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BY / y GEORGE :j>ODD, AoTHOB OF "Days at tbue Factoweh," maricable changes taken place during the present century ; in no other do we Bee exemplified more powerftilly how much the mischief predominates over J^o benefit, in govenimont interferences with manuftiotures ; in no other mav wo observe more distinctly how the manufacturers of one country derive advan- tage by studying the works produced m other countries. The " Ouriosities " of industrv -belong to all ages; but it is with especial reference to the lust fifty years tnat many of them will be here noticed. We wish to show, by a rapid glance over the intervening period, in what way 1851 differs flpom 1801, in respect to any special department of industry. Have there been any new raw materials inb^duced ; and if so, has the addition been made by improved legislation or by the exercise of inventive talent ? Havs there been improvements in the general routine of manu&cture, either by the invention of new machines, or by the application of new manipulative processes? Have there been any new applications of the manufactured mate- rial to the every-day wants of society, either by rendering it cheap and abundant, or by employing it as (v substitute for some other material ? Hat the progress of improvement been less or more rapid in our own countiy than among our neighbours? Such are the questions which, if even confined to the past fifbr years of the present centuiy, will yield us an abundance of " Omiosiiies, without necessitating any systematio description of the pro- cesses of manufacture : for them we may refer to the Gycloptediaa to which the present work may be consideted as « Supplement. If any of these subjects receive Illustration, as doubtless ihey may, firom the Oreat Industrial Congress of 1861 — tf»at epoch in the world's history — we shall not fWl to avail ourselves of such valuable testimony; but the present papers have no especial relation to imy temporary collection of works of industry : they chiefly relate to the ad- vanc^menfas which have rendered such tm 'EshMtionpostms. Let us now review the industry of the Glass-worker, under the aspects noticed above. Raw Matebiaus — few recent Additions. It would be a yeiy fair assumption on the part of the reader, that as im- proveiinents have been made In so many departments of the glass-manu- facture, advices would to an equal extent bo made in the materials em- ployed, elth€ll* as to theif variety or their quality. But this has not been the case. The truth is, that the substances so employed are very few and simple, .B 9 ■ ■iPE!!«";SJW«W'r^»'™ 4 0LA88 AND ITS MANUFACTURE. and do not admit of so many probable Hources of improvement as the moro numerous a»d complex nmteriids of many otlier branchen of manufacture^ Bilica. Hoda, potash, lime, oxide of lead-l»ero we have nearly Uio sum total of th« «lementj4 out of which Kbws is made. HotUe-glasH has more luno thai, anv other ulasH ; plivtn rIiws has moro silica ; flint-glass ha.s more oxide ot lead; and to these diffciences lu-e probably mainly owing die choractfinsti.! dualities of the seveml kinds of glass. I'he alumina, tlio manganese, the oxide of iron, and the other substances which are employed in very small ciuontity, are to remove colour, or to import colour, or to modify m some way liie (.ualities of the manufactured article ; but tlicy are not essenUal to lU prodtwtiou. There would certainly be seen some modihcation. some addition; fcut a collection of glass making ingredients at the present day presents a tolerably close resemblance to such iw would have been presented halfo-cen- tury ago. If we take, for instance. Mr. Ansley Pellatfs very mt^resUng group of Klass materials at the ExhibiUon. wo find the silex hi the fonns of washed and burnt sand, the alkali ui the fonn of carbonate of potash, and the oxides of lead and manganese; and three such series-silex, alkali, and oxides- would similarly have been seen in an earlier coUection. It is in Uie minor detaUs of each series Uiat improvements have been and aie now bemg sought. For instance. How can silex be obudned in great«st purity? is a quesUon important to the glass-maker. Sand is, next to flint. Uie most fiumhar form in which silex is presented to us. Band from Lynn, from St. Helens, ft:om Leighton Buzzard, and from many othpr places, is employed by glass- makers; Isle of Wight sand is almost pure silex; sand lately brought firom Wenhain Lake (the remarkable ice depot) has been fomid equally pure ; and sand from Australia has been shown to be so peculiarly well fitted for the pro- duction of the finest gUss, that it has been deemed commerciaUy advan- taceous to freight vesaeis with this substance alone. Hints and hard rocks, 8i«)po8ed to be rich in sUiceous matter, have been tried m a gjround state ; but no form of silica has been found suitable except that which is m sandy '^ut'^even here we have a striking fact. An English vessel, free to carry any carao which presents itself, brings common sea-sond a distance of sixteen thousand miles from AustroUa to England, in order that the glass-maker may have a fitting siUceous material for his manuiacturo ; and wa may be qmte certain tiiat tiiis would not be done unless the manufacturers were wilhng to pay an adequate price for this humble import. i. i.^ • j The soda required in many manufacturing operations used to be obtamed chiefly from the ashes of burnt plants, such as kelp and barilUi; but when the Excise duty on common salt was removed in 1825. this abundant material became the som-ce whence soda is obtained for most practical pmroses m this country The glass-niakers have not failed to direct their attention to tins source: but potash is a more generally usefiil alkaU to them than soda; and the ashes of plants yield tiie alkali in a form ratiier more suitable Oian any other. Glass Duties— thbib Effects on Science and Abt. Legislation, bad or good, has not materially affected the supply of raw materiol to the glass maker. x • i. r *u^ ^a But when we extend our observation beyond the mere matenols of the mar nufactur«, and gltmce at tiie manufacture itself, we find that legislation baa rovemont an the moro ncho8 of manufaftiire. nearly the Hiiin total of < huH mora Uino thaii H» has uioro oxido of viiia the characteriHtic; ft, Uio inangaiie«e, thei m|tloyed in very Hmall to modify in Honie way re not eHsential to ita fication, some addition ; (resent day presents a n prt^Hented half-a-cen- I very interesting group in tile forms of washed potash, and the oxides t, alkali, and oxides — n. It is in the minor 1 ai-e now being sought. ; purity? is a question Jie most familiar form from 8t. Helen's, from is employed by glass- nd lately brought firom )und equsdly pure ; and y well fitted for the pro- id comroei-cially advan- Flints and liard locks, ried in a groimd state ; t that which is in sandy vessel, free to carry any id a distance of sixteen hat the glass-maker may ; and we may be quite acturers were willing to ins used to be obtained id bariUa; but when the this abundant material practical purposes in this it Uieir attention to this to them than soda; and r more suitable than any JCE AND Aht. ected the supply of raw lere materials of the ma- find ih&t legislation has OIJISS ANn ITS MANOFACTTJBE. f been t8 of duty. Nor is this restriction only commercially wroni:?, since it forms itter of just com- plaint on tlie part of chemists that tlusy ore luiable to procure utensils fitted for effecting many of the nicer operations connected with their science ; be- cause the due protection of the revenue is thought to require that such uten- sils shall be formed out of that quality of glass alone which, apart from all considerations of price, is otherwise, from its properties, really unfitted for the purpose. Belaxations are indeed sometimes made on this head in particiuor cases by the Commissioners of Excise ; but the trouble necessarily attending applications to a public board is greater than can be compensated by the tiifling money advantage that con result in each case to the manufacturer ; and the interests of science are, consequently, made to suffer." The peculiar mode in which this strangely short-sighted legislation worked out its pernicious results will be noticed presently ; but one of the most ob- vious of the results themselves was shovm in the Excise returns of dutv. While foreign countries were gradually improving tlieir manufacture, ours was stagnating; and the duty furnished a sensitive barometer t-o mark this differ- ence. The facta adduced by Mr. Porter (' Progress of the Nation") are really astonishing as illustrative of this point. In 1801, with a population of sixteen millions, the quantity of glass used (as shown by the Excise duty) was 325,689 cwts.; and m 1888, with a population of twenty-five miUions, the quantity had onhr increased to 863,468 cwts. Between 1827 and 1845 the average price oi^the glass articles in most common use fell about 25 per cent; but no thanks to the Excise for this : it arose from economical and improved modes of working. Science, commerce, manufacturing art, domestic comfort, archi- tectural beauty — all were benefited by the happy revolution of the month of September, 1845, when the glass-makers' premises were reUeved from the burden of the Exciseman's visits. It would be hardly credible, were there not abundant evidence to testify it, how enormous was the mischief brought about by the late laws. The Report of the Oommiesioners of Excise Inquuy, in 1835, is full of instruction on this point; and we cannot do better than select a few items as illustrations. Mr. Dollond, the eminent optical instrument m^er, wrote a letter to the Commissioners, in which he stated that he had been long attempting, in con- junction with the leading glass manufacturers, to produce glass fitted for ^^ Q GLASS AND ITS MANUFACTDBE. scientific purposes. With Messre. Chance, especially, he made experimente S"h ledTthe production of a superior kind of glass ; but af^e eleventh hour the Supervisor of Excise stepped in. and forbade aU further progress as the novS would interfere with the technical ascertainment of the amount of duty ta fa«t, it was a matter simply of thickn.ss^ for the optician required ck?s ttiicker Uikn the excise would permit. Mr. DoUond, then, with the aid STfrkid JtSd up a small fum««e, Vxpressly and solely with a v»ew^ rnake exi'erimente on a smaU scale; but this f ^l^^r J^^^^^^^ ^^ ?^^^^^^^^ from the Excise authorities. " I do not wish ' says Mr. foUond, <» escape from paying duties or any chai-ges ; aU I wish for is. to be avowed to rne^e my experiments free fn.m interference, or what are «*»«*, ^^^^J^^^^^i^/t; or systems laid down to prevent roguery. I'!/^-*^^ "^^^t^^^l^/, Zae glass as I require is made and sold at a considerable price; a*!f *fO«f X« tScopes which are at present so much talked of. are made with that glass. I a^Sng to buy it at almost any price; but. ««;* requires exti^me care ii Se manSfactm-e^t caanot always'be piocm-ed. It would, therefore, be a (Tivat advanta<»e if it could be manufactured at home. ^ Mr.lZStikin. who was at that time the Secretmy to the Socie^ o.^. gave abmidant evidence tending to the same point. He dearly elucidated Ese three questions-why wHl not ordinary flintglass suffice for opticel pZos^? how could it be made fitted for that object? and why may it not Ko made fitted? In the first place, all flint.gla«s contams oxide of lead which, fr^ its great specific gravity, will not mix intimately and equally wifli . fte other ingred^ts ; and the result is, that the refraction of the t^ys o* hgh^ will be greater at one part of the mass than m another; «on8eq«/°fy'/"«!^ glass is\nsuitable for delicate optical pmposes. /^> .^^^^^V^nl^LS be ground to powder, and intimately mixed so as to brmg about homogene y hiluSut the m.ass, the distortion may be removed; and thw maybe still SI- caused by three or four grindings and meltings But (and here was Z blot which rfiowed the defects of the system) the Excise claimed a new duVon the glass et^ery Um. it was remeUed; and unless the maker were wilhng to Submit to this exaction, his improving process became n"U ^^ T"^*. Mr Aikin stated that the glass used for optical pturoses m Ffn^e .G*™^/' ^l Switzerland was better than that made in England, and could be sold at a cheaper price ; a state of things which he coulS only attribute tojlie Excise regulations. The duplication of the duty on the duplication of the melting hrbeen adverted to above; and the obstacles to e'Tf '°>«^t«l,'^««r.^rr« equaUy formidable. " Soon after my appointment as Secreteiy ^ tj« S^^^^ J Arts " savs Mr Aikm, " I built a small fm-nace capable of making, perhaps, 1 o^'eiSIpo^dH? glass at a time, for the purpose of investigating ge action of some of the causes that affect the quality of optical glass^ On mSoning the cireumstance to the late Mr. CaiT, then solicitor to the Excise Tnd S whom I was personally acquainted, I received such an answer as determined me to give up my intention." _ This same diiJiculty of obtaining the pcrmiss on of the Excise to make any tort of experiments, lay at the root of multiplied evils ««d ineo^veniences Snected witfi the mam^acture. Glass-stalnet^ and l^^^^f . J'.^J ^^ known that the old glass— mdependent of its nch colours— was better fitted S^r^o W-« fof Z exerciL of this beautiful art ; they think Aat ^e old glass was harder and less fusible than the modem, and thus ^fter able to beai Repeated firings in the enamel-kihis ; but any attempt niade by ^em to cwnj out systematic experiments on the subject, with a view to determme the exact I mmtmmm , he made experiments iss ; but at the eleventh de all further progress, tainment of the amount or the optician required llond, then, with the aid ely with a view to make rated by a cold negative fr. Dollond, " to escape to be allowed to make jailed established rules, !e and Switzerland such 3 price ; and those large re made with that glass, it requires extreme care It would, therefore, be a ry to the Society of Arts, He clearly elucidated glass suflSce for optical act? and why may it iwt contains oxide of lead, imately and equally with , iction of the rays of light ther; consequently, such , however, the glass may iring about homogeneity [ ; and this may be still igs. But (and here was he Excise claimed a new ,8 the maker were willing ame null and void. Mr. in France, Germany, and , and could be sold at a y attribute to the Excise plifcUion of the melting perimental research were I Secretary to the Society pable of makhig, perhaps, pose of investigating the ity of optical glass. On en solicitor to the Excise, eived such an answer as 1 of the Excise to make I evils and inconveniences and painters have long colours — was better fitted rt ; they think that the old id thus better able to beai- pt made by them to carry 3W to determine the exact GLASS AKD ITS MANUFAOTURE. f cause of the difference, was frusti-ated by the Excise. Among the almost ludicrous results which followed from these obstructions, was the scientific reputation acquired by the humble Eloronce-oil flasks. It appears that, under the late laws, no gi-een glass bottles were allowed to be made under the size denominated ' six-ounce ;' it appears also that flint-glass, of which alone small bottles were permitted to be made, is, by virtue of the oxide of lead used as one ingredient, unfitted to resist some of the strong acids prepared by the chemists ; and the chemists were thence driven to the use of the flasks in which Florence oil is imported, the glass of such flasks containing no lead. Another aspect which the subject presented was this — that a manufacturer, even if he obtained pei-mission of the Excise to make experiments, could not do so without divulging the secret of any new invention he might have in his thoughts, were the invention patented or not. Mr. Apsley Ptllatt stated to the Commissioners that a very large lens could not be made at all in England, even of the same quality as smaller lenses ; for the Excise allowed melted glass to be laded out into cold moulds only; whereas a large mass, for a lens of considerable size, could not be properly cast unless the mould were heated. The same manufacturer gave a curious illustration of tlie effects of the law in respect to barometer and thermometer tubes, llie Excise required that tUl articles should be passed through the lear, or annealing oven ; but it was fovmd that the interior of these delicate tubes became smoked, and consequently unfitted for their purpose, by such an ordeal; and the EngUsh manufacturers had either to abandim the ipanufacture alto- gether, or to get the officers to connive at an arrangement whereby the duty might be paid without subjecting the tubes to the injurious process. There was alfo assigned a reason why— let the manufacturers and the glass-stainers be ever so skilful — they were not permitted to produce coloured glass so good as was obviously within the scope of theu- ability ; tiie red and amber tints require tliat the glass-pot should be opened frequently, that the mak^r may teat the progress ; but under the Excise regulations a glass-pot could be opened only at certain inten'als. Glass DnriEs — their Commercial Effects. The scientific and artistic results of Excise restriction ware, as above noticed, obsei-vablo chiefly in the quality of optical glass, and the quality and colour of stained glass. The commercial results were very varied, and some of them strange enough. The lear, or annealing oven, in which flintglass ia annealed after making, has a window, and a wire within the window, concerning which the Excise were veiy rigorous; for the duty was charged on the whole contents of the lear, wheUier injured or not. Mr. Pellatt told the Commis- sioners that on one occasion one of the Excise officers, in a frolic, " thi'ew a piece of glass at another, which broke the window of the leai\ The super- visor observing it a few minutes afterwards, and taking out part of the glass and pushing back the wire, pronounced the lear to be insecin-e, and reported accordingly. A prosecution was instituted. After incurring about £60 law expense, the crown solicitor dropped tlie case, finding that his own witnesses would afford him no chance of success. As the crOwn paid no costs, we had to defray the whole expense of tliat prosecution." The impossibiUty of collecting the flint-glass duty in a fair and equitable manner was made apparent in many ways. Mr. Powell, a Bristol manufac- turer, said to the Commissioners, " I do not see what legislative protection ■l' -^ 8 OLASS AND ITS MANUFACTUBE. can be given to the flint-glass tiade, unless there were officers almost as thick as the tiles on houses ; for there ai-e thirty manufacturers in London at this moment, unknovm to the Government, employed in melting up what we call cuUet, or broken glass, such as the stems of gcblets, bottoms of tumblers, the thick parts of decanters, and so on ; they can be melted in a garret, and made up into saltcellars, cruets and castors, bird-boxes, smelling-bottles, and a variety of articles used by perfumers ; and it is done to a very large extent." Mr. Pellatt called these obscure makers Little Goes; and stated that the little goes had ruined the trade in the smaller articles of flint-glass, " by making an inferior article of what is termed cullet. I have seen saltcellars retailed at M. each, weighing half-a-pound each, which is the full amount of the duty." The battle between the Excise and the manufacturers was often a strange one. A drawback of 6». M. per square foot (afterwards lesserved to 3». 9d.) was allowed on plate-glass when exported ; and two manufacturers, taking ad- vantage of this, made piate-glass so thin that, when exported and allowed the drawback, they gained largely by it The Excise then made com- plicated laws — that 3ie duty should be by weight; that the drawback should be by the foot; that plate-glass should not be exported if less than one-eighth of an inch thick; and that (to prevent crown-glass from having the drawback privileges of plate-^ass) no crown-glass should be made thicker than one-ninth of an inch. Thus was the trade hampered for many years by laws rendered necessaiy (or alleged to be necessary) by the dishonesty of two persons : a pretty clear proof that the whole system rested on an imsound basis. Then again, in order that plate-glass might not interfere with the levying of the duty on flint-glass, it was enacted that no plate-glass should be made above a certain thickness ; this restriction prevented an eminent manufacturing firm from carrying out a contract for supplying a very lai'ge lens for one of the northern lighthouses. When the reader is told that one kind of glass paid a duty of 7». per cwt., while another pMd 98*., and that three other kinds occupied three intermediate stages, be will see how much inducement manufacturers had to substitute one kind for another, and how much technical struggling would arise between them and the executive. The year 1846, however, arrived, and with it the removed of the Excise duty on glass. Then, and then only, did the EngUsh manufacturer begin to feel himself a free agent, in a position to make experiments tending to the advance of his manufacture. There is thus a curious feature in respect to the half- centiu-y's progress ; more has been eifected in the last five years of the period than in the preceding forty-five years. It has shown itself in respect to plate- glass, to sheet-glass, to flint-glass, — indeed to nearly eveiy department of the art. Let us tidte OtiW's ' Cnrstal fountain,' for instance — a fountain that will presently be known to persons from almost every comer of the world aa a distinguished - ornament to the Palace of Lidustiy. This fountain is certainly one of the most ambitious specimens which the art has yet put forth ; and the result shows that the ambition has not " o'er-leap'd itself," for there are certainly few productions in the Exhibition more honourable to English art The glassy structure is S7 feet in height and weighs about four tons — nearly 9000 lbs. There must of course be numerous pieces of metal used to sup- port the structure ; but these have been so skUfully overlaid with richly-cut glass, that they ai-e virtually hidden, and their opacity detracts little or noUiing from the brilliancy of the whole stnictiu-e. Plate-glass has fully kept pace with flint-glass in the march of improvement. L )fficer8 almost as thick rs in London at this siting up what we call toms of tumblers, the [ in a garret, and made melling-bottles, and a > a veiy large extent." ,■ and stated that the jles of flint-glass, " by [ have seen saltcellars is the full amount of )rs was often a strange lessened to Us. 9d.) was lufacturcrs, taking ad- exported and allowed cise then made com- t; that the drawback t be exported if less vent crown-glass from srown-glass should be lie trade hampered for ) be necessary) by the le whole system rested lass might not interfere ted that no plate-glass istriction prevented an ict for supplying a very the reader is told that )ther paid 98«., and that ae wiU see how much 1 for another, and how nd the executive, aovid of the Excise duty lufiitcturer begin to feel tending to the advance in respect to the half- five years of the period tself in respect to plate- [7 department of the art. mtaiu that will presently tvorld as a distinguished is cei-tainly one of the b forth; and the result for there are certainly ) to English art The bout four tons — nearly I of metal used to sup- overltud with richly-cut letracts little or uouiing march of improvement m If- OLASS AKD ITS HANUFACTDBIi:. Q Mr. Blake, manager of the Thames Plate-Glass Works, and Mr. Bessemer, have patented inventions for extensive improvements in the manufacture ; and improvements of a minor kind have been introduced by other inventors. The result may, to some extent, be seen at the Great Exhibition ; we there see plates of glass which have been so coloured as to imitate polished woods and marbles; we see in McLean's looking-glass the largest specimen of a bril- lisntly-fiwned glass ever executed in this country ; but the quiet and modest un&amed glass, at the west exti-emity of the nave, has the i-eputation of being the larjest and the finest known specimen of British plate-glass : it measures nearly 19 feet by 10. Revived Taste : Stained and Coloubed Glass. Among the agencies which have tended to the increased employment of glass in artistic works must undoubtedly be included the partial revival of mediaeval taste in ecclesiastical decorations. In the seventeenth century stained-glass windows in churches met with much fierce opposition ; while in the eighteenth they encountered neglect and indifference ; and as there was thus httle or no demand, the skill which could furnish a supply became nearly lost. Hence it has arisen that the artists in this department, at the present day, have had to study anew the principles and practice of their art. It has been remarked by competent critics, that, in the specimens which exemplify the progress of the artists, the defects as well as the beauties of the medieeval productions are attempted to be imitated, as if the revived art had not yet strength to walk alone. In the Great Exhibition, the quaint and stiff drawing of rnan^ of the figures in tlie stained-glass specimens is apparent enough ; yet it IS impossible not to obsene that great beauty of coloimng is dig-., played, and it is under this aspect alone that we allude to the subject here. In the Medieeval Court the stained glass has too littie Ught behind it to dis- play the colours well ; but in the gallery, on the northern side of the foreign nave, a particularly happy arrangement has been adopted for the varied ex- amples of stained-glass, British and foreign, whereby tiiie colours and general execution ai-e developed with surprising distinctness. The fine window, too, in the centre of the foreign nave, well exhibrts the skill in colouring and in the distribution of Ught end shade which its artist possesses. Any improvement in the colours of stained glass, whether in the recovery of the rich ruby tint of the middle ages, or by the invention of new combinations, would tell favourably on the glass manufacture in general ; for we have yet seen only a little, in this country, of the application of colom- to glass in miscellaneous manufactm-es. The practice of polychrome, or many-coloured decoration in buildings, is in its infancy among us ; and it is hardly possible yet to conjec- ture what new aspects of beauty may in future be developed. A question that suggests itself at the present time is — May not glass-staining be made available for a wider range of pictorial illustration than it has ordi- narily been applied to ? The ecclesiastical structures of the middle ages are those to which we are most indebted for specimens of this beautiful art ; and in such buildings sacred subjects are necessarily adopted. Our modem English glasB-stainers confine themselves, for the most part, either to sacred subjects, or to mere ornamental foliage, stars, arabesques, Ac. ; but the north- east gallery of the Great Exhibition shows us tliat our neighbours embrace a wider range. Look at MM. Marechal and Gugnon's ' St. Chai-les Borromeo giving the Saci-ament to the Victims of the Plague ;' and their ' Portrait of a B 8 ' ';) I 10 OLAflfl AND ITS MANUFACTURE. Burgomaster;' at Geyling's 'Girl at a Window;' and at Bertm.9 'Dante w3ow; in the centfal ^ve-these ai^ of vari'Mi excellence ; but they show ZToZm beside sacred subjecU may Buitobly be chosen. Mr. Bailhes 'Queen ETizabelh listening to ie reading of Shakspere.' ^^/'fgg^f ;« "^^^ ing out how exlmustless a store Shakspere hmiself would be to the amstio fflL-stainer. A monument to tlua delicate art. and a monument to the great SmmS might be formed by a scries of dmmatic f "-'^^^ ^;^« .?;S^; m need not go so far as to designate such supposed specimei i "vifa^ihed po^t^'- (in imitation of a modem Ge»-man definiUon of arclut«cture aa bemg ?Se£ music ") ; but it may well deserve a thought, whether our glasa- stTercould not sirike out a uL path for themselves, mstead of iollowm^^ in the wake of mediaeval artists. What glorious subjects might tlie Great Exhibition itself suggest, to be depicted in a range of " storied-wmdows ! MfB^S^Hmit hL well shown that the » poeUy of science "is sometWng more than a mere name ; it can be felt as havmg a living warmth hi it Ana Tis iere likewise a poetiT of industry, which, if appreciated by one who is at the s^c time a glass-stelner, might prf4uce results ot smrpnsmg force and ^Whether fiiture experimenters will verify the resiilte """'^^^ ^f^^^* f «J ' but M Bontemps, in a paper communicated to the British Association at the B^Jm^aghim meeiing in 1849. made known ««r ■ ""P'^'^T*' JiS';Li £ veiy closely the labSurs of the chiss-stainer. It is f n««^y f,"™'*'^^^;* diZrent metallic oxides impart liffercnt colours *« g^^ = J"*J.:, ^^j!!^;^ asks-How do qiumtity, and tims, and temperature, affect the result > May not ^a^lyS^lfouJs bel^duced by one oxide, varied by these "ontmgencies ? He sLght industriously for true answers to these questions He states ti^at oil the colours of the spectrum maybe produced by oxide of ion that purple, brownish-red. yellow, and green may be produced by <>*"'« of"^*"" Sse • and that the oxides of gold, of silver, and of copper. severaUy pro- CmaS different colours in glass -the detei-mining causes being, the quantiTy^f oxide employed, the temperatu« attained. ^^.^^..^ZTtr^ 3be process. Here we find sketehed in ouUine an unbounded field for fiiture S^eri^Tters ; and science will belie itself if it do not. by and by. enable our ZTSeTcWhether M. Bontemps' views be correct or not) to ejoal any- Ainff produced by tlie mediteval artists, so far as colour is concerned. tU above i-emarks concerning stained glass refer to ^'fFov^ments sought bv a revival of taste or fashion in that department, rather than to the effects of Seal changes. So far as the actual manufacture of the gUiss is concerned ^ladvancfment lately made ha., not been considerable ; it is m the co^Wnation S cSouring materials with the glass that tlie talent of the glass-stainer finds most scope^or its exercise, l^ot a few of the recent miprovementa. or Stempts at improvement. «late to a combination of ,f """^J" «^« gj«^ employed. We allude not here to stahied glass. usuaUy so called ; but to Snment>, of a more special character. Take the question simply of eohur^ H^re we find that the Bohemians, however far they may be below our level S mal^actm^s. are able to impart to glass a richness of colour ^hich our ' gL^-makera ha^e (until lately) endeavomed in vain to equal ; the ruby tmte SpeciallY are marked for their brilhancy. All colours m glass are produced Ke adnifxture of some or other of the mmierous metellic oxides; and Kugh it is \^ovm that oxide of gold is used by tlie Bohemians m the richer red tint« of the best specimens, yet for some reason or other (or mo e probably from a combination of reasons our manufacturers have rarely L OLASS AND ITS UANDFACTUBE. 11 i at Bertini'$ 'Dante illence ; but they show hosen. Mr. Baillie'a ' is suggestive aa point- iidd be to the artistic nunument to the great scenes thus depicted, d specimei. j " vitrified f architecture as being ;ht, whether our glass- s, instead of following jects might tlie Great )f " storied-windows ! " science" is something ng warmth In it. And iciated by one who is at of surprising force and ■s remains to be seen; tish Association at the periments which touch [eneroUy admitted that lass; but M. Bontemps It the result ? May not ly these contingencies ? itions. He states that ly oxide of iron; that luced by oxide of man- »f copper, severally pro- ling causes being, the id, and tlie duration of >ounded field for fiiture t, by and by, enable our It or not) to eq'oal any- ir is concerned, to improvements sought ler than to the effects of the glass is concerned, ; it is in tlie combination if the glass-stainer finds eoent improvements, or of colours in the glass sually so called; hut to uestion simply of colour. may be below our level less of colour which our to equal ; the ruby tmte •8 in glass are produced us metallic oxides; and y the Bohemians in the reason or other (or more anufactinrers have rarely quite equalled those tints. It is evident, however, to any one who has glanced over recent productions, that sedulous endeavours are now being made to do all that our neighbours are able to do. The ' ruby ' chandelier, and the ' Alhambra ' chandelier, placed in the Great Exhibition, are steps in a style of art which may lead to results both briUiant and tasteful. The production of glass mosaics is a very remarkable appUeation of colourad glass to pictorial purposes. When Napoleon had possession of Itniy, he ordered a mosaic copy of Lionardo da Vinci's celebrated picture of the ' Last Supper' to be made, the same size as the original, viz. ^0 feet by 13. The artist was Giaoomo Baffaelh; and the men under his direction, eight or ten in number, were engaged at it for eight years ; this mosaic, which now belongs to the Emperor of Austria, cost £7500. The picture was, we believe, formed of cubes of coloured earths and stones ; and therefore, however clever and effective, it does not belong to our present sulyect. The glass mosaics in Ihe Great Exhibition, though few in number, are of distinguished merit, and ai-e comprised among the scanty contributions from the once mighty Eome. No nation among the ancients equalled the Italians of the last two or three cen- turies in the production of mosaic glava pictures ; for the ancient mosaics were for the most pai-t in some kind of stone, clay, or pottery-ware, whereas the finest modem specimens are glass copies from pMntings of the highest class. The production of glass mosaics requires unwearied patience, combined with much skill and taste. In the first place, the materials of glass are mixed with various colouring materials, ohiefiy metallic oxides, so as to foi-m opaqu6 coloured enamels; these enamels are cast into slabs or flat cakes; and the slabs are cut into very small cubes or rectangular pieces. Not only is every colom* imitated, but every gradation of tint in each colour; insomuch that, at the great mosaic establishment at Bome, maintained by the papal govern- ment, they have no less than thirty thotuand different tints of coloured enamels, all classified and registered. With these Uttle coloured cubes a pictiM« is built up, copying some celebrated work of the Itahan or other masters. The pieces are inserted, one by one, in a bed of cement which dries to extreme hardness; each piece is ground at a kind of lathe to the exact shape required by the particular tint In each part of the picture ; and when the picture is completed by this extremely slow process, the surface is ground down and polished. It is quite impossible to describe the result thus pro- duced ; the reader can only appreciate it by looking at the actual specimens themselves. Let him examine the views of St Peter's, the Ooliseuni at Rome, the Boman Fonmi, the Temple of Peestum, the Harbour of Genoa, the Bay of Naples, the copy of Gneroino's • John the Baptist,' Ac, in the Italian compartment of the Great Exhibition (mostly table-slabs): he will there find that the minutest touches, the most delicate tints, are imitatod, and in somd instances with siuprising success. It must be remembered, too, that these colours are not mere surface tints, not merely ' skin-deep ;' they permeate the substance of the glass, each little fragment having the same tint all through its thickness. If it were possible to turn the whole series of pieces upfeide down, without disturbing their relative positions, a second pioture would be presented exactly like the original, only vnA a reversal of right and left. The ^' si^ecunens of glass mosaic described by Winckelmann and Count Caylus /■ 1 last century, seem to have been of a somewhat different kind, for they pr<;sented a complete picture on each surface. They consisted of coloured glass fibres fitted togetiier with the utmost exactness, and cemented by fusion into a solid mass. Of these two specimens, each of whicl> was VHH T ••iMw«mpMHMiWia**>^ jg 0LAS8 AND ITS MANUFACTOnE. .b„„. an inch long b, . « "' - iltioHJ' r/ackf t'"L™» J"^ and distincUy. either the circ e «f *^« P"P*i,«; **'^^^^ about the same injuring Hie tints of any one fibre. Decorative and Silveiied Glass Work. To rel^. however, to decomtive gla.8 -ork^^i^^^'Jf^'^rMrt^^^^^^ to Sur own day. Two remarkable ""^fj^ jj^^^^^^J^^^^ome extent been few yea« ago founded on proce^e^^^^^ and CrystaUo pi-actised by the Bohemians. ^f«»« T. J^."" piags-makers excited surprise Engraving. About a century ^o, the J^^^^^^^^^SSS J^^^^ « coatiig of by producing bas-relief casts of busts and ^«J^;^clo^J^ ^^^.J^ ^f white flint^glass ; and it ^"^/^ «^"«^" f^ Ae des^^^^^ result, theVe one of the patents menUoned above. 1 o P/otwce uie u Slnded for incmstation must be made of ^T^thS^ wTdi IHs to h! in- make the two substances a^ere, «"t;? wS of fowing in air as in the blower draw, out the au: from V^^^J^^^^^^^!^, ^d to form one ordmary manufacture), thus causmg n decanters or table gl^s. Ane ^^^ckdust, and over first with Tripoh poAvder, then with Jne d^ pi«* ^ then with coarse powder °f ^« «^« f ^^^^'^f ^'ater f r^Sich the sandy and at the same time exposed to %,^*»^ "^^^d in the iron mould in layere become sohdified mto a cast. This cast is piacea m ui > ■ ^ t am ilimm MM\Hn^<^-n i m^f «•••"•'- .t-iva aiJVSS ANP ITS MANUFACTUHE. 18 exliibited, on a dark ck; the outlinea were he effect very striking, irent glass; the most traced more accurately )r the apparently scaly 1 was about the same », and yellow colours, id volutes, beads, and ed a similar object was er fibres of glass, laid exposed to a heat just without disturbing or Work. ging more particularly ented by Mr. Pellatt a e to some extent been nutation and CryttaUo makers excited surprise jsed within a coating of at became the subject of iesired result, the figure lat will require a higher a which it is to be in- ish is found to possess material from a plaster iiaUy. A mass of trans- ,en, and the clay cameo, is pressed or welded to being closed, the glass- jrcing in wr as in the Uapse, and to form one aa is cut and polishetL to d beautiful, for the clay ver, isolated in the midst incrusted in a more ex- similar hollow vessels, ssel, a small piece of semi- ie cameo in its place and !o Engiaviitg, consists in nd compressing them in iveniently adopted where such as badges of regi- ! die or cast is spriiikled laster and brickdust, and it is placed under a press, iter, by which the sandy ftced in the iron mould in which the Klass vessel is to be made, and becomes an mtegral part of the vessel so pSduced; but by the application of a little watx^r the cast is sepa, 3 ^dCves ar^ intaglio impression upon Uie glass ^ shaq) as the on^nal T The Zt or cake thus used, however, seldom suffices for a second im- ^'Thrmention of the Bohemian glass manufacture brings U> mind a curious example of the mode in which commerce seeks out it« markets, and makes hght Srtlnce which often sepai^tes the producers from the consumers In the Great Exhibition is a glass case of a veiy instructive kmd, contammg speci- mens of S or n^-ly A the commodities brought to Livei-pool m U.e common r^e oflmle. Each specimen is labeUed with its commercial or local name uTenirname(if an?), the comitry whence i™P«'^'l- Sf/^^^ *^„f £ anolied and the quantity imported mto Liverpool in 1849. Among the fis'so depSued are B^oheu'iian glass beads, of all sizes and colom.;^nd the route bv which they reach their desUnation is cunous. Ihey fand then wrv7rom Bohemia noiiward to Hamburg, or southward to Trieste; they are rhTDpTatoneorbothof those ports to Liverpool ; they are shipped agam from LWeW t^ tiis . e. - .oast of Mrica, where they are baitered with the natives for ivorv calm oil, or other commodities. , , ,. ^ tS vSho a.; attracted by the brUliantly-coloured and diversely-oma- mented sp^dmens of glass which now appear in the London shops, may SMw Tat such^articles were a staple manufacture >« Jenice m die Sentt^d seventeenth centuries, and that much "^ f '^ ™?^«™Xt ting mprfi revival of a partially forgotten ai-t. Mr. Pellatt, in Ins interesting SioXes of Glass Making,' enmnerates the following among the tasteful A nrodSons of U^r Venetian's. The Ve,u>tian ball has an exterior of Uans- ^ SS coburless glass, enclosmg glass of many different colours fused into Sne mass The VenetUin Jil^ree%hich consists of spir^y-twisted plain and oTour^d enilel glass, w^^uch used by tlie Veneti^s for ^e «t^--^-"- classes Boblets &c.; and when placed together side by side in alternaw fZ^ ifwa^ manufUm-ed into tezzas. vases, and oUier oi-namental articles^ ml^r^gZ consists of a great variety of ends ^^^S'SSloSnSs o sectionaUv at right angles with the filagree cane to form small lozenges or SEr^d tiele, when placed side by side, and massed together by tra,^ nZnt fflass have the appearance of an innumerable senes of flowers or KSs'lS ornamental v'a^es, &c Mosaic ,«a., was VroiuceAhy ^e^^ small canes of variously-coloured opaque or ^^''P^f * f ^^VLrS lengths ranced sectionaUy together in groups, so that the ends may lonn CToS Twhich are patterns of flowers or arabesques; Mid these, bemg cut ErtTsversely or Obliquely, form slabs of -/ -^--^J^f'such Lnd were TiesB the same pattern being met with at every cuttir.g. Ot sucU kina were Ttw^ sp"rmLs describe'd by Wmckelmann. Sr,^eU ^^^JJ^^^^"^, ftised lenaths of coloured glass roUed one into another, so as to unitate cm nSil or £ stones. vL di trim is fine lace-work, with intersectmg Imes of Thit^ enlel or transparent glass, forming a --p'^<>lJ^'^^^^f;/:,^^ sections- the centre of each has an air bubble of unilorra size. The I^ro»tea rmSirregularly-veined marble-Uke projecting dislocations, ^^t^i int^f'^"'"^ fZv^ It!s piiced by plunging Uie white-hot glass mto cold water, and then reheatbig md reblowing it; although it appears oovered with fractures S'r gC is perfectly sonorous. Mr. Pellatt says that tlie art of '"'^"^g ^^^ Si^s was knoSn and practised only by the Venetians, until revived by hun a few years ago at the Falcon Glass Works. L 11 GLASS AND ITS MANUFACTUBH. The silvered glass produced by tho metiiod of Mr. Hole ThompsoQ is a product of singular beauty. Whether in the form of cups or goblets, of tazzaa or wine-coolers, of epergnes, ewers, condelabi-a, inkstands, salt or sugai'-boxes, of flat mirrors or of mirror globes, it exhibits a brilliancy of hue tliat can hardly fail to an*est attention. It is to the conibinutioii of colour witli nilicriity that we owe this result. Some months ago, Mr. Donaldson, in advocating tlie uho of this material for architectural decoration, especially in tlie adornment of shop-fronts, stated tliat the influence of the silver on the coloiu' gave rise to tints almost unknown before, and such oa no combination of the ordinary colouring ingredients could imitate. It may, in this resjiect, be compared to the Diorama, which differs from other pictui-es in being viewed by reflected and transmitted light conjointly ; the glas? presents the reflective power of tho silver with tlie transmissive or transparent piwer of the coloured medium. The most conspicuous products, perhaps, are the niirror globes, which present every variety of brilliant colour, and have a size from two inches to tliirty inches in diameter ; but, excellently as these illustrate Uie combination of effects just alluded to, they are not so delicately beautiful as articles of more diverse form, where endless nutincet are produced by tho different angles at which the hght is reflected to the eye. So much more brilliant is the argentine reflection tlian that j)roduced by the mercury-amalgam at tlie back of a looking-glass, tliat it is contemplated to employ this glass in many useM ways for optical and scientific instruments. Without going minutely into details, a few words will suffice to explain the relation which this new method bears to those oi-dinorily adopted. In pre- paring a looking-glass, a sheet of tinfoil is laid down smoothly on a flat tablo ; Uquid mercury is poured on it, the plate of glass is laid on tiie mercury, and heavy weights are Itud on the glass ; while the supei-fluous mercury is gra- dually expelled by the pressure, the remainder combines chemically with the tinfoil, and forms with it an amalgam which adheres pretty closely to the surface of the glass; when seen from the other side, this amalgam yields the brilliant white reflection familiar to us in looking-glasses. But, briUiant as is this reflection, it has often been thought that a yet more lustrous effect would be produced by the use of real silver; and a patent for this object was procured by Mr. Drayton, about eight years ago. According to this patent, the plate of glass is covered witli a solution, in which the chief in- gredient is nitrate of silver ; and when this solution has been left undisturbed for a certain time, metallic silver separates from it, and becomes precipitated on the glass ; the remaining solution is poured off, and the film is secured by a resinous varnish. In the later silvering process a somewhat similar nitrate solution is employed, but with a different precipitating agent. The re- markable feature, however, is, that the glass is made doubU, Mid the Uquid is poured into the cavity between the two surfaces, so that no protecting varnish is necessary ; and aa the twin thicknesses may be of different coloured glass, on extensive range of new effects becomes obtainable. The etching or engraving of glass presents another pleasing variety. By Mr. Kidd's recently-patented process, a species of embroidery of great beauty is produced. In this method, the devices or patterns are cut on the und»r surface of the glass, and the small facets are silvered ; the result is, that innumerable tiny mirrors throw up reflections in every direction. This is the case where colourless transparent glass is employed; but where multi- coloured glass is used, mtuiy novel combinations present themselves.. There may, for mstance, be a basis or primary layer of transpaient glass ; then "^^-i I. GLASS AND 1TB MANUFACTUBK. 15 . Hale Thompson is a lips or gobleU, of tazzas 1(18, salt or auKai'-boxea, ^ of hue tliat can hardly lour witli silicring Ihat 1, in advocating tlie uho y in the adornment of the colour gave rise to tnatioQ of the ordinary esi^ect, bo compared to ng viewed by reflected > reflective power of the loloiired medium. The lea, which present every ches to thirty inches in ion of effects j ust alluded ore diverse fonn, where at which the light is 'gentine reflection tlian a looking-gUiss, Uiat it I ways for optical and 1 suffice to explain the arily adopted. In pre- uoothly on a flat tablo ; id on the mercury, and •fluous mercury is gra- les chemically with the 18 pretty closely to the i, this amalgam yields -glasses. But, briUiant yret more lusti-ous effect I patent for this object yo. According to this in which the chief in- is been left undisturbed id becomes precipitated md the film is secured 3S a somewhat similar litating agents The re- I double, and the liquid so that no protecting be of different coloured lable. pleasing variety. By •roidery of great beauty 3 are cut on the tmder ed; the result is, that sry direction. This is lyed; but where multi- Bnt themselves.. There ransparent glass; then on opaque layer of while glass is poured upon this; and, lastly, a layer of mbv £ on the white; the united aiickness may be t^ion cut U, any depth S^wTth any device, and, whether .ilve..d or not, a "f ' f P^y/ ^ -- results Specimens of Kidd's embossed glass, as well as ot Uie silvered iXured S« «r« ^* ^« '"^'.^-^^'^ '" *^« ExhibiUon. and cerUmly form notable features among its novelties. . • ^ i , „ ^r..\^ Our American brethren seem to have been the first to mtooduce a mode of manufacturing glass by ytmmg, being one of the very few varieUcs m which homing is not req44d. A metal die and plunger are prepared. Ue former to give the exterim- pattern, and the latter the mterior pattern to the aSe 2ut to be made;\he ball of melted glass is dropped mto the che „r mould, and tlie plunger or matrix is brought down upon it by the ever handle of a simple kind of press, and the glass is thus mstanUy fomed nt^ the desired shape. The process is said to bo cheap and expeditious, but to require much skiU. If the quantity of glass be too large, {he ove i- plus gives considerable trouble; If too litUe, the artiolo is spoded : d U e die aSd phmgor be too hot, the glass will adhere to them ; it too cold, the smf^e of th! glass becomes cloudy and imperfect. It is by some such pmcess as thi8,^ut still more simple, that ghus droi>» for chandeliers are ordinarily formed. Lumps of glass, made expressly for this purpose are softened by heat, and shaped in twin bi-ass dies; but the mfenor kmds are mSoiVom thick tumbler bottoms, or waste glass. The arms of chandehers also, are pressed by twin dies, the upper die behig fixed to the plunger, and the under one to the bed of a lever press. • , j i,„„„*ifi.i A mode of decorating glass, which leads to many yaned and beautiful results, is that carried on by the patent of Messrs. Powell In manufactures of Uiis description, after the glass is made, and before it has cooled, a device in intaglio is impressed by a die, just as in making impressions m wax, and into thi cavities ^hus foimed melted glass of another colour « I«»f d; when cold, the surf-ace is properly ground and polished. It is difficult to "nagme the play of colours thus produced; for, besides the contrast between the two kinds of glass employed, there are aU the multiplied tints which result from prismatic reflection, according to the angle at which each small smrface presents itself to the eye. SCIKNTIFIC EeLATIONS OF GlASS-MaKINO. But we must now direct our attention to a few improvements more soUdly advantageous than those which owe then- atti-actions to colours, mosaics, silverinff, or embossing. , . v i Ever? day's experience tells us tJiat tliere is a pei-petual reaction between the different depai-tments of knowledge. Every science and art receives benefit for every benefit which it confers ; it " gains strength m giving. If science aids the glass-maker, so does the glasa-m^er lend his ^ to the students of science. A curious exemplification of this has appeared within the last few years, in connection wiUi the beautiful palm-house at Kew, chiefly through the instrumentAhty of Mr. Robert Hunt. To explam it. we must remind the reader that ordinary solar light consists of rays ot three colours, red, yellow, and blue ; and that of these three the red have ge most heating effect, the yellow the most light-giving effect, and the blue the strongest chemical effect. When combined in the ordmary raUo, the smis rays produce the regular or natural effects (whatever they may be) on vege- •sg* L 16 OtASS Ann ITS MANUFACTUBB. tation; but if artificial means be adopted to change this ratio, special effecU result. Mr. Hunt employed coloured glass to determine these effects ; for, in each itind, the glaHH u-aiisniita one portion of Uie solar raj's more abundanUy than the rest, and owns what is called its ' colour ' to this property. Under yrllow glass, he found Uiat, generally speaking, die gonuiimlioii of seeds is prevented; and that, even hi cases where it has commenced, tlie plant speedily dies. On the other hand, in a later stage of development, these rays seem to contribuUs to Uie vigorous growth of the plant. Under red Klass, if the seeds ai« well watched and watered, gonnination takes place; but the plant shows a sickly constitution, and the leaves are partially blanched. It is curious that, according to Mr. Hunt's observations, Uiose plants which naturally bend towards the white light of day, seem to shun red light by benduig away from it ; but that when they arrive at the flowering stage, the plants welcome the red rays more than the blue or yellow. Under blue glass, the gemimation of seeds and the growth of young plants are accelerated m a reinaikable manner ; but if this kind of stimidus be conUnued beprond a certam tune, the plant increases in bulk without a corresponding uici-eose in sUengUi. Mr Hunt, in others of his published works, has applied the term actimnn to the peculiar principle and effects of the blue rays ; and, m connection witli those views, he expresses an opmion that these experiments on Uie effe^Jt of coloured glass on plants, " seem to point to a very great pracUcul apph- ctttion, in enabling us in this chmate to meet Hie necessities of plants, natives of the tropical regions. We have evidence (at least so it appears to me) from these and other results, tliat tlie germination of seeds in spring, the flowenng of plants in summer, and Uie ripening of fruits m autumn, are dependent upon Uie variations in Uie amount of acUnism or chemical mfluence of light and of heat, at Uiose seasons, in Uie solar beam." These intfc.estmg fwits, it is true, belong to ttie optical and organic sciences raUier Uian to Uie glass manufacture ; but it is impossible not to see how mutually ben^ licial such discoveries must be to Uie two friendly powers -science and industrial art; and the new pahn-house at Kew affords at once a case in point When a UtUe manganese is present m glass, U conects Uie colouring action of the iron which usually exists in Uie sand; but Uie whitened glass thus produced is found to admit Uie heat of Uie solar rays to a greater degree Uian ordinary glass ; and Uie plants in a pahn-house or hothouse so glazed are found to suffer a scorching effect iiyurious to Uiem. Mr. Robert Hunt, appreciating both the good and the bad aspects of Uiis modification, has exercised his ingenuity iu retaining the former and dispersing Uie latt«r; he recommended Uie use of a litUe oxide of copper instead of oxide of manganese ; and Uie pahn-house at Kew, glajied wiUi glass so Unted, has been found to possess Uie advantages without Uie disadvantages ot what we maj term the manganese system. , . / The manufacture of glass suitable for optical purposes has been (as we have before noticed) unduly pi-essed down in England by Uie pernicious Excise laws, only recenUy removed; and we have to wait for future times to Bhow Uie fuU effect of Uie removal. The production of glass fitted for Uie constniction of lenses for large telescopes, is a work of such extreme dithculty, that those who excel in it become celebrated Uiroughout Euiope, and Uieir names find a place m the records of science. Thus Frauenhofer, of Mumch, has a world-wide fame (among men of science at least) for having, among other works, produced the object-lens for Uie great telescope at Dorpat. His Buccessor, Utzschneider, mauitains hia reputation for pi-oducmg optical glass ds ratio, special effects e thene enecta; for, in ravs more abundantly this property. Under unniimliuu of aeedn is onuneiiced, tlio plant evelopment, thene rayit t. IJnder r*d glasB, if i takes place; out the rtially blanched. It i» I plants which naturally light by bending away ge, the plants welcome I glass, the gemtiuation rated in a i-emarkuble «yond a certaui time, mci'ease m sti'engtli. d the term actiniam to nd, in connection witli mments on the effect •y great practical appli- sities of plants, natives it appears to me) from in spring, the flowering mtumn, are dependent chemical influence of n." These iutt.'esting sciences rather than see how mutually bene- f powers— science and \rM at once a case in t con-ects the colouring but the whitened glass ■ays to a greater degree or hot-house so glazed 3m. Mr. Robert Htmt, ' this modification, has dispersing the latter; er instead of oxide of ;las8 so tinted, has been ntages of what we xnay poses has been (as we land by tlie pernicious wait for future times to I of glass fitted for the such extreme difliculty, ;hout Europe, and tlieir lenhofer, of Munich, has tor having, among other scope at Dorpat. His producing optical glass 1 OtASS AND nm HANUrAOTURE. 17 free from stria or streaks; Ouinand, FrauenhSfor's pupil, carrier M almo»t amount, to an exi.lotioii) in no violent as U> breivk the bottSs and scattar tha wnt-r in ftll dir«ctloni. All Qieiie itmnKe r««ulu are due to a petuliar ineq«wlity in Uu. condiUon of th«* glass. ariHiim Irom tho •udden cooling ; but it has not y.-t Urn clearly ascfrtain.d whereui thni there are cer- liiin kinds of glass which may be diMolvtd in wui. r. All gla.« is. chemicaUy, a sdicate of som.^ alkaline or metallic oxid. ; aiv! • ording to the "»»>"«»' this oxide, so does the quality ;.f tl.« glass Uilk.. 1» potiish or ...da be the wibstanoe combined with Uio silicic acid or silica, without any third ingredient. a glam is produced which, Uiougli presenting Uie usual vitxeous asi«ct, is easily dissolved in water. It is cidlecl whtbU gUm, .md is employed a» a kmd of paint for paper, cloth, wood. Ac, to prevent or retard then- inflammation on Uie contact of an ignited body. .,,.., ... Nuw Applications OF Glass. In respect to the every-day wants of society, we find Uiat glass « /"^""jj^ working out the scheme which we noticed as marking the progress from 1801 to 1851 The raw materials, it is tnio, have not been largely mcrcased in aumber or kind ; but commerce has given ns a few (such as Austrahan Hand), science a few (such as an exlonded knowledge of the metallic oxides), and legis- lation a few (such as cheapening tho alkalies). The manufax^tunng procesws have, from the reasons so many times alluded to, only of late shown any markwl improvement ; but these improvements lie in many difterent patlis, aU ot which are now being pursued simidtaneously. There are new but simple ap- paratus brought into ase; there are new combinations of the pnma^ mgre- dients ; there are new mixtures of metalhc oxides to impart colour ; there are hnwroved rules a.lopt«d concerning the temi.erature, the dumtion, and the mMiipukUv« details of each process; and there is a common-sense tendency to enipkw a few foreign workmen when (but only when) the English haiids are not skiUwl in any particular department. But it is in the applxcatxon^ glass to practieal purposes that we most clearly see the recent progre.^i. lher« i« borti an increased use v re *. has long been used, and a new use as a subsu- ^ttte for other materials -..l- u*ag due to the increasec^ cheapness and ex- cellence of the glass rr "e . , » ^ i i The use of glass .- -1 and ofhur purposes has mdwnl extended with striking rapidity since the change in the Excise duties. I^t tis take the shop-bill of one among many London manufacturers of those articles, wad alance thi-oueh ita contents. First we find patent rough plate-glass, an eighUi of an inch thi.3k, obtainable in sheets up to a size of ten or twehre superficial feet, for conservatories and skylights, and saleable at threepence to tenpence nerfoot. Horticultural 8heet.gla.9s for conservatories is " made so as to ub- Viate the scorchmg effects of the sun's rays." Rough plate-glass, intended lor roofs and floors, is made fi-om a quaiter of an inch to an inch and a half in thiclmess • so strong are the thickest of these specimens, that they are walkort I OLASa AND ITS riANtllACTCBE. 10 ) glan^ l><'rfi, tlie ctmi'Hwjioii l»y < BO viol«*nt M to bietiK lliese atrariKe reaulU nr« glosA, ariHiDK from the wwrtauK'd wherein thfl 1011 I'qually hUiui^o and ta which g? • l»«»ni to I, or »! loi ii'i' > wanlH lits. Wj may iiowevfr Mf>, thfli there are cer- AU Kla.^.^ i«. chrraicttUy. oitliiiR to tho iiatiirn of If poUwh or iodtt be ttie out any third inj^redient. usual vitreouH osjtect, in i i» employed na ii kind rd their inflamraation on d tliat gla. six Inchea in width, «n\ sold by the foot of length. For immediato horticultural or daily UR») we Hnd bee gloHJiM. propagating gloasea, cucumber glahsea, hyacinUi and llowc^r di8h«« ftn«l glaasoa, cnKUS glasses, wall-fniit gla8B»5s, fniit-prot«!ting glaaaea, paadi and grape glosses, fcm aliades, milk trays and pans, creampota. and numoroiw other articUs. 'i'luu there are niimberlesH us^liil implemouLs which >ftn witli ditticulty be brought under any common dosignulion, but which all tend to ex emplliy the increasing use ot Rlass ; perforateii «!'«« for ventilation, syringea for injections. chemisU' pill slabs, cornice polos, ])ipos for convoymg lupuda— am each of them types of large classes of articles now made of tins material. In it»spect to the ability of English workmen to oiiual tliose of foreign countrlea in the niechanical departmentit of tlie glass manufacture, Mr. Poxton adduced tin instructiv.i instance some time ago. In 's r< main a matter of interest to note the arrangements by which the palace hm been built The manufacture by Messrs. Chance of the aores of gloss which the building contahis, was in itself an industrial feat worthy of Tho neighbourhood of Birmingham produced botli U\e h-on-work and the glass-work for Uie Exhibition buUding. Messrs. Chance's establishment is situated in a suburb caUed Hpon Lane, surrounded by the smoking chimneys of various factories. It is a vast place, covering on area about equal to that of the Crystal Palace itself, but, unlike it, scattered and disjointed, with no two buildings alike, and no symmetry of arrangement. Like many other of our manufacturing establishments, it has grown with the growth ot trade ; it has exting by that time become very general, Mr. Paxton proc-eeded to inquire whether iron aashes and rafters would be available for glass sU-uctures; but th« result of his GLASS AND ITS MANUFACTURE. 21 odies within itself an •owth, wide extension, both the building and their attention to one I peraons employed in ; and during the pi-o- ir of operatives was far ted by this firm at tlie nade by the same pro- lout twenty years since of making sheet-glass, ; and the manufEicture nore striking than the in the whole range of semi-viscid glass, and ) rolls the mass on a [>hes his mouth to the isumes a hollow ovoid tical circle 10 or 13 feet yith rounded ends; he cesses, to maintain the the hollow mass gives Etched only at one end ace, the cylinders were yhnders are dissevered ; they are placed in a ere is finally presented ze. diibition should be so in one of the galleries process, almost passes ense demand, Messrs. nee and Belgium; but leu' best — ^have learned « of English workman- B by 18 — such are the exact form is given to i mould of the required taterial more under the e glass-blower. 3 given of the origin of dverted to, so far as it al. In 1828, when his [-houses and hothouses heavy woodwork, which irm was to listen tlie icond improvement was by which there is much > &e destructive action ructures haxing by that > inquire whether iron »s; but th« result of hia inquiries was unsatisfactory, for he found that such iron framings were more costly than wood, that the sashes were liable to become disjointed by expan- sion and contraction, that the glass would be fi«ctured by such disjointing, that the temperature of metal framings varies more than tliat of wood, and that the repairing of injmies would be less simple and expeditious. The com- bination of wooden rafters and frame-wuik with iron sash-bars was then tried, but the advantages did not equal the disadvantages ; and Mr. Paxton has since that period imiformly adhered to the employment of wood in immediate contact with glass. His next investigation led him to the " ridge and fiurow " system of glass-roofing. In most glass structures employed for horticultural purposes, the lean-to roof inclines downwards towards the south, in order to catch the heat of the sun ; but a consequence of this is (especially if lie sash- bars be thick and clumsy) that the east and west or morning and evening sim exerta very little power within the structure, while the midday heat is received in all its fierceness. To obviate this, Mr. Paxton contrived the ridge and furrow arrangement, at such angles as to increase the reception of morning and evening rays, and check somewhat the midday rays. He built a pine- hoise in 1833, and a greenhouse in 1834, on this principle; and in 1836 he constructed a curvilinear hothouse, 60 feet in lengtli by 26 in width, with an elliptical roof on tlie ridge and furrow principle, tJ^e sash-bars being of wood : this was, in fact, the first germ whence the indescribably beautiful transept arch at the Giystal Palace proceeded. When the great conservatory was com- menced at Ghatsworth in 1837, Mr. Paxton av&iled himself of the use of a machine for shaping and planing the sash-bai-s. He also availed himself of the sheeti-glass which Messrs. Chance had by tliat time brought into use ; and it was by his suggestions, and offers of purchase, that the firm redoubled their effoi-ts until sheet-glass fovu* feet in length could be made : this enabled Mr. Paxton to employ grooving instead of overlapping in glass roofs, a system to which the Ciystal Palace owes no small portion of its efficiency. The next step was to make the ridge and furrow rafters horizontal, instead of inclined, as they are in the Ghatsworth conservatory ; and three buildings were con- stmcted with roofs on this principle, viz. a conservatory in Darley Dale, an ornamental glass covering m a conservatory wall at Ghatsworth, and the new Victoria Begia house in the same princely domain. Tlie last of these three buildings was constructed in 1850; and it was while the subject was thus fuUy occupying his mind, that the happy idea of the glass palace occurred to Mr. Paxton, and enabled him and others to surmount obstacles which seemed likely to overwhelm all parties concerned. To describe this wonderful i"oof, these sixteen acres of glass, is barely necessary ; for the dfuly and weekly journals have made the subject familiar to almost every one. Yet we cannot rightly understand the relation which the glass manufacture bears to it without recapitulating a few details. First, then, we have in the roof a structure of such unusual lightness that the whole weighs but 3J lbs. per square foot, glass and wood included. This slightness of pressure on the girders and cdlumns beneath has been a point of considerable importance and value; for it enables the builders to rely securely on a degree of strength in those parts which would be quite incon- sistent with ihe pressure of an ordinary roof. In the remarkable " ridge and furrow " principle of this roof, the Paxton gutters, as they are called (we stay not to investigate the claims of other parties to the invention), are rasged parallel at distances of 8 feet apart ; and ihe ridges are midway between the gutters, both gutters and ridges running east and west The ridges are so BMMlMlijMM L OS GLASS AND ITS MAHOFAOTDBE. crooved as to receive the glass, and the furrows are hoUowed to furnwh chan- nels along which ram-wat«r can descend to Uie hoUow columns. Ihe sash- bars, which extend north and south, are 5i inches in length ; and it is at the Bides of these slender sash-bai-s that the grooves are made which mainly support the "crystal" roof. The glass panes extend north and south; but in Ae waggon vault of the transept, owing to the remarkable conbmaUon ot the ridgeand furrow system with the circular curve, the line of direcUcm is a curious Oiie ; the sash-bara are here set at an oblique angle, m " hei-rmg-bone fasliion, in order to assist ttie conduction of the water, and to prevent its lodging agamst the lower putty bed of each pane of glass over which it trickles. Each piece of glass measures 49 mches by 10 inches; and, as aU are exaoUy of the same size, any • misfitting' wai quite out of the question. The mode of glaaing these ahnost innumerable sashes was as foUows :--llie ffutters, tho ridges, and the principal rafters being fixed in their places, one ot Sie long or 49-inch edges of a sheet of glass was inseiled into the groove of the principal rafter; a sash-bar, measuring 1 mch by H, and double grooved was then put on to tho other long edge of the glass ; the sash-bar was next brought iovm and secured at the top to the ridge, and at the bottom to the edge of the gutter; the lower edge of the glass bemg bedded upon a layer ot putty three-quarters of an inch broad, a sUght blow to the lower end brought the upper edge of the glass home mto the groove m the ridge. The glass being then pressed do^vn, tho putty was made good n the grooves extoraally. In glazmg the wrtieal iiaihe$, which form in part the waUs of the building. Pieces of glass were employed about equal in dimension to those in the root ; 5ie glass was slipped down between the saah-bars. Both in the roof and m the vertical sashes provision was made for mendmg or r^plaomg broken panes by causing one groove to be cut deeper than the other, so that the glass might be shpped m fiom one side, and puttied into its exact place. But the glazing of the vaulted transept was the masterpiece. Scarcely anythmg tlse m the buUding called for the exercise of more caution and mgenmty, on ac- count of Uie curvatures which the vault presents. In the lower pait of thecn-- cular arcs, where the direction of the ridges and furrows does not depart far from the porpendicvdar, ladders and temporary scaflbldings enabled the glaziers to piwceed with tlieir Icbours; but as they ascended, ordmary means became in- sufficient, and a very ingenious box or stage was constructed for their acoom- modation This box moved on wheels m Uie line of the gutters ; it was sus- pended fiom the lead flat which runs along the summit of the transept, and was lowered to any pait of the curve at which the glaners were at work, being brought sufficiently close to the curved ribs and gutters by ro^ and tackle The riazing of the flat roof of the nave was Uttle (if at all) lass difficult than that of the tmnsept. owing to the absence of any supporting terrace or passage on which the glaaers might stand. The ever-ingenious contractors devised a ma- chine («rf which seventy-four were constructed), each capable of accommodaUng two glaziers. The machine consisted of a frame of deal about eight feet square, with an opening in its centre sufficiently large to admit supphes of dass, sash-bars, putty, Ac , to be hoisted through it from Ae ground beneath ; Ae stage rested on four small wheels, which travelled on the Paxtm gutters (the width of tiie laaohme being made exactiy equal to the space from glitter to gutter); and the machine then spanned over one ridge and two slopmg sides, bemg a litUe hiKher then the ridge. The workmen were protected m bad weather (of which thev had a fuU wintry share) by a canvas awning. The men sat at one end of their stage, and pushed it along about a foot at a time as their hibours pro- ollowed to furnish chan* jw columns. The sash- length; and it is at the ire made which mtunly 1 north and south; but narkable oombination of bhe line of direction is a mgle, in " hening-bone" ater, and to prevent its of glass over which it y 10 inches ; and, as all e out of the question, les was as follows : — The »d in their places, one of eiled into the groove of H, and double grooved, I ; the sash-bar was next md at the bottom to tlie 5 bedded upon a layer of bo the lower end brought u the ridge. The glass a the grooves externally, he walls of the building, ion to those in the roof; Both in the roof and in r replacing broken panes, r, so that the glass might t place. rpieoe. Scarcely anything ition and ingenuity, on ac- the lower part of the cir- ra does not depart far from B enabled the glaziers to rdinaiy means became in- nstructed for their acoom- f the gutters ; it was sus- omit of the transept, and aziers were at work, being tters by ropes and tackle. i all) less difficult than that ting terrace or passage on contractors devised a ma- capable of accommodatiiig eal about eight feet square, supplies of glass, gash-bars, beneath ; the stage rested 1 gutters (the width of the gutter to gutter); wad the oping sides, being a little d in bad weather (of which rhe men sat at one end of i time as their labours pro- GLASS AND ITS MANUFACTURE. as [ I ceeded ; they inserted and puttied the pones of glass one by one, and thus travelled widi their machine from the transept towards tlie east or west end. So dexterous did the glaziers become in the use of these machines, that eighty of them put in upwards of 18,000 panes of glass, equal to more than 62,000 square feet, in one week. The greatest quantity put hi by any one man in ono day was 108. For repairing tlio roof, a machine has been contrived, the wheels of which rest upon the ridges instead of upon the gutters. We feel strongly tempted to add to the above details a description of the very curious apparatus— first employed by Mr. Paxton, and then improved by Mr. Birch — for making and grooving tlie sash-bai-s ; but these relate to working in wood (on instructive subject in itself) rather than in gloss, and scaicely fall in with tlie object of the present paper. In respect to the humble material, ptUty, employed in tins unexampled specimen of glazing, its chief point of interest is the largeness of the quantity called for : it waj» consumed not simply by pounds or by hundredweights, but by tons. If some of this putty has proved treacherous, and has admitted a sprinkling of rain into the interior of the building, we may well excuse it, and wait patiently until the industrious glaziers have mmle all weatlier-proof. Let us put to ourselves this question, and think well before we answer it — If brick, stone, and mortal" had been the materials for the Exhibition building, instead of iron, glass, and putty, would the yeai' 1851 have witnessed the Great Exhibition at all? Many have been the doubts and queries respecting tlie thickness of the gloss employed in the Crystal Palace. At one of the meetings of the Society of Arts, questions were put to Mr. Fox on this subject, to which he replied nearly as follows : — He " Uiought the glass quite strong enough, or he would have made it stronger ; because he had to keep the gloss ui repair for twelve months. But tliere was one important point connected with ^ass which few considered when they put questions respecting it : they only asked what thick- ness it was. Now its thickness was very important, but the width was equally 80. If they got a piece of glass of a certain thickness and width, and found that hailstones broke it, let them reduce tlie width, and they would &id uiat it would bear the fbroo of the hailstones. Now the pones used were 10 ounces to the foot, 49 inches long by 10 m width. Dming the last twelve yeai's they (Messrs. Fox and Henderson) hod used upwuxls of thirty acres of glass, spread all over the kingdom, a great deal of it being used at the royal dockyturds and at railway stations. It had almost all been I6-oimce glass, and some was as low 08 l3-ounce; and although it was spread over twelve years, they had had no difficulty witli it whatever. But if, instead of 10-inch width, they had made it 16, they would have had it broken in every hailstorm." This evidently goes to the root of the matter; tl.e thickness may be safely diminished in about the same ratio as the vridth ; and experience alone con show what is the requisite thickness for a given width. The contractors, from Uie terms of their ^reement, hod obundont reasons for wishing to make the gloss strong enough to resist hailstorms. The Crystal Palace system of glazing (if we may so designate it), in which the roof imd the skyhght are one, seems likely to meet with many valuoble developments. A former in the West of England hos recently roofed with gloss a bam more than 100 feet long by about 30 in width. The expense hos been far less than that of a slate roof, while the anticipated odvontages ore many, and have been thus commented on : — " The boms may be applied to drying com during a cotching horvest. The com con be placed in the bom immediotely upon being reaped, where it will have the benefit of the sun when i ilvaH sn.elted m tins county ' inSr^'vith charcoal, and this ch,ucoal w.w unifomily niade from the trees thi^hlrew n orneai-Uie iron district; but this practice has b'-^" "^fly «»■ neSdeTby the use of coal and coke. A timber t^iee. the growUi "f ^ ce^ntury, E be consumed in a few Aveeks or even days in smelting opemtions the SumpruT much more rapid than die growth ; and it tl^"!* l^«*Pf "^^^J^J ?h«3^c of charcoal for tlio BmeWng of iron was one cluof cRiwe oi the S^rdeetoictionTour ancient woods Evelyn maao a kind of sorrowmg Stot^St Nat^. for having " thought tit to produce th.« wasting «re Ze XnSy in wood-lands th£i any oUier ground, and to emich ou forests to their own destruction;" and he utters a •' deep execmtion ot ir Ss and iron masters also." If he could have lived to see die day when Sut;x by iScomuTg t"o diinly supplied widt timber iVie . ^uld cease to be torSSted S^'uon mills aid iron masters," he might have softened is Sema Smoky and dirty as our iron distiicts may be, tney do not m die rSrTd^y involve Souttig down of trees for charcoal fuel ; and we are so faT better offTan Evelyn in his Sylvan days. Sussex has no coal and Ae tn rn^Xure left diVcounty when smelting widx coa^ or coke began to wne^ode smelting with charcoal. Sussex has uon without cool, DurhMn hTc^l (n^'y) wUhoutiron; and die iron-smelting «Pfra^'«"%^VtZ£ Si eZr cmmS—Tliis gives us a clue to die circumstances which detenmnc ^iteSof°'i^Ve?tposited in die Great Exhibition iHnsUadng d. eeneml iron-making resources^ die United Kingdom, together w.di he sta. Sc^inftJmation concerning diem given in dio Official Illustmted Catalo^o teMl TZreut From dxenco we learn dmt tlie gro.s annual P^-oJje of ^ ^w reaches die enormous quantity of two and a quwler nuUions of tons . o Sonoudi Wales yields liout 700.000. Scodand 000,000, Stalfordslur^^^^^^^^ ite neighbourhood 600,000. whUe die remauider is made up of small contaibu- tfons fSm S?us comties. It is not simply die possession o i^<^^^ovo Sch Kives us so gi-eat advantages in diis mighty departinent of >»dustiy but die coal is so abundant and in such near proximity to die uron, and die £ne^d SUtoS necessary to facilitate die smelting ai^ al^ bo .^fyj^ nlTed dmt nearly all die irm can be smelted in die disUict where it is luised, ffdiefxpi^e of bulky carnage is diereby notably l^^^^^tave^.Sf ,"^^" X Ti die coS districts should ever be exhausted, however, we have «till a supp^ in numeious counties belonging to odier geological fomations. J^e prod^ erf die British iron manufactme in 1760 was only 80,000 tons; m 1800 it had Tnc^ied tolsO^OO ; in 1835. 600.000. In 1826 ibe duties X\TlS^^ Son of forei,^ iim were eidier removed or rendered nommal ; die British iron w^ left to work ita own wav, according to it» own peouhar properties ScforS tr became freely obtamable for such pvu^oses a.s it is most fitted for Sid mder die influenci of diese unshackled movements the manufac- ^Z^Z'Zn in die astonishing way noted abova In tb« fi%J^^™- to 1800 it increased sbc-fold ; in die fifty years subsequent to l^^J,**"^™ twelve-fold upon die quantity for diat year, or seventy-two fold "Ponjhe ouantHv for 1750 ! It is in trudi among the most astonishing instances of ?ZsKro^e- -bich our countiy e&iibits. Taking die Mmild-d I-^ Works, at Oalder, as ji type of progress generally, we fand diat m 1805 forging Imctod 1>y Rmolting on s leas fi'misi"o"M tl^fi" tlie answer is a simple smelted in this country nly made from the trees ne has been nearly su- he growtli of a century, nclting operations ; the d it thus happened that one chief cause of Uio lo a kind of sorrowing in)duce tliis wasting ore nd, and to emich our deep execration of iron )d to see tlie day when ftiel, would cease to he [jjght have softened his r be, tiiey do not in the 3oal fuel ; and we are so sex has no coal, and the coal or coke began to I without coal, Diu-ham perations are not located stances which determine :hibition, illustrating tlie 1, together witlx tlie star ial Illustrated Catalogue, is annual produce of iron rter millions of tons ; of )0,000, Staffovdsliire and ide up of small contribu- ossesaion of the ii-on ore department of industiy ; mity to tjie kon, and tlic r ai-e also so amply sup- isU-ict whei-e it is raised. Lessened. If tlie iron ore er, we have still a supply >rmat»on8. The produce 000 tons ; in 1800 it bad le duties upon the intro- red nominal ; the British own peouhar properties, 1 purposes as it is most I movements the manufac- [n the fifty years previous luent to 1800 it increaped venty-two fold upon the i astonishuig instances of aknig the Monkland Iron I find tluvt in 1805 forging IBOM AKD ITS MANUrACTORE. g and rolling only were carried on by tlie aid of water power; that, in 1836, taking advantage of the excellent iron ore in the neighl)oiuhoo«l. smelting was commenced; and that in 1851 the works comprise nine blast furnaces, at which 00,000 tons of pig-u-on and 40,000 tons of maUeable iron are produced annually, employing 2500 miners and workmen, and nfionhng school accom- modation for 1400 children. The Dowlws Works at Meilhyi- Tydvil present still more stiiking proofs of recent advancement If we look at the distiibution of the mining and smolting operations, as given in the authoritAtive work above quoted, we find tlie following facts :— Tha,t portion of the South Wales district which has Merthyr 'rydvil as its mining metropolis has 13 principal iron works, with 70 furnaces; the Ponty- pool district lias 7 works, with 33 furnaces; the Tredegar district has 10 works, *"<»^^.'u™aces; the Neath district has 6 works, and 30 furnaces; the Pen- tyrch district 6 works, and 11 furnaces ; and the Rhnabon district 3 works, and 5 furnaces. There ai-e a few smaller works not here included, and some of tho furnaces we out of blast ; but without going into particulars in tliese matters. It may suffice to state tliat in 1848 the number of iron furnaces in Great Britain was estiiaatcd as follows: England a86 Wales 207 Scotland 180 023 The English furnaces are smaller than those of Wales or Scotland, and do not >ield so much iron per week. From the specimens at tlie Exhibition we may see how numerous are the veins or beds of iron ore, how varied are their appearance, and what strange local names are given to tliein. We find the Sfwp vein, the black pirn, imd the Ihree-quarter hnlh; the hliick band, tlie spotted pin, and the little pin; the big blue, the htth b^, and the lumpy; the jenkin pirn and tlie penny pieces, tlie bluejlats and the Bristol diamonds, tlie dog tooth and the bacon fiitch, and numerous othOTS, the etymology of which it would be no ea.sy matter to determine. l!iach of the iron districts has some peculiarity or other, which gives it com- mercial importance. The Ystalyfera iron is associated with anthracite, which aflects the smelting process. The iron ore of the Pentyi-ch district is princi- pally hseraatite; but as Wales produces every kind of coal, from tlie bituminous to anthracite, it can readily smelt any kind of ore. Plentiful as the ore is in South Wales, the coal is still more abundant ; and that countrj' will probably long continue to be (what it has been for the last few years) the gi-oatest iron- mnnufaoturing district in the worid. In the North Wales district both Ibe iron and tlie coal seams are thin, but good. The Shropshire iron is good, but small m quantity. In Staffordshire, where coal was first used in the smelting of iron m 1019, the iron made is better in quality than tliat of Wales, and equal in quantity to the Scotch. North Staffordshire produces a much larger quantity of good iron ore than can be smelted ^vith the coal of the same dis- tnct, and considerable supplies are furnished to otlier districts. The Yorkshire iron, from Bowling and Low Moor, is especially celebrated for its toughness, rhe iron ores of the Lake district are very abundant, and the finest in the kingdom ; they are eagerly purchased by smelters elsewhere. Tlie Forest of Dean iron ore is especially fitted for the making of tin (or rather tinned iron) plates, and is sent into Wales in large quantities for this purpose. There is a small quantity of ore among the primitive rocks of Devon and Cornwall, better a I i A IIION AND ITS MANUFACTURfi. bestow something more than a mere passmg glance on them. Modern AoENi'8--rHE Hot Blast, the Steam Hammer, etc. Tt is mifortmiately by no means common for an inventor to li>^ Ui see his coJn^" rSb/his inventions and ^mself^ec^ted as ^- "--^or. "-i^^X^ rte^u^ ^Jot^o^a W:§£z IZfLiLVhichpKHluccd about 36,000 toM of pigiron «g»m.t 660,000 Slr^ncv hasbeen more influential than any other m the matter. Mr. M^ J« agency Has Ofen moi ^ present in a remarkable hght ifTmest^S In 1831. when the hot blast was coming pretty extei^tve^y Tnto Tse £0 quantities wa-e iJ tons of coke, 8 tons of calcmed ore, and J ton .aiT'ii iviiiii'iiiiii ifiiiriiTfr-" MMMlBIWHtMlMriMiMIMMM lere are difficulties in ' kind of iix>n «ro, liko iet most suited lor it ies of iron depend, not ut also on the ext«nial . writer in one of tl»e mself and otbera that Old London Bridge." 