim the combination of she india-rubber spring, E, with a tendon or cord in such a manner that the required effect is derived from the conopression and expansion of the material, and not from its elongations and contractions, substantially as set forth, Fourth, I claim the axial bolts os- transverse axes, B C, as and for the purpose herein set lorth. Fifth, I claim providing the ends of the cords, F, with the smnlarge- ments and oith the conical socket fastenings, G, to receive the same, substantially as described, in order to apply adjusting screws for this purposes herein specified. Sixth, I claim she manner of construmeting the bearing portions of the knee-joint consisting of the upper and louver bearimig blocks, N N, each ot irhich brine a segment of a circle more or less correspond- ing ivith the sxiah bolt, the one being fixed in position and the other adjustable by means of the screens, 5 5, to admit of adjusting the parts together to prevent looseness and noise, and to reduce and regulate hhe friction, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth. 1,368.Lamp Chimney.W. L. Fish, Newark N. J.: 1 claim the use in connection with oil lamps of ordinary construe. lion and operatioms, of heating vessels containing a central flue so shaped as to form the chmmssey of said lamp substantially as herein shown and describedwhereby the same lamp may be used for both illuminating and heating purposes or for either. Second, In oil lamps of ordinary construction and in connechion with the heating vessel before referred to, I claim the use of a bulb or its equivalent device for she intermediate support of said vessel by the lamp substantially as herein shown and described. Third, In combination with the said heating vessel and bulb, when the hatter is made of an opaque material, I claim the use of a window or of wtndoes made of a transparent material for the transmission of light through it substantially as and for the purposes set forth. DESIGN. 1,702.Design for a Cane-head, Umbrella-handle or Sword-hilt.J. C. Nobles, Rushford, N. Y. TO OUR READERS. RECEIPTS.WheIi money is paid at the office for subscrip. tions, a receipt for It will always be given but when subscribers remit their money by mail, they may consider the arrival of the first paper a boots /ids acknowledgment of our reception of their funds. 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But for a fee of $5, accompanied with a model or drawing and description, we have a special search made at the United States Patent Office, and a report setting forth the prospects of obtaining a Patent ac., made up and mailed to the Inventor, with a pamphlet, giving in- structions for further proceedings. These preliminary examinations are made through otZI Branch Office, corner of F and Seventh-streets, Washington, by ex,,erienced and competent persons. More than 5,000 such exanitc.ations have been made through this office during the past three yeas. Address MUNN & CO., No. 37 Park-row, N. Y. How to Make an Application for a Patent. Every applicant for a Patent must furnish a model of his invention if susceptible of one; or if the invention is a chemical production, he must furnish samples of the ingredients of which his composition consists, for the Patent Office. These should be securely packed, the inventor~s name marked on them, and sent, with the government fees by express. The express charge should be prepaid. Small models from a distance can often be sent cheaper by maiL The safest way to remi1 money is by draft on New York, payable to the order of Muon & Co. Persons who live in remote parts of the country cs.ti usually purchase drafts from their merchants on their New York correspondents; but, ii not convenient to do so, there is but little risk in sending bank bills by mail, having the letter registered by the postmaster. Address MUNN & Co., No. 37 Park-row. New York. Foreign Patents. l We are very extensively engaged in the preparation and securing of Patents in the various European countries. For the transaction of this business, we have offices at Nos. 68 Chancery-lane, London; 29 Bouts. yard St. Martin, Paris; and 26 Rue des Eperonniers, Brussels. We think we can safely say that THaEE-FoUSTHs of all the European Pat- suts secured to American citizens are procured through our Agency. Inventors will do well to bear in mind that the English law does not limit the issue of Patents to Inventors. Any one can lake out a Patent there. Circulars of information concerning the proper course to be pursued in obtaining Patents in foreign countries through our Agency, the re- quirements of different Paisot~ Offices, & c., may be had gratis upon op.- plication at our on. cI pal office, No. 37 Park-row, New York, os either of our Branch Offices. Rejected Applications. We areprepared to undertake theinvestigatfon and prosecution of re- ected eases, on reasonable terms. The close proximity of our Wash. oglon Agency to the Patent Office affords us rsre opportunities for the examlr~tOlhh ibd COittspanlftifl of nltThreet,ee, istodeis sf1 wThgt, deco- ments, & c. Our success in the prosecution of rejected cases has been very great. The principal portion of our charge is generally left de- pendent upon the final result. All persons having rejected cases which they desire to have prose- cuted are invited to correspond with us on the sabject, giving a brief story of the case, inclosing the official letters, & c. Assignments of Patentg. The assignment of Patents, and agreements between Patentees and manufacturers, carefully prepared and placed upon the records at the Patent Office. Address MUNN & CO., at the Scientific American Pat- entAgency, No. 37 Park-row. New York. It would require many columns to detail all the ways in which the Inventor or Patentee may be served at our offices. We cordially invite all who have anything to do with Patent property or inventions to call at our extensive offices, No. 37 Park-row, New York, where any ques- tions regarding the rights of Patentees, will be cheerfully answered. Communications and remittances by mail, and models by express (prepaid), should be addressed to MUNN & CO., No. 37 Park-row, New York, Caveats. Persons desiring to file a Caveat can have the papers prepared in the shortest time by sending a sketch and description of the invention The government fee for a Caveat, under the new law, Is $10. A pam- phietofadviceregarding applications for Patents and Caveats, in En- glish and German, furnished gratis on application by mail. Address MUNN & CO., No.37 Park-row, New York. J. H. P. of N. Y.We have received your note and in- closure, and thank you for your complimentary reference to the Sc*axsric AMERICAN. As regards the frictional gearing for your purpose u-s think it an excellent featute there are how-ever, some maclit nes such as yours driven through the same agency of such is Seth Bordens, made i is Newark, N. J. he does not use grooved wheels, hon-ever. We cannot tell you the size necessary as there is no work on that subject published. They will not vary greatly from the toothed wheels they n-ill require to be protected from grease, so that their surfaces will remain dry and bright. It would be necessary, obviously, to know- the construction of your valve and the resistance which has to be overcome by the divers. Experi- ment will demonstrate better than any other rule w-htch sizes are tweet desirable. The best packing in our opinion for small stuffing- boxes is an elastic gasket; that is, one having a center of india-rub- ber, wound outwardly with cotton w-ick this clings to the rod and does not require mitch compression. We do not know the variety yost speak of. TIre Practical Draughisiwan is the best work you cats get for learuing to draw. Farrell & Son, Patton Street N Y are the publishers. Goad draw-ing instruments can be had of any of the philosophical instrstment dealers at a very much less price than the one mentioned by you. 0. ID. M., of N. Y.The silk from tise ordinary milkweed is not adapted to the creaking of paper, as a sesbotitusle for rags. The fiber is too short and has but little tenacity. T. C., of Conn.The steamboat Daniel Drew has made 23 miles per hour for seven consecutive hours. The Oily of BeeTate has made 21~ and 24 miles per hour for short distances on Lake Erie. Our ocean steamers have made as high as eighteen miles per hour on occasions; these however, at-e very rare. They do very n-sit to average 12 miles per hoitr. M. T. & Co., of C. E.You state that yen intend to con- struct an air chamber around your boiler furnace to admit cold air toil at a louver level than you take off the hot air to warm your fac- tory, but that the hot-air pipe will have to dip bayer dosvn Ilsan the inlet cold-air pipe; and your iiiquire if it will have sufficient draft. We think it will operate if you make your inlet cold-air pipe smaller than the exit list-air pipe, so as to relieve the inlet pipe from back preositre. E. C. MI., of It is possible to cast cannon or a body of metal of any shape by the method yost mention, bstt whether they uvould be good for anything is a qetestion which would have to be determined by experiment. H. T. XV., of OhioTo obtain the silver from the clip- pings of seositiro photographic papet, first burn them, then collect their ashes, place them in a crucible with some borax, utter or car- bonate of potash, and subject the crucible for about two hours to a bright red heat. The silver will then be fostud in the form of a me- tallic button at the bottom of the crucible. Money Received At the Scientific American Office on account of Patent Office betetnees, from Wednesday, December 24, to Wednesday, December 31, 1862 F. H. C., of N. V., $20; F. S. B., of Iowa, $20; S. II., of Ind., $20; M.11.F.,ofN.Y.,$20;C& M.,of N.Y., $120;A.J E ofN V $20; W. T. H., of Ill., $20; H. II. E., of Coun., $20; S. H., of Ind., $20; B. T. B., of N. V., 45; T. P., of N. V., $20; N. A., of Coun., $20; J. P. D., of Ion-a, $20; N. F., of N. V., $41; G. B. M., of Pa., $41; J. C. C., of Mass., $20; P. B., of N.Y., $15; C. W. C., of Pa., $20; T. C. V., of N. V., $20, 11. B. F., of N. V., $21; D. I. S., of N. V., C25; L. S., of N. Y., $15; H. & B., of Ill., ~10; B. & 11., of N. V., $15; W. J. S., of N. J., $40; V. & P., of Mass., $15; P. F. H., of Pa., $~5; C. B. It., of Pa., $10; W. F. Q., of Del., $25; G. M. H., of Ill., $25; D. H., of 2nd., $10; P. J. C., of Cono., $25; P. A. C., of Mass., 25; D. C. G., of Pa., 15; 11. E. P., of Coun., $25; B. F. C., of Mass., $15; P. & 0. K., of Mass., $10; 11. B., of N. P.. $30; T. H. C., of N. H., $15; J. P. II., of Pa., $10; G. W. E., of Ill., $12: S. C. H., of Mass., $50; P. R. S., of Va., $25; S. & B., of N. V., $75; A. T., of Wis., $15; P. Mg. Co., of Conn., $60; J. H. S., of Pa., $15; P. A., of N. V., $23; J. E., of Cotan., $15; P. D. B., of Vt., $28; C. St. P., of Mass., $27; A. Le B., of Parts, $100; B. B., of Ill., $15; B. F. A, of Iowa, $ ; C. N. II., of Pa., $25; 0. Han N., of Ifase., $10; P. H., of Pa., $25; T. S. D., of N. P., $315; L. 0. C., of Pa., $50; H. L. C., of N. V., $25; F. W. G., of N. V., $tS, G. S., of N. V., $25; T. W. B., of N. P., $25; MW. ofN. V., $25; J. H. D., of Wis., $15. Persons having remitted money to lists office wflh please to examine the above list to see that their initials appear in it, and if they have not received an acknon-ledgment by mail, and their initials are not to be found in this list, they will please notify us immediately, and in. form us the amon t, and how it u-as sent, whether by mail or ex- press. Specifications and drawings and models belonging to parties with the fohiow-ing initials have been fore-arded to the Patent Offtce from December 24, to Wednesday, December 51, 1862: H7ll.F.,ofN.V.;D.T. S.,ofN.V.;L. S., ofN. Y.;L.A.,of CaL; W. P. 5., ofN. J.; J. A., ofN. V.; T. W. B., of N.J.; Q. & L., of Del.; P. J. C., of Coun.; P. A. C., of Mass.; T. D. L., of N. H.; J. F. H., of Pa.; 11. H. P., of 00cm.; 11. B., of N. J.; P. & 0. K., of Mass.; L. D. C., of Mich.; G. H. 1-1., of IlL; T. P. H., of N. V.; 0. 