1 down to make room lie piles were shod was itjon of the moist clay, uid a malleability which jr tons of it were bought xhibition, in connection r Vale district, beneatli atity. The Ebbw is a id Glamorgan counties ; in a large scale. The laracter of tlio counUy, s; and, being made to )rks beneatli, the shafts, lanying this, a model of irks. These two models, ron-ore deposited in the ;tion to those who can n tliem. lm Hammek, etc. ventor to live to see his •eciated as Uie uiventor; In 1827, the year pi-e- tland had only eighteen pig-iron against 660,000 een the progress in the 30tland, ahnost inconceiv- market 240,000 tons of oust not be supposed to iie substitution of the hot >arly vmderatood that this the matter. Mr. Mushet nt in a remarkable light a century, consequent on Iduced are of the greater hment, and thereby afibrd }, just before the introduc- 3sary for tlie production of of calcined ore, and J ton coming pretty extensively of calcined ore, and ^ ton mmmmmmm IRON AND ITS MANUFACTURE. ft of limestone : tlic air of the blast being heaUul U) a temperature of 400' or even 600" Fahr. In 1839, when tlie moUiod had become nioro fully esta- blished, and when tlie heat of blast was raised to the temperature of melting load, tlie quantities were if tons of coal, IJ tons of calcined ore, and i ton of limestone. It is thus seen how gieally tlie consumption of coal is les- sened by the use of Uie hot blast. What is the philosophy, the scientific rationale, of the hot blast, is still a subject of discussion and inquiry ; wo may give a homely illusti-ation bv supposing a common bellows to be supplied with hot air instead of cold, and Uie fire excited to a much higher degree of heat than if cold air hod been empk.yed; but if wo furtiier suppose Uiat the coal in the fire, and the coal which heated Uie air, ai-e together less in quantity than that wliich would produce Uie same eflect on Uie old meUiod of bellows- blowing, wo shall have an idea of Uie important (juestion which is engaging Uio attention of mauufacturei-s. o o o It would give an erroneous view of Uie subject, however, to attiibute to Uio hot blast the inti-odu. (i.,ii of vast extensions, wiUiout noticing oUier matters which facUitatcd those e.\ten8ion8 hi oUier ways. A few such must be hero noticed. It was towaids Uie close of the last centuiy Uiat Uio capital improvement was introduced of bringing malleable iron into Uie fomis of burs and rods by passing it between grooved rollers instead of simply hammeiing it on tho luiyil; but it is m Uie present century that the invention has worked out its sti-ikmg results. The inventor, however— like too many oUier inventoi-s— lacked a sufficient retmn for his mgenuity : he spent his fortune in tho enter- prise, and died poor. Mr. Cort inti-oduced and patented Uiis method in 1784; and bis son petitioned Pariiament in 1812 to make some return for Uie vast national benefit which had by Uiat time accrued from Uie invention ; but it does not appear Uiat any fruits resulted from the application. AnoUier improvement— and one Uiat certainly must take rank among Uie Curiosities of Uie Iron Manufactm-c— was Uie inti-oduction of iron-shtting mills into tins counti-y. Until Uie mvention (just noticed) of roUers for making bai-s and rods, all bars above Uiree-quartei-s of an inch squaie were made by the tedious process of hammering at Uio anvil ; while sizes below Uiat hmit were produced by sUtting, which supei-seded a much less efficient process. Coleridge, in his ' Letters, Conversations, and Recollections,' gives the foUow- ing narrative:—" The most e-xti-aordmaiy and best attested mstance of enUiu- siasm existing in conjunction wiUi perseverance, is related of Uie founder of the Foley family. This man, who was a fiudler, living near Stourbridge, was often witness ol Uie immense labour and loss of time caused by dividmg the rods of iron necessary in Uie process of making nails. The discovery of Uie process caUed splitting, in works called splitting mills, was first made m Sweden ; and the consequences of this advance in art were most disastrous to Uie manufacturers of iron about Stourbridge. Foley, Uie fiddler, was shoitly missed from his accustomed round, and was not again seen for many years. He had mentally resolved to ascertaui by what means Uie process of splitting of bars of iron was accomplished ; and without communicating his mtention to a single human bemg, he proceeded to Hull, and Uience, wiUiout funds, J 1.^. ^, passage to Uie Swedish uon port. Arrived in Sweden, he begged and fiddled his way to Uie iron foundries, where, after a long time, he became a universal favomite wiUi Uie workmen ; and, fiom Uie apparent entire ab- sence of mtelhgence, or anyUiuig like ultmiate object, he was received into Uie works, to every port of which he had access. Ho took Uie advantage Uius t r I i * I Hi mow Am ITS manotacttbe. off^«d. «n.l having «tor«l hU m«n.oTy with «^-"f """ "" i^'jil^^.f r> r 'TaL l!^iU n,««lU to Mr. KniKht and .uiothor !>«-" "^.'^^"-^^^^^^^^^^^ hn«.l 'with whom ho was aHHOciatca. and by whoiu Uiv n.-i^enMirj '>""""'"" tl''or«?J tr; ^aohinory provided. When at h.gth -7^^^-^. ^ /- pared, it was louud U>at tiie niachnieiy would not act; at «» '"^^ ^* "'J y"; M«wor tho nolo .nd of its erection-it would not split the bar of iron. *o "y SildtJi n and it was concluded that nhaino and ""rtiflcation at h*- ftZTha^ driven him away for evor. Not so -. again, though "o^n^^^^^ ™°^ s3lv he found his way to the Swedish iiK)n works, where »'« ^"» ""'"J.'^f n?^S^ ov'ftdlv^id to mio more of tlieir fiddler, he was lodged m the spht- ZS itself Here wis the very end «.d aim of his life attemed bevond S^irhopc. ilo oxannncd^the works, and ve-T -n^-^^,^^^^^^^ cause of his failure. He now made drawmgs or rude fra^^. ""^ J^!;; abided an ample time to verify his observaUons und to impress "^'° ^'f^ ^!tSyon\m nund. ho nfode his way to the P^''*-, ^tlTlnT.rrSrcff to En.'land. This time he was completely Huccessful. and » JjJ'^J'^"™ .*?. hisl^Senco enriched himself and greatly b«.cfited his «°';«^^^- Jj^ , (adds CJoleridgO " I hold to be tlia most extmordmaiy matanco of credible devotion in modem times." . , , ^ t ^^^^,. nf TJnamvth as It is no more Uian Just to name iho mighty stcam-hammei oJ^'^T^^ oneof STe m^s whereby the iron-manuf.uture has been lately advanced The iitiblTiXr with which this machine falls upon the gowmg masses if Trortakl fk,Ke furnaces greatly ex,,edites the process of m.u.ulacture OnTe ^ccaLion of the visit made to ^imingham by the Commissionen^^^^^^^^ Juries of the Great Exhibition, a steam-hammer, at Messrs. l-ox and Hender 8o"s esUiEuu^t, was made to perform it, part among the wonders «l tho Iv ^u we may be pretty certain that tl.e contx«lling workman, the captain Jf'the haillmr^d n'ot Z to exhibit the -«t«™7 'l-'^rJ^^Shio of tliat uppai-atu*-tho delicate and genUe crackmg of a nut by a macnmo which could almost crush an elephant MODEHN EXPEIOMENTS, AND THEIR ReSI'I.TS. One of ttie noUble improvements introduced in recent years is a com^''"^ Uon of many Ms of irJn, to ensure the good qualities of each ; and aj^^^r orr«Sl it cives toughness and strength; while it antimony be added to tiie iZ ^i^e Sice. i*t unparts a st^ely'l.ardness ; so that quahties c«i ^ m- duced BuiUble to the different kmds of sei-vice which each part is to r^d^ - Sit is remarkable iliat these clianges ar« wiwght by ^^^^^^^^^ 1 xmr cent or less of Uie additional metal. On the other hand, the auamon ifTor J per irt. of iion to brass has recently been found to produce a mo ^aluab e SsSSto for bell-met>d. gun-metal, and «J«»>l"^»P°""i=;^^ Ruos, large screws, propeller vanes, mill brasses railway beann^, bd^s, and Ser Seles, oio now made of a metai ia which copper, zmc. tin, and iron 1 md on nil tho coml«in»r OH lu' li»«l ai)!)©*"-!!. no [uihI ho coinnnmioaliHl omon in tho nportionK ore varied according as toughness, hnrdnesH, .soiiomus power, or HUMCoptil)ility of receiving a polish, are ruipiircd ; hut tho conibiuwi choaitness and ellioiency of the new alloys am now becoming vei-y iippareiit. Thero are sevural IniHs In Uie E.xbibilion of tiiiu tone, nia«le of im imn-iUloyud metal, whiuli is only half tlie prico of bell -metal. Ilotumiiig to iron niaiiuluctuixtH, pro|>erly so called, it is fomid that Uussian HJKOt iron (ubundaiU spe<;imeus of which are to be seen in tlie Exhibition) is said to bo superior m qiudity to must pron in itxpiired; tmd thiti hbivus iptality is given to tho Uussian iron [an is suppowMi) by the prenenee of a liltlo plioH()honis and a littlu silica in the oiv, luid by the ucquisitiou of a littlu ciu-bon ti-oni tho wood-fuel used in smelting. Huch are tliu discuv'eries which cliemistry is gradually enabling us to niaki; : when wo know ttio causes uf iltiloronco, wu may perrJianou make tliuso ditferenoes dis- appeal' at pleasure. All the world knows tliat improvements in manufiictiu'e toad to eoonomiim material. What a capital result it will bo, if future e.xpcrimentH shoubl esta- blish tho soundness of a principle which was brought before tlio Hritish Asso- ciation in 1 »■')<>, coiuieuted witli iron furnaces I When iron is sinelteil in one of the huge blast funuices of Houth Wales, four tons weight of gaseous pro- ducts are sent utf into the air fur every ton of iron smelted ; and tliese gases ciuiy witli them lui inunonst; amount of heat Cannot they be roblied of some of this heat, and tlie heat be applied to useful puiposes? Hut'li is the ({uestioM now at issue ; and Mr. Budd, of Uie Ystalyfera Iron Works, answers it in the aftimiativc. He does not allow tlio lieated gas«;s and smoke to escape inime determined) it has been thought worth while to try whether Iron can be imbuetl with tlie requisite dose of corlron from this soui-ce. In the infknt stage of th« first FrMioh revolution, when considerable activity was displayed ||!rrfriri»w-i»:--"iaKs<^'3s?vr7 Jtm I tUON A»m ITH MANITfAnrtrRK. nmong Uio Mciontlfic men of that oonntry. M. CU>n«t oommnniontflil to tJio National InHtitiiUi tlio roHuH of lui pxporiment hi» nuuU in thin ilircction ; iiml »horily afUirwanlH (Inyton Morvwau repeatet conjointly. Much controversy arose from tliis diamond oxperimcnt ; but Um costlinoBH of tlie precious gem deteri-ed all but two or thn^e persons from rep«mting it. Mr. Mu8h«it was one who tflok up the subject eagerly ; and he mentions tl>e names of ladies who, taking an interest in tlie issue of the expc riment, tmnsferred some diamonds from their jewel caskets to the enicible, or at least placed tiiem in his hands for this purpose. To imagine the Koh-i-noor transfonned into one component material for a knife, a saw, or a fde, might seem a very woeful imagining — a sort of descent from the sublime to tho ridiculous ; but it wouUl, in fact, elucidote in a signilioaiU way Uie diflorenco between cummercial value and chemical value. RKCEirr Applications of Iron in thb Abts. It is in the application of iron to new purposes, or in the extension of it« use in others, tliat the progress of the la.st half-century has been most marked, and presents the greater number of curious features. The Birmingham and Hardware departments of tlie Groat Exhibition arc truly remarkable manifestations of the extent to which tho manufacture ot iron and steel is now carried. There is a very world of grates and stoves, dazzlingly bright, displaying their painted china tablets, their ormolu decoror tions, their encaustic tiles, their foliage and flowers of burnished st^el, their Moresque and diapered patterns, their small busts and statuettes, and Uieir delicate white marble. There is tlie unrivalled cutlery of Sheffield, which some tovms in our own countnr, and some countries abroad, are attempting to imitate, but nowhere wiUi fiUl success; the knives, the razors, the scissors, the weapons, the tools, the needles, tlie saws, the files— these are the commo- dities which, not only in Messrs. Rodgers's Sheffield trophy in the English nave (with its half-grain of steel wrought into twelve pairs of scissors), but in the larger and more diversified Sheffield compartment, exemplify tho remark- able degree of skill now attained in this department of industry. But if Sheffield attracts us by the brilliancy and excellence of her steel goods, Bir- mingham teUs a still more extraordinary talc concerning the diversity which marks her manufactures in metal. Taking no account (because they do not belong to the subject of this paper) of the varied Birmingham i)ioducts in copper, zinc, brass, pewter, lead, tin, gold, silver, and other metals, how end- less are the forms into which Uie industry of that town has brought uron and Bteel! Bedsteads, chain-work, trays, fire fiumiture and stoves, safes, swords, fire-arms, saucepans, kettles, locks, keys, saddlers' ironmongery, needles, fish- books, pens, nails, screws— it is quite in vain to attempt anyUiiug like an enu- meration. One of the exhibitors has shown how effective is now the process of rolling iron intp v^ry thin leftv^s pr sheets ; he has produced a book, con- M«riMlkt MMMka •Jb ; flommnniratfld to Uifl I in tliin direction ; luxl 'riinont. A small diu- in iron cniriMo of «l«'ti lul an«l that of the iron iciblo wftM iilttPftd in ii icihln of thi) Hnme Hub- ; and thiti into a hiKhly nd and tho iron wnni lavo V)een fonned from ' that of Uie ingredi«»iit« id oxparimcnt; bnt tin) or thmo persons from ubjcc't ofiRorly ; and Im n Uj« iwHun of the ex|«'- wket* to thn crucible, or I imapftno the Koh-i-noor 1, u Haw, or a fde, miRht om the Hnblimo to thct licant way the ditfurenco E Ahtb. in the cxtonHion of itH ontury htm been moHt uaUires. ho Great Exliibition are ich tlio manufacture of Id of grates and stoveu, Lb, their ormolu decoror if burnished steel, theu- and statiicttcH, and their tleiy of Sheffield, which ibi-oad, are attempting to tlie raz-ors, the sciBsotH, J — these are tho commo- [1 trophy in the English paijs of scissors), but in It, exemplify tho remark- nt of industry. But if of hor steel goods, Bir- Tiing the diversity which mt (because they do not Sirmingham i)roducts in i other metals, how end- im has brought iron and nd stoves, s^es, swords, mmongeiy, needles, fish- npt anytliiug like an enu- 3ctive is now the process IS pi-oduced a book, con- iBON AWT) rra MANrrArirnr.. »f Hinting of forty-four leaves, or eighty-eight pftg»w, of shoot iron, measuring about live itichoH by Uiro«\ and so thin tliat the whole woiglis only two and a Imlf ounces. Home of these protluctioim belong especially to Binningham ; some find tlieir hoad quart^'ni rather at Wolvorhampton. VValsall, Dudley, or otliei's of the remarkable group of Uiwns lying north and west of the " toy shop of Europe." If wo sjieak of lock:i and keys and safes, a very world of coinpluta- tion lies before us. Though Hoiith Htaffordshire protiucos more locks, perhaps, tlian all the r««t of tlie kingdom together, it is impossible to forget the names of (Jhubb and Bnunali and Monlan. with their Kohinwr cagris, their iiiyiio- permutation keys, their unponotrable locks, and tlieir incombustiblu safes. Home of the lotiks and safes lue really curious specimens of careful workman- ship. There is the qtuulrnple Im-k, consisting of four distinct locks in one. all acted upon at the same time bv a single key wiUi four bits. Thero lu-e locks which show llm principle of all the " (letoctors" patented by Mr. (Jhubb during tlio last half-contury. Not tlie least interesting is a collection of lock- * makers' tools, and mmlels of tlie principal ap]>aratiis used by those artilicers. Nor is it right to forgot the challenge of tho United Stales' locksmitli, who offers us a store of gold if wo can open the casket which contains it. Nay — almost while the pnisciit page is being written — this samo loiiksmifh has stiu-tled his British compeers by picking a lock which they deemed notrto-be picked. It would, indeed, be one of the " Curiosities " of the Groat Exhibition, to lead to tlie development of a now |)ick-lock theory ! But tliose details, which relate to clover mechanical working in producing the countless iinplenionts of iron at tlie present day, scarcely come within tlio scope of tliifl paper. It is tlie cnpninlity of being so applied, and tlic oxt^tnsion of that capability, that we wish htnts to draw attention to. Tho substitution of wrought ii-on for cast iron in bridges is one of the most notable changes introduced within the last few years. This change, though not originated, was gi'oatly mlvanced by tlio experiments relating to tho Britarmia Tubular Bridge. Those experiments showed that a H(piare fonn of tube is stronger thtm a circular or an elliptical form, conti-ary to what many persons would have supposed; and they also proved, tliat if the top weic con-ugated, or else formed of a number of minor tubes, tlio strength would h.i greatly increased. This discovery at once suggested u motlitied form of tubulm* girder adapted to shorter spans ; and we now find such girdtsr-bridgos being formed all over England. Mr. Eau-baim, tlie talented engineer, tf> whose experiments this advancement is mainly due, says in one of his scientific papers, — "The strengtli, ductility, and comparative lightness of the material are the important elements of these girdera; and their elasticity, retention of form, and other properties, render them infinitely more secure tlian those composed of cast iron, which, from tho brittle nature of tlic material, and imperfections in the castings, are liable to break without notice, and to which the wrought-iron girder is not subject. This is, however, pro- bably of less importance, as the wrought-iron girder will be found not only cheaper, but (when well constructed, and upon the right principle,) upwards of three times the strengtli of cast iron." I'he reader will easily recognise these wrou^t-iron bridges when they meet his view; they are composed chiefly of plates of iron rivetted to each other, and to thicker pieces of what (from their sh^e) are called T and L iron. Of the mighty structure just named, the Britannia Tubular Bridge over tho Menai Stinut, it presents itself fortli to the world as one of the grandest examples of the use of iron. Unlike tlio principle of Soutliwark Bridge, in 3 ^ JL. 40 IRON AND ITS MANUFACTOEK. which cast-iron arches press upon abutments— unlike Tetfords Menai Bnd^e, in which wrought-iron chains support tlie roadway by suspension-this tubular bridtre ^ formed ahnost entirely of riveted iron plates, strengthened St and L irons; it bears its own weight and the weight of the trams vliich pa«8 upon or through it, by tlie tmstwortliiness of its uon plates and riveto There it hangs, suspended in mid-au< at a height ot a hundred feet above the water, supported at certain points on lofty towers, but presenting an unsuDOorted length of nearly 600 feet from tower to tower, ai\d compmmg in SrKTnot Sich less th^an 1500 tons of iron! The plannmg and exeou- tion of Zh a work would appear te-riWy daring, we« we not ™«^« fe™J>^^ with the experiments and the processes of reasomng whereon the scheme relies. The labouTof Mr. Eaton Hodgkinson and Mr. Faurbairn seem veiy dry Mid uninteresting to non-professionai persons; the sto-ength ot materials, the SSilf i«ti, the toughness of tubes, the elasticity of plates, ihe adhosion S"riv° L--«U sound ver? mechanical and cmmon-place; yet it w to researches on these and kindred subjects that we owe, not perhaps the «mple con«9p- lion of the tubular bridge, but that tiusty rehanco which rendered its reahaa- ^'Tron'Siotwa take rank among the novelUes to which this invaluable metal is now applied. Most readers have some amomit of acqoamtance with Se gld stSLres at Eddystone, Bell Rock, and Skei-ryvore ; and wiU raadifymidei-stand how valuable it would be if such work»--or wther works to ^Iswer the same object-^ould be carried to f ^«^««tined spot piec^me^ but nearly in a finished state, and reqmro only to be put tog^er. S«ch is one ofthe many favourable features of the modem iron hghthouses. We beSefe irwaTS^tl Brown, the engineer of the Brighton Chain Pier, who first made a formal proposition to this effect, in respect to a lighthouse on S^ WotfR^k near Laids End; but the fiwt actually made was for Jam^ca, in 1842; it consisted diiefly of thick castriron plat<« meted t«g«^«f> J^ few others have since been bkt; and there seems reason to J'e^'^Jt *^*^^« greTsuccess attending the use of wrought-iron sheete m the J|b^« ««d SWer bridges, wlU leal to the substitution of this matenal for cast-iron plates ffihSS The kon lighthouse made by Messrs. Fox and Henderson Sr X E^andia Company, ?n 1850. and which is 70 feet high, is ^clpaUy fomed of cast-iron places; but the UghthouSe made ^y Mes»J*- W^^ ^^^ the piesent year for the American Government, and hitondetl for Florida, consists chiefly of corrugated wrought-iron sheete. ^„*.,i»^ i,;-i, Not the lei^t curious among tHe iron novelties ''"ch out rttttiin|, hi^i- oressure ace has produced, are the inm htum for OallfomiA. Bnck and mortar are^too slow for tile gold^diggew. who canno* -spare time for such dSerTM building; they a^ off to tiie "diggings" bylmsof tiiousaftds, SSS Aeir dweutgs .^d warehouses to come to them «. oe»rfy re«dy- madrrpossiblo. Let us describe one of ttie many iron houses shipped at LhJnX)! for St. Fwncisco. It is 90 feel long, 10 wide, imd § W^ to the J^STf the a«.hed roof. It is divid^inl«mally into two ^^':r^^\^^, two doors and two windows; and tii^rO are v«itilatlng hol^w^til sWiM shutters. The walls and roof are of tiiin iwo plates, bolted to T fihaped ^r- pendiculars; Mid tiiere is provision for festenteg a wooden Imhig cm the interior. The doors are sheets of iron fixed in wrought.m)n Mmes; and tiie shutters to the windows are simUariy fi-amed. There is an iron stove In ea«h room, fitted both for wurnitti and for cooking. Now the ^e^t^tf ^^Jjy of such a house is. tiiat it may be Seftt out m pieces, and bolted togfetiier 'elford's Meniu Bridge, by suspension — this m plates, strengthened 3 weight of the trains of ite iron platas and Ight of a hundred feet mm, but pre«enting an vifsr, oixd comprising in le planning and exeou- I wo not madd famUiav jreon the scheme relies, aim seem very dry and ngth of materials, the of plates, the adhasion j; yet it is to researches laps the simple concep- ioh rendered its realim- I which this invaluable ut of aequaintance with I Skerry vore; and will work*— or rather works estined spot piece-meal, put together. Such is n iron lighthouses. We ighton Chain Pier, who pect to a Ughthottfi* on y made was for Jamaica, riveted togeUiWf. A few ison to believe that the aets in the tubular and .terial for cast-iron platm ers. Fox and Henderson ) feet high, is principally e by MessM. Wriker iti id intendetl for Florida, rhlch our ratttioff, hl^- 04lifomiA. Brick and 10(1 eipare time for such 8" b^ tens of thousMids, (liem B6 nearly wiady- ' irwi houses shipped at wide, find % high to the JO two rooms, which have latlng holes with swivel , bolted to T shaped per- i wooden linlttg on the ght-iron frames; and the B is an iron stove in each r the greatest peculiarity ices, and bolted together IRON AKI> ITS MAKUFACTDRE. with great expedition. Such a one as is here described weigns about 2^ tons, and costs JEeo to £70; and three or four men can put it up and bring it into habitable order in as many days; for every piece is marked, every boltrholo made, and every bolt and nut provided. In a less ambitious fonn, outliouses, stables, piggeries, and sheds aie made in the same way. Warehouses of con- siderable dimensions are similarly manufactured. Perhaps one of the largest iron houses yet built was one which Messrs. BelUiouse, of the Eagle Foimdry at Manchester, sent to California a year or two ago. It was 27 feet high by M wide, two stories in height, and containing eight rooms. Pjsides the general structural arrangement, there was a wood lining for eveiy room, and a corru- gated galvanized iron covering for the exterior. The interior fittings wo.ro said to be equal to the avei-age of houses of the same size in Frngland, and yet to be so formed as to bo tmnsportable in pieces to tlieir destination. We must not foi^et that, if uon has become a substitiute for stone and brick in some particulars, it also presents a formidable rivalry in others to hemp. Chains for cables, and wires for ropes, are extending most widely in use; they render navigation, mming, and other important avocations, less dangerous and more eflTective than heretofore. One of the most notable advancements in tlie iron manufacture in recent years has been the introduction of galvanixed tinned iron for on almost in- numerable variety of pui-poses. This consista of iron plate coated with tin, not by the ordinary tin-plate process, but by galvanic deposition. It seiTes as a substitute for plain iron, for tin-plate, for zinc, and for lead, under certain special circumstances. It is stronger and more durable, for many purposes, than load or zinc; it is better than plain iron where rust is to bo avoided; it is superior to lead and zinc in warm climates, inasmuch as it does not expand and contiBct to so great a degree; and it is said that tlie New York Firo Insurance Offices will insure houses at a lower premium if covered with this material than wiUi any other. Withinside a house and without, in vessels and in utensils, in towns and in the countiy, in mMiufactures and in domestic economy, we now find this substance employed. Here wo meet witli gal- vanized tinned-iron corrugated plates for roofing, and for the sides and doors of " California houses ;" in another form there aie plain plates for the same purpose; roofs for sheds, roofe and sides for storehouses, and many similar purposes. The roof of the Merchants' Exchange at New York, and that of Ae new Cathedi«l at Antigna, have lately been formed of the sMne material, besides roofs of many buildings in this country. Then, besides tiie sheet form, there are roimd and square bars, hoop-iron, wire, tubes and pipes, nails, rivets, bolts, screws — all formed of iron thus protected by the galvano-tin process. There is this advantage also, which is unattainable by the ordinary tin-plate process, ^at avticles can be tinned after they are made hi the prc^r form of iron, provided tliey arc of small dimensions. We ought to have stated above, that the plates are really a combination of three metals; for in the first " " " . • . • . ... i^jjj ^ solution of rinc is obtained „ , dipping the sheets into molten *inc. TTie iouvie-boards, or rather louvre- Slates, which regulate tiie ventSlatiott of the Great Industrial building, are jrmed of the material now under notice. That many of our novelties and attractions in iron result ft*om improved and improving taste is now pretty evident. The schools of design have not been unfruitful in good results. It is generally admitted, by those who were in a position to form a judgment, that the French Exposition of 1844 exei^ MHM i m IRON AND ITS MANUFACTtmE. cised a ixmerful influence on the iron-founders of this countiy. Wliatevcr may be STvalue, in a commercial point of view, of the protecUon which U^e French Government Uirows around home manufactures, the beauty ot the ornamental iron castings displayed at tliat Exposition was universally aclaiow- Sed Enchsh manufacturers felt that their position was rendered cntical , and%ince thSt time a marked hnprovement has been witnessed m one depart ment of manufacture which appeals m a peculiar way to Enghsh habite . we Xde to stoves, grates, iir^plilces. and fire furniture. It is unquesUonable SLgl^d h^^recently m^ade a gi^at advance in the ornamental detaJs ot Sese productions. The Coalbmok Dale Company's dome, or «"mmer-hous«; or whatever it may most fittingly be designated, m the nave of the Great Exhibition, is uerhaps the most remarkable specimen of casUng «onti-ibuted by ^English fim. The dome itaelf. supported by six rustaclookmg columns from which oak branches and leaves spread out beneath ttie dome, exlubits a 5 C^ oi skiU in casting, independent of such merit as it may possess as an fistic design. But we may here ask, as has been asked by o^«^. "why should this Sistmg be bronzedl" Many cmakers say tliat we are hvmg in S age of shams; it may be so; but at any rate it is wordi ^hde to avoid shams as far as we can. Papier mache w good, and iron is good ; but when the first puts on the semblance of sohdity which belongs to wood and the latter the tints which belong to bronze, there is a sort of trickery with which the mmd is not quite satisfied-an utt^nng of (not b^ com) but com which is needlessly ashamed to show its own honest face. Why is not a goo iron casting beautifiil in an unadorned, unbronzed state ? AusUia, Berlin, and France, have all sent us castings in which the u:on integrity of smface (sQ to speak) is fillly preserved. Our founders can now. if they give faur p ay to then oVm skiU. produce fine castings either of iron or of bronze; but they surely undervalue then- art when they give a bronze cosmetic to ti:ue uon. Iron Wobk of the CafSTAL Palace. The Cntital Palace does not come formally within Uie scope of this paper; yet it^ ^possible not to see how strikmgly tiiat structm-e »U«8ti«tes tiie Sid advancE m the use of iron. The Royal Commissioners m March, 1860. ZtedXgestions and plans for an Exhibition building from ^/.quarters ; ^d^L foUowing month no fewer than 233 desigis ^-^^ ^"l* "J; ^^g^J" Ittid France. Belgium. Holbmd. Hanover, Prussia, HMnburgh, Switzerland, SerTcom^ted! But all wer« equally laid aside "Every possibte variety in style, iTdecoration, material in constiruction. and system m an-anae- S?were st^nuou.sly recommended by the authors of tie respective de- ?^ZZ ^r«ltim'atimi sought for;^ and yet the Buildmg Com^jJ*^ "Sved at the unanunous conclusion that, able and admirable «« ma"y f these designs appeared to be. there was yet no single one so a«co"J««t w^« SrnecuUar ob& in view, either in the prmciple or detajl of ite arrange- mente!^ to wirrant us in recommending it for adoption." T^o of the most ™^kable phms sent m were by M. Horeau, of V^, and Messrs. Tumm-. of Dublm.-both iUustrative m a marked degree of the proppsed use of iron. M nSeau's plan comprised one immense hall or shed. 2000 feet long by about floS,ynl several small detached buUdmgs. The mtenor was divided into five avenues by iron columns, which supported arclied ribs foi- th« i;oof The whole construction was to be free of stone and wood; the foundation of brick, the favade of metal and glass. Uie floor of asphalte. tlie roof chiefly of a countiy. Whatever ) protection which the es, the beauty of the as universally acknow- was rendered critical ; itnessed in one depart- to EngUsh habits : we It is imquestionable B ornamental details of ime, or summer-house, the nave of the Great casting contributed by rustic-looking columns, th the dome, exliibits a lorit as it may possess been asked by others, i say tliat we are living 1 it is wortli while to and iron is good ; but lich belongs to wood, I a sort of trickery with not base coin) but coin ce. Why is not a good s ? Austria, Berlin, and tegrity of smface (sq to ey give fair play to their t)ronze ; but they surely to true iron. ACE. the scope of this paper; structure illustrates the sioners, in March, 1860, ilding from all quarters ; gns were sent in. Eng- Hambui-gh, Switzerland, tside. "Eveiy possible I, and system in an-ange- rs of the respective de- lie Building Committee I admirable as many of le one so accordant with or detail of its arrange- ion." Two of the most ris, and Messrs. Turnei-, he proposed use of iron. 1, 2000 feet long by about rhe Ulterior was divided irched ribs for the roof, wood ; the foundation of lalte, tlie roof chiefly of IRON AND ITS MANUFACTURE. 13 thick glass; and the whole was to be so formed of repetitions of similar Dflrts Uiat it could readily be increased or diminished in length. Messrs. CerTproposed building was about 2000 feet long by 400 wide ; the root in on^pa^ nsi^ about 120 feet above the floor; the interior t« be fonned into three avenues by pillars and semicirculai- ribs; the general construction ot the buUding to be chiefly in wrought-iron plates ; a large amount of glass to be introduced in the iron roof; and a glass dome to surmount tlie crossmg ot the nave and ti-ansept , ■, ^, t> -u- ^ n ^ Yet, as we have said, all the plans were rejected; and the Bmldmg Com- mittee concocted one of their own, derived from the hints suggested by tho others They endeavoured to combine the following qualities in their buud- ing— economy of construction; facihties for the reception, classification, and display of goods; facilities for the circulation of visitors; arrangement for crand points of view; centraUzation of supervision; and some stnkuig fea- ture to exemplity the present state of the science of construction in this country The sti-ucture was to be supported on iron columns, with a very light exterior, and an iron roof; and at Uie centre was to be a dome of sheet iron 200 feet in diameter. The Committee explained fiiUy the advantages which seemed to them to attach to such a builduig; but tiie public received the plan with very genei-al disfavour ; and it will ever remain a curious specu- lation what could or would have been done if Mr. PaxtonV happy idea had not suggested itself. . , ,, ti u ^v^ On ti^e occasion of the well-earned comphment paid to Mr. Fox by a pubhc dinner from his townsmen at Derby, he gave some exceedmgly stoking UIus- trations of the difficulties and daring of the project so successfuUy carried tiiroueh On June 22, 1850, Mr. Paxton communicated his remarkable plan to Mr Fox. On June 28, whUe tiie Royal Commissioners were m perplexity concemmg the numerous but unpromising bmldmg-plans which were before Uiem, Mr. Fox went to Birmingham, to put m hand tiie drawings and specifications upon which his tender would be based. On July 2 Mr. Cole (one of tiie Executive Committee) visited Bumingham, witii a view oi offering any suggestion which might smootii tiie patii for tins novel project; and ak)ut Uie^e time tiie addition of tiie transept (not mcluded m Mr. Paxton'B original plan) was suggested by Mr. Hendei-son, and approved by Mr Paxton. The arched form of tiie ti^sept roof was, we beheve, an after- fhoiiffht by Mr. Fox himself. Mr. Fox states tiiat just before his tender was sent in he " walked out one evening mto Portiand Place ; and tiiere setting off the 1850 feet upon tiie pavement, found it tiie same lengfli withm a lew yards: and tiien, consideruig tiiat tiie buildmg would be tiiree times tiie widtii of that fine 8ti«et, and tiie nave as high as tiie houses on eitiier side, 1 had presented to my mind a pretty good idea of what we were about to under- take] and J confess tiiat I considered tiie difficulties to be smroounted m constructing tiiai, great palace were of no ordinaiy kind ; but feelmg confident tiiat witii great energy, good arrangements, and a hearty co-operation on ttie part of our extorsive and well-disciplined staff, it might be accomplished, and ^upon it depended in all probability tiie success of tiie Exhibition we deterrained to undertake tiie responaibiUty ; and tiie opening on tiie Ist May has proved tiie correctoiess of our conclusions." The tender was sent in on tiie lOtii of July; tiie ai-ched roof of tiie tiransept, as an atlditional teature, was suggested to tiie Coramissionei-s on ti>.e 15tii; and tiie tender w^ ac- cepted on tiie 26tii, subject to tiie contincency of the Commissioners obtain- ing a royal charter. It affords a proof of tiie abidmg rehance which aU tiie I MM f 14 IRON AND ITS MANUFACTURE. parties felt in tho soundness of the gi*eat scheme, that not only did Messrs. Fox and Henderson undertake tho contract before the Commissioners were in a position to give legal cei-tainty to it, but they actually incurred liabilitieB to ttjo extent of 50,000?. under the same uncertainty; the tender- was accepted on July a8, but many months elapsed before the CommiHsioners obtained their charter, without which tlie contract was not a legally binding one. The tender having been accepted, the planning of all ttie minor details, and tho propuratiou of tho working diawuigs, became tlie next stage in the arduotis undertaking. " The drawings occupied me," says Mr. Fox, " about eight«en hours each day for seven weeks ; and aa they came ft-om my hand, Mr. Henderson immediately prepared the iron work and other materials required in tlie construction of the building." As the girders and trusses were made, they were subjected to a tost four times gi-eater than their sti'ength would over have to beai- in practice, so as to dissipate aU anxiety on this point. On the aeth of September tlie first iron column was fixed in its place. " From this lime," Mr. Fox adds, " I took the general management of the building under my charge, and spent all my time upon the works, feeling that, imlesa the same person who had made the drawings was also present to assign to each part, as it arrivcid upon the groimd, its proper position in the structure, it would be impossible to finish ttie building in time to ensure tlie opening on ihe Ist of May." The contractors speedily got tile operation into such Root is ifreshment courts «»« 48 nimble exhibition itKrnis, 1, ih^ Bii-mhigham, the iil partitioning presents 1 surrounds the mtilding (urrow roof han the tidgcs « or sub-multiples of 24 ; in Jousting the materials 0. This tymtaetiy is ob- ; fortn the skeleton of the 5 places whei-e the widei- For the most part, the ftrtments, exactly 24 feet *, IBON AND ITa MANUFAOTtJBE. 15 The lower coliunns Bi-o 10 feet high; the upper 17; and there are con- necting pieces, a feet high, fmm the lower to the higher ranges. These con- necting pieces furnish the means for fixing the upper columns to tlie lower, and also for fixing the gii-dors which stretch across from column to column. Home of the giirlers are cast hx>n, some wrought ; but all have the same pattern or design, which combines strength with lighmess. The girdei-s, nj their turn, support the gallerieH, which extend east imd west in four paraUel Uiies, and nortli and south in ten subsidiary or partial lines. The stones ot coliunns, one, two, or tliree in number, determine the height of the A-arious parte of the building. There is, for example, a strip Vi feet (3 bays) wide, on the southern side of the building, which is only one colunm m height ; tlien there is another strip, also of 72 feet, two cohimns in height ; then the mag- nificent central compartment, 120 feet (5 bays) wide, three columns in height; the two nortliem compartments of 73 feet each, similiu- to tlie southern, are one and two columns in height respecUvely. The extra building on the extreme norUi is riso one column m hei^t. These vanous heights, mclud- ing the connecting pieces, amount to about %i, 44, and 64 feet. The roof-(jirders lue of cast iron, except those which exceed 24 leet in lemith; each giixier weighs 18 owts., and has been tested to the extent of nme tout- much beyond what it wiU ever have to bear. They present ft light, open, treUis-like aspect, which adds much to the graceful elegance of the interior of the buUduig. Those roirf-girders, or trusses, which are 48 and li feet long, to span the wider avenues, are formed of wrought vton-, they con- sist of Son bars, rivebjd at intervals of eight feet to uprirfit standards ; some of the diagonals are of iron, to give the requisite strength ; while the otliere are of wood, to give uniformity of appeaiance. The girdei-s or trtisses oi li feet lencth have a camber or rise of about 10 inches in the centre, which impart-s^ditional strength. The 72 and 48 feet trtisses weigh respectively 35 and 18 cwts. There are four of the long tnisses beneath Ae lead flats at the sides of the tmnsept, which, on account of the great weirfit to be borne, aro deeper and heavier tlian the rest; two of them weigh 120 cwts. and tJie others IttO cwts. each. AU these trtisses (t. e. girders above 24 feet in lengtli), about 370 in number, were buUt together on the ground ; the vanous bais bein.* joined together with red-hot rivets, of which 25,000 wen^ used. Ihc riwtTholes wei« made, some by boring and some by punchmg--e8pecially the latter; one of the powerful punching machines employed at the works was capable of punching three thousand holes in a day through thick iron plate The cdlumns— those llghteome vertical supports which assist m mmg Such a beautlftjl netrWoA perspective to the hiterior— ha^^) a tliree-fold office; they bear up the galleries, they bear up the loof, and thev form diannels for mn water They aio aU of the same diameter externally, but the thickness of met^ varies" aecoilng to the statength requited. The contour--fbur curvet sei«rated by f6ur flat surfaces—wa* suggested by Mr. Batt^, the architect, and has been univeisally admired. The two ends of each colimin have projectiohs called «h(5«, which affoni means for riveting the columti abi^e and Below. Jh^ ?J^^^f enonnous number of 3300 of tliese columns, varying fifom 17 to 18 feet m height. The comwctinq pieces and the base pieces, also of iron, afford the mewis for fixing the columns tirmiy in the desired positions. The eolmnns m the dif- ferent stories do not rest upon eacli other, end to end; Uiey are separated by a space of about 3 feet, which is occupied by a lioUovj connecting V\f^.f ''f^ iron The connecting piece has fianges and nvct-holes, which enable it to bo firmly fastened to the Column bencattl, the column above, and the girders at •1 1 16 IRON AND ITS MANUFACTURE. the sides. No part of tlio structure required nioro careful workmanship than this, as strength, pei-pendicularity, and absence of leakage were necessary conditions. The base pieces he beneath the lowest range of columns. Each base piece consists 'of a vertical hollow shaft, a broad horizontal bed plate at the bottom, strengthening shouldei-s rising from the bod plate, and side sockets for joinmg to the horizontal water pipes. These base pieces, of which there are 1074, are bedded very firmly in the ground, as the whole weight of tlic building rests upon them. The gallery (firders are much more numerous than the roof girders before described; tliey are 2150 in number, and are of cast iron, all 24 feet in length by 3 feet in depth. They not only support the galleries, but stretch across the nanower avenues of the building, from column to column, where a bindin}? strength is required. They have projections at tiieir ends which fit into re- cesses in the connecting pieces, and by which they are secured. Every girder, before being used, was tested by a powerful hydraulic machine ; it was cal- culated that the greatest weight each gu-der woidd have to bear is 7^ tons; but every girder was tested to 15 tons, jmd it was found that 80 tons was insufficient to break one of them. The galleries, the tj-ansept, tlie staircases, the flooring, and the exterior, con- tain too little iron to call for notice in this place. There are some horizontal iron pipes, however, which play an important part in tlie builduag. The sixteen or eighteen acres of roofing present an enormous surface for rain-fall, and it is most essential that the water shotdd have easy chatmels along which to find its way. It first falls on the sloping glass, then along tlie Paxton gutters, u-en in a channel along the tops of the roof trusses, then down the hollo >v columns ; and when it reaches the base pieces at tlie foot of the colimins, other provision has to be made for it. Ii-on pipes, 6 inches in diameter, are fixed into the sockets of the base pieces, and extend in parallel lines east and west ; they discharge the water into large drains, which eventually convey it to the sewer. The whole weight of iron work in tlie building is said to be about 4000 tons. Two of the mightiest works of oui- ago present Sie following corapaiison : — Crystal Palace, 1851 feet long, 4,000 tons of iron work. Britannia Bridge, 1513 „ 10,000 There are, perhaps, no two modem buildings in the country which present greater contrasts than tliese astonishmg stiiictures — the one to contain (at most) two railway trains at a time ; the other to contkiin millions' worth of Uie world's industry and tens of thousands of tlie world's people—the one destined, pro- bably, to endure for sages ; the other yet in doubt whether its life may not be a very bi^ef one — ^the one stiff and inelegant ; the other full of giticeful Unes, tints, and combinations — ^the one so costly as to impoverish its owners ; the other so happily circumstanced as to pay for itself in a short period of tliree or four months — ^the one occupying several yeai-s in construction ; the other not much more than as many montlis. They resemble each other, however, ir this (and the resemblance is a marked feature in our age), Uiat iron uistead of stone forms the main material, and that engineers instead of architects have con- ceived and worked out the plans. Foreign Iron, at the Great Exhibition. ^ ' The production and application of iron in foreign States, whether illustrated or not at tlie Great Industiial Gathering of Nations, ai'e not less fuU of cmious and mstructive features than those of our own country. mtm roful workmanHhip than loakago were necessary iiige of columns. Each horizontal bed plate at (1 plate, and side sockeU e pieces, of which there the whole weight of tlie the roof girders before ron, all 24 feet in length !8, but stretch across the )lumn, where a binding ends which fit into ro- 3 secured. Every girder, ilic machine ; it was cal- lave to bear is 7|^ tons; found tliat 80 tons wivs ig, and the exterior, con- ere are some horizontal le building. The sixteen nee for rain-fall, and it is is along which to find its 3 Paxton gutters, U'-en in wn the hollo >v oolunins ; colimins, other provision leter, are fixed mto Uie ues east and west ; they Y convey it to the sewer, id to be about 4000 tons, lowing corapaiison : — I of iron work. e country which present le one to contain (at most) ions' worth of the world's —the one destined, pro- thor its life may not be a ler full of graceful luies, jovetish its owners ; the a short period of tlu-ee or tstruction ; the other not ch oilier, however, ir this that iron utstead of stone d of architects have oon- ntBITlON. States, whether illustrated re not less full of ciu-ious y- TBON AKt) ITS MANTTFACTOIIB. 17 It is pleft.sant to see how careful our foreign neighbours hnvo been to caiTy out, to the best of their means under the circiimstances, the behests of tSio Royal Commissioners concerning classification. Each coimtiy, witli n few exceptions, has collected specimens of its raw materials of manufacture ; and among such specimens iron and its ores do not fail to find a place. The United Stntes have many fine specimens of iron ore, especially from the busy Ohio district. There is also manufactured iron presented to our notice, in the forms of plate, sheet, bar, rod, wire, nails, &c. The gigantic empire of Riufia is peculiarly circumstanced in respect to these matters. It has been well observed that " the want of a great middle class, and of self-dependent (and therefore independent) working classes, causes the arts and manvrfactm-es to be dependent on imperial ukases and the encouragement and example of the government officers, or else upon the magnates, whose command of labour enables them to undertake new operations on a large scale." Hence we find that a large proportion of the specimens at the Great Exhibition have been sent from some of the imperial establishments ; others from the great princos of the empire. Prince Demidofl" has sent various specimens of iron hi the mw and tlie reduced stai«s ; the collection of iron plates, bolts, bars, rods, Ac, is by no means insignificant, considering the unfavourable circumstances attending tlie transhipment of heavy goods from an ice-bound cour uy. The ZoUverein — that mysteiious-looking woi-d, which pui!/les so many visitors, and which the Executive would do Well to elucidate by a subsidiary inscription — presents us witli a goodly collection of the iron and steel which Prussia, Saxony, and the other German States can produce. The Harz Mountains, many places in Rhenish Prussia, and many othei-s in various pai-ts of the ZoUverein or " Customs Union" territory of Germany, produce excellent iron, which is smelted and worked up at vaiious establishments ; while Solingen has acquired the name of the Sheffield of Germany. Wo find specimens of the ore and tlie metallic iron ; sheets, and other partially nianufactm-ed forms of iron ; neat and useful iron castings from the Harz estabhshments ; a most interesting series of specimens which show all the stt^es of progress from crude ore to highly-polished steel; a varied assemblago of cheap eveiy-day iron and steel tools and goods, such as screws, nails, tiles, saws, locks, keys, bolts, chains, axes, hatchets, skates, swords, rat-traps, hand-mills, and all Uio usual cuUeiy articles ; and the clean and wholesome enamelled iron ware, so valuable an adjunct in domestic cookeiy. But the Berlin cast-iron ornaments — did the art of working in this metal ever reach a higher pitch than in the delicate productions thus designated? It is scarcely credible that the exquisite bi-ooches, buckles, and other specunens, deposited in the northern half of the ZoUverein compartment, can be made of such a rough material ; yet such is the case. The delicate gold and sUver threads of the filagree works of the middle ages hardly excel them in minute beauty. Amt-r,", is not exceeded by any foreign country in the specimens of iron which she has contributed to the Great Exliibition. When we consider how many kingdoms and states are included under that almost misapplied word Austria, we need not wonder that some among them should yield fine iron ores and creditable iron manufactures ; but it could scarcely have been expected that such vmily of feeling would have been displayed as this miique Exhibition indicates. The iron ores of diflierent parts of the empire are not only of fine quality, but in great abundance ; and the art of smelting (aided by the plentiful supply of charcoal timber as fuel) is scarcely exceUed in any part of Em-ope. The specunens of iron plates, sheets, MIliMM iStHmttm L 18 IHOM A«U IW MANUKAC-njaHii bars, rodH, wiio, &c., are numerous and good. It w worth whde. toO;J« «>"% a little closely the fine castings from tlie Mettemich Ii-on Works, cue o tl o Lhomian esUblishn.onte ; Ae taU aerman stoves decorated ^"''•^ 'l"l f ''^ and weU-lormod stotucUos. the fuU-siied cast of the Crucrfixion, as weU as oUier «^angH of a varietl kind, exhibit a high degree of mont Ajuong Uio cutlery of Austria, we have an abundwice of scythes and «!««^f. «*/,^'« ' '^ is said no fewer than T,0<)O,(KK> ar« nianufacturod annually in AusUi* 1t<»|>«>. and exported thence to various parts of Uie world. ii^iiMii has not lailod to sh?w%y her contributions, that the iron of tho Liege d«trict m well smelted, and woU worked up into oounUess articles ol dady use and omainent. That the iron smelting ammgements of Frani8h iron ore have jiow what a reputation ; we have ao few opinw- efipecialiy unportant tliat )re8 ; and it is gratifying lens are by tar the most usera of En^ish cutlery \ Swedish iron, which— 98 better steel than any icluded everything whioh such as bits of the su^ nral kinds of ore, amdyses ere are also plafces> tubes, , showuig that, though ;« is not of a very high lAL EUBOWE.' luded to above, arc aaso- [le between Napoleon and larrative of the growth of force which the ambitiouK I services of all wore ener- eountry needed the strong 'ho had silrer and gold to r good fortune sent their the exhausted exdiequer ; , and other omunents in n Ei»m, " I gave gold for ery highly priaed from tho more triidtets. but conipiised busts, ba«-roliof«, mouuniontiil idubs. and oUutr works of ai-t Some pewons attribute the unequalled exeell.nre ot these eastings to the fine quality of the Silesian iron ; some t« tlio carefully mode mixture of sand and clay of which the moulds are formed ; noma to the Bkill (lisphyed in the casting process; but it is pobable that many causes contri- bute to the result „ r. , , ■ rj, e \t^ Dr. Friedenl>erg, in his German translation of Babbagos Eeonemy oj Ma- ehineruandManuf(tettire», gives some curious information coijcemmk;' the Ijmlm caatuigs. Such are the fineness and delicacy of the seimrato arabe(M,uea, rosettes, medaUions, Ac., of which the larger ornaments are composetl, Ui.it »t sometimes requires nearly 10,000 of them to make alb. weight Ihc gray iron from which they are made may be taken as Iwing worth alwut tu. p«>r cwt: and the following table, drawn up from Uie i.riof-list ot a Berlun manu- facturer a few years ago, will sh v to what an almost incredible height Un» value per cwt is increased :->- Artieks. Buckle;;, 8^ hiches long by 2^ broad . . . Neck-chams, 18 inches long by 1 broad, in 40 ^ pieces 5 Bracelets, 7 inches long by a broad, in 7» 7 pieces 3 Diadems, 7^ inches high by 6^ broarl . . . Scvigne points, 2^ inches long by H ^^ToaA . Sevigno earrings, 3 inches long by | broad, 7 in M pieces 3 Shirt buttons •. . . . Number to Price, Pricts 1 owt eMh. per cwt $. d. Jt 9,640 a ti 3B0 2,310 6 003 2,090 7 I)ftii's 8 C 880 1,100 1« 907 9,020 4 ft 2029 10,460 pairs 6 3 2713 88,440 8 2948 mm We here find that iron in the form of shirt buttons commanded a market at a price nearly 10,000 times as great as that which it sold for as gray iron ! And about tlie year 1820, when the fashion was at its height the value was still greater; for these m)n ornaments then sold for neariy their weight m gold. The great saleable value of these productions has led to a result similar to that which so many other branches of industiy exliibit : obscure manufacturers make moulds from the casts which otiiers had been at the expense of designing and modelling, and produce faiferior and cheap specimens from theee moulds. The real Beriin castmgs, worthy of the name (such, we may presume, as those which grace the Great Exhibition), must always command a high price, if sold at aU, from the extraordi»ary care required m their production. It would be instruetive, in an eoonomicid pomt of view, if the priefn of useful articles, as displayed at the Great Exhibition, coidd be compared at leisure. There are so many elements which combine to make up mercantile value, that it is difficult to estimate them singly ; but their resultant— their combined efiect— is shown in the price at which the dealer is willing to part with his merchandize. We may be well assured that it is worth while for a manufacturer in one country to be fully informed of these particulars in respect MM MMHMM •lWM,t*W»*i«WWW"*»"*»"" do IHON AND ITS UAMUFACTUBE. to foreign countries. If he can equal his neighbours, a close comparison and study will enable hun to determine how to do so ; if he can not equal tliom, a knowledge of the reasons will save him fi-ora much fruitless outlay. It is in this, as in so many other respects, that tlio Ureat Exhibition will render ser- vice. l*ml>fthly th») CoramissionerH exercihed a wise discretion in forbidding the price-ticketing of the exhibited specimens ; but we shall gradually lunpiiro information on diose points in other ways. If we take up, for example, tlio Official Priced Catalogue of the Haxon section, we find English sums of money quoted opposita tlie names of the chief articles displayed ; they are the prices, wo presume, at which tlie Saxon agents in this countiy would be empowered to sell such commodities. Here we find (confining ourselves to tlie unniediate subject of this jmper) tinned-iron saucepans and cooking vessels in considerable numbers ; there are Saxon vessels, Bavarian pots, coftee-pots, stew-pans, frying-pans, Ac. A hulf-litre cooking-pot is marked at J)Jd.; a Utre coffee-pot, 4jd.; a four-litre stew-pan, witli handle and lid, IfljU.; a frying-pan, 23d.; and so on. The vessels are tinned after the sheet-iron has been brought into shape ; and tlieir capacity is estimated by the litre, equal to about If puits English. Now here is a case for those conversant vriib. retail ironmongery. Are these articles well made, and ai-e they dearer or cheaper tlian similar articles in England ? Be the answer what it may, it is certain to render service in some way or other. Then we find iron spoons at 2d. per half-dozen. The clasp-knives sent from the same comitry are of the better and more ornamental kind ; tliey vary from Ua. to 12». each, according to the number of blades and the degree of finish ; but it would be more interesting to know how much the Saxon peasants give for their rough homely knives. The ZoUvereiu Catalogue presents, in like manner, the means for instituting comparisons between ourselves and the buHv states of Northern Germany. Among the entries are case-liardened iron rollers, at 20 dollars per centner ; cliisek as low as 15 groschen per dozen; files and rasps, 11; scissors, 16; butter-knives, 38; plane-irons, 27 groschen per dozen; up to much higher prices according to size and quality. We may here state that the Prussian dollar or thaler is worth about tlu-ee shillings English, that tliere ai-c twenty groschen in tlie dollar, and that tlie Prussian centner equals about 110 lbs. It is obvious tlittt a conipai-ison between the prices above named, and Uiose cliarged by our own manufacturei's, can be usefully made by those only who ore practically concerned in these matters. The delicate little Berlin castings, such as brooches, &c., are priced from a groschen to a dollar each ; but it would be vain to compare these with EngUsh prices imtil England produces something equal, which she assuredly never yet has done. From Uie lately published Official Austrian Catalogue of the Great Exhibi- tion, we gather some valuable uiformatiou concerning the iron jniniug of tliat extensive empire. There were produced in the year 184B, about 3,200,000 cwts. of pig-u'on, of which Biytia and Hungary contributed together about one-half; of oast-iron there was about 450,000 cwts., all from Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia. It spears, therefore, that the kingdoms or provinces in which the iron is mined and smelted in greatest abimdance, are not those which take the lead in producing u-on castings. The pig-iron is smelted in about 260 furnaces, and melted for castings in about 60 cupola and reverberating fiimaces. From the pig-u-on, besides a portion converted into castings, about 300,000 cwts. of steel are made amiuolly. Both in malleable iron and cast iron, Austria exports more Uian she impoila, a sufficient proof that she is favourably circumstanced in respect to this really impoilont element of national weoltlt. The number L iWMMMililMII lAOM AND ITS MAMUFAfiTUHB. ftl A closo coinpariHon aiid I can not €'<|ual Uiom, a uitleHS outlay. It ia in libitiua will cender ser- iiacretion in forbidding shall )j;radually acut 300,000 cwts. of steel ast iron, Austria exports favourably circumstanced ml weoltlt. The number of persons employed in tlio Austrian dominions in lft48, in rnishig iron ore, Hnielting, casting, forging, steel making, and manufacturing connuodities in iron and stoel, wiw about 15(),0(M»; and tlie value of tJio commwlities so produced was about 70,000,000 H<»rin8 (about iJ7,000,000). It may hero Imj stated, that tlie cwt. spoken of is the Austrian cmttmr, equal to about 12;3 lbs. English. Tho following iluUils aie interesting, for thev relate to tlio productive industry of a country with which we have hitlierto been too little acquainted : — " Of tho different branches of this (the iron) department of manufacture, tlioso tliat are conducted on a largo scale seem to deserve most iittention; among tliese, tho first Uiat presenU itself to our notice is tlie manufacture of scythes, sickU^s, and chaff cuttoj-s. The pwxluce of I7» scytlie factories was 4,00(t.000 scythes, 1,000,000 sickle'i, and 90,000 chaff cutters, valued at 6,000,000 floiins; these articles, on account of tlieir excellent quality, liave found their way into all parts of tlie world. The manufacture of pans, boilei-8, and kettles, carried on in 50 establishinenta, turns out !i5,000 cwt. of articles, valued at 676,000 florins. The manufacture of wire is of greater importance, and is earned on at 100 factories, producing about 80,000 cwt., value 1,864,000 florins. The manufacture of mils is also very extensively carried on, and amounts to 60,000 cwt., valued at 970,000 florins. The smaller workshops appropriated to other manuliictures in iron, produce files, knives, hatchets, shovels, swoixl blades, gun barrels, and various other aiticles, to the value of 4,800,000 florins ; they give employment to more than 60,000 persons (of whom about 15,000 are inastei-s), and support 160,000 individuals, including the members of the families of tliose employed." It might at first seem strange that, while England can produce every kind of iron implements at extremely low prices, Austria should be able to export by millions the scytlies, and sickles, and reaping hooks needed by the farmer. But in this, as in many other cases, we must look at the quality of the ore met with, and the means for obtaining iron from the ore. Now, in Btyria (one of the component members of the Austrian Empire) tliere is a peculiar and veiT abundant kind of spathic iron ore, a semi-crystallme cai-bonate of the luetai ; and it is proved that the steel made from the iron of this ore is excellently suited for the kind of semces required in the cutleiy implements here named. Economical pEctJUAKiTiEa in Gebmajjy and America. The rise of the iron manufacture in Rhenish Prussia is becoming astDnish- higly rapid. Smelting and forging establishments on a very large scale are multiplying fast. Let us take Mr. Banfield's account of a visit which ho paid to tlie iron-works of Messrs. Haniel, at Oberhausen, a few years i^. Near the works are cottages which the fii-m had built for the workmen ; the build- ings ai-e well planned and constructed, and are made over to the workmen at prime cost, to be paid for by small deductions from their wages during a series of years ; this comprises the best elements of a Building Society, without its defects. In respect to the value of the land near the works, Mr. Banfield makes a striking remark : " It is, perhaps, not too much to say, that every fresh pair of rolls (rollers for makuig bar kon) erected at Ober- hausen, would add the value of a dollar an acre to every estate whose owner had sense enough to draw his profit from it."— {Industry of the Rhine.) Tho Oberhausen works stand on about as much giound as the Low Moor works, in Yorkshire. The cenU-al pai-t is occupied by the rollmg mill, round wliich i w:>rtr-tmmr L M IBOM A»y ITH MANUVAGTUHK. nowly fortv pu«l>ULng fumaccB are ranged, eftch witlj its luunniei- and pair of rollB. NiwuivUj H »U>aiu Iwimuer wiu inH\KUir<"«l in Uu^mo worltH ttlnumt, Ob WKJii OH iu Englftiiil. Wuikintfu of many difforeijt imtioiiH are rmployod. Uid ou Uii» point Mr. Bwifiwld iMukei* tbe loUowing observutionH ; — '• Wht-ii the driU <>« go<>o GcmiaiiH, who nmk« great oxertion« to *'«t tlioniselveii to the tank, and of course now huccimkI. The oidy Huporiority iu the atriuigo workmen lies in tlieir having sotm large worku in England or in Belgium, and knowing tbe methods used In tliom. But now tliat milU arc oreoting all over Gormany on quite as large a Kcale a» the lingUsh, there will be a nuhool to train them in at home. We could not help thinking, ou viewing tlie acene, tliat aomo a«lvantage might be derived ft-om that kmd of masonic hoBpitolity which prevailed ui the Middle Ag08, ami which tmcouruged men to visit other countries, with tlieir trade as a patjtiport and letter of credit, whicli ensured them a good reception wherever Uiey wont It Ik, perhaps, natuj-al that Ktrange workmen in Gennany shoidd be well received whore they appear a» toach«r« ; hut it is creditable to every counUy iu whicli hospitality ia dictated by good feeling." A singular fact met Mr. Bantield's view: a wate^miU was buUt, in the infancy of the works, to give motive power to the machinery, but it is now wholly employed in gr'mding com for Uie 1000 persons employed m tlie estabhHhment. The proprietoi-9 have built a refectory, where they sei-ve such of tlw workpeople OS ai-e willing to avail themselves of Uie accommodation with provisions, at a low price, on a system which keeps dear of the knavery of our truck- system. It is another goo«l f«ature at these works, that all the workp8 of cwre, of two tons each, he nicely piled, each with a wooden cross stuck in it, mai'ked witli some kind of miners' heraldry— «uch as a ship, a tree, or an initial, to indicate that it belongs to one particular shareholder in tlie mUie. The mine belongs altogether to small mmers, and is worked by themselves, under tlie direction of mining officers. From the piece-meal aiid primitive ioo^.e in which the operations are ooiiduoted, the profits of tlie miners amount to no more than very moderate wi^s. In a smelting work not far from the mine, there is a furnace m the middle of a large casting house, which affords shelter to tlie numerous smelters and their gossiping neighbours. As the result of a timid caution lest the mines should be too soon exhausted of their treasures, each smelt-work is limited to a certain number of days in each week; and each miner attends to smelt his own little store on the prescribed days. Notliing can he more oppdsed to tlie organiijed system of a modem establishment than the proceedings of these smelters — these children of antiquated usages. Each man has HHMMf llMMa L Ji itft hamnicr auil pair I in UicNu wurkit ulnioHt ut iiiUtoiiH are omploywl. ; obM«rYaUoii8 ; — " When iu iliw: lor tlio oaUoDul nt bcHt tur the aako of own. Tho hiRh wftRcs ' for employing HtranKoi-N, w out uf tlie Hpreatl of 10 nmkH great, uxertionH w Bucoewl. Ti»e only iiiving soon liu^e workii mIh used in tlieni. But luita m liu^u a scale iw ill at homo. \V« could >uio ailrautAgo nii^^ht bo prevailed in Uie Middle tries, with tliuir trade oa mjod reception wherever niuu in Gennany ahoidd it is credjtttble to cvorj- jeliug." A singular fact ho infaaov of the works, now wholly employed in Lbe estabhshnient. Thu Buch of the workpeople lodatiou with provisionH, JO knavery of our truck- that all the >voriiprofits of Le wages. In a smelting in the middle of a large rous smelters and their Lion lest the mines should smelt-work is limited to [» miner attends to smelt ng can be more opp6sed nt than the proceedings asages. Each man has IltOM AKO ITS UAKUFACTUIUt. 88 liis own small hhod ftdl of ore, aitd anotlior Hh«*d fidl of rhftrcoal ; and all llioHO litUo ♦wotionx are hudrtuuily U»r g«wMip) hangs tu his lips. W'bin hiH tuni oouiow, he wheels his ore to ujo iuniium mouth uudm the «U|»r- inUjndenoe of tiio llultnunai»ter, or furnace niaoter, and conti-ibutos his <^uoU of charcoal and broken ore to Iho fiery Iwap. Ho claiuu a {lortion 't tho omeited contonta of the fiuiiaco, and assisU in bringing it into Kaieablo form. "The peasant owners (of tlio land (u-ound Hii-gen) aie also share- holders in mines, and in Uio forests arour»d, which supply the charcoal consumed. 'J'hey manage to divide tlioir time ImjIwcou the mine, tho forest, Uie furnace, and their land, in such a mimner as to be unctsasiugly employed, and tliey calculate closely enough in isolated speculations; but tlio giiuid calculation of all, the bem'fit coui'en-ed by division of labour, is luiknown \o this couununity." One of the unfuvourablo consetpionces of tliis pat equal or excel anotlier in exporting manufactured goods. The subject relates to iron ; luid tlie vniter, a Mr. H. i'aii-baim, lamenU the inability of tlie United HUUm to keep out English iron, notwitlwtanding tlie abundance of ii-on and coal iu tliat widc-Hpreading region. The pith of his argument is found in the fact, as stated by him, that tlie smelting works have been iiyudiciously built at a dis- tance from the great coal-dtiposits ; so that tlie coal, ch<'ap at tlio pit's mouth, becomes costly by the time it has reached Uie furnace moutli; wliile a "inanu- ttctiivtr of i-aihroad iron in Wales smelts his pig-iron fi-om the ore, puddles and re. ill. .s the iron Into bars, and mills the bars into railing iron— fvU witli tlie coils dug at tiie door of his establishment, witli tlie same ateum-engine diroughout all tho processes (perhaps?), by Uie same supervision, in a shorter space of time." The result was Uiat, in 1849, English railway iron undei-sold Pennsylvania iron in Pennsylvania itself. But Mr. Faiibaim Uiiidts that Uiis state of things must pass away, if large smelting works were established in the iron and coal district of Pottsville. " From hard siliceous iron oro only a tough, unmalleable, and cold short iron can be made ; and Uie richer hemaUto ores are i.ndisnensable for admixtm-e wiUi the siliceous ores of Pottsville or of Wales. But in Wales these hematite ores can only be obtained from Uie north of England, and their expense is so great, Uiat Uiis circunistwice now threatens Uie most serious consequences to Uio trade of Wales. A ton of hematite ore cannot be brought from Ulverstone to MerUiyr Twydwell (Tydyil) at a cost of less Uian 28«. per ton; luul yet so important is it to have hematite for admixture with Uie native ores, Uiat the character of Uie Welsh railway iron is rapidly degenerating in foreign markets, by reason of Uie impossibility of affording the importation of Uiesc ores at the prices for railroad which can only now be obtained, in consequence of Uie low prices established in the Clyde." Starting from these two data— that Uie Welsh iixm masters cannot pay for hematite if they sell at low prices, and that Uicir iron will lose its saleable qualities if it do not contain hematite, Mr. Fairbaira draws favour- M u IRON AND ITS MANUFACTURE. able auguries for his own countiy, in the circumstance that hematite is to be met with at no great distance from the coal and iron disfxict around Potte- ville; and tliat, if smelting works were established there, Pennsylvania might defy both Wales and Scotland. Whether the above train of reasoning be soimd or not, it is quite demon- strable that the proximity- of a coal-mine to a smelt-work is of great importr ance to the latter. Mr. Fau-baim weU illustrates this point, which forms part of the commercial philosophy of manufactures, in Uie foUowmg remarks:— " Only tlie finer branches of iron manufacture can exist in cities, or m locali- ties distant from the supplies of coal. In Liverpool there are large foundries, and a great steam-engine busmess is carried on ; but the heavier parts of the en-'ines are brought from places in the Midland Counties, and only the finer parts of the work are manufactured in Liverpool ; whilst m London, though myriads of people are employed in manufactures of which iron is the raw material, yet it [the employment] is in cutleiy, in fine castings, and the thousand divisions of business in which the raw material does not enter so largely into the manufactured articles as does the skill of the artisan, the pre- sence of the meiropoUtan mai-ket, the fashion, foreign demand, and mwiy other considerations which favom- manufacturei-s in cities and towns. But a bai- of railway iron was never made in Liverpool or in London, and none can be profitably made in Philadelphia, which is the Liverpool of the United States. Foundiies, cutleries, and other skiUed iron manufactures ot endless varieties, might be estabUshed with the greatest advantage m Phila- delphia; but tlie pig-iron, the bar-iron, railway bai-s, beams for steam-engines, and all other heavy and compaiatively cheap iron and iron manufactures, pnly can be furnished from the places where fuel is to be obUiined at the lowest Tlie few, brief, scattered notices of iron and the iron manufacture in foreign countries which have found a piece in tlie present sheet— trifling as they may be smgly— all tend to illustiate the value which we ought to place on a know- ledge of the proceedings of industrj' in other lands besides our own ; such knowledge may be made up of " cm-iosities," but it is not less knowledge oii tliat account. And if the Eoyal Commissionei-s should cany out the proposed plan of making a permanent" collection of specimens — tiny bits for the gieat assemblage— we may hope that uon, foreign as well as British, rough ore as well as polished bars, will not be forgotten. e that hematite is to be on distjict around Potts- ere, Pennsylvania might not, it is quite demon- vork is of great import- 1 point, which forms part le following remarks: — ist in cities, or in locali- diere are large foundries, tlie heavier parts of tiie nties, and only the finer vhilst in London, though f which iron is the raw I fine castings, and the iterial does not enter so II of the artisan, the pre- 3ign demand, and many I cities and towns. But or in London, and none IS the Liverpool of the led iron manufactures of eatest advantage in Phila- beams for steam-engines, d iron manufactures, pnly be obtained at the lowest on manufacture in foreign leet— tiifling as they may )ught to place on a know- 1 besides our own ; such is not less knowledge on uld cany out the proposed IS — tiny bits for tiie gieat 1 as British, rough ore as WOOD AND ITS APPLICATIONS. There is a battle going on among the materials of manufactures. From time to time tlie old familiar products of Nature's work have to contend against new aspirants for public favom-; and the new comer occasionally bears off the palm. Sometimes metal has to yield up one of its positions, which is taken possession of by wood ; and wood, on the other hand, has, in no smdl number of cases, been obliged to yield to metal. Then, again, although it is said there is " nothing like leather," yet the gutta-percha dealers confidently dispute tliis maxim ; and the workers in papier-mache no less resolutely enter the domain of the workers in wood. Staffordshu-e claims for its "Parian" clay statuettes a place by tlie side of those made in Paiian mai-ble ; and tlie cement artificei-s will not admit that marble and stone are more beautiful or more durable than the produce of their labours. But such is tlie right path towards excellence. These imweaiied .trials de- velope properties — often beautiful as useful — in natui-al substances, which would remain unknown if the old prescriptive notions were too closely ad- hered to. It is true that tlie new attempts occasionally fail, and tliat the un- successful experimenter is made to smart for the failure; it is tme also that offences against good taste sometimes mark the novelties, by a certain incon- gruity between the material employed and the pvupose of tlie article pro- duced ; but diese matters always adjust themselves after a tune— society prmies otf the redundancies, and avails itself of whatever amount of good may result from the seturch after what is new. Wood is among the natural products which have been singularly exposed to these mdustrial contests (if tliey may be so termed). As a material for build- ing, it supersedes all others in an early stage of society ; but it gives way to brick and stone as forests become cleared. As a fuel, it is every year yielding more and more to coal. As a material for engineering and large works of constmction, its use is now most sensibly lessened in favour of tha,t of iron. As a material for decomtive furniture, or for fine-art productions, it has to contend against the rivalry of papier-mache, of cement composition, of ja- panned iron, of sj mped leather, of carton pien-e, of guttarpercha. Yet wood is more abundantly used than at any former period, and for more diveree purposes. If any circumstance shakes its supremacy in one quaiter, it speedily finds room for exercise in anotlier. There is a natm-al and deeply-seated cause for this : if the worker m wood is disturbed in his voca- tions by competition from a worker in anotlier material, he has abundant reason for tiymg to strengthen his position in other directions; and his ingenuity, shaipened by self-interest, points out the way. Timber op all Nations: Great Exhibition. The first half of the present century has witnessed many of the revolutions noticed above. It has seen tlie substitution of other materials for wood in many manufactures ; but, on the other hand, it has been moi-ked by tlie appli- '■*■ L d WOOD AND ITS APPLICATIONS. nation to useful purposes, of kinds of wood before almost unknown ; and espedku^ Zt L7n characterised by a great extension due to the use of ^'^SXf slyTSrSds concen.ing timber itself, before speaking of the " Trtip'iel^rhtSo..to work on ' Tm.mg.- gives a ve.7 minute d..Sption3 classification of the various kinds of wood used ni the Aats Ho fiiVt ?oSs out the well-kno^vn structural difference between e-vogemmi Ido^^is wWch leads to a separation of all kinds of trees mto two gieat ^up "rflAe tn.e wood» («L they are sometimes termed) are -ogens ; ShS the endogens include the grasses, bamboos, palms, &e. In the coun- Ses .Jhe^ b^boos and palms s^ indigenous, the smaUer stems are u ed as ; bes forle conveyance of water, and tlie larger pieces as JO>«t.^£. , J" ♦^^*' Tger kinds of palm, the fibi-es appear like f ««*%«;: ^^f^f^^^S^^n substance similar to cement or pith. The natives of the ^'^'"'^'^^^l^w ni/.k out the fibres from some of the palms, and use them aB naUs , m some siecimenrthev Li as hard as rosewood. Some of the smallest palms are rpTteTinrthrcount^ for walking^ticks, -^%«;« ^7- ^^ tS nnd Penanc canes. Of the foiur or five himdred varieties ot paim trees known^rixisronly a veiy small number are impoi-teveen hard and soft wmds sewood, &c. ; and the latter lat which springs fi-oni the iidinal fibres be tolerably ar}' rays or interrupted by icli are laiiee-wood, hickoiy, d interlaced, the wood be- ai-e oak, beech, mahogany, sr degree, they produce the , ligiuim-vittE, &c. Another ness by Mr. Holtzapffel, is WOOD AND ITS APPTJCATtOWS. 6 that which is determined by the beauty of the surface presented by woods. The hiotit, occasioned by the junction of a branch with the stem ; the curls, produced by the confiised filling-in of the space between the forks or spring- ings of the bi-anches, as in the yew ; the flnarled appearance of the roots, formed at the points of junction of the rootlets or arms of tlie root witli the body of the root itself, as in walnut- wood ; the pollard growths of the oak and other trees, which owe tlie beauty of their grain to a crowding together of the little germs tliat produce the numerous slioote at the top ; the ripple-mark sur- iiice, occasioned by a serpentine form of the grain, as in satin-wood and syca- more ; the bird's-eye pattern, occasioned by a i)eculiar compression of the grain in isolated spots, as in some kinds of maple ; the -.ilrer-grain, which results from a marked distinctness in the medullary rays, as in the plane, sycamore, and beech — all give rise to variations in the appearance of tlie surface of wood, which are the mainspring of tlie beauty obsenablo in cabinet work. Anotlier and verj' obvious mode of classifying woods is in respect to tlieir colour. Mr. Holtzapffel gives a tabular view of all the kinds of wood commonly used in tliis countiy. The list includes nearly eighty species of trees, without naming the varieties of each species. He classifies them according to the sei-vices which tliey are calculated to render. One group includes huildiiu/ woods, subdivided into those fitted for ship-building, for bouse-carpentiy, and for hydraulic engineering ; anotlier group includes the woods most useful for machinery and mill-tcork, subdivided according as Uie wood is suitable for irame work, for rollei-s, for teeth of wheels, or for foundrj* patterns; a tliird group comprises the turnery woods, subdivided uito common soft woods, hai'd woods, and Tunbridge-wai'e woods ; a fourth group is made up of furniture woods, separated into common and best ; a fifdi group comprises omamentnl foreign woods ; a sixth group consists of r/yc-woods, arranged according to colour; while a miscellaneous group is foimed, subdivided according to the elasticity, the toughness, the even grain, or tlie durability of the wood. Of fourse many kinds of wood find a place in two or more of these groups ; but the table is valuable, inasmuch as it brings together before the eye the names of all tliose woods which resemble each other in some one manufac- turing quality. This tabb is followed by a Catalogue raisonnee of the woods, aiTanged in alphabetical order, in which the principal uses of eveiy kind is placed opposite to its name. But we have at the present time something better than a mere book to appeal to for instniction on these matters. The Great Exhibition, in tliis as in otlier points, is quite a storehouse of educational wealth; we cannot choose but learn, unless the ^^sit degenerate into a mere idle lounge. The numerous collections of specimens of wood, illustrating the capabilities of different counb-ies and disti-icts, are in a high degree interesting. They show some among tlie sinews of industry, the materials of a nation's wealth ; tliey point out whether Uie ship-builder or the house-builder, the coach- maker or the fiimiture-maker, the tasteful can-er or tlie patient inlayer, can best be supplied with the substance on which his skill and labour are to be bestowed ; and on tlie determination of tliis question depends much of the industrial organization of the district. That which a country can best produce is that which its inhabitants are most likely to bring profitably into use ; and timber trees are as subject to this law as any other natural product. Some of the collections alluded to above are confined to pai-ticulai* districts, each of which is illustrated by a pai-ticular collection; but othei-s relate rather to the varied products which become grouped together in our great I -nr T :«fPi 1 ^ WOOD AKD ITS ATPUCATIONS. e^poria Of commerce. TakeJorexy^e.^e^^^^^^^^^ by the Dock Commissxoners jf ^ and of Lw«rpoo^ ^P^^ neaUyprepared of those two great towns; ^'""^ .^^rJ^xJ^iJi aJoxmt of which reaches specimens of the woods miported tJiere, the ^t^ ^^^."^J ^^^.^ j^,,„„t fifty xL4y 150.000 loads amiualiy; ^^''^i^Sed a^d described. Not specimens, similarly prepared, but ^"°J\fX^,t HanS^ of Hull. Here iL interesting are the ^P^^'-^f « ^e ^^ i7S" apSTcable to the wants of we find timber from every P*"* «f *« J«'^?; "TjE the tough, the soft. eveiy kind of worker m wood. Ihe h'^'^' *^«/^^Xd the wood for rough the Lotted. tl.e straiuhtgi^ned f .J^^^i^Xrhexe Ulustrated. AH senice, and tlie wood for tiisteful •i««<'™*t°^-*;\„^^^ (mcludinsj! our best known EngUsh timber trees; many ^^^^^^^^bu W^^^^ formed)! the Cuban sabim, of which the stau^ ^i^he ch ef Sids of dye-woods-an, of satinwood. of rosewood, of tubpwood tfie chiet ,g^^« « J comprises here presented to view ^^^J ^^f^J^.X^aped.^p^^^^^^^ and labked; neai-ly 200 specimens, aU of which are "^'^"y °""P ,,' -\„s g^ch one lettered they are even fashioned like quarto and octavo ^^^^ f^^^ collection is 3 tlie name of tlie wood which conipo^es it^ Mr. S^^f^'^^^'^^.^ion ; it stiU lai-ger, and ai-ranged m ^ »«f^«^ ^^^^nly ale the names given, comprises no less than 700 ^P^cnnens and not only a^^^ ^J ^^^^ W and scientific, but «lso the imtwe counU-y the^wei^^^^ insU-uctive, the prmcipal uses or pecuhanties. lo render inem suu theyU aiUged geographically, ^^.^J^^^jJ^f^Sut a more immediately -fhe coUecUon sent by Mr. C^^^^f J^ ^^."^^ ^^ of English forest woods, valuable mterest. It consists ^^^^^y ^^^^^'S " v^sftor^ >vho have access only and fourteen of English orchaid ^^««^«: J^fde^ niach information to tlie smaUer catdogues of the Exhibition are a^^^^^ mugtiatod cat^ilogue. given by the ediibitoiN and piinted m the toge^^ o .^^ ^ hie uses to which each kmd of wood ^^J^^J^^^^^^'f — Ha^el, wc convenient form, in the last-mentioned <=^out fifty d and described. Not [aiTisou of HuU. Here )pUcable to the wants of )le, the tough, the soft, ted, the wood for rough fe here illustrated. AH of mahogany (includinj^ on-building are formed), lands of dye-woods—arc I'he collection comprises I, polished, and labelled; imies, each one lettered r. Sanders's collection is y more information; it dy are the names given, veight per cubic foot, and ■m still more insU-uctive, elf. ,. , [ but a more immediately i of English forest woods, tors who have access only ived of much information or illusti-atcd catalogue. e are tabulated in a very For example : — Hivzel, vo ,s, cotton reels, pea sticlis, r cricket bats, hat found- butchei-s' skewers ; Hom- nei7 ; Lime, for pianoforte s, carving, and so forth. dYew, the list of uses is, of Uio valuable qualities wecimens of foreign haid ay. They are applicable to iier pm-poses, ancf compiise indalwood, Zebrawood, and n has been contributed the 1 feet six inches in diameter, tlaud shows how extensive I- northern neighbours, anc Wrights, to engineers, atul lis collection a book which fully attended to ; not only h names of tlie specimens he age and size of the ti-oc lities which may have dis- lie wood in different states, WOOD AND ITS APPLICATIONS. two pieces of most of the specimens oi'e hinged togetlier, the one polished and the other unpolished. Some of our colonies have also striven to show tliat their store of forest wood is rich and ample, only wanting commercial energy to bring tliem largely into use. The "Canadian timber tiophy" — a rough gi-oup surrounded by brilliant neighbours — gives us not merely diiintily-cut pieces, but whole planks and logs of the timber grown in tliat countiy. It is here observable, tliat, altliough tliere ore many varieties of beautiful niaiking and tints, the woods are generally more applicable to builduig and engineermg tlian to ornamental purposes ; in respect to woods, as to the plmnuge of bu-ds and tlie colours of flowere, tlie sunny soutli produces more brilliimcy tlian the cold north. Africa illustrates tliis principle ; for among tlie articles sent from tlie Cape ■ of Good Hope is a case containing about forty specimens of African wood, which exhibit much more depth of colom- than tlie average of northern specimens. The British Guianian specimens lue full of interest, from the variety which they exhibit and the novelty which tliey comprise. The greater number of tliese woods ai'e almost entirely unknown in this country: the time may come, when our i ustly and atlonied furniture (for many of the specimens are furniture woods) will derive their material from this little explored colony. The names given to tlie woods show how little they have yet become fainiliaiised in England: — kakarUla, uamara, wallaba, camara, mtouri, yaniri, itikinhurahaUi, koqwrcttabaUi, tmeroneroo, warracoori — we shall have to leara to pronomice such names. Trinidad furnishes specimens of its lignum-vitte, ironwood, cedai-, and otlier trees ; and it is observable, tliat many trees come under illustration which yield well-known gums and juices — such as ynm-anivie, copaiba, and fustic. Our fai'-distant possessions in the East — such as India, Ceylon, Austiia, and New Zealand — have all transmitted specimens of tlieir forest and orchard woods. The Indian varieties came from vrnious pai'ts of the British territories ; from Ceylon we have " forty specimens of ornamental and house-building timber;" from Van Diemen's Land we find hlue-yum timber, fit for ship-building; stringy-bark, for house-building ; black wood, for cabinet work ; sassafras, for flooring, turning, and cai-ving; and so forth; while New Zealand has sent some of its woods half round tlie world to tlie World's Exhibition. There are many reasons why the woods of India should be interesting to the artificers of Uie mother countiy, on account of the varied qualities which they present. The many hundred specimens deposited in the Indian department, comprise of coui-se, among Uieir numbfjr, tlife teak wood, which has become so valuable in ship-building ; as well as ebony, cedar, tamai'ind, blackwood, wellkuan, little kuan, and almost entirely unknown woods. The labels give a gi'eat mass of information concerning the botanical and Indian names, tlie weight per cubic foot, the available qualities (whether " easy to work," " hai'd to work," &c.), and other particulai"s. Many foreign comitries, too, have enriched tlie assemblage with numeroas specimens of then* native gi-own woods. France, for example, has contri- buted about a himdred specimens from Algeria, of vaiious foi-ms and sizes, but mostly polished. Spain — little able as she is, in her present depressed commercial state, to take pai-t in tliese industiial displays — has fonvai-ded a valuable collection of woods from her impoilant colony of (]uba; tliey aie neatly prepared, and labelled witli the oi-dinai-y names, and were sent to Uiis country from the Botanical Garden at Madrid. Spain has also contiibuted a 13 specimens from the Philippine Islands, each specimen cut into a cube L g WOOD ASD ITS An^tTOATtOMS. legion. tVom Portugal there ib a jdl and^ ^^ "5^J^„«^^"lf MalrhauHer, The Austrian (iovemment has fonMudea, n om m. dibu , uk- npat piecfH about a fcmt in length. The Maladies of Timdeu, and tiu' Remedies. The present century has been .narked (a. i;;^ ^^1^,^ *f >{ S^'r'^ -i very ac ive inquiry into the nature of wood, the ''^^.'^''^'^f, "/ ;Jf „, ^f those IIZ, the dera^eTnentB to which the fibres ^/^^^J^k model's relo^^^^ derantrements on carpentry and ghip-building, and tne »es^ "'"^' , , . . j^. the^vll The Che Jst« ak tl.o V^^y^^'^^^ll'^^l^Zetl^^^^^ aid in the solution of various P^^^ems connectedj^^^^^ ^,^^^^ "Z^Z^S^^XJ^^^^tJS^^ distance between " iCreTive tenta::^ curious facts ascertained concerning the q^^alities .>f differed utds'TLber^s affected by Vo^^yf^XTue^it'Z^^^ cumstances. Woo-tigations h^e S^^-inroSrss brought into familiar imiguage. All trees ''^"^J",:;^™ ^^^^^ albumen, which contributes to die sustenance «f f « P^^" ' J^^^ ^hiTalbumen is feUed, and the trunk and branches converted mto timber, tins aiuum L. - iiritl»iililHts grow ; Uieso plants, sprouting out li;; r.k.s for themselves tlnough Uie wood, and m-- - J'^ "^ ^ - dnirol- .uul the holes by degrees become so largo as to lenlei aietimbu a 2re sklton-a dry s,.ongo of IVagile fibres. This is, we behevo, tiie modem exnlanation of dry rot, or sometliing near it. , . , ^^ZT^LeL ai.d timber dealers, timber sawyei-s and timber users nro not likely U, sit down quietly and let decay do its work «>"»«l««tecl 1 ley av not have known in past times all Uiat is now knovyn concommg tlio Se of c Cy, lut they had certain theories which led them to Uy expen- r« s Indefotiguble, indeed, have been Uie attempts to find out somo che- ical mo'.. of protecthig timber from niinous decay. As last as one motliod was tS ^.l bund to fail, anotlier .tart«d up, and to tins mitir.ng energy ve owe the ..-collent methods now in practice. It is na m so nnuiy otlicr n'tftiK^s) tin first half of tJ.e present century tiiat ho^ chielly borne witness to Ell but Uie lost century effected something in the niattc. I^- H^f- - commended sulphate of copper as a Ht*!ep-presenative lor wood. Di . 1' n d) ^o S tuXuh.hate of iroi which rendered good service in the wood ot some i'mber tnsesSn Jamaica. Colonel Congreyc. in 1784, l-P-f^^-^^;; ; tion of oil of tar as a coating for wood. Towaida the close oi the ctntuiy Hh Sa nuel Be itham patented a mode of extracting the air from tie pores of wood Ld forcing chmnical agenU, into the pores Uius vacated : this wa^ a genu fm which many subsequent metliods have been denved. but it faded ot SLtion mider the Inventors hands. Then came ^.-"J^^^^^f^^^^^^^^^ respecting the substance to be cmployed-coarse whole oil, oil ot J ^'f^ unslaked lime, pyroligneous acid, &c. Some bmied tlioir timber for a win o 1 ot sai id- some put it m chambers fiUed wiUi heated air; sonie exposed it to "tout son,; cTatedtlie surface ^ indeed tho plans proposed durmg die eariy it of die present centmy were so numerous tl.at wo may consider tho present adopted methods to be improvement^ radier Uian "ov^l^^s How to get rid of tlie albumeu, or how to niodify it^tins is d/« " 1 > It cannot be driven out; and if dried, it lu.s a tendency again to absorb moistme Hei^e chemists have recommended, and practical men haN^ adopted, modes of renderiuKtiie albumen imobd,h, by combining it chemically witli some oUier llSice Cg nmle insoluble it defies moisture. Then arose tlieques lorj !^mat chemical agent shall be employed? Sir Humphiy Davy suggested coiTOsf^ sS nateTMr. Kyan ha., adopted this plan under some modification S SeUiell prefers Jreosoto oil; Mr. Payne employs s^phate ot "•"X'lhemkai while Sir W Uiom Burnett selects chloride of zmc. But supposuig the chemital Son belnmTtliere are yet other difficulties to surmount ; tjese solutions cMmot reach tie pores of tiie wood mitil tiie air ha.s;^been expelled, and for a Im ^t n ' tl , difficulty baffled the experimentei-s. Tho plan now adopted is iX ngS^^^ The timber is pW in a very strong cylmder, provided 3i a Son air-pump and a pressure liquid-pmnp: tiie air is pumped out of tie pores, and the liquid solution (whatever it may be) is then pmnped in. The TidusUial Eihibition has its fuU share of specimens illusti-ativc of is rr^MillnMillf "iHim '"Ml d WOOD ASM ITS APPLICATIONS. these vahiablo and ingenious opemtionn. Sir William IJumctt, for instonce, exliibitH Hpeciiupns of " IJiimettizod and nn-BumcUizour — ieems contraiy to all our y processes steam has a iling water (212° Falir.) ; not scorched; whereas high-pi-esHuro steam is heat«'d to a far greater degree, and the damp (piahty (if it may be so tenned) is overpowered by the hot ijuulity. M. VioletU; com- umnicated a j.aper to the Academie dos Sciences, in IHIH, in which he pointed out the curious rtjsults of tliis highly-heated steam upon wood, and showed that these results enable us to prepare charcoal of any desired quality. If wood is exposed to tenq)ei'atureH varjing from 40()'' to 700° Fahr., it becomes charred, or converted into charcoal, vaiying from light brown to deep black ; lUid those ditterei.t qualities of chai-coal ai-o applicable to dilferent useful pur poses, in making gxmpovder and other substances. Now it is found tha'^^ steam-heating enables the charcoal burner to produce and maintain a iletinite temperature, antl thereby tx) manufacture a definite kind of charcoal at plea- sure. M. Violette raises the steam to the desired degree in a boiler, pusses it througli a tube to a cylinder containing i»iecc3 of wood, allows it to act by its heat on the wood, and to carry away the distilled products of the wood when it escapes from the cylinder. The -jharcoul becomes Uuis not merely browned or blacked to a pre-ananged degree, but it is rendered more like pure carbon by the abstraction of various volatile ingredients. There is something highly scientific in tliis conception. Besides tlio collections of woods noticed in former paragraphs, many speci- mens are to be found in the Exhibition illustrativo of some process or other to which the wood has been subjected. Mr. Stow, for example, has specimens of wood which have been stained witliout the aid of boat or moisture,— a process said t|)licnblt5 to e haixl-wocxl KHwycr Iiim turti luul ciibinet woods inch fut jxmHiblo. Tho rk which is now wiik - Bhip Hiiwyor cuts tho faces of which require ion timber Hftwyer. who peiitry lUid Hitiiiliw pur- HUpurHcdcd by dinnli id requires very littlu ■:^ definite, the aawinf^ of viiy : th(^ piiintinKs and uid the pit-man. tlie pit , with vci-y little niodifi- w-pit is of a very severe 1 the Mnrniiiff Chnmicle, awyer'a estimate of bis jftya tliat bin saw weighs bliide, and Unit he ami is equal to 70 feet per y of lU hours — in otlior ligh in tlie course of a )8 less tlian half ; in tlio > down stroke tlie teotli B wood, and teiu' it away mate the amount of this and reckon " tlmt it was Ihan doubles the former ;n supposing tlie «awyer ictly accurate, tliewi is 3 severe, and that it in u )f steam power, ent of the present cen- e labom- of sawing : but lill was established near hrough tho opposition of being nouremuuei'ating. itjigoous, and have been saw-mills there ai-e tlire<; ■n as an average. The wn motion, make 150 to ' from 1» to 3t5 in^';f '^ «;, ^JX of l„.in« Hubi.!ct U. more reguUu' .uid precise u.aion, they ii.hhI n« be mmU, o sudih K Iv-wrought st^el as pit^saw'. and an. on that acco.mt .lieaper; and cut tS a given quai.lity of Umber, a ma.l.in... saw requir.^ shan.eumg le ;;;.lutly tl'n a ..t-Haw'-tliree l'''-t->f .^av, nUige whij the ^ l-i« ov," tlie old kmnuif the .rurious calculatioiw conn, 'led with this hui.jtu. 1;;.: ;;, 'tlli^^evo;.. ttth of an I8.inch c.iculai- saw. worWuig at average speed for ten hours a day. tmvels (»0(» inUes m that time. But .wurnaro the forms int.. which a -••'«'»;"''ll l^*'"^ "1'"^^'','* If *"',';' sawing lind.er. It is ui fact now entirely a machine process ui this . om Uy. Th. laU Sir M. 1. Bnmel-that exlraordh.ary man. whose mventive mmd i lo- i ,d Hud; .niiUul results m a prof. ssiomU career of ludl a -"tu^--- « parent of the saw-mill. He invented it about »''''^y,J;' '^, Z^' ; '"^^^^^^^^^ nvention. lu.d leiised Uie use of the patent t.. many ddle lei. i e^ ns^ J* was for timber-sawing oiUy ; but his ever-active mmd did i.ot iail t« sec i no IribS of he method to veneer-H. i«g. He "P^'^^VV^'" .t, , Icavour 'to surmount unexpected .litHculues which presented th« n^lve 1 e l^i I sunnount them, and veneer saws have ever sin.'e remaunMl nearly .« ho leli rr He. wiU. one or more parties, established a -"-r -wuig-niiU at Balt.i-sea: the mill is still at work, but has passed into othe h.uids. It iH^ally a beautiful example of mechanical action which is presented by this vnieer sawing So mierringW .""o U.e thui plates cut. let tho gram ot U.o wrJ'l^hanT;;; loft. stmigHt or^wist..d. U.at the use of veneers js be— g more aiid more extensive every year. Not merely mahogany and ro8owoi)a. Torrl^Zving-rooni funii^l butsatin-wood, Ainboym^^^^^^^ tulip-wood, ebony, Coi-omandel-wood. maple, cedar, ^^'''^''^'r^'^^^.' jf'"]^:''^'^^^^ ^^ other loreiii woods, are simihu-ly cut. ^^^y- «'\"^" ^^'Itil"^^ ehii ash birch, walnut, sycamore, Ac, are wrought uito tlun hlms by sum ax „,L iX, ogH of wood, when about to midorgo the sawmg pi-ocess are Srrirought to a tolerably clean surface by the ad.^ or the plane, '"hI^« ^"''^ fimilvttttrd into a fmme. The veneer-cuttuig saws areot enoruKms si/e.somo oi™ Li mU ing to seventeen feet in diameter; they are circulai-, and i«- f J,f^S tJ become .listorted by the heat generated ^»"'»« ^^T'^^^" ..J.^.'SlTiL niliw the saws is most extrm)i-dinaiT for its exivctness. Let us consider that as n any f^ fiZn verei^ ar^^^^ cut in an inch, and that any deviation Iro.n ;Ji Em would render them ragged imd useless ; we can ^;- ^Xuy^ t^ie nicety of arrangement is reipired. The saws rotate with great ^^loc ty , U e oa moves on by automatic inachineiy to meet the saw-cuts ; the saw-dust ialls tS Krouml in line powder : and tlfe ai'oma from the wood (tor each kind ot woo^TCtL own pecldiai- aroma when heated by J-'^^^-^/^^'n' we arS the anaitment Thus is veneer-cutting now conducted; and when we aro Sid tiiart^rmachine can cut nearly twice as many veneers m an mch as he most skilful sawyer, we see ample reason for the change m Uie working ■olinv of this taule The English usually adopt tlu, metho.l iu re described ; lut oXeConS^t a singufar mode is%ractised of -Uing y onunmn. v,.r.eer in a spiral fonn ; tlie English plan wastes a litUe more wood, but yields stnServeiSer th™ the foreign. There i a fihn of iyoi-y v;eneer m the SdStSes department of Z ExhibiUon. forty f-Uong by a foot m width • produced by cutting tlie tusk spmiUy or m snail-ldie lashion ^Se most other Jteam-power operaUons. timbejvsawing "^""dei^™^^ than it was onco thought capable of efffcctmg. The elder Brunei thought he I ^0mmmmm L w WOOD ANT> 1TB AFPt.KATIONH. i had wi-onght n Rrrmt work (nml it ir/n n fftmi work) when ho nhoweil how to ■•w 11 hiiRo lop; into pliiiikH by Htcnin iiowor; Imt nioih-ni inv<>ntx»i>« iiio not ■atiHlied with this; Uu-y wish to iniiko rnxiki'd Hiiw-onts iis well an Htmight, tor the production of HhipH* tin»h»>rH; und thfy hiivo ftttninnd thrir ohjott. About t.hr»H> yortr« ft}»o, tliere wuh k legn! cntit/^Ht botw«wn two invputorn, iu» EngUnh- man and an Arnorican, an to tlieir rcHpectivo ri^htH to new timber-Hawing mechaiiiHtn: into th« nieritu of tho hti^atod (pn'Htiou wo do not enter; hut it is interesMtiK to noto that l)oth inventors \m\ prixhiced machines for making either straight or crooked suw-cuts in timber. Mr. Cochran's machine (one of those here alhided u>) is a very compUcat«!d piece of apparatus ; the fixing of a log of timber, the slow moveinent of the log as the cutting proceeds, and the reciprocating movement of tho saws, are all effectively miuiaged. Hut when the log is to he cut in a tx)rtuous fomi, for ship-building and other pui-poses, there is provision for giving a rotatory or i)artially rotatory motion to tlie log; and, what is still more remarkable, the saw is made to shift or oscillate so as to cut successively in many ditferent ui-poHeH, tory motion to the log; Hliift or oscillate so as ;here may even be two the other cm-viliiiear. I ; and we believe it is 1 nuist necessarily prc- s said, tluit at the Earl ciety, a model of this Prince Consort cut a [)leivHant apprenticeship the greatest industrial il to the fashioning of but there are establish- hese are nnich more of a more complicated >rked saws as well as or fourteen years ago, I, but tlie all-embracuig The same movement iroper widtli, adzes for 168 for smoothing tlio that tlie boards so pre- land. In the moulding- iiicety, for the wood has istitute mouldings, such cutting tools are small ;, and fixed to a rapidly- of these cutters, Mid a Us us what is going on, ind action of the cutters hings on this subject as king machines exhibited ed to cut holes for the is a second morticing ', and fitted to cut holes rd is a tenoning machine, is; each tenon is com^ I.U'tely shap.'d at one opemlion. A fourth is a iilnniwi machine, for givmg a ll.it and Mniooll. suiiace to planks .«• lu.y otii.r pie.'es of wood ; th- powers .. this machine are so easily adjustablo iw t.. be easily applied to tmd.ers ot all .lijnensions— from four to fifty IVu-t in Imgth, from eight to torty tiurhes m widUi. and from a quarter of an incai to thirty inches in thickness, A littli is AmnuUluui mii.lnne, to impart to wood the mrhitectural tonn ot nimildnigs. which are usually wrought by the (■ari)enter with the aid of hand-planes ; it may be applied to the making of sash-bars, or the cutting ot gnioves or the lorming of any hollows or protuberances which are to extend unitormlv ahmg the grain of the wood; and it is applicable eith.'r to hard or sott woods, with a sliglil udjustmeut. . ,, , t- Besides various English mmdiines of this kind, there is a l-ronch mac line, called the ' Menuiserio Mocaniipie,' or Mechanical Joiner, which both planes and fonns mouldings in woo AND ITS APrLlCATlONS. rollers northward or southward fo its destined place — the centi-al rib being the last one raised. It was the labour of one hour to raise the first rib ; and this hour (on the 4th of December) was one of great anxiety and interest to commissioners, designer, contractoi-s, foremen, and workmen ; for the enter- prise was one of equal novelty and daring. The success was complete ; and the 12th of the month witnessed the raising of the lost rib. Wood in its Every-Day ApPLiCATioNs. In die first paper of this series, a little was said concerning the excellent effect produced on tlie glass manufacture by the removal of tlie Excise duty. A less, but still important improvement will result from tiie recent change in the timber duties. If Canada asks to be sheltered under the wing of the mother coimtry, by favoritism in respect to these duties, it is for tlie states- man to decide on an answer to this demand ; the worker in wood ignores the claim, and will have nought to say to it. He wants tlie wood of Bntam, ot the Baltic, of British America, and of other comitiries ; he is willing to pay tlie proper commercial price for tiiem, and will then apply each kind to the purpose for which it seems best suited. Nothing less than freedom of this kind will fully determine the relative qualities of wood. Ship-building seems likely to be influenced by this sort of freedom m the selection of timber. Not only are Indian teak and African ironwood now attractmg attention, but an interesting volume has lately been published, pointing out the advantages attending the use of mahogany in sliip-bmldmg. Even the repeal of tlie Navigation Laws may tend in the same direction ; ior cm- shipowners, imder the mfluentie of foreign rivahy, will eagerly avail them- selves of any researches into tiie qualities of timber, calculated to render thek vessels stronger or cheaper. In tiie constmction of viaducts for rail- ways, timber has rendered most valuable service ; but as a material for paving in streets, it has been " tried and found wanting." In our private dwellings, and in household furniture, novelties have been mtroduced m respect both to the material and the processes. The variety oi woods employed for our tables and chairs, our sideboards and pianos, is greater tiian it was twenty or thirty yeai-s ago. Especially is tiiis obsei-vable in respect to fancy woods, veneered on othere of less value. The cai-penter is still die artificer who fasliions die rough woodwork for a house, and the coai-se ai-ticles of fm-niture : the cabinet maker (the " tischler " of die Germans and the " ebenist " of the French) is still the fabricator of die more cosdy articles of fm-niture : but bodi are now aided by machinei-y where handwork used to snlfice. The baulks of timber ai-e ripped into planks by steam-saws for tiie one, and die logs of mahogany and rosewood are cut into veneei-s by st«ani- saws for the odier. Sooner or later diis system will assuredly spread. Mr. Cubitt's fine establishment at Pimlico illustrates die mode in which the fac- tory system is becoming applicable to building operations. It is, in fact, a house-factory, on a grand scale. There ai-e joiners, cai-pentei-s, . bricklayers, masons, painters, plasterers, smidis, engineers, moulders, brickmakers, sculp- toi-s, architectural draughtsmen— all are employed by the establishment, manufacturing houses by wholesale. Confining our attention to the subject of diis paper, we may mention, tiiat in accordance with the vast scale on Avhich operations ai-e conducted by this fimi— whole streets of doors, ot sashes, &c., are made consecutively, said laid aside in the diying rooms till wanted. Eveiy kind of work at which steam-machinery can usefully be em- ■ittiMMiii^*HMM«diidi: wiMii^wimiMii i*9r^ -"-'%'^^ WOOD AND ITS APPLICATIONS. 17 —the centfal rib being raise the first rib ; and Einxiety and interest to orkmen ; for the enter- less was complete ; and t rib. [ONS. )nceming the excellent aval of tlie Excise duty. )m the recent change in under the wing of the ies, it is for the states- lev in wood ignores the the wood of Britain, of 8 ; he is willing to pay I apply each kind to the Bss than freedom of this 1. sort of freedom in the I African ironwood now lately been published, hogany in ship-building. the same direction ; ior , will eagerly avail them- er, calcSat€d to render ion of viaducts for rail- ; as a material for pavuig u-e, novelties have been rocesses. The variety of leboards and pianos, is cially is this obsei-vable value. The cai-penter is r a house, and the coarae sr " of the Germans and f the more costly articles vhere handwork used to iks by steam-saws for the at into veueei-s by steani- .1 assuredly spread. Mr. mode in which tlie fac- lerations. It is, in fact, a , cai-pentei-s, . bricklayers, Iders, brickmakers, sculp- l by the establishment, attention to the subject ! with the vast scale on lole streets of doors, of in the diying rooms till linery can usefully be em- ployed, is wi-ought by tliat means ; the timbei-s are sawed, the boards are planed, the sashes are gi-ooved, the mouldings are shaped — all by steam power. The Great Exhibition has given us much valuable information concerning the employment of wood hi furniture in foreign countries. Some of the woods are Very different from those employed in England ; some are wrought in a more heavy and massive stjle than would be admired here ; while others are lightsome to a degree which we are not accustomed to. It may with safety be asserted, Uiat only a relatively small number of English persons were prepai-ed te expect from Vienna such furniture as the firm of Carl Leistr ler has contributed to our Exliibition. Austria — partly from her insufficiency of sea coast and of commercial harbom-s, and partly from political causes — has but a small amount of tmding intercourse with tiiis countiy ; and it is the select few only, of our countiymen, who have visited tlie Viennese at their own homes. The suite of rooms has therefore come upon us as a surprise ; and it is certainly one worthy of study. The dming-room, with its dining-table for forty pei-sons, its sideboard, its set of chairs, and its inlaid flooring ; the library, with its two magnificent bookcases, its table, chairs, and inlaid floor- ing ; the drawing-room, with its loo-tables and work-tables, its comer and side tables, its revolving pictiu-e stand, its c1mii"s, and its inlaid flooring ; the bed- room, with its sumptuous but heavy bedstead, its chairs, stools, " prie-Dieii," s.,ra, tables, Italian cupboards, and inlaid flooring ; the ante-roam, with its oval table, loo-table, &c. — ^all sei-ve to illusti-ate tlie beauty of the wood employed, the excellence of the workmanship, and the difference between EngUsh and Austrian furniture in general arrangement The parquetiy flooring is a hard and polished substitutt; iv.r the carpets of English houses. This kind of ma- nufactm-e, we are tcld, "has lately increased in an extraordinary degree. Vienna, Piague, Budweis, Plass, Dobrzisch, and also Demies in Hungary, supply works of this kind in large quantities, and of increasing perfection." The floorings are sold complete, or in squares of considerable dimensions. The catalogue-prices represent them at 50 to 160 floruis per 100 square feet [lOd. to 2s. 9(/. per square foot). While looking at these highly-finished specimens of Vienna workmanship, it is interesting to see what the Official Austrian Catalogue says of tlie cabinet making of that country. "Architectural caipentiy [this designation has rather more meaning in it than ovn* term cabinet-work] is carried on in the towns on a vei-y considerable scale. Aitliough several lai-ge establishments of tliis kind exist in the more populous paits of the empire, tlieir productions are not calculated to meet more than the local demand for them. Within these very few yeai's, a factory I is been established at Vienna, to produce dooi-s, lintels, and window fi-ames, &c., both by machuiery and by himd ; and being in connection with a factojy of iidaid floorings and a fumiture ware- house, fonns a poilion of the splendid establishment of Messrs. Carl Leistler and Son, which for taste and workmanship stands without a rival." Of Uie white wood carved fumiture of Switzerland ; of the Jersey sideboard, with its bold carvings of King John and his barons ; of the Kenilworth buffet, with its elaborate Shaksperean scenes ; of the exquisitely can'ed cabinets^d tables from Florence ; of the cabinet and inlaid fimiiture from various foreign countries ; — we have no space here to treat. There are other matters which rather claim attention m this place. A word or two respecting Turning. This art, like most other mechanical occupations, becomes divided imd subdivided as tlie wants of society incresise, WOOD AND 1T» APPLICATIONS. and the prii.ciplo of the division of employments becomes recognised^ Tims the rjenLl turner produces the pilars. P0«t9, legs, knobs, and otlierart^^^^^ rcnnired by cabinet-makers and upholsterers; the hardwoo,! punier oxci uses w KSi he manufactured tile small turned centres or -res ot tass^ s -] similar articles ; the bobbin turner produces the millions ot snial bobbms ai 1 reds on which yams and threads are sold ; the phtmher's toner is a worker u hard woods he employs beech, elm, ash, box. and other »iard woocl^^^i Sng suckers and buckets for pmnps, lead-dressers, '""l^f «f • ;« ^^^^t^ number of implements used in vai-ious mechanical Uiules ; Ao bnishimTAti mS the soft-wood broom he«ls, brush handles, &c There aie other minor divisions, employed upon special branches of wood-working. Here, as elsewhere, the stiam^ehgine is gradually puttmg m ^t^ claim to be . come a xmiversal artiticer, a substitute for bone and muscle. The piece ol wo^d whSi is being turned must have a rotatoiy motion given to it, and this is relT^hich«tea,n.poweri8mostfittedtofi^^^ Under all ordinary cucum- SLces u7e tiuner maintains the requisite rotation by pressing his loot on a ctr or tldle: this is the unskilled labom-, the mei-e exorcise of muscda ^rce which comes legitimately within the range ot steam-power, lo guide rUiSlfisavery^differeniaffair; here - ^ Tt" «J'«' " ^^lle Snt and something approaching to taste, are needed. Yet «^X .mL^the ma of steam claims entiy; steam-power, as we have said, v^hoUy turned &e ma hoaany hand-railing which nms round the galleries of the CrysUU 1 aisce , aSReS^-e indications that, wherever large quantities of one pattern ue Xuir^d the same most pliant but most irresistible power will become n.ore and more an adjunct to tlie labom^s of the turner. Turning has its "curiosities" like every otlicr ti-ade. It is said that the comZ^ minted sham bamboo bed-room chairs aro tmned very largely m SnShamshire. This is by no means a mamifacturing county ; Mid it may Sern^odd diat such a branch of industiy should be so located: but when wo find thithose chairs ai^ made chiefly of beech and |l^at Buckmghamshi e s somewhat famous a. a beecivgrowing county a little ^'g^* »« « JJJJ^" ' ^^t mav help us to solve the puzzle. Anotlier of tlie curiosities of this tiarte is worth nothig In turning large articles, the foot of the turner ha.s not powe Tuffioient to keep the lathe in motion ; he employs a "wheel-turner to do tins ?o7him ; and it is found that blM men ai-e prefeiTed for f "« -^vice to oUie^s, as the concentration of tlieir attention to one object enables t kui 1x) turn toe Xel with more regularity than those who. having the pnvdege of sight, aio ftnt to use that privilege in gAzing about them. „ , . , i ^TheZcess Sf tmiiing involves a number of " prettinesses' which render it raKa favourite among amateur workmen. Lords and right honourables, cler™ i^d students, are ranked among those who have p ayed at work m SSon; and the late Mr. Holt^aptfeVs elaborately-mustrated i^at^ was written quite as much for amateurs as ^^ shop-workmen Na^it appea^ that regal dignity itself has found enjoyment, m front of «^« 1^*^«- ^^ " ! XVI we believe, played at locksmiUiery rather than turning ; but one of our own monarchs seems to have been learned in wheels and treadles, chucks and Se"s Mr. Heniy Mayhew states that an old working turner, gossipmg ovS he reminiscences of' his tmde, said, " I have given gent emen lessons m turning. Many gentlemen, and some peers, ai-e very good ivory turners. ilililiriiiliiillinTlHilriiri 1»l'«illl«illillllirdllW WOOD AND ITS APPLICATIONS. SI 1, and 1,000,000 in four wood to a senii-charcoftl ens are several pieces of or (juick ignition in fiu- its, about six inches in 1 collection of Congi'eve , ; tliese quite eclipse our are cylindrical, vertical, ne like a telescope, sonic mouse is crouching over leral Tom Thumb's head ; M. Fiirth does not con- fers : his curious asseni- cigarren-ziinder, or cigar- idou, or Gennan tinder, 1 splints without the tips cles ai'e wortli noticing : ning eighty lucifei-s each, and even " ladies' lucifer I boxes. A case contain- :en kreutxers, tliree boxes ition. The " round tliin hich seem to ont-cheapen lical eiTor, were tliere-not lucifer maker at Neudorf, bundle of 1000, or 2'250 has bundles of 25,000 for ing! B othei-s from other parts tiel of Vienna, from Hoff- f Triesch in Moravia, — all these tiny igniters can be I Fiirth in cheapness ; for 00 lucifei-s," for tliirteen J18 to produce cheap luci- of the carvings and tlie a numbers from the hilly nd. The forests supply saut mountaineere, simple ime of tlieir children, in md, who will drive a trade ^•s occupy a fitting place The assortment displayed )ng the specimens which coimtiy. Some of these position ; but for the most Among these, some are izen boxes ; nay, there ai-e [uivalent to about fourteen 1, almost inconceivably low ilirntilHHiiilMttf-IOT as it is, there is a regidai- gradation upwards to eighty -four florins per dozen, or 1 3.1. Sil. per box. The 'Art-Union Journal' a few yeai-s ago gave some curious mformation concerning the better kind of caned Gennan toys : " The best Gennan toys come from tlie town of Sonneberg, on tJio soutli-eastem frontier of tlie forest of Thuringia. It has a population of 4tJ00 inhabitants, of which tlie greater pai-t are employed in tlie trade. The principal toy merchants, numbering about tliirty, provide themselves witli goods from many hundred different makers of common articles, resident in Uie town and its vicinity ; these again are funiLshed by tlie neighbouring villagers with tho requisite raw inat«rials in wood, such as musical boxes, &c., which are fitted up and pauited by the makera ui tlie town. Every year about 25,000 cwts. of these goods are ex- ported to almost eveiy part of the worid ; but the manufacturers are restricted to the use of wood or paste, or these two materials combined. The fac- t*iry from which the best toys are derived, is that of Adolph Fleischniann, who employs none but first-rate workmen ; and it is astonishing to notice the many atlmirable productions tliese mieducated artists bring out ; models and groupuigs of figm-es tliat would cast no discredit on the atelier of a Baily or a WcstiTiincott Children's wooden toys have tlieir political eccmomy as well as more im- posuig matters. If the peasants of the Black Forest end of Numberg can make boxes of " Noali's arks," .valry soldiei-s, fann-yai-ds, sheep-folds, skit- tles, tea-sets, and so forth, cheaper than even tlie cheap produce of the toy- makers of London, the former will tend to diive the latter out of Uie mai-ket —so says political economy, and so say the practical toy-dealers. The result is, that the London wood-cutters work up tlieu- wood uito otlier forms ; they make rocking-horses, kites, drums and tambourines, swings, velocipedes, half- penny caits and halfpenny money-boxes, penny mousetraps and penny puppet-shows, dolls' houses and dolls' bellows, and knick-knacks, large and small, which it would be no easy matter to enumerate. It seems that the English toy-makers produce the best dissected puzzles, and the best large toys of the rocking-hoi-se genus ; tlie French take the lead in mechanical or clock- work toys ; tlie Swiss command the market for white-wood cottages and models; while tlie Germans beat all others in well-carved toys, and in the cheap boxes of toys just alluded to. If it were needed to view the politico- economical aspect of wooden toys any further, we might say tliat tlie London Gazette and the Stock Exchange price-list are as sensitive baiometei-s to Uio toy-dealers as to greater men ; for if tlie head of a family finds his worldly affiiirs not so bright as usual, Dick must go without his new cart or kite, and Polly must wait awhile for hor doll's bedstead. Wood as a Fine-Arx Material. The car\'mg8 just noticed point to a distinct aspect which working in wood presents. It is a material whereon taste and art may find exercise. The service which box-wood renders to wood engravers is due to its hard- ness, smoothness, and homogeneity of substance. The book-pictiu-es, or pic- tm-e books of the Chinese ai-e cut in pear-tree wood ; and it is probable tliat this and other woods were used by the early Em-opean engravers ; but box- wood is almost imiversally employed at present for this pmiiose. The surface is brought to a beautiful degree of regulaiity and smoothness ; and a very ingenious mode is adopted of screwmg two or more blocks togctlier edge to 93 WOOD AND 1T8 APPLICATTORS. edge, to make onpi block of larpe size. It ia certiiinly a signal jn-oof of the skill witli which tluH joining is ofloclod, tliat the hugo cnU in the ' llliistrated Lon- don News,' some of which nieaHure 42 inches by M, are printed from bbjcks built up pieco-nieal with smaller pieces. Snorchinif, Hud pnnmrn, have botli been employed to bring the surftice of wood to a pictorial condition. Tlie learned name of Xiilopyrof/raphy (" hotrwootl-drawing") has been recently applied to what, in humbler pbmse, is called poker-paintinfj. When a hot iron is applied to tlie surface of wood, it chai-s or scorches the wood wherever it toiiches ; and if the operator possesses artistic taste, he can so manage these charred lines as to give them a pictorial arrangement. There are some sjtecimens of this kind in the Great Exhibition, which display suri)riBing skill ; especially where the surface is chaiTed all over, and tlien serdped to produce the picture, as in mezzotint; copies from Landseer's pictures, and other subjects, have been thus produced with much boldness of effect. The production of designs by pressure depends upon a singulai- circumstance; if wood be pressed by suitable instruments, it does not recover its original evenness of surface until it has been steeped in water. The artist produces a sort of design on wood, by strong pressine in particular parts ; he planes down the protuberant portions, and then f oaks the whole in water ; this brings up the pressed, or hardened lines, which therealler stand up as a sort of bas-relief. It is impos- sible, however, to produce such effectual results by this as by the charring process. But it is in cai-ving, properly so called, that wood is chiefly employed as a Fine-Art niaterial. In minute caning, Greece, Spain, India, and Switzerland, all put forth remarkable specimens in our Exhibition, besides those from the better known European countries. The small carvings from Greece are in a yellowish wood somewhat resembling box, and all relate to sacred subjects ; the details are virrought witli great delicacy and minuteness- -so much so indeed, that in some of the bas-reUefs there are nearly twenty h«ads witliin the space of a square inch. In Spain the can-ings of a minuta kind are chiefly in ivoiy. Th(! Indian specimens comprise, besides tliose in ivorj', others in sandal-wood, a deep-tinted wood which shows off tlie minute details of ornamentation to great advantage. The Italian n cimens of cai-ving are chiefly in connection witli the exquisite Florentine cabinets and tables, before mentioned. As for the cai-ved cherry-stone, with its • St. George and the Dragon,' and its twenty- five Lilliputian heads, we may pass it over as a toy. The Swiss specimens are in a light and soft kind of wood, and the designs are of a light and cheer- ful chaiwter; flowei-s, foliage, village occupation, herd-keeping, chamois hunt- ing, are among tlie subjects depicted by tlio Swiss caners. It has been said, that " a Swiss peasant takes to cai-vuig wood as naturally us ducklings to tlie pond." In tlie long winter evenings, in the long summer days, the earvuigs are in progress, either when no other work can be carried on, or when the caiTcr is simply tending his herd on the mountain sides. Walking staffs, pipes, drinking vessels, forks nnd spoons, " merry Swiss boys," undaunted William Tells — ^nothing comes amiss to these Swiss cai-vers, who contrive to throw a force and expression into all they produce. How wondeiful are the Bavarian can-ings from Siegen and Oberammergau ! Kilian's model (for such it is) of Lionardo da Vinci's ' Last Supper ' is a truly remarkable production ; for it n a carrying out of the great painter's concep- tion from the region of pMntmg to that of sculpture. The model ia about .i^'.-Jrt.'.U— ■■■;^. ^.Utiili AHi«MMNiMMMIwM«Ma «iii>miM i ii«i i WOOD AHD rra appt.icattons. as mffn&l proof of tlio fikill II thu ' IlliiHtmted lion- wu printed from blocks to bring the surface line of XHlopi/rof/raphij lut, in hnmbler i)hms(\ to tlie surface of wood, i; and if the operator mrred lines as to [five, uimens of this kind in ; especially where the iuce the picture, as ia er subjects, have been production of designs if wood be pressed l)y enness of surface until es a sort of design on s down the protuberant ings up the pressed, or bas-relief. It is impos- this as by the charring is chiefly employed as a fitzerland, all put forth ( from the better known ece are in a yellowish ed subjects ; the details nuch so indeed, that in s witliin tlie space of a nd are chiefly in ivoiy. ', others in sandal-wood, ils of ornamentation to ,re chiefly in connection fore mentioned. As for )ragon,' and its twenty- The Swiss specimens ire of a light and cheer- -keeping, chamois hunt- vers. It has been said, rally hh duckhngs to tlie imicr days, the carvuigs carried on, or when the I sides. Walking staffs, Swiss boys," undaunted carv'ers, who contrive to jen and Oberammergau ! ' Last Supper ' is a truly le great painter's concep- 3. The model is about fifteen inches long, six wide, and five high ; and all the figures are given in full, or " in IIk! round, " with great cxprossion and di'licacy. When m'. finlanation of the method ; biit the most genenilly received seems to be, that tlio workman must employ hent tools, which, after tlie face of Uio ball has been cut to a certain depth in cei-tain poi-ts, work la- tomlly. There are some plain specimens m tlio Exhibition, turned or caned in box-wood by Mr. Mitford, which seem to show that the principle of tlio metliod has been mastered in England. An attempt is being now made (and certainly not before it is needed) to im- prove Uie artistic qualities of the carved figme-heads for ships. Many of those now executed are ridiculously poor in conception. Viewed in a right spirit, the figure-head is a symbol of the ship's qualities, or at least might so be made. As tlie binding of a book might include in its colour and decora- tion some emblems or symbols of the subject to which the book relates, so might a ship receive a name more significant than those stupid and unmean- ing designations often adopted, and the figure-head might be made to carry out the same idea of significancy. But even if the present style of figure- heads were continued, surely a little higher tone of art might be infused into them ; tlie foremost portion of so noble a sti-ucture as a ship, the part which jjoldly fronts the broad ocean and its waves, is worthy of the display of talent and even genius. There is a figure-head in the Exhibition, much supc lor to the ordinary specimens. Caning seems to be a favourite kind of art-workmanship among self-taught persons. A stoiy is told of a toll-jratc keeper, who, sittuig by the fire in his toll-house on a winter's night, with his knob-stick in his hand and his dog by his side, sought to beguile the time by a trial at amateur cai-ving. He be- gan cutting away at the knobbed end of his cudgel ; gxadually he picked out the fonn of the dog's head ; then, looking closer, the ears, eyes, muzzle, ruid grisly coat, he caught the expression ; and again and again took up the work, and cut and caned and scrajjed and touched, until it seemed almost as if the very stick-head might of itself play watch-dog at the gate. The new-caught art was never again laid aside, but the turnpike was ; for tlie man became kifcttea'.jai^: M WOOD AND n-S AFPUCAnO^I*. keeper of u iiiuiieutn, whei-u maiiy productiong of his own chisel were ad niitted. Mtiiiy circumstances — a reviveecimen of carving is a Hoi-t of gutu'onteo of excellence ; and there are many otlicr names rising into note. The royiil cradle, made of box-wood, is one among many fine speci- nieus by the artist just named, displayed in Uio IndustiitU E.xhibition ; and tho names of Pt^r'v, Austin, Batsford, itc. lue associated wiUi aij}{ many fine Hpeci- ■iiU Exhihitiou ; and witli tulmirahle Hpe- uitH, \>y Waller, show s of a man of tAlent UH modulH uf huild- jenuity luid patience, le aeuse iu wliich the neclianical procesaes. if it should one day iihi of Wutf Hhould iins i)y a fe>% puffs of lungs have happened te till* steam-engine a , which we have now briu activ>n of steam- 8 work which require I lo Mr. Jordan, now isidorahle quantity hi ig machines in diih — d up to it. ApattoiH md afterwards copieii ;h a mtumer tliat two hiiH prepared by tlif by hand the finishing uperaede thv tasteful itting, which calls for ke a legitimate union ere Jordan's maclnne 1 Rogers s hand and ichine. hed by the beautiful nd otlier ornamental ad precision. sheet have been, tht laved in all the op» I tlie rivalry presented ir»rP«iilrWl^- CALCULATING AND REGISTERING MACHINES. We are about to give a popular view of a range of machines, tho object of which is to perform some kind of calculating, enumerating, or regis- tering operations : something which imitates the thinker ratlier than the labourer, or at least ossistH tho former ratlu^r tlian the latter. In the (ireat Exhibition there is not a section of tho building but yields illustration, more or loss direct, of such mechanism. Among tho "Curiosities" which it is the object of this paper to notice, some sort of classification will be desirable. Those contrivances which may with any correctness be called cnUnUatimj or arithiimtieal macliines will be first passed hi review ; while those possessing merely a power of reffiitry w ill come later under notice. Calcclation : MENTAr, Errors and Mechanical Remedies. There are circumstances of a very peculiar kind often obs«'r^'able in long and uitrioate processes of calculation. Men whose minds are strongly bent on tliis kind of labour, and who ai'e profoundly sk'dled in it, do yet commit mis- takes of a most vexing character, often seriously compromising other opera- tions on which they ore engaged. The mind wearies, tlie attention becomes distracted, the eyes become dim, and the thinker, in spite of himself, ceiuses to think and act Avith tho same precision aa before. Hence arises the query — can wheels and axles, which never tiro, be made to think for tlieir master ? If tliey can tliuik at all, or ratlier if tlioy can imitate the results of human tliought, they can do tliis as freshly after twelve or twenty liours as at tlie beginning; not having the ficklt less of volition, their blundci-s, if any tliere be, can be calculated and adjusted. It is not surprising, tliinefore, tliat tlie ,i])plication of mechanism to processes of calculation should from time to time have eu Imaged attention. It muy be interesting to note a few examplts of the mental and typographical difficultie> felt in insuring accuracy in such matters — tlie typographical diffi- culties beuig, of course, such as occur in printing the calculated results, and not necessarily involved in tlie calculating processes themselves. It was tlie necessity of accuracy in scientific tables, and tlie difiit ulty of obtaining (bat accuracy, that led to tlie conctption of Mr. Babbagf 's celebrated calculating machine. Those who know even a little of science are aware tliat tabulated numbers enter largely into tlie working materials of such studies ; but it is in astronomy and navigation that tliis chiefiy appeaiH Dr. I:ai'di!er gave some curious information concerning such tables, in a paper \. blished in the Edinburnh Heviev in 1834. The use of a Numerical Table is i save practical men the trouble of making computations for them- selves, by iiaving such computations made once for all, and printing them for the use of liiose who may be ( iicemed in such matters. The "Ready Reckoner" f InU-rest, DikuuhI, Excluimjea, AnauituB, Life AHSuranco. But it is in connection with Astroiwmy and Navigatit)n that Tables are most urgently requii-ed; and they are here so numerous tliat wo cannot even give their names. Now it is in preparing and pcifocting such tables thai mechanism is believetl to bo available. Iron is made to think, and U) record its thoughts. Under ordiiuuy circumstances both tlie thinker and the recorder commit blunders which tho most sedulous care fails to ri>move. A remarkable proof of tliis was given in tlie jjreparation of Mr. IJabbage's Table of Logarithms by tho usual raethwl. After compuUtiou, Mr. Babbage's table was compared witli those of Callet and Vega, and errors corrected ; it was compared again witli tho tables of Collet, Vega, and Hutton, and further corrections mmle ; the revised sheets were again compared witli Vega, Collet, and Briggs; they were tlien stereotyped, and the proofs compiu-ed with the tables of Vega and Gardner, and by two computers with that of Taylor. And yet, even after all this, a few errors wero detected in tlie stereotype plates themselves. Some- times two or more of the printer's types fall out of their places, and he re- adjtists theni as he thinks tlioy were before ; but if he blunders, it may require a shaq) and practised eye to detect the misplacement. No books contain so many errata as numerical tables ; and it sometimes happens that the erratum itself contains an error. The oddest example of this kind of cross-purposes occurred some years ago in tlie Nautical Almanac, whore it was necessary to give an erratum of the erratum of the errata of a particulai* Table of Logarithms. One mode of lessening the liability to these errors is to treat the computers themselves somewhat in the light of component parts of one great machine. Perhaps the most remarkable instawio of this kind — this treatment of a man as a edculating implement — was furnished by tlie system on which the gi'eat French Tables were prepared. About the year 1792 the French government planned a series of the most extensive mathematical tables ever known ; they were chiefly logarithmic and trigonometrical tables, and were intended to assist in the preparation of the decimal system of weights and measures, which has since been introduced in that countiy. The distinguished savant, Prony, was intrusted with this great work ; and he directly saw, that even with the aid of three or four able mathematicians, the whole of his Ufe would not suffice for tlie completion of the tables. While pondering on this matter, he chanced to light upon a copy of Smith's Wealth of Natiom, and to open it at the part where the author gives his well-known illustration of the advan- tages resulting from division of labour. The principle advanced by Adam Smith is, that if a nmnber of men divide ascertain amount ©f work among [E8. lo " of a banker givcrt l^ though hu haH tliu III tiililcs : Huch tublt'H , which wo full littect. ■r Tahli'S, Squani axul t», and nUioni relutui^ riiUipUcution TiibU) us •if^oiioiiu'lricul TublcH, (((■*, Amihu. AiioUki' bors of vaiioiw kimlH. , arohitecta, onKineitrii, le of tlieir duties. A of Intcrent, Discount, sction witli A8tix>tM)iny ; aiid iJhcy are here so mechanism is believiul it« thoiightH. Under rder ct)nimit blunders remarkable proof of ible of lioguritluiis by s table WU8 compared t was compared aguin her corrections math' ; diet, and Brings ; they he tables of Vega and And yet, even after all ;s theniHelves. Honie- leir places, and he re- lundors, it may require No bookH contain so p[)en8 that the erratum kind of cross-purposes iore it was necessary a particulai* Table of t to treat the computers of one great machine, his treatment of a man em on which the great (he French goYemment ftbles ever known ; they and were intended to weights and measures, e distinguished savant, iirectly saw, that even whole of his life would ndering on this matter. Nations, and to open it ustration of the advan- ple advanced by Adam Amount ©f work among flALm.ATTKO AWn IlRniSTKniNO MACIUNKI. 8 them, in such n way that each shnll lake that which host suits his skill and strength, the work will be better and more (piickly done than if ull tiike alike, equal shares and equal kinds. The factory sysfem de()enils esKcntially on thin pnnciplu ; anaih other as architects, master buildei-s, and workmen. The first class was represented by live or six persons, who entered into a prolound uivestigation of vaiious mathematical doctrines and processes, to select tliose which were most readily adapt<'d U> simple numerical calcidation by many individuals engaged at the same time. The s«'cond class comprised seven or eight mathematicians, who took the instructions given by the gi-eat analysts, and brought them into such a form as to be intelligible to, and within the practical scope of, iJie tliird. The third class, comjjnsing what wo have likened to a calculating machine, con- sisted of about a hundred persons; nine-tenths of them knew nothing of arithmetic beyond addition and subtmction ; they received certain veiy simple rules from the set-ond class (the reasons for which they were incompetent to understand), and, guided by these ndes, they computed the whole of tlie tables by simple addition and subli-action. Adam Hmith's theory was here well home out ; for not only did these humble computers relieve the skilful mathematicians from a wearisome labour, but it was found tliat they wevo usually more coirect, on account of the uniformity of tlio work intrusted to tliein. A similar thing was observed in connection with the great Ordnance Suivey of Ireland, where numbers of Irish boys were met \viUi, able and gla«l to make the simple detailed computation.y at a hal/imnii/ a trianffle, morw unifonnly coirect tlian if computed by higher .skilled and higher paid mathe maticians. Kut it is only in the application of mechanism, of manufacturing industiy, to the furtherance of aritlnnetical calculation, that tliose matters come pro|)erly under notice here. To such applications, therefore, we procied. Such mechanical aid as is here alluded to, has been more or less appuctl ui many countries at ditFerent times. The Almaai of the ancients was a frame, across which a few wires were stretched, and on these wires were stnmg beadi of different colours ; each bead represented a numeral, ami the rank or order of the beads represented tlie rank or order of tlie digits. The original ubacua is attribut'id to I^thagoras, but it is considered tJiut this may have been nothing more than what is now called a Mitlliplicntion Table. The abacus of beads and wires, just described, was used by tlie Greeks ; the Romans adopted a form in which pins were used for heads and gi'ooves for wires. The abacus used by tlie Chinese, and called Schwan-pan, consists of seveiid brass wires extending from tlie ttip to the bottom of a frame, and divided in the middle by a cross-piece from side to side ; the beads are so strung on the wires, tliat each wire has two beads in the 'upper part and five in the lower; and all the beads have different values assigned to them according to their positions. E a 4 CALCULATING AND REGISTERING MACHINES. A more efficient mode of facilitating tlio multiplication and division of laige numbers, by mechanical means, was invented two ctinturies and a half ago by Napier of Merchiston, the inventor of logarithmic arithmetic ; ho called tlie art Rhahdology, and the mstmment came to bo called Napier s Bows. These bones or rods consist of five oblong pieces of wood or any other convenient material, divided each into nine litUe squares ; each squai-e is resolved mto two triangles by diagonals ; and the numbers of the multipUcation table are written in these squares in such a manner, that Uie ' units' figure is found m Uie right hand ti-iangle, and the ' tens' figure in the left hand triangle of the same square. It would be difficult, without diagrams, to explain the mode ot effecting multiplication by these pieces ; but the pieces ai-e ranged side by side, in an order determined by the figures of the multipUcand and the multiplier, and tlie answer is found at the intersection of a vertical with a horizontal line — ^m a mode similar to that in which most tables are consulted. Analogous m principle to Napier's bones or rods are tlie vai-ious kinds ot Sliding Rule, so familiar to engineers and workmen. Whether it be tlie common Carpenter's sUde-rule, Bevan's Engineer's nile, Henderson's double slide-rule, the Excise-officer's mle, the Grazier's rule, or any of those for per- foi-mhig moi\! abstruse calculations, the principle of action is nearly tlie same that of placing two or more rows of numbers side by side, and finding the required result at certain junctions of graduated lines. But these are rather ai-ithmetical imtmments tlian machines; they ai-e an extension of arithmetical tables ; t'nd though it has been said by one who ably advocates tlie mcreased use of the sUdhig rule, that " for a few shilUngs most persons might put into their pockets some hundred tunes as much power of calculation as they have in their heads," yet tliese insL'uments are not of a kind to call for further notice here. The apparatus invented by Pascal, how- ever, was really a calculating machine, and was perhaps the first of its kind. This distinguished man was, in eai-ly life, an assistant to his father in an official situation m Normandy : the duties of the office involved much numerical calculation ; and young Pascal conceived the idea of shortening the labour by means of a machine. It consisted of a series of wheels, canying cylmdiical barrels, on which were engraved the ten numerals from to 9. One wheel was for ' units,' one for ' tens,' and so on ; each wheel was so con- nected with the one to the left of it, that when the former passed from 9 to 0, the latter was necessarily advanced one figure, or made to rotate one tenth ot a complete circle— thus was tlie familiar process of ' carrymg' effected. Mul- tiphcation was wrought by a series of additions, and ("vision by a series of subtractions, and the wheels were turned by hand to ring them into the proper relative positions. It is exactly two centuries a^o that this machine was constructed; it was distinguished neither for correctness enough, nor quickness enough, to bring it into permanent use; but it contained the gemi which has chai-acterised all later machines of the same class. Pascal himself simply spoke of his mvention in the following way: — "The arithmetical machine produces effects which approach nearer to thought tlian those which the lower animals produce ; but it does nothing which can clauu for it the animal power of volition." Leibnitz, Grillet, Sk Samuel Moieland, and other ingenious men, mvented various calculatmg machines during the seventeenth and eighteenth centmies ; but all these projects have fallen into obUvion. ... I i-|r,a'liPl ■™*» iES. . and division of lai'ge •ies and a half ago by inetic; he called the apier's Bones. These any other convenient uare is resolved into iltipUcation table are its' figure is found in t hand triangle of tlie ) explain the mode of 8 ai-e ranged side by nultipUcand and the .1 of a vertical witli a t tables are consulted. tlie vai'ious kinds of Whether it be the ;, Hendei'son's double r any of those for per- on is nearly tlie same side, and finding die nachbies; they ai-e an 1 said by one who ably jr a few' shillings most les as much power of truments are not of a rented by Pascal, how- I the first of its kind, it to his father in an office involved much idea of shortening the les of wheels, carrying lumei-ali:, from to 0. Bu;h wheel was so con- ler passed from 9 to 0, ! to rotate one tenth of rrying' effected. Mul- '■ vision by a series of ring them into the a^i> that this machine rrectness enough, nor t it contained the germ ! class. Pascal himself y: — "The arithmetical ought than those which h can clauu for it the el Moreland, and other during tlie seventeentli alien into obUvion. CALCnLATlNO AND REGISTERINO MACHINES. 6 Babbage'h Calculating Machine. Of all machines invented for these purposes, none have approached Mr Babbages— in tlie admirable talent exhibited, in the cost incurred, in the amount of correspondence to which it has given rise, in the time bestowed upon its production, m the mental anxiety which it has caused to its inventor ana m the strange ending of its career. It was in April, 1823, that official notice was first taken of this marvellous invention, by an application from the Treasuiy to the Royal Society, for the opinion of that learned body on a plan proposed by Mr. Babbage, " for applying machinery to the pmposes of calculating and printing mathematical tables. 13ut the matter was known to scientific persons at im earlier date. Sir Humphrey Davy, the President of the Society, had been familiar with Mr. Bahbages labours; and Mr. Babbage wrote a letter in July, 1S22, which was addressed formally to Sir Humphrey, but was intended virtually as a means of making the invention pubhc. He said, "the intolerable labour and tatiguing monotony of a continued repetition of similar arithmetical cal- culations, first excited Uie desu-e, and afterwards suggested the idea, of a machine, which, by the aid of gi-avity or any other movmg power, should become a substitute for one of tlie lowest operations of human inteUect " It may seem strange to many pei-sons so to designate arithmetical processes ; but such they really become to men of lofty analytical genius; for, as was before observed, it is found that a mere computer, a man or boy who only knows the first four rules of ai-ithmetic, can compute arithmetical tables more quickly and more accurately than an accomphshed mathematician— so much does it assume the character of mechanical routine work, when the exact mode of proceeding is once laid down. Mr. Babbage seems to have con- ti-ived, even before that time, many diffijrent machines for performing different mathenaatical operations ; they were mostly plans drawn on paper, but one or two had advanced to a working condition. So early, mdeed, as June 1823, Mr. Babbage had read a paper before tlie Astronomical Society, in which he alluded to the fact that mmiy of the members were acquainted with liis views on this subject, and then announced that his labours had attained a favom-able result. He mentions certain tables of numbers, and adds—" These, as well as any others which the enpine is competent to foi-m, are produced almost as rapidly as an assistant can write tliem down. The machu^e by which these calculations are effected 'is extremely simple in Us kind, consisting of a smaU number of different parts frequently repeated. Li the prosecution of this plan, I have contrived methods by which tji)e shall be set up by the machine in tlie order deter- mined by the calculation ; and the arrangements are of such a nature that, if executed, there shall not exist tlie possibility of enor in any printed copy of tables computed by tliis machuie." This is a high character for an inventor to give to his own machine, but there is eveiy reason to think that It mvolves no exaggeration. In December of tlie same yeai-, Mr. Babbage communicated a second paper to the same learned body, in which he stated that he had not made any notable progress in his machine, but that he had tested its powers in a singular way. Ho fomid tliat, in considering the arrangements of its paiis, a different mode of adjusting them would produce tables of a new species, altogetlier different fi-om any witli which he was acquainted— in otlier words, the machine could work a problem which I I ■I T i limi ii i i iM i if I II I l iii i n i MiMi iii i ii i iii»MwiMlgWliMli»t»( -J ,.'»" « OALCDLATING AND REaiSTERINO MACHINES. J-i "t; ■I'l' i ; mathematicians could not; he investigated the matter, and, mstigated ov guided by the machine, succeeded in getting over a difficulty Avhich had perplexed him many years before, in tlie solution of a problem connected with tlie game of chess. The machine became a tutor to the machinist. When Mr. (afterwards Sir T. C.) Colebrooke presented the Society's gold medal to Mr. Babbage, in 18^4, he compared the purport of the machine with other mechanical contrivances. " In other cases, mechanical devices have substituted machines for simpler tools or for bodily labours. The artist has been furnished with command of power beyond human strength, joined with precision surpassing any ordinary attainment of dexterity. He is enabled to perfonn singly tlie work of a multitude, with the accuracy of a select few, by mechanism, which takes the place of manual labour, or assists its eff'oits. But the invention to which I am adverting comes in place of mental exertion : it substitutes mechanical perfonnance for an intellectual process ; and that nerfoi-mance is effected witli celerity and exactness imattainable in ordinary methods, even by incessant practice and vmdiverted attention. The invention is in scope, as in execution, imlike anytliing before accomplished to assist operose computations. Mr. Babbage's mvention puts an engine in the place of the computer; the question is set to the instmment, or the instniment is set to the question; and, by simply giving it motion, the solution is ^vrought and a string ui answers is exhibited. Nor is this all; for the machine may be rendered capable of recording its answer, and even multi- plying copies of it." , • v i But to return to the record of official proceedings, without which the histmy of this remarkable invention would be unintelUgiblc. The letter addressed to Sir H\imphrey Davy having been printed, and a copy sent to the Treasiu-y, it led to the application by the Government to the Royal Society for that learned body's opinion. Men of unquestioned scientific attainments formed themselves into a Committee for investigating the subject. The names of Davy, Hei-schel, Young, Wollaston, Bond, Kater, Brande, Baily, Combe, Brunei, Colby, and Davies Gilbert, formed tliis memorable and un- equalled Committee ; which, thus cor :5tituted, after examining the whole subject, reported, " That it appears to this Conmiittee tliat Mr. Babbage has displayed great talent and ingenuity in the consti-uction of his machine for computation, which tlie Committee thmk folly adequate to the attainment of die object proposed by die inventor, and that they consider Mr. Babbage as highly desen'ing of pubUc encouragement in the prosecution of his arduous under- taking." Mr. Babbage's reason for applying to the Government was, that the full accomplishment of his plans would entail gi-eater expense than his own private resources would bear ; and that, as he had no pui-pose of emohiment in view, he appUed for national assistance in completing a national benefit. It is said that Dr. Young differed from the rest of the Committee ; he thought the invention unquestionably a meritorious one, but he " conceived that it would be far more useful t(> invest the probable cost of constructing such a calcu- lating machine as was proposed, in the funds, and apply the dividend to paying calculators." However, tlie Report of the Committee being favourable, the Treasury agreed to take up the subject. ITnfortimately, tbere seems from the first to have been a want of precision in the mode of conducting the an-angements between the Government and the inventor. In the new palace of the parliament, no one seems to know who has control over the expenditure ; and in the fai- more wonderful calcu- lating machine there was a somewhat analogous train of misatisfactory lES. r, and, instigated oi' difficulty which liad oblem connected with I machinist, ed the Society's gold i of the machine with chanical devices have labours. The artist iman strength, joined terity. He is enabled uracy of a select ft;w, , or assists its eftbits. ce of mental exertion : lal inocess, ; and that ittainable in ordinary ilion. The invention cconiplishcd to assist ti engine in the place nt, or the instniment )tion, the solution is I" is this all; for the iwer, and even multi- 3, without which the ilhgiblc. The letter J, and a copy sent to rnment to the Royal nquestioned scientific ^estigating the subject. , Kater, Brande, Baily, s memorable and un- ning the whole subject, Babbage has displayed chine for computation, linment of the object r. Babbage as highly of his arduoiis mider- remment was, that the expense than his own iT^ose of emohunent in national benefit. It is littee; lie thought the oneeived that it would tructing such a calcu- apply the dividend to littee being favourable, m a want of precision 1 the Government and o one seems to know moi'e wonderful calcu- rain of unsatisfactoiy CALCULATING AND REGISTEBISO MACHINES. 7 results. Mr. Babbage 's fu-st direct negociation witli tho Govei-nment was verbal instead of wi-itten, whence ai-ose misconception of tlie meaning of either party. A few months after the Report of the Committee, the Treasury I' directed the issue of £1500 to Mr. Babbage. to enable him to bring hia invention to perfection, in the manner recommended " by the Royal Society ; but as tho recommendation did not lay down any plan, terms, or conditions, the mventor was left to fomi plans of his own. The machine which hail before existed was nothing more than a model ; but the calculatuig machine, to be regarded as public property, was commenced by Mr. Babbage hi 1823, and its construction continued steadily for hm yeare. Drawings of tlie most elaborate and delicate kind were made, and skilful machinists were cinployed to C!)nstract the wheels and other mechanism from these drawings. Not only had the best skill to be employed, but workmen had to be educated specially for the work, and entuely new tools had to be invented, so ex- tiaordinary was the nicet requu-ed in every part of the apparatus. Money was advanced from time to time by the Govenmient, and paid for materials and labom', under the audit of tlu-ee distinguished engineei-s — Messra. Brunei, Donkin, and Field. Mr. Babbage himself received ho remuneration for tlio mental labour and tlie time bestowed by him on his gi-eat work ; all went to tliose who were assisting him. Yeara rolled on, and money was advanced from time to time by the Treasury, but the machine was not yet completed ; and the House of Commons, tlie keeper of tlie public purse, began to exhibit a little restiveness. The Govemment wished to know how matters were proceeding ; and, in December, 1828, a second Treasmy letter to the Royal Society was written, begging tlie Comicil " to institute such inquiries as would enable them to report upon the state to which the machine had arrived ; and also whether tlie progress made in its construction confirmed tliem in the opinion which tliey had formerly ex- pressed, that it would ultimately prove adequate to the important object which it was intended tf) attain. " Up to tliat time 4*6000 had been expended on tlie machine ; but neither tin; inventor nor any one else was able to state how much more would be required. A second Committee was appointed by the Royal Society, in which were tlie distinguished names of Herschel, Roget, Sabine, Gilbert, Baily, Bi-miel, Kater, Donkm, Penn, Rennie, Barton, and Warburton. The substance of the Report agi-eed to by the CJomraittee was, " that the progress made in the machuie was as gi-eat as could be expected, considering the numerous difficulties to be overcome ; " and that the Commit- tee " bad no hesitation in giving it as their opinion, that the engme was likely to fulfil the expectations entei-tained of it by its hiventor." The Comicil of the Society adopted the Report ; the Govemment accepted tlie opinion given ; and more money was advanced. The Treasury grants, however, became few and far between ; and in May, 1839, it became necessaiy to look clearly at tlie financial ditliculty; A sum of £7000 had by that time been spent on the machine, of which the Treasury had provided only £3000, the rest having been borne by the inventor ; and it was found that at least £4000 more would be required. An application was made to the Duke of Wellington, then in office, and £3000 was advanced from the Treasmy. Anotlier sum of £«00 was afterwards advanced. In De- cember, 1830. the Govemment made a third application to tlie Royal Society, which led to the appointment of a thu-d Committee, required to report •' Whether tlie work is proceeding in a satisfactory mmuier, and without unne- cessary expense, and what further sum may probably be necessary for coiu- '■1 W 8 CALCULATING AND BEGISTEIIINQ MACHINES. pleting it." The language used by the Committee, after a minute investiga- tion, was nearly an echo of tlie former reports — admiration of the plans, satisfaction with the progress made, sanction of the financial payments, re- liance on the ultimate completion and success — these were Uie burden of the Report ; they recommended that a building should be constructed for the ma- chine near Mr. Babbage's residence ; they stated, on tlie authority of Mr. Brunei, that a sum from iBOOO to £12000 would be required to build the structure and to finish the machine ; and they proposed that £-2000 to £2500 should be appropriated annually. The Govenunent, as before, received fa- vom-ftbly the Report of the Royal Society ; a building was constructed to con- tain the maclnne and the working drawings, and operations recommenced in 1831. Calamity, however, was at hand. Wlien about £17,000 had been expended, difficulties arose with the machinist who had constructed all tlie apparatus. He made claims, which were resisted ; and, as no compromise could be arrived at, he withdrew all his skilled workmen — and, what was worse, he removed all the valuable tools which had been employed m tlie work. Mr. Weld, who de- tails these proceedings at some length in hin History of the Boyal Society, says, tliat this removal the machinist " had a right to do ; startling as it may appear to the unprofessional reader, it is nevertheless the fact, that engineers and me- chanics possess the right of property to all tools that they have constmcted, although the coat of constmction has been defrayed by tlieir employers." This was the finishing blow: the works were suspended. About this time Mr. Babbage Avas developing the conception of a still more complete machine than that which had caused him so much anxious labour : one tliat would work mathematical problems of a far higher order. His for- mer one he called a Difference Enijine; tlie new one, if tJae conception should ever be realised, he proposed to call an Analytical Engine. He considered that, even if he could obtain his tools and his workmen, it were wortli con- sideration whether to finish the old machine or to begin a better. He applied to the Government on the subject in 1834 and 1835, but nothing was done ; he also made his views kiiown to some eminent Italiaji philosophei-s. Nine years passed over, from 1833 to 1842 ; the ins and the outs, in politics, changed places more than once ; but no more Treasury grants were made, nor definite aiTangements arrived at. In 1842 Sir Robert Peel expressed a disinclination to spend more public money on the machine, but he offered to waive, on the part of the Govemnient, all right of property in it, if it could be completed by private enterprise. Mr. Babbage wished tlie drawings end the machine to bo still considered as pubV property, and he declined to take them to himself. Heie is, virtually, the close of the history of this wonderful machine ; for nothing, we believe, has since been done to foi-warl it In 1843, on applica- tion from the tmstees, tlie Government placed the machine smd drawings in the Museum of King's College. The machine is capable of doing a small portion of the work for which it was planned, and this witli absolute preci- sion ; but the mechanism for its higher powers, and for piinting its results, have not yet been constructed. In respect to the second, or Analytical Engine, it exists only on paper ; yet this paper extends to one hundred large drawings, and four or five hundred large sheets of plans and details — showing tlie vast- ness of the enterprise. The extraordinary part of the matter is, that even new tools and new modes of working in metal have to be devised. " A long series of experiments," says Mr. Weld, " have been made upon the art of K8. ir a minute investiga- iration of the plans, lanciul payments, ve- re tlie burden of the Qstructed for the ma- Lhe authority of Mr. equired to build the that i;2000 to JB25()0 before, received fa- ts constructed to con- •ations recommenced I had been expended, ed all the apparatus, imise could be arrived ivorse, he removed all Mr. Weld, who de- le Royal Society, says, ling as it may appear lat engineers and me- ey have constnicted, by tlieir employers." eption of a still more nuch anxious labour : igher order. His for- tbe conception should gine. He considered n, it were wortli con- a better. He applied 15, but nothing was ; Italian philosophei-s. d the outs, in politics, iry grants were made, )ert Peel expressed a line, but he offered to )erty in it, if it could ed the drawings and id he declined to take nderful machine ; for In 1843, on applica- :ihine and drawings in ible of doing a small witli absolute preci- r piinting lis results, , or Analytical Engine, indred lai'ge drawings. Is — showing tlie vast- 3 matter is, that even be devised. " A long lade upon tlie art of -iim/6i^BBBj^^ CALCULATING AND HE01STERIN0 MACHINES. 