5., of N. V.; H. XV., of N. V.; G. W. H., of Ill.; P. D. II., of Pa.; F. W, G., of N. V.; S. C. Tb., of Moos. (2 cased; J. A., of N. V.; C. St. J., of Mass.; H. L. C., of N. V.; P. H. S., of Va.; L 0. C., of Pa. (2 eases.) RATES OF ADVERTISING. Twentyfive Cents per line for each and every Inoertionpay. ble en advance. To enable allure understand how to compute the amount they must send in when they wish advertisements inserted, w~s u-ill explain that ten words average one line. Engravings u-ill not be ad- mitted into our advertising columns ; arid, as heretofore, the publish- ers reserve to themselves the nichi to reteot any advertisement t ey may deem obiectionable. OW IS THE TIME TO SUBSCRIBE FOR THE BEST N paper- foc the times l Moores literal Acer You-icr, the Leading and most Popuelar Farm and Fireside Jaetrnal iii America, cr11 sister srpon its Fourteenth Year and Volume in Jatietai-v, 1863. In all the essentials of a first-class Agricultusral, ltorticeuiuiirssl, Literary and Family Newspaper, combined, the Macal has lung beers prorrourneed, by both Press and People, the best ot its class, snd the inarerense circulation it continues to maintain tiuraugliout dIsc Loyal States, Canadas, & c., proves ihuat tire War for tIes Union has riot dinainished ito seandiog or popularity. Our aim unIt be to the furtare as it ever has been tie this past, to make it superior in all respects, antI usqoes. trorsably the most noefeul hi sine tuseirrual published iii Anserices I Al. nays Loyst Psacuic-il and Piogressive, lbs lieu-eel Vcuo Jeerker has tueng been thee Favorite Agricultural and Family Weeklylargely read arid ardently admired rut bath Ton-n arid Country. Its rneple pages coinpi tee Departments des oted to or uhicts treat ably arid fatly upoff Agi ucnlture Architecture Edrrcaeion. Liecrature, Ileeruicoluenrs, Mural Feonon Ares -red Scion cc, General Nsa-s with various minor Deprit macnb, nd including nuneersuus Iltrustratioss, Testes, Sketches Mrrerc Poetry Hiss-in-is & c.reusderiusg the peuleer iiiotruc- Inseand enter Lirietag to the sasrons members of elue leomily Circle. The War Nen-s Ptarkets & c receive special atteiitionitlse literal Zsciu Yoslec conlauning Heports 51 the priocipal Grates, Provisteere, Cat- tle XX (iot arid Ti ire Mae Lets in lie cieuirier5-. Remember eliot this lieural .iVese Yorl is published Weekly ire one of the very best rrrlli vated secuneins of Amertca, ared uhsar. its Edlisre, Contribtitesro end Cor- respondents strive is prremoie the Pecuniary Interest and Home Wed- fence of its tess of thorusands of readers. Its Westerns Cors-esponelineg Editor, Chas. D. Bragdon, Eoq , u-hose Wesuorn Editirrial Notes, have attracted nasele ateentitees arad been widely cerialed during the past year, n-ill hereafter deesue still more time and thought for the benefit of the Piuireul Acer Yorker and its readero. Style. Form, Terms, & c. Veelume XIXT, for 1861, n-ill usaintata the enviable repuetauton the Moral Aces Yorker has acquired fur both Con. tones and Aplusarance. It uvill be huabtisleed in Superior Seylsnith Neev Type, good n-bile Poleer, arid niany fine Illustratiores. Its Farm n-ill contireno the same as~nouvDorihte Qeartses-itte an Index, Tithe- pace, & c., at close of year, coruptete for binding. Terms, sin-aye in advance 2 a year; 3 copreo for $5; 6 for $10; 10 for 15with a free cee~ey Ilirevery dub of six sir inure. Non- is the Time iii Subscribe usud form Clubs. Ellicieeet Leucesi Agorsto nantud In alt places reached by the United Slaics and Canada usails, to n-hone ru-s ueffer handoseme Premiums. Spec-tines riumbeus, promiuns lists, & c., sent free to all dispeesed to benefit their neighbors and comireun- ity by issurodercing the paper to nears general notice acid surlipeart. Ad- dress P. P. T. Stoors, Hochestor, N. V. 2tf NCYCLOPEDIA OF CHEMISTRY, THEORETICAL and Practical, in its applicatteiri des this Arts, Metalsuergy Miner alogy. Geology, Sledicins, and Phormuecy. By James C Bosels as sisted by Canisebell Morbt. Fifth ediniuss. leo. - 5. TREATeSE ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO TIlE MAIuU FACTURE OF SOAP AND CANDLES; being a thesuorigh expsse tion, in all their nainautee, of the Prirecipals and Praslics 01 the Trade, based nporu the most rocent Discuiveries iii Scienue and Art By Campbell bruit. A neun and improved odision, with lout engiac hugs, lvii., cloths, $6. A MANUEL OF ELECTRO-METALLUlWV, MITII TIlE AP phication of the art is Sloneulacturing Porpueses. Be J tines N pier Illustrated, l2mo., cloth, $1 25. The alcove or any ref my books sont lay neall fre5 of leoulsas HENRY CAHEY BAIHD. Publisher of Practical Books 4th Wil nut street Philadelphia, Pa. LICENSE TO MANUFACTUREFISHERS IMPROVED Wrooglet-irons Sleun-er, feet- suree or all of thee United States. Tisis machine is light. strusne arid durausis. Cutting ahahiaratne heinuged no the frame ceurs be fudded for uronspeurtau.iuurr in hail a nitsites. The operator tuttle oiae fuuot cars raiss the erurters over- sulssit-uictiuris, theirs leaving bosh arms at hibersy to marcage his loam. Thirteen tuennedred of the above maclimes have been seuld, amid missy give general satisfac hone. Also Fishers One-horse Iron Moser, u-sight 3511 pesuneds. drain 10 pounds. It uvuurks welL Parties ohs wish to manufacture or pur- chase territory may address HENRY FISHEM, Alliance, Ohio. 2 4* W ANTED.A PARTNER WITH CASH CAPITAL TO introdecs a valuable machiete, fir witch Letters P--lent have been obtained. Addreo - H. 0. LOWRY, Saratoga Springs, N. V. 1- THE AMERICAN SHARPSHOOTER.ILLUSTRAT1NG practical inns of Telescope as a sighed fur rifle, artillery, & c., de- monste-aming houv to sight a grin, hoev to ascertain tall of built for all distances, lion- to gel etevationn w-irhoeet change if sight, berw to meas- ure distances by rho Telescope, defining rules bmw to strike an object ad every slisi; iractuding other useful infot-rassnuion for she gsrnrner. Price, single copy, hifty cemuts, on rerript of which, sent by neail free of postage. All conanenniroutuns nsa remittances to undersigned pronsptiy attended us. DANIEL WOOD, Author- arid Publisher, Hachesier, N. V. 1-s PARTIES DESIROUS OF ENGAGING IN THE MANU- Iheerers oh a first-class Shonrr sec Heutleer and Shrener cue betted; made u-belly uif trone ansI steel, uslilt double di-teing usheets. hinged finger bar, and folding ersteing ahaparatuis, niul fired iliens in this sine- sesuful and poteeslar nauchirtes, -- Caysuda Chief and Caynga Chief, Jr. Address C. WHEELER PH., Poplar Ridge, Cayriga contuty, N.Y. 23~ ~ AllONTH WE WANT AGENTS AT $60 A neon I , claertes prid, 10 evil suet- Ra-erleseineg Pencils, Omiental Brie tact s mad rh neon rue haer races, sesefuut ared ceuviutues aetteles. I ifreen eniceel er~ tenet leer. Address SIJAW & CLARId, Biddehierd, H-anne 2 l1~ ~ A IONTHI I WANT TO HIRE AGENTS IN sIp Se.) every conuhy at $75 a monib, expenses paid to sell 153 tuew chep Family Se Ing Sherhtnes. Address S. lIAbISoN, AIfr d, lIaise. 2 Ph5 WANTED.AN EXPERIENCED DRAUGIITSMAN, from 20 to 25 years of oge; one having a practical acquaint- ance with Printing, Pattern-making or Machinery preferred. Also, a yottng man to make rough sketches in peropecttre, from froot and side elerotiono. Ao itttetview may be had in Bostots or New York. CIJAItLES W. FELT, Providence, R. I. 2 3 LIMBS BY E. D. HUDSON, H. D., CLIN- stairo, Astor Place, New York. SOLDIERS PRO- VIDED WITHOUT COST, by commiosista of the Sttrgeon General of tlte United States Army. Feet for litobs sfttrtened by hilt disease, ass Important invention. Descriptive pamphlet with references sent gratts. 1 F ORSALE--RIGIITS TO BUILD AND USE OLIVERS Manufacttiring Gun Stocks. Complete de- fail drawings ftsrtsisbed. Patented July 1, 1862. Address H. ~V. OLIVER, New Iloreit, Conn. 2 2~ T ACQUARD MACHINES, WITH APPURTENANCES ma to lisritired atid ptst up. Lostms fir isarrosv gottds, from silk ribbon itt csttton tone, htsilt In ord er on the moot apprtsved prisseiples. W. P. UIILINGER, No. 1,621 Nortlo Second street, Philadelplola, Pa. 210 THE NEW YORK OBSERVER TS A RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR NEWSPAPER, PUB- .1. lished Ott a double sheel, so as to be easily separated into two dis- tinct tapers. In Religiots ills free from sectarianism, and gives a full, fair and impartial report every week of all matters of getieral interest in all tlse dctsstminations. Its Psslisics it is entirely free from party relations or affinitien, dis- essootug great principlcs scish freedom attsl catodor, stud givisig the full. cot asid latest intelligence of all the mssvements of Ilse day. It sup. p(trlo the Govertimerit witfo vigor, fidelity and zessl, in its efforts to crush the rebellion and restore the Unison and preserve the Coisstitto- tioss. It criticises with freedom svhaterer measures are not adapted to the accomplishment of these ends; but ste steady purpose, from lbs begissisisog of the war, boo been, aud svitl he, tss uplisold the hands ansI strengthen the heart of the Goverisment, while it psots forth its essergies tis pristect us ssgo.iitst the most unholy rebellion that ever dii- turised the peace ssf any country. The N. Y. Observer is the mssst complete family newspaper in Ihe wisrld. In the viriety ssf its Departments, in the lulness of ils Isofor- matisto, in the exteiss of its Ctrresltoiodeiice, in the number of minds esolisted is its Editosrial asod other columsts, in the amssnnt of money ensonded in troscursog materials to enrich and adorn its pages, in the hessltlifsil, religious, conservative, genial tone that pervades the palter. In its stores of a.secdsote, biography, poetry, science, art and geiseral literature, it will strive to exceed every other weekly GREAT INDUCEMENTS, paper. The proprietors of tfte New Yssrk Otiserrer stifer the fsslloning valu- able premiums fur isesv subscribers. In all cases, ths new sub- scrsbers must be thooe scho have not iii their osvn or others names taken the paper dsiring the possi year. TO MINISTERS AND OTHERS. Tloe Annals of tlse Americussi Psilpit, by Rev. William B. Sprague, D. D., are cotmprised in sen-is large stetavos roissines, viz., Cssngregational, 2 vile.; Presbyterian, 2 v1tls.; Meshosdist, 1 voL t Episcopal, 1 vol.; Baptist, 1 vssl. They costitain the bisigiaphy of more than a tltonssisd ministers, and a history of each denotmissation, with a statement of ts doctrinal views, makiiig a cnmplete library of religious biography aisd histosry. The lives of these ministers are iIitershiersed with inemosralole anecdotes and incidents, and illoistrated by letters frosm diostisguised statesman atod clergymen, resodering the volumes an in- exloaoistible source of isostroictison and entersosinmetot. The publishers price foor the set-en rots stones is $18 511. We n-ill furstish lbs whole set to the sorder of assy persoti wissi trill sstsd us tivelve mciv subscribers with the paymesso lot otis year, or any tsso votitimes for fiutir stese sub- scribers, or any otis volume fur two uesv subscribers. Itt all cases ths money ($2 50 fist etch stolioctiber) mist toe p id in advance. TO FARMERS AND OTHERS. We will furnish the svhoole set of the follotwing works to any one wloso n-ill setid its filteets new soibscriherssvith payment oh 2 50 in advance on estsuh foor sine year, viz: Anserican Fartuers Eticycloipedia $4 00 Allens (R. L.) Auseriran Farm Book 1 00 Allen (J. Fiske on tlos Culture of the limps 1 oo Bonys Fruit Oarden - 1 25 Boosssingssislts Rural Ecotosonsy 1 25 Bridgemaits Vonsoog (lardetoers Assistant 1 50 Buists American Floisser Oosrden Directory 1 25 Com~oreliensine Farns Itecoord 3 00 Dadds Modern Hoirse Dooctoor 1 00 Dadds American Cattle Doctor 1 00 Danas Muck Manual 1 00 Fretochs Farm Drainage 1 ~ Garhicks Fish Culture 1 00 herberts flints to Hoorse-Keepers 1 25 Wssrders Hedges asid Erergoensos 1 00 To any otis eessdistg us ten IO5W subscribers and advance payment for each, otis year, sve will send the Farmers Encyclopedia, Farm Riucord, and any live ostloer hooks on this listor the tittire list, except the Encyclopedia sun Recoird. For line new subso-tibers, svith payment in advance, we will send the Farmers Esseyclopedia and Farm Record, or any other five hooks o the list. Foor four new subscribers and payment, the Encyclopedia and any hosok less than $3. For three new subscribers, the Farm Record and any dollar book. For tn-s new subscribers, aisy tints hooks in the list costing less thoan $3 each. And for one itew subscriber any book costitog less than $5 oss the list. Tlsese books snill be sot y mail or express, at the option or expense of the subscribers. Every evenisig devoted to canvassing may secure one or more of these volumes. They are aunong the most practicotl works univ published on lbs sub- I ects treated. With this collection uif ttooks in his libras ., neither tIne beginner noir the more adnausced farmer used go further for the in- strosetmoon desired us any branch of his pursuits. They are Isere phsteeof witisits this reach of every young man in the ousotry, withoomt a ulosilser itt money. Specisosen espies if thto pussier semmt free Is any adolress. F OR SALETHE WHOLE OR PART OF A MACHINE Isuop, Foomodmy altos-hood. A ver~ desirable hoscatiusmo loir a mosamo of emiteoprise. Adduess GROVE BROTHERS, Non-ark, N. J., or CHAS. H. S totTlI, 115 Nortls 3d Streit, Phsiladel1ohsmss. 1 5 11 Old Slip, Yoork. 1 2~ DARE AND BEAUTIFUL FLOWER SEEDS FREE TO Lii alt who josiss thoc RURAL KEYSTONE CLUB. 25 cts. its 5:1 clear sasing oss all onbocrilosiosso to ioniropnprrs amid loeriod~calo. Four full particoslaro tend stemlos to P. SUJION, Ransom, Pa. 1 3~ T~ ADLEYS PATENT TAP GUIDEFOR SALE STATE, AL Coouonty and Sisosbo Itiglots, or thus 0-hole patent. See encravung susol descnipison mu ulse SnuoNcmnuc AoOttsntCAN of Dec. 20, Vol. VII, No. 25. WM. S. BADLEY, Noris-alk, Ilsoross Coo., Ohio. 1 5-0 ~UE UNDERSIGNED WISIIES TlJ MAKE AP5BANI?E. I.. nosisus so-muls parties to-so-i -os~ c-i list 0 eussuilo tituss to moist osumfec tours, isis ass -xueuu~ sue a, - c Is oh b I-. isluOt-.. SrI 0 f rosobot (ihlousossobeoh sit Nos Ii 5, sob it ii Oboe ocusscirtr A- - co-n (050-u- cet-i~uu). 0 usosbo I too iso loososbosig stool lirosso it moo equssll,-ol Ion toss toots its uuu lol-urt-sa liP F OIAN LIt 551 Jut., Wooohssusoooouu 1 F 0~~50jj~r cUXTEFNr C ONSUCUTIs ~ Iso first rite 50 - - ,s, -00 Ii On I -- Th ANI~I S PLANING M~~cHI~rs COMBINING III LI cuss auud very s olusabso unspsuovemessts, snub first-chaos work mauislithi, plostuisog this fushb-rnueot oriduhs of bloc machiuse, wioh the dead weight situ. Do-u-toted by comlusuemot jud gus uS thc best Deisiels Planer yet made. Pssrltss e bauit poreluosin gsbnold nudreos, the only matmts- Sct~i-sfs, RICIIAHDSO N, StERIAM & - CO., Weteester, Mass. GREAT INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EX hibition at Hamburg, Germany, of 1863. To Invenbors and Misnutfacturers of Agricultural Imlolemeusts and Machinery. This ex- 1sf bition, ushich is to open sin June 1. 