9 shaping metals ; and the tools to be employed for that purpose have been dis- cussed, and many drawings of tliem prepared. The great object of these inquiries and experiments is, on the one hand, by simplifying the construc- tion as much as possible, and, on the other, by contriving new and cheaper meaus of execution, ultimately to redwe the expense within those hraits which a private individual may command." We have gone connectedly but rajjidly tliro'.igh the thirty yeare' history of this invention — certainly not thirty years of peace to the distinguished in- ventor ; but we have said nothing of its mechanisn , nd modo of action. This is, in tmth, no easy matter. To explain the principle on which the machuie is based would require mathematical details lying beyond the scope of the pre- sent article. It may be stated, however, Uiat the differences between numbers in a Table are the elements out of which Mr. Babbage constructs tlie Table itself; and on this accoimt he calls his apparatus a BiffereiKe Engine. I'or in- stance, in a Table of square numbers, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, aO, &c., tlie difference between the first and second is 3, between the second and third, 6 ; and so we get a series 3, 5, 7, 9, 1 1, &c. Again, this series of first differences, if viewed in a similiu- manner, presents us witli another and remarkable series, 2, 2, 2, 2, Sic. It is found that almost all numerical tables, when thus analysed into successive orders of ditl'erences, end at last in a very simple series, consti- tuting the materials — the atomic elements, so to speak — which, by addition, will produce all the numbera required in the table. The process of addition lies at the root of the whole method. Now the question, how to accomplish this by mechanism, was that which Mr. Babbage set himself to solve. The first term of the table, and tlie fii-st term of each order of differences, being given, the whole table can be con- sti-ucted from those elements ; and dials were made to indicate these numbers. There are rows of dials to represent the successive orders of differences, and rows to represent tlie succesbive digits in a number ; and, by an extraordinary assemblage of mechanism, the wheels to which tliese dials are attached act upon each other in an order detci-mined by the original adjustment — by the tune to which this mental organ is set. Each dial has on its edges the set of digits from to 9. There are axes on which Uie dials revolve ; teeth to the wheels behind the dials ; bolts which act on or uito these teeth : wedges to withdraw the bolts ; and shoulders which regulate the action of the bolts on the teeth- wheels — lengthened a period results, besides being of tlie present paper, mbler performances m come extensively into reason, however, for a uity and precision of those which calculated n feel that this analogy are groping dieir way hard if some among CAIXJULATING AND KEOISTEEING MACHINES. ft Among the English and foreign inventors who have applied their inge- nuity in this channel, may be named M. Colmar, a Director of the Sun Fire (Office at Paris, who has invented a calculating machine which he calls the Arithmometre. It has been invented more tlian thirty yeai-s, but there ap- peal' to have been many improvements recently intioduced in it. The claims put forth for tlie machine are tlicse : — tliat provided a person knows the numerals, and follows the printed instructions, he can work sums in ad- dition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and square root, without having learned tliose rules ; or tliat, if he knows tliem, he may work more quickly and more correctly with tlian without the apparatus. The machine is contained in an oblong Iwx, from fourt.een to twenty-two inches long, accord- ing to tlie extent of its powers. There are as many slides, each working in a groove, as tiiere are places of figures ; and each groove is numbered witli ten tigm-es, from to 9. There are as many round holes, in a brass plate, as thej-e are possible places of figm-es in die result to be produced ; and be- neath each hole may appear any one of the ten numerals. The machine is adjusted to any particular problem, or the " sum is set," by moving some among tlio many slides ; to determine which of tlie shdes, and how far along tlie groove each shall be moved, depends on the terms of the question ; these slides work upon certain wheels and levers undenieatli, which cause tlie proper figui-es to make their appearance at tlie row of holes ui the brass plate. There is anotlier French machine, by M. Maurel, differing in tlie working details, but founded on the same principle of gi-aduated sliding bai-s or rods. Baranowski's Ready Beckoner, lately invented in America, is a much more simple machine dian those for arithmetical processes generally. It is intended for questions in which sums of money are concerned ; such as days' wages at so much per day, prices at so much per lb., or interest at so much per cent. Let us describe a wages machine. We see an upright box, with a handle at the bottom, rows of figures up the front, and a number of small slide.-s moved by studs. Near the top, concealed within the box, is a paper on which rates of wages are printed, from l«. to 42«. per week ; there is a small opening in front of tliis paper, and by turning the handle any requii-ed rate of wages be- tween those limi(« is brought to the opening. Suppose it be 24s. per week ; then " ^48." appears at the opening, and the machine is in a condition to show the amount of wages earned in any fractional number of days and hours, at that rate. Let it be four days, five hours ; we draw aside a little slide "t " four days," and another at "five houi-s;" these reveal openings, at which appear printed figm-es representing the sums of money to which tlie earnings amoimt. If the time were fom- days, five horns, and thi-ee quaiters, tliree slides would have to be moved, three sums woidd appear, and these diree would have to be added. Whether time be saved by tliis mechanism is a question for each com- puter to decide tor himself. Another appUcation of the machine is for calcu- lating goods tolls at so much per ton ; the rate per ton appears at the top, while the tons, cwts. and lbs. appear at the sides, 'Hid ti>t^ residt is arrived at on the same principle as in the wt^es machine. It is obvious that the principle, if useful at all, is capable of wide application. When we hear and read of Polish Jews, wh ore apt to think i-ather of shrewd barterers than of ingenious machinists ; yet one of the articles deposited in the Eussian department at the Great Exhibition by a Jew of Waisaw, named Staffel, is a highly ingenious mechanioal contrivance. It is a machine for i n CALCULATING AW) HEGI8TERINO MACHINES. working sums in arithmetic, and is said to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, with great quickness and mierring coirectness ; it goes even further tlian this, for it can calculate powers, roots, and fractions. Extemully the niivchine is small and rather plain, but its internal construction must necessaiily be complex. It is an oblong brass box, about four ijiches high. On the upi)er face are the words " adilitio," " subtractio," " multiplicatio," " divisio," riingcd in ii semi-circle ; and to whichever of these an index is turned by a smiiU handle, the machmc is tlien in a state to perform that piuticuliu- rule or operation. We see seven small holes, witli moveable plates beneath them, nuirked by numerals ; seven similai- holes in the peripheries of seven little vertical wheels ; and tliirteen number-holes, if we may so designate them, in another piece of appaiatus. Each set of seven holes has a traversing movement, but the longer series is immoveable. The principle of the opera- tion is somewhat as follows :— tlie two smaller frames are adjusted to tlie con- ditions of tlie question, so as to represent two sums to be added or two to be nmlti[)lied, &c., and tlien, on turning a handle, the answer appears at the thirteen holes of tlie otlier frame. Every one of the twenty-seven holes has ten nmnei-als (0 to 9) belonging to it, and any one of these ten may appear at tlie opening, accorduig to tlie adjustment for the solution of each question. The machine can multiply seven figures by seven figures (or millions by millions), and can display analogous powers in the other arithmetical pro- cesses. There is one little feature in tlie machine just described which seems to approach neaier to tlie volition or judgment of an intelhgent being tlian even the calculating itself. The machine corrects certain errors into which the computer might himself inadvertently fall. For instance, if the machine is set to subtract a larger number from a smaller, or to divide a number by ano- tlier lai'ger than itself, tlie machine cannot and will not do it : it rings a bell, and then stops work. The mechanism by which this singulai- result is brought about is small but intiicate; it shows, however, how many mental processes may, to a cei-tain extent, be imitated by wheels and levers. Dr. Rotli's Atdomatvn Calculator, introduced about ten years ago, has tlie same kind of assemblage of slides, studs, wheels, &c., as chai-acterise most of these contiivances. In one of its forms it simply registers the number of strokes or rotations m a machine, but in its more complete shape it solves questions in addition, multipUcation, &c. Analogous in character, too, tliough differing in details, is tlie Calculating Machine introduced to the notice of the British Association, in 1849, by M. Slovinski, a Pole; it can perform multipUcation sums up to millions multiphed by millions. NdMBERINO AND REGISTERING MACHINES. The reader can hardly fail to perceive that there is a general family likeness among these vai'ious aiithmetical and calculating machines, however they may differ in details. Instead of furtlier amplification on this point, therefore, we will talk awhile of another class of ingenious contiivances, wherein a principle of registry is involved. By this principle a piece of appai-atus not only per- forms its destined work, but preserves a record of tlie quantity of work done : it is an accountant as well as a workman. One of the French machines at the Great Exhibition is called the Timbre Additioneur. It is intended for stamping, and numbeiing and registering the articles stamped. Different stamps or dies may be used in the same machine, iddition, Kubtraction, uierring coirectneHS ; , roots, and fractions, internal construction jout four inches liigh. tio," " multiplicatio," )f these an index is tate to perform that witli moveable plates in the peripheries of we may so designate loles has a traversing rinciple of the opera- ! adjusted to tlie con- I be added or two to iswer appears at the enty-seven holes has hese ten may appear ion of each question, [ures (or millions by iier arithmetical pro- ribed which seems to gent being tlian even rrors into which the ee, if the machine is ide a number by ano- de it : it lings a boll, lis singulai' result is ir, how many mental and levers. ears ago, has the sarae cterise most of these number of strokes or it solves questions in o, tliough differing in notice of the British erform multiplication PES. eneral family likeness es, however they may is point, therefore, we s, whei'ein a principle paiatus not only per- mntity of work done : is called the Timbre ig and registering the in the same machine, OALCtJLATINO AND BEOrSTEHINO MACIITNES. 13 and exchanged at pleasure. It is intended for n>imbering and stamping such documents as bills, letters, share certificates, &c., and is designed for the use of bankers, railway companies, the Stamp and Post Othces, and such like establishments. The machine, in its ordinary fonn, presents a flat table or stand, with a vertical box at the back of it. Within this box are wheels acting one on another, and at the top are dials to indicate how many times the wheels have revolved. A lever projects from the front of the machine, to which is attached tlie die or stamp. A small inking t»vble is provided ; and tlie lever has a range of movement given to it, which enables the die to be brought do\vn first on the ink and then on tlie paper to be stamped. As many times as Uiis movement occui-s, so miuiy are the revolutions or movements made by the wheel-work; and the hidex hands show this result on the dial faces. The machine seems to be capable of counting in manjr different ways, when llie stamping part of the apjiaratus is removed and a tew adjustments are made ; it may count the passengers thiough a turnstile, or the revolutions of a coach wheel, or the length of yam spun by a machine, or tliat of cloth woven by a loom, or the revolutions of a fly-wheel or of a water-wheel. Many a curious knot of persons, who have assembled round the Paging Machine at the Exhibition, have tliere had an opportunity of witjiessing an analogous prmciple at work. There is a handle or lever, an inking apparatus, and a train of wheels with raised numbers on their edges. When the lever is pressed down, one of the numbers comes in contact with the ink, and then with the paper"; and on raising the lever-handle the number-wheels are moved round a small space, so as to present a new number for the next mking and printmg process. The vai'iations of this exceedingly pretty operation ai-e numerous. M. Baranowski's ticket-printing, numbering, and registering machine, is a contrivance displaying considerable ingenuity — much more so than his Ready Reckoner. A number of blank cai-ds are placed in the upper part of the machine ; a handle is turned, and forthwith the cards make their appeai-ance, one by one, at the bottom of the machine — printed from an adopted form, numbered firom 1 to 2000 or more, consecutively, and leaving a registry as they quit the machine. This, it is said by the inventor, can be done at the rate of 6000 per hour. The printing may be in one or two colours, and may be cpiickly adjusted to any desu-ed form. All this is eflfected by a machine com- prised within tlie limits of twelve mches long, nine wide, and eight high. The mechanism displays much cleverness. The tj-pes are aiTanged on the cir- cumference of small wheels, placed vertically ; and on pressing down the frame which contains the wheels, by a sort of piston or plug, the types come in con- tact with paper or pasteboard placed beneath; but before doing so, the movement causes a tiny inking ^"^Uer to work quickly over the face of the types, and thus enable them to prmt their impress in black iuk. If this wei-e all, every ticket would be printed exactly alike ; but by means of cogs and notches, and ratchets, the type-wheels make part of a revolution after each impression, so as to present a new figure for the next movement. If the tickets are printed in two coloui-s, tliere must be two inking rollers, one for each. So much nicety is there in the mechanism, that each machine, small as it is, costs about a hundred guineas. Another apparatus of somewhat analogous character, is Edmondson's Rail- way Ticket Machine, extensively used by railway companies. It consists of a series of -.vheels, together with a stamping and cutting instniment. The pasteboard material is introduced ; it is cut, printed, numbered, dated, regis- "¥ L 14 cALcvLAnaa and keuihikbino hachimh. i t«rf!d, piuiked, imd soitoti, with siirprining quu-kncss and accuracy — indeed it mmt bo accurate ; for Huch a iiiachin.' could not act at uli unless it« varums nuiVGments succeeded eiM-.h other in profxr order. The Kiune gPutnU principle lieti at uu- loot of many iiiHtruuientH patented or inti-odiiced witliin tlie liist few ynurs Thus, Mr. Lewtliwaite's jnsichine, invented in 1847, and intended for numbering railway or pawnbrokers' tickets, or paging hooks, or for priiitiaig any consecutive series of numbers, 1ms its type-wheels and driving-wheels, it^j levers and studs, and other complex me- chanism ; hut tliere is still tlie movement of a wheel one-teiiih of a i-evolutiuii after each pressure, and other wheels which revolve each i ivtcnth as fast as its neighbour. A wider oxtansion is given to tlie use of such machines when tliey are individually simpler in action : tliat is, they are applicable to a greater number of purposes. 8up})ose, lor instance, it be merely U) record the number of times that a certain operation is couductd, without any printing or KUnii)ing pro- cess, we ha^o at once an instance in a contri\ance for which Mr. Whittin obtained a puteul a year or two ago. It comprises toothed-wheeln ratchets and ratchet-wheels, a dial plate, and index hands, and it is ui- tended to he applied to tlic ti-aj>-door of a ship's coal- weighing machine, to register the number of times tJiat tlie door of tlie shoot has been opened for the discharge of cioai.s. Supposing the appai-atus to he effective, a slight modification would enable it to register the filling of measures of grain, or the number of times that a porter or canier has ci-osscd a plank with goods. It may veiy safely he df>ubted whether anything so delicate as galvtmic ap-. paratus would beur tlie loiigh usage of on'inibuses and cabs; otlierwise the tlu ry of Mr. Pownall's " Patent Register " may be sound enough. Tlie oh- ject of tlie apparatus is to place a check upon iVmey- takers in public vehicles, or at the entrance of tlieati-es, briil„'es, piers, and pubhc gardens. As ap- plied to lui omnibus, a tsmall galvanic battery and a regLstering apparatus are placed under the lloor of the carriage ; every time a person treads upon the step, a galvanic circuit is established \\itli the battery ; and, by a train of wheel- work, an index wheel is maile to revolve to die extent of one tooth or notch. By tliis means, as many notches are traversed as there have been persons enter the omnibus ; or rather, as the exit as well as tlie entrance of a passenger marks one notch, the actual number is doubled. There is a num- bering dial, on which an uidex hand shows the result. Whether a pair of omnibus servants could " drive a coach and six " through such a contrivance, we would not venture to predict. Mr. Walker's Operameter, invented several years ago, was intended by him to measure oj- register the amount of work pertbiined by certain machuies in the woollen monufactm-e. The apparatus had a shaft which could be con- nected with tlio gig-mill, tha sheaiing machine, or otlier machuies employed in that department of industry ; tliis shaft necessarily rotated as fast as the machine to which it was applied ; and the shaft gave motion to a ti-ain of wheel- work, witli a dial face and mdex hands to denote tlie number of revolutions made in a given time. The index hand thus became a measure and recorder of tlie amount of work done. To register tlie height of the tide at tidal harbours is also among tlie valuable services which self-acting tell-tale machines oi-e fitted to render. Let us take the Sunderland Tide Gauge as an example. Here there is a vertical tube into which the water rises to a height depending on the L ■MM i:h. accuracy — indeed it ill iiiili)8M ita variouH nHtruu)ent«i patented jwtliwaitHs inaeiiinfi, {mwnbrokers' tjckets«, of iiuinbcrs, lius Uh iM;-tc-ntli 08 fa^t as lines when tliey ai'o I to a greater number [ tlio numlier of timoH in(^ or hUiiiping pro- r which Mr. VVhiHin •iseH t(M>tlic(l-whe«;l^ Minds , and it i» in- al-weigljing machine, loot Ims been opened be efiective, a slight tieasurea of gmiii, or foHsed a plaidc witli licate as galvanic ap-. cabs ; otlierwiae tlie d enough. Tlie ob- rs in public vehicles, io gardens. Ah ap- stering apparatus are son treads upon the 1, by a train of wheel- ont of one tooth or as there have b«en as tlie enti-ance of a d. There is a num- Wbethcr a pair of ti such a Goutrivance, ras intended by him certain mochuies in nrhich could be con- ' macliiues employed tated as fast as the )n to a train of wheel- unber of revolutions neasure and recorder is also among tlie I'e fitted to render, le. Here there is a \. depending on the (UtCUf.ATlNO AMD REOISIKHINO MACHINES, 15 luiif^t of the ti(l<(. On a.; wmiiMfe of this cohiiun of water is a light fli, t, which ris(!s and sinks with it; a copper wire from the float rises upward to a Uiiin of wheels luul rolUfs, which rotate in one or otluir direction, according us the float rises i.r sinks. l-Vora one iiller to another i)asseB a web of wire "auge, on whi'h iwe printed in largo charmiterH the various depths from high to low wattr; and two fixod pi>intei-» or hands also show the number of feet imd half-feet of depth of watci. at any hour of the tide, on tlio bar at the entranct! of Sunderland Harbour. There are tlius rendered visible, to tlioso moat neu.lv conct'ino*!, aii'l at idl hourn, die height of the tid> CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut canadien de microreproductions historjques CALCULATING AND REGISTERING MACHINES. 17 mostly, however, little more tlian toys, for the slightest derangement (and derangement is very likely to occm* among such small and intricate mecha- nism) will affect all the phenomena at once ; and eclipses will fail to appear (as eclipses are wont to fail in cloudy weather) at the proper time. It is mipossible to walk through our Great Exhibition without meeting with numerous spechnens of tins class — chiefly in the French clock department. One of the prettiest examples is a chronometer about three inches in diameter, the face of which contains dials enough to indicate twelve different phe- nomena respecting seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, sun-rise, moon's age, moon's phases, &c. The Liverpool Albion announced a few montlis ago, that Dr. Henderson of Uiat town had been engaged, since 1844, in producing a clu-onometer which would excel cverytliing of tlie kind ever made. If tlie announce- ment be one half true the instrument will be indeed a marvel, and society will be eager to welcome it when finished. According to this account, the clock will show the minutes and hours of the day; the sun's place in tlie ecUptic ; the day of the month peipetually, and take leap-year into account ; the moons age, place, and phases; tlie apparent diurnal revolution of the moon ; tlie ebb and flow of the sea at any port in the world ; tlie golden number, epact, sohu- cycle, Eoman indiction, Simday letter, and Julian period ; tlie mean time of the rising and setting of the sun on evei-y day of the year, with its terms, and fixed and moveable feasts. The day of the week will also be indicated, and the year will be registered for 10,000 yeai-8 past or to come. The quickest moving wheel will revolve in one minute, tlie slowest in 10,000 yeai-s. Furthermore we are told that tliere ai'e 170 wheels and pinions, and that the machine will go 100 yeai-s without winding up. Mr. Carey's measui-ing machine is one among numerous examples of this kind. It is mtended to record the number of revolutions made by llie wlieel of a carriage. The appai-atus is very small, and is buckled by sti-aps to one of the spokes of the wheel neai* the nave ; it of course follows the cuned course of the part of tlie wheel to which it is attached ; and once in each revolution it causes a wheel to be advanced one tooth ; so that the number of teeth ad- vanced determines the number of revolutions made by the wheel. It was a contrivance sometliing like this in principle, though differing in details, which James Watt devised for registering the number of strokes, of a steam-engine. The turnstiles at the Ciystal Palace, at tlie ends of toll-paying bridges, and at Uie enti-ances of many pubhc buildings and exliibitione, are excellent examiiles of registering appai-atus. The older method of testing the honesty of money-takei-s was by issuing tickets or checks, the return of which would show how much money had been received ; this plan is stiU adopted at the theati-es ; it requires two sen-ants instead of one, and is not proof against collusion. Now, in the mechanical turnstile, the instrument presenes a record of the number of times it has turned on its axis ; and the money-taker must be prepai-ed to account for a sum of money coiTesponding to the number. Some of the precautions protect tha money-taker against the public, while some protect the proprietora against the money-taker. In the first place, there is a vertical framing, capable of rotating on a vertical axis ; it can only rotate in one direction, and only one person can pass it at a time. The framing or turnstile cannot rotate at all until tlie money-taker presses his foot on a lever ; and directly the i)assage is made, tlie lever is allowed f^ain to drop, and tlie turnstile is locked. This movement causes a movement in a I J 8 C'ALCCLATINO AND BEOISTEWNG MACHINES. tooUicd wheel to aii extent of one tooUi; and, as this registeiing apptu^tus is beyond the reach of tlie money-taker, he has notlung less to dolhan to account for money to the extent of the number of wheel-teeth which have ^^heTeU-tnl^^ class of machines aie more or less complete, according as they renister the infoi-mation tliey give. An alamm is a tell-tale, so far as the emis- sion of sound is concerned ; but tiie sound goes off m empty air, and leaves no record behmd. Where a night guard, policeman, or watehman is requu-ed to show tliat he has been vigilant in his rounds or watchmgs, he must leave a record of his presence at a particuliu- spot at particular mt«rvals. A veiy mgenious mode of effecting this is by M. Ai-eias Fendule Indicateur, or Tell- tale Clock. It is used by the night pohce on many of the Irench radwajs, and in many public estabUshments where vigilant guard is required, l^et us suppose that a guard or policeman, be his duties what tliey may, is required to show that he was at a particular spot every quarter of an hour during his nicht patrol; a sort of table-clock is placed at that spot, and at mtervav.s ot a quarter of an hour he presses his linger on a button or stud which is the only part of tlie appai-atus at his command. Beyond this, he knows or does noUiingin the matter; but when the clock-case is opened next day by a superintendent, a circular graduated card is found to be pierced with as maiiy small holes as the guaid had made pressures on the stud; and the card also shows the exact hour and minute when each hole was pierced. Ihe me- chanism is vei-y simple; the circular card or paper is made to rotate by con- nection with the hcur-wheel of the clock, and the button or stud acts upon a shai-p needle which pierces the card. If the card is not pierced opposite a particular quarter of an horn-, tlie conclusion is drawn tliat the guard has failed in vigilance. , . , . , .i. v. Of the teU-tale varieties of apparatus, as used in thu coimtiy, they may be ceneraUy chai-acterised as particuhir apphcations of clock-work, lake, lor instance, Messrs. Smiths Detector Clocks, one of which has been placed in the Great Exhibition. This apparatus has been used lor some yeai-s m ^oldbath Fields Prison, to register tlie punctuality (or othenvise) of the night-wateh- man The registering appai-atus consists of a revolving cu-culai- fmne, htted with' springs and pins ; the watchman is required, at certain mtarvals ot time, to touch a little piece of mechanism which preser\^es o record of his presence. The principle is obviously neaily analogous to that noticed above. Registey-Balances : Gold-aveighino Machines. 3 There are some kinds of balances which show much elegance of action, inasmuch an they not only determine the weight of commodities, but either preserve a record of that weight, or separate into different parcels those which differ ever so mmutely in weight. The common weighing machmes, whether having a dial-face and mdex-hand or not, do not register permanently the result obtained; as the indications are destroyed dkecUy tlie weighed com- modities are removed. There ai-e contiivances, however, m which, either by a ti-ain of wheel-work, or by a pencil passing over paper, the appai-atus pre- serves its own record. . , - But tlielexquisitely dehcate goU-weighing machines are those which are more pardcularly intended to bo brought under notice here. One such is Mr Kershaw's Micrometer Sovereign Balance; it was registered about the year 1848 when the Bank regulations respecting 'light gold' attracted so much L s. steiing apparatus is leas to do tlian to el-teeth which have te, according as they !, so far as the emis- )ty air, and leaves no Imion is requii-ed to igs, he must leave a r intervals. A veiy s Indicateur, or Tell- he French mlways, is required. Let us sy may, is required to an horn- diuing his Bud at intervals of a • stud, which is the 13, he knows or does ened next day by a )ierced witli as many i ; and the caid also I pierced. The me- ide to rotate by con- t or stud acts upon a ot pierced opposite a tliat the guard has country, they may be »ck-work. Take, for 18 been placed in the nae yeai's in Coldbath i) of the nightrwaUih- cii'culai' fi-ame, fitted Am intervals of time, 3cord of his presence, ed above. CHINES. h elegance of action, nmodities, but either It parcels those which ng machines, whether ster permanently the Hy tlie weighed com- ir, in which, either by er, the apparatus pre- are those which are 3 here. One such is stered about the year Id' attracted so much I ,mmmimtmnvmmmt9mmm-mmifm:-f!t&imm ' CALCULATING AND REOISTEMNO MACHINES. 1« attention. This ingenious little machine consists chiefly of a beam or steel- yard placed horizontally, imd supported on a knife-edged fulcrum near its centre. Near one end of the beam a few threads of a screw are cut, upon which a micrometer wheel turns freely. The rim of this wheel is divided into degrees, which mark half-grains in weight. The coin to be weighed is placed rpon the other end of the beam, and if it be of correct weight, an index bal- conies exactly opposite the zero or point of the micrometer; but if tlie weight be deficient, the micrometer wheel is tiuned round (by which the leverage power of the beam is slightly modified) until equilibrium is obtained ; the degree at which the index-bar now pomts, uidicates how many half-grains the sovereign is deficient in weight. The machine is not intended to deter- mine the weight of a sovereign, but the deficiency of weight in a light sove- reign. By a little adjustment it is made appUcable to half-sovereigns. Baron Seguicr's Gold-weighing Machine, a specunen of which has been placed in the Exhibition, and which is priced by the makers at 40U0 francs (ei60), is a somewhat complicated piece of apparatus. It presents to view a sort of vertical wheel, witli a hopper or receptacle to feed the wheel witli coins ; tliere ftre two channels from the bottom of the wheel, along which the corns proceed to certain levers and balances. The action of the machine is some- what as follows : — The coins are put into the hopper, and a range of pins on the edge of the revolving jwheel causes the coins to sepaiate into single file, and to descend one by one to a stage below. If the coin be of current weight (which must be determined for each covmtry, and the machine arranged accordingly), there is nothing to prevent it from sliding down an mclmed trough into a pai-ticular box or receptacle. But if the weight be eitlier over or imder the proper limit, the coin is ingeniously dri'- r aside, to the right or tlio left, according m the weight is too great or t. . small. This is cleverly managed: the coin falls upon a balanced beam, which remains horizontal if the weight be conect ; but if the beam be thrown out of balance by a light or a heavy coin, one of two little studs is raised, which guides it into its proper receptacle. Thus Uie coins become separated into three groups merely by turning a handle. x n ^ The Indian coin machine, designed by Captain J. T. Smitli for the Cal- cutta govei-nment, is larger than that of Seguier, and is intended for weigh- ing rupees. There are ten levere, with a small cylinder suspended from the short end of each : these cylindei-s dip into distilled water. Ten coins are placed in scales at the long ends of tlie levei-s, one to each lever ; and accord- ing as each coin is heavy or light, so will it raise the cylinder at the other end of the lever, more or less out of the water. If we suppose that tlie coins are 80 badly made as to exhibit ten different degrees of error, whetlier in excess or deficiency, and if the machine be constructed with minute accuracy, then the ten little cylmders would be raised to ten different heights out of tlie water, and ten gi-oups of coins would be established. Unless the workman- ship be very delicate, tliis method i inst be of doubtful correctness. Mr. Cotton's machine seems, by general consent, to be deemed the most delicate ever yet constructed for weighing gold coin. Its precision is, mdeed, most exquisite. If ever a " well-balanced judgment" could be an attiibute of steel and brass, we have it here : a child can turn the handle, but the mpchme judges for itself. In the transactions between the Bank of England and tlie public, the weighing of gold coin has been a most anxious and tedious process. As be- tween the Bank and Uie Mint, tlie labour is not so minute ; for 200 sove- '**,■ I L {W CALCULATING AND HEOISTERINO MACHINES. w reims being first accurately weighed, all the rest are weighed in groups of 200 The Mmt officers are aUowed a deviation of twelve grains in about fifty sovereigns ; but they generally work to within half of this amount ot error; and if the groups of sovereigns are correct widun the prescribed limits no closer wuiglung is adopted. In the transactions between the Bank and tlie public, however, matters must be treated in more detail. It is no satisfaction to Smith to know tliat, if his sovereign is light, Brown has a cor- rect one and Jones a heavy one, so that therefore the Bank is just m the aggregate; each one demands that hU sovereign should be of proper weight, iflnce arises an important part of the daily routLne at the Bank. Mr. Cotton was led to the conception of his beautiful machine by observing the injustice which the Bank sometimes unconsciously inflicted on its customers, bove- reigns which were issued from one counter at the Bank aa being ot lull weight, were refused at anotlier counter as being light. The scales may not have been equahy dehcate, or tlie liabUity to eiTor on the pait of the weighers (the "personal equation," as astronomers would term it) may not have been exactly equal. An expert weigher could weigh about 700 sovereigns in an hour by tlie old balance ; but tLe agitation of the air by the sudden opening of a door, the breathing of persons near the apparatus, tlie fatigued state ot the hand and eye of the weigher— aU led to minute eiTors. Mr Cotton having determined on tlie plan of a machine which should be quicker, easier, and more exact tlian the ordinaiy gold balance, procured tlie services of Mr. Napier to put his views into a practical form ; and the result is entu-ely satisfactory. The machme is a pretty, delicate, hght aflau:— much more so than those hithei-to noticed. There is, in the fii-st place, a small vertical tube, in which a pile of twenty or thirty sovereigns is placed, m single column. The lowermost sovereign rests upon a moveable plate ; when a handle is turned by the attendant, the plate moves sideways, and the sove- reign is brought upon an exquisitely sensitive balance ; if the weight ly cor- rect, a htUe lever, arm, or pusher, gives the edge of the sovereign a smai-t impulse, and drives it off into a box ; but if the weight be deficient e^n m the most minute degree, another pusher attacks the sovereign on a difterent side and drives it into another box. As the handle is continued m motion, two or three sovereigns may be m different stages of the weighing process at one time. Those who have seen this machine at work at the Great JiiXhibi- tion may well marvel at the deUcacy witli which tlie movements of the sove- reign are controlled. . ., As the Bank of England does not take cognizance of gold coins which aie too heavy (perhaps the Mint authorities do not give them occasion tor so doing), this machine merely separates sovereigns into two groups, the fuU and the Ught; and it does not indicate by how much the light sovereign is defa- cient. It is tlierefore only by actual trial that the deUcacy of the machine has been tested; if a difference of even a hundredth of a grain existed between two sovereigns, it is said that this machine would detect it. On a rough average, 30,000 sovereigns pass over the Bank counter every day ; each ma- chine can weigh 10,000 sovereigns in six hours ; and there are six machines ; so that the Bank can weigh aU its issues of gold by tiiese means, and have reserve power to spare. One of the machines is adjusted for half-sovereigns. Between 1844 and 1848 there were forty-eight million gold corns weighed by these machines at the Bank; and the bankers and private persons place un- doiibting reliance on the correctiiess of the process. Each machme reqmres an hour's cleaning once a week; the machmes cost about £300 each, and are ,:jmiwti"!)Tniiwwin»-!iii^ L lES. veighed in groups of velve grains in about ilf of this amount of vitliin the prescribed ns between ihe Bank nore detail. It is no ight, Brown has a cor- 3 Bank is just in tlie I be of proper weight, he Bank. Mr. Cotton observing the injustice its customers. Sove- Bank as being of full The scales may not le pai-t of the weighers it) may not have been 700 sovereigns in an by the sudden opening s, tlie fatigued state of ors. hine which should be . balance, procured the fonn ; and the result is Ette, light affair — much le fii-st place, a small giw is placed, m single oveable plate; when a sideways, and the sove- I ; if the weight is cor- the sovereign a sraai-t it be deficient even in sovereign on a different is continued in motion, tie weighing process at k at the Great Exhibi- movements of the sove- of gold coins which are 3 them occasion for so two groups, the/«M and e light sovereign is defi- eacy of the machine has grain existed between detect it. On a rough iter every day ; each ma- there are six machines ; Uiese means, and have isted for half-sovereigns. 1 gold coins weighed by rivate persons place un- Each machine requires ,bout £900 each, and ore CALCULAtlNO AND REOISTEHINO MACHINES. 8t said to be peculiarly free from liability to disarrangement. Besides satisfying the Bank, the bankers, and the public, tliese machines save £1000 a yeai' to the Bank in weighers' wages. Ml8CELL.\NE0tT8 CONTRIVANCES FOB KeOISTERINO. There are many other little registering contrivances on which we would gladly say a few words ; and as it is difficult to class them in any pai-ticular way, we will make use of the ever-convenient designation " Miscellaneous." How to register votes at a division is a problem tliat has not much trou- bled our House of Commons ; but tlie National Assembly of France has deemed it expedient to introduce a Voting Machine for tliis pui-pose. This machine seems to answer two ends — it prevents tampering wilJi the ballots or voting plates, and it enables Uie numbei-s on either side to be added up with great ease. In the House of Commons the " ayes" have it, or the " noes," according to circumstances ; but in France the system o^ the ballot is adopted — the relative advantages of the two methods we need not touch upon. The National Assembly has recently voted 30,000 francs for tlie apparatus of tlie voting, or rather vote-registering machine now imder notice. The whole operation is exceedingly cmious, and worth detailing. In tlie first place, at the commencement of each sitting, or when tlie mem- bei-s enter the chamber, each member has given to him a small box, contaui- ing ten ballots or voting plates. Theso ballots are oblong slips of thin steel, about two inches long, and pierced witli a hole in the centre ; five aie white steel for the " pour " or " aye " vote, and five are blue steel for the " conU-e " or " no " vote. Each ballot is inscribed with the name of tlie member, and also with a number attached to that member's name in the register of the Assembly. Each ballot has also certain notches on the edge, but the blue ballots ai-e differently notched from the white. The membere have tlius materials for five votes during the same evening, and for choosing their side in each vote. Next we have to look at the Voting Urn or Machine. This is a kind of up- right box, held by a handle like that of a pewter measure ; it is made of wood, and is about three inches square by a foot in height. The right-hand half is painted blue, the left>hand white. At the top are two funnels or mouths, opening into tlie interior, pamted white and blue respectively, and marked with P and C for pour and contre. Each funnel is gi-ooved in pattern with tlie ballot-notches, so that a blue ballot can only descend tlie blue funnel, and a white ballot the other. In the interior, below each funnel, is a vertical stem or staff, on which the ballots become threaded, one on anotlier, as they fall into die m-n: tlie stem being of similar shape to tlie oblong hole in each ballot. Now for the process of collecting the votes. The National Assembly is divided into twelve sections ; and there are twelve voting mus, each marked with ilie number of a section. When a debate is concluded, and Uie votes aie to be taken, the twelve urns are taken by an equal nmnber of persons, who go round to the members where tliey are seated. Each member selects a blue or a white ballot from his box, as he pleases, and drops it into the proper funnel of the urn ; he cannot put in two if he would, nor could he, either inadver- tently or by design, introduce a ballot into the wrong compaitment. The urns ai'e taken to the president, and placed all in a row on a table. By a little adjustment each mn or box is hfted off", and displays die ballots T ^- L ft OAI.Cm.ATINO AND RKSISTBRTNO MAcmiNRS. threaded on the two upright stems; and by a cunous contrivance the same movement lock$ tJie baUots on the Htem. By the Hide of each 8tem la a graduated scale, which enables the Bcrutineers to tell in an instant '^"^ many baUots there are in each pUe. When the numbers are declared, t^ie locked piles of ballots are taken to anotlier room, where tliey are unlocked, and tlio vote of every individual member registered in a book The ballots arc Uum distributed (as a compositor wotdd distribute his type), and each members set is laid apart by itself for use on another evening. All thi« ''f''* «""|f ; what intricate and tedious; but the Assembly seems to be satished witli the contrivance, as being an advance on the fonuer system. The distrilmtion of tyjm has just been alluded to; and we may here remark, that Tvpe Composing Machines can, in a certain sense, be considered registering machines, for they leave a record of the woric done in the rows of arranged type In M. Sorensen's remarkable Danish invention for the same purpose there is a nearer approach to what we may designate mechanical thought; since the tyT.es, after being used, distribute themselves on merely turning a handle; and not only so, but place themselves in the proper position m .the composing machine. The consideration of tliis matter, however, lies some- what beyond our present pm-pose. , • a w ^^A Those curious specimens of mechanical ingenuity, lochs, were bnefly alluded to in a former paper, as illustrative of the spread of tlic iron manufacture; and we might shnilarly learn a lesson from tliem in relation to our present subiect. Many of the best locks are registers: they are recorders or tell-tales of any attempts ma.le to pick them, whether successful or unsuccessful. There is, in such cases, some small piece of mechanism or other which be- comes displaced whenever the lock is tampered with ; only it^ own key can open it, Mid when other keys or other implements are used they produce some damage or displacement which remains as a record ot the tact inere is something, too, in the permutation locks, which imparts to them a little ot the character of calculating machines— not sufficiently so, however, to need any furtlier notice here. We may well understand how the famous locksmiths of the day would regard the successful picking of their mtncate ocks. Iho American artizan who has given so bold a challenge, and undertaken so bold a ta.sk on this point, has many anxious and critical eyes upori him. Electro- telegraphy involves much of the registry principle. Ihis may be illustrated by an example. By Mr. BakewelFs ingenious contxivances any person's handwriting can be exactly copied, at any distance, tivrough the Eiel^m of the tele^phic wires. At one end of the line is the transmitting apparatus, and at the other the recipient apparatus includes a sheet ot papei which has a dark tint imparted to it by a senes of closely-ruled l^e^. The words of the message are written at the one station, and at tiie other station tJie same words ar^reproduced, at the rate of 500 letters per mmute, on the sheet of dark paper, in a pale tint. , , , v ♦^lo u. \r««r The American BM telegraph, used at some of the large hotels m New York and other United States cities, and in the magnificent Attantic steamers of CoUins's Hne, is a registering apparatus, in so far as ^records the nanie ot the bell which was last rung. It has no connection with electncal arrwige. ments. There is an upright case or box, two or three feet square, through the top of which descend bell wires from all the rooms placed m connection with the apparatus. Withm tlie case is a bell, the hammer of which js moved by pulling any of tlie wires; but this is not all; for at the mstant the bell is Lick, a small white semicircidar plate in the front of the machme is turned L K8. ontrivftnce the same B of each Htetn is a in instant how many declared, tlie lockemal mechanism to connect each wire with its appropriate number plate, and also with the bell. A small handle at the bottom of the case re-adjusts all the plates. It is ob- vious that, by numbering and inscribing the plates accordingly, such a bell apparatus might be adapted' to mcrcimtilo and warehousing establishments. There is something ingenious in tlie mode which Mr. Blaycock, of Carlisle, has recently proposed for regulating the supply of gas to lamps, according to the lengtli of night at ditt'erent periods of the year. The «i)panitus is intended for use witli illuminatod clock dials. On the longest day, a gas-valve is so adjusted as to sujtply gas for a very short night — the shortest in the year ; every succeeding night the supply becomes increa.sed in quantity to aboi?t the extent that tlie night lengthens, until, at midwinter, the supply is most (con- siderable. The instrument then requires re-adjustmont, which enables it gradually to shorten its supply of gas during half a year, until the minimum is again reach, l. The light p.ita itsdf out at sim-rise, or some desired perioii near it, by the exhaustion of its supply of gfw ; and the quantity of tliis supply is determined by the extent to which the gas-cock is opened, tliis extent being itself governed by the works of the clock. It would take us beyond the scope of the present subject to dilate upon the contrivances for teaching the blind to read, cipher, Ac. ; but there has been sent to the Great Exhibition a raac^hine by M. Foucault, himself a blind man, which has a peculiar registering power and is exceedingly ingenious. A blind man is enabled to write his thoughts by this contrivance, even though he may nevor have learned to form a letter : heimnt^ instead of writes. This machine exhibits thirty or forty vertical brass rods, ranged in two rows. At the top of each rod is engraved, in bold relief, a letter of the alphabet, or a grammatical stop or sign ; and at the bottom is a corresponding letter, stop, or sign, formed of ordinary type. A piece of blackened paper, with white paper beneath it, is placed underneath the rods, and on the pres.sure of any rod a black type- printed mark appears on the white paper. But to make tlie ari-angement available for successive lines of writing, contrivances of a most uigenious character are introduced. Although we have spoken of the rods as being vertical, the lower ends converge so tliat all the types moke their impression at one point ; and if tlie paper were not moveable, the impressions would be superimposed on that point ; but the paper has a slow lateral movement for successive lettei-s and words in one hue, and a vertical movement for succes- sive lines in tlie page. Suppose the poor blind student wish to write or im- print the word " France," he presses with his fingers on tlie six con-esponding rods, which bring the six typos m proper order on Uie paper ; they fill converge to tlie same point, but as tlie paper has a gentle side movement after each contact, tlie blackened type impressions assume the proper order for fonning the word. One of tlie oddest calculating or registering machmes (if we may so desig- nate it) is, perhaps, Mr. Clark's Eureka, which was the subject of much news- paper gossip half a dozen years ago. It multiplied Latin words into hex- li I ti*'nnfm L m OALCOIJITINO AHD BEaiSTEBlNO MACIUNES. ameters. instead of ningle numerals into larger quantities. Mr Cloik'H Z^Sne so far as it could produce hexameters at all, produced them a^l Ster one uuifo^ type. Each of his hues consisted of six words, one to each foS hi each IhTe the first word was an adjective of three syllables, Uie second a noun of tirsyllables. the fonillx a verb of three syUables, and so on^ AuTe sL words agreed in gender. nun.ber, person, and case, so t^ to fom collectively a sentence; a^d all the lines were analogous m structure It^ems so far as the construcUon of Uie machine has been described, as if Jtese words wer^ treated as so many dice or dominoes, or rather as so many tickets hfa Totteiy. Put in. we will say. h.df a do«>n adjecUves ot suruhu- cramma cal fonnrhalf a dozen nouns, half a dozen verbs, and so forth ; then t^TZ hanS or rattle the box, or go through the necessary hocus-pocus ; Sv draw ont an adjective, then a substantive, tiien one of each of the oU er four kinr. • words; and these six, placed in line in certain order, would fo^ a correct hexameter. We do not present this as the actual process, but m^ely Ta means of showing how. by permutations among a dehmte number S word7 many times that number of hexameter hues mav b^ produced The common S of pennutation shows us that, even with only six words ol each S neadv two hundred changes may he produced witiiout depaiting from thAexametir form; and if the numbers are greater, the changes maybe madeirosf inexhaustible. It is in tliis sense that the machine may be said rmaiit^le verses in any desired quantity. Mr. Clark descnbmg his ma^ chine^n the pages of the Athe^^um, said that it is "neither more nor^^^ss than a nractical illusti^tion of tiie law of evolution • ine macnme iZtahis Mtei? rrhabeticol arrangement; out of Uiese. through tiie me- Zm of numbed re^ndered tangible'by being expressed by indentinres on Si work Uie iiistirument selects such as are requisite to form tiie verse Tonceiv J; 't^ compon^it. of words united to form hexameters bemg alone prevfouSy calculated, tiie harmonious combination of which will be found to be practically interminable." The metal-working processes, by which all tiie machines noticed in this Bheetha^e been produced, do not need special description. The fashioning of wheels ph^ons. levers, and otiier delicate bits of mechanism, comes withm Sie o?diS^ Uours of tiie machinist and tiie clock-maker. It is to tiie mpnSl Sr exhibited m tiie mventions. and to tiie imitation of mental power Zpkye^dT tiie action of tiie machines tiiemselves. tiiat tiie reader's attention is hero dh-ected 1 S8. ntities. Mr. Clai-k's , produced them all ix words, one to oach wyllables, tlie second ylliiblos, and so on. and casp, so as to idogoiw iu structure, been described, as if ir rather as so many adjectives of similar IS, and so forth ; then icessary hocus-pocus ; e of each of the other certain order, would ,e actual process, but Hig a definite number ay b6 produced. The nly six words of each thout depai-ting from the changes may be machine may be said ik, describing his ma- leither more nor less The machine lese, through the me- sed by indentures on lite to form the verse ixameters being alone vhich will be found to ichines noticed in this on. The fashioning of uhanism, comes within i-maker. It is to the itation of mental power it tlie reader's attention INDIA RUBBER AND GUTTA PERCHA. We are about to bespeak the reader's attention to 'two very remarkable sub- stances, which have ^vrought no inconsiderable revolution in industrial arrangements witliin the last few years. They are brethren in origin, and brethren in many of their (jualitics ; yet they differ stifticiently to leave an indepcn \ent ! mgo of action for each. Chemists tell us tliat the constituents arc almost, identical, comprising about seven-eighths carbon to one-eighth hydrogen ; but that gutta percha contains also a little oxygen, which seems to be wanting in India rubber. Both are elastic, both are tough ; but if we say that india rubber is more elastic than tough, and gutta perclia morn tough tlian elastic, we shall probably place tliem on their proper relative footing. INDIA RUBBER. It is curious to observe tlie incongruity often existing between a substance or an agent and tlie name by which it is known. This name was, in many cases, given to it when its properties were but little developed, and becomes ill-fitted as a designation at a later period of its history. " Electricity," for example, is a word nearly equivalent to " amber-science," and was given to Uie wonderful agent to which it relates because the electric properties of amber happened to be those which first drew attention : if philosophers had now to re-designate the science, they would certainly dethrone amber from its high position. Taking a humbler example, we may deem the name of " India nibber " to be fairly open to the same scrutiny ; this substance was first known to us as a rubber for obliterating pencil marks, and it was brought to Europe from those parts of South America, the natives of which were (and often still are) vaguely called Indian. If a name were at the present day given to the substance, which should chai-acterise its more important qualities, it would not be "nibber," either Indian or otlierwise, but something expres- sive of elasticity. What may be the meaning of the native name, caoutchouc, we do not know ; but as, by taking a little liberty with the vowels, this may be made a " word of two syllables," it has an advantage over the longer and more clumsy designation " India rubber," which, in such a business-like age as the present, might be woitli attending to. The India-Rubber Thee and its Sap. The extensive use of india rubber is entirely of modem growth ; dating back about a quarter of a century. But the substance itself has been long 1 mmmmmmim Q INDIA RUnDER AND OUTTA PKnCHA. known, ruid tmiployo.! in Hniull .luuntitus in nu.nt Enropoaij countries. In 5 rrc pS it in unliko itn youn«c...n.panion gulu porc-l.a winch ha. no y| h" n it^ tonth year. One pmi.«''^y '"' '1'"^"'^ '''^'' '"">t ''";.'"^ ''^"^ ' iomdu, pmai,UoXH\nbHta.ico: .uu\ .md. oi" thoHo KUcco«Kivoly..h»cover«.l proportios m- h...... n.mh, the bmiin of a n.nv class of .uanufactunng openitions. In a wu.k hy Toiqucclan.a. a Spaiunh wiiUM-. who descni^ed dio huhuiis ot Sou i An 1.-J aWul » cu.»tury J>U u half ago. wo w« UJd tiM thero was a rr;u\^ia"h th? IndianH mwJ H»^ahnM, md which yi,4d.J a Rumniy h.p.xl Sd h ingh oBtin.ation hy Uien.. " To ohtm.. it." ho Hays •' U.oy ^^;'""J ^ ' Ze wiUi an axe or a cutlaHH ; and from these woundH U.e li.iuor dropH. 1 lu> jTt'vo collet it in round vosselH of different Hi.os. calkd n» tho.r la,.gnage, S/i, but by u« culaha»lu^». to th«-« Uioy aUow it to ^ttk, m rowid ball-, Hio L u,OHt couvoaient for the ^uivoHe. U> which they a.c -I-" *« 2^' ^s Uicu. When quite «et, they boil theui m water, m which «Uto die gmn is cZd Ji' hlxi the natives appear to have beeu m nowise piulicular us to the ui of collecting; Uieii' naked bodies formed a convemeut core o mould m. which to collSct the maU>ri.d ; for Uiey nmoaied themselves with ho Za a,?a removed the incmnUtion when diy. The naUves. we uro uifon c bv t irw,it«r,mftdebrea8t-ulatesof thick l«yo» of Uie gum; tliey exUacUid Z i which ;** much m.ea in medicine; they made ela«Uc balls winch were used iT. cStain g*me«: and their practical jokers or meriy amkew* slxod "henseUer with pieces of the gum. the elantlcity of winch gave nse to ludicrous contort, ms and bomidings. The Hpaniardn «peeddy leam«l to oJii^SaL Uie waterproofing vritten about the same time. Uiat iudia rubber fi'^^V'f^^?,^""^*;^'" ^;^2^- The true nature of the substance and the tree which yields it wa«. lu>wevei, first ascertained by tlie French Academiciaa« who visited South America m ms S was described to the A.^ademy by Condaniiae m U.e toUowing ye«. Emopeans liad long before been struck witli tlie odd appeai-ance of U e Ian- tZ^Zles. birds^aud other forms into which the gum ha,l been fashioned by the ooUectors ; but they wer« now able to know somethmg concenung the uL whence it Exudes, ind the manner erf obtaining it. Besides the J«e caoutchouc tree, there are many others which yield a gum nearly "!««*»«»; S india rubber ; among Uiese a«3 the Murapha elmttm, the hmis md^a, the Artocarpus iiUeqrifolia, and the Urceola eimHca. , ,. e ^ ^ ThTmethod of obtaining india rubber for the onlmary ptrposes of com- merce does not differ much from that dewribed by the old Spanish wnter. The subLice as it comes to us is mosUy dark in colour, but this hue ans^ from the mode in which it is prepared for market ; lor the juice itself is m Iky in Consistence, and nearly white in colour. The trees are u^^^Uj P»«™«^ ^ the rainy season, at which time the juice is most abundant li the juwe be recei^Jdin botttes. and be well corked immediately, it may be preserved m a Siuid or^mi-Uquid state for a considerable time ; but the ""^t've^ bave no object in so doing. They go to Uie forest early m the mornmg. tap fe trunk wSh a small pickaxe, and fix a cup of soft day beneath tlie wound ; m the cveni^gTbout a quarter of a pint of the mUky juice is found in the cup S^s the true or American ilidia rubber; the Asiatic species will yield fitty to sixty pounds per tree in one season, but this is of mfenor quality. Ihc £i^ when Ls collected by the natives, is spread in a thin layer on clay ibrns, Soned m any way that the rude taste of the eollectore dictate. ; this .1 ff INDIA ACSBCIt AND OOTTA PIKCHA. opoMi conntrieR. In 111, which hiw not yot )!• hiw \n'*>u t(ii\nil t<) (UHCovereil i)ri)i»trtioH ^ operatioiiH. •ributi ilio liiirnum of x>lil, that tht)i«( wfts II Ided n gummy liiidid ly^, " Uioy wound thi! le Uquor drop. Thu d, in their lanKuajJse, 4jltU) in round btiUit, ley we about to ajiply jich Btttle the guin in •wise piu'ticular ok to a oonvcuieut core or d themuelves with tlio lives, we ai-e informed gum ; tliey extracttid astic balls which were merry andrewu hliod ■ which gave rise to ,H speedily learned to lubsUmco, hy applying some other description uue known iu Europe, yielda it was, liowevor, idd BoutU America in s in Uie following year, appeai'auce of tlie lan- in had been fasliioned aething concerning th4 it. B«aide8 the true \ gum nearly identical t'rt, the Ficus indka, the inary ptu'pows of com- he old Spanish writer, ur, but this hue arises the juice itself is milky are uaually pierced in daut. If the juice be may be preserved in ft ,t the natives have no morning, tap the trunk ath the wound ; in the is found in the cup. c species will yield fifty t inferior quality. The in a thin layer on clay coUectore dictates ; this layor U dried by tho hoat of a smoky fir« ; another lay«r ii applied ; anothflr drying foliorted state it is used for very few pui-poses ; considerable modifications being necessary for its adap- tation to practical sennce. It requires to be tnuisfonnetl into cakes, or sheets, or tissues, or tube*, or solutions, preparatory to its ultimate \ise ; and this transfonnation requires operations of a somewhat peculiar kind, owing to th« nacflssity of randering tho whole mass homogeneous in substance. The bottles, and masses, and fitigraenta, as imported, have much inequality in texture, and are, moreover, contaminated with much dirt and refuse. To separate these the india rubber is first cut into \ ery small fragments, and then steeped in warm water, by which ttie dirt is procii)itated. The fmgments ai-e dried, and are then thrown into a kind of kneading machine, where innnense pressure is employed to bring them to one homogeneous mass. There is in this kneading process evidence afforded of a very remarkable differonce be- tween gutta percha and india rubber ; the former (as will be explained in a later jmge) requires to be heated to a soft state before being placed in the kneadmg mill ; but the india rubber, tliough put in cold, becomes so hot by the agitation that it could not be safely touched by the hand ; it is necessary to supply the machine with cold water, which is made newly to boil by the Ctdoric driven out of the elastic mass. So thoroughly is the mass pressed, rolled, pricked, cut, and kneaded, by tlie severe turmod which it undergoes, that all dirt, air, water, and steam are expelled, and it presents tlie appearance of a dark-coloured, Uniform, smooth mass. It is put into cast-Iron moulds of great strengUi, and brought, by hydraulic or screw pressuro, to the form F 3 ■•|i>r»Tir*»iiirifiifli ■HMII MWWM _L 4 IKDIA KUBBER AND GUTTA PEBCHA. of blocks, slabs, or cylmdei-s, accordiug to tho purpose to which it is to be "^'Set blocks, or other masses, occupy the transition «?*g« ^f^jv^«° *f^ preparatoiT and tlie finishing processes ; tlie mdia rubber '^ J^^^^^^^'^l^ Ssable state, but not mto useful fonn. It is as a .heet and as a thread that t c nrnteiM meets its most extensive apphcation ; and both of ihem ai-e made by cutdig from tlie blocks and slabs. A block is cut into sheeU by an mgemous machi^ie, m which c shai-p ki^ife-edge has a rapid yibratoiy motion ma horizontal plane, so adjusted as to cut a tliin film from a block of india Sbei supplied te it by a steady a.otion. The knife requires to be kept coo by a flow of water, or it would adhere to the india mbber. In Uiis way tiin sheets may be cut, or thicker sheets from which stationers india iiibber may be obtuTJd, or sheets of any Uiickness. gi-eat or smaU, accordmg to tho pm- ^""TheTplmtion of the material into shreds or nan-ow strips is a very pretty operation, exhibitmg much nicety of manipuktion. A continuous strii. nay be cut from a bottle or any other ciu-ved mass of Uie '"^la rubber Tho bottom of the bottle is cutoff, and is pressed into a round and tolerably fla fonn The cake tlirs fashioned is fixed to the end of a horizontal shaft, or latiie-axis, and is made to revolve wiUi great rapidity; and while so rotatmg a cJci knife, rotating at a high speed, cuts through tlie substance, and ^vLces steadU; towai-df tlie cenu-e of the disc ; thereby «fP'^™tmg the disc Tv cake mto one contmuous spu-al Hiread. This thi-ead can be ea^^l^ dmm^^^«"^ sti-aightly, and can even be separated into iwo or more finer tlireads by dm^ng it tlirough a hole where one or more sharp-cuttmg edges encounter it. It a bottle or any other hoUow piece of india nibber can be drawn over a cyhndei of uiiiform diameter, it may be cut into a continuous thread by a modification of the same machine ; the cylinder being made to revolve, a -steel cutter i. placed a«ainst it, and as the cyhndcr has a slow longitudmal motion given to it, CSm is cut ;pirally from 'end to end-just on tl.e same principle as a wor orXad is cut on a bit of iron by the screw-cuttmg machine. Machines ot this kind were mvented in France more than twenty yeare ago; but the machines used in our own countiy are of English mvention and of later "^'tf we glance among the stores of the india-rubber manufacturers and retailers at tlie pi^sent day, we find that bmids and cords, webs and J^Mids form no mconsiderable portion of the wai-es exposed for sale. These, in most ca^es. require tliat the india rubber should be fii-st made into blocks or cri nex cut into sheets, and then sepai-ated mto threads or cords or narrow stiHps Supposmg these preliminaiy cuttings to be effected, the making of bvafds and w^ebs if exceedingly curious, for it mvolves a combination of he hulia rubber with other mate'rik. Let us briefly tmce the p™es In die first place the narrow cords are sti-etched by a kind of wheel, and kept ex-^ tended till nearly deprived of their elasticity, and til they fonn a thread of the desired Uuc4ess. The thread is then put into aj>m«f»i^-«^«cfttn«, which is acomphcated and veiy ingenious apparatus, vsliereby a «|}f ''♦l^f « «f ^^,'^""^^^ silk flax or worsted, is wound round the mdia-i-ubber thread. In such a machine several tlireads are twisted round each oth^-, from toee to nearly Ey in number; each tln-ead has its own bobbin, and aU tlie bobbms revolve round a common centi-e, givmg out their threads in the Proportions and order required. The visitors to the Great Exhibition have had opportunities ol seemg some such machine at work. Generally speakmg, the braidmg-machine P 1 MtMWM mmmm^ se to which it is to be tion stage between tlie ibbev is brought into ii and as a thread that the ith of these ai-e made by sheets by an ingenious i vibratoiy motion in a iVom a block of india i requires to be kept cool libber. In tliis way tliin ionera' india iiibber may dl, according to the pur- naiTow strips is a very tion. A continuous strip [■ tlie india rubber. The round and tolerably flat 1 of a horizontal shaft, or ; and while so rotating, ough the substance, and areby sepamting the disc id can be eswiily drawn out 3 finer tln-eads," by th-awing edges encounter it. If a be drawn over a cylinder i tliread by a modification revolve, a «teel cutter is tudmal motion given to it, same principle as a worm g machine. Machines of 'enty yeare ago ; but tlie h uivention and of later ubber manufacturers and d cords, webs and bands, osed for sale. These, in 3 fii-st made into blocks or threads or cords or naiTOW le effected, the making of ves a combination of »Iie uce the processes. In Uie nd of wheel, and kept ex- till tliey fonu a thread of i braiding-machine, which is jby a sheathing of cotton, ubber tliread. In such a ther, from tluee to nearly and all tlie bobbins revolve I the proportions and order liave had opportunities of Jiing, the braidmg-machine INDIA BUBBEIl AND OUTTA PERCIIA. 9 is employed in making stay-laces, bmid, upholsterers' cord, &c. ; but it is also applicable in making Sie numerous elastic cords and webs which owe their elasticity to india mbber. When an envelope of cotton, silk, Hox, or woixtcd has been given to tlie tliread of india rubber by tlie braiding-machine, the threads ai-e laid as warp in a loom, and woven into the n^quired kind of wc'b, whatever it may be. Then comes a curious development of tlio pi-opcrtios of the material ; in tlie prelmiinaiy stretching, tlie india mbber was niatle some- what stiff and unyielding; but by now exposing it to the action of a hot smoothing-iron upon a table, the elasticity is restored, tlie riband or web con- tracts hi length, and the sheatliing or envelope corrugates or wruikles up on tlie surface. The web thus produced is very soft and elastic. Tho waii) threads may be alternated witli othere of non-elastic character ; anocr defence against ram or fiUlmg snow, I had p^ovTS myself with a good Macintosh india rubber cloak, wh^^^^ nnw aid worthy service." Many a traveUer has been able to make a smulai Sold^eL mether t^e plain cotton ; Macintosh" garments are Sued to be superseded by the "Siphonia," or otiier. novelties of later intox)duction, tiie wearers must determine. „,«♦,«»! The manufactiu^ of the Macintosh clotii is a smgular one. The mater ai is merely two layers of cotton cemented witii liquid mdia ™bber; bui^e LXn is so weU effected, that the three become to all intenta ?nd P«i^««f S The stout and well-woven cotton cloth is coi ed «P«« * ^^^^'jf ,^^i like the yam beam of a loom; and from tiiis ^\^«/t™J*J,^Xer " ste^te State and a nearly horizontal position. A layer of liquid or ratiier pasta-niie sSuti^ is ap^e^d with a spaSila, to a cunsidemble tWckness^and the c^otii is drawn under a knife edge, which scrapes the solution and dittuses it eqX^ver evJry part of the%lotii, which maybe ^^^^^ ^^J^JJ^ y^^S T\e cloth U then extended out on a horiiwntal framework to dry ; and when It -^ I le Great Exhibition iportant applications m of thread, or that ) it distinct from the may be dissolved in ^dily seen that a new ler advantage springs ifice as well aa large rted, the waste from Vom other manufoc- ich the liquid solvent •eby generated in the ower, until at length onducted on a some- to contain more than lonstant agitation for isistency which fits it r as ft cement, or for est of manufacturers FING. varied forms of shoes and weaving threads is now an enormous and ail-proof qualities luch virtues, aks, and oilier rain- he encomiums passed nration, and have one ipanions nevertheless, lewhat perilous winter ago, says : — " But as rain or felling snow, I rubber cloak, which ible to make a similar intoah" gannents are llier novelties of later ar one. The material mdia rubber; but the II intents and purposes ipon a hoi*izontal beam, retched out in a tight lid or rather paste-like jickness, and the cloth )lution and difiijse.'J it rty or forty yards long, vork to dry ; and when IKPU BUBBER AND OUTTA PERCHA. 7 dried, a second coating is applied m e similar way; and a tlmd and fourth may bo similarly applied if necessaiy. Two pieces, thus coated, ai'e next placed face to face, with great care, to prevent creasing or distortion; and, being passed between two smooth wooden rollers, tliey aio so thoroughly pressed as to be made to unite dumbly and permanently. Cloth, thus cemented and doubled and dried, may be cut and made into garments which will bear many a rough trial and many a deluging before rain or water can penetrate. India i-ubber occupies a very notable position m connection witli ihe numerous "life-preserving" projects. Its power of resisting the action of water lies at the root of this application: we have garments, and floats, and buoys, and boats, presented to our notice in great numbers. One inventor has claimed public attention to a safety-boat, fonned of a kind of canvas bag satmated with liquid india rubber. Another has displayed his ingenuity in a boat, of which the trame-work is cork, and tlie covering india- rubber canvas. A boat was constructed in France, a few yeais ago, m which niiuiy curious arrangements were involved ; it was formed of skeleton frame- work, capable of being hinged or unliinged at pleasm'e, and over each frame a covering of saturated canvas was spread. "As an example of strength, hghtness, and portability," we ai-e told, " a large boat in this form was ti-ied m France, in 1841. It was more than a himdi-ed feet long; and although fonned with canvas sides, it was loaded with nearly one hundred tons ot wood and wuie, which it safely conveyed from Auxerre to Paiis, down a shallow and much interrupted sti-eam. It was then taken to pieces in three or four minutes, and all the materials packed in two caits, which took it to Auxerre for anotlier cargo." '■ The buoys and gannents of india nibber are, perhaps, still more varied than the safety-boats. Whether the "safety-hat" still siu-vives to render service to those who may be lucky enough to be covered with it, we do not know ; but according to the theory of its inventor it was intended to act as follows: — the hat and its lining were both to be rendered impervious to water by a solution of india i-ubber ; and air being blown in between the two, it was considered that such a hat, if allowed to swim on the water, would bear the weight of a man clinging to it. In a " life-cloak," or " Ufe-cape," introduced by Messrs. Macintosh, the cape is made of a double thickness of india-rubber cloth, with a provision for forcing air into the interatice between the layers, and Urns rendering it buoyant. Among other novelties, " yachting jackets" ai-e displayed, which, while they present the requisite external neatness of appeaiunce for amateur seamen, are yet said to possess l)uoyaiicy enough to float the wearer — a property due, no doubt, to a little application of the magic india rubber. Nay, ladies' "paletots" are exhibited with tlio some ascribed qualities. Beds, mattrasses, hammocks, pillows — all made of india-rubber cloth — ^have been proposed and introduced as hfe-buoys ; and belts said gloves may be added to the list But it is striking to observe how little these matters are attended to in practice. Our inventors patent, our exhibitors display, and our joumaUsts describe, numberless ingenious contrivances having the life-buoyant or rather body-buoyant property in view; but how few persons adopt them ! Sea-going people can swim as little now as they could half a century ago (and this little is much less than landsmen usually suppose) ; but yet we very seldom hear of life being saved by tlie hats, capes, cloaks, belts, mattrasses, &c., which the india-rubber inventors have provided — ^not because the india 5 I ■ mm" 8 INDIA RUBBER AND OUTTA PKHCHA. nibber fails in its duty, but because foresight is seldom showi by those for whom the inventions were intended. , -, ^ t i It was a happy thought of the benevolent physician who first suggested Uic .mtevhed. Dr. Ai-nott ha., brought foi-ward many useful mventions ap- plicable for the most part towards the preservation of health, or the alleviation of sutferint?; he patents none, but leaves society to reap whatever advantages may accrue therefrom ; and he has had twenty years of that pleasure whici results from doing good for the sake of the good done. Dr. Amott has pubhshed an interesting account how, about twenty years ago, he was led to the invention of the hydrostatic or water-bed for invalids. A lady, severely prostiated by iUness, and bed-ridden for a long period, suffered much trom the pressure even of the softest bed that could be supplied to her— a pressure which can be appreciatad only by tliose who are helplessly confined to one position in bed. " Under these circumstances," says the ingenious physician, " the idea of the hydrostatic bed occun-ed to me. Even the pressm-e ol an air pillow had killed her flesh, and it was evident that persons in such a condition could not be saved, unless they could be supported without sensible inequality of pressure. I then reflected, that the support of water to a floating body is so uniformly diffused, that eveiy thousandth of an mch of tlie inferior surface, has, as it were, its own separate hqmd pillar, and no one part bears the load of its neighbour; that a person restuig m a bath is nearly thus supported; that this patient might be laid upon the surface ot a bath, over which a large sheet of the watei-proof india-mbber cloth had been previously thrown, she being rendered sufiiciently buoyant by a soft mattrass placed beneatli her; thus would she repose on the face of the water, hke a swan on its plumage, witliout sensible pressure anywhere, ana almost as it the weight of her body were annihilated." A bed was made on Hie pnnciple suggested; ih. invalid gained instant relief, and ultimately recovered; and " Amotfs hydrostatic bed" became known in hospitals and in the chambers fif tVlf* RICK It is not our province to dwell farther on this matter here ; it only concerns our present subject so fai- as it illustrates one among the many uses of India rubber; but it is valuable, as showing what good may be chawn out of almost any agency, when the heart as weU as tlie hea4 is engaged upon it. , — - India Rubber at the Great Exhibition. ' The Great Industrial Exhibition has sho%vn, as it ought to have done, how varied are now the applications of tliis material. We have tiiere seen, in_Mr. Hodges' contributions, a peculiar appUcation of mdia mbber to FOjectales and a somewhat similai- apphcation to mechanical purchase or tackle, ihis tackle, highly elastic from the nature of the substance employed, is substi- tuted for, or used hi combination with, the rigid kind ordinarily employed; and it is so applied, that one man may bring an extiaordinaiy amount ot power to bear on the body to be hfted or moved ; there is a kmd of accumu- lation of power gomg on in the process, and hence tlie apparatus has receded frSm its Lentor the name of tlie cumukitor Anotlier exhibitor has contributed india-rubber saddles and collars; a Uiird, an india-rubber water- proof umbreUa tent; a fourth has a goodly collection of webs, braces, garters, i MfiMHIHMM*'-- 8ho\vn by those for who first suggested iseful inventions ap- ,1th, or the alleviation whatever advantages ' that pleasure whicli ne. Ur. Amott has rs ago, he was led to Is. A lady, severely suffered much from E5d to her — a pressure essly confined to one ) ingenious physician, n the pressm'e of an at persons in such a orted without sensible ipport of water to a sandth of an inch of liquid pillar, and no 1 resting in a bath is upon the suiface of a libber cloth had been rant by a soft mattrass se of the water, like a lere, and almost as if made on the principle nately recovered; and 1 and in the chambers matter here; it only one among the many y what good may be i well as tlie head is mox. ight to have done, how have tliere seen, in Mr. I mbber to projectiles, [•chase or tackle. This !e employed, is substi- 1 ordinarily employed; itraordinary amount of re is a kind of acciunu- ice tlie apparatus has Another exhibitor has . an india-rubber water- af webs, braces, gai-ters, ttli INDIA nrnBEn and outta percha. 9 \vristlots, glove-tops, braided webs, bead-threading, and such like small wares. Mr. Matliews offers for our inspection an india-nibber portable boat, useful for lake fishing and duck shooting ; and a portable bath of similar material. Ihit Ills most sirgtilar contribution is a waterproof cloiik-boat, " which, when inflated, rendcra it capable of being used as a boat, and enables travellers to cross rivers or streams where no other means ai'e at hand :" the wearer talces off his cloak, draws out a tiny pair of bellows from a pocket in it, fills a vacant space within the double cloth with air, floats the cloak on the water, takes his seat in the centre, and forthwith paddles along with a small pair of paddles taken fi-om another pocket — a veiy multiim in parvo, if it will do all that tlie inventor ascribes to it. Messrs. Bimn and Lockington, who are importers of this material, have very appropriately afforded the means of "comparing different specimens of this produce ; they show us both the Brazilian and tho Asiatic vai-ieties, classified according to tJieir value and application ; and they also exhibit samples illustrative of the various stages of the manufactured articles. Mr. Hancock has furnished the means of comparing the plain india rubber with tlie " vidcani^zed " material, on which his ingenuity has been engaged. But it is the fimi of IMessrs. Macintosh by whom this hi anch of industiy has been most fully illustrated. Here we find, in the first place, specimens of india mbber in the imported state, exhibiting various degi-ees of quality. Next we find it in the partially manufactm-ed state, in many stages of pro- gi'ess, and in botli the "vulcanized"' and the non-^'ulcanized condition. Thirdly, we have a group illustrative of the water-resisting quality of the material : such as inflated boats, life-belts, cushions, pillows, beds, sponging baths, sheets for covering waggons and ricks, watei-proof garments, sporting and travelling appendages of various kinds, water and airproof fabrics, invalid or Amott beds, and many other articles of analogous character. Next we find illustrations of the elastic qualities of tho material, in such articles as the various elastic webs and woven fabrics for di-ess and for furniture, springs for doors, bands and bandages, buffer and beaiing-springs for can-iages, tires for noiseless wheels, sewer and sink valves, torsion spring-roller blinds, washera for flange and socket joints, &c. Another group comprises such articles as require both the impermeable and the elivstic qualities of tlie material ; among these aie decanter and bottle stoppei*s, boots and shoes, surgical and veteri- nary implements, chemical appai-atus, calico-printing apparatus, and ship- sheets for occasional use at sea. Added to all the above are otlier manu- factured articles of most miscellaneous character: including sockets and pistons and packing for machineiy, elastic maps, prints, and embossings, printed webbing, thread for ladies, ornamental work, and numerous others. Nor have our continental and transatlantic friends failed to do tlieir best in illustration of this department of industiy. From Guiana, one of tlie homes of the indiorrubber ti-ee, we have specimens of tlie raw material. From France we have india-nibber braces and twists, stockings and knee-caps, belts, tissues, bandages, and sm-gical apparatus. Holland bids us admire her vul- canized india-rubber boots imd shoes. From Eussia we have india-rubber clogs. Switzerland has sent knit stockings for invalids. The States of the Zollverein have their india-mbber braces for our notice. But it is from across the broad Atlantic that the largest and most interesting collection in tliis branch of industry has been sent ; it is indeed so mai'ked as to fonn a conspi- cuous portion of the somewhat thiti'y-spread consignment from the United States to the Great Exhibition. Ovt'^. would tliink that Brother Jonathan F fJ JO INDIA BUBBEB AND OUTIA PEBOHA. must be ill constant peril of diowning. from the multiplicity of floating life nr^ervers hercouS-ibu^^ Every quality which iudU.mbber caxi l^^Hess S IT'o have been brought into requj^iUon: i"Wmeabihty elj.^^^ «««« smoothness— all are made to bear a part. We have the l^ftpv"!" Rubbro™y,-' and Uie " Goodyear Rubber Company." both contnbutu>g S'Lts'lWloes. cloaks and caieB, hats and -F- If f ^ J-^ f/^J!; belts and gloves, and otlier water-resisting gaiwent^. Ibe P»f "«tjon ot vciy Si^b^eet« of mdiari-ubber, and the piinting of some kind of device on one Sace^o aiTied on wiUi much effect. Thei^ are for instance md a- Ser' floorcloths of considerable ske; and india-i-ubber prmts and J.s Siich receive a printed impression with a delicacy ^^^^^'i^ ^-.^^hi ier Sere is an indi^ribber globe, made of tissue so tlmi Uiat it can bo Suiv inflJfid by the breath through a smaU stop-cock. There are also n&i£ venSrs tliin and flexibH ready to be applied to^y suiUble «,irface In the vulcanized form, the American specimens embmse a range wlS%iU not yield in variety to that of the moUier comitry ; for besides such Seles a^ bahi. whips, mafl-bags. aiming apparatus, cushions, saddles, b^s, g^^bags, &c., we have no less a cmiosity than a "vulcanized nidia- '""S-v^'luJband.T has recently availed itself of the services.of india rubber, in a Sewhat n^ulai- way. m the milking of cows. The toat. of ti»« J^^ >;;« e^h covered wiUi a case or sheath of india-rubber, havmg a smaU tube aiid ston-crkaTthe bottom. It would appear that some kind of pressure is ex- eKy theXath ; for the milk is said to flow without Jie usual action of Sb hi The saving of tune is the object apparently held m new m this odd contrivance ; for a saving there is asserted to be. aualiUes One of the charactoristics of om: age is a yeammg ^ »m?tat« the qi^itiea of a substance by some substance of cheaper pnce. India ™bbei has not escaned this mode of attack. Certam experunenters tell us, that "^ ^eU- preXed boilS Ihiseed oU be applied, by means of a brush, to any smooth SaTe ami dried in the sun or smoke, and the process repeated untfl some SSsrbeSnS, it wiU afford a substance of considerable fineness sem^ r,n.n«nn.rant wonderfuUv elastic, and resembhng mdia rubber in most ot it^ SbrqiSs" Hence is produced artifi!ial caoui.hou.;\>ui the lonni- dable period of six months is said to be necessary for the production. GUTTA PEBCHA. Another remai-kable vegetable product, another elasUc gum, now awtuts our notice. GuTTA PeKCHA in THE FoEEST. Tt was in the veai" 184JJ— not yet ten years ago— that Dr. Montgomerie, an AsssCt.SuSeo?toZReside,LyatsLgapore,accidenta^^^ "pon a ^lowSe Wrs remarkable gum^. He was one day ^^^<^^''^S ^ P^ra^'9,ov S wfodcutter, at his labo,^ ; and was struck - ^.f Se'LtmeK bo ance of the hatchet or chopper employed by him. 1 he bardie seemed to do formed of some material veiy different from tlipse usually ^^V^oyed^ \V^^ Zmd the workman," says Dr. Montgomerie, " in whose possession I saw it, and - i irr art i i i f -' — "i ii l iln 'Ir'Tt ' ■ 'f " ' '"'^" "*'<"'"•*•'■" MMaWWHM 1 1 * 1 iim WM i U MMIiWMMWtiMtoTl "mutm plicity of floating life in-ubbcr can possess ility, elasticity, tough- have tlie " Hay ward ly," both coiiUibutmg leggingH and gaitera, 'he production of very kind of device on ono 3, for iuBtonce, uidia- bev prints and raapa eai-ly equal to that of 80 thhi tliat it can bo cock. There are also pplied to any suiUible liens embrace a range mtry ; for besides such us, cushions, saddles, 1 a " vulcanized uidia- rvices of India rubber, .'he teata of tlie cow are ing a small tube and kind of pressure is ex- ut the usual action of Uy held in view in thia to imitate the qualities India mbber has not 1 tell us, that " if well- i brush, to any smooth iss repeated imtil some siderable fineness, semi- I rubber in most of its >utchoM; but the formi- the production. ic gum, now awaits our JT. lat Dr. Montgomerie, on identally lighted upon a ly watching a parang, or h the remarkable appear- L'he handle seemed to be laUy employed. "Iques- ge possession I saw it, and ml I iiiiiiiwiiiwwi ^ INDIA nUBBBB AND GOTTA PEBCHA. 11 heard that the material of which it was made could be moulded into any ibiiu by dipping it into boiling water till it waa heated tlnough, when it became plastic as clay, regaining when cold its original hardness and rigidity. " An intelligent physician was not likely to lose sight of such a remarkable sub- stance ; the seed wa.s pretty sure to take i-oot in the mind of ono convei-sant with the materials of manufacture employed in Europe, and witli the advan- tages which would accrue from any increase in the number of such materials. Ho speedily a.scertained that gutta percha, like caoutchouc, exudes fi-om be- tween the bark and the wood of certain forest-trees. He procured specimenB in various stages of preparation, and sent them to tlie Society of Art* hi London. Seldom has the Society's gold medal been more fittingly awm-ded, than for the valuable knowledge thus commmiioated to the manulUcturers of our country. It is observable, however, that this substance may be said to have had Iwo European discoverers, mdependent of each otlier ; for tlie tree, and tlio gum which exudes from it, were discovered or obsei-ved by Mr. Thomas Lobb. This gentleman visited the islands of tlie Indian seas in 1842-3 on a botanical mission, as agent to Messra. Veitch, Uie scientific and energetic florists of Exeter; and it was during his i-ambles tliat he became ac(iuainted with tlie gutta-percha tree. It is not, however, veiy remarkable that such a substance should have two independent discoverers — the histories of tlie planet Nep- tune, of photography, and of elecUography, have taught us striking lessons on this point. The small sample of specimens which Dr. Montgomerie sent to England has a kind of historical uiterest attached to it, in being the humble beginning whence an important branch of industry has arisen. Several ingenious per- sons applied practical tests to the newly-imported substance ; and among tlieni Mr. Whishaw and Mr. Hancock speedily showed how easily gutta percha might be fashioned into useful foiins. Mr. Whishaw made a piece of pipe and a lathe band, which he exhibited before the Society of Arts ; ho also pro- duced improssiontfrom medals ; but the most striking testimony to the singu- lar properties of this substance was afforded in the following way : he softened a lump of gutta percha by hot water, pressed it out to a thin sheet, covered a soda-water bottle with it, hardened the surface by dipping m cold water, softened and removed the coating, and rolled up the gum again into a forni similar to that which it first presented. The piece of pipe and the lathe-bimd displayed by Mr. Whishaw at the Great Exhibition are, we believe, the same which were produced on the occasion above alluded to, and are perhaps Uie first letters of tliis indusU-ial alphabet In the meantime Mr. Hancock, study- ing closely the properties of the material, contrived those methods and se- cm-ed those patents which have been the basis of much of the subsequent operations. In proportion as the value of this substance has become known, so has a desire extended to ascertain the range of its growth in tlie East. '* "■ It is now known that the gutta-percha ti«e abounds in that extreme south-eastern pohit of Asia which obtains the name of the Malay Peninsula ; in the neighbouring island of Singapore ; in the important Bomean island which Rj\jah Brooke has been the means of making so familiarly known to us ; and ui vaiious islands which constitute tlie Eastern Archipelago. There seems very little cause to apprehend any failure in quantity ; for even if the present supply from tlie neighbourhood of Singapore should be exliausted, the capabihties of more distant islands arc quite beyond present calculation. ^ 1 ]2 INDIA IIUBBEB AND OUTTA rERCHA. An interesting sketch was given in the Daily Nms, a few months ago, of the Bpiead of the gutta-percha trade, when once it became known tliat a market hal sprung up for that material. Tlie jungles of Uie J ohoro Archipelago some Hisunce from Singapore, were the scene of tl.e earhes «'^th;;;P^gJ.;^^^;l tlicv were soon ransacke-l in every direction by parties ot Malays and l^hineso while the indigenous population also gave themselves up to the search witl zel^ and avidity. The Tammigong. or chief, declared the precious gum to bo a go^mment'monopoly-a st'rokS of policy at which we -^fj^^^^^^l greatly ; he appropriated the greater part of the prohts and still lett Uio S'llij^'enougli'to Stimulate the'm to purstie the quest; and these M^^ieT their tui-n, obtained an enonnous profit from die laboui-s of the A.bon|jino3^ In short, he gutta-percha fever in tlie east paralleled tlie railway fever m tlie west bui camf a little after it in point .>f time. 13es des al he other sources of profit, the Tamungong employed whole tribes ot heredifciry seifs ui the seaJch for giitta percha. "^ The gum hunters went from isUmd to island in que' t of the precious commodity ; but here they met with new dmrnants; ti)e petty sultans each imitated tlie tammigong, and declared gutta P^^^f "^/f J'^ ^ regd monopoly. The commercial value of Uie gum being Bubstance. that the extent to which the manufacturing arrangenionta have grown can be duly ajipreciated. ISU)re-rooms for tljo nowlv-impoited gum; sU-am-enginoM luid boilijra for Huppiying tho agency wherelty the manufacturing processes lu-o conducted ; lai-ge buildings Hiled with the nmchinos and tools for working ; woiitshops m which the finishing (irooesses are (ioniluctod ; a oanal quay for unshippuig the raw material, and shinping the linishetl goods ; iill Hpeak of a busy series of operations. It is tJso proper to remoi-k, that another extensive establishment of a similar character is caiTied on at West Ham, and tliat minor monntactories are now scattered over London and other towns.' The Great Exhibition has in thii, m in other matters, conveyed to mUlions of persons a kind and degree of infonuation which would not otherwise be forthcoming. We have tliere hiul an opportunity of seeing gutta-percha, not merely in Wa elegant finished forms, but in all the successive stages of its manufacture. We have seen tlie rough block or mass, the chips into wliich tliirt is cut, the shreds into which the chips are torn, tlie homogeneous moss into which the shrods are kneaded, the sheets into which the maw* is n)ll«d, and the finished articles Into which the sheets are fashioned ; tmd thu« the industrial history of an important substance is spread out intelligibly be- fore us. 1 1 • 1 The Oriental knavery which leads to tlie mixing of stones and wood witli the masses of gutta-percha we lately adverted to ; and a gliuice at the works of the Company shows us tho result. In the store-room the blocks and lumps, of slightly-varymg coloiu' and texture, generally present a fair outside, and it is not till the first process has been gone through tlmt the fmud can be detected. This process consists in cutting the block into slices. There is a vertical wheel, on tlie face of which ai-e fixed three knives or blades ; and while this wheel is rotating with a speed of two hundred turns a mmute, a block of gutta-percha is supplied to it, and speedily cut into thin slices — much on the same principle as a turnip-cutter performs its work. Woe to tlie steel edges if a stone be imbedded in the block ! all alike, the soft and the hard, ore cut through, but not with impimity. These slices show that the gutta-percha is by no means uniform in different parts, either in colour or texture. To bring about a miiformity is tlie object of the shredding or tearing process. The slices aie thrown into a tank of water, which is heated by steam to such a temperature as to soften the mass ; the dirt and heavy impurities fall to the bottom, leavmg a pasty mass of gum ; and the mass being thrown into another rotating machine, is there so torn and rent and dragged asunder by jagged teeth as to be reduced to fragments. The fragments fall mto water, upon the surface of which (owing to the small specific gravity of the material) tliey float, while any remaining dirt or impurity falls to the bottom. Those fragments are next converted into a dough-like substance by another softening witli hot water, and the dough undergoes a thorough kneading ; it is placed in heated iron cylinders, in which revolving drums so completely turn and squeeze and niLx it that all pai^s become alike, and every particle presents a family hkeness to its neighbour. The kneaded state may be considered the dividing lino between the pre- paratory processes and those which relate to the fashioning of the material. INDIA ROnnEB AND OOTTA PEBCHA. 15 I u tliore carried on ; lODH Hiul wareroomH, elbow mmco. It in \ of Uiis rcinorkabli^ arratiKeniontH have owiv-impoited |mng of the material. Tho soft ductile moss mav be formed either into shoeta or tubes. In fonning sheetM the nia«» in paisetl between steel niUors, ])laond at a dintance apart cor- responduig with tho thicknoHS of tlie sheet to bo miule — whether for tho h«»«lH of a rough-booted pedesuion, or for the delicato " gutUi-perchn tissuo," now BO much employed by surgeons. By tlie time tliat tlio substance has passed through the rollers it has cooled stiifaciently to assume a solid firm consistency. By the adjuHtment of a few knife edges tho sheet may be cut into bands, or strips of any width, before leaving the machine. In making tubes and pipes tlie soft mass of knoailod guttorpercha is passod through hoatiid iron cylinders, where a singulur niodihcation of the wire-drawing process reduces u to the desired form and dunensions. From the sheets and tubes thus made, numberless articles are produced by cutting and pressing. Machines, somewhat like those uHer. It hears an amoinit of friction and liard usago which is froqnontly Hnrprisinp;. At New York there is a giitta percha pipo a thotisand feet in length, which conveys the water of tJi' groat Croton Aqueduct to BlackwcU'H Island; the pipe lies along th(i botl . ■ tli»?? available for this purpose than for the conveyan ads. Bui vor any temporary gas lighting, notliing can well be more convenient. Let a festi- val, an honoi-ary dit t v, a " gi*and demonstmtion," be given in a large building not usually lighted to any very biilliant extent ; gutta percha gas-pipes can be aiTanged with great rapidity, owing U) the case with which they may be bent in any direction, and fastened to any other material. A veiy pretty applica- nimti i lTMit ii - ntrodiu'iHl into Uio lis tlmt t\w <'arl)onii» ith thti Iciiil iif till) •HHCMMin^ poiKOIlDII.S ,li()rili«»hi ivgrco ; iirid er, thiH olTi'ct Hrcnn 1)68 of thin iiiatorial mm nil iiniomit. of At, N«!w York tlicrc \ convi jH l\u' wiitur jiipo lii'H nt()ii(:» thn Vftrds of 11 hundnMl h*<(l luid tliH w(3ight f!d i aids. Bui lor vcinient. Let a festi- n in a large building •cha gas-jdpes can be ch tliey may be bent L very pretty applica- ixniA nt'BDEn ahd outt.v pkhciu. IT tion in «oniotiino« noen in workshop-^, whore a guH-light can be oanied by hand to any part of a room. Onoendof a iTutlu p^nhu tube is fasti'iied to a gux pipe, anmipting the flow uf gas thmugh it. GiiTTA Puuciu: IT8 Acoustic Skuvk es. Tho convtiyanco of lomid is, however, tho most extraordinary service which ^itta-percha tubes have yet rendered. If theio bo (and perhaps there may bo) any divt rsity of opinion in respect to water, clu'iniM I Bl l Wlt.!ifW,*tWI»g8 19 INDIA RUBBEH AND GUTTA PKBCHA. many useful voiiations Of tlie pvinciple as there are vtuiationB in the social '^rStT^lp'^Zgl^^^^^^^^ contrivai^ces .hich a..o in- tetfdStSA^otVtillly deaf pe..onB-but those -^^ "-- -^tH^': would otherwise disenable from convei-smg togetlier. TrU^e the ca^e o a Toramon London omnibus, with its Pittle and i-umble, and l^««g "^^^ .^«"J"^ sion it is a hard matter to caiTy on a conversation m such a vehicle yet a small length of tube, with a slight expansion at each end, would enable two ZsonsS converse n a tone inaudible to their neighbours^ In a railway ca- SSie ndse is genei-ally stiU greater, and the service rendered more marked SrSo? omnibuses now sometimes communicate ^"th the conductors and captains of steiunboata with the engine-men, bv gutta-percha tubes. But Uieso aiSirsSes compared withsuch as tSie tubes render at g^ef jr djs- tonces The Domestic Telegraph, as it has been called, is simply a gutta-percha • S conducted from one aWtment to another: it V^iTt^ Ce whoTo of transmitting messages, and savt' many a weary footstep ^o a^ose who are i Sckan^ caU of^thers. The Medical Mans Midn.jhtFnend a acta- daisical sort of title) is a gutta-percha tube ^^^ondrng from the doctors stree^door to the doctor's bed, by which a message can bo J'^^™ f ^ <^ J^^^ awakened practitioner instead of merely the sound ol his bell. In factories and laTge establishntents such speaking tubes are ^vancing extensively m frvcvr forthe communication between distant buildings is most complete. In printing-offices, spinning and weaving mills, in union poor-houses m hospiSS infin^aries, ahd m various other estoblishments of magnitude the advantages axe so self-evident ttmt the use is becommg ^«jy g~- ^^^^' +he Gutta Percha Tompany s works a fitting locality for such a trusty mes- inger) a tube stretches acJoss a wide open area which separates two clust^i^ ;f Sdrngs ; to an eye below it looks merely hke a thick wire, suspended in miS U^ it is in ^effect a path-way for soimd, a s^vlft «»««««S'fln7to confidai^t, an economizer of time, an insurer of accui-acy, a merciful friend to mS kgs and muscles. In a country town m Kent a shopkeeper has two houses o^n JJposite sides of a street f ho has had a gutta-percha tube laid do^ beneath the n)adway, and the two halves o'C his estabhshment can chat witli each other as though they occupied one room. .^snects But to return to the church-acoustic apparatus which is m "aany^fpecte the most interesting and remarkable of these highly curious apphcations Let ^conceive, for clearness of illustration, that in a remote pew of a church ^ a person who tliough not deaf, yet fails in ability to hear what is said m Sie pulpit or reading-desk. A gutta-percha tube Is laid down eitlxer on or benS the floor from the pulpit to the pew-the mateiial bends so easily thTt fmay be cS^ied in any ?or^-and a small ivoiy or hard wood ear-piece s attacheZto one end, while the other end expands m trumpet-fonn Now the remai'kable circumstance is, that Uie required effect is l;™"g^t about without necessitating the approach of the speaker's mouth to ^^ ^ube Jiis head may be two or three feet above, or below, or behind, or at the sid« « ?he tnimpetmouth ; and yet the sound wUl reach the remote end of tiic tube n audible qu^tity. Th/ truth is, that it the t«t>e receives a »^uty^^ sound (which it c4 in any direction round and near tlie «P«f ^'')' *»* .^ J^: tity i« BO economised, and so faithfully conveyed to the ot^Jf^, f ^-JJ^'^^J becomes condensed to an audible pitch; If the trumpet-mouth be large, and See^ piece very small, we may liken the action to the condensation ot many S^ee?sTsoS into one; and the ear of the auditor becomes sensible to • i ■ ■•^■^^:..^^^t^.-^>^..^'.-.C. . tuiations in the social rivaiices wliich ai'c in- hom noise or distance Take the case of a , and bang and confu- L such a vehicle ; yet a jnd, would enable two 3U1S. In a railway car- rendered more marked, th tlie conductors, and 3rcha tubes. But, tliesc render at greater dis- is simply a gutta-percha employed as a medium >otstep to tbose who are [idnijjht Friend (a lack-a- )g from the " doctor's " n be ti'ansmitted to the I' his bell. In factories dvancing extensively in lings is most complete. union poor-houses, in ishmenta of magnitude, oming very general. At r for such a trusty mes- li separates two clusters hick wire, suspended in iwift messenger, a secret ■acy, a mercSul friend to It a shopkeeper has two \ gutta-percha tube laid establishment can chat lich is in many respects tily curious applications. I remote pew of a church to hear what is said in laid dovra eitlier on or ( material bends so easily y or hard wood ear-piece 1 in trumpet-form. Now effect is brought about mouth to the tube; his )ehind, or at the side of e remote end of the tube J receives a mmtth-fiUl of • tlie speaker), that quan- X) the oUier end, that it apet-mouth be large, and (he condensation of many iitor becomes sensible to r«r* INDU nUBBEB AND OCTTA PERCIIA. 19 tliis condensed power. In practice, the trumpet-moutli is usually fixed to tlie front of the pulpit, moutli uppermost, and is stamped or moulded in an orna- mental foiin consistent witli the decorations of tlie pulpit. Beyond all tliis the sound may be laid on, like gas, to any pew or any quarter of the chm'ch ; for there may be a tube (which we will call the main-pipe) laid idong the centi-e aisle, and latei-al tubes may spring fi-om this to any required spot. Some clergymen have what tliey call a deaf pew ; tliat is, a pew in which those ai'e congregated who may be collectively benefited by this admu-able nppai-atus. This contrivance has been used at some of the great meetings (four thousand strong) at Exeter Hall, by those to Avhom the speeches would othenviae have been little else than dumb show. It does, indeed, seem as if one chai-acteristic of our age were the annihila- tion of space and time. Wo may breakfast in London and dine in Plymoutli. We make our gas at one spot, and hght it many miles off. W'e tmii a handle in London, and forthwitli a signal is felt or seen at Edinburgh. We whisper in a tube in one building, and the whisper becomes audible in another scores of yards off. No matter what the agent be — steam, light, electricity, soimd — we contrive so to bend it to om' sei-vice as to enable us to run a match against time and space. GuTTA Pekcha: its Telegraphic SEimcEs. This mention of electricity reminds us that one of the most novel, striking, and valuable f4)phcations of gutta percha is that in which it forms an envelope for an electro-galvanic wu-e. Wiiii*Tii'irrjiWBi*iiirif B at the Gutta Percha will receive the same . bai'go was moored in lid ai-ound tlie edges the extent of seventy cha : it was about tlie he same kind as tliat * the British C'hannel. B two ends of the wire lae instant the contact g passed tlirough the B of time. If it can m explode a small car- t is as yet difficult to vhich the metliod may icity has been before rire as this. tEETS AND Masses. iture that the material bemg fashioned for per- rolling mills have come m aiTangement ; for tiie or to adapt it to almost mong the list of such curious and diversitied may we next bestow a desired thickness, from in considerable lengths y with which this sub- 'ace — ^renders attainable e of water, why should ag for cisterns? The 5 given by the extensive on is quite remai-kable. ve pieces of sheet gum eing held temporarily in led in hot water and laid the application of a hot miber solders two sheets 5h more facile and expe- hat exceeds an eighth of )er square yard. Thsre is 8 not adhere to the wood ; keep the real cistern ui 3 wrought, on account of liquids, is that of pump INDIA KUBBEB AND GUCTA PERCHA. ai buckets and valves. The gutta percha advocates give leatlier buckets and valves a bjul character ; Uiey say tliat such articles cannot be made witliout a seam or raised joint, that water often softens the stitching of the seams, that die leather IS aflected by acids and alkalies, and that tlie articles require frequent repair- whereas tliese same buckets and valves, if made of the formidable modern rival to leatlier, have no seams or raised jomts, ai-o never softened by cold water, are (for the most part) not affected by acids and alkalies, aie veiy durable and are easily and cheaply repaired. As counsel on Uio other side ai-e not present, we must not venture on a verdict ; but it may perhaps safely be stated that gutta percha has realised ahnost aU that has been anticipated for It so lai- as coucenis its services when in contact witli cold water or other liquids. But Uie leaUier interest is attacked in its stronghold when gutta percha claims a place in our boots and shoes ; tlie batUe here becomes an important one, and must be fought fairly and honestly. As to the claims put forth, no one lias a right to pass judgment on them except after a long and steady trial • whether gutta percha soles are cheaper, more dumble, and more easily repaired tlian Uiose of leather, and wheUier they keep the feet dry in wet weather and wai-m m co d ^yeather— must be decided by each wearer for himself. If aU this be really the case, nothing can prevent the extended use of such substi- tutes for leaaier. The oddity of tlie matter is. tliat " every man his own cob- bler may be wloptod as a ma.xim in tlie case ; for the fixing of gutta-percha ^^ : ^ «5^eveiythmg else made of this remarkable substance, is readily etiected. The sous of Crispin may, however, stiU comfort tliemselves with the fact that " upper leathers " reraara pretty much within their own domam • although even here mdia rubber and gutta percha are beginnhig to invade it y^'^^\^■ * P^**. ^^ '^ ^^"^ "^'^ ^*^ P«'^<'*»*- ^^y not a quadniped als6? Wdl tins material suffice for -horse-shoes ? Perhaps not, considering tlie severe usage to which such shoes are exposed. But there has lately been devised a cmious and very usefiil apphcation of gutta percha to the hoi-se's foot. AVhen a road is newly coat«d with broken flints, Uie fi-agments have a tendency to cut and injure the foot of this trusty animal in the sunken por- tion within tlie iron shoe. A sole of leather is sometimes appUed as a pro- tection ; but gutta percha, from its plastic character when warmed, is capable ot bemg pressed into the commissm-es and cleft of the " frog " of the foot, so as to adhere closely to all the exposed portion of the foot. And yet, at night- time, or whenever deemed desirable, this shield may easily be removed and adjusted again by shght wanning. There is a peculiai- application of gutta percha which, though well under- stood in manufacturing towns, is not very familiar to general readei-s We allude to wheel bands for machineiy. When a shaft or wheel is rotating another shaft or wheel at a considerable distance may be made also to rotate' by cajiyuig an endless band from one to the other, and making it coil tightly round both; tlie first wheel causes the band to rotate, and this in its turn communicates simUai- motion to the second wheel. Now these bands, until with:n the last few yeai-s, have generally been made of leather ; but gutta percha is found to possess many quaUties avaUable for Uiis purpose. A strip of tlie requued width is cut from the sheet, and the two ends of tliis stiip are joined, so as to fonn an endless band. The qualities which seem to adapt tins material for sudi purposes are the durability and strengtli, tlie pemianeut contractibihty, tlie uniformity of substance, the power of resisting water, acids, alkalies, oil, and grease, and the facility of making joints. The bands ri <)0 IKOU RUBBER AM) OOTTA PEHOHA. are now used to a congid arable extent In breweries, bleach .«"/ J'^-^'^lJ^' Ttton and ^ooUen-faetoriea, i~«-w°'k9, paper-nnll«, cor^^nmB b^ and oUier large efltablishmentu where much wheel work Is employed. Itlms a ve,7 rea^nonable conjecture, that the pecuhar P^P«jJ« ^«/ g«/^. percha would render it a valuable material for boat^-not P^Aftps the mnj 5av boaU for commercial and nauticU purposes, but those intended for some Sr^er^'ce WhVn Lady Franklin fitted out an exnedition m seai^h of TrlilirrusbL, ayear'or two ago, CapUun Forsy& Jhe ««™"-^^^^^^ the Tssel, took out with him a gutta-percha boat, presented *«' f^^^P^^^ by Messrs. Searle. His account of the behaviour of this boat, ""der the rouKh usage to which it was subjected in tlie icc-bound regions of the nortn L most kudSoTy He states that, "whilst tlie other boats constructed of worsuffe^ much by the cutting of the young ice, the gutta-percha boat was Ttt^e Tist dama/ed, and retted to England >« f^ w^ ^ J«^;;"'^^^^^^ as when she left, although she underwent all the rough work of the voyage. Mr Snow who had especial charge of tho gutta.pe,«ha boat belonging ^^o » Prince Albert," has detailed in a clear manner the/emar'mble way m whi^^^ this material resists the rude butfetings of those regions. It mxiM be remem bered that the boat had a skeleton of wood and a covenng « "jf J^?^*^^^^ Mr 8now «av8 " The severest trial it endured, and endured successfully, was fnbJTmy^^its to Whaler Point, Port Leopold To ^o^ej^^f JJjJ ^ ihP nature of such ice as was there met with, it will be impossible fuly to SLefv^^e^^tira boat was placed in. T]»e J'^'^^t™"-* ISlhlre among loose masses of ice.-'with the sea m a state of quiescence, would have bTe^Liteenough to have proved or not the value of gutta-percha boats ; but X^^lnlT^r^ent c J, those masses were all in ^^'^'^ :^^'!^J^'^ rs^iouiig in upon an opposing current, it might have been ''fj e''«"8«^- LTwSif deteriorating SrnitSe P^vi^usly attest^ goodness ctfth^^ article —if it liad not been able to have resisted the severe shocks it received. ..... iwing tfSough^ ^er the ice ; sometimes Ufted completely out of the water bvZ^sSen contact of a restless uje; and at othei-s thrown sideways upon S XSSg ci^^iece ; 1 think it would have been ne.t to »mP<2»We for Sy oSTkind rf bJkt to have been otherwise than crushed or ^^J^,^<^^1 Snt " It was in aright spirit that the explorers gave the name of Ontta. PeSlnle5'T£» %S whSe the boat had rendered them such miportant ^n*fl»e BlentiM sprinkling of salt water to which a hard seafaring man is exjose^ i?^ems nS^reLnable that gutta pe«ha wouW be fomid ser- S*le in a great variety of ways on board ships. Accordmgly. we find that a Sil^fitSi^^and a saiSrs "lit" may now comprise » f:;;;"^^^ *;« jl^^^^ des^ made in this material. Mo«t of them ^'^J^^^'^^^^tl'^'^Yi^^ml greater or lesser thickness, but some are '^''^^ "^ ^%Z?^f . .^-^e of such wurnoses gutta pereha is valuable because it is wat#rpn)ot , for some, t^m^ KTaffVcted by salt water ; lor others, because it ^Juoy ; as a linmg fo^ ««t!r tilnks a* a Vug or a basm for holding water ; as a pump hose or a pump- SLttTi a SitSSgV ships ; as a speLmg tn«n^ = - ^ TJZ^l^l nete; m a waterproof covering; as an airtight ^fe-boat cell as a ^ ^^ line- as a Uning for boxes and tranks; as a flask or a bottle ; or as a chart SS The stnJge diversity of these iw« i» »affie»entty «pp«ent. M a sailor "ill r'^" -■--*■— -'"•-.■■^i^ imilr'Hii iilnitiiiiiiii sach and dye-works, m-millB, brick-yarda, employed. r propertieB of guttn b perhaps the every- ge intended for some )edition in search of ti, the commander of ited for that purpose this boat, under the regions of the north, boats constructed of ^tta-percha boat was 08t fis good condition work of the voyage." boat belonging to the arltable way in which It must be remem- ring of india nibber. ired successfully, was [iose unaccustomed to >« impossible fully to re trtmsit to and fro, uiescence, would have ittft-percha boats ; but restless agitation, with ) been well excused — oodness of the article cks it received lately out of the waterr thrown sideways upon next to impossible for ished or stored on the 9 the name of " Outta- l them such important haitl seafaring man is , would be found ser- )rdingly, we find that a diversified list of arti- factured from sheets of ther forms. For some waterproof; -for some, lose it is not liable to rocks ; and for others, lication of heat. Here fe buoy ; as a lining for ft pump hose or a pump- et; as a float for fishing at cell ; as a cowl or a a bottle ; or as a chart y (^oreut. If a sailoir INDIA RrSBER AND OtJTTA PEHOHA. 3S had been told, some years ago, that a time would arrive when he might have liiH hat, his wiish-lmnd bowl, his tiller-rope, his speaking-trumpet, his life-buoy, and the sheathmg of his ship, all made of the same material, he would have cleemcxi it a landman's joke, fitted only for " the marines." Medical piactitionois ar« daily finding that gutia pereha is applicable to a number of purposes incident to their professional duties. A thin sheet or lining of this matenal is employed as a wrapping in rheumatism and gout. A thicker sheet forms excellent splints or supports for fractured bones, or limbs under surgical treatment As a stothescope or chest^explorer, a gutta- percha tube is said to be veiy effective; for though a capital conductor of sound. It conducts heat very slowly. A i-are catalogue we should present, if all the useful applications of gutta l.ercha were duly set forth. We should -have to speak of breast-coating for water-wheels, of galvanic batteries, of shuttle-beds for looms, of packing for steam-engines and pumps, of cricket and bouncmg balls, of felt.edging f.,r paper making of curtain rings whose merit is nouelemie^, of window-blind cord and sash Imes, of clothes' lines (recommended to the laundress as delVing aU attacks of weather), of bosses for flax-spinning frames, of whips and sticks, of policemen s an i "special constables " stives, of ftax-holdera Ibr heckhng machmes, of skates, of fencing sticks, of washers for the axles of wheels, of plugs or solid ma-sses used in buildings, of buffers for railway carnages, of gunpowder oanistors (which "keep the powder dry"), of sheet- covering for damp walls of lining.^ for ladies' bonnets, of jar covers, of sponge bags, of foot batlis, of funnels, of goldsmiths' bowls, of bobbins for spinning machines, of covers for rollers, of book covers, of moulds for electrotypes, of coffin linings, of sounding boards, of portmanteaus, of beds for paper-cutting machmes, of fine and coarse thread, of envelope boxes, of powder flasks, of portfolios, of a stopping for hoUow teeth— a tolerable list, this, which shows inTOilabi^ ^^ applications for which this singular vegetable product GuTTA PEilClTA AS A DeCORATTPE AND FhIK-ArT MATEBUt. Widely apart from the various applications of gutta percha described in the preceding paragraphs, are Uiose in which ornament rather than utility is the mam purport in view. To dissmer ornament from utility is neither needed nor to be wished; the two ought to be linked hand ia hand ; but Ae difference ol chai^ter here mtended to be implied will be easily apparent. Admirably does this substance show itself to be adapted to such purposes. When softened by heat, it will take ih^ impress of a mould or stamp with Uelicat« precision ; and in the course of a few minutes it reassumes its tough state, retaining permanently tlie pattern giv^n to it The power of applica- ll^Vi! u '™'*!^'*«<'' or limited only by the inclination of the purchaser, vvnether the mould be of copper or of brase, of peiu'-tree or of box, an im- press can equaUy weU be obtained from it. In practice, aU these four mate- rials are employed, and sometimes others. The mould being carved and in a state of readiness the piece of gutta percha (always, or neaily always, in die lorm of sheet) is laid upon a marble slab, which ,^s heated by steam from be- "f^' " • f"™ '^'"^ ***"^ brou^t into a pliant and yielding state, it is placed tm or m the mould, a cotmtei-mo the similar arti- cles made in papier mache. . .. Be^Sy. paLm, graining, clouding, or whatever we niay choose t., tenn it is produced in a veiy remarkable way on the surface of gutta percha. borne o7tihe Sy-mouldJd articles just described display on their surface a diver- :Uy of brSn tmts somewhat Inalogous to the diversity of green tmts m U, now-celebi-ated though lately almo8t■unkno^vn malachite. Ihese brown tints me ant to be attributed to a painting of the surface, artificially produced ; but U is L to Uie natural coloL of the substance Some specimens of gu ta nerchrare daiker than others, and all have a tendency to darken by age; and Se wXrdexterously avails himself of these varying tmts to P«>ducej n^tem S softens two or more pieces, of different Unts, passes them be- twSwo roUe^ to thoroughly um^te and amalgamate them, and then presses Sem iX Se mould ; leaving it to the freaks of chance to bnng out ttie wavy £r™ the Srthe treaks, the knots, which the mtermbcture of tmts pro- C; Thi^d versity is not very apparent at first ; but it beconies developed ;Sthe substance is polished, ind considerably enhances the beauty of the 'Ito'v^T^pptation of gutta percha to Uie purposes of printing has recenUy been made, on the stereotype principle ; and the neatness displayed by some of the woSi-cut engi-avings produced on this method, as shown in the Indus- trid E^^tion, Is not a Uttle remaikable. A page of mingled type ai^d wood- cute wfwm suppose, is prepared in the ordinary way; then a 8tereotyi)« mould fr^m this is obtaiJied'^in gutta percha by pressure; a cast from Jis mou d inbtained on a cylinder of gutta percha by the aid of * cylmder- Sess and the printmg is effected from the gutta-percha cyhnder The gutta- S;Ste this represents the plaster-mould of ordinaiy stereotyping, while Sie ff^tVpercha cyhnder repres^ts the metal stereotype plate It « said That ^^cHe printed from these gutta-percha cylinders >-^thout thejnis- toma?? p^cess of wetUng ; and it is also stated that an hour suffices to make SKmould and tlie cylinder- 1^ ^^ "^^ '' '^^'^t «"*** ?T^*- TI fr, vet destined to see many important extensions. We have proof fiimished, in Jhe int^esting AuTti-i^ department, how deUcately impressions may be taken in iis material fi:om wood-cuts, to fonn moulds whence electrotype casts can be obtjuned. From the outlme here given, it will be seen that, while mdiambber anxJ gutte percha hkve many features in common, they so far differ as to give nse to whoUy distinct b4iches of manufacture and to very diverse practical apph- cations. iOlKMJMWitl U i l-MHr ilii limi II HI I |M«1 II I i l l l — imil***!* : lighter and simpler [1 the vaiied and ever- Trays are produced pattern : bread trays. Uible ti-ays, pen trays, L'hen there are work lers, plates and plat- iltoreliefs. The desk Olds are produced in iirafer , boxes, envelope Iry to the similar ai-ti- aay choose to terra it, gutta percha. Some their surface a diver- of green tints in the !. These brown tints ificially produced ; but ne specimens of gutta to darken by age ; and ag tints to produce a ints, passes them be- thera, and then presses 3 to bring out the wavy ermixture of tints pro- it it becomes developed aces the beauty of the af printing has recently less displayed by some as shown in the Indus- mingled type and wood- ray ; then a stereotype ssure ; a cast from this f the aid of a cylinder- la cylinder. The gutta- naiy stereotyping, while lotype plate. It is said .iuders without the cus- m hour suffices to make it, gutta percha may be aave proof furnished, in y impressions may be olds whence electrotype ile india nibber and gutta differ as to give rise to diverse practical appli- INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF ELECTRICITY. If any matter-of-fact man should ask (as matter-of-fact men do sometimes ask) what is the use of science ? — ^we might point, among other things, to the wonderful history of electricity during the last quarter of a century. We might bid him seek for an answer in the telegraphs which now waft intel- ligence from one end of Europe to another; in the clocks which now go without springs or weights ; in tiie rich metal gilding which dispenses with the unhealthy fumes of mercury ; in the fine-art productions now copied with such marvellous quickness, neatness, and cheapness ; in the engineexing operations whereby electi-icity blasts acres of rock at once ; in the curative influence of this agent on tiie animal system. All these, and very many others, are testimonies of the good which science has rendered to num. For it must be remembered that the principles of science require a long elaboi-a- tion and process of development, before practical applications can be looked for ; and these elaborations and developments depend on students who work silently in tiieir laboratories and closets, too ofti.^n uncared for and unrewarded by the world. It is the same everywhere and at all times. The man of science is laying tlie gi'oundwork for the artizan, though the latter is not always aware how largo is the senice thus rendered. The reciprocal aids ren- dered between Science and Industry ought never to be lost sight of, any more than those between Fine Art and Industry ; all tlu-ee work hand in hand, each one gaining strength in return for the strength which it imparts to the others. • Let us glance at a few of the " Curiosities" presented by the modern ap- plications of electric power to useful and ornamental purposes. The Electbio Telegbaph and its Mabvels. Who was the happy suggestor of the electric telegraph ? To this day it is a disputed point ; and it is likely to remain so : for modest hints as to tiie power of communicating signals by this agency may have been thrown out before any formal proposals for that purpose were made public. Many slight suggestions, experiments, and contrivances, having some such object as this in view, were made m times long gone by ; but it was about fourteen years ago that its piticticability as a system was made apparent. To the little Blackwall Railway is due tiie honour of being the scene of this manifestation, so fai* as England is concerned. At the time that Messrs. Wheatstone and Cooke patented their electric telegraph, in 1837, this railway was being constructed ; and the peculiar system of rope-traction, adopted for the accommodation of intermediate stations, rendered some efficient tele- graphic system necessary. The new agent, electro-telegraphy, was employed ; and most admirably did it do its work. It kept up a communication between o '^P^""" simijiwwifffiia^^ ■ Q ISDl'STniAl. APPIJCATIOSS OP EI.F.CTHICITY. tJie two tomiini and Inilf a dozen intorincdinto stiilions, mul proyidid for tliu transmission of si-^iuls from every station to every otlier, at intervals of a (inarter of an honr tin-ouMliout the day. Tho rojie has died a imlinal death, and },'ivon way to loeoniotivos ; but the telegraph has gono on increasing in importance yer.v by year. The tiumu inventors who iiitroduoid the first telegraph liavc imnroved it hy gubBeciuent patents, mid htlvo (aiiion>? otlier things) devised a mode by which it may i)rint its own indications, in the mean lime foreign nations were not blind to the wondei-s thus gradually developed; Professor Moi-sc in America, and Dr. Sleinhcil and olliers in (lerminiy, devised fonnsof electric ti'legraphs in which much novelty and in;((iiuity were disjilnyed. The lirst experimeiitei-s employed a return wire to complete the galvanic circuit; but it has since been found that this may be dispensed with. In IHi-J, Mr. IJain conducted an esperiment at tlie Sei-pontine, in whicli Ik; niwlo the water itself perform tlic part of tlie return wire. I'roi'essor Wln.-atstone, about the same time, laid down a telegraphic wiro from Kings (JoUege to the shot tower nearly oppositfl, and comi)leted the circuit by the water of tin; 'I'hanies. liong before tlie Electric Telegraph Conqtany was established, public atten- tion had been attracted to the marvels attained in quick connnunicution of in- telligence. The (Queen's speech was printed at Southaini)ton within two hoiu's afU'r its deliver}' in Jjomhm ; tlie substatice of it having been trans- mitted letter by letter. A murderer, whose crime had been committed at Halt Hill, was captured in a railway carnage at Paddington, the news of his crime having tnivelled quicker than even railway travelling could cairy him ; the drewl messenger, witli lightning speed, passed silently through tlie wire sus- pended near him, and overtook him in his attempted escai)e from justice. Games of chess were played by persons a hundred miles apart : eiuli move being signalled by the telegraph. A deserter from the United Stati()ved it I'V cd ft inodo by whicli L'ign niitidns werii not r Moi-se in Ainorira, of t'lci'tric ti'lcgniplis ompleto tho gftlvanic Hinst'd with. In iHi-J, in wliich he ntiido tlio 3(»r Wlieatatone, iii)out {'s CoUo|?o to tlie shot vator of tlie Tliauu'M. iblished, public atten- connnmiicution of in- lliampton within two it havint^ Ix^en tnms- xn coniniittod at Halt le news i>f his crime could cai-ry iiini ; the Juongh tlie wire sus- escupe from juatico. ilus apart : eatli move United Ktatts army, u a similar way on tho lOckport corres}»oniled lilos distant; the one rmdinj? his advice antl ciiiony, pc'i'fonneil be- the {|uestion8 and an- J per tclegittph : the I'cuiony was afterwards ontrivcd electric tcle- 8, and thia even very ictical dhficulties, tJie I aa waa at iiret aiitici- 1 a pencil, in arbitraiy edification, tlie charao- unt instrument. Mr. ite Tpnipdt, as a set of 4sion of improvements ' men were sharpened ■medium of thought ; itcnted ai»d some not. supplemental to tlioae . his electric telegraph, IXU18TBUI, APl'MOATlONS Of KKKtlUlCriV. a with a printing apiJUi-aliis for recording llio rcsiiUa by ordiimrj- inko sbarebolilei-H to construct a thousand miles of telegmpb <.n die n.'sv syslon. Si H.iid by its advocates (,« advocates always say) U, bo mn.h superun tLthe old. Negr,tiations are on foot with U.e various nulway c.mpanies each tcLgraph company seeking to outbi.l the other in offers n.ade for the uTe of thfriilway lines • U.e profiti* to bo derived from ctt.ng out be use o Z telegmpb for commercial purposes. If this competition do -jO ;-«;;-" J^^ into recklessness, there may be enough financial success for both, and the public m^ be well sei-ved! but the dithculty consists in mamtammg the distinction between wholesome imd unwholesome competition. But Uie sid»narinc t^degraph is that which now most rivets public attention it is so manellous, and will be of such hicalculable udv,mtage d ^^^^^^ Where and when the subject was first broached we do not know, but m 1H41 Twy ewspap. r tlirew out a suggestion that a -»>"''"-"-/l;'«'.f »\ ""«'f nossiblv be laid down from that island io Southampton. In IHir, lui A iie- rican newspaper— the countiy for tlaring " go-ahead journals— gave a stung of ScSin to show tliat an ocean udegmph from Eng ami to America was m^icable. This was a matter in which the Admiralty felt on interest; and mrtly for their immediate uses, partly to test the larger project, they caused a iubilrbie tcdegraph to be laid down from Gosport to Portsmouth, across PorUmouth Harbour. The perfect success of tliis project made a great im- Sion on the pubUc mind; and hence projectors became abundant^Dover ESais. Holyhead to Dublin. Max-seiUes .o Algeria England t<> An;e";'J- noS^ing ^aane amiss to Uiese oceanic telegraphei-s. In ^e begnming of 849 the Electric Telegraph Company laid down wires from their office at Hull to Se new rlilwry Son. a.ul passed it at a depth of twenty feet beneaUi the ^ater Uirougb one of tlie docks; this wixs a submarine (or at l^f f. «f ^,1»«°"« ZZ^h on a small scale, and succeeded perfectly well. A "Dubhn and HoWhml Submarine Electric Telegmpb Company" ^^''^^P^^'^^i;""- vertised in the same year- but shai-ebolders do not appear to have been forth- comhig In the sanie year, also, tlic French Govermnent gmnted a pnvdege to Mr Jacob Brett to lay down a submarine telegraph from I' .-once to Eng- Snd the Government to derive certain advantages from it, and the contractor to have the commercial monopoly of tlie system for ten years. One of tlio conditions of tlie contract is said to have been, that by tlie aid of a single wne S^d of an obsen-er on each shore, the apparatus should be capable of prmt.ng ^1 papen in clear Roman type, 100 messages of 15 words eax-h, m 100 con- '' iTwL'fdaylo be remembered, when this thread of thongbt (if it may so be tennedTwas Lt sU-etohed across Uie Channel from England t^ Fnmce. On SraS August, 1850. this was actually effected; and although circxun- stoces have retarded the completion of the system, Uie soundness of the Sciple was aLidanUy tested.^ The wire employed was of copr^er encased in guU percha; about thirty mUes of such wire was coiled i-onnd a large cylinder in the steamer Ooliath. One end of tlie wire being secured on shore a Dover!the steamer slowly voyaged a<:ross Uie Cbaimel to Capo Grisnez. a pmnt onTe French coast midway between Calais and Boulogne ; the wre mxcoded as the vessel proceeded, and sank to the bottom of the sea. where it was kept L«i by leaden weighte placed at intervals. Onward the steamer proceeded Se those on board kept up a fire of telegmphic questions and answers with : --■""^--^i"-irfTr-"' — - - i 'm^^m»imm»mmkmilii»*MiuMMm mimimmmkd ■«M MM mmm rv. tilities have not yet protly Hurc to Hriso w helm \)Vo\\dod by on ihe new Hystein, Lo bo inuc.b Huperior milway coinpanieH ; offeii* umtle for f.ho ottiiig out the use of on do not degenerate SH for botb, and the in maintaining the tition. ,ets public attention : viuitage if succossful. lot know, but in 1H44 rine teb-graph might I. In IHIT) an Amc- imals — gave a string 1,'land to America wan felt an interest; and project, they caused a ) Portsmouth, across ject made a great im- ime abundant — Dover England to America — he beginning of 1849 their office at Hull to enty feet benealli the )r at least subaqueous) fell. A "Dubhn and van projected and ad- ear to have been fortli- jnt granted a privilege from Fiimce to Eng- 1 it, and the contractor en years. One of the he aid of a single wire, be capable of printing ords each, in 100 con- liought (if it may so be iigland to Fi-ance. On and although circimi- tlie soimdness of tlie was of copper, encased J coiled roimd a large iing secured on shore at 3 Capo Grisnez, a point gne ; the wire uncoiled sea, where it was kept he steamer proceeded, itions and answers with I T" 1 INDt'HTBIAL APPLICATIONS OF RrjlCTRICI-n'. B the friends left behind at Dover; n strange defiance of distance and of waves ! At lengUi tht, as some Hujipose, a clock in which elottricil^' repliwes wlieuhvork and penduhnns : it is not so entirely magical. What it will really effect is this — if one clock l)e going correctly, an^' number of other clocks niay be made to borrow their indications from it, with very little other mechanism thtui hands ani- Jeremc of time-measuring indications. In Mr. Wheatstone's fn-st electric clock, for instance, shown in mition to tlie Uoyal Society in 1M4(), there was a lainiaiy clock witli a few extia adjustments, a galvanic hatU^ry, a skel(U)n clock without any mechanism for the maintaining or regulating power, ami conducting wires to conneia tlie whole tx)gether. Tlie piimary clock gavo correct lime, and uigenions contrivances enabled these indications to be imitated on the skeleton clock, througli the medium of galvanic agency con- ducted along tho wire. The principle was made very ai»parent, that a .singh; clock may he made to indicate the time in as many different places, disUint from each other, as may be ixMpiired. In an astronomical ohservaloiy, for instance, every room may bo fuinished witli un instrument which will copy exactly tho indications of tlio primai-y aslionoiiiical clock set up for tho use of the estiddishment. A vei-y striking illustration of th(! use of this manellous agency in connec- tion with clocks was given in tlie United States in 1847. It was not an electric clock, hut a pecidiar (uuploynient of two clocks and an elocti-ic tele- graph. Two astronomical clocks, at New York and Washington, were ac- curately adjusted to .solar time at those two stations, and an electro-telegraphic wire extended iiom tho clock room at om; station to the clock room at the oUior — a distance of '2^5 miles. At a given moment, say pn^cisely at noon, a signal was sent from New York to Washington, stjiting the exact time ; this signal was received instantaneously, or at least after an intei'Vid too short to he appreciated, and immediately compared with the indications of the Washington clock. The two clocks were thus compared at a given instant, although so far asimder ; and tho difference of the indications nieasui*ed the difference of longitmte between the stations: this difference was found to agree almost exactly with tliat detennined by astionomical and ti-igoiiometrical operations. Depending on the same principle, though modified by different circunistanccs, is the pai-adoxical i-ecei[)t of a message earliei- tlian it has been delivered — one of tlic most cmious among the " curiosities " of electi-icity. On tlie morning of New Year's Day, 1816, a second or two after an accurate clock iiad sU-uck twelve, a message was sent by the electi'ic telegraph from Pad- nkiHl in tlio IIouHO of K'lit lUiHWor, " Wait u iiiii. ' u. U itself to our notice, :«ii»iti(' fciitmv!* from mv<( Ijii'ii Hiibsiiliiiiy vmii iutrotliiciid mmw th tlio aiiumulus on •y, or siuiill inii^iictic (iUililiHlmu'iit, by con- iich iiwtciul of u piUl in wliich ulcrtriclt^' \y niugii'ul. Whut it any nunilior of other witli voiy littlu other pfiiduction as ft traiin- atoui'.H Ih-st oltictric y in 1H4(), tluro was ic hatti-ry, a skoirlon ogulatiiig power, and ! primary clock gavo le iniUcations to bo galvanic ugt^ncy con- i|iarc'nt, that a Kiiiglt! flcsrejit places, distant ji(;al obscrvatoiy, for unit which will copy kiot np for the uso of u» agency in connec- 147. It was not an ami an eldctiuc tolo- Vashington, wore ac- an cleetro-telegraijhie ;ie clock room at the iiy pwcisc'ly at noon, tlu! exact time ; this itciTal too short to be ns of the Washington I instant, although so inx'd the ditferonce of uud to agree almost lometiicrtl o[)erations. H'ercnt circumstances, lias been delivered — electi-icity. On the Ler an accurate clock telegrai)h from Patl- INl>?f»TniAT, AI>ri.trATIONN Of l;l.KrTRIClTY. f diiigton to f^louRh: thin ntMMago wan rocelved in iHtl by tln> obspiTcrs at Slough ! 'I'll.' Jrufh in, that as Slongh i-^ westwrtnl of l»a> 10 INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OP ELECTKll'lTY. I scribed There are new materials for the cells of the galvanic battery ; new onancements for conveying away the acid fumes generated dunng the galvanic action ; new modes of rendering the current uniform in strength ; new conihl- nations of fluids in the battery; an amvngement of apparatus for producmg mechanical power ; an eiectro-magnetic locomotii-e ; and a new form ot elecUic telegraph— the whole comprising many ingenious novelties. Anotlier aspii-ant to public favour in the same field is Trofeasor Page, ot America In a series of lectures which he dehvered before the Smithsonian Institution in IBftO, ho described certain anangements of electro-motive appa- ratus which he had adopted. The American journals frequently indulge tu such a tone of bombast and exaggeration when describing any really ingenious inventions by our transatlantic brethren, that they must often bo read with a certain discount, a drawback allowance for sui-plns enthusiasm. In the ac- couuis of Professor Pages experiments, it is stated that a bar of iron, one hundred and sixty pounds weight, was made to spring np by magnetic action, and to move ropiilly up and down, " dancing like a feather in the air, widiout any visible support." The distance tints moved, it is true, was only ten inches; but it was concluded, by a somewhat sweeping logic, that a himdi-ed teet could be as readily gained as ten inches, and d ton raised as well a.s any smaller weight, by hicreasing the power. The mighty steam hainmer, it was conjec- tured would have to yield to this more powerful rival. Professor Page also exhiliited an electro-magnetic engine of five-horae power, set in action by a calvanic battery occupying about three square feet ; it was a reciprocating engine of two-feet stroke, and weighed (with the batteiy) about a ton. It was capable of working a circular saw ten inches in diameter, which cut up boards into laths, and which revolved eighty times in a minute while so doing llie inventor candidly avowed that, tliough the expense was less than that of steam in most engines, it was rather greater than in engines of cheap construction ; but the newspaper commentators would not submit to any limitations to then- bright predictions , for we ai-e told tliat "we can now look forward wth cei- tainty to tlie time when coal wUl be put to bettor uses tlian to bmn, scald, and "^Bu7although there is a tinge of extravagance in the publislied accounts of inventions and novelties, there is an energy across the Atlantic which is pretty sure to lead to something valuable. In the case now before us, the Congress appropriated 20,000 dollare to assist Professor Page in carnring on his expen- ments Those experiments wore made at Washington ; and tlie object m view was to determine the availability of electric power as a substitute for steani powe^-not simply under a scientific aspect, but in the ordinarj- commercial arrangements of every-day life. The Professor has during the present year (Io61j exhibited an electro-magnetic en^ne which works a cylinder printing- press He has also made an electi'o-hammer. Hie head or mass of which wei-'hs about fifty pounds, and which he causes to rise and fall with great rapi'dity and force. His next achievement was the constniction of an electro- locomotive, with live-feet driving wheels and two-feet stroke, and a weight ol more than ten tons ; it was tried on the Baltimore Railway, and attained a speed of ten miles on hour on a level. In a letter to the Scienh/ic American ioumal, the experimenter, in answer to certain objectors, drew attention to the memorable tria. of locomotives on the Liveriiool and Manchester Railway in 188U, and asserts that, even in its present state, he would venture to place his electro-locomotive as a competitor in a contest with such a steam-locomo- tive as the " Rocket" nm twenty-two years ago. He moreover expresses ft con- lAiMMilMNMiiHMiiMkl rv. ilvanic bntteiy ; new d during the galvftnic trength ; new eoinbi- iratus for producing I new form of electiic is Professor Page, of fore the Smlthsonifin electro-motive appa- frequently indulge in » any really ingenious often be read with a husiasm. In the ac- it a bar of iron, one p by magnetic action, !r in the air, widiont , was only ten inches ; ; a hundred feet could IS well as any smaller ainmcr, it was conjee- Professor Page also ^r, set in action by a t was a reciprocating about a ton. It was •, which cut up boards while so doing. The »ss tlian that of steam f cheap construction ; my limitations to tlieir look forward with cer- lan to bum, gcald, and INDI'STUIAI. Al'l'LICATIONB OF ELECTllICITY. II published accounts of Ltlantic which i? pretty lefore us, the Congress carrying on his experi- and tlie object in view a substitute for steam ! ordinary' commercial iring the present year ks a cylinder printing- ead or mass of which 3e and fall with great jtraction of an electro- b-oke, and a weight of ailway, and attained a the Scienti/ic American tors, drew attention to id Manchester Railway would venture to place li such a steam-locomo- >reover expresses 6, eon- fldenco tliat his new contrivance " is capable of carrying two loaded passenger cai"s to lialtimore at the rate of twenty milos im hour, as soon as some of the vei-y gi'cat and obvious defects ai'o remedied." Ono of the most recent projects in this curious department of mechanical enquiry, is Mr. Sliepai'd's (or rather M. NoUet's, it having been puteuted for him in England) " Electro-magnetic heat, light, and motive-power pro^ ducing machine." A long name tliis, and lui imposing claim of power. The apparatus is veiy complex, and exhibits abundant uigei.mity; it is formed on the theoiy of decomposing water by electric agency, and then developing light, nnecially m tiie form and Jurangement of the charcoal points. Mr. Gillespie, in like manner, du-ected liis attention to this very delicate part of the arrangement, on which so much depends, and suggested a new mode of maintaining tiie constant distance. Mr. learce was anotiier of tiie inventors who took tiie carbon points into conside^ration, witti a view to improve tiieir mode of action. In the same year Mr. htaite, m con- iunction witii Mr. King, obtained another j)atent for a most extensive series ol improvements, modifications, adaptations, extensions, or whatever Uiey may best be termed, embracing almost every part of the subject, and showing simificantiy tiiat ttie former metiiod. however ingenious, must have been tull of imperfections of one kind or otiier. Professor Grove, in a lecture at tfie Royal Institiition, stated that he had illuminated tiie tii«itre of the London Institution by an electric Ught, five or six years previously; and he tiiought tiiat much hope and promise were in store for us, m respect to a bnUiant and economical principle of lighting. On tiie other hand, Mr. Rutter, who about tiiat time wi-ote a ti-eatise on gas lighting, gave tne new-conier. tiie electinc Ught a few gentle rubs ; and asked how it happened, if the light were so veiy efficient and economical, that it had not by tiiat time come mto use. indeed, ii miiiiri i iiiin i n i 'I'm r [CITY. ts ; and, for a time, the bIs. bllowing will convey an 8t place tlievc were two nts placed some »iuall a slow combustion, tho r apart; but this reces- anced them in an equal points were maintauied le two carbon cylinders IS, so that the galvanic uld traverse the small 1 one among Uie many as tlius to leap over the aerates an intense heat in question, formed of enerates, or is at least most called forth the lints at such a distance ug; for an intermitting y cases. 38 in this novel experi- ,B, for Uieir prospective y, and new applications dvanometer, to measure i tlie metal jjidium for naintaining a constant o an-ange the apparatus, r ordinary purposes, or ^ain exhibited in many if producing the desired u-cault, at Paris, of busy discussions in improved methods. M. e form and arrangement r, directed his attention h so much depends, and stimce. Mr. Pearce was nto consideration, with a year Mr. Staite, in con- . most extensive series of 1, or whatever they may le subject, Mid showing [)us, must have been full rove, in a lecture at the } theatre of the London /iously; and he thought respect to a brilliant and i, Mr. Rutter, who about new-comer, the electric if the hght were so very come into use. ixideed, INDl'STRIAL Al'l'LIt'ATIONS OF KLECTniCITY. 18 there were many misgivings among scientific men as to tJio fitness of the electric agency for tho object in view. Dr. Faraday, in a discussion on thi.s question at the Birmingham Meeting of the Britisli Association, commented oil the irrcgulai- character of the electric light, and its inapplicability for pur- I)0SC3 of general illumination : all objects appearing dark when tlie eye was embarrasse-| 14 INDUSTRtAl, APPttC'ATIONS OP ELEOTllIOTTY. A patent was taken mit in London for tliis milgiciil light ; nml tho con- troversy concerning it was maintained on both sides of the Atlantic*. Mr. Tftine insisted that the nsnal theoiy concerning oxygen, hydrogen, and water is all wrong; that there is a particular gas which Jias not yet been isolated, and for which we have not yet a name ; tluit tliis gas plus poaitive electricity constitutes oxygen ; tliat tho same gas plus neifntim electricity constitutes hydrogen ; and that these two modifications of the same gas form water. Dr. Foster, of Evtmsville Medical College, in Indiana, coiu'eived himself justified in saying that hydrogen is a mettd in the state of vapoiu", jtjst as steam is water in a state of vapour ; atul he formed a tlieory of the electric light on tliis basis. Another contro.'ersialist suggested that Mr. I'aine should examine tlie components left in tho batteiy after using, to see whether the existing atoms of oxyffen (which ho asserts ne\'er make their appearance at all) were to bo i'ound tnero. An English chemist of eminence repeated the e.vperiment, and foiuul that tho tui-pentine doen uridergti consumption during the passage of the hydrogen through it ; and that most of tlio inferences dmwn from the pro- ceeding are eiToneous. While this qiiestion wos still mider discussion, the engineering world was attracted by a patent obtained by IMr. Shepard, in which water is to be used as a store-house for powers quite marvellous. Water ia to be decomfwsed by galvanism ; the hydrogen is to take up a dose of carbon from another agent ; the carburetted hydrogen tluis produced is to yield a brilliant light; and it is to produce, in the act of burning, such an amount of caloric as to ctmstitute an economic substitute for coal in furnaces of steam boilers, &c. Such are the merits which the patent claims for the new method ; and henceforwani, tlic Shepai"d proiect shared with tho I'aine project the attention of tiiose interested in such matters. Let the theoiies be what they may, the electro- magnetic apparatus of Mr. Paine, as described and diagrammetl in tVie journals devoted to such subjects, is a fact, and a veiy complex fact, involving much delicate mechanism. Mr. Bhepai-d's .ipparattis, too (or rather the apparatus of M. Nollct, patented for him by Mr. Shepai-d in England), was al>otit the same time publicly described ; but this relates to power-developing rather than to light-giving. There certainly appears to bo ground for tliinking, that, whatever may be the success attamed in future times, electro-mechanism and electro-lighting have not yet reached that position which is, to the busy world at large, tlie test of excellence — commercial advantageousness. Elkctro-Bl.vstino. Tho next industrial aspect under which electricity presents itself, is one concerning which tliere can be no doubt. Submarine blasting, and blasting at a distance from the operators, aic certainly not the- least curious among the industrial applications of electrical powera. Colonel (now Major-General) Pasley was one of the first to employ this mighty agent in such a way. After the Roynl George, whose fate at Spit- head is so generally known, hod been submerged for sixty yeare, Uiis offtcer proposed a means of securing more of her stores than had yet been raised, and of removing tlie whole wreck piecemeal by blasting. Until tliat time only small articles had been recovered by divers, who descended in a diving bell. This plan was submitted to tlie Admiralty in 1889, and by them accepted. IT. Hpht; mid the con- if thr Atlfuitic. Mr. hydroRtm, and wnter ot yet been iKolftt<'d, us iMsitire electricity iloctricity constituteH gas form water. Dr. ved Idnisolf justified m\\ juat fts steam is electric light on this i should examine the ;v the existing atoms ;o at all) were to bo the experiment, and ng the passage of the drawn from the pro- igineering world was 1 water is to be used to be decom|>osed 1>y I from another agent ; Uiont light ; and it is iloric as to ctmstitute loilers, &e. Such are I ; and hencoforwan^. e attention of those hey may, the electm- mmed in the journals fact, involving much ither the apparatus of ), was al>out the same lopuig rather than to lat, whatever may bo 1 and electro-lighting ly world at large, tlio •resents itself, is one blasting, and blasting 1st curious among the first to employ tliis , whose fate at Spit- ixty yeare, this officer had yet been raised, ng. Until tliat time iescended in a diving 1839, and by them INDl'STRIAT. Ari'MCATlONS OF KLF.f'TntCtTT. 15 I Gnttft percha wa-i not then known, and Colonel Pasley was put to his wit's end to dfivlse modes of pnitectlng his wire and apparatus frum the water. His wit, however, was ecpial to the tivsk imposed upim it, for he fully snc- coeded. He had canisters constructed of a peculiar fomi, capable of contain- ing 2000 lbs. to flOOO lbs. of "lU'.powdor each. These he lowered from a boat, and fastened to the side of tJie wrecked vessel. He connected the canisters, liy a sheathed copper wire, with a galvanic battei-y placed in a vessel at some distance ; and after many abortive trials he ftiUy attained the object in view. The galvanic current was conveyed along tluj wires to the canisters, where an explosion took place, and portions cf the hull of the ill-fated ship were shat- tered at each explosion ; light fragments and stores floated to the surface} ; while henvier articles wei-e fished up with tackle managcsd by men who descended in di^nng dresses. Many explosions were made, and much of tlie sunken vessel was shattered an,i recovered ; curiosity hunters were stored with fragments as i-elics of the Itoi/al Geonje ; and the 'government recovered brass guns of sufficiei\t value to pay for all Colonel Pasley's operations. Thus did a perfectly novel tmdertaking fully answer its intended puri)03e, both me- chanically and financially. ' Colonel Pasley having thus paved the way, other engineers were not slow to avail themselves of his experience in such matters. Captain Paris, an engineer at Boston, in the United States, adopted tliis method of electro- blasting, in 1 S to, to loosen lavg(3 masses of rock. Excavations were made in a bed of rock, for the construction of qrays and docks ; and instead of using l)icks and similar tools, he employed gunpowder. The powder was used in variotis quantities, ft-om four to sixteen ounces, enclosed in air-tight tin canisters. 'J'he copper wires ft-om the battery were inserted in the canisters ; and the wires and powder were well protected IVom the water by a tliick com- position. A hole was drilled in the rock for the reception of each canister, by a workman who descended in a di\ing bell ; and when the canister was secured in Uie hole, and the requisite arrangements completed, an electric cnn-ent exploded the gunpowder and blasted the rook. The engineer gave a highly eulogistic charocU^r to the new process, which he considers excels the old in presenting greater security from danger, gi-eater certainty of action, greater e.xpedition, greater explosive force witli a given amount of powder, and lesfi expense. The mighty explosion near Shakspcre's Cliff, at Dover, in IRIH, will not bo soon forgotten by those who were present on the occasion. The giant force of electricity, and tlie sagacious forethought of Mr. Cubitt, were both most fully illustrated on that occasion. During the progress of the bold sea-works for the Routh-Eastem Railway, between Dowr and Folkestone, it was found that a jutting promontoiy, called Round Down Clitf, stood provokingly in the way of the line of rails ; and the engineer proceeded to drive a timnel through it. The soil proved treacherous, however, and the engineer thereupon resolved to sweep away the obsti-uction altogether. Tt must have required an un- bounded faith in tlie efficacy of electro-blasting, for JVIr. Cubitt to proceed as he did. He cut a horizontal galleiy for a hundred yards through the cliff, from oast to west; he made cross galleries from north to soutV- ; ho sank deep shafts at the extremities of these cross galleries ; he excavated chamhers or small rooms at the bottoms of tlie shafts; and he deposited in these chambers the gunpowder which was to effect the explosion. The quantity of powder thus used was largo almost beyond belief; iu the three chamberfi there was no less tlian 18,000 lbs. packed in bftgs enclosed hi boxes. The ^ •MMNKMI HMMi le INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OK ELECTRICITY. chambers were fifty or sixty feet inland from the face of the cliflf. Behind the chfF, on the grass above, gahanic batteries were placed in a tcn>porai7 btiild- ing, and wires extended thence over the edge of tlie cliff to the cliambers. It was an eventful hour when tliia grand disruption took place. At two o'clock, on t)ie '^lUh of .lanuary, three engineers worked tliree batteries at the same instant, tlu-co ciurents travei'sed three wires to tlie three chambers, and three explosions occurred at once. Never before was such a mass of solid rock removed by one engineering operation ; a huge slice (so to speak) of the cliff was cut oft' in an instant, almost exactly ui the direction which the engineer lad wished ; there was little noise, little smoke, few scattered fragments, but tlio whole mass descended to the sea witli much less commotion than had been expected. Sir John Herschel was one of tlie spectators of this grand sight ; and ui a communication which he sent to tlie Athenmnm, he spoke as follows : — " Of tlie noise accompanying the immediate explosion I can only describe it as a low murmur, lasting haixlly more than half a second, and so fault, that had a companion at my elbow been speaking in an ordinary tone of voice, 1 doubt not it would have passed unheeded. Mor was tlie fall of the cliff (nearly 400 feet ui height, and of which no less tlian 400,000 cubic yards were, williin an intei-val of time hardly exceeding ten seconds, disti-ibutcd over the beach on an area of eighteen acres, covered to an average deptli of fourteen feet, and m many parts from tliirty to fifty) accompanied witli any considerable noise ; certainly with none tliat attracted my own attention, or that of several others similarly stationed, with whom I aftenvai-ds compai-od notes." All were satisfied, and rightly so, with this gi-eat experiment. The philo- sopher was satisfied to see electi-icity thus brought into useful operation ; the engineer was satisfied, as it saved him six months' labour m cliff cutting ; and tlie Company were satisfied, as it saved them 70001. Three similai* ex- plosions were made dm'ing the same yeai", with smaller quantities of powder, to complete tlie cliff works near the same rugged spot. Bailway ti-avellers to and from Dover may easily catch a glimpse of the tolerably level chalk plat- form which has been formed with tlie debris of the disnipted Eouud Down CUtf, Electro-blasting tlien became a recognised feature in engineering works. The rock of a quarry near Glasgow was successfiilly blasted by such means. A submarine rock in the Nortli Esk was similarly blasted. Excavations were in like manner made in the harbour of Dunbar. Mr. Branel employed the same agency in the chff works of tlie South Devon Railway. The Wrekin, in Shropshire, has been electro-blasted for road mat< rial. The quarrying of rock near Queensferry in Scotland has been similai effected. One of the most recent examples was the cliff-blasting at Seaford, effected in 1850, in connec- tion witli tlie new hai-bour works. In shoii, electricity has become one of the workhig instruments of the engineer : an instrument of mighty power, but requiring nice conduct for its guidance. Eleothio Difficulties : Ljohtnino Conductors. One of the relations in which electrical science stands to man is a peculiai' one. It is not so much an example of " Industrial Applications of Electricity," as a mode of preventing electricity from destroying the works of human labour. Man here fights a battle against this redoubtable agent, rather than employs him as an assistant. We allude to the subject of lightning rods. nv. the cliff. Behind tho in a temporal^ huild- diff to the chanibora. j)lace. At two o'clock, jattericH at tlie same 3 chanibera, and three a mass ut' solid rock I to Hpeok) of the cliff n which tlie engineer scattered fragments, I commotion than hod ictators of this grand 'hcnauiii, he spoke as explosion I can only lialf a second, and so in an ordinary tone of r was tlie fall of tlie a 400,000 cubic yards seconds, distribuUvd an average deptli of ccompanied witli any my own attention, or al'terwards compared periment. The philo- useful operation; tlio bour m cliff cutting; I. Three similar ex- quantities of powder, Railway ti-avellers to •ably level chalk plat- isnipted Bound Down in engineering works, asted by such means, ed. Excavations were . Branel employed the Iway. The Wrekin, in The quarrying of rock ted. One of the most J in 1850, in connec- das become one of the of mighty power, but DUCTORS. s to man is a peculiar cations of Electricity," orks of human labour. ;, rather than employs inff rods. INDUSTRIAJ. APPLICATIONS OK KLEtTniClTy. \7 Terrib'e is the form in which olcctricitv hero presents itself. As devel()i)ed in a gul mic battery-, it can bo adapted to our wants in a tliousand ways ; as developed in tlio clouds, it narks a path for itself with resistless power. \Vlien electric equilibrium is disturbed in the atmosphere, the surcharged quantity seeks a vent, mid will tako the shortest path or tlie best conductor which presents itself. If ii, meets with a metallic rod or wire, which is con- nected with the eartli, it will travel quietly along tliat metal, and diffuse itself without injui-y ; but if no such conductor presents itself, the resdt is startling. The electricity, the visual effects of which we designate Uijhtninfi, seeks a ])ath- way by which to descend to cartli from its cloud dwelling; a "rod of n.etal i.s the best railway for such a passenger; and ti-ees, houses, and ships are rent asmuler in the search for such a channel of conveyance. Now it is the supplying of such an iron pathway which constitutes the philosophy of lightning conductoi-s or Uiunder rods. Of the amomit of de- stniction produced by lightning few pereons have an adequate idea. Fuller gave a list of thirteen abbeys and monasteries which had been destroyed liy lightning down to his time, about two centuries ago; and churclies luul houses are similariy destroyed or greatly injured every yeai-. A calculation has been made (tliough we know not on what data) tliat buildings are thus destroyed in E»\gland to tlie value of £50,000 annually. But it on the broad ocean that this giant destroyer most shows its power. The ds that have fallen a sacrifice arc numei-ous almost beyond belief. In tli. iritisli navy alone there are official records of more than two hundred and fifty ships of war which have been stnick and injured by lightning since the year 179«, while merchantmen have been destroyed to an extent of which no exact estimate can be foi-raed. Pity, indeed, it seems, that tliero should be any laxity in the precautions taken to ward off this dreadful calamity. But such a laxity tliere has certainly been. It has required the incessant appeals and remonstitmces of scientific men to obtain due attention to this subject. The first Ughtning rod is said to have been attached to a buUding by Dr. Watson, about nmety years ago. The practice spread into many counti-ies, but very slowly. It is said, that when Guy ton de Morveau put one up at Dijon, in 177C, he was violently attacked for his presumption by a superstitious mob ; but that he appeased them by statmg that Uie gilt pomt of the rod was sent by his holiness the Pope. It has gradually become estabhshed, that for any building to have a good lightnmg conductor, it is necessaiy Uiat the metallic rod (copper is the best, but iron will suffice) should reach from the highest point of the building down in one unbroken line to the soil beneath : few buildings so provided have ever been mjured by lightning; but if there is any want of continuity in the metal, the protection becomes doubtful and precarious. Li respect to ships, Dr. Watson, after a trial at his own house, recommended to the government that a copper chain should be furnished to every ship, to be suspended from the mast head, and to hang over the side of the ship into the sea. The plan was adopted, but after a strange fashion ; the cham was made, and a box provided to keep it in, from whence it was to be removed for use " as occasion requires." But lightning flashes are wont to do their own work at Uieir own time, without giving formal notice to the captains of the royal ships ; and it often happened that an imfortunate vessel received a shattering stroke before the protector could be removed from its box. It was found, too, that the chain form is not efficient for conduction, and that not only one, but all the masts ought to be protected. Thuty years ago Mr. Snow Hai-ris (who has .^*' ■WW Ifl mmrsTin.M, APn.irATToss ok F.r.ErTRtcmr. I I I rtincn been knighted for lii« tervices on this important stihioct) hronght bofoic the Adniimlty ii phiti for iniprovcid lightnint,' oondiirto.^ for tho llojal Niivy; he fought tiin l)altlo pcrsovevinglv, v«-iir after year, ngainst one ii.hninistmUon after anotli.r, until at length convietion was forced upon official minds, which receive conviction rather slowlv, nnd his method is coming everj- year more and more into use. Tt is simply 'is follows :— Each mast is made hi effect a lichtning conductor, by two hands of "opper inscrte.! in its sni-iuce, and ex- tending from top to bottom; tho bands nrc strong enough and elastic enouuh to accommodnto themselves to the stniins to which the most is exposed. 1 he copper bands extend under the deck beams to the side of the vessel, and trom the mast \o the large metal bolts of the keel and keelson ; so that tins nuital of tho voss<'l itself is made tf. fonn part of tho geneml^system of conduction. So fur as recorded evidence extends, the national saving effected through tlic protective use.i of these condtjctors miist have been Immense. ElECTIIICITY in TUE WOBKBIIOI'. Knt we may leave these terrible examples of electric power, and of tho means adopted to ward them off. and resume our glance at those more pcaco- fhl operations in which this wonderful agent is employed ns a handmaid to the arts of civilizfttion. , -^ • " Eleciti-icitv in the workshop" mnv sound a strange phrase ; but it is a cor- rect and fitting one. Electricity does appear in tho workshop, and is there employed as an actual worker; and, moreover, it perflieation ; it can only bo ?bin'gh, Mr, Speneer of claims to sbai-e the ho- we will not venture to 1 years ago, metal was rj', by peculiar arrongc- Imirablo Typographical xhibition, consider that , more than thirty feet will thus gain a little in- uch as possible of scicn- =1 transfoi-mation may he I to a porous vessel ; tliis phatn of copper ; a piece [• of copper in the latter, es tlie wondrous agent, zinc to the acid, thence le silver or copper, and and so on in an endless without distiu-bing the ses : the zinc, the silver ydrogen — -all are so far INDUSTRUI. Al'I'MCATIOSS 01' I.I.F.rintCIT\'. 