1863, ovill be ulse first otuportumo- isy offered tot Americoum tusrensors and Slaunfarnorers to bring to ohs immediate notice of thoc peouple of Northern and Centrsh Europe, the greoss improvements of tnis cuoumutrn in Agricushural Imholemests and Machinery, and such other important imoventions pertainins to dosmes- tic econoissy and otbem- variosms occupations of iusdnstsy. SIr. Janses R. McDonald, Ex United States Consul, and for many years a resi- dent of Hamburg. has been selected as one of the I)irectors oh this Exhibisioon, is-ith a viesv of securing so American Exhibitors a proper interest in Iheir contributions, and to attend to their sale if required. Imnuentlais appliesshion should he made lbr proper accomiudation to AUSTIN BALDWIN & CO., No. 72 Broadway, New York. 25 3* WANTED A PARTNER WITH SOME CAPITAL TO join in an iron ship-building establishment and machuts shop, in a moist favorable location. Address Engitoser, Letter Box SoS, Phsiladehnhia P. 0., p~ 23 ~5 INCRUSTATION IN BOILERSA POSITIVE REM- ].. edy. Winanss Anti-itserustation Powder, seven years in success huh use, ovithosus injury. This shssstihd give it preference over usein and unknown mixtures lately put in the market. Referemices, George Shield, Miles Greenwoisod and otheus its Cimociussoati; Americams Bausk Niste Company, & c., Nssn York; suod on r 1,005 moore throosoglosuss the cusnuossy. Csrculssrs on application to H. N. iVIIiANS, Box 6, P. 0., Neon York. II 7 ATTENTION, MASONS AND MECHANICSAGENTS snanted. I will send loss sample) out sloe receipt of $1, a hasod- some Gold Slasronic Pin or Ring, or Genuhemans Cloustre Pin with Chain attached, or New Style Scarf Pin, or Plated Vest Chain, or a Fine Gold Pen aund Pencil, or Engraved Locket or Bracelet, or Neck Cloaims, or a beautiful set sif Jewelry, together ovith my irholesahe cir- cular. C. P. GIRTON, 22 100 Slauufac..aring Jeweler, 208 Broadway. REYNOLDS PATENT CONCENTRAL PRESSURE Water Wheel. For ihiustraled circulars and information con- cerning this superior xvbeel, .sddress ovish particulars. TALLCOT & UNDER HILL, Oswego, N. V., or D. TALLUOT, agent, 482 Broad way, New York. 24 (U ITALUABLE DOCK PROPERTY FOR SALETHE V subscriber offers fitr sale a valuable plot of ground on Newloovo Creek, usoir Penny ~ridgs, in the city of Brooklyn. The property is very desim-abuhy situated in the Seventeenth Ward, Sleekem- avenue, a great uhosrouughsuare, fosrming the sosutherhy boundary of the premises. A valuoshle dick privilege of over 400 feet on Neintown Creek, renders the property very desirable for lar-e manufacturing or stusrage pur- poises. Vessels of six or eight feet draft cau navigate the creek at how tide, and of mosch greater capacity at high snater. The uphasod and snater privilege coimprise abosit nineteen acres, and will he sold very cheap, and the terms of parso-tent made liberaL For further particti- hars, address 3. B. BULLOCK, attorney for the owners, No. 39 Nassau street, Neiv York. 22sf O IL! OIL! OIL F or Railroads, Steamers, and for Machinery ausd Burning. PEASES Improved Engine and Signal Oil, indorsed and recoin- mended by the hi5hsst authority in the Uniled States. This Oil possesses qualities vitally essential for lubricating asid burning, ann Ibumud in no other oiL Isis offered to the public upoon the most reli- able, thorough and practical test. Our most skillful eusgineers and machinists pronounce it superior to and cheaper than any other, and the smily oil that is in all cases reliable amid will not gum. The ScmNTirlc AMERICAN, after several tests, pronounces it superior so any other they have ever used for machinery.~t For sale only by she Iuiresusor ausd Manufacturer, F. S. PEASE, No. 61 Slain street, Buffalo, N. V. N. BReliable orders filled for any part of the United States and Europe 11 11 ~f 0 PHOTOGRAPHERS.JMPROVED PHOTOGRAHIC I. Camera, Patented March 25, 1662, by A. B. WILSON (Patentee of the Wheelci- and Wilson Sewing Shachine), adapted to all photographic ovork; such as Landscapes, Stereoscopic Viecs, Carts Visises, Am- brotypes, Ac. Can be used by amateurs and nilsers from printed directions. Send for a circular. Address A. B. WILSON, Walerhsmry, Coun. 16sf J~ AMPER REGULATORS.GUARANTEED TO EF- Li feet a great saving in fuel, and gove the n-toss perfect regslarsty of power. Fur sale by she suboct-ibers, who have established their ex- clusive ruglss to manufacture damper regulators, usiuug diaphragms or flexible vessels of any kisod. Os-ders promptly astounded too, or in. foormsssious given, by addressing CLAnKs PATENT ST ATm AND Finn REGULATOR COMPANY, 229 Broadway, N. V. Respotisibbe agents nanted. 14 26~ the largest sourpluss stock ever befosre offered in shots city, which they au-s determined to chose 0-it as very lois- prnces; also Carlis Patent Toivel Sinmonl and Clothes Dsyer, shoe most i-iinovenieut article in noc. All ovork guarausseed us rooproseutod. DEGRAAF A TAYLOR, No. 87 Bowery, Ness- York. 12 22~ ~ OLID EMERY YULCANITE.WE ARE NOW MANU- ki facturiug wheels of this remarkable substance for cutting, grind. lisgaud poolishing metals, that will outwear hundreds of she kind com- monly used, and will do a much greater amount of work in the sans time, and more efficiently. All interestedean see them in op ration as our ovarehouse, or circulars describing them n-ill be furnished bymaiL NEW YORK BELTING AND PACKING CO., 14 13 Nos. 17 and 18 Park-ron, NewYork. ~ULTONS COMPOUND, FOR CLEANSING STEAM ~tboilers of scaleThis article is powerful to rernuove scase, and will not injure she boiler. Western agents, WALWORTII, HUB- BARD & CO., Chicago, IlL Sole proprietor, E. H. ASRCROFT, No. 82 Sudhury stress, Boston, Mass. 9 Sf GUILD & GARRISONS CELEBRATED S T E A M PumpsAdapted to every variety of pumping. The principal styles are the Direct Aetisn Excelsior Steam Pump, the improved Balance Wheel Pump, Duplex Vacuum and Sosam Pumps, a:sd the Water Propeller, an entirely new invention fnot- pumping large qtuan. titles at a light lift. For sale at Nos. 55 and 57 First stress, Wil- hiamsbomrgh, and No. 74 Bsekmau street. New York. 1 sf GUILD, HARRISON CO. EMPLOYMENT! AGENT rANTED!! A NEW EN. Csumloann want agents, at a salary per expeusoes paid. Fosparlicuhars ad- driss, ninth stamp HARRIS BROTIIPRS, Box 30~ Boston Stass. 20 5 WOODWOR H PLANING MACIIINES MORTISING, ~ V Tenonun aisd Sash M-ichsmnes ScrollS no S w Mandrels, Cm- cumlar boss assol oilseu so 0usd is isrt..uu iso hmuses, fot solo by C IIAS. HI. SMITfI, 13o No ho TIns d stroet tlofaslnl1oh o 1~ 21 eorfi0 ALCOTTS CONC NILIC I AllIES FOP BPOOj~j Li.. Hose ansi Rake tI-indses, Chair Roosunots & r Pt 550 $23; and al oshem- kinds of Wood n orkino Mictus-sery for nab by ItILLS 0 02 Plait street Ne - Voirk. A.6 ~ AGENTS coons mis .ooms lbs 5.515 oil uln best -si o Oloexi boss-i us ii 5tu its ibis uruorla - u tim ins - n cosmos 0010 0 U cr itioni tes-mo enod fosro. bier solo to - so ic-ion sonic toy sborsp nuid -inolmess S. N. SItAIsNOs .0 Cfl 51 u ctoestei I u 25 4s. A MESSIEURS liES JNVENTEUBSAVISIpOR qui prlffrsraient nous communlquer henri inns Onus en Frangaispen vent nous addresser dans leur languenataile. Ennoyez nons on dessln et ens descrIptIon concise pour notre ax. men. Toules commonlca. tune ~ ~ ~ (70 P~f~.i~vse ~r 31 IMPORTANT TO INVENTORS. ]~JESSRS. MUNN & CO., PROPRIETORS OF THE .,JJ.L SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, continue to solicit patents in the United States and all foreign countries, on the most reasonable terms. They also attend to various other depart- ments of business pertaining to pat- ents, such as Extensions, Appeals before the United States Court. Interferences, Opinions relative to -, Infringements, & c. The long ex- - perience Messrs. MUNN & Co. have - - in preparing Specifications and Drawings, extending over a pe- nod of sixteen years, has rendered them perbestly csnvsrsant with the mode of doing business at the United States Patent Office, and with the greater part of the inventions which hans been patented. Information concerning the patentability of inventions is freely given, ssithout charge, or sending a model or drawing and description to this office. Consulsatmon may be had with the firm between NINE and FOUR oclock, damly at their PRINCII-iL OFFICE, No. 37 PARK Itow, Nxw YORK. We have also established a BRANCH OFFICE in the CITY OF WAsHINGTON, on the CORNER OF F Amen SEVENTH STREETS, opposite the United States Patent Office. This office is under the general superin. tendence of one of the firm, and is in daily communication with the Principal Office in New York, and personal attention will be given a the Patent Office to all such cases as may require it. Inventors and others who may visit Washington, haningbusiness at the Patent Office are cordially invited to call at their office. They are very extensively engaged in the preparation and securing oh Patents in the various European countries. For the transaction o this business they have Offices at Nos. 66 Chancery Lane, London 29 Boulevard, St. Martin, Paris, and 26 Rue des Eperonniers, Brussels We think we may safely say that three-fourths of all the European Patents secured to American citizens are procured through our Agency. A pamphlet of information concerning the proper course to be pun. sued in obtaining Patents through their Agency, the requirements 01 the Patent Office, & c., maybe had gratis upon application at the Pnin~ cipal Office, or either of the Branches. They also furnish a Circular of information about Foreign Pat nts. The annexed letters from former Commissioners of Patents we con.. mend to the perusal of all persons interested in obtaining Patents MEssRs. MUNN & Co. I take pleasure in stating that while I held the office of Commissioner of Patents MORE THAN ONE-FOURTH OF ALL THE 5U5INES5 OF THE OFFICE came through your hands. I have no dousbt shat the public confidence thus indicated has bean fully de- served, as I have always observed, in all your lotercoucis wish Ihe Oflice, a marked degree of promptness, skill and fidelity to the inter- ests of your employers. Yours, very truly, CHAS MASON. Immediately after the appointment of Mr. Molt to the sPlice of Post- master General of the United States, he addressed to us the subjoined very grateful testimonial: MEssRs. SIUNN & Co. It affords me much pleasure to be t eli mony to the able and efficient manner in n-hich you discharged your duties as Sohicitiors of Patents while I had Ihe honor of holding the office of Commissioner. Your business was very large, and you sus tamed (and, I doubt not, justly deserved) the repusasion of etoergy marked ability, and uncompromising fidelity in performing your pro- lessional engagements. Very respecsfully, Your obedient servant, J. MOLT. MElOnS. MUNN & Co.qeaa. It gives me much pleasure to say that, duiring the time of my holding the ofilce of Commissioner of Patents, a very lar5s proportion of she business of inventors before the Patent Office was transacted through your Agency, and that I have ever Ibund yotm faishfusl and devoted to the interests of your clients, as n-elI as eminently qualified to perform the duties of Patent Attorneys nish skill and accuracy. Very respectfully, WM. ID. BISHOP. Communications and remittances should be addressed to Publishers, No. MIINN & Co. 37 Park-row, New York. DUMPS! PUMPS!! PUMPS! ! !CARYS IMPROVED L Rota Force Pump, unrivaled for pumping hot or cold liquids Manufactured and sold by CARY & BRA I NERD, BrockoortNy Also, sold by 3. C. CARY, No. 2 Astor House, New York. YoL7 1sf ~ AIRDS PATENT PREPARATION FOR THE PRO- I..) tenbion of Steam Boilers from Incrustatisn....It does not injure the metals; is - great saving of fuel; doss not foam, and worke equally well in salt ausd fresh water. For sale by JAMES F. LEVIN, No. 23 Ceutral Whorl; Boston, Slass. New York depot, COLES & CO., No. 91 West street. 4sf ~~)IACHINE BELTING, STEAM PACKING, ENGINE .,I.V1. HOSEThe superiority of these articles, manutactured of vul- canized rubber, is established. Every belt will be warranted superior to leather, at sons-shird less price. The Steam Packing is made in every variety, and warranted to stand 100 degs. of heaL The Hose never needs oiling, and is warranted to s ud any required pressure; together wit all nartesiesofrubhsradaptedto mechanical purposes. Directions, prices & c., can be obtained by mail or otherwise at our warehouse. NES YORK BELTING AND PACKING COMPANY. JOHN M. CHEEVER, Treasurer, 14 13 Nos. 37 and 38 Park-row ~4ew York. IRON PLANERS, LATHES, FOUR SPINDLE DRILLS L Mihlin, Machines, and other Slachinists Tools, of superior quality on hand and flisishing, and for s. he low. For description and prices address EW HAVEN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, New Ha- ven, Coon. 26 DORTABLE STEAM ENGINES COMBINING THE 1 usaximum of efficiency, durability and sconomy with the minimum of weighs and price. They are widely and favorably known, more than 200 being in use. Au warranted satisfactory or no sale. A large stock on hand ready for immediate application. Descriptive circulars sent on application. Address 3. C. HOADLEY, Lawrence, Mass. 20 13 3ic Iiclnr~cio5cniniu fuolcn nbc I(clcituc3, We ~rj(tutcrn 101 63crljsll~ Inn emibs. 00111 f:nI~ ilore 7sllcIlc 151 fhd)CIhl, l)Crludiclcbclh, 51111 tcrobjeL. 