10 afh'cted that the zinc becomes uuten away, while a beautiful defiosit of metallic .•<)!)l)er, derived from tlie ducomp«:-iiUoii of tlie Muli)hulo, aj.i.eurs ou the surface »)t Uie silver or ci.i)pcr. Thin bit of i)lulosophy must siUlict) for our piosent purpose. * Now tlie Binnhigliam iimuufacturei-a, ever alive (as manufacturerti rn-o wont tA» be) to luiy improvementd which mav uilviuico their Uude, saw Uiut tlieie was a principle of great commereiul value hero developed. Copper is not tlie oiilv nieUil wlueh call be thus prccipiUited ; gold, silver, platinum, and other metals may bo similuily U-eatcd ; and it was conceived tliat a Uiin layer of gold or silver might be applied to Uie surface of cheaper nu'tuls by this proc.^ss, iu- Ht.-ad of by Uie older process of "plating.' Let Uio brilliant display of Alessi-s. Klkmgton, at the Crystal ralacc, tell how great has been Uie suJcess Httained m this mw ait. Let ua compare Uie real plate with Uie electroplate, and Uien ap[)reciate Uio striking peculiarities of a pmcess which enables so beautiful a silverj- surface, so close an imiution of solid silver, to be produced Irom Uie lupiid soluUon in a gidvanic battery. I low is an electro-silver vase, or candelabrum, or t^iblo oniainent, or liono- nuytronhy produced? 'J'he wiswcr is full of interest. There is fii-st Uio tutist, Uie tjisteful designer, employed ; ho exercises all Uic talent which he may have accpiired by nature and education, to produce a desigu which shall combine fitness of adajiUiUon wiUi grace of torm and decoration. Ne.\i conies Uie modeller : he places before him Uie design which has been laid down on I)aper, luid proceeds to build up a realizaUon of Uiat design : he works upon a mass of smooUi wa.K. which, by the aid of variously-shaped tools hi wood and bone, he fashions into an exact representation of Uie lU'ticlo to be produced, lo the modeller succeeds Uie moulder, who makes a mould in lead or some other fusible metal ; Uiis would, of course, present a reverse to the model — hollows instead of i»rojections, and projecUoiis insteml of hollows. Next tt) Uie modeller comes Uie patten i-nmker, who, by a similar jirocess of casting, makes a cast in biuss from Uie lead mould ; Uiis brass pattern is carefiillv touched up and finished, and constitutes a more perfected ediUon of Uie wax model • and It senes lus Uie type, as it were, of all Uic articles to be produced. Again «uid again does Uae casUng proceed ; for as there was a lead mould made from the wax model, so is Uiere now a sand mould made from Uie bmss iiatteru • and as Uns brass paUenr was obtained from Uie lead mould, so, lasUy, is Uiere a ^yllIto iiietal cast made from the sand mould. The white metal cast is Uie wticlc to be nroduced and sold, Uiougli it has not yet received its silveiy gai-- inent. Ihe luxmiunt ormmient which wo lue hero supposing to be mider for- mation, may require other preparat«iy processes ; it may have decoraUvo de- tJiilsj in Unn metal, which requux; stamping ; it may need Uie addiUon of Uiiu pieces made from sheets by bi-azing or hammering ; or it may render neces- sary Uie soldenug of inany pieces togeUier. But we wiU leap over Uiese inter- methate processes, and suppose the article to bo completely formed, in a white metal, composed of zinc, coiiper, and nickel. It is dipped uito a tank contain- ing a chemical soluUon of silver, in which also a lew sheets of pure sUver are immersed. Then comes Uio mysterious agency of clectio-chemisfay. The vase or oUier article being i)laced m coimecUon wiUi Uie wires of a batteiT a cm-rent is generated, tlie solution is decomposed, Uio atoms of silver leave it and clmg to the vase, other atoms of silver leave the plates to re-invi- gomt« Uie solution, and so the chaui of operations proceeds, uuUl Uie vase is coated wiUi pure silver, atom by atom. These atoms cling togeUier ; and ac- ■I I Hb INDC8TBIAL ArPUrxTIOMS OF ELRCTniCITt. cmlinR to the intensity of tho cnrrent. the strength of Uie sohition, and tho time of iminor«ion. iloc^s Uio dopoHiu^l coat bcc-otno tluckor. It is Uu,H that the Hilvery coat of electro-plate .s produced : the subse^ qucnt burnisliing rti.d finishing wo need not dwell on here. And ^"'^ " W^* i thin coating oFgold. .)r copper, or iron, or zinc, or platuuun, be ap .lad U> any "her nwU\, & changing U.e nature of tho chcnucal .olut.o.. ni t .e t.u»k. And Unm also might the delicate coating bo applied to a non-metalhc body beneath, by an intl^nening preparation of black lead or ot r»'»«lf »™« ^nd UiUH, again, might fmil« anJflow.-rs, stems .uid leaves, wings and f^-'^^T/n v coated wiUi metiil with tlxo sanio ease as any manufactured articles. Not only nu Hublnces of almost eveiy kind be Uiuh coated but the enure thickness of ill article in metal may be thus ma^le by electnvdeposit : all that ,s requ. ed is. that provision should be made to ensure tho non-adhesion of the deposited metal on tho framework or mould. , . . • i c i „...«,,„.. When we see large sheets of copper produced in this wonderful manner, wo have proof Uiat the metal, precipitated atom by atom froni the sohition. unites into its proper metallic homogeneous state ; and this has given a range of applicability of the meUio i lWMiiiwi i M ii i i i»ia ii ■ 1 1 » > > i n nwim ii iM iiii MtMMif-'^ lITt. tho Kolutioii, aiul tlifl kor. l)riHluced : thi> svibse- oic. Ami tlms might utinunt, l)o ainilit'd to III solution in tfm tiuik. to u non-niiitiillic JHxly r of phoKphoruH. And wings iind by pieces of various alico dips into a liquid stals ; and while it passes o form a cu-cuit through ISDtrsTHlAI, APPT.ICATION8 Of FLlCTRICtTY. »l i the apparatus. The singidar result is, that diffeitnit colours are produced on (he calico b^' tlic dirtiience in tiie action between the various metals and tlio liquid witli which it is satinvted. A glance will nresently be Uiken at tlio e iriosities which electricity present* when connected with fine-art printing: but it may here be sUited, that ordinajy letter-press printing is begiiming to receive aid from tho same wonderful agent. A metho»l Irns bt-en devised for covering tho siuface of ordinary type with a film of copper, by electio-deposit: copper is known to 1)0 ten or twelve times as tenacious as leail; but as it is ditlicult to melt, and is nuuh more costly, cop|ier types oie almost miknown; and, Uierefore, iu» attempt is now being made to combine tlie tenacity of the one with the cheapness and fusibility of tho other, by facing ordinary type with copper. Dr. Newton, in a paper recently read before the Knuiklin Institute at I'hila- delphia, htates that, in a wi(lely-sprcavas taken by electro deposit- a cast was taken from this in soft or litsible metal , and im- pres Ls were printed from tliis oast. In the second, the device was engraved Tvrd; a rov'erse was taken from the wood in fusible -^f^^S^/^ was deposited on the metal by the electro process; and tho pimtmg was X-fficmi tlie copper. In the third, the device was engraved on m>od ; a ■no;d1 from this w!is taken in plaster; an f-^- .^.-^.^ ^^^^^ .^^ ^ plaater, and the impressions were "^^luned fix)m Uns coppei deposi^^^ l^e impressions vary somewhat hi fineness ; but all suthce to show tliat Uie f.lp<.t Ti Di-nposs mav tittiiif'lv form one part ot the genes. ' '^U a^e now'to be Veen, in finiart exhibitions and clH-here copper bu8t« which illustrate the electrotype art in a very remaiKable way. Ihe r oat Sibitlou has displayed to us a few of colossal dunensions, bes des ni™? tS speciiileii These consist f-"y ^^ -Igted Lm a sheet! and the whole of the metnl has been reduced or pieupiUteU noni a licmul sohUim. We believe that the first example of this striking production Is a bus of the late Dr. Dalton, made by Mr. Cheverton about ten years ago ^^'ii^t^i-^ability being Urns demonstrated the ^^ UKiy^o^-^"^ to anv extent The processes arc curious. The bust is in^t "'O^'^"^" " iomTkiiu ot clay, which may afterwards easily be broken away l>',^f,emeal a^d on this a thick copper film is deposited by the elf ^ro process ihe c ay core or model being broken away, Uie copper remauis as a 1'""^'^ she , t l n ide of wh ch has'taken the exiict impress (though reversed. « t^- "»^^ o the bust This copper shell, .m being properly prepared on the nmei 8 irte is Lie t^ie groundwork on which a second deposition takes place ;t is us^d n fS asa mould, from which one or more busts may be procured We mtht S Siagine a Aest of busts, one wiUiin anoUier, ea^h senmg as . mould f'ov l^^S one within it; aiid thus we might fonn a goodly family oi Saholeons or Bv"^T or HcoUs, graduating from tlie colossal to the petite atS'r of tiie series dcpendi^ig.on the thickness of [ - -^^l^,? '^J^^^^^^^^^ tn frirri. paoh of theiii. Buch a series woukl certainly be a cuiiosity oi decSJ^pl^r. but it would require some mechanical t«ct to eftect tire libera- tion of each bust from its enveloping mould. . Arehitect« and sculptors are gradually avaUmg themseives ^^ ^f J^""]/" J^j;^ fi^rdiemnoe of their professional labour. The late Bavarian sculptor, Stiglmayer, u-ho wrremplo e at St. Pete«,b«rgh. on which tlie Emperor ha3 expended L INDUSTHIAI, APPTJ0ATION9 OP ELECTRlOITr. SI i judge : to oriVmaiy imes cttlletl) weio in ,nieos, intaglioa, and ,ye been regaided as curious ui'l. liut it inly doe^ it pvoduce ves hiive been thus on. In :Mr. Smces :)f a very instmctivo practised by electro [n tlje tirbt, a device this was taken by ible nietul; and ini- ! device was engraved letal ; a coi)l)er plate id tho printing was lugraved on wood ; a wan taken from the opper deposit. The s to show tliat the aH elsewhere, copper niarl<&ble way. 'i'he L dimensions, besides of co])per, in a tliin r precipitated from a is striking production 1 about ten years ago ; may 1)0 now followed t i:! lirst modelled in (kon away piecemeal ; ro process. The clay as a hollow shell, the ivei-sed) of tho outside repared on tho umer losition takes place ; it jsts may be procured, tlier, each serving as a m a goodly family oi' 3olos3ul to tho petite; if the metal deposited y be a "curiosity" of !ct to effect tJie libera- elves of this art in the :iii sculptor, Stiglmayer, rtant works at Mmuch, copper, by tho electro of tli»^ most important the new and splendid Emperor haa expended I large suras. Certain pai-ts have been ornamented hi a remarkable way. Tlie catlioihm lias se\on very large doors, or rather door-ways, tlireo of which are Ibrty-four feel wide by tliu-ty high ; they are fonned of bronw, but all the adornments are produced by the electio process. These atlorinuonts are of a most elabomtc nature ; they comprise no less tlian fifty-one bas-reliefs, sixty- three statues, and eighty-four alU.-ieUevo busts. It is not simply an a matter of economy that the cjectio process has been adopted; for the Czar is not a man to entertain scruples ou such a point ; but there are cerUiu advantages of an oi-tistic character. By tho electro process the sculptor is sure to have his model faithfully copied; and f - lightness of tho material enables him to impart bolder relief to his designs than if they were cast iii bronze ; while this lightness of weight also justities him in suspending pendants or bosses irom vaulting, of a Im-ger size tlian would bo safe if made in any other way. Among our own Enghsh productions, Messrs. Elkington have produced an electro statue of the IJuke of Gloucester, for the new House of Lords. The same successful firm produced, by tlie electro process, the gold and silver decorations of Her Majesty's jewel casket, which has adorned the mam avenue of the Crystal Palace. It has been sometimes apprehended tliat the startling discoveries of tlie last few yeai-3 will tend to lower tlie tone of ai-t m its purer acceptation ; tlmt if Light becomes an artist, by producing photographic pictures, and Electricity an artist, by producing electrographs, the man of genius may bo superseded altogether. But tliis is a mistake, ai-ising from too humble lui estimate of art. A photograph is a coji,/, and nothing but a coiiv ; so is an electTOgra[)h ; neither can originate, or combme, or niodily, or idealize. If a faiUiful copy of fomis or colours be required, one or other of tliese arts can present it ; but if some- thing more tlian a mere copy be wiuited, the mind of the artist is as necessary now as before these arts were known i and such it will continue to be. Pho- tography and electrography will expedite and assist the lower depai-tments of ail, but they will never supei-sede tho higher. These remaiks are suggested by the truly interesting ettihings recently pro- duced by electricity. Some persons have hastily assumed that the etchers " occupation "s gon'»" as soon as the chemists laboratory becomes tlie artist's studio. But, by looking a little farther into tlie matter, it will be seen tliat the mind of an artist is as much required in producing tho design on a plate in Uic one process as in tlie oUier: it is not science as opposed to ai-t, but eleo- tiicity as opjwsed to aquafortis, Let us illnstrnte thh. In etching, a plate is coated wiUi a peculiar composition ; and the etcher, with shai-p uistiunK^nts, scmpes away the composition in all the parts which are to fonn the design ; the copper in tliese exposed lines and spots is then eaten away by the cor- roding action of aquafortis on tho old process ; while on die new it is removed by tlie action of the galvanic battery. The batteiy is eo adjusted that Uie cop^ier, instead of being deposited on the plate from anotlicr body, loaves tlie plate and deposits itself on that body. But tlie metliod of elecirotiiU is more curious, inasmuch as there is no etching at all. A plato of white metal, presenting a dull white surface, is pre- pared; and on this tlie artist paints his design in full, giving eveiy touch which IS required in his picture ; he uses a pigment raixeil expressly for this purpose, without regard to colour; and he applies it witli bi-ushes, pencils, and small pomted pieces of wood or boue. He proceeds on the same prui- ciple as the copper-plate engraver and the etcher in this rc^spect— that all the pai'ts which are to be white in the impression arc left mitouched by tlie paint. If iMMIIIIMillMI ^ nsm tmf f g4 INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIOKS OP ELECTRICITY. Different depths Of light .and shaaeare^^.^^^^^^ the paint laid on- and ? ^requires mu 1^^^^^ « Lposed to the electro picture being thus fax hnished »"•*. J^"!^ J^J ^ in which tlie sUght alt^ma- proceas; ^ sed to tlie electro Uie sUght altei-na- 3ed ; and the plate jlate press in the ide to imitate wood B etching, tlae paiis or left prominent; the lines which ave ire described. His paint those lines ting is finished, an ng at the common Vlr. Palmer eight or h-eat Exhibition we not identical, is cer- ui question, a white ed pigment ; by tlio • by electro deposit ; ,f the engi-aving so without any process method may become umcrous. It is said Metallurgy, tliat the e lUmtrated London that sevei-al millions all derived originally from tlie woodcut, an 1 is piinted from tlie the proprietors stated different from wood- rinting ; that they are iphy in tliis direction : ified in adopting the de. Olyphography, or for maps ; thei-e is a li form excellent speci- ice, that Uio Orcbiance lem, Avith some of the reat Exhibition. But union of photography 1 produced in the first illy-prepared and very ntensities of light pro- d plate employed, and to varied depths ; thus jd for pi-inting. Light , of a picture. GOLD : IN THE MINE, THE MINT, AND THE WORKSHOP. In September, 1847, one Captain Suter or Sutter was a bold, prosperous, enterprismg, intelligent settler in Upper Califomia. He was a Swiss by birth ; he had served Charles X. as one of tlie Swiss Guard at 'lie Tuileries ; he emigi-ated to Missouri after the Bourbon revolution of 1880; he removed thence to the Oregon territory in 1836 ; he made a farther advance m 1839 to Califomia, where he built a fort named New Helvetia on the river Sacra- mento; he gradually accumulated around him 4000 oxen, 1500 horses and mules, 2000 sheep, a vast acreage of land under gi-ain crops, and two ti-ading vessels in the river ; he had his fort supplied with twelve pieces of artilleiy, and defended by a garrison of seventy men ; and he was thus, in all proba- bility, tlie wealthiest and most influential man beyond the Rocky Mountains. The niontli above named was an important one to tliis bold captain, and to the world at large. He contracted witli a Mr. Marshall to construct a saw- mill near a pine foi-est. The supply of water to this mill was so situated as to wash down much mud and gravel from Uie higher course of the stream ; and Mr. Marshall, watchuig tlie progi-ess of his works one day, saw some glittering pai-ticles in this mud. He formed his own conclusions of the natm-e of these shining morsels ; and having shown some of them to tlic Captain, it was agreed to keep the matter a secret for a time. Such secrets, however, do not keep ; they wUl not keep : it was soon noised abroad that gold had been discovered at the American Fork of the Sacramento, and a gold fever there- upon sprang up. A few labourers collected some of the gold-dust, and took it for sale to San Francisco, at which town the Ss -ramento enters the Pacific ; hundreds flocked up the river; Indians were hired, soldiers and sailors deserted, shopkeepers closed then- shops, and San Francisco became ahnost abandoned. Two men, employing a hundred Indians, got 17,000 dollars' worth of gold in a short time; another party, 12,000; and anotlier, 16,000. In two or three months, one store-keeper at Suter's Fort sold goods for 36,000 doUai-s' woi-th of gold-dust. Such was tlie opening scene of the Califomian drama, which has since set the whole world in commotion. It is to this gold, and to gold generally — its obtainment and its application, its uses and its " cuiiositiea "— that the present sheet will be devoted. , ., The Gold Mines or Past Ages. The world has never known a period (within historic limits, at least) when gold was not cherished and valued highly. Whether it is because this beau- tiful metal presenU a brilUant colour and lustre, or because it is little affected II MMWHi % OOU) : IN THE MINE, THE MINT, AND THE WOIIKSHOP. bv external acents, or because it is easily ^vrought into useful and ornamental f/rTsX evidence is cleai- enough that g U lijxs liad a -idely-spread and a long-continued reign. We ai-e told of on age of iron, and an age of bronze a3ofZgolden ages, i>ar e^ccellence; and tliese metaphors are founded on Srtain clL^acteristifs of certain periods in ^^^^^.^^ :l>utvm one sens , the golden age never dies, if we judge from the estnnatiou m ^;l»<^ll *f f one metal is held. Wliether a cotmtry possesmng non ™'f « . "f "^.^J'^^X one which boasts of its gold, is quite anotlier question, wluch must b« dis cussed on a much wider basis. ,., .. j ,i;ffnr«nppa in the As different centuries in pa.st history h-^ve exhib.^^d differences m Ue suwnlv of cold, so does Uie geographical distribution differ greatly. All Uic rqVart.'i. of Uie world (Iha't S> designate Austmha is now a pu.j^^^ "fifth quarter •■ not being quite orthodox) contain gold .'"f ^«' ^«Xo\^^^^^^^^ unequ^ degree. For a considerable number of yeai^ I'efore Oie dlHCo^ ep of the mines o*f California, tlie world was chiefly supplied with gold frojn » bena Sd the Indian islands in Asia, from Hmigary and Transylvania in Europe from a few scattered places in Africa, from Brazil in South Amcnca, and from Carolina in North America. Taking the average of many years betore 1847, S aLnuS producewas supposed to be about 80.000 fbs.. having a money value of somewhat less than £5,000,000. , Many have been tlic eager hopes and anticipations that om- own little island may be a golden land" It is eertiun that the Irish of early times had aWancI of gold ornaments, the material for which seems to have been dSed from their own •• green isle." But there is now veiy little reason o Spit that thrage of goll will supersede the age of hon, so far as regards thfrnineral wealA of the British Isles. There are traces of gold m Ireland n wXs at Leadliills. at Glen Turret, at Cumberhead near Lanaj-k. and in other pl£^es; sometimes they occur in quartz vems, sometimes hi alluvial *^Th?most notable attempt yet made in this '^f •"'^"^^^f .^^^"^dTe"x^ us has been in Wicklow. On the boundary line between Wicklow and Wex forJToSs is a mountain caUed Crogh^i Kinshela: many streams descend from this mountain, and in the muddy bed of these streams gold was dis- cTred about hJa centuiy ago. It was not merely fragmentary morsels whTch thSs presented themselveT, but the eye of .th« gold-seeker wa^^^^^^ bv nieces or lumps up to twenty-t>vo ounces weight. The gold was aceom pLkd by otibrmetals. and was generally found several ^^et below the Ee This' discovery made, we maybe sure.no little stu' at the time. One of the stories connected with the subject teUs 1^«- '^l^^it^^j^^P^^J^^t^ about the year 1770, was wont to talk about the riches of the district , how li^ wandeied Li at night, until his neighbours tl.ought he -aj a li^^^^^^^ m his intellect; how he married a young wife, and '^^^^^f''^''^'^'^;^^^^^ her; how she gossiped about it to her neighbours; and how tfie good news theiWnon spread. But the matter was not senously taken up till l^HO, ■when Tman whUe cVossing a valley-brook, picked up a glittermg frag«>;nt which proved tTbeneLly h^ an ounce of gold, at least as pure as that of standard E The newTJot wind ; voung and old, male and female, hale imd infirm -alibied to the valleys, an/ groped about for the ^ee^^f ^^^JJ^,-;* ^ not a hoax nor a day dream, for the peasants gathered sev^jial thousaml DoLds'w^rthiL two months. It was at once Uiought that a bright day had Snforpot'dlreland; that she had the f^.-}]t(C""^SG^^- within herself; but alas, tlie hopes were " too bright to last. The t^ovem I, \tm\l\tA"- ■—•■I-*"- *""- )HK8H0P. seful and ornamental , widely-spread and a id an age of bronze, hors are founded on it, in one sense, tlie u in which this one es is not richer than , which must b« dis- id differences in tlie iffer greatly. All tlic a is now a puzzle : a nines, though in vei-y tefore the discoveiy of nth gold from Siberia insylvania in Europe, ith America, and from ny years before 1847, I lbs., havuig a money 18 that om' own little ish of early times had I seems to have been ,v vei-y little reason to iron, so far as regards ces of gold in Ireland, d near Lanark, and in sometimes m alluvial ncnt of minmg among 3en Wicklow and Wex- many streams descend streams gold was dis- y fragmentary morsels )ld-seeker was tempted The gold was accom- seveial feet below the little stir at the time. w an old schoolmaster, of Uie district ; how he i was a little touched in municated the secret to md how tlie good news akenup till 1796, when ittering fragment which )ure as that of standard female, hale and infirm •ecious treasure ; it was lered several thousand It that a bright day had of (golden) regeneration to last." The Govem- oold: in the mine, the mint, and the workshop. 8 ment took the subject in hand, and appointed a Mr. Weaver to superintend tlie onerations. He instituted a search into the various modes in whic^h tlie gold had deposited itself, with a view to establish a systematic mode of ex- ti-action ; he engaged diggers and collectors and labourers ; and ho esta- blished the necessaiy commercial machineiy for carrying on operations. It was calculated tliat the country people had collected A' 10,000 worth of gold before tlie (iovemrnent had taken possession of the works ; and tlie Govern- ment collected 945 ounces, valued at j£8H75 ; but when the accounts came to be balanced, it was found that the expenses had exceeded the receipts. The bright vision was dissipated, the scheme was abandoned, and the Government has never since taken i)art in the matter. The Wicklow gold mines have still an interest to the minds of some, but the golden particles arc too " few and liir between " to render the collection a very profitable employment. t^uitting our own islands, and directing a glance to the continent of Europe, we find that Hungary and Transylvania are among the chief gold countries ; the precious metal being found in tlie sands of some of the rivers. There arc also two or three Bohemian rivers which yield a small supply. In one part of Uie valley of tlie Ithine, between Mannheim and Basle, gold is found in n sand-bank in the river, but not in sufficient quantity for working. There are many parts of Europe whence gold was once obtainable in profitable quantity, but where the search is now abandoned : such are the banks of the Ebro, the llhone, and tlie Diuiube. Africa is said to yield about 6000 lbs. weight of gold annually — from the district between Abyssinia and Darfur; from the region soutli of the Great Sahai*a ; from the Mozambique coast ; from the sands of tlie Gambia, tlie Senegal, and the Niger ; and from that portion of the Atlantic sea-board which obtains the name of Gold Coast. Asia contributes small supplies from some of the rivers in Asia Minor, from die Indian islands, jmd from certain parts of India, China, Cochin-China, and Sumatra. But of all the contributions which the Old World produces, in this depart- ment of mineral wealth, none equal those of the vast Russian Empire. The quantity has been rapidly increasing within the last few years. In 1849 the quantity was about 33,000 lbs., and tliis has since risen to 50,000, 60,000, and oven 80,000 lbs. There are two groups of Russian gold deposits, near the Ural and the Altai Mountains respectively. The eastern gi-oup, near the Altai, is said to comprise a district as large as France, over the whole area of which " not only are considerable quantities of gold found mingled with sand and gi-avel on the surface, but even the rocks themselves, when pounded up, sue found to afford a percentage of that valuable metal." It is curious to observe how vained are tlie aspects in which the gold presents itself. In the Ural district, for instance, it occurs in minute frag- menta imbedded in coarse gravel, somewhat like that at Woolwich ; it also occurs disseminated in veins of quartz in hard rocks, which are worked by regular subterranean mining operations ; and it occurs associated with pla- tinum, and one or two other rare metals, in detached fragments of rock. The processes adopted by the gold collectors vaiy according to these varied modes of deposit. If the sand of any river contains a few grains of gold to five pounds weight of sand, it will pay for the expense of gold-washing. In the Altai distiict the gold appears disseminated in a quartz sand, not merely in river vnl'nys, but sometimes even to the stimmit of a moimtain. There has been one mass obtained, weighing no less than 78 lbs., and valued at JE3000. Crossing the Atlantic, we find tliat Brazil, until the recent discovories in Cahforoia, has been the richest of American gold countries. There is a chain H 3 "^ : ■WilUlMllillllWllfcHlWIM MitHM RMMK 4 gold: in the mine, the mint, and the workshop. of mountains manning parallel with the coast, some distance inland ; and in the rivers which flow from tliese momitains, gold is found in considerable quantity. There is much hard rock in the river valleys : in this rock is a stratum of gravel and rounded pebbles, and in tliis stratum the gold is met with. In the province of Minas Geraes, gold occm-s also in veins in tlie hai-d rock, and mining operations have recently commenced there. The Brazilian produce gi-adually rose in annual amount till 1753 ; it mahitained a veiy high position till 1763, but since Uiat time it has been declining. This decline is attributable to the exhaustion of the auriferous sands ; the gold veins in hard rock have only recently begun to be mined, owing to tlie want of capital. Other districts of America yield small portions of the precious metal. In Mexico the silver (which forms the chief wealtli of the country) frequently con- tains gold, but not often in sufficient quantity to pay for the separation ; there are also a few veins in the rocks. In Peru and in New Granada tliere are gold veins and washings in small quantity. In Central America tliere are washings which have become nearly exhausted. The Appalachian chain in North Ameri.ca gives rise to many rivers which flow into Uie Atlantic ; and in the sands of a few of these rivers (chiefly in Virginia, Coi-olina, and Georgia) gold occurs in sufficient quantity to pay for working ; tlie whole are said to yield about 3000 lbs. of gold annually, and there has been known to occur a mass weighing 28 lbs. But the north of the American continent is " looking up,' as gold specu- lators would say. Not only has California (of which more presently) suddenly acquired a golden reputation, but Canada, our own British Canada, has made a humble start in tlie same line of wealth. Within tlie last year or two, gold has been found in that colony ; and no sooner was this discoveiy announced, than adventurers were found to flock thither, as they probably would to Spitz- bergen, or even to the North Pole, if tliey were told Uiat gold existed there. The latest accounts from Canada state that five hundred Americans have, during tlie summer of 1851, been roaming on tlie banks of a river in Lower Canada, .vhere a little gold had been before found ; and that others from New Brunswick were also in the same field of entei-prise. Their success, however, has not been veiy encouraging. Still, as it is known that indications of gold have appeared over three thousand square miles of country in Lower Canada, tliere is quite sufficient to whet tlie appetite of gold-seekers. The gold is found in the beds of the streams, and in small pieces with quartz attached ; but no auriferous vein of quartz has been yet found. California and its Teeascees. The wonders of California are, however, those which most press for notice ; excepting, perhaps, the still more recent outbui-st in Australia. If we look at a modern map of California, such as that which accompanies Mr. Biyant's NaiTative, we see a very tempting yellow patch lietween tlie Rocky Mountains and tlie Pacific. If tliat patch is not real gold, it is at least intended to symbolise gold ; for it marks tlie limits within which gold has been obtained. Between the Rocky Mountains and the ocean there is aiiotlier mountain ridge, parallel with tlie coast ; there is thus fomied an oblong basin or valley between the two i-onges, nearly north and south ; and for a distance of nearly 600 miles (35° to 43° N. lat.), the rivers of this valley have no outlet whatever except at San Francisco, where a gap occurs in the coast ridge. It is thus that natiure has made San Francisco m important place, independent nm>MmmMM.i^i>i mmM RKSHOP. Mice inland ; and in and in considerable s : in this rock is a ,um the gold is met in veins in tlie hai-d ere. The Brazilian iutained a veiy high iig. This decline is le gold veins in hard want of capital, precious metal. In intry) frequently con- he separation ; there f Granada tliere are 1 America tliere are ^ppalai'hian chain in Uie Atlantic ; and m rolina, and Georgia) le whole ai-e said to jn known to occur a g up," as gold specu- e presently) suddenly ih Canada, has made ast year or two, gold discoveiy announced, bably would to Spitz- it gold existed there, [red Americans have, s of a river in Lower that others from New leir success, however, It indications of gold try in Lower Canada, leekcrs. The gold is I quartz attached ; but most press for notice ; itraUa. lat which accompanies w patch between tlie real gold, it is at least itliin which gold has I the ocean there is Qius foniied an oblong uid south ; and for a 3 of this valley have no curs in the coast ridge, ant place, independent oold: in tue mine, the mint, and the workshop. 5 of the gold question. This harbour (one of the finest in the world) is about in latitude 38° ; the Sacramento flows southward along the basin or valley to this point ; while the San Joaquir^ flows northward to the same meeting place the two rivers having numerous tributaries which drain the Rocky Mountain The Son Joaquim and its feeders have been found to yield gold, to region. but the Sacramento and region proper. Hero we a point about one degree south of San Frtncisco ; its tributm-ies, north of the harbour, form the gold „ . . find the American River, Bear River, Yubah River, FeaUier River, Butte River, Antelope Creek, Mill Creek, Deer Creek, Chico Creek— all flowing into the Sacramento, and all yielding precious returns to the gold-seekers. Such is tlie region whither emigrants have for four years been wandering. It is remarkable that the political relations between the United States and Mexico had shortly before given Upper California to the former nation; and that otlier negotiations witli England hod given to Uie latter a more resUicted possession of territory on the Pacific coast tlian had before been claimed ; so that the United States, by these two political causes, and by the Califomian discoveries, became suddenly possessed of gold mines, which she is earnestly endeavouring to bring under the operation of a system. Would we know how El Dorado presents itself to tlie view of an overland ti-aveller to California, we may take Mr. Kelly's recent ' Excursion to Cali- fornia,' as an informant. This gold-seeker left Livei-pool per steamer, landed at New York, travelled by rail to Albany on the Hudson, thence by rail to Buffalo on Lake Erie, crossed Upf .^i Canada by coach to Deti-oit, thence by rail and by waggon to the southern paint of Lake Michigan, then on by steam conveyance tlirough a canal to the lUiiK is and Mississippi Rivers. Arrived at St. Louis, the " Queen of the West, " he steamed fom- hundred miles up the Missouri to Independence ; and then, with a large pai-ty, made a waggon journey of two thousand miles to tlie gold region— over wide prairies, rapid rivers, nigged crags, snowy peaks, through the Mormon settlement at the Great Salt Lake, and tlirough perils enough to wear tlie heart out of any but a determined man. After tliese two thousand miles of waggon travelling, which occupied a hundred and two days, the weary adventurers suddenly " encomi- tered some Chilians on tlie banks of a little stream, all but dried up, looking for what we came thousands of miles in quest of. It is scarcely necessary to state that we halted to noon (the " noon " is tlie mid-day rest in Uiose regions) in their neighbomhood, to have our long day-dream interpreted, and see with mortal eyes the process of picking and washmg gold from the common clay. The operations just there happened to be on a Umited scale ; nevertheless, little as it was, it appeai-ed marvellous to us to see pailsful of mud and dirt gathered, and, after a very short and simple species of washing, to find in the bottom of the basuis a deposit of tlie veritable stuff itself; after which the doubts and fears, which, like the misty vapoure of a summer's morning, hovei-ed and floated over our brilliant expectations, rolled away and vanished as the golden sun became revealed. It was now no longer an exaggerated fiction about tlie U-eosures of California." A few miles onward they came to some " dry diggings," where miners dig m the diy soil, picking out particles of gold from amongst the clay without tlie agency of water. " Of course it must be plentiful, and in good sized grams, when the eye can detect them mixed wiUi tlie red clay ; and much that is in mere dust must necessarily escape in the first instance ; but in the wet season many of them (the diggers) wash the heaps over that they had diy-picked before, and with very great I sat for half an hour by the side of a digger, watching how he success. I mmm mm HMMd II I L JIM oolb: vk th« mwe, thh mtht, ahd thb woiiKSHor. worked, during which he frG(iuently pointed out particles in the oartli heforo he picked thoni out tliiit would certainly escope an unpractised eye. He ml- mitted he averaged one and a half ounce per day, working only abont hix hours. " This si)ot was aboiit forty miles from Hacramento city, and nearly two hmidred from San Francisco. The account which Colonel Mason, an officer dispatched hy the United States government to report on tJie capabilities of Califomia, gives of a scene which met his view, will fittingly illustrate the earlier opemtions of gold find- ing in tliat land of promise :— " The day wa.s intensely hot ; yet about two hundred men were at work in the full glare of tlie sun — some with tin pans, some with close-woven Indian buckets, but the greater part had a rude nia- chino known as tlie craJU. This is on rockers, six or eight feet long, open at tlie foot, and at its head has a coarse grate or sieve ; the bottom is rounded with small elects nailed across. Four men are required to work this machine : one digs the ground in the bank close by the stream ; imother carries it to the oi-adle and empties it oti tlie grate ; a third gives a violent rocking motion to the machine ; whilst a fouilli dashes on water from tlie stream itself. The sieve keei)s the coarse stones from entering the cradle ; the current of wat*r washes off the eaithy matter ; and the gravel is gi-adually carried out at the foot of the machine, leaving the gold, mixed with a heavy fine black sand, above the first elects. The sand and gold mixed togetlier arc tlien drawn off through auger holes into a pan below, are dried in the sun, and afterwards separated by blowing off tlio sand. A party of four men tlius employed at the lower mines averaged a hundred dollars a day. The Indians, and those who have nothing but pans or willow baskets, giadually wash out the earth and se[)arate the gravel by hand, leaving notliing but tlie gold mixed with sand, which is sepa- rated in tlie manner before described.' Another scene well illustrates tlie mode in which a solitary unassisted adventurer — witliout companions, servants, machines, or capital — often acts. A person without a machine, after digging off one or two feet of the upper ground near tlie water (in some cases tliey take tlie top eai-th), tlirows into a tin pan or wooden Ik)w1 a shovelful of loose dirt and stones ; then, placing the basin an inch or two under water, continues to stir up the dirt with his hand in such a manner that the running water will carry off the light earth, occa- sionally with his hand throwing out the stones ; after an operation of this kind for twenty or thirty minutes, a spoonful of small black sand remauis ; this is placed in a handkerchief or cloth and dried in the sun, and, the loose sand being blown off, the pure gold remains. By such rough processes has much of the golden wealth been procured. In some cases a gulley or gutter, a hundred yards long by four feet wide, has yielded a thousand ounces of pure gold, disseminated in fine grains among the sand and mud. But the Anglo-Saxon race was not likely to leave matters in such a primi- tive state as Oalifoniia presented in the first paroxysm of tlie gold fever. Various machines have been from time to time introduced, calculated to expedite proceedings and to economise labour. Various machines for this purpose have been recently introduced. Prince Demidoff sent one for deposit at tlie Great Exhibition. A Califomian gold-winnowing machine, of a neat and ingenious kind, was invented in France about a year ago, for tlie use of such of our Gallic neighbours as wish to try their fortune in the " diggings." In any such machine, to be effective, there must be a mode of sup- plying water to the auriferous mud, and a means^of agitating the mixture thus produced. Now the French machine effects theso^two purposes by one move- lilli m ili niwi i l ftH tff*^.-^«>i" '■ I .ri-r.,-i.r..nf..ii. •■ RKBHOP. in the oartli b<^fore ctiHed eyoi. He lul- king only (ibotjt mx ito city, ttiid nearly ■hed l>y th« United lia, gives of n scene mticjns of goW flnd- hot; yet about two mmts with tin pans, »art had a rude nui- ht feet long, open at bottom iH rounded I work this machine : ithor carries it to the ■ocking njotion to the m iteelf. The sieve rent of water washes d out at the foot of lack sand, above the 1 drawn off through afterwards separated Bd at the lower mines se who have notliing th and ^ej)arate the sand, which is scpa- i solitary imassistcd ■ capital — often acts. feet of tlie upper earth), tlirows into a 3s ; then, placing the e dirt with his hand he light eoi'th, occa- nn operation of this black sand remains; 1 sun, and, the loose rough processes has es a gulley or gutter, iisand ounces of pure id. era in such a primi- 1 of ihe gold fever, duced, calculated to lis machines for tliis lidoff sent one for winnowing machine, ibout a year ago, for ' their fortune in the mst be a mode of sup- ting the mixture thus irposeg by one move- oold: in thb minb, thb mint, and the woBKsiior. 7 ment: there is a kind of hopper or rcc-ptmlo inl« w^.ich U.e sand is shovelled, Za from which it descends into a cylinder or bama ; tins cyluuUn- ,« made to .•olate by a winch handle, which h.u.dlo also works a pump lor laismg water into the cylin.ler. The nmd and sand aro wuhIumI out by tho conUuuul agita. tion of Uio cvliiuler. and Uie golden paiticlos are iott belund. Califoniia has Uught m a few strange thmgH. and none "^^'f '^ '" "'J effect of the gold discoveries on price.. Tho relative value which gold bears to oUier comuuMlities depends on the same law ot supply and demand as cm- mercial value genei-ally. This was never better shown than in Uie <'xtr«vrtgaiit aui, ities of gold-dust (or its equivalent in silver dollars, paid in ( alitor ma ! eveJy'lay commodities and services. Mr. Kelly in one o Ins rambles thi-ough the golden luud, came to a spot where many . iggei-s had ^■""K'««"!';;^; and where a Sw stores were opened for Uie r accommodation. ^ '« «f^^ ' "^ f^>« roads and rivers rendered it improbable Uiat new supplies could be '.'b<^| «^ for mafty days; and the storekeepers Uieretbrc combined to raise their puces to a most extravagant pit^h. "Flour jumped up from 50 cen s. per Uk U. dolla!- 50 cents. ; pork! from 40 cenU. to I dollar «5 cents. ; beans, cot!ee, sugoi-, mackai-el, and all otlier hidispensable necessaiies, m *»« «;^n^'« W^^ tion: together widi boots, which were in ««-«*t/'^"'"«\'"^^f^^,te,^ Z charged two ounces for the commonest pegged maimtacture. Ihese two ounces" refer to gold, so that common shoes were hve or six gumeas pc pa", while Hour was six shillings per pound. There was a violent conmio ion ^nong e diggei^s ; but. as Uiey could not help Uiemse ves, excepc by ac ual nSv they not only acquiesced in these prices, but wiUiessed anotJier rise ot lol/per cliit. a few days afterwards. A single ad.litional boat-load ol pro- visions drove down prices nearly to tJieir origmol level. On another occasion Mr. KeUy had a cunous ^^^^rahon of the value of domestic service. He came to a setdement formed by a Mr. « d«peth^ whe^e a vounff Enulish girl was engagt^d an housekeeper ; she had lett the Mormon ^e Zfent a't the^reat Salt^ake, and joined im emigrant party to «>l'' »"' J "'^'^f J^ nicest butter 1 ever used, for which services she was requited by the libeial salary of 1000 dollai-s per year, and tho right to dispose of. aj» her proper Ijer- quisites, aU tlie milk, butter, cheese, and eggs Uiat remamed alter supply g 3ie wants of tho household. Those, she admitted to me, accoi-ding to the amount tliey Uieu realized weekly, would increase her year y >Vf "'^**«'^^"l:?:' KT™ is on explanation, did not suri^rise me, as she obtained twenty-hve cental aTi;ce for egpfwhich sometimes got so high as fifty : one dollar per quart ?or mTlk ; foiK^Uars for butter ; aiid I forget how much for cheese : tiien the overplus of each must have been immense, from tiie legions of hens about the premises and the incredible number of calves I saw m the corral ; whUe the constantly passing waggons, pack companies, and -ha e-b^^. neve J^- fenjd a stock to accumiUato or spod m her hands. J>" ^ *'»J' JT- Mr Kellv " of £600 a yeai-. ve cooks and dairy-maids of Old J^ng and . It woudd 4.7 us out of our path to dilate fmither on the relaUve value between gold Jid other commodities in California; but we may st*t^ that M Kdly saw.l San Francisco, a fine mei-chant vessel, of a thousand tons bunCfitJeTup as stores, warehouses, and couiiting-houses ; the owner had found U utterly impossible to procure a crew to navigate, the vessel, a^l t^^ seamen having scaTnpered off to the diggings ; and to Prevent Uie vessel ftom uselessly rotting, he let it out, m the way above noticed at rents so high as to far overbdimce auy profit derivable from ordmwry freight. iij()iiiiiiiiiiiiitiiWiiriimiiffii A.-jMnaWiMiititiiii' ■w i 8 hold: in the mink, the mint, and the wokkhhop. Will California yield gold for ever ? If not, will it. for ageH to como, present a profitablo field for gold-Heekers ? Homo of the writers on California indulge in the inoHt extravagantly glowing jtictures on thiH subject. But let us hear what a desi-rvuidly great authority says. Sir lloderick rnipry Murehison has examined with great attention tlie gold depositn of Russia, and all the cir- ciunstanccs connecttul with their geological position ; antl he hiw also studied all the accounts which have been given of similar deposits in other countries. In 1M49 he gave an outline of his researches to the British Association, at Bimiingham ; he told that learned body all abovt the Ural Mountains, and tlio gold llierein contained ; be compared the llussiau with tlie Califomian regions ; and he expressed the following conclusion ; — A periodic discovery, like that in California, may, in tlio hands of adventm-ers and imbridled specu- lators, force a considerable quantity of surface gold so suddenly upon the market, that a momcntai-y apprehension of a great change in its relative value may be entertained ; but, looking to Uio mineralogical and geological structure of America, and seeing how larg(^ a portion of that continent is made ivp of rocks precisely similar to those which have aftbrded the gold shingle and sand of the Sacramento; and, knowing that all the otlier far-famed gold disti-icts of the New Worid ha\ o had assignable limits in tlieir productive capacities, and that many of their sources have disappeared or become value- less, he believes that the time will como when the rich soil of the valleys of California, like the banks of the Rhine, the Guadalquiver, and the rivers of Bohemia, will be turned up by tlie plough alone, or seiTC as pasture land, to the entire abandonment of gold hunting. The Recent Australian DiscovEniES. If this sheet had been writUiii a few weeks ago, the name of Australia would, perhaps, not have been mentioned in it. But a new gold-fever has sprung u]>. Wliile Englantl has been glorying in her Great Exhibition, Australia has run mad after tlie diggings which nature has vouchsafed to her. It was in September, 1B51, that the news reached England of gold having been found in Australia — that is, gold in large quantities: a golden region. Early in May the announcement was made at Sydney, by letters from BatJiurst, and the effect was quite electric. A raining mania seized every one. On the Monday morning after tlie Sydney papers announced tlie discovery, " groups of people were to be seen," we are told, "at eveiy comer of the streets, assem- bled in solemn conclave, debating both possibilities and impossibilities, and eager to pounce upon any human being who was likely to give any information about the diggings. People of all trades, callings, and pursuits, were quickly transformed into miners ; and many a hand which had been trained to kid gloves, or accustomed to wield nothing heavier tlian the gray goosequill, be- came nervous to clutch the pick and crow-bar, or ' rock the cradle ' at our infant mines. The blacksmiths of the town could not turn off the picks fast enough, and the manufacture of cradles was tlie second briskest business in the place. A few left on Monday equipped for the diggings ; but on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the roads to Summer Hill Creek became literally alive with new-made miner? from every quarter; some armed with picks, others shouldering crowbars or shovels, and not a few strung round with washliand basins, tin pots, and colanders: garden and agi-icultural imple- ments, of eveiy variety, either^hung from the saddle bow or dangled about the persons of the pilgrims to Ophir. Now and then a respectable tradesman, .^mim fitiMmm IMiM»'iriiit[iTlliiV It It I'i'iiiW UKHHOr. ^pH to come, prenent n (Jalifonua iiululgo t. Hilt lot HH hear ipoy Murohisoii has Hia, and all tho cir- ho huH alHO studied 1 in other countries. British Association, Jral Mountains, and with tlie (lalifomiau I periodic discovery, ind imbridled specu- suddeidy upon the an(,'o in its relative igicttl and geological of that continent ia e afforded the gold 1 tlie otlier fai'-fanied 4i in tlieir productive L'd or become vnlue- loil of the valleys of r, and the rivers of ! as pasture laud, to le of Australia would, ■fever has sprung up. >n, Australia has ruu iv. ?land of gold having ss: a golden region. Btters from Bathurst, I every one. On tho e discovery, "groups of the streets, assem- 1 impossibilities, and give any information ursuits, were quickly been trained to kid 1 gray goosequill, be- k the cradle ' at our irn off the picks fast briskest business in igs ; but on Tuesday, reek became literally e armed with picks, f strung round with d agricultural imple- or dangled about the spectable tradesman, GOLD : W THE MINK, THK MnJT, AND THK WOBKHIIOI'. » who had just left his bench or counter, would heave in sight, with a huge romething in front of his ho.-so, which ho called a cradle, aiul with wh cl. ho Z abouf f. rock hin.self inU> fortune. Scores have n.she.l Irom l.e.r ho nes p„)vi.led with a blanket, a ' damper.' an>1<1' diK^illK liHM iiltivu'tiimH lor piofoHHiuniUs iw well us (or liiinil)lfr folks), whoso lubouiH utuoiig till! tit•';=, ,,*V'" ."^tsUml the (iovmunont n.uy be this hea-l seen. t.. bo m cont«mp ation. he ' '''^^ ^tv of uoUl might .Icr.u.ge of opinion, that tho dis.<.vorv o a..y '^^ '' ' S?^ whirovenLall^ nmnt the stability and regular uijlush^ o a «"* ; ''^;^^\,„, j,„ .luggibnes. depend upon it., agricultural I'>^»1";;^- 'J. '' "i^^,; a\at d.c Colonlil Office of'all our colonial arr.u.gemout. '"\»"" '^,,'',^2 . " N,.w that the .li«covcr>- i» thought nothing and .hd nothn.g "] j» "^^^^^^^^^^ ^ZZn exm-tly what are actually .nmle. lu.wever, .t l>elu,ve. U e '^jl'^^^f^..'^^.^ f, ,um,^ Uws' a,.i,. rolailoMs to the n.otJ.er 7' f ^ ' '\;i ,!, ek.nalion, insued by Governor 'l-his ^^^1^^^.^,^^^^^^%^ gol.1 niines u. U.e Ur t.sU F trroy on May -U. I no aocumt in. huw^n, n romoved from flon.inlns belong, by law to the ^'■^^^y,.;;^^;, ^^ ^ 1 go S is U, be ciUiar U.0 leHse^"'™''*-''\Vr Sw.l L"« wTUiout similar por- „,Mnovod or explored for in Uie unallotted ^'"^ ' 'J'7;J^^^^^^ „.v,„.t, boUi That Auslr,aia has a bright f"^'''« "'"JJ^*;*^ " Z^ oxpJcled. U,ero wUl jet juTcimlB .umiagement. wiU yield abmidm.ce lor all. • How THB GoLD-Dtrn and Oiiis *»« ™eat«i>. r.e or six miUious of in.uisitiv3 hmmu. Jj^iSS^iff "^'-p' seeing virgu. ^^^^^'^^'^^'^'^^'^Z^'^^^^^^ treasures before, uot oue-tliousandl^i part of ,^''« ''"V'^' ';'^\X^^ whose J.omids weight Those ^vho missed U.e ponderous ^^^J'^JX ' i'T. X «^^ *"'*^ ^''^ '^ "*" ..re in hundreds, .uul -l-^ XX^^^fi:,*^, 5 e Csian treasures; whilo portunity of seemg Oioso «.»'f '£*^'?^..*^'^ ^.^al collections, may have seen ^Su1"i.o^'rs-t hasten on our «old- io^ey. T^^K'ulS^rS i^iif ortirsSawrr:^^^^^ rr... a. goid«nith- the finder from the user. .„ -ft...^,,, or when iho. sands or other ollu- Whenn ix)ck is supposed to be *"»f« «"f'.^ lid the adventure^- is advised vial matter of a district are to ^f ."^"""^".^ J^'\ «^^itt course The comical by r«>fe»sor Anstad to pi^ceed m a f/;^" "J^gf m^^; ,vriUen l.y Uiat i/ given i» the small hut '"^^estuig ' Oo d-b.cktrs Ma^^iu^ J BkilM gooloaist^ .The ^J-"'-^/,^^^^^^^^ pound it. a*»d sifl It ; the ^ust Urns oUtoincu s i ^^ ^, If any gold is P^f^^^.^"* Uv^'^i? te VX^^""^'^1 ^ ^^ '^^P'^^ waslied oror tlie edge of the pan " Jf « '^^'f^'^ ^^^^j.^a wiUi quicksilver, and and weighed, it is treated by tlie *'"^^f ^^ f \"" "^ i,y the ratio between finaUy isolated The adventurer can ^^^». J^ '^^i'^ Z:^^ ,,Uat uercentage the weight of the gold 'f^^'^'^^'r^^^^J^^, Qf course aA tins caa- of gold ©xista, aad whether i"- wmI P^y ^^^ exu"**^** |ii I ii»miiiiiiMii»TniiNititt -■^-'-^'-'*"*^ jmajKitiDi i i ^J H gold: in the mine, the mint, and the W0BK8H0P. not be done by a solitary rambler to the " diggings," who has got all his worldly wealth on his back ; the breaking and pounding and washhig may be 80 conducted; but the amalgam process requires other resources. In propor- tion as the rock or the sand is rich, so will washing suffice for the extraction of a profitable quantity of gold. In the gold districts of Himgary, the sand is placed upon an inclined table, the sm-face of which is grooved with transverse channels. Water is thrown on the sand in the uppennost groove ; and after a time the golden paiticles find their way (by their superior weight) down tlie table to the lowest channel, where they collect with some of the sand, from which they are afterwards easily separated. In Brazil, where gold-working has been more steadiljr and extensively pur- sued in modem times than in any other countiy, the mming operations have gone through three epochs or periods. The first was before the year 1724. The common method of proceeding, as described by Professor Ansted, was to dig a square hole in the soil, imtil tiie miners came to the auriferous gravel. The gravel was broken up with pickaxes, and shovelled into wooden vessels. These vessels were exposed to the action of running water, and were shaken from side to side imtil the earthy particles were washed away, and the gold subsided. These workings were either in the beds of rivers, or in the alluvial banks over which rivers had in former times flowed. But in 1724 a new method was introduced, which economised labour. In- stead of opening the ground, and carrying the amiferous gravel to a rmming stream, a sti'eam was conveyed to the gravel ; water was conducted to the mining ground, and made to wash away the mould which covered the gravel ; after which it washed the gravel itself away from the golden particles. . The comparative exhaustion of the sands led to the adoption of a third mode of mining in the Minas Geraes district. It was known that the motm- tains neai- the rivers contained veins rich in gold ; but the means for working have been and still ai-e very rude. The working is by open cutting, laying the vein bare by clearing away the surface. Unless there is water to aid in this operation the labour becomes immense. In one district of Brazil the gold is collected in a smgular way. Canoes are provided, each cut out of a solid tree. The gold-washers dredge up sand from the river bed into the canoe, by means of a windlass and an iron scoop ; and into the sand thus collected they direct a stream of water through bamboo shoots. The sand and mud become gradually washed away, and the golden particles are found in the bottom of the canoe. It seems, however, that the produce thus obtained is only just sufficient to pay for the expense of ob- taining it. In some districts, where the river banks are not private property, negro gold-seekers work on their own account in the following way. They are dressed in a leathern jacket, and sling before them a leathern bag and a round bowl. They select locaUties where the river is not rapid, or where it has bends or deep holes. They first reuiove the large stones and upper layers of sand with their feet; and then take up a bowlful of the deeper and older gravel. They wash and shake the contents of the bowl until all the gold sinks to the bottom ; and when it is separated as far as possible from sand, it is taken out of the bowl by hand, and put into the leather bag. It must not be supposed that gold presents itself to the eyes of the eager adventurer in its pure metallic form ; it is almost always deteriorated, either with earthy matters or with some of the cheaper metals ; and this deteriora- \ r the expense of ob- rivate property, negro ing way. They are lem bag and a roimd apid, or where it has s and upper layers of he deeper and older vl until all the gold possible from sand, it IT bag. the eyes of the eager 8 deteriorated, either : and this deteiiora- GOLD : IN THK MINE, THE MrUT, AND THE WOKKSHOP. 19 tion may arise either simply from mechanical mixture or from chemical com- bination Hence many dilferent processes have U> be adopted, to bang the gold to absolute purity. The •' diggei-s" and adventurers ca,^ ^f/?"^'^ little about these processes ; they know that they can sell their gold dust md gold ores, whether the ratio of pure metal be large or smaU : receivmg a price which (ostensibly at least) depends upon this ratio. ^ . ^ .• •„ One of the simplest modes adopted in Brazil for effecting the separation is thus managed -.-The river sand and mud are well washed, untd the gold ap- peal's as Jvy fine grains. The gold is put into a crucible, sublimate oiiner- luxy is added to it, and it is melted ; the time requirea m melting depends on the kind of metals with which the gold is alloyed; but when the meltmg is completed, the precious Uquid is poured into iron moulds, or. ratlier, the chStper and lighter metals Sre poured off. by which they ai-e sepai-ated from ^^sSirsepittion of gold from a rocky ore is a more difficult nja^er and requires appliances which a Californian digger is veiy httie likely to have at hand The oi-e is pounded and ground to a fine powder ; it is washed, to expel Slight eai-thy matter; the residue is dried, and s mixed with a cerUmi quantUy of quicksilver; by a genUe heat the mixture is graduaUy n^elted^d m amalgam formed. Then comes a very curious process : the anialgam la jessed in a leather or skin bag; the quicksilver mosUy passes ttu-ough the ?ores bit the gold remains behind ; and, by further processes, the whole of Se mercuiy is recovered from the leather, and the whole of the gold is sepa- rated from impurities and alloys. r-..**,.^!! ;« nnrirnKsU- The eold-mining system of Kussia, as descnbed by ..,r. Cottrell, is cunously managed. Eveiy freeman in Russia, except a Government mp%«, is allowed STeS for goS, which is usually found m the sands on ihe banks of nvei^ Srexplore? finds that his seai-ch has been successful(in any district not befOTe similarly appropriated), he aimounces tSae fact to the Government, and appUes for peiinission to avail himself of the discovery. A mmmg officer is 5 to examine the spot, and to mark out a district of about two Lnghsh square miles, of which tlie explorer is put mto possession, so far as legards Sd getting. The speculator (for it can only be a moneyed man who entei^ on such a project) builds huts for workmen, fixes machines and offices and Z!Z large stores of provisions ; for the location i. often many miles d ist^t Sm Ly town. The labourers ai-e mostly persons exiled from R^^^^a to Si- berTar^d they receive good but not extravagant wages from the speculators Thi ;ands are^oUected and washed, and the gold is brought to a^.clean a .tate as possible. At the fall of the year, when the mcreasmg ^o^ bnngs tiie operations to a close, the gold is carried to a government establishment, ma JSXiLx; it is' weigLd,:registered, melted, mo^^^^^ and accurately valued ; the ingots are transmitted to &f.. Petersbiu-gb, ana ^Ldi^S money, wh ch is paid to the speculator, mmus acertam percentage rernedZ the Government. It appears that the Government, bemg desirous t^lcouSe^ese 0^^^^^ does not press very hardly on the speculators ThTSture, however, is a precarious one; for sometmies tlie returns do not p^Ae expenses, while at other times a capitaUst is rumed before the SMpe^T^y qvLtity. An instance is narrated of one speculator, who fpentTi^five thousand out of forty thousand roubles of borrowed money before any fruits resulted ; but luck then showered upon hun so abundantly that, in a few years, he became a milhonaire. "V 1 u 0OID! IK THE MINE, THE MnOT, AND THE WORKSHOP. Gold Coinage, and rre CrmosmES. Distant as the Califomian diggings are from New York and from london, the diggers find abundant customers for theii- gold-dust. Silver dollars are sent out to San Francisco, in exchange for the dust and the ore ; and tho mag- nificent steamers of the Atlantic route bring us as nmch of this gold aa the course of exchange between tlie countries requu'es. Among the many modes of practically applying gold, money is not the least curious and interesting. The substances of which money is composed are more numerous than many persons imagine. When society rises above tlie level of mere bartering transactions, any substance which is equally valued by buyer and seller may become money ; and there then arises simply a question of degree, as to the fitness of one or another material. One of the earliest kinds of money was cattle, an article being valued at so many oxen ; but Uiis is obviously a coin that is inapplicable to small purchasers, for it would puade ^ the seller to give change out of an ox. Shelh Kre used to a great extent as money, in India, the Indian islands, and Africa ; the cowiy shells of India have a value of about thirty-two to an English farthing. Cocoa-nuts, almonds, and maiz€ have all had to do duty as money, m certain times and oouutries. In hunting coimtries, skim are a very common kind of coin ; and sfcunped pieces of Uathir are said to have been used in England in the time of Edgar, In Bome regions salt is used as money, cut into convenient brick-shaped pieces. In counUies where rents and wages are estimated in given quMifities of com, com may be said to be money, Dried fish is often the money of Iceland and Newfoundland ; sugar ha| at times been a WesMndia money ; and Adam Smitli tells us of a Scotch village m which nails were a current coin at the ale-house and the baker'a. But metals supersede ^l Uie above heterogeneous Ust, m a more advanced state of society. Brass money was made in Ireland during the time of the Tudors ; and at the same period Uad was used for small coins in England. Charles the Second hwi fai'things of tin; and his successor had small coins of pewUr and of f/un-iiutal. Iron was used by some of the early nations; and flatiimm is used at the present day in Russia. It appears, therefore, that, besides silver and copper, gold has many rivals as materials for coins. All yield precedence to it, however ; for no other metal possesses at once so many qualities fitted for this purpose. It is very solid and dense ; it is divisible or separable in an extraordinary degree ; it is very little affected by air or moisture, or ordinary usage ; its supply is (relatively) veiy limited ; and its value presents a remarkable approach to uniformity, in different coimtries and different times. Our modem potentates, m England at least, have no trouble to obtain gcW for coining ; buUion dealers, in the ordinary course of theu- trade, voluntarily bring gold to the Mint to be corned. But such was not aiways tiie case, in earlier times, nor is it now always the case, in other countries ; for the rulera thought it incumbent on them to place some check upose. It is very solid lary degree ; it is very ;s supply is (relatively) ooch to uniformity, in trouble to obtain g} be Beat oat of th« of gold, to permit it ist the uite of gold for knowu' — ^not bo widely —was alchemy. When men thought that common cheap metftls might be transmuted mto gold no wonder ufat tliey racked their brains to discover the chemictd means ot effect- TngT. transmutation. The world possessed many Oldbucks and ma^y Dousterswivels, Uie deceived and tlie deceivers, among the alcheniic«l cralt li How Uie ardent students of this mystery earned on their researches, sober ^ history or pleasant romance have made familiar to n.ost readers ; but it is not, nerhans so aenerally known, that among our English monarchs, Edwaid 111., ffenS^IV.! HenTvL, EdwU IV., anS Henry YIII all showed a tendency to believe in the tomsmuting power of alchemy ; and they looked witli a long- ing eye to the possible enrichment of their exchequer by these means Ed- ward HI. encoUged tlie alchemy of Raymond Lully until hopes were dashed by failure. He^ iV. seems ratl.er to have feared the art Umn to have relied on it S a state engine. Henry VI. " patted on the back " certain alchemists, who pTomLd him^ a golden return ; but on their f.ulure he appointed a com- mission of inquiry, as strangely constituted as any known '« """^ ^^""S ' f^ it consisted of two friars, the Queens physician, a schoolmaster, ^u 'ddonnan of London, a fishmonger, t^^'o gi-ocers. and two mercers. Mr. R"dm&:^2 notices this commission in his ' Annals of die Coinage was "«» able to dis- cover any record of tiie results of the enquiry. That Uus goodly cluster of Heniys Ld Edwards failed to make gold by the transmuting process was perhaps, after all, more a subject of regret than of surprise to l^'^'" ' J?T ^^^ no ea.sy matter to detect the cheaters from the cheats among the ^o'^hiPPf* of the " philosophers stone," and these monarchs (or at least f ««>e «f «^^"^) may possibly have belonged quite as much to the lonner as to the latter ck^s liiuion, irlinff, «l«,uiW,-all are terms employed m connection wiUi gdd as a coined met^ or as a metal about to be coined ; and they let us mto some Turious Lts concerning «old coinage When a buUion deder or ^ account- ant speaks oi standard gold, or a jer^NeUe- praises his goods as being made of ri;,* gold, what is meant by these terms? And what is »f '"^^^^J."^! "st^darf." and "fine." and "sterling." three names for the ^Tf J^f f^J Perhaps these questions have not been put exacu^ in this form, but tbe sun- ject of them must have occmi^d to many per^ns The word '^^l^ngh^ now very Utdo other meanmg than as a name for English cornet! money so that a wound sterhng means an English pound com ; but origmaUy it had a htUe SmeSg.^ A pound in money was, Mr. Ruding tells us. in early times TSnghZ, ^uivalLt to a pound of silver, that is. lb. ^ver) and £ were equivalent; but when this equality was. from various «^"ses, disturbed, Jie word Bterttfuf was used to designate the coined silver money, ^hf.^f^ of pure silver or not; and the same name became afterwards applied to gold. fZdZ egresses the degree of fineress in gold. For coimng purpo^s. gSd U almost invariftl)ly alloyed wiUi a little silver and copper, which render & flexible and more durable. A carat in gold assaying, is ^n imagn^J weight or rather ratio; anv piece of gold is supposed to weigh twenty-four Ss, and the fineness is exp,«8sed by the number of °*f ^ « /"T^ /^^^^ it is in faot only a pecuUar mode of expressmg the pun / of a gold ftU^y- At different times the sta^uiard of English gold coins has varied g«^y ' b«t &; «» long period back it has uniformly been " twenty-two carats fine •- J^** 's^out of everv twentv.four parts by weight twenty-two are hne or pure gold, the remam- ing7w7Sg cipher and silver The ^n. gold of the jeweller is as neary pure as can conveniently be^vreught into durable forms ; but ordinary jewdUr, ^!ithough gold^coin, for this country, is made only at the Mhit. yet Sir. I \ 16 gold: in the mine, the jhst, and the workshop. niingham is in some respects the head-quarters of the coining art in modem times, chiefly through tlie famous establislunent of Boulton and Watt, at Soho. BiiTningham produces an immense quantity of stamped work in brass and other metals ; and the die-makera, who make the stamps for this process, ai-e merely a humbler grade of tliose who make the dies for coins. The dies are cut in hard steel by hand, a laborious and tedious operation. In the last century, tlie famous 8oho establishment not only coined copper money for the EngUsh government, but money of various kinds for foreign governments. The dies were produced by men very eminent in that line ; men who, indeed, have rightly obtained a niche among artistic worthies. The great establishment, which had suftered much decline, as one after another wealthy partner retired from it, was finally broken up by an auction sale in April, 1850 ; and on that occasion the lots exemplified the foraier extent of the coining arrangements. There were some of the most celebrated medals which had appeared in various European countries during the reign of George III. ; the dies by which these medals had been stamped ; British copper coins, and tlie dies for them ; many varieties of French copper coins, witli the dies ; and a great variety of other coins, medals, and tokens. Birmingham still makes copper coins, by the ton weight at a time, for various countries. "When Boulton and Watt commenced coining in 1787, they had eight cutting-out presses and eight coining processes. On one occasion the firm coined many tons of five-shilling pieces for the British govomment, of tlie silver obtained by the capture of a Spanish galleon ; a troop of soldiers guarded the premises while tlie coining was in operation. But it is only of gold — the shining tempter, gold — that we have here to spoak. The actual processes of coining are too minute and technical to be described here : they fittuigly find a place ui cycloptedias, where the alloying, the inciting, the casting, the rolling, the cuttmg, tlie stamping, the milling, the assaying, the weighing — all come under notice in their proper order. But there is one curious matter relating to the career of gold coins after they come into the hands of the public, which is worth a little attention. The wearing away of gold coin, by the constant friction to which it is exposed, is a curious matter both mechanically and financially. No one can say whither the worn particles go : tlie pocket, the purse, the skhi of the hand, the wooden till, the metal cash box — all must rob the golden sovereigns of somethhig of their weight ; but we cannot see the process of diminution, nor catch the truant particles as they fly. Then, when gone, somebody must bear the loss ; and who shall this be ? A baker who takes a sovereign one day, and pays it away to his miller the next, does not pay the veritable Bovereii;(n itself; it is a little lighter than when he received it; and, although even Mr. Cotton's exquisitely delicate apparatus might not be able to detect the amount of deficiency, yet deficiency there is, and several repetitions of it amount to an appreciable quantity. From very careful investigations made by the ofl&cers of the Mint towards the close of the last century, it was found that 7S^^„ silver shillings, taken as a fair average from all those then in cu-culation, were required to make 1 lb. troy ; whereas 63 is the number when new. Eleven years afterwards another fair average was taken, and another examination made, when it was found that B^-^if shillings were required to moke a pound. But this diminution of weight is excessive, and is not likely to be exhibited by the less-v/om and more fre- quently-renewed silver coinage of the present day. Still it is unquestionable, that tiie gold and silver coins are exposed to daily wear and diminution. The . . .Xi« JBKSHOP. lining art in modem Joulton and Watt, at if stamped work in B the stamps for this ie the dies for coins, id tedious operation. )t only coined copper Mis kinds for foreign minent in that hne; rtistic worthies. The as one after another by an auction sale in tfie foi-mer extent of >st celebrated medals g the reign of George British copper coins, • coins, witli the dies ; .8. Birmingham still 3us counti-ies. When had eight cutting-out the firm coined many of the silver obtained guarded the premises that we have here to J and technical to be IS, where tlie alloying, itamping, the milling, a their proper order. gold coins after they le attention, riction to which it is mcially. No one can urse, the skin of the the golden sovereigns )roce8s of diminution, gone, somebody must akes a sovereign one not pay the veritable Lved it ; and, although lot be able to detect the veral repetitions of it I of the Mint towards silver shiUings, taken required to make 1 lb. sars i\fterwanls another ivhen it was found that s diminution of weight 3ss-vrom and more fre- il it is xmquesUonable, and diminution. The gold: in the mine, the mint, and the workshop. 17 Government r(>quested Mr. Cavendish and Mr. Hatchett, two distinginshed fellows of the iloyal Society, to make an extensive investigation respecting the power of metals to resist friction ; and their results are highly curious. I hey made various alloys of silver, copper, platina, iron, tin, lead, bismuth, manga- nese, nickel, cobalt, zinc, antimony, and arsenic, witli gold; they nibbed plates of different kiuds of metal over each other half a million times, to de- termine which resist friction best ; and they rotated similar pieces among each other in a barrel. The effects were such as to reflect no little credit on those whoever they were, who established the standard of English gold coin ; for the English standard (2a gold to 2 alloy), and the quality of Uio alloy (silver and copper combined), were found about tlie best of all the combina- tions subjected to experiment. In 1B07 the Mint officers, wishing to ascertain how much the cun-ent com had actually lost by wear, selected at random one tiiousand good guineas from a banker, and found tliat they had lost on an average 19s. per cent, in value. A hundred guineas from a shopkeeper's till had lost 22«. per cent. Iwo hundred half-guineas exhibited a loss of 42s. per cent— tlie smaller coins being subjected to more severe wear than the larger. Mr. Jacob, a gi-eat authority on the subject of tlie precious metals, has stated it as his opinion that, taking tlie average of all tlie gold coins in this countiy, and an average ot all tlie hard usage to which the coins are exposed, each one beai-s an annual loss of about ^I^Tj by friction, which is a little more than a fartliing in the pound. In silver coins the loss is supposed to be five or six times greater, owing to the more unceasing circulation of silver than gold, and to the less fitness ot the metal to bear friction. The matter may be stated thus : put 900 new sovereigns and 900 new shillings into average ordinaiy circulation ; in twelve months' time the former will be worth about 899, and the latter about 894. The extraordinai-y delicacy of tlie machine invented by Mr. Cotton lor weighmg gold coins, the motives which led to its adoption, and the mode ot its operation, are briefly noticed in the paper on Calculating Machines. The Art of the Goldsmith. How bravely soever our Hunts and Roskells and Garrards may coinpcto with them, it is not probable that Ave shall ever equal the golden glitter of the east and the south. We do not cai-e for it. What a daily journalist said ot the Turkey and Eg3'pt compartment of the Great Exliibition, may be said ot oriental countries in general. " Gold, in every shape and form, here glares upon the eye,— we have it spun into thread, arranged in embroidery, lavishly scattered over eveiy species of fabric to which gold can be appUed— jackets all, stiff with the gUttering metal— saddles like burnished thrones— housmgs tor camels and trappings for horses gorgeous as tlie state tabard for heralds- caftans, tm-bans, bemouses, nusniuchs— all bespangled with the veritable orna- ment You see gold gleaming from the long rifled baiTcl and the superbly carved stock— gold ' dunming the sheen ' of the Damascus blade and tlie Mal- tese poignard— gold adorning the pipe-stem and the walking-staff-— gold upon the harness of the ' ship of the desert —gold upon tlie accoutrements ot Ins rider, from the aigreth of his turban to tlie pointed weapon of his unwieldy stirrups— gold encrusting the lady's slipper— gold gleaming from the tiny coffee cup, and decorating the ample vase— gold worked into the hangings ot the divan— gold fringes, gold tassels— gold plated, wrought, inlaid, enabroidered —gold in every possible combination of ornament and device. This taste lor I i i iii i ilMfii i iT--"'r'^-*'"^ •'" i™-"'H i "'f iriirWrv iMMiMHedWtMM u<>WWUMi )i i iii»i' W ^ 't ? 18 oold: in the mink, the mint, and the workshop. lavish gold embroideiy wid omamontd is characteriHtic of all tlie EasUsni peci»le." , ■ ,. A \ But though wG do not possess (because we do not attach importance to) such ir (liscriniinaU) applications of gold, we have golden realizations of artistio design such as tlie Hast possesses not. The art of the goldsmith, Ironi tho time of Benvenuto CoUini, has been ever wedded more or less to tliat of the sculptor; and Uie g»;eat industrial display of 1851 has shown what fine results England, France, Germany, aiid other countries, are able to present in this department of ait-manufacture. , Tbe munificent offer of Uie Goldsmiths' Company, ui connection with tlie Great Exhibition, ought to have been imitated by some of the otlier wealthy city guilds, the revenues of which are but too slenderly iq)pUed to the fostering of the " arts and mysteries " whose name tliey beoi-. The Goldsmitlis' Company offered prizes, to tlie amount of one thousand pounds, for the best specimens of workmanship in certain specitied kinds of gold jind silver work. These were to be candelabra, with gi'oups of figm-es or animals, not less than 600 ounces in weight ; other candelabra of smaller weight ; shielda, salvers, side- boards, or dishes, of 'Ja inches or more in lengtli ; dessert sei-vices ; sideboard ewers ; ornamental cups ; enU-ee dishes ; candlesticks and branches ; tea and coffee services ; communion plate ; table candlesticks ; salts, clai-et jugs, brea('-b*«ket8, teakettles and stands, ink-stands, spoons and forks — each kind having its own defined prize, and sometimes tlireo gradations of prizes. All were to be modelled and made by British artists, but it was left to the com- petitors to adopt gold or silver, or silver-gilt, as the material. Those who were familusr vith the gorgeous display in the south-west galleiy of the Exhi- bition (a display which has been roughly valued at upwaids of a million sterUng) will remember to have seen bits of orange-coloure Mr. 5ra«*By by ^os^ employed nnder him as a railway contractoj^— a salver which has a peciihar interest attaclied to it, in respect to twelve enamelled portraits of the loading engineers of tlie day ; and one or two others of similar kind. The Emperor of llnssia's Ascot priae for 1847 was one of Uie most conspicuous and beauti- ful of tlie race-cup species. In what way tliese brilliant and splendid productions are wrought, we do not propose to trace very minutely here. Suffice it to say, that the articles are cither cast in molten metal, or are haiiunered and stamped from sheets, and are afterwania brought to a highly-finished state bv chasing, engraving, and burnishing. Such is the case when a vase, or salver, or ornament, is jnade of solid gold, and such is it likewise when made of silver and coated afterwards with gohl ; but silver plating involves other processes of a smgular character. An ingot of white metal is made : on its surface is laid a plate of silver about one-fortieth part as tliick as tlie white metal ; tho two aie soldered together by heat ; the compound ingot is brought to any required thinness by rolling: and the silvered sheet so produced is stamped, punched, hammered, engraved, and burnished into tlie required foi-m and appeaiance. The white metal forms the foundation, the silver fonns the glittering surface, and this silver could itself be coated witli gold by what is called the water-gilding pro- cess, in which aquafortis and mercury are employed to aid the adhesion ol tlie gold to the metal beneath. w r u The repmisse work of French silversmiths, which is equivalent to Enghsh chasing, is a veiy remarkable mode of decorating gold and silver plate. It is effected entirely by the hammer. The workman has a plain flat sheet of silver to work upon, and before him is a carefully executed wax model of the article to be produced ; the silver plate rests upon a soft bed of pitch or other composition, and with a small hammer the workman produces indentations over the surface corresponding with the device to be produced. A small steel punch is employed occasionally ; and if any of the indentations are carried too far, the plate is reversed, and a little counter-hammering applied. Many of the shields, salvers, dishes, and other articles in the Great Exhibition, dis- played fine examples of this kind of work ; and there was an equestrian statue of Queen Elizabetli produced almost entirely by this remarkable process. A remarkable department of the goldsmith's art has recently come much into fashion, viz., the manufacture of ecclesiastical plate and ornaments. As we have now church needlework and church brass-work, so have we church- work in the precious metals, such as was little patronized twelve or fifteen years ago. The causes which have led to tliis novelty, or rather revival, it is no part of the present sheet to discuss ; we view the fact simply in connection with a particular department of industiy. The communion plate of English churches— tlie chalice, the paten or salver, and the flagon— had degenerated to veiy untasteful productions, luitil withm Uie last few years. There was often abundance of real silver m them, but this silver had not been artistically wrought. It has been remarked, in con- nection with this subject, that raedioeval goldsmiths regai-ded the metal as one which is to be hammered into form, while the modems have largely practised the art of casting : and that, although the last-named process admits of the development of many new and beautiful effects, yet, being easier, it can be accomplished by persons of less taste. In other words, an artizan can pro- duce a piece of plate at the present day, whereas an artist was required for its production two or three centuries back ; and this difference has told on tiie relative infusion of mind in the two kinds of productions. Tho chui-ch gold- ^UmisssagiSBiip^ '^mm Sj-ffir *^' '"" ''■""•^' ''■'*' g-igia«\" g i ;gr ii'?f '''^^i^s*^^^ maMtli "»*licable Ui diHerent pur[)ose3. There was gold leaf from tliree English fimis, from France, froiii the United States, from Turkey, and from Van Dienien's Land— tlie Old World and tjie New both displayed their knowledge of tliis art. The applications of this exquisitely fine substance are numerous and vaiied. In the edges of books, in picture-frames and looking-glasses, in the gorgeous decorations of the House of Lords and other sumptuous apartments, in gdt leatlier — we see some among the many appUcations of leaf-gold. In all these cases the gold is applied and seemed by tlie aid of a particular kind of cement or gold size ; and this cement dilTers in character, according as the gold is oi- ls not to be burnished with a smooth piece of agate or flint. The whole of tlie accompanying processes are full of ingenious " Curiosities," both in tlie effects produced and in tlie modes of producing them ; but we must hasten to glance at one of tlie otlier forms of extremely delicate attenuation of gold. Gold-lace is not gold lace. It does not desene this title, for the gold is applied as a smliice to silver. It is not even silver-lace, for the silver is ap- plied to a foundation of silk. Therefore, when we are admiring tlie glittering splendom- of gold-lace, we should, if " honour be given where honom- is due, remember that it is silk-lace, wiUi a silver-gilt coating. The silken threads for i ii ii tia iii ** i *ii>i'i >i < I iii ii rVM • t J 1 M oold: n» the Mint, the Miir mto tki wonraHOP. makintf Uiii matoriiU (iro wound round wiUi gold wire, no tliickly as t/) conceal the Bilk ; and Uie nrnking of Uiis gold wire ii* one of the most HUigiilnr me- chunical operation*) inrnKinable. hi the first f.lncc, the refuior prepnro*! a solid rod of Hilvor, about an inch in UiickneHS ; he heats this rod. a|.plie» up n the surface a coating of gold-leaf, burnishes this down, >pph.'s anot}i.'r coating, buniihhos tliis down, and so on. until the gc.ld is about one-hundredth part the Uuckness of tb'- -'v-. Then the rod is subjected to a tram of processeH, which bringi « ■li^ii I ; '"> stoto of a fine wire; it is passed Uiroiigh holes in a steel nl:,i ■ losi; r,' a- step by step in diamn the )lii'8 anotlitr coating, t ()ne-huii(lre«ltli part a train of processes, passed Uirongh hohm h« gold never d< rts »ut4itions : it wft- ono ling, and it maintains ilver cftn bo brou^'lit. t the most wondrous Dr. Wolliiston, u man an example of a solid of silver, bored a hole he sniaib'st gold wire wiro-drawin'.; process, 1 wa3, in fact, a silver ow to isolate tliis gold i>is acid, by wliich the isandtli of an inch in id of man hasyetpr»>- ler than any employed m of gold on the sur- that tlio gold on the If -third of ime-miUionth ) thickness of ordinary lese fractions : but we si us imagine Uiat a a rli^uon, one inch in ;lit form a girdle com- to spare." coated with gold, are abundimt illustrations as gold-lace, in a form 11 a Lrj)KK TniMKET8 Axu Small Waheh. ThMfl delirat^lyminutfl applicaii ms of gold are but a few among many. If we look at that doli.ut* b.it iMMioct film of gold which covers buttons and rhean iowollci-v, wo shall tind that it is not less curious tlian thost,- examples iu8t triauui. Hen) the gold is neither a sheet nor a wire; it is a wroji -•naments the lustre of every metal that the whole earth can produce with all their Uustrious race of compounds, heightened by fancy and gamishe.l with jewels She will draw fVom the fossil and vegetable kingdoms ; press the ocean for shell, skin, and ui'al. She wiU lUso tax Uie animal lor l^o™..^«"'|?"^'^^";«^ j .md rfie w 11 d. .rate the whole witli the touches of her pencil Hutton ^^^ perfectly rigl , Birmingham ha, done aU tliis. Her beautiful steel toys and LamentI; u-r fine productions in stamped brass; her bronze and brass lamp fumitme , licr painted and pdished japan and papier-macbe goodh ; her T i MitB » iW.i i « i* » iii riiri' iii i' II I' fU 00Icr rtal. aiul employn hin wifo and children an his aids m producmg S ver Sblc '• Ummmageur- goods, wh.ch have Bomowhat damaged tlio repu- Stion of the to^^'n-in tho rjm of thoHO. at least, who are not tamihar with S^S really fine pmductions pit forth by tho hotter •im.s. Lot not purchasers cmnXn if tho gold-clad trinket lo8«s its external attractions rather too soon S inghi u hko London, can produce good golds.n Uierv if properly paid for t One small garret master makes buckles, anotiier brooches, another clLns ar .oon. Buttons, it is curious to observe, are differently treated ; £r «» Hon of Uio largest establishments in Birmingham n gilt toys. Se^tTsK" e now beaS Birmingham. paiUy on account of tl.o mipenor S^te Zwn and partly owing to the lowness of wages. Glass, pobblo and ^r!feo omlente for llirmingham cheap jeweUery are mostly imported from ^' Thr^"ardisnlay in Hyde Turk, of which we have lately seen the close ^as a cycloLdi of inf..mmtion on the subject of gold, as on almost all Tther SeJte We have had opportunities of mentioning Una m many Z^^onX^^. «^r Uie induHtry 8imply (fold, wo must :ry. on mtlior by humblo tunTH. Moiiy a work- uiter, buys a liltlo gold hU aids in producuig tiat damaged the repu- are not familiar with I. Let not purchasers ctionH ratlier too soon ; itlieiT if properly paid her broochcH, another are differently treated ; iiinghani. In gilt toys, ,ccomit of tlio 8\ipenor BS. GlaBH, pebble, and 3 mostly impoi-ted from 3 lately seen the close, gold, 08 on ahnoHt all ritioning tliia in many he happens to possess Catalogue" — to glance his view. He will find ountries ; gold leaf, and I gland, and France, and a of specimens to illus- )en8 from half a dozen Bcimens of gold-plating from English firms, but rchikoff, Troeltsch, and nglish firms, and from change from tlio word o the list. ey question may be veri- iriosity-hunter upon the rood excuse for keeping TAPER: ITS APPLICATIONS AND ITS NOVELTIES. Tkk " Fourth Estate " has ])apfr for its donuiin, its scene of government' its iield of action, 'i'he wonderful uewsjuiper i>reMS, though more dependent on improvements in printing than in paper -making, is yet so largely indebt*'f evei-y hue which the colour-maker could commiuid, the scented and the enamelled papers, the opalescent and the gilt papers, the embossed and the embroidered papei-s, the spangled and the starred papers, the roll of paper a mile or two in length, Uie sheet of brown ])aper eight feet wide by more than four hundred in length, tlie sheet of pottery paper two miles and a half long, the fine tough paper made of old rope, the thin tissue paper so strong as to bear a heavy weight suspended from it, the delicately painted and coloin-printed papers — all were there, decked out in most tempting array ; and our foreign neighbours were not slow to contribute specimens of tlieir skill in analogous departments of industiy. Some of the specimens of bank-note paper exhibited were so astonishingly tough,' that a sheet weighing only half an ounce bore a strain of 280 lbs. It was interesting, too, to see the fragment of rope which had been fished up fmm the poor ' Royal George,' and by tlie side of it a sheet of coarse paper made from some of its hempen fibres. But it was yet more instructive to study tlie series illustrative of the paper-manufacture, from the dirty unbleached mgs to the delicately white sheet of paper. I