3C11 nill-c 5fdliai 010 tinfeiboos. Gcpiuscr. trn)cI~c hliOluf bloil Icr clbolifdlco ~prodoe Fe!occl flIP, fionen lf~nc .bAit;lnilll~1ctl Ill Per PesIlId-en iEprlfj(c 5512d)eii. Rfi~csu cell l~r~ fuIltullonIt htlit Ihirlebo, tCullIcll gefdlriepehlea PefdOruiltl~Igntl Icliebe mae ~(uf ICC ftlce ivieb beutfd, gejgres$gn, Bafelbd III ~o *11gb ~ ic ~atenf-~ejef~e be~ 9~creinigteu ~taaieit, i;:5ofi PcI ESIClIl bilth for flisfdt)Ifllonsoctlc3 for tolititl.ZIfioc iltob Iloleb L1115e0 (tIn foIl t~hoPcr, Dill fi ihIletite in f{dicvc, itt Pelt Ben. ~i. fe~ el~l old III streco. ~erIcr tEudp~ge lcd tIlt IuOICIhI d~jleo~elhler lIlt en not Is o f Inpepliduc ~ldh~f4sl~gc; IIDOI6d It111~t~Ftfol~ ~r1Io1en ~u(1 feI~t, ~ - o.l~o Improved Patent Cart. charcoal, and half a dozen stone-hammers were taken The inconvenience and delay which those interested out ; and the eastern end of the mass shows plainly cxrerience in loading timber, calls for some remedy, that a portion has been broken off. and we herewith illustrate an apparatus which is de- The average dimensions arelength, 15 feet 7 signed to facilitate this business. It consists, as will inches; width, 8 feet 7 inches (it is full 5 feet in one be seen, of a cart having a movable tail-board, A, to place) ; thickness, 1 foot 6 inches; giving 87.135 which are attached the iron bars, B. These bars are cubic feet. All these measurements are, rather under fastened to the tail-board at one end; the other cx- than over the average. One measurement gave 120 tremity slides through an iron box, C, which is se- cubic feet, but we consider the first figures the most cured to the body of the cart. There are also several reliable. They would give the weight of the mass small holes at regular intervals, into which the pin, as 23 tons, 1,924 lbs. There is but little vein rock a, is inserted through the box and bar, as shown very attached to the block. Two pieces, one from each clearly in our engraving. Attached to the tail-board end, have been cut off the mass. Where it is cut are the hooks, b, one on either side, these catch in through, the mass is pure copper, and very compact. the staples, e, provided for their reception in the bars, The two pieces have been taken to the smelting B. The operation of this apparatus will be very works, and weighed ~i tuns. The second mass readily understood. When it is desired to secure the found was still larger, measuring 40 feet in length boards which may have been previously placed in the and 4 in breadth. It weighed about 50 tuns. cart, the adjustable tail-board is drawn out to suit the required length, and the pin is then inserted in its SPRAGUES PATENT LEVEE BUCKLE. place; the holes can be made at various distances so If there is any one class of the community who are as to accommodate the different lengths to which under greater obligations to our inventors than the timber is cut. By looking at the upper end of the tail-board on the cart, the reader will see two light iron cleats; these are provided for the reception of the tail-board seen resting against the cart wheel; this latter appurtenance, in connection with the up- rights, e, permit a load as great as can be drawn by any ordinary pair of horses to be quickly and easily secured against the possibility of its working loose. This invention is a vary useful one and can be made as strong as it is required to be. A patent has been applied for through the Scientific American Patent Agency, and the patent is ordered to issue. ITarrison Grambo, of No. 416 North Second street, Philadelphia, is the inventor, from whom fur- ther information can be obtained. Large Masses of Copper. The two great masses of copper recently discov- ered in the Mesnard district, Michigan, have excited considerable attention, as evidences of the inex- haustible and wonderfully productive nature of the Lake Superior copper region. Little of the first mass was above the surface when discovered, and that little was so covered by moss and small underbrush as to hardly attract attention. Upon being uncovered and the soil removed from around its sider~, traces of Indian workings were foundpieces of skaters are, we have yet to learn that fact. We illus- trate herewith a new lever buckle, which is certainly a great addition to the skaters repertoire. Our en- graving explains itself very fully. The frame, A, (which can be made of any metal desired, usually brass or cast-iron, however,) has a shaft, a, through its center, over which is sprung the lever or tongue, B; this tongue is then riveted to the strap, 6, at one end. The other features of the invention are not pe- culiar, except in the absence of holes or other de- vices of the kind for maintaining a rigid position of the skate or other fixture that it is intended to con- fine with the strap. The advantages of such a fast- ening as this are self-evident it can be quickly and easily applied, the leather is not cut by holes which soon destroy its strength, and the piece confined by it can be held with any required degree of tightness. Such qualities as these should make this buckle ex- tremely popular with skaters, and it is equally well adapted for other purposes. The patent for this invention was procured through the Scientific American Patent.Agency, May 27, 1862. Charles Goodyear, Jr., is owner of the patent, and has the buckles for sale at 345 Broadway, New York City. NEW PROSPECTUS OF THE FOR 1863 VOLUME VIII.NEW SERIES. The publishers of this popular and cheap illusti-ated newspaper beg to announce that on the third day of January, 1863, a new volume commenced. The journal will bo tossed in the same form and size as heretofore, and it will be the aim of Ilse publishers to render the con- tents of the paper more attractive and useful than ever before. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has been published weekly for eighteen years, and is the most popular and largely-circulated journal of its kind in the world. Owing to the enormous increase in the price of printing paper the publishers are, to their regret, compelled to increase the subscription price of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN to $3 per annum for sisgie subscribers. As heretofore, every number of the SCIENTIFIC Ass ISICAiC svill he protusely illustrated with first-class original engravings of uew in- ventions and scientific discoveries, all of which are prepared express- ly for its columns. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN is devoted to the interests of Popu. lar Science, the Mechanic Arts, Manufactures, Inventions, Agricul- ture, Commerce, and the Industrial pursuits generally, and is valuable and instructive not only in the Workshop sod Manufactory, but also in the Household, the Library and the Reading Room. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has the reputation, at home and abroad, of bsing the best weekly journal devoted to meebsuical and industrial pursuits nosy published, and the proprietors are determined to keep up the reputation they have earned durisig the eighteen years they have been connected with its publication. To ihe Inventor! The SC1ENTIFIC AMERICAN is indispensable to every inventor, as it not only contains illustrated descriptions of nearly all the best in - venlions as they come, but each number contains an Official List of the Claims of all the Patents issued from the United Slates Patent Office during the week previous thus giving a correct history of the progress of inventions in this country. We are also ecceiviug, every week, the best scientific journals of Creat Britain, France and Cur- many; thus placing in our possession all that is transpiring in me- chanical science and art in those old countries. We shall continue to transfer to our columns copious extrasts from those journals of what- ever we usay deem of interest to our readers. To the Mechanic and MallzefftCtetrer! No person engaged in any of the mechanical pursuits should think of doing without the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. It costs but six cents per week ; every number contains from six to ten engravings of new machines and inventions which cannot be found in any other publica- lion. It is an established rule of the publishers to insert none but original engravings, and those of the first class in Ihe art, diawn and engraved by experienced artists, under their own supervision, ex. pressly for this paper. TERMS. To mail subscribers :Three Dollars a Year, or One Dollar for four months. One Dollar and Fifty Ceuts pay fir use eoml)lete volisme of 416 pages to-u volunses comprise one year. A new volume corn menced on the third of January, 1863. CLUB RATES. Five Copies, for Six Months Ten Copies, for Six Months Ten Copies, for Twelve Months Fifteen Copies, for Twelve Months 34, Twenty Copies, for Twelve Months 40 For all clubs of Twenty and over the yearly subscription is only $2 tAt. Names can he sent in at different limes and from different Post-offices. Specimen copies will be sent gratis to any part of the country. Western and Canadian money, or Post-office stamps, taken at par for subacriptisos. Canadian subscribers will please to remit 25 cessts extra on each years subscription to pre-pay postage. XUNN & CO., Publishers, Park Row, New Yorie. ~555 555 STEAM 55155 OP 0155 A OSAS 32 GRAMBOS PATENT CART.

A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION IN ART, SCIENCE, MECHANICS, CHEMISTRY AND MANUFACTURES. VOL. VIII.-NO. 3. NEW YORK, (NEW SERIES.) JANUARV 17, 1863. SINGLE COPIES SIX CENTS. $3 PER ANNUMIN ADVANCE. Eyeleting Machine. The operation of inserting eyelets into garments and shoes, in fact into anything in which their presence is required, is a very simple one ; but the number of them which are used calls for the introduction of machinery, as by this means they can be fed down and inserted much more speedily than by hand labor. The accompanying engraving illustrates a ma- chine of this character, the details of which we hope to make plain to our readers. The brass box, A, has a center fixed in the trough, B, on which it vibrates. In con- nection with this trough is the bar, C, working through a slot in the plate, D; this bar has a wedge-like projec- tion a, upon the back of it which works against the plate, b, upon the under side of the table, E. One end of this plate is jointed, and the other is inserted in a lug, c, on the trough, B, before- mentioned, in the manner clearly shown by our en- graving. The horizontal lev- er, F, works upon the ful- crum, G, and carries at its extreme end the plunger, H; upon this lever, also, is the joint which works in the bar, C; attached to the lower part of the latter is the piece, d; this piece strikes against the slotted plate, e, in its upward passage, and throws it into communica- tion with the plate b it is disengaged by the return of the bar striking on the pio- jection, e. This arrangement keeps the trough on one side while the eyelet is being closed in the work. The plunger, H, has a small pointed wiref, in its top pro- vided with a spring; as the eyelets descend the groove Vhey are taken on to this wire and carried up against the sta- tionary head, g, the wire in this operation being guided by the hollow spindle, h. plunger the trough also being released by the projec- The box, A, has a brush, i, which oscillates in it by tion, e, swings back to its place and allows the eye- means of a small crank and shaft on the under side, let to descend again upon the wire. These opera- which cannot be shown in Our view of the invention. tions are repeated as often and as long as may be de- These comprise the main features of the machine. The sired. There is a cover provided for the box, A, operation of it is very simple, and it can be easily which we have removed in order to show the in- managed by any girl or boy. When power is applied tenor. to th~ lever, F, the plunger receives an upward The patent for this invention was procured through thrust. The same agency also pushes to one side the Scientific American Patent Agency, July 22, 1862, the trough and allows the plunger to work uninter- by Messrs. Reed & Packard, of Bridgewater, Mass. ruptedly against the stationary head, thereby closing An application for a patent has also been made in up the eyelet by the b!ow. Upon the return of the England. Further information c~n be had by ad- dressing C. E. Howard, agent, West Bridgewater, Mass. THE NEW ATLANTIC TEL- EGRAPH. On the 5th inst., Cyrus W. Field arrived in this city by the steamer Asia from Europe, he having visited England for the purpose of furthering measures respecting another effort to lay a new telegraphic cable in the Atlantic. On the day before the Asia sailed, a large meeting was held at Liverpool, presided over by Mr. Win. Brown; and Mr. Field explained the condition of the Atlantic Telegraph Company and its prospects. Speeches, hopeful in tone, were also made by Mr. Brown, Mr. Bushell and other gentle- men, and resolutions were adopted Oxpressing faith in the ultimate success of the nndertakir~, and pledging the meeting (individually and col- lectively) to do all in its power to bring about that suc- cess. An extraordinary meet- ing of the Atlantic Telegraph Company was held in London on the first week of December last, at which the Right Hon. Stuart Wortley pres~ed. He stated that the accidents which had hitherto occurred to submarine cables had in- variably taken place ia shal- low water. There had not been a cent expended for re- pairs upon any of the tele- graphic lines that had been laid in deep water. The whole of the new Atlantic cable, except the shore ends near the Irish and Newfoundland coasts, would be in deep wa- ter, and little danger of in- jury was to be apprehended, if a good cable was properly laid. Mr. Wortley condemned the manner in which the first Atlantic cable was constructed and laid. He said he was in possession of facts which ac- counted satisfactorily for the failure of that cable. It was illy constructed, hastily laid, and unfit to be let down into the bottom of the sea. The capital re- quired for the next cable was 600,000 (about 3,000- 000), and it was proposed to raise it by the issuing of five-pound shares. If the cable was successful, the British Government would guarantee eight per cent to the shareholders. About one-sixth of the capital required has been already subscribed, and it is believed the whole amount will be raised before the month of May. It should not be forgotten that President Lincoln in his message said: I have fa- vored the project for connecting the United Statos ( REED & PACKARDS EYELETING MACHINE. c~dCW~jfj~ ~rne~i~an. with Europe by an Atlantic telegraph, and a similar projcct to extend the telegraph from San Francisco to connect by a Pacific telegraph with the wire which is being extended to tbe Russian empire. Our con- tinent is now belted with the electric wire, and it is not too much to hope for, that a cable may be laid in the Atlantic and another in the Pacific before this year closes; thus encirling the globe with a tele- graphic highway. TIlE FALSIFICATIONS OF ALCOHOL. We translate from a French scientific journal, LInrcntion, some accounts of the production and falsi- fications of alcohol. Alcohol, as we all know, is the product of the distillation of sweet liquors ; we draw it by the distil- lation of wine, of eider, of beer, and all liquids which have undergone alcoholic fermentation. The wines which are gathered in France are not all destined to be consumed in nature. A part of the ~vines of the Meridian, from raisins (meaning grapes) rich in sugar, are converted into alcohol by distillation. We choose generally the white wines, which do not con- tain more alcohol than the red wines, but which furnish one more fine and strai~ht in taste ; the alcohol which comes from the fermentation of raisins is ordinarily impure. It contains an essential oil which gives it in some cases an agreeable savor, in others a taste disagreeable. One can at least detect the presence of this oil in the alcohol of wine not rectified. In spreading the liquor with six parts of water and distilling it with precaution, it remains in the carnue, an oily layer. ibis oil is very abundunt in the brandies which come out of the marc of the vintage; it is produced principally by the pellicles of the grain ; one hundred litres of alcohol, separated, contains twenty grammes of this oily matter formed of the oil of the potato, of oily fat ; of which a single drop suffices to infect one hundred litres of brandy. One can separate this oil of alcohol by a distilling pipe with management ; in fact, the alcohol drinks at about eighty degrees, and the oil in question does not cuter into el)ullition but between one hundred and thirty and two hundred degrees. The wines of the Dauphin and of the Vivarais of the Moselle give the alcohol which participates of the taste of ferroir, that characterizes these wines. It is probably to circumstances of this nature to which we must attribute the taste and boeqeef in the old eau-de-vie de cogniac. During a long time brandy has been obtained through distillation by a naked pipe; unless one operates on white wine of a good quality, it is rare that we obtain an alcohol exempt from the taste of marc, or fire, contracted through this mode of distillation. The idea of substituting another mode for the one just mentioned belongs to Ar~and the inventor of the lamp with a double cur- rent of air, de quiaquet. The processes of Argand were perfected by Edward Adams, who operated with an apparatus of De Wolfs, in which the flasks filled with wine were heated by steam. One concedes that with this system, each flask, when unequally heated, gives an alcohol of different degrees. The processes of Adams were notably perfected by M. Blumenthal, who had recourse to a continuous mode of distilla tion, and knew how to combine the apparatus in such a manner that even during the drainage of the wines the distillation was uninterrupted. The wine arrives upon one side, while that which preceded it comas over upon the other, after having parted with the whole alcohol which it contained. This apparatus has, since M. Blumenthal, been perfected by lvi. Derosne, who prevented the depuration of some of the alcohol in the draining of the wines. This last perfection was till more simplified by M. Langier. In submitting brandies to a new rectification, one obtains alcohol of three-sixths de Montpellier ; it marks thirty-three debrees by the alcometer. The alcohol is received in vats, in which a part of the coloring matter is dissolved ; this coloratl~on becomes apparent as the sojourn of these liquids in barrels is prolonged. One is then disposed to allow more quali- ty and vetusciy to brandies which are colored. Com- merce sometime cuts the three-sixths of Montpellier with wafer, and colors it with an infusion of Cara- mel dissolved in tea, which seems to give this new brandy a taste of vetuste, but it is rare that this falsi. fication escapes an experienced taster. Wine is not the only substance from which alcohol is obtained ; the beet, grain, potato, certain fruits, such as chestnuts, cherries, etc., produce alcohel of a good quality of which different kinds are consumed in brandy. Brandies are mixtures of alcohol and water, and contain about equal parts of both liquids; spirits, in commerce, is an alcohol which contains less water than brandy. The richness of a spirit is always determined by the real quantity of alcohol which it contains; it is not the same with brandy, if s color is not always proportionate to the quality of alcohol which it contains, more frequently it de- pends upon its age and growth. Experiments were at one time tried upon the spirits of commerce, by pouring it upon powder and then inflaming it, when the powder burned the spirit was judged to be of a strong quality; this is, however, no accurate test. In France, the legal alcometer is that of Gay-Lisa- sac; it expresses immediately the absolute quantity of alcohol which is contained in liquor ; the experi- ment must be made at 15~, if the liquor has not this temperature it must be brought to it by the heat of the hand; for the rest, Gay-Lussac has given tastes of correction, which determine by the aid of the alcometer, the quality of an alcoholic liquid taken at different temperatures. The principal of graduat- ing this instrument is simple; when put into abso- lute or pure spirit, it is sunk to the point marked 1000, placed in pure distilled water, and it stops at the point zero, the interval between these two points is then divided into l00~ by the aid of mixtures of alcohol and water in proportions which are known this instrument indicates the relations of volume, not ot weight. In commerce, Cartiers areomefer or liquor-weigher is still employed ; in this instrument water which is distilled marks 10~, and alcohol anhydre marks 440~ Brandy from wine, origin- ally has a whitish color, but by tarrying in oaken barrels it acquires by age the yellowish-brown col- oration which it ordinarily has, and which is due to the dissolution of a part of tannin and the extract contained in the oak. This brandy thus colored is blackened with a few drops of a solution of sulphate of iron. Brandy of a good quality possesses an aromatic odor, and a warm and clear savor, which is modified by time, the most esteemed brands are those of the Languedoc, of Montpellier and the district of Armagnac. Jewelers Gold. The London Mechanics Alagaziae contains the fol- lowing interesting remarks on this subject From very ancient times it has been the practice to divide the ounce troy into twenty-four imaginary parts. An ounce of pure gold, therefore, and what is called twenty-four carat gold, are identical terms. Anything less than twenty-four carat gold indicates that in an ounce of that substance there are so many twenty-fourth parts of gold, and that the remaining portions of an ounce of it is made up of an alloy of some inferior metal, usually copper. Except for wedding rings, which are, or should be, made of standard gold, consisting of twenty-two parts or carats of pure gold, and two of copper alloy, jewelers seldom use gold of a higher rate of purity than eighteen-carat. How often they use it of a much lower degree of fineness they know best. There is no doubt that it is possible to give almost any color to gold, by the addition of particular alloys; and of late ingenuity has been at work to give the sixteen- carat gold the appearance of pure gold. This is done by the aid, partly, of what is technically known as the coloring pot, in which the metal is treated to an acid bath of a certain amount of strength. By the judicious use of this contrivance, twenty-two carat gold may be made to resemble very closely native gold, as found in the shape of nuggets in California or Austrialia. Nuggets are never, how- ever, found to be pure goldthey consist for the most part of about twenty-three carat gold, the fraction being made up of an alloy of some inferior metal. In order to test the purity of gold the ap- plication of heat is, perhaps, one of the simplest means. Pure gold will not be in the least discolored by it, while twenty-three carat gold will take a slightly red tint. There is this disadvantage about the mode of testing suggested, it will certainly dis- color very materially all gold of degrees of fineness inferior to that of twenty-three carat, and nothing but the acid bath will restore it to its original hue. In order to eflect this latter operation on a small scale, nothing more is necessary than to obtain an earthen pipkin or gallipot, place the article in it, cover it with nitric acid, and hold it over a spirit or gas lamp, or even a candle, until the acid boils. The result will be that the metal will be restored to its original brightness. As regards the testing of the genuineness of gold coin, there is nothing equal in simplicity or efficacy to weighing it. It is impossible that any metal in- ferior to standard gold can be used in the manu- facture of counterfeit sovereigns or half sovereigns which will give pieces, of the same size, of equal weight. The testing of jewelers gold, when used in the manufacture of many kinds of trinkets, is a matter attended with considerable risk and difficulty ; and perhaps the only means readily at the command of the purchaser, for insuring a proper relationship be- tween quality and price in such cases, is to ascertain the respectability of the seller. Cochineal Superseded. As everybody knows, the various shades of scarlet and crimson with which textile fabrics are dyed or printed were made from cochineal. Cochineal is an insect taken in Mexico, from the broad leaves of the cactus. Ordinarily it would now command an enor- mous price. It is worth less even now than it was ten years ago. The cause of this decline in value of cochineal is because of the discovery of a more beauti- ful dye, c lied analine, produced from our native coal oil. From this coal oil, by tedious process, is produced this analine, of which, by the way, a single pound costs eighty dollars. Its diffusiveness, we be- lieve, exceeds that of any known substance. A pound of it would impart a perceptible tint to a large pond of water. At a factory, the other day, where silk handkerchiefs are printed, we had an opportun- ity of observing the incomparable superiority of the new colors to those produced by cochineal. Analine gives every shade of purple, from the deepest royal to the faint lilac, every variety of blue, from the pale tint of the sky to the deepest ultramarine, and all the gradations of scarlet and crimson of like beauty. Coal oil, that in its crude state is as dan- gerous as gunpowder and as offensive to the senses as the odor of a pole-cat, is one of the greatest in- novations of modern timesUnited States (Jazette. [The inference might be drawn P om the above, that analine colors were obtained from the crude oils of the Pennsylvania oil wells, whereas petroleum is devoid of true beuzole, which is the main substance that produces analine. Beuzole is a product of the tar obtained by the distillation of coal, and an abundance of this substance may be obtained from the tar of all the city gas-works. So far as we know, however, there is not a manufactory of analine colors in this countrythese beautiful dyes are all imported from France and England. Dyers, while admitting the beauty of aniline red colors, still con- sider those derived from cochineal superior in with- standing the action of sunlight without fadingEDS. Curing Meats. An exchange, says a French chemist, has lately as- serted that scurvy will never arise from the use of salt provisions, unless saltpeter be used in curing the salt alone answers all the purposes, provided the animal heat be entirely parted with before salting. He claims that the insertion of pork in pickle alone is not sufficient, but that it should be rubbed thor- oughly with dry salt after it has entirely parted with its animal heat, and that then the fluid running from the meat should be poured off before packing the pork in the barrel. This should be done sufficiently close to admit no unnecessary quantity of air, and some dry salt should occupy the space between the pieces, and then pickle, and not water, should be added. Great care must be taken to fill the barrel entirely full, so that no portion of the meat can at any point project above the surface of the fluid ; for, if this occurs, a change of flavor ensues such as is known with rusty pork. The pickle, of course, must be a saturated solution of salt and water, that is, so strong that it is incapable of dissolving more salt. It must be remembered that cold water is capable of dissolv- ing more salt than hot water. 