  • plimtwnoi paper, it mi^y le well to bear in mind how vaned were tihe lUu^ trations of all such applications at tlie Exhibition. The paper-folding machines, the paper-cutting machines, the paper-nihng machine, the very curious paper-shade-mi^king machine— all were wortliy ot attention, and some of them more than they received. j- 1 „^f But, besides the English contributions, our continepUd neigUl»Pure did pot neglect tlie opportunity of putting forth their best skill on tbe qccd^iop. TJie trj^q \>m, civcnlars. c^ds. lists, catalogues. &c. {^ copiplete polleption ot which mnU foon QPe of the most interesting reQor^^ of t^e Gyeai t-xh - bit on), set foi-tti the merits pf the French paper as jeU as of pt^er depart- ments of mannfftctuve. We find, fpr instance, in M. M. Odents napkeen- coloured bill, an annquncement of "Animal paper, mcpmbustible, and my strpng, for the prepar^iou of cartridges fpr the marine ; " parchment y^pjv, morocco'd for bopk covers and binding ; " " Pankeen paper, yeiy comWwble, for die manufacture of cigarettes ;" aod "^vhite puppr. sized find un§ized, tor prmting, engraving, anyeU £^s of other dppart- M. M. Qdeqt's nanke^n- , incombustible, a»)d yeyy ine ; " " parchment papar, I paper, yeiy combuptible, )pr, sized and vmsizecj, ibr mQuncements, lijie \amy i£l4)guage«; and the chief i h(*d been " invested with Another lirm, MM. Obey I, aauounce, similarly in ust. for needle papers ^d ngs, pampiiiet covers, and ig cq,mbrics, linens, &c. ; " ebs, Uioroughly sized, for I- hangings." Then cajpe aiauufactuve is advertised } French paper adveiiise- papeb: ;t8 xprwcATjoss and iis kovei-ties. 8 mpnts >vas that put fortli by the fapev Making Cpmpany of Essqr^ie, in the depai-tH^ent of ^eine-et-Oisp. The sh^et containing tho annoitncement qf this (ivifl has seven large well-executed wood-cuts, illustrative of the succesj&ivt} processes pf paper-making. There is livst'a geperal view pf tlie factpry, with a canal, t|-aniways, and a multitude of buil(;liu!?s ; then cpme^ fbe sorting pf the rags, hy women rangecl in a V'>w at tables, and having tlie handkerchief head-dresse? which l-'Vench wpv^womep nipstly weai" at their labour ; next is represented the rc^' in which \iw rags are being chopped UP i^t" pulp ; then thp bleaching process; next thp actual rpanufacturp by two cpmplete machines ; then a press-room for finishing the paper ; and two othep yiews of subsidiary character. It might be worth while lor our British manufacturers to ccmsider whether this is not a somewl^at attractive mode of advertising. This factoiy, we may here remark, appears to be on a veiy extensive scale. It was at llssonne that Louis Eobert, a working paper-maker, invented the first paper-machine in 1790 ; but, although the English brought the invention to a practical ii^sue in 1809, tlie French had no paper-machine at work till 1816 ; tliey had fouv in 1BS7, twelve in 1834, and now have upwards; of two liundred. 'J'hesp two hundred machines work up daily about aOO,OQt» kilograinmes (430,000 lbs.) of rags into paper, which, if fonned into an endless strip five feet wide, would extend 2000 kilometres (1 250 miles). It was in 1840 that a Oompaay (called in Fraiice a Societe Anonijme) was forined for establishing a paper factoiy on the spot which had witnessed the birth of the paper-macliinp. The factory stands close to the Corbeil Jlailway, about an hour's lain from Paris. It has tlu-ee cpuiplete machines for making paper, and twenty-six triturating machines for making tlie pulp. The rag warehouse is §ai4 to contam a stpi'e of 400,000 kilogrammes (870,000 lbs.) of rags ; and cpntigupu? to this i$ a large building in which women spreatl out anil sort the r-agg. In anpther buil4ing the rags are beaten to expel mechanicdl jrnpuritips and dust, washed to get riit«rial ; but these numerous processes became at length veiy costly, and the straw-paper was neither fine enough nor strong enough to command an adequate price. So it died a commercial deatli. There is in the British Musemn a remarkable book, treating of the manu- factm-e of paper from various kinds of bark, leaves, and fibres, and printed on leaves of paper made from tlie various substances described. It is a l! \ f^M Mfliii i thMiiifiMiMii i fcii ■■ ^jy r' iii|i I I minifiH w Q PAPJiB: ITS ^PPUCATTOSSf AND ITS NOVELTIES. curiosity, ancj a useful one, in so far as it hem t«stin^ony to \he capabilities of spniy materials; but \i must hoi^e.tly be coiifessed tbat Uie ^pwns would not pass master ye^y satisfactorily if U-»ed by tjie ordmary testa i^i respect to fineppsii, pplour, apd smoothness. Rags, howavev— tlie fragments of wpm-out linen and cotton g^-ment§— arc the great store bouse of material for paper-p^vHiRg- There are abundai^t reasons % flunking that tjje Ch|ne^e, vi]}o were i^e first to make paper h-om pulp of auv kind, were also the first who cpnvevteil ql4 ^arp^ents ^ptq pew sheets of paper. T|ie art traveUed somehow from Chma to Samarc^iid, whence the Saracpps transferred it to Spain; and from Spam it spread tln-oughqut Europe. One Tate is said to have been the first to practise tlie art and mystery 5" papPF-Waking in Englai^a. at a mill which h*^ '''^^'' w in HertfprMire in tlie early part of tue sixteenth c-^ntuiy. The next we boai of wasa German, who stationed himself at Dartford in 1588. and who was knighted by Queen Elizabetli. In tbe tipie of Fuller the manulactoe had made but little progress in this pouptiy, tlie chief supply being obtained Irom abroad. Jle qmuxtly tpUs us that " Paper participates m some sort ot the charapterofthe country which makes it; tlie Venetian beipg neat, subtle, and court-llke; t|ie French light, slight, and slender; and the Dutch Uiick, coiim- lent, and gi-Q3S, sucking ^p the u^k with the spongmess tbereot. ^weyplfem W^d PannX two Gennans who settled at Borne soon after aie invention of pointing, and who >vere the fii-st to introduce the t^rt in that city, printed m'<«iy works, but did not find an adequate sale for ibem ; and in a petition which they presented to the Pflpe, they drew his IJolmesss atten- tion to tlxe diffipulty of obtaming rags ; they si^i4 " H you pemse Uie catalogue of thp works pinnted by us, you will admire how and w^ere we could procure ft suftiaient quantity of paper, or eyenrags, for such a nnp:iber ot yqlpmes. Many ajeatler mp-y have mai-velled, as thesp old pripters U^ought the Pope might marvel, whence or how tlje supply of rags for paper-mak/Pg ^^. f kept up. If any one cquntrj' were depended qp, the supply wqpld certaiply fail; but by appealing to the rag-bag of ^venj country, a contmppus store is maintained. The Hungi^rian shepherd's frock or tunic-shirt, the blue shirt of a weatiier-beaten sailor hi the Mediterranean,— all such garments, as well qs those of finpr texture, ai-e welcome. The matevial for a sheet^of pappr may, as has been Remarked, " have constituted Ihf coj^rse covering of tbe fipck beet ot tlie farmer pf Saxony ; or once looked bright in the dami^sk t^b}e-clotb of the burgher of tfamburgh; or may have bpen swept, npw apd unworn, out ot the vast coUection'of the shrpds and patc^jps, the tiistian and buckram, ot a iion- dpn tailor ; or may have accomppiied every revolution of a tashiqnahlp coat m the shape of lining-having U-f^yellecl from St. James's to fet. Giles s horn Bond Street tp ^on^nputh SU'ept, frpm Bag Fair to the Publm Liberty-tiU man diso\yned the vesture, and tlie kennel-sweeper claimed its miserajile re- niain^." These " kennel-steppers " pick up a considerable quaiiti^y ot tmen and qptton fragments-pot so mpcli, probably, now as pi pjist ftu es, on ac- count of the more frequent qnd complete sweeping oi the street^i. In 1 aris tlie bone-grnbbers or chiffot^iers form quite a fratemity, who hftye not lai'ed to play thejr part i;t the nmperons mcutes which have disturljC^ lljat excitatie WMW.n r^^ I'liMrffta^i ai?iiii»aii» 1 JLTIKS. qony to the capabilities sed that the specimens I t};e ordinary tests ip md cotton giu-ment^— : ;. Thera ave abundai^j; •St to make paper from )14 gax-pients iptQ i>ew Chiiia to S(»roarcJ^ld, from Spain it spread he f^rst to practise tjie ill which hf^ established uiy. The next \ye hear . in 1588, and who was r the manufacture had ply beuig obtained from «s in some sort of the . being neat, subtle, and the l)utct^ tliick, co^-pu- is thereof." led at iiome soon after troduce the ^rt in tlmt ;e sale for them ; and in •ew his JJoliijcss's atten- rou peruse tl^e catalogue wf^ere we could procure number of vqlutnes.' ijiters thought the Pope »r paper-majiipg can be supply wo|ald certain^ rj', a continiipus store is ic-shu-t, the jqlue shirt of ich garments, as well ^s a sheet of pappr may, as s^ing of t]^e IJQpk be4 of lami^sk t^bje-cloth of the I B^a unworn, out of tl>e opd buckraro, of ^ Lon- 1 of a fashiqnablp coat in es's to St. Giles's, from the Dubliti Liberty — till ■laimed its niiserable re- derat^le quan'i*v of ^inen as in ptist xtvi es, on ac- of the streets. In Paris y, who have pot faUed to disturljccl t^at expitaUe I*»PER: its Al'PLlCATlONS AND ITS NOViaTIES. 7 The Manufactubino Pbocessks. Tb dptttll fonnally tho various operations in the manufactiire of paper is no jiart of the present object ; but a glance may be taken sufficient to show the relations between the several stages of i)rocess. Tho paper-mills a:e mostly in pretty valleys ^here abundance oi clean water can be obtained— iVater to turn the macliiticry, afld water to make the pulji. Maily a paper-mill can be seen by railway ttavellers as they whu-1 along— hi Hertfordshu'e, "xi Kent, in Somersetshire, and elsewhere. Fbr the most part iTond water-power is the desideratum ; but in some cases a null is estabhslied near the spot Where a particular kind of prtper is much demilnded: Messrs. Fourdrifaier, for instancj?, have a mill in Staffordshire, where they make the thin but tough paper so largely used in printing blue and white earthenware. Whereier it may be, neat or distant from London (there is no paper-mill »- Lond'in), the first care of the manufacturer is his rags. From Trierte, Iron. Leghorn, from Hamburgh, from Rostock, and from other porta, the rags ctf vanous countries arc brought to England ; and the capabilities of eaCh havfa (o be detettnihed. English housewives have the reputation of being vtety cleanly ; those of Italy are far otherwise ; and the linen and cotton rags affotd striking pt'Odf of this difference. Many continental countries positively ptb- hibit tlie exportation of rags at all, and we have theroforfe to be content with such as are accessible. The rags are packed in bags of three or loul- himdred- weightS each ; and these, whfen opened at tlie mill, aie placed ui.oer the cal'o of woinen, whose duty it is to sort them, to shake out the loose dust, to ctit them ihU) moderately small pieces, and to separate the seams and heths from the other pieces. A keen eye and a dexterous hatid toe reqhired iH this prblimihary operation. , . , „ v. i- . ^■fu^ Then comes the truly chenlifctll process by which the dmgjs dirty, aiSbo- lotired ra^s are brought as purely white as -a delicate sheet of paper, boitle of the English rags are so clean that they require no bleaching ; Mt tlie Whitey-brown, or worse than whitey-brown, rags of otlier counti-ies hftve t« j)ass through an ordeal in which chlorine exhibits Us wonders, ihey ai-e plpced in a close chfest, chlorine is admitted to them through a pipe, and in a few hours eveiy vestige of colour is removed a strong clllorme odour is imparted, it is triie, but a good washing removes thi^. The boilmg and the v-'-i""". and tlie bleaching diffef in degi'ce accordWg 10 the state of the rags ; but tlie comminutittil, the dissection, the seterailcfe into itifinitesiniftl fragments, is required alike for all. In otie machine the ra<'s are di-awii between shari) knives on a Mler and sharp knives on a plane, an°d are unmistakably briiised by tlie transit ; while in another niac'iuie, which works more rapidly, and has its knife-edges more closely together, they dre so thoroughly tossed about and cut til), as to fortli, with the ^Vatef in which thty are imhierSed, a smooth crfefim-llke pulp. Blotthuj papfef derives its f feculiar property from having no size in it; printitlg and writhig paper are ftlwa^S sized ; and some kinds receive thfeir quota of sire when m the state of pulp. I Ifrohi tliis pulp, kept agitated in a vessel, sheets of paper arc madp. llio dexterous manipulations of paper-makers Oil the hand method are very te- markabte. The pulp is transfferred to a steam-hedted vat, wherb it is kept wai-m and weU agitdted. The work'- - has two «tmile is heavily ce to maintain its foim ed one on another, and looths tliem. They are ir drying, sizing, diying Jly made up into quires. is one of the most com- le machine successively le machine appear very 3 of great length ; but il at all tins. A creamy ) comes out in the form two minutes ! ful to look at. It flows ) vat upon a naiTow wire a flat surface, and then ) the paper about being t is shaken from side to d into something like a ssed by ft wire cylinder ;h, and becomes further t is fmlher drained and it passes over a heated hen over a third heated 1 whiles ; and it reaches ,nd smooth paper. And lite number of inches in ! pulp is ft creamy liquid, coherent film, another a ach the last cylinder, and paper is wound on a reel d a roll miles in length. \, and cut into sheets by I how to make the paper- lachines, too, have an ar- sture from the pulp, and ickness. ements in paper-making, es to regulating its flow ; ire cylinders; while the ts of otliers. rs ago, when Fourdi. lier per; all the subsequent paper: its APPUOAT10N8 AND ITS K0VBLTTE8. V As to the paper itself, its varieties are too well known to need much descrip- tion The ' Bath,' the ' post," the ' laid,' the ' foolscap,' the ' yoUow wove,' the ' blue wove,' tlie ' satin,' the ' cream,' the ' ivoiy '—all these designations of writing paper, though partly unmeaning, and partly exaggerated, relate either to the existence or non-existence of lines in the paper (prodiiced by wire- web clotli), or to some particular modes of finishing. Then printing papers differ in tlieir thickness, their fineness of surface, and their size. The brown, whitey-brown, and wrapping papers of all kinds form anoUier large class, in which coarse and strong fibres take the place of white and delicate. Next come the varied group of coloured papers, some of which receive their colour in the pulp, while others arc painted with or steeped in colour aftemaa-ds. Another largo supply is taken off by paper-stainers, whose wall- decorations require paper in large surfaces but of inferior quality. But we shall be better able to understand the ever-vaned forms in which paper is presented to our notice, if we glance at some of the numerous sub- sidiary manufactures which depend upon its use as a material. And first let us see what a celebrated London firm has to show us. De la Rue's Manufactures. Of all our manufacturing establishments, that of Messrs. Do la Bue is, per- liaps the one wherein paper is made to undergo the gi-eatest variety of artistic triuisfomations. Paper-stainers in one direction, and printei-s in anotlier, doubtless cover a larger surface of paper with the results of their handiwork ; but where paper, to the extent of tens of thousands of reams annually, is con- verted by four or five hundred workpeople into dainty envelopes, note-paper, cards, coloured papers, and other tasteful productions, the diversities exhibited must be very notable. . In few, if any, departments of industry has tlie union of machinery md fine art been more observable than in the branches of the paper trade now under notice A shilling packet of envelopes, or a half-crown's worth of papetene, or tlie coloured labels and wrappere for piece goods in tlie manufacturing dis- tricts, are dependent botli on tlic one and the odier. Even the artistic fea- tm-es themselves are largely indebted to machineiy for Uieir development. The artist and the mechanic aie pulling at different strings ; but the strings meet at one pomt, and work conjointly towards one object. , • ^ Witliout any formal description of the factory or its manufactures, let us jot down a few of tlie notable " curiosities " in the application of paper at Dg ISi Rii6's. And first, let us summon a pack of cards before us. Never, perhaps, did fashion cling to absurdities more oddly than in respect to tliese instruments of play. The fine staring figures which appeal- on the wrappers of the several packs are pretty nearly the same ' Moguk.' and ' Hariys,' and 'High landers,' that they used to be, and still give names to different quahties ol cards. This may be forgiven; but the outrageous 'court cards' are surpassing strange Messrs. De la Rue have more tlian once attempted to beat into the heads of card-players the simple trath, that kings and queens and knayes may be tlie same efficient "trumps" .^ before, and yet have somedimg like artistic gi-ace about tliem. But no ; the old whist-players will not veforni, and humbler players cannot take Uie lead ; so we have Uie coim cards dressed nearly as of yore. The queeny are still wrapped up in a costume which equally defies the feminine and the "bloomer" systems; the kuig of spades fci, ' mmms^mm mmm ifiiiaifiiiiinii timxmm io PAPEIi: ITS APPMCATIONB AND 1TB NOVKLtlK«. Still thl-usls out his leg in a way most iudoppiulcnt of all iiiintoiiiy ; rind tho knaves, in thoir blue and yellow liair, tlu-ir tiiiclt lled to doiihle the heads of t&se court persoiiagns in order to view them either end uppemiost ; earh otie lias a head where his feet should he ; eitch is his own antipodes ; each U a Siamese couple, joined in a most original niatiher. But if card-players have refused to listen to reforms iti this iriatter, thfey have been more pliant Ih respt^ct to other improvements ; tliey have consented to ' coloured backs,' and to oil-printed faces. SoHie card-makers still etnploy the old method of water-colours ; but the modem system, introduced by Messrs. De la Hue, produces a coloured impression much more lasting. Ho ' self-boritaliied' is this establishment, that the stamps and plates for printing cards, the dies for embossing fttncy stationery, and nioulds and devicfes bf every description, are made and engraved on the premises ; nay, even the variotts machines, of which wo shall presently have to speak, itre sirtdlarly managed. The colouring of paper is no trilling matter in an establishment such as tlie one now under notice. There is a colour-grinding mill ; there is a labora- tory ot chemicals ; and there is a whole anuy of bottles and bo.xos and drawers filled with drugs and colom-s and oils. These colotirs, when mixed to a Jiroper consistency, are applied to Ittrge sheets of paper ; for the reader must know tlint tlie colour is not applied to the cards tliemsclves. A sheet of paper, large eiibugh (say) for forty ciirds, is printed at a press, with ink or print of one coloiir, frbrn an engraved plate of copper or brass. One plate is for gpades, another for hearts, and so on. Some packs, for players of weak sight, have fdUr different colours for the four siiits ; but the old system of two black suits and two red is mostly acted on. In respect to the cdtii-t cards, ihcf re- quire ds many different ehgrdved pldtes, arid as many successive processes of printing, as there are coloUrs. The coloured backs, too, arc printed in ft Simi- lar way ; for these arc hot inerl'ly cdloured, but printed also. Sheets of ^6^^i- are coloured (by a process which we may find an opportunity td notitb prfe- sently) of alnidst every imaginable tint ; and oUe of these being selected, it is printed with any device and in anj- colotir which may be choseil. Meanwhile otlier hands have been labouring to fitshion tho materliil from which the cards are to be made. A cai:d is built ilp of numerous layer§ of paper ; and tlie paste-brush is an important agent iii making it, Shfeets and quires tuid )-eams of paper are selected, of such (piality as may irieet tHe object in view ; and a workman — witlr tliese sheets on one side of him, dhd an dbtihdant supply of paste on another— proceeds to paste these sheets two iuid two together. The pasters do nothing else ; and the paste-rtlftkers hfivc td provide hundreds of gallons weekly. The pasted cotiples are piled in heaps, the heaps ai-e placed in hydraulic presses, and a good siiuee^e efffectnrtllt unites each pair. Wlieii this pasthig has been cai-ricd on till the cttrdboftrd is thick eiiough, the priiited face is pa..ted on, and also the coloured back (if any). ^ The finishing processes td which the cards are subjected ai-e more nttnierbtls tlian would genertdty bo stiplwsed. The bodi-ds, each the size of forty cdrds, are dried in steari-heated vaults : " then equalized in surface by a kind of revolv- ing scratching brush ; then passed between rollers, of which one is niade In a reiiiai-kable way by discs^ of paper placed face td face ; then rolled agaift : and then stibjected td fefaormoUs pressurf* td fldtteh them. All this time %iiaBiii»iMm*ii«H>«i iii w . -wi ii T i» rw* i * ii » iiii^iiaiiili'innwii ■ ^wi'mwaywMlM'JMilii LTIKH. ftll luiiitoiuy ; rinrt tho 5es ftiirt small iiiiklos, Imts, still coiitiniio to Ami, M «(! \m- in un (lonhlo th(> headrt of i uppcmiost ; ftivh otio I antipodes ; oaCh W a n3 itl tliifi irintter, tiiby ; they have croiisentod rd-nmkers still employ system, introduce*! by ich more lasting. So md plates for printing iiioulds and devictes bf i ; nay, even thie variotts •e similarly managed, estublishnient sucli as mill ; there is a labora- aud boxes and drawers lirs, when mixed to a ■r ; for the reader must Ives. A sheet of paper, s, -with ink or print of ass. One plate is for r players of Aveak sight. Id system of two black he cdtlt-t cards, they re- suftcessive processes of 3, are printed in & sithl- also. Sheets of ^Si)^i- portunity td notitb prfe- fise being selected, It Is )e clioseri. [lion the material from ) of numerous layer§ of making it, Shfects and ality as may nie(?t the n one side bf him, ahd paste these sheets two [ thfc paste-itiakers hiivo iples are piled in heaps, ood s(iueezo efffecttiitlly on till the ctttdboftrd is also the cbloilred back cted lii'e iiiorc uUnietblis the size of forty cftrds, face by a kind of revblv- which one is made in a cce ; then rolled agaill : 1 them. All this time PAPfeh: ITS Ai>ri,rcATloNs ANn i/r NovEtttEs. 11 the forty cards form onn pier(! of cardbbhrd, but now tho process of separa- ion Sues: a cutting machine, of sln.ple but effective action, cuts Uio boards IM !X strips .md then intb cards :«n.l thus some forty thousand a day can l.n fiHhionec bv one man. The sorters then examine every card snigly ; aiid c nt; as i7l,as o,ib or othbr of three (tegi-ees of faultiness (-^revh|.ps wo should my fatdtlessl.ess, so admirably are they now made) each caid takes nude as a ' Mogul.' a ' HariT,' or a ' Highlander.' , „. ,• »•.„«„ Tlie pai.er roller jv.st mentioned is one of the singular modem applications of this material, Ten or twelve thousand circular pieces ot paper have a hole formed in the centre, through which a spindle nins, and thev are pressjHl to- !:;.2r with sdch enormous force that, when turned in a fathe, they forni a cylindrical roller of singvilar density,. evenness, and smoothness. A peculiar degree of slippeiiness-very impoi-taiit for the ' shulttmg Pf.««f «-;« S'J^" *^ one surface hf each card by the pressure ot this paper cylinder; foi it is a curiou" fivct that in order to make cards shuffle an.l deal well, it is lound neces- sary to give the faces a slightly difterent kind and degree ot smoothness Irom ^'"And" now, laying aside the thousands of packs of cards thus made at this establishment? we may talk awhile of the coloured papen made for so many fanciful Durnoses In the show-room dtevoted to such matters, theie is a Sng S'of a hundred a.id thirty-two radii, formed of strips of paper no two of whi(;h present the same colour- this represents the chrotlatic powei a the comttlatui of the mamifacturers ; whether we take Newton s «p„\f'.° Sccr, still extensively used by bookbindets is made In a remarkable way. A viscid kind of paint-hquid is prepared, on the Sace of which different colours are incei-mingled; and tli« ^^eet o pa^er is dexterously laid oh this surface, from which it draws up a dm of *e inter- mingled coloui-s. Now Messrs. De la Rue have recently applied a totally dif- fe "nt colouring theoiy to the production of papers smgdlar in their novelty ,« d beahtT The specimens at the Orekt Exhibition Were pkced ih a 3ome- wliat darkimer, ahd were hot so well known as the ever-popdlar • Enve ope Macliine.' These papers are indescenl, or opahscmt, or nac»w.«— that Is they fxli b Uhe ever-varyiig bites of mother-o'-pearl or of opal. |f ^^'^b^t thenyi-om one point, they display all the tints of the minbow ; change the point of view, aftd one pumu, uKTj ^i J i:i!P„..„„i .;„* f.,„rt, tiiot, which before distinguished lie fundamental tint of tlie "if I one poiiii,, uicj uiopi»T "" u.v. w....- — ".••-• ., . eveiy little spot dis{ilavs a different tint from Uiat it, IVtost delicate m^ gtticeful is the i-esuU. Ih ■» -II' IS PAPRR: iTB APPLICAT10K8 AND ITfl N0VFXTIK8. paper may be white, or bhi<;k, or any otlier at clujice ; mul yet those pearly hnos hhiill present thciiKielvfM. A iM'iuUiful principhi in optics is here brought into l»lay ; m colon- in cmiilher.s call an 'interference of light' at the two surfaces, which i)ro -i«ing, and the stamp- ing oi-e the handiwork of this or some similar fin Notlung can exceed the delicacy of home of the.«e fancy articles. The bndal oard-i, and note-paper, mid envelopes, are rich in livmeneal symbols, n..t merely embossed by a press, but in some cases picked oiit in silver; and the sombre enrichnx'nts of motim- ing stationeiy are n.jt loss redolent of the cypress, tlio willow, ., d analogous emblems, liouqtirt Jioldsrs, too, have often gold or silver taking- jtart m the embossed design. In such cases a pattern is printed Aith gold size instead of colour, gold leaf is aiiplied, which adheres only to die printed pait; and the embossing is effected aftcrwar' . In commoner work the gold is a "de- lusion and a snare;" it in a powder cf oxidized brass, sprinkled over the moist gold-size. The French gi o the name ai jmpeterie to stationery m general, and papeltere to a case containing sUtionery ; and tliese papeiieres, ranging in price from one shilling to two guineas, and mostly made of paper and card, are among the most curious examples of Messrs. De la Rue's i' xluctions, so infinitely varied is the taste which they display. The little l»its of card which lue used in millions as ' railway tickets — those passports for the national highways, are mostly prepared up to a certaui stage by Messrs. De la Rue. The cardboard is made, coloured in one or two Unts, printed in black or in colour with certain devices, imd cut up into separate cards; tliese cards are transmitted to the respective companies, in whoso offices they are further printed and registered by the machines noticed m an earlier number of this series. These small coarse cards are among the humbler examples of their class ; but visitimf cards oie a production on which great tiuste and delicacy are now bestowed. In addition to the 'At Home cards, and others of a similar character, embossed by stamping, the lustrous enamelled caixi is a notable modem mvention. Penky-Pobt SlA-nONEKT. Rowland Hill's Penny- Post system has done more to advance the manufac- ture of stationery tlian any other single cause whatever. The letter-paper, the note-paper, the envelopes, the postage-labels, all bear witness to this tact. Ihe department of Messrs. De la Rue's establishment appropriated to envelope- making is quite astounding for its magnitude; and tliis may be a convenient place to throw together a few notices botli of the envelope and tlie postage- stamp systems. How many envelopes the worid produces, how nwiy London produces, an- nually, we know not ; but Messrs. De la Rue tum out about a hundred mil- lions in a year. If we go into some of the rooms, we see fifty or sixty women and giris folding and gumming envelopes wiUi a celerity which tlie eye can scai-cely follow ; go mto anoth u vkvM: Itn APvLioATloSi A^D 1TB NovRt.nrs. biUidflffflfi. With nnvcloiie« iit sixpoiicr a Jiiiii pulp dnilng l!n! tiiiikinj,' of th<^ pnher; hut ^>nlinrtry onvH.ipc. liiivc no mich lulditioim. 'rii." lHr<,'c sluets of pnpor pt-os-(P(l rttlll rblU-d to give llu'tti sntoothnesH, iinx, nrd oukotinnl Into (rt.l(tng HtnH: iihd those stripn, (.iled in hups of four of Hvn hnndrhd ort'-h, lite rut ioto dlfiinohd-shitphd plfcc*— or, for luoro mficifill shiipfH, thny sltv cut at onro by a ctlned (!utt^n^'-stnnlp. If we tallow thesfi pipcfrt into thfi «'nvol(>pe-ro(»tli, fto thmi wee (i Htiikinf,' »'.\ainple of thn atct which constant ottiploymcnt at one occtipritlon «ivcs. 'I'ho more con\mon en- velopes itro made hv mnchine, but tho h^ss-used sizeH nrc Htitl mnde by Imnd : find HO fast do the fItiKers of tliMe HKnd-workers move, that each woman or t/irl can make two or three thous.uid in a , and he topmost paper clihgs by atmospheric prfessiire to twd tinnute holes on the lolver surface of the tube; the tube withdraws itself, drops the naper exactly in the spot wliere the foldlhg and gumming mechanism is placed, awl travels forth in search of lihoUier. The machine reqUii-fes tub aid of an attendant to remove and press Uie biivfelope; while Do la lltie's re(itnres S.m. ar aid to place the paper; nevertheless, the tube of the one mabhine, and tiie elastic linsers of the other, are among thte jirettiest novelties of this ittechrttiical age. Generally speaking, each of De la Bite's machines chn make about as many envelopes as nine expett women, or aboitt twenty-five thousand pei- day. And vet morewottten and girls ai-e employed in making envelopes than at any former period ; sb true is it that machinery frequently mcreases the held toi hand-labour, by creating hew branches of inahufacturb. ■, u * As learned hamos are now given to various other products, so ^Ve rtrty here notice a recent irivefition by a London mamifiicturer. which ri^joices in thb name of the Pobjchrid EHveloyO. It is a sheet of note-paper and an envelope contained in one-ctit, in fact, out of a larger sheet, irt such tt way tMt the sheet forms its owH eiivelope. The idea is not Withdnt its meiit; ior the legal identification of a letter may often be facilitated by hdvmg the post-mafk on the letter itself, instead of on a separate envelope. The envelopes sold bv drdinary shopkeepers now fahoutntliriber those Which have the oval bovemment niedallion upbnthettl ; but stiU these latter are pro- duced in millions annually, and the preparation of them coiistitutfes a singhlar branch of Somerset House respohsibihty. Ur. Edwui Hill is at the hedd of that (lepai-tment of the Stalnp Oifice which has control over posta|e-statops ; and he has under his management qtiitfe a liit-g^ ihainifactunng estabhshmettt. Ho does iJot make the envelopes themselves, nOr the penny ahd twopenny postdgfe-stdmns, but he staiilps those fehtelopes ^hidi "''s ^^^^^^^y */>;''™ mentrilnd niakes the tenpetihy and shilling postage-stiinltJs iised for foreign letters In a certain apartment at Sothei-set Hblise there ftre machines dd ^ tnitiloved in stamping envelopes. The o^ill iiledalHbri stdtnn is carcMly en|S on a hai/steel die ; and the lilachities are ^kilMly adjusted so te to itlf their own dies with pink coWiir, and bring tile dies down upoii the pSpbr. The papers are sent to Somerset House, dut to the proper size ahd Shalife ioi envelopes ; a boy takes a handfhl of these, spreads them out, and feeds them into Ihe machine at the t-at-3 of sixty ih a minUte ; the machine inks Jts own die at this ratfe of speed fohce in a second), and stamps aftfer edch inking. How wonderful must be the prfecisioh to effect k\\ this ! Four things have to be done witliih a second : & boy places a piece of paper, the colour-rollere irtk the die, tile die presses oh the paper, and another boy removes tllfc pttpei. The tNvo boys are virtually I^arts Of the niachine Itself. , , „ , We have said tliat the hlghet-priced postage strirhps are made at Sonierset House; but the system Is fnore stflkin^ly ilhistrtlted by the penny and two- penny Stamps. There is h house in Flfeet Street, ver^ unprfetendtng exter- nally: Adhere postage-stahil»s ai-e made annually to the value of someaiing hkfe a mUlioh sterling-Uidt is, post-office value, not intrinsic value. Mfessts. Bacon dnd Petch have ri contract for producing the penhy and twopenny postage-stamps. The contract (lately renewed) was made m 1843 and shows ho* large a rtiattet- a penny stamp becomes when it is n™ltiphed b^ inilhons. The contractors provide stfeel plates, each large fenditgh for '^40 'Q"eefts heads- ' they engrave the plateS with thfe well-kno^ device (the head bemg a n i (■ ^ L 16 paper: its applications ano its novelties. reduced copy from Wyon's 'City Medal'); they renew the plates as fast as they become wom out ; they provide aU ilie dies, presses, and machmes neces- sary ; they make the blue and red inks, and the adhesive composition, according to recipes approved by Government; Uiey receive paper from the Govern- ment, print sheets of stamps on this paper, and gum tlie backs ot the sheets so printed : and they do all this in buildings or rooms approved by the btamp Ofhce, and to which the Govemment officers have at all times free access. For these services, tlie contractors agi-eed to receive 6|(Z., 6\d., or M. per 1000 stamps, accordmg as tlie number in any one quai-ter of a year amoiints to less than thirty millions, from Uiirty to thirty-two milhons, or more than thirty-two millions. Great as tliese numbers appear, they have gradually come to be far exceeded, for they ai-e now something like sixty millions quarterly. But the largeness of this (apparently) small subject is perhaps still better illustrated by a project to facilitate the tearing or cutting of postage stomps. Conceive an inventor and tlie Govemment quaiTelling whetlier 600« or something much larger should be given for such a conti-ivance ! The whole matter, as given in a recent parliamentarj- paper, is curious, and teaches us how formal and wearisome Govemment offices are in their official correspondence. In 1847 Mr. Archer proposed to the Postmaster-General the use ot a machine which would make a number of litUe perforations round the bordei- of each stamp in a sheet, to facilitate their separation without the use ot scissors. He adduced many advantages which the public and the postmastei-s would derive from it. The Postmaster-General sent tlie matter to the Stamp Office for consideration, with a commendatory notice from some of tlie officials. Then Mr Archer made an offer to the Stamp Office, in respect to it ; and then the Stamt) Office refeired it to the Treasury. The year 1847 was now at nn end, and "1848 commenced another series of tripartite official con-espondence. The Treasury assented to p trial ; and the Stamp Office caused the machine to be worked by their label-stamp contractors. The U-ials were earned on ; the perforations were made by rollers— then by a fly-press--9iid then by a third method, to get over minor difficulties; and the years 1848 and 184tf were brought to an end before the machine was finally rendered effective. Then came the question of remuneration — managed Uius. Mr. Archer applied CO the Treasury; the Treasury applied to the Stan^ ^^^t^'^l Stamp Office made a sufjgestion, and referred it to the Post Ofhce ; the Post Office sUghtly modified tlie suggestion, and returned it to the btamp tJthce. Mr. Archer apphed to the Post Office for better terms, but the Post Oihce referred him to the Treasiuy. Mr. Archer then applied to the Trea^iy, and the Treasury referred him to the Stamp Office and to Uie Post Office ; the two Boards conferred; and the Post Office recommended the Stamp Office to raise the temis a little: the Stamp Office agreed, and wote to the Treasury thereupon; the Treasury told the Post Office that tenns rather more hberal would be justifiable : the Post Office agreed, and wrote to Mr. Archer. Mr. Archer finally rejected the offer, after a battledore-and-shuttlecock game which had lasted twenty months in respect to remuneration, and fifty months m respect to the invention itself. Mr. Archer then made a tender for the whole manufacture of postage-stamps, including engraving, prmtmg, and gUmmmg as well as perforating ; but the fonner contractors obtained a new contract, at the reduced terms of M. per thousand; and Uie perforating machines are still the unused property of the inventor. When the Govei-nment do become shopkeepera or manufacturers, they ore remarkably 'slow'— whether we use this word in its old-fashioned or its new-fashioned meaning. L i;ltie8. IV tho plates as fast as ;s, and machines neces- composition, according apcr from tlie Govern- Llie backs of the sheeto approved by the Stamp . all times free access. 3 6|(/., 6\d., or M. per u-ter of a year amoimts millions, or more than ey have gradually come ty millions quarterly ! is perhaps still better ing of postage stamps, lling whether OOOi. or inti-ivance ! The whole ious, and teaches us how official con-espondence. -General the use of a ations round the border ion without the use of jUc and the postmasters the matter to the Stamp om some of the officials, a respect to it ; and then sar 1847 was now at an official con'espondence. [ice caused the machine ti-ials were carried on; By-press — -and then by a 3 years 1848 and 1849 nally rendered effective. ;ed tlius. Mr. Archer the Stamp Office; the iie Post Office ; the Post it to the Stamp Office. rms, but the Post Office ied to the Treasuiy, and to tlie Post Office ; the ided the Stamp Office to i wTote to the Treasury rms rather more hberal »te to Mr. Archer. Mr. 1-shuttlecock game which on, and fifty months m le a tender for the whole printing, and gtimming tained a new contract, at orating machines are still Government do become 'slow' — ^whether we use waning. paper: its appucations and its novelties. 17 Taking our leave now of the dainty devices which adorn the lady's escri- toire, and the wonderfully frhcap but good stationery which the Penny Post has done so much to renvhid, gold ,m,l Silver „:»l.ea Imlg ago-llmt Is, n«n» need bo wasted, to- ™ Tnd here we come to the artistic rtepfrtment of such a "^^^«f;\«^"r^ JJf ^^s^ To command altytlnng Uke a leading position in/"- f 'i^.K of an untiring f -^^^^ ^^S^-'^^^^l^e'^S ^f S Julment'She o.e graver o^r sinlcer "f -^l^^'Sk"^^^^^ e^o/malcing i„Sr use, s„ch »s ecUing ««"«""■'• .Tr.kdTn iSir wiiin t' ° the back which economizes ^^^^f^ jfj^^'^l^,^^^^^^ which die paper or papier presents '^"Vnfrtiffled to receive aiiy decora- :ltie8, neefl be wasted, for a h is a paste-like mass ;sifpd form. Mr. Riele- j esliililishiiuiut in tlie hero machines, moved .'ho paper, he it of what lolstelied, and cliopped, c.th homogeneous pasty of dough or of pUlty. aid, introduced, but not as a paper substance, is too thicli to be poiired letal; it i^ pressed into cha. A piec(3 1*? cut off, well into the mould, a wbi-ful press is brought >' minute crevice of the li a nmtitifaclure as this, rative art, tlicre must be IS, now conihinalions of •stablishment as this one ilaster mddelsj m-e con- late not merely by lutti- f wood mpiilds, the en^ e store. It Uiav be thdt ixpense even ol making er ^*bich has a long run, jle to strike a billance, to le fetilms to be expected ts, where mechatiical skill tlie tnost continuous nin uppermost placd ; and it mes a matter hot merely hitectural ornftthetrts for I so fot-th ; but they are I their application. The lache oi-naments ; because d so light that it requifes )niposition ornameiits of mainent a hoUowness at he weight. The surface )t colour, arising from the id to receive any decora- js, an ornate frarne for a th A degree of perfection io capable of assuming a bibitloh, as many of our Ingelo, a copy of the noble some celebi-ated man, all PAFEIl: ITS APPLICATIONS AKD ITS NOVELTIES. 19 formed of papier niac}i6, and deriving tlierefrora a toughness >vhich defies idnipst any power of breakage. The Corinthian capital in this material, set up op a pillar in the western rave, was wi example of the more ordinary ap- plication for ornamental purposes. There is another modern decorative material, still more recent than papier macho , hut like it honoured with a French name : we mean carton jnerre, which may he interpreted 4^ne canlhoanl or jiastelpard. This more nei^fly resembles plaster tlitm papier nificho ; it has a little paper in it, a great tjeal more plaster, and one or two otlier substances ; the mixture thus produced is fashioned iu moulds, and is applied to various oi-namental pip-poses, but it is ifluch heavier than papjor mache. The beautiful internal decorations at the Lyceuiu Theatre arc, we believe, made of cftrton pieire. Carton pierre is manufactured in England chiefly by Messrs. Jackson, but it appears to have been a French in- vention, and to be made in France and Germany more largely than in Eng- huid. Tlie atrtmi pierre of the ope country, and tlie stein pnppe of tl^e other, seem to be [iietty nearly the same material : viz., a kind of liquid i)laster com- bined with other materials, poured instead of presml into moulds, and backed with a stratum of paper te production of pap^U fof artists, lie has produced paiiels eight feet by six, mi^do entirely of papier mache half a^ inch thick, mounted on a skeleton wood support or frame ; and Uie surfi^ce of tliese panels appears as if it would be ndmiri^bly fitted for paintUigg, more durable than canvas, and less likely tp split than wood panel ; indeed, gplittpg is out of the question hi respect- to suph a material. Th^ bulkbf!ads ajid tl^e cabin parfitlpps of some of tlie fine steamers of our day l]avebeen made pf tliis material ; it is tough aqd strong, and admits of any degree of omamentation. The material is said to be a bad conductor both of soi^d and of heat, and has thus a twofold recommendation for room parti- tions. |t seems to have been some such material as this which Mr. Haddan coutributeii to the Grpat Exhibition, in the fonn of panels for railway car- riagps, or rather fpr the whole brpadside. It is alleged that such papels do npt shrink, and dp not' require grooves for fixipg ; wheUier tliey will bear being ' i-un uito ' better than otlier rfidvfay panels, has probably not yet been tested. Jjow we may turn our glance to that which, though riot really papier .2,) PAPER : ITS APPMCATI0N8 ANP ITS NOVELTIES. Settle s.eSrofjr;s;;3^^»-^^^^^^ ^"ifwTnld mve a better idea of the manufacture (although somewhat lower- i„ 'j^K'/tf p^^-x=;is' m««f 2f. they certainly are, as the reader will presently see. "^^ guoersp'^^d by work producmg ««^P;^^"^,^^7 ImTdel of tJe^tovy is prepared, giving ua^ Id then clothed with three more layers ^^-^^^i^J^p „Th1r as before. Again is the stove-room employed, agam the paatei-s piy weir paper: its APPL1CATI0K8 AND ITS N0VEI/nE8. «t LTIES. ime tlmn tho materinl Hytle Park collection aper, even with Uie ad- ling, and gilding, and might well excite the 3W. It was no small , the pearl inlaid piano- l by Bell, the sculptor, lurs ; the pearl-and-gold ell ; the pearl-inlaid and Bellini's vase; and Bell's ing of the chairs, tables, is, blotting-folios, work- axes, flower-stands, tea- l netting-caaes, and the •endered familiar to us. {littered with these pro- Lhough somewhat lower- asteboard, for pasteboard [twos towards tho close litated or supersp''-^d by ung up an important de- hich it is pretty generally er plivoes. of paper indisciiminately, we may so term it) is not to work upon, and tliese them for their destined r-mache tea-ii-ay. In the yish colour, and looks like lat a mould or form is iesigners are constantly at apposing that a tolerably e tray is prepared, giving lould is cast in iron, brass, of course, with the interior ited at tables, cut up the nd these pieces are handed y of remark that this very id in many of its branches itiful supply of paste, made The mould is greased to ;t is pasted on both sides, lOuld, pressing and rubbing Another and another are (Id garment, is put into a t is brought to a dried state. a tolerable smoothness of f paper, in the same mode ogjun the pastei-s ply their labour ; a thii'd time tlie stove-room, again the pasters ; and so on, until tliirty or forty thicknesses of paper have been applied, more or less, of course, ac cording to ,the substance intended to be produced. For some purposes as many as a luuidred and twenty thicknesses are pasted together, involving forty stove diyings, and of course carrying the operations over a considerable num- ber of days. A mass of pasteboard, six inches in thickness, which is occa- sionally produced for certain purposes, is perhaps one of tlie toughest and strongest materials we can imagine. If a cannon-ball, njade of such paste- board, were fired against a ship, would not the ball itself escape fracture ? The mould being covered with a sufficient layer, a knife is employed to dexterously loosen the paper at the edges ; tlie greased state of the mould allows the paper to be removed from it. Then are all imperfections removed ; the plane, tlie file, and the knife are applied to bring all ' ship-shape ' and proper. Next come the adornments. The pasteboard itself is not beautitul, so beauty is sought in other ways. Shell-lac varnish of very fine quality, coloured according to circumstances, is applied coat after coat, until a thickness is ob- tained sufficient for the puq-ose. The black polished surface of ordinaiy papier-mache trays is produced by black japan varnish, applied by women with a brush. But whether the varnish be black or coloured, it usually imdergoes a rubbing and polishing to such a degree txs to equal in brilliancy anything produced in the arts. It is said that the finest polishing instrument used to give the last finishing touch after all the ' rotten-stones ' and ' emeries ' have done their best, is the soft palm of a woman's hand; and that those females employed in tliis art, who are gifted by nature with tlie much-coveted charm of a soft and delicate hand, find it commercially advantageous to preserve this softness and delicacy by a degree of gloved carefulness not usual in their rank in life. What will the poets say, when woman's hand is thus spoken of? Then ensue tlie painting and the gilding, the bedizenment with gaudy show, or the adornment with graceful device, according as the goods are low or high priced, or the manufacturer a man of taste or no taste. A kind of stencilling is employed in cheap work, but in better specimens the real ai-tist's pencil is brought into requisition- The uilaid-work exhibited in die higher class of papier-mache goods is very curious. A sort of imitative tortoiseshell is thus produced. A thin transparent varnish is laid on the prepared tray, leaf silver is laid on Uie varnish, the two are dried, aid varnish is laid thickly over the silver, and pumice-stone is skilfully applied to grmd away so much of the varnish at parti- cular spots as will give to the whole the mottled appearance of tortoiseshell. Every day's experience tells us that imitations themselves are imitated. Not only is varnished silver made to imitate tortoiseshell, but varnished vermilion is made to imitate varnished -silver. A method of decorating papier mache with imitative gems has been recently introduced, in which some kind of foil or vamish is applied to the back of g;lass, and the glass employed as an inlaying. But perhaps the most striking ornamentation of this kind is pearl-inlaying, of which Messrs. Jennens and Bettridge's pianoforte was such a brilliant specimen. Here real mother-of-pearl is employed. A desigii is painted on the thin pieces of pearl with shellac vamish, a strong acid is apphed, all the shell is eaten away except tliose parts protected by the vamish, and thus the peai-1 is brought into an omamental fomi. The peail is placed upon the wet japan of the papier mache, to which it adheres; and it is then coated with such a tliick layer of vamish as to equal the tliicknesa 1 .! It I- mtmrmmimmrm' «3 ji^ypp: vJB AprLicATioNS and its novewibs. of die, film of mothi^r-of peuil. Jt ii vwusUea. aiieil and rul.bo.l widi h« J^i vpnu I- Hwu tt tliickupHH of m>\H'A vuniibh dumblo. I ho !»"» ut^l^ K'Ae Quo,, of Hpai„. a.ptea '» J'^Xr' ,t >ouS tu^d pnavl ^viU Tint it in doubtiul whetljer uiih excmisive gi'iM^r oi iiunsii wiu i lmv« V P 'mm S v5^ Somctbing more nobar mil probubly hvu (lusigua, ftiin V Pt moier-niacbu cimtvibnt ous to Uus tireat Exhibition LriXirTWiW^^^^^ remavkable. inasmuch an llio two or £o SefbpSi ens contained vi(=w« ..f aboPt a hundred and htty pubho L riinrand in tm sting places in and near that city, "hero is m many o !:bs^ SciTcniamediial taste iu on,.ment titted to the mediaeval «tat« oi f(i^!ling in Oxford. rAl'En-llANalNOS. Mnnv fti-a Uie curious application^} of p»pei- not yet touched >ipon : but. as uSl^^^am to 'i^^^^^^ ennmaritiop of Uiem all. we vv.ll be comeii i»ti! a litUe ndlU of a pappr prodnpt familiav tP the A.uu,m of mp4 1.ngh.U ^^^it;ip:S^^Sp.^hang.v^ ave not vei, hg, in^e tjnn^*^ - nlov ■ for the pt^per i»> not stipned, neither is it hung. ^"^ cr t tismjvoiu . SssbnnSr^xriri:s;^^=:;:^^ 'lCCmw2tt^d&BP4 w^lwerB ^e p.int.d by the st,ncil method^r atStS used 80 to be \>e(or^ W^e rec«flt tP-*^'»\»'l.^^"<^^'"«^,*-;/\\!^' ^f SVe^tencilling is pimply this ;-a patt^n^ is cnt out. in a sheet of paper, ot I ?fh!r nf t£ of conii or of spme p^her uonvepient substance ; a vessel of lea^hey, qt tin, ot popper °'^,^* R*:*^. ^^ ., -^^ ^^^^ qb a bench, the stenpil pi«tw. uuH "4P f H '"^ . " 'y. thprfi hp three or move colours?, tlierp must oe SrrnS'&at.'^S J'i?:S«fo^Sn.i., .0 *e aeviee f„,- ,» P»r. •"^'S Srplttem i, navef ycr, el,B«.t. n.,er v«T .ic* ««M by tbU ™Jfhn,i . nntl it has been to a gi-eat ei^tent ^uppraeded by the Mock metnoa, '.l.TlIi8. ied, ancl rulibed with luoduuiul. It may Wo 4v tjf *]>itUeiiti.)u inuHt tlblo. TUu iinu Utel^ \\i'. ilmwiiiK-vuoiu t'unu- .blawfty. f poliyb lUiu pf'H" will olier will proltubly live HMpplyiug Albaiubmic i, w« Kn«l tt utiirtjr aj)- () tlu) (ireat Exhibition iiisnmch aa the two or lumhoa and titty public . There is in iiiauy ot a tht! inediiBval »Utfi of touched "PO" ; ^"t^- *•■* idl, we will bo content leui^pnti of mpst English y m the tomi9 they env ig. But criticism would I we will tiievefore tako I of papev as a substitiite f haiiyinn*, as applied to about two centuries ago • may be said concei-nhig ibifi invention in respect the houses inhabited by ous Excise duty pressed ) now that tlie produce is by the stpncil method ; or ftdvancements in the wt. t, in a sheet of paper, of rit swhetance ; a vessel of d on j^ bench, the stenc-il ijpur \» worked over the in all thoBP pai'ts where tt fp colours, tl^erp must be . the device fQV qnp par- nicely delhiented by this led by t^fi '''<'<'* method, d. A block is carved in he devipe for one colour, • a third, and so op — the ^■s, and all very carefully jattem. The artiatic part Is :— a long strip ef paper V\yV-n: ITS AfrUCAIluXB and |T8 HOVKI.TIKB. w i« laid down ; a groi^nd qf ' distt^Uiper ' or size-colour is applied with a brush, ttud dripd ; colours arp prppaiod. us niany as there i^ro hlwH» i »m ukIo'"' w (Uinbcd over u soft Itatbcr cushion ; a blocjt is inyertflil Q»» i^ «W »»we to take up a biyer ; this layer is applied to the i)uper ; and other nnprpsfiioim are printed side by side until thp whplp length of papov is (inmhed. Uieii luiotbor block luul another colour are used ; then tt tbnd; and so on; and tlje Hkill of the wovkmeu is shuwu by Vfuiloring ^Jmsi^l sevi'ral jiHictions ijs little viyiblu iih posijiblo. i • i Tlip modem method qf cylindof printing is, howevpr, the gvpat step in ail- vanpo. '\"ho making of continuous strips of paper, instead of having to pas^tp sheets togotlier, was one notable nid to tlio ptvpoi-sMiiMP»: ; the removal ol the Excise duty lias \\pm a second ; while the use of tlie cyUpdor nmcbiue has capped those improvements. a»d rendeved it possible to niako wull-papeis at a fi^rlhiiig per vai'd. When we consider that papev-hiHigmgs use»l to i.av— besides the duty per lb. on all paper— no less than 1 Jii. per yard ni their capacity as wi^jlpaper, wo may cease to wonder at the loweri^tg ol price which recent times have witness' d. And it is not ditlicuU, too, to see »»^w the cylinder n^ethod should bring njtout a lower ri^e of charge thaii Uie block methpd. Calico printing, wo know, has home wiUiess to an analogousj J^ct ; the cvlinder machine has given Uvsteful print dyesses to the Wives and daugh- ters of men who could not have borne the price of such production* ui past, t,imes. The analog)' is vevy close througiiout. Jn the oiie case cottpn, and in tlic other paper, is made in o^io coiithnious length; in both cases thi^ lengMi is wowd vpund a beam or roller ; in both cases tlipye iM'e epgravptj cylinders, as many as tlierp are to be colours, and e^h baving a device of lU* o-.vn ; in both cases there are as many troughs of colpur as there are cyhnders ; in bo^h cases tlie cylinders feed themselves with colom-, but in such a way as to take up the colopr on tlie rniHed parts in tlie one case, but on th" *««*; paits in rtie other ; in both cases the endless web is drawn in between rallei-s. ihk| niade to p^ss over all tlie colonr-wettpd cylinders in ^uppession ; 'm hot}* cat^es the complete pattern is d di7»P8 process. The Great Exliibition, ^n>M»g its numerpp!? specunens illustrative of naper-hangings, contained some which showed iu a m^rke4 vyay the lacility now attained by the cylinder metliod. Auiopg ft|essrs. Hnyw(iod's contribu- tions were wall-paper in fourteen colours. "^ produped at once by lonrteen cylinc|ers in one machine ! Many are tlie means adopted to giya a decorative character to paper-liang- ings, besides tlie mere use of colours. Some spepimpns have a glfissy gioiind, to whiph tlie att^i^ctive naifte of mtin i? applied ; tl^is effpct is prodncp*! by ^|ie pa<^fnl applipa^ion of polishing powder to (s snrface panted Uie prpper tint. Some have jtn appearipce imitative of figured or watered silk, prqdMcert by passing the paper between sliglitly-heftted rollers, whicli have Uie requisite design engrav(;d upon them. Some have a cloth-like appem-ance, produced in a singular way: the device i'^ priiued on tlie paper with gold sfize, and over tins is sprinkled coloured >t^, whid^ pon^ists of woollen clotli cut or gi^upd tft a ppwder. Some of the striped papei-s are produced in a ye^y remarkable way : the paper travels over a revolving cyhnder, and in its passage ^uche^ i>gaaus| tlie open bottom of ^ trough, whence a continuous sU-eara o\ liqpid colonr falls upon it ; blende^ or nhcided patterns i^re prodnced by a nioflif|cat.ion of this process; bronzed, qilt, or silvered papei-s are produced by printing a device wiUi gold size, and applying tiie metalhc adornment ui the state either ot powder I t "! 4 i ! ,t • V 84 PAI'KU: ITM AI'I'I.ICATIONB AND ITM NOVELTIEB. or «.f leaf. Hoii.t) paperH, to which Uio cntici.ig ( esiKnatlon of ' ^f »'^^/« " Jven. are printiHl wid. Uie colotin. prepared in oil or varrnsh. which will bear a water-washiii« pnicesH with impunity. » . i . .„ •„, ♦!.*> In tliese davH. when artistic doHign occnpien an uppennoMt p'uce mtlu. thoiiuhts of thoHo who would advance our manufactures. paper-hangmKs have no" escaped scrutiny. No definite principle of cnmmentat.on has yet been introduced in this art. Hoaietinies we see cottages bmlt one over uuo .r fmm tl.0 floor to the ceiling, all exactly alike, and each enclosed m a border. Sometimes animals, sometimes trees or flowers, are repeated m a «"";l^ jay ; and the result is. that whatever may be the merit ol any one compartmen . oi however gay the general eff-ect proJuced. there is nothing sensible or artis c Tn the whole vertical surface 'viewed at a glance. On the other hand, any auempt at perspectm views is vitiated by this ob ection-that all I>erspec ve supposes a poiit of sight to be chosen, at a mrticular distance Irom the p.c- ? ireTat any other disLce distortion instoa<\ of symmet.7 »« i^'f'''±^ ^* one ime there was u fiushion to give a sculpturesque tone to P-^P^'-h^" W- ^J^ representing statues and bassi-relievi on neutral ground ; a another ti me co- S from historical pictures had a reign of favour; while the arfA./«Nm/ Srinciprpredominatod at another, by the representation of Grecian temples, (iothic chapels, Italian palaces. Chinese pagt)(las. ond such like. The lato Mr. Loudon! who was as untiring in his writings concern m^ house decoration as on gaidcning matters, threw out a suggestion for n new kind of prerhrgLg for^chool-rooms and nurseries. " foi-med by printing hgures o alTthe commoner and more important animals and phrnts. with tlie scent, c id poplr name beneath U.em ; each plant or animal being «"":''""/ f J^^ lines! so as to appear eitlier in fmmes or as if painted on the ends of atones ol^bricks ThJidvantage of the framed lines would be to give unity to tl e Tape t' a whole, and also to admit of repairs by taking out axiy smgle Lme or stone, and replacing it by anotlier." 'l'^'^^ ^ ""/"j^'of^^^^^ " but the expense, why a geographical paper should not befonned or one exhibiting all the principal rivera. mountains, or cities m the world, or the pS^S of eminent men. with their names ; or perpetual almaji^s ; or lists of weights and measures; or chronological "^ •iriUimetical tables .or^ inXrt anv useful and instructive subject, which it would be beneficial to the cottier 'to have frequently before his eyes." SomXng like tliis has been suggested, adapted to a higher order ot artistic work. It is tliis-to have a pattern printed on wall-paper, with a deUcatel^d graceful style of ornamentation; either trellis-v^ork. or tendrils Splits or S^besque patterns, but leavin. spaces, or oval «; «rcular me- dallions in which subjects could be afterwards painted by hand. The lady- Srof a mansion m^ight thus display her industry and ta.ste on the papered walls instead of on the crochet curtains or the rug-work ottomans; and she iSt thus recall the feudal days when high-bom dames wrought the tapestry or wall-hancincs for their own boudoirs. . , , ., „ "Sess p^ap'r ceases to be a material for -'^Idecomtion (and there seem no reason why it should so cease), the time has come for a little more ^st^meSg in tlie designs-something like an approax^h to a prmapU Td orati^e^atterns. The^eople, the paper users, will welcome a new m- Lion of mind in this art ; for many of tlie " curiosities of .mdustiy, in the shape of paper-hangings, are felt to be very absurd curiosities mdeed. awii-iairgi;^i fowwiWWiWi'iiffi.fKfcrtw KLTIES. tmtlon of ' wiutlmble ' in ■ttmish, which will bear upliennuMt |»'ai;e in the (M, pa|)«r-hftngiuKH have ipiitation hiiH yot been built one ovur miuthtr h enclosed in a border, peated in a similai' way ; iiy one compartment, or hing HensibU) or artistic On the other hand, any .on — that all persnective ir distance from the pic- imetry is prodiicad. At ifi to paper-hangings, by id; at another time co- ; while the architectural tion of Grecian temples, Hiich like. ritings concern in^r house estion for u new kind of od by printing figures of Uuits, with tlie scientific lal being suiTounded by ed on the ends of stonea , be to give unity to tlie y taking out any single re is no reason," he adds, I not be fonned ; or one ies in the world ; or the perpetual almanacs ; or arithmetical tables; or, it wovUd be beneficial to i to a higher order of ed on wall-paper, with a sr trellis-work, or tendrils !8, or oval or circular me- lted by hand. The lady- and ta.ste on the papered -work ottomans ; and she imes wrought the tapestry icoration (and there seems come for a little more m approach to a principle 8, will welcome a new in- osities of .industiy," in tlie curiosities indeed. PRINTING : ITS MODERN VARIETIES. Thk curiosities of Printing are becoming so numerous, that they present themselves to our notice in all that pertains to tlie art, wiit'llicr jirimary or collateral. In the types themselves, in tlie mode of prtxluciiig tluui;, in tlie mode of arranging tliem for printing, in the printing operations, in the ink- ing contrivances, in Uie jjresses and machines, in the application of colour by printing, in the stcrtsotyping anangements, in the links which conner sheets of tlio series, we describe the old and fannliar processes only so fai- as will render the novelties more intelligible. Types and Type-founding : Old and New. The founding or casting of that all-important little implement, a printing type, is one of the prettiest in the whole range of tlie typographic art— so nnich does it depend upon a nice discrimination in hand and eye of tlie workman, and on so miniature a scale is the apparatus. i3ut before describing modern types and type-making, it may be well to re- mind tlie reader that the first or original printers did not employ such types: they an-ived at this stage of completeness by degrees. Very early in Uie fif- t«onth centuiy, a meUiod was practised of cutting lines t>i rc/iV/ on blocks oi' wood, and printing from tliose lines when inked ; this was the foremnner of the wood-myraoing of modem days. There is uidistinct evidence of such an art being practised eai'lier ; but it is, at all events, known that small cheap pictures, produced in tins way, were sold in Germany and Italy at tlie period named above. Strangely enough, relitjiom hooka and playiiicf cards were the first works which received tliis kind of printing ; but other works speedily fol- lowed. The same block of wood which contained a picture came, by degrees, to have words and sentences also cut on the surface ; and these were prirted at the same time as the picture. The next step was, to cut up tlie text portion into separate letters, so tliat tliey might be recombined for any other work ; this was the great invention in printing, and the one U) which the rival claims of Gutenberg, Faust, Coster, and Schoeffer relate. A further stage was, tliat of (iugraving a model of each letter, striking a mould from the model, and casting separate letters from the mould ; tliis, which is essentially the principle of modem times, seems to have been first adopted about 1450. These matters being premised, we may now glance at the types and the type-makei-s. Types for prmting are usually about an inch long, with a letter in relievo at one end, and a nick or notch near the other. They are cast m a mould, and are formed of lead to which about twenty per cent, of antimony has been added. But before this casting takes place, a very important afifair has to be attended to : a mould has to be made ; and to make tliis mould & punch or die is requisite. This punch is tlio production on which the type-founder most (i \ \ L I 2 TRINTIN'O: ITS MODEItN VAUlETfKS. pride, himself; since the beauty of the ^ype f l-nds so m«^^^^^^^^ They m-e compai-ed one with another, by prmlBrB m i^feience J« *»« numuei nf lines of each which fill a column of twelve mches, if packed closely side t)y have ' medifeval ■ tastes (to employ a much-used phrase), a wish to lovive wm nf these successive movements occupy collectively only an nghth partjja fn^touches brin<» tlie types to the state required by the printer Boys break ?hey became all exactly equal in length, and e'^^""ni"g «.ff ^ ;!"* '^J" J^^,t , to s^ee that every single tyi'.e is fitted for its purpose-aU Ill-formed types bemg ''^T^^^'^SSJS^^ 'af £ otat Exhibition, specimens of the types nrndlby £e old fim of Coslon, through so long a period as a hundred MtiiMiin'iiBMU'nt-.- L. so much on the excel- if steel, on one end of m of puncViing and en- ocesses, and is hardened r which the typefounder .ac\i fount or size of tj'pe, for Uie large and for the there musr be commas, tttl as well as significant ; ; there muFt be diherent 3 foreign alphabets, such I amount to a very large for Bach. The sizes ot ames which are a perfect B Bizea ai-e called douhla n{f primer, bomyeois, Itre- o'ukl be no easy matter, reference to the number if packed closely side by 42 such lines, whereas a ent sheet is printed with respect to the punches, , in the French types, and ndency to finer thin lines ilso see among those who ,86), a wish to revive what npression from it Is made hemafWar. This matrix, hin a small but curiously- There is a furnace con- oid in his left hand and a molten mass a ladle-full, ti upward jerk to force the 3 two parts by mean;: of a til a hook, and closes the wler is told tlmt the whole only an eighth part of a ype-casting as one of the Jerivsd from long practice, tn each matrix ; and when the mould. A few finish- the printer. Boys break tlie types ; this they do at Other boys rub the sides of and tliis they do nearly as ypes, by planing them till ling each with a magnifier, — aU ill-formed types being xhibition, specimens of the long a period as a hundred PRINTINO'. ITS MODERN VAHrETTES. B and thirty years; they showed how fashion has varied between 1720 and J 8.51 ; but in regard to actual excellence, some of the old type would bear safe comparison with our modem productiong, though not when taken collectively A proof was given of the extreme accuracy in the form of modem type, by a mass of two hundred thousand very small types, suspended in the air witli no other securitv than the lateral pressure of screws in the chase or frame ; the type was of the kind called 'pearl,' and the whole mass, thus supported onh/ at the sides, weighed a hundred and forty pounds. A new type has been cast by Messrs. Miller and Richard, called > brilliant,' said to be tlie smallest ever produced, being smaller than the ' diamond ' type used for the notes of the smallest bibles. Gray's Elegy was displayed at the Exhibition, printed with this type within a space of four inches by three, the whole thirty-two verses of four lines each ; tliis was perhaps the closest specimen of printing ever yet seen. Another curiosity consisted of the types invented for the phonotypic and phonographic systems, at present struggluig to maintain a recognised existence in society. A singular plan for printing in types from two colours (whether or not'yet acted on we do not know) was exhibited, in which the letter-types are of imequal height, so that Uie inking roUer, in applying one of Uie two colours, shall touch only the projecting types. Books and newspapers have often lines printed eitlier horizontally or vertically, to separate columns or to tabulate numbers ; tliere are also numerous small ornamented types used m various parts of some books ; tmd one of tlie type-founding establishments hit upon tlie expedient of combining some twelve or diirteen thousand of these decorative and lino types, to fonn a picture of the front of the Free Chiu-cii College at Edinburgh: it was a toy certainly, but it was intended to exhibit the powers of the establishment in this depai-tment of type-founding. There are many peculiarities in Uie types used for printing music. The ordinary music pages, in the extrav^antly-charged sheets of the music- publishers, are engraved on zinc-plates, and it is therefore easy to combine nil the requisite characters and symbols ; but the arrangement of separate metal tjnies for this purpose requu-es the exercise of much ingenuity : for not only must tlie proper musical symbols be given, but the five lines of the staff or stave must be preserved ; and the type-founder has to calculate how many combinations of form in tlie types will meet all tlie requirements of modem music. In the Exhibition there was one collection of music-type whi.ih com- prised 315 separate types— 315 separate letters (so to speak) in die musical alphabet. Let the reader examine closely any page of type-printed music : he will find that each musical line is built up with numerouB f5ra^ientary pie.ces. These pieces ai-e separate types. Sometimes a type consists ot an eighth of an inch of staff, with a crochet or a quaver attached ; sometimes it is a mimm rest, with two bits of staff above and below it ; sometimes it is the thick double line for a semiquaver, rer/.y to be fitt -l on to any note either above or below it ; sometimes two notes, with an mtei-val of a musical third between them, are formed on the same type, widi fragments of horizontal Imes either through them or between them, so as to adapt them to take a position either on the lines or on the spaces of the staff. It is an evidence of the skill with which this kind of printing is now done, that this piece-meal formation of a music page can only be seen by tolerably close inspection. Nothing but experience can decide a.s to die best fomis and combinations to gi\e t« the .types. In practice there are two different plans acted on— the complete note being cast m one piece, and the note being in five pieces, for the five lines of tlie statf. Both plans oi-e adopted as may be most convenient ; but music-type founders arc K /» 11 ! ir L 4 prmting: its modebn vabieties. ewleavouring to deviM some medium sj^lem whleh .hall combine U.e ci- "£f JJd ™« have been 4e attempt, of tyP-'o-^- " JSo'T used teminal syllables, such as ton, meat, t7isr. &c. I", *f ^f™.„ "^^^ t^p^ were some Ame'rican types cast on f « P7^£j,":;^,f ^^ T™-^" ^Y^^^^^^ oractice • the former has to bear the expense of making "^w puncnes Ses" fS the compound types ; while ^- -n.pos;tor ha^^^^^^^^ l^Ue ce^ for the extra types, and to lay his fingers upon tliem ^^ leamiy as ui Si^s';?iS'srei;-iT;^c^r.^Sp.sreS"5;i ""iJ'ZSi-t M:C"devi.ed an lnge„io„ mod. of -ting m»y ,JL af once by Lgmg Oie matrioe. side by side in a mould winch w.ll con- t(i>o« at onic. OJ '""JU'B , .„^ ^ u,, Jt o„ce, and claim, to have the tarn them all. He ^J"""" '"„7 '\„^ ,„ a,', aid of t»vo men only. rendering £m dmable. is a ^Lei-n project noticed in a former number ol tills series. i iHnWOl^t Wtltlkmf»% !8. 1 shall combine tlio ex- bunders to devise some ins of saving time. In ill and much-used words », of, &c. ; fts likewise tlie OK, re, &c. ; and the most In the Exhibition tliere , that of having one type t up with as many types hand, and the compositor ovations on the ordinary laking new punches and itor has to find little cells m as readily as upon the I exhibitor, Mr. Tobit, to s method, by forming the le tj-pes tliemselves, with- fiys in the Exhibition was o represent Chinese cha- manufactured by Beyer- iety. The Chinese voca hich are not built up from have a good deal of the e words or characters by natter. M. Beyerhaus has , so as to make 4200 letters npositor in lieu of letters. )wu ; and by vaiious com- haracters can be imitated ; le and tlie New Testament T industry of our German 'with m the Saxon section. It, printed in neaily thirty haracters. These required stings, to produce the type ous mode of casting many in a mould which will con- :e, and claims to have the the aid of two men only, advertisement has appeared to be established for working laid wire, cut and stamped (in the bright language of te of a hundred in a minute. )type process, as a means of iced in a former number of PRINTINO: ITS MODERN VARIETIES. The Compositor and his Apparatus. It is scarcely necessary to inform an intelligent reader in the present day, tliat a compositor is one who puts the types together, for printing. The labours of the compositor certainly require as much exercise of mind, eye, and fingej-s, as any of the ordinary handicraft employments. He is expected to decipher tlie writing, good or bad, of the author whose manuscript he is putting into type. He has to manage tlie punctuation, which autlioi-s too generally care very little about ; and ho often rectifies an occasional en-or arising from haste in writing or from transcription. His eye guides his fingei-s (or his fingers almost guide tliemselves) to the cells where the proper letter-types are to be found ; and the formation of letters into words, words into lines, lines into columns, columns into pages, and pages into forms or sheet-surfaces, taxes all his powers — mental, visual, and digital. He has to "mind his p's and 5s," not only m the literal sense of that plirase, as the p appears on the type like a q to the unpractised eye, but in many a figurative sense also. The compositor has his types placed in small cells, which are combined into a case, and two pairs of cases occupy a frame. He has one pair of cases for llonian, another for Italic, or a smaller type for notes. The upper case of each pair contains large and small capitals, numerals, accented vowels, and a few other types; the lower case contains the small letteis and the space-types. Some of the cells are larger than others, to contain the letters most in use. In the Enghsh language the letter e occurs more frequently than any other ; then t ; then a ; then i, n, 0, and s; z is the least in use, there being sixty times as many e's as z's. In a 'fount,' or complete set of types, consisting of 106,000, there are 12,000 e's, rather more tlian one- nintli of tlie whole. The letters are not arranged alphabetically in the case, but tliose which are most in use are placed neai-est to the hand of the com- positor : a conventional aiTangement, wholly dependent on practical utility. So well does the compositor know this aiTangement, that his fingers dip almost intuitively into the proper cell for any required type ; no labelling or inscribing being at all necessary. Step by step does the compositor build up his letters into words, and his woi-ds into sentences. Let his first word be " Industry :" he takes an I from the upper case, or case of capitals, and then his fmgers dip successively into the cells of the lower case which contain n, d, u, s, &c. Each type, as he picks it up, he places against a ledge in a little implement called the composing- stick. When he has arranged side by side the eight types for the word " Industry," he takes a ' space' out of another cell, and uses it as a boundaiy between this and the next word —the ' space ' beuig a blank type, too shallow to come under Uie action of the inkmg apparatus. Then he proceeds to the second word, and so on till he has words enough to fill one line of a page or colimin. He then begins a new line, and by the time he has thus collected about a dozen hnes, his composing-stick is full; the contents are carefully lifted out in a mass, and placed in what is called a ffalley. He then gets an- otlier stick full, and transfers it in a similar- way, until at length the galley becomes full. Thus he proceeds ; at the rate of about fifteen thousand letters in a good day's work. The precautions which the compositor has to take are many and varied. After having mastered the difficulties of tlie manuscript (which he reads two — -—It!: .