34 The Wonders of the Globe. In a recent editorial article in the SCIENTIFIC AMER- lOAN, it was asserted that as the mineral suplies of the world were exhausted, there were others accumulating which would supply their places. In support of this assertion we subjoin some extracts cut from our exchanges IRON FORMED BY ANIMALcULESThe Journal de 1 Instrueti6n Publigue contains a curious article by M. Oscar de Watterville, in which he announces the fact, not generally known, that in the lakes of Sweden there are vast layers or banks of iron, exclusively built by animalcules, not unlike those that have laid the foundations of large islands in the ocean, by si lently and for ages cementing matter with matter, so as to create those beautiful forms known as madre- por~, mille-porle, corals, & c. The iron thus found is called in Sweden lake ore, distinguished, according to its form, into gunpowder, pearl, money, or cake ore. These iron banks are from ten to two hundred meters in length, from five to fifteen meters broad, and from a fourth to three-fourths of a meter in thickness. In winter, the Swedish peasant, who has but little to do in that season, makes holes in the ice of a lake, and with a long pole probes the bottom until he has found an iron hank. An iron sieve is then let down, and with a sort of ladle, con- veniently fashioned for the purpose, the loose ore is shoveled into the sieve, which is then hoisted up again. The ore thus extracted is of course mixed with a quantity of sand and other extraneous matter, which fs got rid of by washing it in a cradle like that used by gold-diggers. AN IsLAND or SALT.The salt-works that Corn. Bu- chanan attempted to destroy at Petit Anse, Western Louisiana, proved to be only a storehouse for rock salt, which constitutes almost the bulk of the island. The discovery of this remarkable salt-mine has only recently been made. The immense value of this mine of wealth can scarcely be realized. A million dollars was offered to its owner by a company of persons in the neighborhood, but refused. This is- land of saltpossibly three or four miles long and one wide, of irregular form, and covered from fifteen to twenty feet with rich soilbears on its surface immense pecan and live oak trees. Some 500 pris- oners and deserters have from time to time come in- to possession of Coin. Buchanan; also large quanti- ties of sugar; also 300 bales of cotton, and some other articles of value. COAL IN MIcHIGANProfessor Winchell, State Geologist of Michigan, reports that the whole cen- tral area of that State, embracing 187 townships, or 6,700 square miles, is underlaid by coal seams, rang- ing in thickness from three to five feet. Mines have been opened in several places, three at Jackson and one at Corunna, which last year yielded over 25,000 tuns. The coal resembles that in the Illinois beds in quality. To Military Critics. As so many newspaper editors, and also citizens in their parlors, are criticizing some of our generals in the field without mercy, record or fact, we commend to them the timely words of Chas. Kingsley Battles (as soldiers know and newspaper editors do not) are usually fought, not as they ought to be fought, but as they can be fought; and while the literary man is laying down the law at his desk as how many troops should move here, and what rivers ought to be crossed there, and where cavalry should have been brought up, and when the flank should have been turned, the wretched man who has to do the work finds the matter settled for him by pesti- lence, want of shoes, an empty stomach, bad roads, heavy rains, hot suns, and a thousand other stern warriors who never show on paper. Exchange. THE WEATHERThus far the winter in the Northern States has been mild and salubrious be- yond any other within our recollection. The Hud- son river is open nearly to Albany, and steamers are now running as freely on it as during the month of November. West of the Hudson there is no snow, and the rivers and creeks have not yet been~ound in icy fetters. The Mississippi is open from Quincy MISCELLANEOUS SUMMARY. THE TEMPERATURE OF INCANDESCENT BODIES.M. Becquerel of Paris, has published the results of some interesting researches upon the determination of high temperatures by means of the intensity of the light emitted by the incandescent bodies. He em- ployed a thermoelectric pyrometer, formed of plati- num and palladium wires, united together without soldering for the space of about14~of an inch. The intensity of the thermo-electric current developed in this pair is very great; it increases with the tem- perature in a more regular manner, without the un- equal variations observed when other metals are em- ployed; this pair is also available to nigh the fusing point of palladium, 2,700~, Fah. By this instrument M. Becquerel ascertained the fusing point of silver to be between 1,7l0~ and 1,730~, nnd that of gold scarcely 1,962g. A GREAT CANAL PROJECTThe Dutch have set on foot a gigantic work of canal improvement. It is proposed to construct a ship canal, from Amsterdam through North Holland towards the sea, to be thir- teen miles long, two hundred feet wide, and twenty- four feet deep. This canal will shorten the distance from Amsterdam to London and all ports south of the Texel by about eighty miles, so that vessels will soon be enabled to reach the sea in a few hours, whereas the present journey over the Simluger and the North Holland canal now occupies several days, and sometimes weeks. YELLOW SPOTS ON LEATHER. Yellow spots on leather frequently occur, and these detract from its value. A correspondent of the Shoe and Leather Reporter says they are caused by decomposition in the hide, proba- bly in the sweating process. The remedy he says is more care in the manipulation or working of the hides. With good, cold spring water for soaking, and with a sweat-pit kept at the right temperature, with ice or otherwise, and a cool, sweet liquor for the first stages of handling, there is but little dan- ger of being troubled with yellow spots on leather. THE convention of Western paper manufacturers held their first meeting in Chicago on the 3d nit., and their second on the 23d ult. At the latter there were exhibited several samples of pulp made from straw, corn husks, sorghum and bass-wood. The experi- ments are to be prosecuted to a more successful test. Messrs. Butler & Hunt, at St. Charles, and Mr. Beardsley, at Elkhart, and two mills at Beloit, Wis., are engaged in efforts to introduce a cheaper article for the manufacturing of paper than rags afford. There are thirty-three paper mills in five of the North western States. ADYICES from Egpyt state that the opening of the provisional canal as far as Lake Timsah, was cele- brated on November 18, 1862. The words were given, By command of His Highness, Said Pacha, Viceroy of Egypt ; and the water of the Mediterranean gushed half-way across the isthmus. The building of the Suez Canal is the most important project ever undertaken in that remote section. THE four British iron-plated frigates, Warrior, Black Prince, Defense and Resistance, have been out in the Bay of Biscay during recent great storms, and it is stated they proved to have excellent sea-going quail ties. How many conflicting accounts have been published respecting those vessels! It had been re- ported that they were unfit for sea.voyages. Improved Washing Machine. Such of our readers as are disposed to embark in a manufacturing enterprise are referred to the adver- tisement in another cQiumn, offering for sale manu- facturing rights in the Nonpareil Washing Ma- chine.~ The patent for this machine was procured through our agency in Sept. 1860; and in the inter- val the proprietors, Messrs. Oakley & Keating, of this city, have been successfully employed in placing it before the public. For the past year we have used two of these machines with entire satisfaction ; and the evidence submitted to us is conclusive as to the high appreciation in which the machine is held by the public. The steadily increasing demand for do- mestic labor-saving machinery bids fair to make this a very valuable patent. This machine was illustrat in Illinois, and the weather in the West has also been ed in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, Vol. V. (new series), unusually warm. page 232. 35 NEW YORK MARKETS. COAL of stove size is retailing at $8 per tun of 2,000 lbs. ; in May last year it was only $5. COFFEE iS selling at 31 cents per lb. ; it was 17~ cents in the early part of 1862. COTTON 15 selling at 69~ cents per lb.; in 1861 it was 13 cents. Faoua ranges from $5 85 to $8 25 per barrel; in the beginning of 1862, the highest price was $5 80 per barrel. It is a fact, however, that flour, meal, and provisions have not advanced in the proportion of most other articles. BLEACHED SHIRTINGs are selling at from 24 to 25 cents per yard, wholesale; in May 1862 the price was 10 cents. Bleached drillings are 25 and 29 cents per yard. WOOLEN CLOTHS are about 33 per cent higher than in the early part of 1862. It is scarcely possible to make a comparison between the present and past prices of cotton cloth per yard, as the fabrics now manufactured appear to be generally so much in- ferior to those formerly made. CANTON FLANNELS, selling at 36 cents per yard, are not equal in quality to those formerly sold at 12 cents. PIG IRON is $31 per tun; in 1861 it was $23. lie- fined English bar is 75 and $77 50 per tun. LEATHER is 27 and 30 cents per lb., which in the beginning of 1862 was 19 and 21 cents. SALTPETER, which is one of the great elements for conducting war, as it is the prime constituent of gunpowder, is 19 cents per lb. ; it was formerly 5 cents. STEEL, English, is 17 cents per lb.; American spring, 6 cents. SUGAR, New Orleans, is 10~ cents per lb., Stuarts refined white, 13 cents ; in 1861 the former was cents and the latter 10~ cents. TEA ranges from 50 cents per lb., up to $1 20: The duty is 20 cents per lb. Wooa, Saxony fleece, is 60 and 62 cents per lb. ; com- mon, 48 and 50 cents; California unwashed wool, from 20 to 50 cents. The prices of wool have about doubled in eighteen months. THE prices of most articles, in relation to the price of gold, are not so much higher than they were formerly. It is the depreciation of the cur- rency, which has caused such an apparent rise in the prices of merchandise. In anticipation of a further large issue by Government of legal tender notes, gold has advanced from 32 to 35 per cent premium within a few days. Foreign exchange has also ad- vanced. Bills on London are 146 and 147 per cent. The high rate of foreign exchange has perhaps been of great benefit to many of our manufacturers, as foreign importations have been curtailed thereby. We understand that many heavy importers of for eign goods have recently invested largely in real es- tate in this city. The Patent Office Reports for 1861 and 1862. Congress having failed to make an adequate appro- priation for the publication of the Patent Office Mechanical Report for 1861, none for that year will be published for distribution, unless the present Con- gress can be prevailed upon to make an appropriation for the purpose. The Mechanical Report for 1862 is in progress of publication, but will not be out before next autumn. The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN for 1861 contains the claims of all the patents issued in that year, and to it persons are referred for the informa- tion they require concerning the doings of the Pat- ent Office during 1861. The claims of all the patents granted in 1862 may also be found in the two last volumes of the ScIENTIFIc AMERICAN, and, as usual, each weeks issue of this paper will contain during the ensuing year (1863), the official list of claims as they are granted weekly at the Patent Office. This list is furnished expressly for the SCIENTIFIC AMERI- CAN, by the Patent Office, at an expense to the pub- lishers of several hundred dollars per annum, and in no other journal in this country are they published in full. MUSKRATS.A correspondent, writing from Penn- sylvania, complains of being much troubled with muskrats, and wishes to ascertain, if possible, how he can destroy them. We will publish sensible sug- gestions on this point. 36 STORMS. The phenomena of storms have ever been aol still continue to be a fascinating subject to most men. The following is one of a series of articles on storms written by Mr. F. A. Morley, of Sodus Point, Lake Ontario, N. Y. By far the most violent and destructive of storms are those of the rotating order. Instances can be cited where minor whirlwinds have formed avenues of not more than one hundred and fifty feet in width through forests, with as much regularity and as thoroughly as though they had been made by a body of engineers; and the larger whirlwinds, such as the typhoon, hurricane, and tornado are the most disastrod~ and terrible of all storms. Now whence comes this particular freak of rotation, and whence arises this amount of atmospheric energy? Prefessor Maury and others accredit this phenomenon to the agency of electricity, but such a theory does not ap- pear satisfactory. Whirlwinds are caused by heat and the diurnal rotation of the earth upon its axis. One proof that heat is one of the agencies employed is, that they occur only in warm latitudes, being more powerful near the equator, while at the thirty- fifth paraUel they become weak, and, beyond that, soon run out altogether. I will quote a few interesting lines on this subject from Fitchs Outlines of Physical Geography The terms, hurricane, whirlwind, water-spout land- spout, ~#ind-pillar, tornado, white-squall, pampero, & c., have been applied to rotary movements of the atmosphere in different parts of the world- Hurricanes are revolving storms which occur in the West Indies and in the Indian Ocean. Of a simi- lar kind are the typhoons in the Chinese Sea. These circulating movements occupy a space from fifty to five hundred miles in diameter. They revolve more rapidly nearer the center, up to a certain dis- tance, within which there is a calm. The center of rotation advances steadily along a definite line upon the globe, with a velocity varying from two to thirty or forty miles per hour. It is a remarkable fact, that in the same hemisphere these whirling storms always revolve the same way, but that this direction is op- posite in opposite hemispheres. In the Northern hemisphere their rotation is retrograde, or in a di- rection opposite to the hands of a watch. In the Southern hemisphere their rotation is direct, con- formable to the bands of a watch. There are three well-known hurricane regionsthe West Indies, the Indian Ocean, and the Chinese Sea. The general course of the West Indian hurricanes is from the Leeward Islands, N. W., passing around the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, or across it, then following the Gulf Stream and terminating in the Atlantic, or exhausting their fury in the United States. Now, to further facilitate my explanation, i will give a hypothetical answer to a question published on page 134 of Vol. VII (new series) of the SCIEN- TIFIC AMERIcAN, by R. F. Stevens, asking the rea- son why water escaping through an orifice in the bottom of a common pail forms a whirlpool in the pall, above the orifice. The whirlpool is caused by the diurnal rotation of the earth upon its axis. The passage of air down through the tube has nothing to do with the phe- nomenon, it being a resultant of friction only. Water will always whirl in the same direction in the vessel under like circumstances in the Northern hemi- sphere; but in the Southern hemisphere the direc- tion will be reversed. The direction of the whirlpool in the Northern hemisphere is against the hands of a watch; in the Southern hemisphere, with the hands of a watch. According to various authorities, all whirlwinds north of the equator move around against the hands of a watch, and south of the equator in the oppo- site direction. Both the whirlwind and whirlpool in question get their circular motion from the same source, move around in the same direction, and are much alike in principle, as I propose to show, only the whirlwind is the experiment of the pail in- verted. But first we will take the whirlpool. The opening is formed in the bottom of the vessel, and as water begins to escape particles of water rush towards the orifice from all directions, those coming from directly east and west would, were they not 4~rowded by other particles which ar4e diftei~ently ef fected, move directly for the center of the orifice, but all particles moving with a south or sou~therly direc- tion (in this hemisphere) have a tendency to the right of ~the center, or to the west ; for the reason that as they advance southwardly their distance from the earths axis of rotation is increased, and, as they do not acquire the increase of centrifugal velocity, are in a measure left behind; or, in other words, move to the orifice not in a straight line, but in the form of a slight curve, with its convex towards the center of the orifice. The same cause effects all par- ticles moving northwardly in a like manner, only, as they move nearer to the earths axis of rotation, their centrifugal velocity is greater than the earth at the new point whence they are drawn; consequently they also tend to the right, or to the east. This power gives the water at the orifice a circular motion, which soon extends to the surface of the fluid, when the centrifugal force of the revolving column bars the surrounding fluid from its center, while its cen- ter, having little or no centrifugal force, escapes more readily, and forms the revolving shaft of fluid into a hollow tube. Now let us take the whirlwind ; and as we are now to examine a whirl of air instead of water, it will be necessary to look at its physiographical state and disposition over and about the earth. It is a well-known fact that the upper stratums of the at- mosphere, over the whole earth, are much colder than the stratum next to the earths surface. This is shown by perpetual snow-capped mountains, by the experience of balloonists, & c. It is also well-un- derstood that cold air is heavier than warm, and wherever there is a chance for it to do so, by estab- lishing a current, it will by its weight crowd out in- to upper space the underlying, warm, and lighter stratum. One great established outlet for the warm air is at the equator. It extends around the entire earth ; here the escape of heated air into the upper regions is perpetual. This getting rid of the lower stratum of heated air cannot be done to any extent only by means of currents, as radiation or transmit ting of heat from particle to particle can amount to nothing. Also, let us remember that the dividing line between cold and warm, or upper and lower stratums, is very distinctly defined, owing to their rapid transmission in opposite directions from north to south, as upper and lower trade-wind currents, & c. Now, let us also reflect that it is not an easy matter for the light and underlying stratum to find a weak spot in the upper one, where it may force a passage and establish an outlet into upper space, for the reason that the pressure of the upper stratum is so evenly distributed and maintained. I refer more particularly to regions over the seas, for over conti- nents the disturbing causes are numerous and the action of the atmosphere very irregular. Now the explanation of the whirlwind is this where it takes place we have a lower stratum of hot air which is confined and held down by the weight of a colder stratum above. Some dist-urbing cause, as, for instance, the heat of an island, affects the level of the upper stratum, and exposes a point less strong than the rest, when the light air forces an opening up through into space. The orifice once established, the warm air ascends with great velocity, making a partial vacuum in the lower stratum immediately beneath the orificewarm air from all directions along the earths surface rushes for the vacuum (or hole in the pail), the diurnal rotation of the earth does the rest and gives the storm a rotary mo- tion; the incoming particles of air being acted upon the same as the particles of water in the experiment of the whirlpool. The storm continues probably un- til the upper stratum has conveyed the orifice to some point where it is itself broken up ; as at the calm belts of Cancer and Capricorn. The rain com- monly attending such storms is manufactured, if I may use the term, for the occasion, and how simple and beautiful the process The warm air, while in its travels over the face of the ocean, has become saturated; it ascends into space and expands, and as it expands its capacity for caloric becomes in- creased, its temperature falls, its moisture is con- densed and takes the form of rain, or mist; forming an upper stratum around the orifice of heavy, black clouds, such as form the spots on the sun. Were it a known fact that some whirlwinds in this hemi- sphere revolVed wifh the hands of the watch, I sho~1d I suspect that a column of the cold upper stratum had found its way down through the lower one, to the earths surface, and in spreading out, the direction of the particles being changed, the rotation of the storm was also reversed, which, under such circumstances, would be the case; although such a supposed storm would necessarily be a tame affair, compared with the reversed proposition. (To be continued.) Curious Effects of Iron Plating on Vessels. A communication from Toulon, France, in the Messagei- du Midi, says :The laying up of the frigate La Cloire in the Castigneau dock has disclosed three unexpected phenomena :First, that the contact of the copper lining and the submerged iron plates had established a galvanic current, which produced the effect of a voltaic pile, and was completely deterio- rating the armor of the frigate in the parts below the water-line; second, that a species of shell fish, hitherto unknown, was afterward discovered among the millions of mollusca by which the hull was cov- ered, apparently produced under the influence of the same galvanic current; and lastly, in the hold of the vessel twenty-two thousand litres of wine were found to be transformed into vinegar, it is not known by what influence. [The above has had quite an extensive circulation, as we have noticed it in at least a dozen of our co- temporaries. It certainly requires explanation. The frigate La Cloire is iron-plated upon wood for several feet below the water-line, and we have seen it stated that her bottom was sheathed with copper. It is well known that when iron and copper are connected together in salt or fresh water, a galvanic battery is thereby formed, and the iron decomposes rapidly, it being the positive metal. Now, we cannot believe that the French naval authorities were such ignorant fools as thus to connect the copper sheathing and the iron plating of the La Cloire, as stated in the above paragraph. It is also stated that the influence of the galvanic current produced a new shell fish, which was found adhering to the armor of the frigate below the water-line. If true, this at once disposes not only of science but of Donald McKays high opinions of the coppered-bottomed, wooden-framed, iron-clad vessels of the French navy. The most funny portion of the paragi-aph is that which relates to the twenty-two thousand litres of wine having been turned into vin- egar. Wine will change into vinegar if exposed to the atmosphere in any moderately warm place, independ- ent of copper sheathing and iron platesEns. The Coal Trade. Over one million five hundred thousand bushels of coal left this city for points below on the late rise. Of this, seven hundred and forty thousand bushels were destined for Cairo, and some seven hundred and eighty thousand bushels for Cincinnati. Five hun- dred and sixty thousand bushels went out in floating barges, and the balance in barges towed by eleven tow-boats. This is the third run of coal we had this season, so that by this time the wants of those below us must be pretty nearly satisfied. There has been no rise of moment in the Monongahela, this fall, and the result is that there is an immense amount of coal lying in the upper pools which cannot get down. This has been unfortunate for the owners, who, had they been able to get it to market, would have re- ceived the highest price for itPittsburgh Chronicle. [The coal referred to by our cotemporary is bit- uminous, and so happily are the people of Pittsburgh an~ those of the towns in the Ohio valley situated with respect to It, that a tun is obtained by them for less than two dollars. The retail price of anthracite in New York at present is eight dollars per ton for stove siz~. The bituminous coal trade of the West must now be very extensive, but while we have very reliable statistics respecting the quantity of an- thracite mined annually, no such statistics can be ob- tained of our bituminous coalsEns. A Rrcu ENGINEERWin. James Walker, a very eminent Scotch civil engineer who recently died in London, left property valued at $1,500,000, which he had accumulated by his profession. While in life he lived in princely style. Tuz Chicago Tribune is printed on paper which is one-quarter sorghum fiber. Two sorghum paper mills are already running in Illinois. SOLAR CHEMISTRY---sPEcTRAL ANALYSIS. The foreign reviews, consisting of the Westminster, London Quertsrly, North British and Edinburgh, pub- lished by Leonard Scott & Co., of this city, contain criticisms on published works, but these generally, only serve for texts to some of the best essays in the English language. In the last number of the Edin- burgh Review there is a brilliant article on Solar Chemistry. This appears to be a somewhat singu- lar theme. It may be asked what can man know of the chemistry of the suna body so distant and so replendent that no human eye can calmly gaze upon it for a moment ? Science has measured the distance of the stars, the times of the planets, and now she has dared to gaze into the sun and analyze its constitution. Recent scientific discoveries have conferred upon man new powers of investigation, whereby nature has been made to reveal secrets so subtile that they never had been dreamt of before in philosophy. Sir Isaac Newton first dissected a ray of light, and proved that it was composed of several colors; and in 1802, Dr. Wollaston discov- ered quite a number of dark lines in the colored por- tions of the spectrum. The German optician, Fraun- hofer, subsequenLly investigated this subject, and with improved instruments he counted no less than 690 of these dark lines stretching throughout the spectrum from red to violet; and in 1816 he drew a beautiful map of them. He also discovered that these dark lines were visible in reflected, as well as direct solar light, for on looking at the spectrum of moonlight and the light of Venus, the same lines appeared unaltered. Applying his examinations to the stars, he found that their light was not of the same kind with the light of the sun, and he there- fore drew the conclusion that these dark lines in the spectrum had their origin in the sun. Such in- quiries were extended by Sir David Brewster and Dr. Gladstone, but the subject has recently been elevated into a special science, called spectral analysis, by the splendid discoveries of the two German pro- fessorsKirchoff and Bunsen. Instead of using only one prism, like Fraunhofer, Professor Kirchoff used four prisms of very perfect workmanship, to obtain greater dispersion of the lines, and he examined the solar spectrum through a telescope having a magnifying power of 40. When he first gazed through this instrument, the beauty of the sight threw him into raptures. He saw whole series of nebulous bands and dark lines, and a new field of vision, like that first developed by the microscope, was opened up. Kirchoff measured the distances be- tween the dark lines by moving the cross wires of the telescope from line to line by means of a micro- meter screw. The breadth and depth of the lines were also measured and mapped off, and they have been printed in colors. These dark lines it is con- jectured have been made to reveal the chemical com- position of the suns atmosphere. This was deter- mined as follows :Certain substances, such as iron, sodium and other metallic salts, when inflamed, give off peculiar kinds of light. Practically this had been known for a long period in producing colored fire- works. Strontia produces the rose-colored fire of the pyrotechnist, and common salt thrown into the fire produces a yellowish colored flame. There are now about 66 simple substances known in nature, each of which produces, when inflamed, a light different from all the others. This is the basis of the new method of spectral analysisa science which demonstrates the chemical composition of a body by the color or kind of light which is emitted from it when it is highly heated. No matter how distant an object may be, its light may be examined by this method. If a small quantity of the alkaline earths, such as soda or potash, is placed in the flame of a spirit lamp, the salt becomes gaseous, then luminous, and it then tinges the flame with its peculiar color. The compounds of other metals, such as iron, silver and copper, require a higher temperature; but with the intense heat of the electric spark they can all be rendered gaseous and luminous, and each is like a letter in the alphabet going to form a new scientific language, which has revolutionized quali- tative analysis; and by it, minute traces of sub- stances that had proven far too subtile for old modes of investigation may be detected. Thus for example, all the compounds of sodium (common salt is one) give two very fine bright yellow lines placed close together, all the rest of the field in the spectroscope being dark. No other substance is met with in the spectrum in which these lines occur. So delicate is this indication of sodium, that common salt has been found by it in all floating dust. Bunsen has de- tected the presence of ra ~ of a grain of soda; and we have learned by this new science that com- mon salt derived from the ocean is always present in the atmosphere in a very finely divided solid form; and doubtless it produces important effects upon the animal economy everywhere, even in regions far remote from the great deep. If a small quantity of potash instead of soda is used, the flame is tinged with purple, and its spec- trum consists of a portion of continuous light in the center, bounded by a bright red and a bright violet line at either ends This appearance is produced by all the compounds of the metal potassium. In the same manner, each metal or its compounds produces its own peculiar colored bands, and its presence i~ thus indicated. And as these metals and their com- pounds fuse and become luminous at different tem- peratures, the presence of mixtures of them has also been determined by this method. A mixture of common salt, chloride of lithium, chloride of barium, chloride of calcium and chloride of strontium, con- taining ~ part of a grain of each substance has been analyzed by Bunsen. These substances become luminous one after another, and their special colors and bands were distinctly noted in the spectroscope. This new power of analysis is truly wonderful, and two new alkaline metals have already been discov- ered with it by Bunsen. The one is called creseum, because of its bluish color; the other rubidium from its red flame. Forty tuna of mineral water were evaporated to obtain 106 grains of the one and 136 grains of the other metal. This mode of investigation has also been applied by Kirchoff to an examination of the character of the suns luminous atmosphere, and it is stated, that both sodium and iron have been detected in it, and it is believed that the sun is composed of the same matierials as those in our own planet. Differ- ent opinions have been entertained respecting the constitution of the sun. Gallilco believed it was a great sphere of fire; but Sir William Herschel a~d others adopted the theory that the sun was an opaque solid body with an outer luminous atmo- sphere. The dark spots seen on the suns disk were supposed to be openings in the luminous atmosphere, revealing the dark body of the luminary. Kirchoff considers this a physical absurdity. An intensely ignited photo-sphere surrounding a cold nucleus is impossible according to his views. Everything rela- ting to the sun possesses a deep interest to man. Without its light and heat there would be no life on our planet. But much has yet to be learned before a dogmatic opinion should be entertained repecting its constitution. Recent observations made upon the sun by Mr. James Nasmyththe inventor of the steam hammerhave led to the discovery that the mottled appearance which the surface of the sun ex- hibits is due to the presence of luminous bodies which interlace and cover its surface, and which are shaped like leaves of willows, thousands of miles in length. Mr. Nasmyth states that these bright bodies move with astonishing velocity. Imagination fails to give us the slightest clue to the probable consti- tution of these recent astronomical novelties. Solar chemistry is but in its infancy, and may still be con- sidered very imperfect; nevertheless it has opened up, as it were, a new world for investigators, and it is one of the greatest achievements of science in this age. A SunsTIrurz FOR CoFrzz.According to the state- ment of Liebig the seed of asparagus contains a con- siderable quantity of caffein ; when roasted and ground and infused with water in the regular way, it gives a drink resembling Mocha coffee. The high price of coffee might thus induce persons to use this substitute where it can be readily procured. [So says a correspondent, and we give the receipt for what it is worth. We have tried a great many of the so-called substitutes for coffee and found them poor indeed. The best substitute for the real berry is, in our opinion, cold waterEDs. 37 The Electric Lamp for Lighthouses. In one of his reports on the Dungeneus light, writ- ten during the year 1862, Professor Faraday mentions an interesting experiment. Arrangements were made on shore (Mr. Holmes being in charge of the light), by which observations could be taken at sea about five miles off, on the relative light of the electric lamp and the metallic reflectors with their Argand oil lamps. At the given distance the eye could not separate the two lights, but by the telescope they were distin- guishable. The combined effect was a glorious light up to the five miles. Then, if the electric light was extinguished, there was a great falling-off in the effect; though after a few momenta rest to the eye it was seen that the oil lamp and reflectors were in their proper state. On the other hand, when the electric light was restored, the illumination became again perfect. Then, while both were In action, the reflectors were shaded, and the electric light left alone; but the naked eye could see no sensible diminution; nor when the reflectors were returned into effectual use could it see any sensible addition to the whole light power; though the telescope showed that the alteration in the lantern had taken place at the right time. Such was the power of the electric light that the addition or subtraction of the light of a fully effective set of reflectors, with their lamps, would not have been sensible to a mariner, however observant he might have been. Professor Faraday enumerates some points which are against and others in favor of the light. In the first place, the sim- plicity of the present system is very great compared with that of the electric light; only two keepers are required to a lighthouse; they need possess no special knowledge; ordinary attention is all that is necessary, and thus failures of the light are almost impossible. In the new system a second set of men will be required to attend the engines, and there must be amongst them one or more who understand the principle and construction of the lamp in the lantern, of the magneto-electric machines, the steam engines and the condensers, and be able to make effectively the repairs necessary to the apparatus. In the next place, the expense of the new system must be large compared with that of the present sys- tem. Other objections have been made, of which Professor Faraday cannot see the force, namely, that the light is too bright, that it gives a false impres- sion of the distance of the lighthouse and that it blinds the eyes of the mariners to the perception of the lights on board of vessel between it and them. These objections, he says, if they have any force, must be judged by mariners themselves. The points in favor of the magneto-electric light are strong and clear in relation to the increase of light. In cases where the light is from lamp-flames fed by oil, no increase of light at or near the focus or foci of the apparatus is possible beyond a certain degree, because of the size of the flames; but in the electric lamp any amount of light may be accumulated at the focus and sent abroad, at, of course, an increased expense. In consequence of the evolution of the light in so lim- ited a focal space, it may be directed seaward, diverg- ing either more or less, or in a vertical or horizontal direction, at pleasure, with the utmost facility. The enormous shadow under the light produced by the oil-flame burner, which absorbs and renders useless the descending rays to a very large extent, does not occur in the magneto-electric lamp ; all the light proceeding in that direction is turned to account; and the optical part of the arrangement, whether dioptric or reflecting, might be very small in compar- ison with those in ordinary use.Atheno~um. Ass IMPROvED BOTTLE.Mr. E. Drewett, of Black- heath, England, has obtained a patent for a bottle having a partition near the bottom, for the purpose of separating and filtering the contents. Bottles so constructed may have their contents decanted, and the whole of the sediment retained in the lower chamber. TRE winter clothing of a Southern soldier is ex- pected to cost $98 60, according to Richmond prices current, for a cap is worth $6, a jacket $26, a pair of pants $32, a pair of shoes $18, two pairs of woolen socks $6 60, two woolen shirts $10, and two pairs Qf drawers $8. American Iron Ores and Coal. The following is a letter recently written by an En- glish iron manufacturer from Montreal to a fricnd in Buffalo, N. Y. He gives his opinions principally re- specting our iron ores and coals; he having visited this country chiefly with a view to examine the iron districts. He says Sin Agreeably to my promise I write you. I am charmed with Canada. The people are active, thriv- ing and industrious, and are destined to become a powerful community in time. As yet manufacturing is in its infancy, and on every hand you see evidences of the Colonial State resting upon the mother coun- trylooking over the water for what should be pro- vided at home. But for the Reciprocity Treaty Canada would now be in a poor state. I promised to tell you what I thought of the iron trade in America. I find that coal of the finest kind for iron-smelting, & c., abounds in Eastern Pennsyl- vania; but there is a great want of good and cheap iron ores in or near the coal-fields, so much so that the most prosperous works are hundreds of miles away from the source of the fuel. Much iron is made near Harrisburgh, of inferior quality, from ores found in vast abundance near Lebanon, which are mined for a trifle. Good ores abound in New Jersey, but their extraction is somewhat costly as they lie be- neath the water-courses mainly and have to be re0u- larly mined. Coal for their reduction is not very ex- pensive, still the iron is not made very cheaply. In the bituminous regions of Pennsylvania ores of good quality do not abound, and but few seams of coal are found to be suited to the smelting furnace. In one or two places a cheap but poor iron is made. Ores are not found around Pittsburgh, though I had, till I visited the place, an idea that it was the seat of your iron trade. The business there is a forced one ; while charcoal could be had, it was a good point for the manufacture ; but now the few smelting fur- naces procure their chief supply of iron ore from Lake Superior and sometimes from as far off as the Missouri iron mountain. There is in Ohio, near Portsmouth, a great abun- dance of tolerable ore and plenty of coal; but the coal is utterly unfit for smelting, and when the for- ests cease to yield charcoal no good iron can be made there. In Missouri, where iron ore abounds, mineral coal suitable for sme1tin~ is not found. The coals of Ohio (except one rare seam in the east) Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa are not fit for use in smelting iron; the ores of these latter-named States are those of the coal measures. New York State, in the north-east and south-west, abounds in excellent ores (primitives) and is within reach of excellent smelting coals. The same coals can be cheaply delivered on the lake ports, and equally cheaply can the pure and rich ores of Lake Superior be delivered at those ports. In my opinion the main seat of your iron manufac- ture will be on the great lakes, at places where the only good smelting coals you have in any abundance can be delivered by water transport at low prices. This idea, probably, will be thought visionary, but time will prove its soundness. It is not known, per- haps, that English and Welsh iron-masters now pro- cure large quantities of iron ore from foreign coun- tries, and from counties in England many hundreds of miles from the works where they are used. I found but one place in all America (that was near Harrisburgh) where crude iron could be made for less cost than you are now making it in your city. Yery good and reasonably-expensive iron is made along the Hudson river, but they have no such good ores as those of Lake Superior. Your town is des- tined to be a great iron-producing one, and your waters have many equally fitting places for that production. - Hoping nd praying that the shadow of the great republic may never grow less, I remain, yours truly, G. B. Montreal, C. E., Nov. 22, .1862. Santa Cruz, California. MEssRs. Enirons :Your valuable paper comes to hand now very regularly. When it used to be sent by the overlan~d mail there were great gaps between the numbers. The ScIENTIFIc AMERIcAN is very much appreciated amongst our citizens as you may judge by the number of subscribers you have in this place. I read each number with great avidity, and as I am employed in a manufacturing establishment, some of the published hints have proved quite valuable. Al- though I had a slight previous knowledge of chemis- istry, I picked it up by tuition rather than study; but by reading the articles that have appeared from time to time in the ScIENTIFIc AMERIcAN, they have given me quite a zest to drink more deeply of the Pierian spring. Our little town is one of the most thriving in the State (due to the immense quantities of lumber and limestone in the neighboring mountains); five schoon- ers and one steamer are employed in carrying the various products of our town to San Francisco; such as lumber, lime, leather, paper and glue. As the community is an industrious one it necessarily fol- lows it must be a patriotic one. The county has ac- cordingly raised two companies of volunteers and re- cently $5,00