—^-^ A PHINTIWO: ITS MODERN VARtETIIS. r .♦ „ ^im^ and which he places in a convenient spot before him), or three hnea at a time, 'i'^<^7*"^" " ^ij^'^j^^ .„ i. jg fooud tliat raUicr over he selects the proper lyvf *^""^' » Cush vvords but, as a line must not '^1 '-^Te ^midr:raC4t. ISKlf nTess^ in ^«cin,. the words end m the middle oi a Byimuic, airam, he mast so that none may appear too «J«^^« J; Xelp ide down a littlk nick or n^'^^^h^irorJach't^^ry FaSS ^he eye" and finger in avoid- notch m the shaft of ^^^^^^^^^^^^ his stick is filled, in hftmg the before the printing, are numerous Z^ ;» Tsometimes a whole sheet-full xnai^o coalesce w^tiiout^s^^^^^^ ,^ ^^^„ ,, ,he ^ay be tjan po^ed a ^^wLg linersentetces may be in different par^ beginning of the next '""""^""f. ""; ' ., „ _._^„ Daraeraph, or vice vend; a graphs which o"g*^^^J«™ n^illo^ oXstoTe1ene;allymavbeeither commamaybegi^steadof^a^^^^ rfro? he ^veie" ; wo^^^^^^^ capital instead of small type, or the Italic 01- f « ^7^^^; * i^J to a wi-ong foui^t or size may have become mixed reverse ; « ^''"^^ Jf ""^^^^^ cell ; a space may protrude so much as tx, be up with the propel gpe^ti ui ^ f ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ i^^^i ^t^rnTiautsiirtakl may occur:and'do occur. S^ne of theerrors take'-a. l-g^-^^rr'dUa^ntn f^^^^^^ oom.fproof. I tifliiilitiiiiitiii niiliM»iri'iiri'mii»nni miont spot before him), fooml that ratlicr over but, as a hne must not y in spacing the -wonls, Then, again, he mast down ; a little nick or !yo and linger In avoid- is filled, in lifting the lo ! down go the tj-pes, )rm what printers, witli en falls to tlie share of J "pie " has to luste its Bfore he can re-compose ler. [ter the composing but types is bound tightly, itimes a whole sheet lull idley is this proof sheet, takes ore very numerous A wrong letter appears ivord or a whole sentence two words may have been srsed ; two or more words > line may be seen at the lay bo in different pamr ■agraph, or vice versa; a )6 generally may be either nan which ought to be in jad of small type, or the may have become mixed rotrude so much as to be n below the genei-al level Bur. Some of the errors, iply ludicrous. An intel- ■eads the -proof attentively, lid marks with a pen the k to the compositor, who 8 — at least so it appears U> !t so much patient labour reus, their reparation may tie wages of a compositor duction of a coirert, proof, ig; consequently the cor- (d to himself, in the proof, jxtra pay ; and he has thus i good, clean, perfect proof r which th« compositor is lined by tlie reader, to see i then gent to the author, ry ; and tlie composit-jr is I this revision. According PMNTIKO: tT8 MODEBN VAUIETXE8. " the extent of the corrections, and the number of times they are matle, these revisions have to be repeated. . , The conected pages are grouped in their proper order, so as *« P"°* »«^^^* of quarto, octavo, duodecimo, or any other size. The order ni which they are arranged depends on the number of foldings which the sheet is to undergo ;" the present sheet, for instance, the reader will find tliat although tiie e are twelve pages on each side, these twelve follow each other m (apparently) very Ugulir Srder. when the sheet is open; yet all find tlieir Pr<>Per pla^" y'li^ » folded. In arranging tlie pages for the press, they are placed at proper distimces and are separated by pieces of wood called fumUure, wide enough to fom thrmargins ^to the several leaves; and the whole are then wedged inU) an iron frame called a chase. Each side of the sheet must have an airange- nient of tliis kind; so that there are ultimately prepared two Jorms, as they are called, each properly fitted for printing one side ot a sheet. ^ When the printing is finished, or tlie 8t*>reotype cast (as the c^e may bo), Ui^ compositor hL to undo his work. The type having been cleaned fr»>» t^^^^^^^ tlie Zm is pulled to pieces, the/Mmi««» i"^"^"" duced in Belgium. Instead of tying round a page ot type witli «timg. to nable him to lift it in one masM, there is here Hubstitute"^^^^^^ Another trifle-the value of which must be determined by tiie comp««^«r and by him alone— is Mr. Gallard's portable composing-fmme, which was shown^at the Exhibition. It is intended to provide temporaiTj™^;^^^'^^ for cases at the imposing-stone during correction of proofs - ^^fZlZ wo k cases near the compositor's frame, at times when he is engaged upon woik which has a mixture of Italic or other tyyie with the ordinai-y tyP«- , Can the aid of machinery be brought into reqmsition m r'^V^l'^;^^^-^ This question has been many times a.sked ; and many mgenious persons have eivom-ed to give an affirmative answer tojt. About ten years^o the attention of the printing fraternity was much attrac,^ rZ£ Rosenberg machines, one by Messrs. Young and Delcambre, and one by Capto^^^iRo««»^^^^^^^^ Both machines could compose type by automatic agency, a"'! l'"*?^, ™ Sere ingenious ; or, more correctly, both substituted mechanism for human fingers in certain parts of tlie apparatus. , • v, ,x.„ „„„.^<,Wr.r nUvs • In theee^^two machines there is a key-board on ^'V^V^^ J^T^g^'^f P^^^^ he ha« not to deal ynihflai, and sharps and vamcO*, but ^^^« i^^^^^J. ^ the words transmitted to him by the author To use ^^^.^^T^f >^^"^^^^^ (the woid ' Industi-y'). the compositor, instead of dipping his fingers mto ei^it llll^Us. presseslis fingers o'n eight different key, of ^^^ "^°f P^^^^^"^^ What. then, is the result? In Young and SfJ«*™b'V.l«J^p?;De3 slide moves a lever ; the lever pushes a type out of a >*^7f «P^1«^. f^^ > P^hSe down an inclined plane into a funnel or spout, and Aence mto a bo?, where tl4e .^vmpositor takes them up and arranges them m his composmg-stiok. ia mtm a ii II to i l jiiti i iiii '' W' i ua l»w I g PRINTISO; ITS MODERN VAB1ETIE8. Kosenbcrg's nmchinc, the key detaches a type from a vortical rack; tho tppcs when det^hea, range tlieniselves on an .ndless belt; they leave tlie belt and range close t«gether"m a receiver; and v.hen one line-full ^s thu« lon-J-jJ ^l.e machine rings a bell, and tlie compositor takes away Uic me of type, ad le4>es Zm for another. In tlie one, the types require to be distributed in tiie sa.ne pic^-mLrway as in ordinai-y composing; while llosenbergV. inachme jvus Accompanied by anotlier for etlecting the disti-ibution also, .l^o^^nberg s n a- chinesxvere therefore more complete than tl^-^t which was nivened shortly before them; and veiy high anticipations were formed of Uieii v^lue liut these anticipations have not been realisod. Men are st.ll required to a ted on the machine, and to do pai-t of the work; it is found that the machmo cannot think sufficiently, and that notlimg is saved by the time all Uie con-ec- tions and adjustments ai'e made. , M. Soreusen's very remarkable type-machine had not we believe been known in this country untU the recent Exhibition. The singular bird-cage-looking apparatus, which fonned one of Uie smaU number of conU-ibutions from Denmark, has the merit-be tliis little or much-n^f being in many points quite unlike a^iy tliat preceded it. It is no easy matter to describe tins machine. Ihe readei may picture to himself two circulai- cages, one placed over anotlier, and t c upper one capable of revolving on its axis independent of the lower, ilie upper cage is for distrikitiag type ; the lower for composing. Suppose a sheet to be printed off, and the compositor required to disUibute the *>?« '. ^^^ tef e^ them up a few at a time and places Uiem between Uie bra^s bars of the uppei caffo, where they slide down to a plate which sepai-at^s the two cages, uns plat* has perforations, each one so formed as to admit ^'^^ /'«^, «f type-lettei only and as every type-letter has side notches ditienng from those ot eveiy other letter, each type can only pass through one particular perforation ; and it is by slowly revolving Uie upper cage that tlie types one by one hnd the proper perforations through which tliey may creep, lie lower cage has a^ many vertical brass bars as there ai-e letters of type ; and by degrees tlie space between any two bars becomes filled wiUi type all of one letter- this consti- tutes the dLtribiUion. Then for the composing. Tho compositor plays upon a set of keys ; these keys act upon strings ; the strings act upon springs ; Uic springs push out or let out the requisite types from between the bars of the cage ; the tjTcs descend to a sloping plate, then through a spiral tube, and then into a receiver, where they range themselves in soldierly order side by side, it the compositor has played the keys rightly, ttie order of arrangement m the types is also right. A foot-pedal moves Uie receiver along gently, ready to accept the types as they drop successively int« it; and when a hne is formed, it is removed, and the receiver adjusted for another. Now for the alleged advantages and disadvantages of tins remarkable machine. Is it not a ti'oublesome affair to place all tlie types between the bars ot the distributing machine? M. Sorensen asserts that it occupies only one-tenth the time of ordinmy distributing. Does not the machine require most deli- cate workmanship, that aU the rods, incisions, types, notches, and projections, may fit weU into each odier ? M. Sorensen admits that diis is asuwqm 7ion ; but considers that this ought not to be an objection in an age ot high meclia- nical ability. Will not the types be dearer to cast, and weaker under tbe press, tlian ordinary type without these peculiar notches ? M. Sorensen thinks that the slight increase in expense will in part be counterbalanced by less veight of metal ; and that tlie {types, though yielding to yo ence, would bear fau- pressure. Would not the expense of such a machine (lOOf.) neutralise its i mm i rniNTiNo: its modern varieties. srtical rack ; the tj-pcs, they leave tlie belt and 'uU is thus tbnnod the Une of type, and lerives iistributed in tlie same senberg's machine was also. Kosenberg's ma- 1 was invented shortly id of Uieir value. But still required to attend )und that the machine the time all tlie con-ec- not, we believe, been iigular bird-cage-looking ■ibutions from Denmark, |r points quite unhke any } machine. The reader over anotlier, and the ent of the lower. The >sing. Suppose a sheet bute the type ; ho takes brass bars of the upi)er )s the two cages. This ; one kind of type-letter ing from those of every ticular perforation ; and les one by one find tlie The lower cage has as Hid by degrees tlie space f one letter — this consti- 3 compositor plays ujton js act upon springs ; Uic veen the bars of the cage ; spiral tube, and then into rder side by side. If the ii-rangement in the types I gently, ready to accept a a line is formed, it is this remai'kable machine, between the bars of the , occupies only one-tenth ichine require most deli- notches, and projections, iiat tliis is a sine qua ""'^ •' in an age of high mecha- 1, and weaker under the les ? M. Sorensen thinks counterbalanced by less g to violence, would bear jhine (lOOi.) neutraUse its advantages'' No, says M. Sorensen; divide the expense over a long period, mid you will have a good margin left. Is not tho method difficult to loam ? M Sorensen states that any.pei-son could learn to use this machme moie nuickly than the ordinaiy composing system, and that a compositor could master it in a few davs. Will not the saving of time be neutralised by the ne- cessity for hand labour in dividing, spachig, adjusting, itahc-ismg, and so forth .^ Lessened, says M. Sorensen, but not neutralised. Would not the compositors oppose it? If they did, says M. Sorensen, the opposition would yield alter a time, as in all similar cases.— These are the statements for and against ; and it amy be hoped that so ingenious a machine may have an ample testmg, which it docs not seem yet to have had ; indeed wo are not awaro that M. Siirenscn has ever yet actually set tho machine to work in a printing-office ; and all more model experiments will fail to place the inquiiy on a proper commercial basis. SxEREOTYriNG : ITS PuRPOr.T XST) ITS VARIETIES. That cheap literature owes much to stereotyping, is beyond question ; as the process is one of those which economise the outlay in printing. I" or works of small circulation it is useless, or worse than useless ; but when there is a very large demand for a book, or the demand spreads over a considerable sr)ace of time, then does stereotyping lessen the expenses of the publisher. It does so for tlie following reasons. If the publisher over-estimates the de- mand for a new book, he prints too many copies, some of which remain a dead loss to him on his shelves ; if he under-estimates tlie demand he prints too few, and has all the expense of composing Uie type to mem- over again. But if he bestows the time and labour of making stereotype casts from his type, he can then print from theso plates just as many copies as are wanted, and do this from time to time during an indefinite period. He need not keep the type standing ; he can distribute and use the type for other works, knowing that he has a source of power in his stereotype plates. And, moreover, he can make two or a dozen or any number of stereotype casts from each page ; so that he could print two, or a dozen, or any number of copies at once, with the requisite press or machine aiTiuigements, and all with one original ' setting up,' or composing. There is this consideration, too ; tliat a woodcut becomes somewhat worn when a large number of impressions have been taken from it ; but by a series of stereotype casts from it, the power of printing from it be- comes practicaUy illimitable. The reader will then bear in mmd that, so far as any one copy is concerned, stereotype-printing is not better than type-printing ; on the contrary, the highest'class of work is generally type-printed; but when a large quantity of one kind is required, tlie advajitages of Uie stereotype method, both in time and money, are quite inesistible. It is certainly exti-aordinary tliat, after two castings, a stereotype plate, even from a woodcut, should be fine and shai-p enough for printing ; it shows how great is the skill now attained in the art. That there are ttvo castings, many readers are apt at times to foi-get; but a moments consideration will show tliat such must necessarily be the case ; for tlie fii-st cast will give hollows in- stead of protuberances, and vice versa ; and hence another is required to restore the original aspect of the sm-face— just as in all other processes of casting, founding, or moulding ; where a model is employed to yield a mould, and the mould is employed to yield casts. In stereotyping, tlie page of tj-pe, or mingled type and woodcuts, is the model; a plaster impression from tins is the inovM; K 8 ^&MiH|h^ 10 PniNTINO: ITS MODKBN VABIBTIUB. Tht( method was firet practised at Edin- and the Btereotvpo plata is tlio Crtst. _ . bu « a centu.5^ and a quarter a^o ; but it wan not brought much mU> mim- 8U ion until towards Uie close of tlie last century ; and did not become a really tmporZt comnierci.d element in printing mitil IHjJ'^ when tho vast Bale of the IVnuy Magazine produced a revoluUon in cheap literature. Stereotype .u^stin^ is managed simply as foUows. Tho page of typo, as clean and norfeot as possible, is we.lged up closely in a mouldiug-trame ; the surhvc^ TZiwe is slightly oiled ; liquid plaster is iK,ured upon it until the mou d- LLue is filled; Uio solidihed nioul.l is removed when cold; aiid ..tter uJiur Uimmed, it is phtced in an oven to bake or dry. Tlien begins the me- S casting. The metal is melted in a cauldron; the pU^ter-mould is Zea hi a pecuUar casting-box; and, by a veiy nice adjustment, Uie mould uid the box Le both immersed m the molten metal, m such a way tis to allow :, layer of meUd t.> form on the surface. When removed from ho cauldron, and taken from the ciujtingbox, and tJie plaster mould broken Irom it (lor a mould is destroyed for each cast ma.le). the nlate is carefully examined : the Zl is rendere/peiiectly level by being turnecf n a latlie ; and the face ,s freed lom any slight defecU which may disfigure it. There is thus produced a stereotype plat« capable of bearmg the action of the pnntmg press or ""Thb\ the ordinary stereotype process, but many recent novelties have been mtro printing w»» lay here describe one or (jilasgow, has inventt^d a ly. A parto of conunon utta percha is applied to a quarter of au hour ; lied over with lino black- printing is then otfected titutes a veiy convenient adinesH witli which it can le eleoti"o-oopi)er cast is lughout a much greater ae gutta percha performs also. A mould is taken tiia mould, when brushed utta pOTcha, in an exactly printed. It seems difficult delicate lines of a wood- 5uch a material as gutta thod would be practically with gutta percha for an tssrs. Manchin and Movel t much adopted in this France. The cast, either urn of a mould, is formed ,ype metal, and gives the omewhat more expensive ; is now being tested, and once into use. It ig reallv almost difficult to follow the novelties in this department of tho nrintinu art There is a method of makiuf,' stereotypes Irom paper, or rather Cermaeho. From tlie doscription given in another part ot Uns senes it Hi easily be understood .hat tlio pulpy nature of papier-mache would enable it to be used UH a stereotyping material; but this api-hcation seems to bo abandoned for others, especially that of stereotyping by electn)-depositiou. S far as «eientihc comploUmess goes, no oU.er «t< reotypu.g can boar com- parison with the beautiful process last named: it is a very tnumph ol H.aenco mldiod U> the arts; and a« we ffiid U.at our arUstic m.mul.icturHi-s and fancy • ntors are ov.u-y day availing tliemsolvos mor.) and more ol tht^ ^oecn^i, wo ay sSely concLdo that it superadds practical usetulness to scientific pre- cision. The Phintino Phfss: Four Centuhtes' PRoaRF.ss. We havo not vet touched upon printing itself, the actual process to which "\tahm.t; mw Sd of pressure is sufficient to transfer an hiked impression to paper pSng i.ross L.,lu be one of the simplest of all contriviuices ; and IhiS noVio. is because modem society requires Uie prmting to be elTected ^"tV^nt:i!n«t'trace the steps of progress, from tlie inido press «f eaijy times down to the mighty Time.' printuig machme of Uie present day. ihe St empToved was noUiing more than a simple screw-press, like a cheese or mkrS ess Tho form of type bemg inked, was placed with a sheet ot paper beSi the press, and the screw worked to give sufficient pressure. But tins m« a sadly Unger ng process, since there must be as many screw.ngs and nn- ciewm89 as 5S are^copies to be printed. The first improvement was made rSew, a Dutchman, who gave^^an elasticity to Honie pai-ts of tho press which shaniened the impression and lessened tlie wear of Uie tn^e. htdl the rc^ewpSr remained, and was adoptad evei^where until the commence- "Tt\f n^Jt^CtitSlemaii is chiefly distinguished foi- his mechanical invonttoSs Imt the late Eail Stanhope wiU be known ior his printing U» Stonliope press is cemiiily . taoutilul f "^''"f,^ )\^ '"C™ C o( lypM Uid upon a WveUing c«n«ge. which, ^ler the W«» j""' »«™ nf fvnn. both moved under the vlatUn or heavy plate oi Uie press, a hanr^keJ to gTv7m^on to Uieicrew ; and all these movements revei-sed to liberate Uie printed sheet from its pnson. ^ . ,, q, , . „^„ _,«„. t,. Numerous have been the minor improvements in Uxe ^*^^^P^^^l'^^.JZ some patented presses Uie form of types remama stauonary, while Uie flatten xs mJmmmtm"-^ - 18 PBINTtNO: ITS MODERN VAIIIKTIES. remove'i to permit tho types to bo inkod. In othem the presmire ih piwjncfld entirely by lovers, without any aid from screws, but let tho press bo what it miuht, its velocit,/ of working was confined within a linnt which no mgonuity couhl sumass. "ite hourly power of printing was reckoned by hiuidreds, not thousands of sheets. And when wo come to watch tlio process of mkmg the tvpos we see how this must necessarily be Uie case. Tho old prmti^rs used inking cushions or bnlh, fonned of sheepskui stuffed widi wool ; pnnling mk is an oily viscid liquid; tho balls, after being dipped hito or upon the mk, wcro worked two together in order to equalise tho ink ; and the types were daubed over by tho two balls. A most clumsy method this now appears to us • yet it was doubtless deemed a capital expedient by the mvontor, whoever ho 'may have been. It is still adopted by some printers ; but it is slow, and wastes nnich ink. The method now more freafts and " W"-; . ''"r^ ;;;';] Ti ndles wheels and axles, cogs and pinions, ratchets and levers cyluule s and ie^-all the paraphernalia of tl>e machinists labours; but jt '^ not um.l w« wo the numerous delicate and precise movements which tliose bring Lut Uiafwe rappre iaU, the control which the mast.i-power- steam i:!:" ks on the whofe' asseiublage. Heveind thiiigH ai-e being done atone... While one form of types is being inked, another .h impressing a sheet ot Ipr; while one sheet is being thus impressed, another is tr^eUing along to Sue for a similar process; while one set of inkmg rollers is doing its ^^^rk another is supplying itself with a coating of the unctuous '••'im'O'"'. Let us see whether a few words may suth.ie to convey a gcnend idea of the .u,tk n of sfcir' rJiachino. First for tL inking. The thick ink is placec in a H s ervoir in contiict with which roUtes a roller called (we know not why) the rrrby whi<'hthisd.>ctor becomes thoroughly coated with the back o.y . mpounfl. Another roller, having a F«»/''^r,.^'bf "^g ^;"^y";^*\' f ;^^^^^ rinctor at intervals of a few seconds, and robs him of a little ot his ink, wm ,n fttiSsfer toa flat iron table; other rollers spread the ink evenly over the ^bir Ind Another sot again feed their ^f-^-l^^-lX:^';::fc:Z^ the ink over the fonn of types, by rolling along it. All this is vciy curious , fo,^Sink becomes diffusecl in a remarkably even manner by these numerous tmnsfers from surfa.^e to surface. Meanwhile the paper has not been die. Hoy P« r«d Tp on high, places a sheet of paper on an endless web or tvon- the sheet s caught in between a cylinder and a row of tapes, and Ls nalses on from one cylinder to another until it leaves the machine, iut in its progiSs it is exposed t« two printing processes. When one furface hd^owKds, it is pressed or ma^lo to roll upon one of the two omJs of inked ype, by which the sheet is printed on one side; and then Z two or Siree se;pentine twistings-over one cylinder and ""der anothe -the other side of the sheet is brought downwards, and is made to roll ^^^theoSer inked form of types. How to adjust the cylmdei-s arid the tapes, so Vat t^e sheet shall not be crookedly printed ; how to an-ange ^e' doctor ^d the other rollers so as to apply, just enough mk and no more how to make the tvpe-form go and fetch its own mk, and ri nm to the exact po"S the eSt time ;\ow to make the sheet of paper, m '^; travels ove Mid under about half a dozen cylinders, present each surface exactly at the ™ inCt"o the proper inked form-how to rea Use aU these concep- KoT hLsCen a tax to^the inventive powers of our Applegaths and Cowpe,-s ; but the result shows how triumphantly they have been realised. Great as tliese achievements un provide a power luleipiate to print H()(Jt) copies per hour ; but he conceived it probable that, by a low slight improvements, such a ni(U!hino might attain a speed of 10,000 or 11,000; and Homo such increase has been obtiuiied. It was a pity that a larger amount of ' standing i-ooiii ' had not boon afforded around the Ilhtntrntiid New» pruitiiig machine at tho Great Exhibition : many an eager oyt) wished U) tmco tho iiiovomeuts of tlie mysterious cylindors, but wanted facilities. Yet was it such an ojjportuiiity as was never before afforded ; and Uioso who dul watch tlio macihine attentively know more, than any written dcMcriptiou can tell tliem. When tho increasing circulation of the 'lme» rendered it necessary to expedite tho process of printing ; when tho proprie- tors requested Mr. Applegath to tax his skill in produouig a machine which would print eight or ten thousand copies in an hour ; when Mr. Applegath surmounted all the dilhculties ; and when the means of accomplishing this typogiuphicid feat was rendered apparent ;—tli(;n did the proprietoi-s ot that paper commission Mr. Applegath Ui make for thom tlie machine which was fitted np in the 'machinery in motion' department of the Exhibition. I'his machine is smaller than that of the TitMi ; it has four cylinders hiz'^wX of eight ; and these four cylinders have a united surface exactly wjual to tJiat of the type cyhnder. How the paper takes its exti-aordinary tour among tlio cylinders; how Uie 'laying-on boy' places the sheet upon a httlo platform, and a spindle urges it from tlie platform towards vertical tapes, and the vertical tiipes transfer it to Uie care of > »i«bt bars of wood, and the boi-s of wood traiister it to small pulleys, and U.. m i U T^Uleya resign it to marginal tapes whUe tho sheet is being pressed » . ' lype, and Jie aorguial tapes dismiss it to tiie care of otlier litt , ... .d Uie ' takmg-off boy ' finally receives it from tiiese pulleys— how all this is effected is, perhaps, not " more easily con- ceived tlian described, " but it is certainly beyond tlie descriptive scope ot the present work. ■ n i So valuable is every minute m printing a daily newspaper— especiaUy sucu thin n«*w nmchiiie, wn Imileiii of ttii itnlinnry III Ui he lv\o\\u\^^ on |).m<) tliat tlitt lypoH iir«! [t'!\iwv on li Hut Hui't'iiro iiinchino. Ami UiuukIi lese two piiticiples will i^ible. The numHtcr I wu lii'u N|iuukitig), hiiM livi' t't't't in tliaiinjtiir ; or, jiolyKon btshiK »(juiil to iibuoutH its* Htiveml |Ktly- e vorticul. luid Uiuy fot-'J lero are e»!.'ht I'.ylinderM, |>a)mrcoil itat'if; tjtght ' i>{lit, ahe»"ii Hvodmwn I..; ink'tiM rollui" iMceivo mUu' r fttos ; tlie paper tlio |)nntin« is crt'cctiid of each nhuct; aiid the J are i-ecwivod by oiglil rtook to protide n power ivod it probable tliiit, by lin a Bpoed of ID.ODO or I ' had not boon afTonled Ireut E.xhil)ilion ; many iiyitlorioHs cylinders, but iS never before otfoi-ded ; V more than any written irculation of the Tinua Ling ; when the proprie- uuui(;( a machine which ir ; when Mr. Applegatli s of acconipliHhing thiM the jiroprietore of that nil Uio niftclune which uent of the Exlnhition. w four cylinderg hi-Uiad 4C0 exactly ocjual to Uiat )rdinttry tour among tlie lou a little platform, and a OH, and the vertical tJipeH I bare of wood transfer it nar^tnal tapes while Uiu giual tapes dismitiH it to boy ' finally receives it «, not '* more easily con- descriptive scope of the I'JllNTINO: IT» Monr.UN VAIUl'.TIKS. ta VS' paper— especially such ^ Uie Tiwu'., which nownelU Koraelhing like forty thoumind copUw^^'' •\"'"-:. Lt UieTunountof power reMtiired i. .i-iU. ,.xtnu.r.hnary. lles.dc. two o S.guU."^rlt\.iKht.oyli.ulo; vertical nuuhine,. there are three C|l Uje o d.-. Scvlinder lio.i/HHtal n.achii.OH in ti.e 'iV»^«' olUce 'Ih.-r,. ,ire nearly a , drer..'^^ ttndpre«H,nen employed in the evenu.K and Jht Tl , tvpeJ in coL.anr use w.-i.h ,>o Ichh than hcvcu Ions, f.'« '"; f'l...i,nr.'-mneH about four or live tons of paper, presenting a pun ed 2ilZ7L^^. much exeeedin^^ th. urea ..f the ^'7«»^V" '".'nar v'a c V of tl.e -ku*, inchuliuK a fuur-paKe nnpp emenl contunm nea ly Sontvias There have hln moit ihim fifty thoumuid copies prinU-du. ;;;;)d;;Tu period of great political (and consequenUy news-re^hng) excite- ""whether printing will ever be done by the furlong ..r Uie mile is a K-o" ' I'oys or ' takhu^-otT ' boys. Huch at least is the spe. ,tv Snof^e pai3nt; ami; whether diis particular machine has been lou ml a ilk oV Xtn-e can be little dount Uiat something of analogous chanter vill astonish the world before h.ng. Mr. Bodmor {'^^'^.^i ''{l^^^^* ^^^^t time, a patent for an invention almost identical in "Ul" 't ^'th ^l^^^r^'l^^'iS ;....., .l.ul ti. mint two webs of paper at once instead of one. Again, m laao, t^ genuity "1 M " De Witte* w'as shown in a patented machine tor pnntmg idlesS webs of paper from cylinders having «''''*=«(yi^?*lj"';^;;««. respect to IJut there is someUiing more Uum mere """Ppl'e^ P"^ *«• "T^P Jf,.„ these vortical-cvUnder endless-printing schemes. Mr. Hoo, an American itorpat^nS^ ,uid about the same time the Tbn,:^ gave the ^o"»?^"»g, /""f ^r^PV •".^.J^.i Mori on ail American printer, died lately in Pans. He has l.e-iueathod 10 (uS to be K^Jen as a premium t.. anybody who shall sncceed m constructing rSi^e caS of striking off 10,000 copies of a ""^^spaper wit^mi an ho? 'rho ri»«>» machine does not, we boliove, actually excee P«r ?">"««. or Xut 8000 per hour; tlmt four montlis' use had well saUshed the JLpSrs o?Vr jom^ai; mid that a -^^1-^- n.^hme of ^^^^^^^ Hiriiciion had been ordered, witli a prmtuig power of la.OOO C0F«8 P< 7'""T; DmTe Paris press claims to have outdone both Mr. Hoe arid Mr^Appegaih more i^cenUv In the spring of 1850 a new prinUng niachme was set up m Te office of L« Prme, iSvented by M. Worms, a printer of Pans. It con- i Hi rRINTINO: ITS MODERN VARIETIES. sists f»f cylindei"s covered with papier-macho stereotypes, from which the printing is ett'ectcci on endless webs oi" paper. It was asserted at tlie time that a speed of 1.5,000 copies per horn- was attained— bnt this is almost "too good news to be true." Indeed, it nmst be owned, that many such statements in the French newspapers require to be received witli caution. PniNTiNo Establishments, in Modern Days. Few compai-isons would present more curious results than that between a printing office in past days and one in 1851. Everytliiug was done by hand, and on the domestic-manufacture system ; much is now done by steam, and all on the factory system. Our Clowes, Hansards, and Spottiswoode's, at the present time exhibit the factoiy system in its best aspects ; tliat is, combination in some dcrartments, subdivision in oUiers. The well-known rapidity witli which Parliamentary Papers are got up and printed has been often noticed ; and the r'>cent printing of the Officit.1 Catalogue of the Great Exhibition was a notable instance of such expedition. We quote a few words from tlio Companion to the Brithh Almanac, (ov 185^, in illustration of tliis matter :— " The Shilling Catalogue was classified, numbered, made up, and 10,000 copies printed and stitched in covers— in four days. The first complete copy was not produced till 10 o'clock at night on April aOdi, and yet 10,000 were at the Crystal Palace before the an-ival of Her Majesty on the eventful 1st ot May. Two splendid copies, presented to Her Majesty and the Royal Consort, were bound and gilt in a sumptuous style in six hours." The French, and foreign counti-ies generally, are more accustomed than the English to form large establishments, wherein tlie printmg as well as the publishing of books is carried on. Perhaps the remarkable freedom of indi- vidual efforts in England may tend to explain tliis difference. The establish- ment of Alfred Maine and Co., in Tours, is one of tliose in which printing, binding, and publishing are all combined, and where they have been so com- bined for nearly half a centmy past. All the works relate to religious and moral subjects, and undergo a sort of general editorial supeiTision : such as educational books, sanctioned by the Roman Catliolic Church ; missals and other books of piety ; and educational books for primaiy schools. The ware- rooms of tlie establishment ai-e said to contain a miUion and a half of small books, pamphlets, and tracts; besides anoUier store in unfolded sheets. There are about twenty machines, worked by steam-power, to caiTy on such of the printmg and binding operations as can be brought within the scope ot this power; and these machines are adequate to the production of fifteen thousand volimies per day, each containing ten duodecimo sheets. The sewing, boardmg, and binding of the books, occupy many more hands than tlie print- ing, being less within Uie scope of steam-power. It is said that there are no less than one tliousand persons of botli sexes and vai-ious ages employed in this ' bindei-y ' (the innovating but convenient name that om- friends across tlie Atlantic give to a bookbmduig establishment), by whom books are bound in styles varying from tlie most sumptuous magnificence down to the most econo- mical plainness. All the copper and steel-plate engi-avings introduced into the illustrated works, are also printed in tlie establishment. It does not appear that type-founding is carried on, and in this respect the Tours esta- blishment must yield precedence to a few great printing firms m England ; but the combination of printing, binding, and pubUshing, on so large a scale, is ceiiainly ucte-worthy. i from which the d at tlie time that ilmost "too good iich statements in :s. an that between a [•((s done by hand, ) by steam, and all tiswoode's, at the lat is, combination own rapidity witli een often noticed ; Great Exhibition w words from tlio of tliis matter : — and 10,000 copies plete copy was not 10,000 were at the eutful Ist of May. )yal Consort, were accustomed tlxan ting as well as the e freedom of indi- e. The establijih- in which printing, have been so com- te to religious and peiTision : such as urch; missals and shools. The wai-e- md a half of small I unfolded sheets. , to caiTy on such vithin the scope of jductiou of fifteen iieets. The sewing, nds than tlie print- 1 that tliere are no ages employed in r ft'ionds across the ooks are bound in to the most econo- gs introduced into lent. It does not ict the Tours esta- firms in England; on so large a scale. PRINTINO: ITS MODF.nN VAniETIES. 17 Passing to another countiy, we find the Imperial Printmg Office at Vienna, certainly one of the most gigantic manufacturing establishments m the world. The Vienna establishment comprises within its range of operations an astonishing variety, both ailistic and manufacturing; and the bmldmgs ai-e necessarily of great magnitude. There are said to be five large niasses ot buildings, the floors connected by iron and st^)nc staircases, and Oie bmldmgs connected by galleries. There are steam-engines, nearly fifty printing- machines, more than this number of printing-presses, half as many copper- plate presses, forty lithographic presses, several glazing cyhnders, pumps lor cold water, boilers for hot water, flues for hot air, eight type-foundmg ma- chines, ten furnaces for melting type and stereotype metal, gas m all the buildings, speaking tubes from one building to another— all the appur- tenances, in short, of avast printing establishment. And so closely is the pro- gress of science watched, that when a new discovery is made, advantage is immediately taken of any practical availability which may attach to it in respect to the typographical art ; thus photography and electrotype are brought into requisition; and any new qualities discovered in guttapercha or other substances are similarly watched with an attentive eye. Fine ait, too, as well as science, is sedulously cultivated at this remarkable establishment.' A school for wood-engravers has been established, whence productions of great beauty issue. Colour-prmtmg, among other branches, is conducted witli consummate skill. Nothing could better illustrate the extent and nature of the labouis at tins establishment, than the admirable display of them at the Great Exlnbition. The terminations graphy and Ujpy never surely had such numerous applica. tions before: typography, xylography, chemitypy, stm-eotypy, eUctrotypy, typo- metni, lithography, galvanography, photography, aU were presented to our notice. There were steel punches for type-letters, comprising tiie cliaractere for more than a hundred foreign languages, besides medieval characters, and letters for blind persons. There were matrices of Chmese, Japanese and other peculiar types. There were printed specimens m the principal lan- guages of the whole worid. There was the Lords Prayer, printed wiUi Roman tvve in 608 languages and dialects, and also m the characters of 206 different nations. There vvas a copy of Gutenberg's Bible and specimens of the type used for it. There were copies of books recent y printed in the establishment, for various persons, requiring rare or peculiar type Ihere were lar^e engraved woodcuts, with moulds from them taken m gutta percha, and electro-copper casts from the moulds. There were pictures, cjwmtypedov etched on zinc by a chemical process, and capable of being printed at the common press. There were stereotype plates of aU the «lpl^«bete m ti^ worid, with moulds or matrices in gutta percha and in p aster, and electxo- copper casts from the moulds. There were numerous electix)-copper casts from tvpes, woodcuts, petrifactions, has and alto-reliefs, &c ; besides admir- able plates suitable for'engravei-s,and the realy wonderful «heet of copper thirty feet long-wonderful when we bear in mind that it was produced from a cold liquid solution of copper by galvanic agency. There were numerous chromo-lithogi^phic prmts, hing by' the side of the original c«l««^«d;f.;",7^^g^J to which they made a singularly near approach m richness and softness of colourin-r. There were engraved steel and copper plates, and impressions taken from tliem. There were electrotint plates, in which the subject is pro- duced by painting and galvanizing, without either etching or cngi-aving. There were designs for ornaments connected with books and bookbindmg, i rHiSTwa: its mvv.ws variktieb. Awl lastly, there were a dozen or and ornamental tools for bookbinder more of photographs. . , - •„♦«,„„♦ ..nnnpcted widi on establishment SuRh are some of the pornt* of interest 'f^^**''Xch possesses a hun- tlXkh thrlo htmdred thousand «»\««^,«VSTxffion by Sree societies The typographical ^onttibutions to Ae Oreat L^^^^^^^^ in-espective of in London were interestmg in an in«l"«t»«f Ssocietu have printed the other considerations ?he^7*"/' «!!fv,urSt iS^^^^ l^^ai-e whole or portions of tlie Bible m 1 <0 ^^^^'f^^^^'^S'^f^ ^11 of these were from tnuislations never before prmtedbpecmensotnearo^ exhibited, end a most «""«"« .^"^^f^M^fyi.'^X^ same Society man casual visitors to the txhibit.on could g^^e tbem. x illustrated aie progress of the jmntog art, by Pacing s^de b^^^^^^ printed in 1810 and others r»«'t«d m 1 85 1 to aUow " ^^^^'ij^^^^ggened Lndbmding had all i™FOved. while ^eexpen^ ^^ ^^^^ 62 per cent. The Relujiou, Iract '*'«^'f^^ ^^ ^^ '^f Xch were exhibitetl religious boo!.s *" /^•^^^"^Tthe'^Srenow^eTp^ Bunyan's ?^PiU^rS-' -5^^^^^ tatX^'sSrhav^ pri^^ted and pubUshed this work in no fewer thaii as different languages ^^ The third Society alluded ^o a^o;^- ^h^ /^^^^^^^ object to Bead, occni^ ^«»?^»^lf ^TifeTontriCTs'co^^^^^^ which attanuon is directed. ^ifff^X embossed writing copies, music, cyphering books, maps, geometrical bo'^ J^^"^^ X have to bear the aiS chefs ^-l^;,-f,"^^^f JiVchi^^ type dread calamity of blindness. Ihe ra>8f"J^"~ , • f the systems of fihortrhand while m tne uiaegow ^* J nrrulnced bv stampuig on paper are employed. All such «™bo«sed^^^"^C^ ^^' with bold but un-inked met^ ^yj'^^'T?,^^^ something s^ly beautiful in this the words as it passes over them. ^ lILi jr The cvT^ring-boardB arc mode of blindly feelir^ ^V^nuSe^oref ?nt;> wWch Cs eLy fit. and perforated all o^'er with small square holes, into wnicu j^ j ^^^ Lse types represent tiie ^n nume^^ In the maps^^^^^, ^^^^ above tlie water, and great distmctness Jf £*^^ ?" . uAy„daries. The chess- represent cities. nio«mt«ias. nvers, and geogmph^^^^ ^^^^ boai-ds have tlie black squares ^^J^^^^^^^J^'i^faU the pieces have pegs pieces are distinguished by a P^J««V,"K P?"^' y„re^^^ by which Uich fit faito holes in the board ^Ih^'^ a^o a Wet^m ^ ^ ^^^^ the bhnd can print their own thought^, or wnte ^« P^J^ ^y tlie aid of are stamps or punches for t»»\^*"«"'\;'«^Se^ i« of P«P«' '^ printing ; for the pages were from 1««^^» P^;J'^ .^"^Sm • it comprised about ^"^''f^Mv o I'f ;TjrnS'^^^^^^ andUianlan. W fa «rti« ii 'M > ' i I I so printing: its modern varieties. i' ! i the copied aitogi-aph of the veritable Day and Martin— how to effect all this called for much patienre, skill, and expenditure of capital ; and a department of tlie establishment has been expressly set apart for this pm-pose A cylmde machine, on Mr. Cowper's principle, is employed, with two cyhnders, one fm red ink, and one for black-each cylinder being large enough to print eight labels at once. For each label two stereotype plates are prepared, by a com- bined process of casting, stamping, and modelling; they are so accm-ately ad- iusted that every raised spot in one plate corresponds witli a sunken spot m "the other. One plate contains, in relief, tlie whole of the letters and device which ai-e to be printed in black ; while tlie other contains tliose for red ; and both plates are bent to the exact curvature of the two cylinders Eigl.t plates are adjusted to each cylinder, witli great accuracy; and tlie mkmg rollei-s aie so placed that the inking of the black plates is completed just as the paper is brought neai-; while the red plate is similarly brought in readiness to seize and impress Uie paper directly it is libei-ated from its neighbour. The more completely the black and red portions are seen to keep clear of each other m the label the more accurate must have been tlie adjustment of the plates on the cylinders.— Thus tlie " pursuit of knowledge " may lead us even to Uie^study of a blacking-bottle. ^ ,, i j? • *•„„ About Uie year 1836 Mr. Baxter procured a patent for a method of P"n™g in oU-colours, from wood-blocks and steel-plates conjointly ; and this method has recently been carried to a degree of considerable excellence and beauty, borne specimens of oU-colour printing are from wood-blocks only; while others ai-e worked by the woodcut method, from mezzotinted metal plates, of which as, many are used as there are tints in the picture. It is scai-cely possible to conceive a higher degree of beauty than now dis- tinguishes some of tliese colour-printed productions. The names of Baxter, HuUmandel, Hanhart, and many others, among the patentees and printers, and tliose of some of our best artists among the dmughtsmen, ai-e becoming every day better known to the purchasers of cheap but good artistic productions : whUe eve kind of pictorial subject, and almost every style of engraving, are being brought withm tlie range of colour-printing. We have copies from the old masters, and copies from the Stanfields and Creswicks of our own day; we have graceful story-book illustrations by Absolon and others, and sump- tuous decorative ornament by Owen Jones ; we have fruit and flower pieces m imitation of Nature's work, and buildings and otlier productions of mans m- dustry. All these are depicted or designed on engraved steel, on mezzotinted goiter metal, on stone, on wood, or on stereotype plates; and all aie alike brought within the powers of the colour-printing press Nor do these produc- tions belong exclusively to the domam of fine art; the colour-proited paper covers for cheap books, with their glazed surfaces, are not only pleasing to the eye, but are more durable than the paper garments of tlie books published " in boards " m the olden time ; while they are cheaper than cloth binding. It was one of the most instructive characteristics of the Great JiiXtiibition that, whenever opportunity offered, the successive stages of any particular process were represented m their proper order Such was the case among other mstances, in respect to colour-printing In the Saxon section, this art was illustrated by a series of sheets, each exhibiting one stage in the chromo- printing process, showing how many tunes Uie print itself had to pass through Sie prels before its final completion. And tlius likewise were the productions and processes of Mr, Baxter illusti-ated. — «8a t PRINTINO: ITS MODERN VAniETlES. 21 how to effect all this il ; and a department pui-pose. A cylinder wo cylinders, one for nough to print eight I prepared, by a com- ' are so accurately ad- witli a sunken spot in 16 letters and devices ns tliose for red ; and inders. Eight plates the inking roUei-s are id just as the paper is I in readiness to seize eighbour. The more clear of each otlier in ment of the plates on ad us even to tlie study r a method of printing 1 ; and this method has nee and beauty. Some mly ; while others ai'e tal plates, of which as f beauty than now dis- The names of Baxter, >atentees and printers, len, ai-e becoming every )d artistic productions ; style of engraving, are 3 have copies from Uie wicks of our own day ; and others, and sump- nit and flower pieces in roductions of man's iii- !d steel, on mezzotinted tes; and all ai-e alike Nor do these produc- le colour-prlntfid paper re not only pleasing to of tlie books published p thai) cloth binding, if the Great Exhibition ages of any particular !h was the case, among Saxon section, this art ne stage in the chromo- self had to pass through 86 were tlie productions The application of colour to litliographs is among tlie beautiful novelties of recent times. It can scarcely be necessary here to describe a lithograph, or to state that it is printed from stone ; but a few words will sufhce to show tlie relation between a uoodcut, an ewjravhm, and a lithograph. A wood- cut is printed from rmsed lines; an engiaving is printed from sunl^n lines; 11 lithograph is printed from chetiJcally-prepared lines. A wood-block is cut till lioue of the surface is left except Uie lines which are to be mked and pruited ; whereas an engraved copper or steel plate is so cut or engraved tliat the parts left shall be un-inked in printing. A lithograph diflers considerably Irom both. A stone of a very peculiar quality, brought chiefly from the Daiiubian provinces, is carefully prepared on the upper surface. A design is skctclioil on the stone, either witli lithographic chalk or lithographic ink— both ot which ai-e nearly alike in composition, but one is used dry and the other wet. A solution is poured over the stone to fix this device; and when about to be printed, the stone is sponged with water, which is received by the stone but repelled bv the chalk or ink. The printing ink, applied by a rollei% is re- pelled by tlie damp stone, but received by the device, and a press suffices to etfect the tininsfer. . Such, then, is ordmary UUiogi-aphy. The lithotint and the stump drawmfj on stone are two methods of colour-printing practised by Messrs. Hullmandel, and of which some beautiful specimens were displayed at the Great E.xhibi- tion. Many of the specimens in the first of tliese two styles were drawn on the stone by Cattermole, Harding, Haghe, and Nash. They are executed by making drawings on the stone witli a liquid ink applied by a brush ; tlie quar lity of the ink being such as to resist the action of tlie chemical agent after- wai-ds applied to tlie stone. The residt produced has much of the beautiful effect presented by an original drawing m sepia colour. It is a style consi- dered to be well adapted for engravings relating to engineering, architecture, and natui-al history, The other of these two methods, the stump drawing, is effected by applying the stump to designs which have been produced partly by chalk and partly by ink. The method of lavis aquarelle, or wat«r-colour wash, employed by some of the French litliogi-aphers, seems to bear some resemblance to tlie English lithotint. Mixed Phocesses, in Modern Printing. It is a matter ^'uU of instmction, in respect to the probable future of this valuable art, to watch the vai-ious combmations which ai-e now going on, in respect to prmciples, materials, and processes. Engraving, lithography, .xylography, stereotypmg, black printing and colour printing, casting and pressing, electrograph and photogi-aph, metal and stone, wood arid paper, gutU percha and bitumen— all ore being brought to afford mutual aid, each to each. The lines of demai-cation are beuig broken down ; and we are, every month or two, called upon to attend to some new and ingenious process, which, if called by a correct descriptive name, would indeed require a com- plex assemblage of Greek syllables. . . Some of the recently-introduced modes of engraving or preparing designs of any kind for the press are reaUy remaikable. One example, shown in the French dopai-tment of the Great Exhibition, is an expeditious mode of en- graving maps. It is always desimble to have some distinctive mode ot cngi-avmg an uncolom-ed map, so Uiat tlie eye shall catch readily the bounda- ries between land and water. In tlie example in question, a veiy delicate I 0)1 printing: its modkrn VAmKnr.s. machine makes Un<^9 of dots over tlie whole of the Inud portion of the map ; the dott« are very faint, and veiy close togetlier. so a.s to form a sort of tinted L'lonnd • the machine is said to make two Uiousand dots in a minute ; and, by a heaiu'iful contrivance, it reverses its action whenever it encounters the deeper lines which mark a boundary between land and sea. Another novel kind of printing is a combination of typography and litho- graphy Part of a page is set up with ordinaiy moveable types ; an impression from them is transferred to a lithographic stone ; the remainder of the desigii or page is tilled in by drawhig on the stone with the usual material ; and the stone is then prepared for prinUng in the usual lithographic method. This double system is intendid (or application in bordered, tabular, or or- namental printing; and it seems to be capable of useful extension— since the precision of type-printing may be combined with the artistic giace ol lithography. Another kind of litho-typogi-aphy, of French invention, is a pe- culiar mode of etching upon stone, so as to leave a printing surface raised considerably above the general level of the stone. There were specimens exhibited of a new art, to which tlie embarrassingly- leamed name of liauiiiconographic printing was applied. It seems to be an attempt to combine the excellencies of all kinds of engraving, by prodiu- ing plates in which the design, though always raised or m relievo, has some- times the characteristics of one style, sometimes of another. Ihe French exhibitor of the specimens, in his catalogue-description, sa^s that this panei- conographic art; has the power of "reproducing on eveiy kind of mebil (whether engmved or in relief) any lithographic, autographic, or typographic print, any drawing in pencil or in stump, any engraving on wood, steel, or copper, whether produced by aquafortis or by tlie graver, in such manner as t(j be able to print these reproductions by means of the typographic press. Ihe tj'pographical or common printing-press is so much more exjieditious in its operations than the copper-plate or the lithogmphic press, that it would be a viiluable improvement if all the vai-ious kinds of engraving really could lie reproduced by such means— whether or not we give a hard Greek name to tnt process which ensures this result. . The Denmark section, which was not very large or important, contaimil, nevertheless, a specimen of a new art, which the exhibitor, M. Scholer, calls styhxiraphy. It is said to be a meUiod whereby a copper-plate can bo engraved without the aid eitlier of the giaver or tlie etching-acid ; and M. Scholer exhi- bited an engraving in all the various stages of progress. In the first place a smoodi metallic surface is prepared; on this surface an even layer ot black composition is cast ; on this composition a thin coat of silver is ap- plied • on this silver tlie artist sketches his design with a shan)-pouitod in- strument, cutting deep enough to expose the black composition beneath ; from this black and white picture (for such it certainly is, the black lines oi the design being visible through a silvery groimd) a copper ca-st is taken by the electrotype process ; and from this cast a second cast is produced by the same process, which becomes of course a copy of the silvered composition model From the copper cast last produced impressions may be taken by the ordinary copper-plate press. This is one of many modes of applying electro- deposition to the production of engraved plates ; but it must require veiy careful manipulation to produce by these means a plate fiat and perfect enough to meet the exigencies of a press. Bank-note i-equirements, os is well known, have led to many curious ami valu- able inventions, in respect both to paper and printing. There is Messrs. Perkins iiid M i a»» » wift»j.' > ^i , - ^ ww*;»:a-r . w . 8 I portion of the map ; form a sort of tinted i in a minute ; and, by 'er it encounters tlio rr ii i iii rf'"-^" — ^ , .-p..-.»ai*i-ft-., .■.-.•■ w-vi,>^ I mm 4 rOTTOK AND PLAX: A COMTRABT. S°o I'd l.en» it i. found that »hcn the Amorican «'-»P '•»"'* "'If ^ pS ""loquently mi.«d, our heavy cotton good, can »,U, diBiculty hnd '"Thl' JmSau croi. may bo ,oiJ" «u avomgc, but it cmnot bo f»o.wn>, ZX S «' .uS S'/isC t„.„c„, a conuu.rci.1 Un.i. .» the „ua„t,., 'Ttthi^hettteu yea,,, the United SUto. c,.p, h.v. varied ftom. ,0 W«.i it=;f;:rry^r.,.«o:.hi;ea,^^^^^^^^ tho advivnce of price "«* «f ""-yf ^ ^^^ ^^ j,,i,, ^ ^^je of escaping from this Lancashire is put to '^f 7-;."\Vtete9 What other counUies contribute perilous depcndev^ce m. J'^^^Umt^d States^^Wha^ ^^^^^ extensively'^ India to our «"W^y ■ ^^^^^^iS but the cotton is neiUier so long in Uie staple grows CO ton ^^"^X^^^'^Vf^^^^ .^^ i^ hence not so much coveted by our pereons doubt "bolbB ™ Zds u. a Uttlo citton. but that litUe does not J s rrinLd'SnTo'-iiuer^^,. j^i-^^^^^^^ «%'H'M^«^5^.SoX^"^ tfiitirrn limtiam I ly bo pfrcatpr iit onu >y-valufl of th« Rtxxls to iinwov»ui yam : ia Uy aiiumiit ti) throo- ho cxfUiiHiU! prodiiclH ly bo only ono-tweu- xmr thttii ueiijht fiitt-r I IbH. of cotton coulil unio tiniu tliat woulil 10. rice of cotton greatly 1 more sensibly than rop is Hniall, and the with difficulty find a cannot be far over an > Hlaves can i)ick ; and ites, there is (virtually, d limit to the quantity ) varied from 1,000,000 ■oni !i,200,000. About ngland, tlie remainder uul woven in America, ■eater in tlic aggregate ng and weaving power ned fact that the con- le productive, but has atively small ; and this ictually paid 7,000,000/. aid have been paid had ) of cscaphig from this ler countiies contribute ore extensively ? India ler 80 long in Uie staple 3 much coveted by our ich India cotton obtains vation and for freight to ; of the cotton, the India Hindoos require a large lings considered, many jased supply Irom our but tliat little does not ,• and otlier districts in tton crop ; but Colonial- [ills, and Tiiiiiii Ciiakactehistics. In whatever country cotton is grown, the mode of culture is nearly alike. The cotton tree is a herbaceous plant, usually from four to si.\ feet in heiglit, varying according to circumstances of soil and climate. Very little attention is paid to any part but the seed-vessel, which is a cajisule containing three, four, or five lobes ; in these lobes are nuuiy seeds enveloped in cotton fibres. When tlie so-called " Ethio[)ian " songstifrs tell us of their heroes and henuncs " pickhi' cotton in tlio fiel'," they are thus far right; the cotton i* picked in the fielil, and thi* tre(> left standibg ; the tufts of cotton are taken from tlie capsules, thrown into baskets, and conveyed within doors, to be somewhat cleansed from impurities before being shipped to the manufacturei's. There are usually two crops in a year, one eight months and one twelve months after the time of sowini;; the two gatherings from each i)lant yield about a pound of cotton fibre on an avemge ; and an acre of plants about ^70 lbs. One of the few machines employed upon cotton before tlio actual manu- facture is the (fin — an apparatus never seen in action in tliis country, because we do not receive the cotton in a state which requires its services. When the' cotton has been collected from the field, it is found to be mixed up with seeds, the removal of which is essential to the subsequent operations. The earlier machines were vei-y inetlieiont to this end ; but the patent gins now employed do their work well and rapidly. So numerous, bulky, and weighty aie tlio seeds gathered with the fibres from tlie pod, that they form three-fourths of the entire weight — tlie weight, as imported into England, being only a quarter of the gi'oss weight. The gins \ aiy considerably in the mode of action ; but all contain teeth, spikes, combs, or saw-edges, affixed to a rotating cylinder, and mode to shake, and open, and tear the little knobs of cotton so thoroughly as to cause the seeds to separate and fall out. The laden ships cross the Atlantic, and Livtupool becomes the recipient of these myriads of cotton tufts. If a pliuit yields I lb. of impure fibre per year, and if 4 lbs. of this became lib. after being " ginned," and if England's appetite for this commodity extends to 700,000,000 lbs. of ginned cotton in a year — tliis looks veiy much as if 2,800,000,000 cotton pods have to be picked by negro fingora (or other fingers) for our annual supply. Although London and Glasgow, and a few other ports, receive portions of these immense cargoes, Liverpool receives the ovei-whelming majority ; and from tliat busy emporium the bales of cotton are transmitted to the great manufacturing towns of Lancashire and the neighbouring counties — Manchester being the monarch over all the rest. MfcimWwii-i** r ii »> i*i •'jMwart.' ■ ■AiNMtttiWMi i a COTTON ASP FLAX : A CONTRAST. The cotton factorieB of the North may he grouped in t^« ^f . ^j^^J^^^ Srsllieywt SsSSW^i" -SSin,''TeS *e huge! " MeS"!;;'" tor«-e the country mill.. Tl» Ml. *■* ..pamtc the other is the workmen's village, the church and the cl^apek, the scMO wo great divisions as iier are in the midst dense population of , Preston, Oldham, ms. Here the huge, to our view on everj- «ctural adornments; leir lower rooms ai-e I their chimneys are e declared again and noke, and that fuel is icturers — shrewd men ery little to carry this 1 either in the experi- ious therefrom. But Qoke. And if we take t presents itself 1 As of these busy towns factory gateway troop the most of the Tiour e to walk far to tlieir g, grouping, gossiping tidy; some slatternly. I hearth and a cheerful >robably as slovenly as is, that the operatives upwards of a tliousand thousand; and when ling like a hundred in lunce of the by-streets e hills which separate which flow across the ower, with river banks a have been gradually 3ut far away from busy ipeople ; and they tbus ig themselves, or a sort (lething of the character town mills, where the or how his operatives considerable extent is the smoke nuisance is r in a pretty valley ; on le mill-owner ; while on he chapels, the school- the wants of the ' mill- It near each other, the 1 larger body by and by ustry on the outside, we scene in which intensity COTTON AND FliAX : A CONTRAST. " marks evervthing. Every minute of time, every yard of space, every practised eve every \lextcrovis finger, every inventive mind— all arc at high-pressure service There are (in the best modem mills) no lumber attics or lumber cellars • everything is cut out for its work and the work for it. Ascend to the upper range 'or floor, and what do we see? Probably we are m a room of immense len'^Qi, lighted by dozens of windows, and into which bales ol cotton are being hauled by°steam power from below. Machines of lai-gc size and herco action are waiting to receive this cotton, and tear it, turn it, shake it, comb it, and i-out it about until it becomes ranged in cleanly mid orderly lorm ; while operatives of both sexes and various ages an tending these machines and supplying tJieir insatiable appetite for cotton. Lower and lower if wo de- scend into the building, we find the cotton advancing in its stages towards completion, and more and more hands employed compoved with tlie weight of cotton operated upon. On a level vnlh the floor (if it be both a spinning and a weaving mill, which many are) we find the weaving-shed, with its ranks of noisy power-looms, and its Amazon army of women and girls attending them. Exterior to this, probably, ai-e the boilers and engines which supply moUve power to the whole ; and beneath are the warming and ventilating arrange- ments which give the mill-owner a command over the temperatme of his establishment. CorroN-MiLi- Opebations. ' Any one would think, from the wonders achieved by Arkwright and his imme- diate successors, that cotton-spinning and weaving must have long ago reached their summit of excellence. Yet so far is this from bemg the case, that every month produces newly-pat«nted machines for one or other of the various processes. The truth is, that although the primaiy operations are now con- ducted on a pretty uniform plan, tlie minor details are subject to constant change and improvement; any increase of fineness In the yarn produced, or of quantity spun in a given time, or of strength m the tabric woven, or of durability in the machine, or of ease La management— any such wiU waiTant the patenting of a new machine. Men do not now search for a new prumpU in cotton machinery ; their improvements are in degree rather than m kind. A period of about a hundred and ten yeai-s has now elapsed since ma- chinei-Y (in the modem acceptation of that term) was applied to cotton-spinning. Lewis Paul made a carding machine about 1740, for carding or combing cotton more expeditiously than it can be carded by hand. Hai^eaves, at a later date, made another and better machine. Paul, too, mvented a spmmng-firame to act by rollers; and here again Hargreavea improved upon laul, by in- venting the spinning-jemiy. It was about the begmnrng of tlie reign of George III that Hargreaves introduced his inventions ; he had a desperate battle to fight against prejudices and intrigues of all kinds, and was made poor (or kept poor) by that winch was desfmed to make others rich. Taking the yVar 1760 as representing what we may call the era of Hargreaves, a rapid succession of novelties appeared. There w^ Lee's ingenious feedmg- apron for the carding-maohine ; there was the ' doffing apparatus U> remove the cotton fh)m the caids or combs; there was Arkwright s spinning-frame, bvwhinh stronger yam was producible than by any earlier machme ; there was Cmmpton's beautiful mule-jenny, a sort of compound of Hargreaves spm- ning-iennv with Arkwright's spinning-frame ; there was Kelly s application ot water power to work the mule-jenny ; there was the self-acting mule, mtroduoad itaiiiMUMWi ■ 1 a COTTON AND FIAX : A CONTIIAST. I t! by Stmlt. improved by many oUiers. aiul brought to a h.gh degieo of excel- knee by Roberts ; there was the ' throstle ' improved by Dan ortJi and othei-s ; there were the machines for dressing the yam before weaving by Radchffe and others ; there were the beautiful card-makhig machmos by Dyer and hi. successovs ; there were the steam-power looms, introduced by Dr. Cartwright, and S-adually improved by oUiers-all these may be taken as types of classes of iinprovements cax^h class conUining almost numberless mieties How many of these inventors were buffeted about and reduced to poverty, and how few became enriched by Uieir ingenuity, tlic history of the cotton manu- ^""lunlho midst of the din and excitement of the ' machinery in motion- department, a visitor at the Great Exhibition could have steadily oUowcd the travels of a bide of cotton, he would have succeeded m tracing tlic action ot some of the best modern machinery. Let us conjure up the scene agam before us. and set the imagination to work. ^ ^ .v First! t:hen, here are the bales of cotton, brought from various parts of the ti-opical world, and weighing 300 to 400 lbs. per bale. The women and girls teke out this cotton by handfuls, and feed with it the insatiable oi,.»uni^ fnachine The cotton, laid upon an endless apron, is caught between tlie teeth of revolving rollei-s, which effectually tear and separate the locks asunder; tiie cotton is opened into a light and flocculent mass, and the few remammg seeds and Uie dirt are expelled. Then the scutching mavhnie comes mto requi- sition • a.rain is Uie cotton placed upon an endless apron, and again exposed to tlie'acSon of revolvmg rollers ; the impurities are yet further separated, and Ibo beautiful downy cotton becomes lapped in a continuous sheet upon a blinder. These sheets of do^^'n-these softest of all soft llFrs-^!|^«/,^« admiration of thousands who for the first time saw them m 1«^1. How do we now conveit them into delicate yam? These broad s^oft sheete go to the cardino machine, where a number of wire combs, or rather we bmshes comb the cotton out into straight fibres; and thesa.fibres are dexterously whipped of!' by a ' doffing ' ^ipparatus, to assume the form of delicate nan-ow ribbons or «?amed a manufacturing Great Exhibition. But ned there; many cotton « was raw cotton from jt, Guiana, India, Malta, Spain, Trinidad, Turkey, a pretty cotton-trees firom from them. There were cotton fabrics — all were ded by the gold and the ition was so well fitted to those of times long gone roTTON AND FtAX: A CONTRAST. 11 by. Mr. Harrison of Blackburn sent a power-loom of 1850, and another of ]'7m. The latter, how rude and clnmsy — how slow and inexact! And yet it was a wonder in its dny. It was one of the very eariiest power-looms ; it made sixty picks or movements of the shuttle in a minute. Although our looms now make upwai-ds of two hundred picks in a minute ; although they work better and cleaner; although they do not wear out ho rapidly; although one attendant can take charge of two or even three looms—yet is it quite right to regard the rough old loom as a veiy important memento : a record of the Htatc of things half a century ago, and a standard whence to measure our subsequent progress. As to the power-loom of modem times, it is never the same two years in succession. Little improvements are patented and intro- duced in rapid succession, so appai-ently insignificant as wholly to escape the glance of an observer, yet producing great results when 8ystematica,lly worked. It may be tlie 'weft protector,' or the 'temple,' or the 'positive taking-up motion,' or the ' fast reed and break,' or the ' loose reed and break, or any other equally unmtelligible name ; but whatever it be called, every such invention comprises some small piece of apparatus as an appendage to the power-loom, to increase its efficiency. There has recently been a very smaU and simple improvement in the power-loom, which has realized £20,000 to the inventor for licences to use tlie patent. It is really impossible to appreciate rightly the exquisite fineness of our machine-spun cotton yam at the present day, without some familiar and homely mode of comparison. No. 600, or No. 800, appeals to the spinner's ovra mmd as a beautifully fine yam ; but to eyery-day folks these designations are mean- ingless. Let us elucidate tiiem a little. To produce a finer yam than has before been produced is one ambition ot tlie cotton spinner. Certain degrees of thickness, called Nos. 20, 30, 40, &c., were the products of the'spinning machine in use before the time of Crompton ; but when the mule-jenny of tliat inventive man came successfully into use, the Lancashire spinners were astonished by the production of No. 80— a degree of fineness which had before been deemed almost fabulous, bo highly was this yam estimated, that Crompton obtained two guiMos per lb. for it. Yet this No. 80 is absolutely a coarse cord compared with the pro- duction of the Houldsworths and the Bazleys of 1851. The No denotes the hanks required to make up o poimd, the hank being a conventional designation for 840 yards ; therefore if we multiply 840 by the No. of the yam, we get Uie length in yards to which one pound of the yam would extend. One pound of Crompton's wondei-ful vam measured 67,200 yards, or about 40 miles, len or twelve years ago, the powers of Uie spinning machines had been so per- fected, that yai-n No. 850 was produced at one of the Manchester mills-— not perhaps for use, but as a curiosity; this wa-, less than one-fourth tiie bulli of Crompton's vam— a pound weight would extend 167 miles. A dozen years have thrown 'even this product far Into the shade. Those who remember the arrangement of the cotton yams In the Great Exhibition will call to mmd the specimens of Nos. 200, 300, &c., with specimens also of the laces and the muslins which had been produced from these exquisitely-fine yams. But our spinners are determined to show that they can shoot ahead of the weavers altogether ; that is, that they can produce yam which no weaver or weaving-machine could work up into a web. This is not a mere braggart display ; .it is a goal towards which the weaver is hivited to du-ect his attention When the yam becomes exquisitely fine, it will not bear the mechanical action of a loom; it would break too readily to go through the necessary .1 mam 111 urnti 1 1 nuttillffln'tfifl^ (ttiiJimiMiimfcf- —.^.^HHUKte^ 18 COTTON AND FLX: A CONTRAST. Ml processes. No sooner did the weaver succeed in employing Houldsworth s No. 350, than he and others strove to get again in advance of the weavers ; anr ngaui the weavers struggled in the race. Such has been Uio result, that at the Great Exhibition we had sewing thread made from Bazleys yam iNo. fiOO, muslin and net from Houldsworth's No. 000, and French mushn from MM. Vautroycn and Mallefs No. COO. Huch muslins as these tlie world never, perhaps, saw before. We hear of the delicate spinning of the patient Ilmdoo ; we read of the muslb like " woven wind," in which Aurungzebe s daughter was robed; but the sensitive human fingers have been excelled by the iron fingers of tlie mule machine. To stop at No. 000, however, is what our spinners will by no means consent to do ; Uiey have drawn the weavers after them so fai-; but the yam has now reached Uie region of tliousands instead of hundreds. Two specimens were deposited in the Crystal 1 alace, one No. 2070, and one No. 2150; botli so fine, that the downy filaments on the surface could be detected only by the microscope ; botli so minute, that widiout dark paper being placed behind them, they would be invisible ; both so fragile tliat tliey would break before they could be wound on bobbins. One pound of yam No. 700 is said to be worth no less than 28? —so great is the labour bestowed upon it ; we have tlius so humble a material as cotton raised to a value seven or eight times that of pure silver; as to No. 2150, it must very far exceed in value its weight in gold. In respect to lemjth, one pound of this finest yam would extend more tliim a thousaiid miles"; tluee pounds would stretch from Liverpool to New York— a fauy cable connecting the new world with the old— a kmd by which Tuck might , " put a girdle round about the eai'th In forty minutes." Altliough it is admitted tliat, from some cause or other, the cotton manu- facture was not sufficiently illustrated by specimens at the Great E;;uibition, vet there was enough to show how ample is now the variety of such products. The admission of new names into the list is one of the oddities oi the trade. What these names mean, it would, perhaps, not be very easy to say; some- times they indicate a degree of fineness in the goods; sometimes the mode ol weaving; sometimes a colour, a pattern, a garaient for which they are suitable, or a distinguished pei-son^e who first wore Uiem ; sometimes a foreign pro- duct which they imitate; sometimes a country for whose market they are intended, or a town which is the chief seat of their manufacture, or a hrm which takes a lead in their production— it mattei-s little what Uie meaning may be; a new name has a commercial value; and the Shaksperean dictum concerning " a rose by any other name," &c., is not always assented to in shop-keeping philosophy. Let us nm hastily over a bundle of these names. We liave dress ginghams and fancy ginghams, and umbrella ginghanis, checked and striped ginghams, and ginghams known by the high-sounding names of Camperdowns, Coromandels, matallas, vicanas, and bnolas. VVe have book muslins, jaconot musUns, bishop lawn mushns, sachanlla muslms, tai-latan musUns, Scotch lawn muslins, Victoria muslins, India and Swiss muU muslins, leno muslins, sU-iped muslins, lappet muslins, spot muslins swg muslins, and a number of other members of the muslin ffunily. We nave table-cloths, diapers, huckabacks, jean stripes, clan tartans, galas, Hiinganans, and Den-ies— all made of cotton. There are surongs, crossovers, selampores, Granvilles, denims, panes da costar-all, we believe, of the cotton shawl family. There ai'c counterpanes, quiltings, vestings, dimities, swansdowns, ng Houlilsworth's No. of the weavers ; and een Uie result, that at m Bazley's yam No. French musUn from s 09 these the world inning of the patient 1 which Aurungzebe's have been excelled by 000, however, is what we drawn the weavers I region of tliousands in the Crystal Palace, the downy lilanients ope; botli so minute, By would be invisible ; could be wound on B worth no less than ive tlius so luunble a les that of pure silver ; ht in gold. In respect more thim a thousand ew York — a fairy cable h Tuck might le earth »ther, the cotton roMiu- the Great Exhibition, riety of such products. oddities of the ti-ado. sometimes the mode of fihich they are suitable, metimes a foreign pro- khose market tliey are manufacture, or a firm ittle what tlie meaning he Shaksperean dictum always assented to in undle of these names, d umbrella ginghams, . by the high-sounding mas, and briolas. We in,s, sacharilla muslins, i, India and Swiss mull as, spot muslins, snrig islin ftunily. We have tans, galas, Hungarians, crossovers, selampores, I, of the cotton shawl dimities, swansdowns. COTTON AND KLAX : A CONTllAST. Id moleskins, doeskins, lambskins, velveteens, bcaverteens, fustians, long-cloUis, shirtings, calicoes, everlastings, nankeens, coutils, and other cotton goods, the enumeration of which would be almost weansome. A low groupmgs ^vlll show tlie relations between these goods. For instance, the ijin(fkam tanuly consists of stout cotton, in which threads of two or more colours arc woven together into stripes, &c. ; ftiMiam, heavertecm, velveteens, moleskins, md several others, are woven on tlie same principle as velvet, with a nap or pile, which is cither cut or left uncut; damasks, huckabacks, diapers, ticks, and cambrics, are cotton imitations of Uie similarly-named llaxen goods ; quilts and eounterpmus have downy tufts to increase the thickness and softness; shirtiruj calicos, sheetiwi calicos, printimj calicos, lonn-clolh and dmk, are varieties ot plain pci-viceable cotton goods, varying in stoutness ; chintz is a stout calico, after- wards printed in several colours ; corduroys, jmm, quillings, and many other varieties, are very strong cotton goods, mostly twilled. As for muslins, their variety is almost interminable. It was a pretty operation to see, at the Groat Exhibition, the making ot bobbins for cotton spinners ; and one which shows how enormous must bo the consumption of such articles, to pay for die constructing of machines lor producing tlieni. The ' reels ' on which sewing cotton is Irequently sold, may now be made by such a machine as that which occupied a place in tlie •machineiy in motion' department. Little cylinders of wood are roughly shaped hi another machine; Uiey are dropped into a hopper or funnel; they are seized one by one, and held in a sort of lathe ; they are quickly shaped while so held ; and tliey avo liberated when complete. All this is done with no other labour on the part of the attendant than feeding the hopper with little blocks of wood. Of all the machines subsidiai7 to the cotton manufacture none is more beautiful than Uie card-makin'rHffi'ill I'll "■ "'im&to . I u COTTON AND FI-AX I A COHTBABT. i (i accompanied by a deepening and brightening of tints. A third imprnvemont is «aid to be, that a cotton yam or a cotton cloth is stronger after having oecn subjected to the soda process than before. If all these claims to excellen^^e are tru^if the cotton goods arc mode Jiner, brighter, and stronger, by the soda process— then, indeed, will this discovery prove to be ah important one. Dr. Lyon riavfair, in his ' Exhibition Lecture ' before the Society of Arts, pre- sented some specimens of cotton goods which had undergone this singular '^^ The" imparting of colmir to cotton goods, either by printing or dyeing, is such a large and important subject, and ono so chemical in its nature, that wo cannot discuss it in the present sheet, devoted as it is to a comparison between flax and cotton. The Exhibition, in tliis as in other matters, was a great school of instruction. There were the serial specimens exhibited by Messrs. Black of Glasgow, in which small pieces of cotton were displayed in every stage of the bleaching, dyeing and pruiting processes ; and written descriptions, placed beneath the specimens, explained the modes in which the several pro- cesses had been conducted, and the chemical substances which had been em- ployed. Little does the lady-wearer of a printed muslin dress imagine how numerous these processes are, and how chemical science has been ransacked to aid the processes. Then, again, there was the • calico-printing trophy, really an extraordinary assemblage. It is said that Mr. McCallum, one of the masters ot U'le Manchester School of Design, had almost endless trouble in collecting the specimens; and this may well be believed, considering that old specimens arc in all probability few and far between. It was a panorama, illustrative of the progress of this beautiful art. It ranged over no less a period than elghty_six years, comprising specimens of calico-printing from 1765 to 1851. Ihe specimens were fastened end to end into a huge strip, which was then coiled on a cylinder ; and a handle transfencd this strip from one cylinder to another, by gradually unwinding ; exhibiting eat h specimen at a square opening m front of the apparatus. It was in troth a uioviny panorama, analogous to those in our pubhc exhibitions. Flax : Problem of its Home Production. L«t us now leave the cotton region, and devote the rest of this paper to a glance at the flax culture, the manufacture of woven goods from flax, and the various schemes now afloat for extending this deparment of industry. _ ; Five sheaves of flax straw were contributed to the Great Lxhibition by Mr McEwan of Islay— a humble contribution, certainly; but important in respect to the raoti ,. which led to it. Shortly afterwards Mr. McEwan, who is a landowner in islay, pubhshed a letter to Lord John Russell, askmg for Kovemment aid towards the encouragement of the flax culture, m Islay and other highland districts. He stated tliat, being convinced of the fitness ot the climate for this culture, in the Western Islands, he had proposed to two ot his tenants to make an experiment; he ofi^ered to erect a steeping and scutch- ing mill, to find a market for any flax which his tenants might grow. About 120 acres of flax are growing on his estate in the island, and he states the .quaUty to be of the finest. He asks the Government to assist in employing the destitute Highlanders to grow flax, instead of aiding them to emigrate. His political arguments we touch not upon; but he asserts that there are thousands upon thousands of acres in ScoUand, now valueless, which would grow flax of the finest kind ; that the climate of the Highlands, from its i i nu iii ill l lil il lW W l I COTTON AND Fi:*\X : A C0NTBA8T. 15 A third imptwemcnt iger after having oecn lainis to pxcelleni.e are stron/ier, by the soda 1 important one. Dr. Society of Arts, pm- (lergono this singular printing or dyeing, is 1 in its nature, that wo ( a compariHon between r matters, was a great s exhibited by Messrs. 3re displayed in every id written descriptions, which the several pro- BS which had been em- lin dress imagine how > has been ransacked to inting trophy,' really an n, one of the masters of rouble in collecting the that old specimens are •ama, illustrative of the I period than eighty-six 1765 to 1851. The which was then coiled one cylinder to another, it ft square opening in anorama, analogous to UCTION. 1 rest of this paper to fl foods from flax, and the nt of industry, e Great Exhibition by linly; but important in U'ds Mr. McEwan, who ohn Russell, asking for ftx culture, in Islay and 'inced of the fitness of 9 had proposed to two of !t a steeping and scutch- nts might grow. About island, and he states the t to assist in employing ding them to emigi^ate. } asserts that there are r valueless, which would he Highlands, from its humidity, will yield better flax than that of England ; tliat tlio ngncuUnral money value of an acre of woll-cultivuted fla.\ is e(iual to that of wheat, but that its commercial or manufacturing value is greatly larger ; that the llax- culture is. peculiarly suited to tlie present sUte of the Highland nopulation, as it would absorb the unemployed labour both of adults and childrcsn ; and that the rapid streams of the Highlands would furnish water power lor flax Itvctories. He asks the Government to aid the landed proprietors ni mtro- ducing flax-cultivution as a part of the rotation of crops ; U) establish a pauper fla.\-farm in every parish ; to establish flax-steeping and scutching nulls ; and to erect quays in convenient spots for shipping the produce. Here, then, we ai-e introduced at once into the flax world ; we are told ot flax in Scotland, and of flax in England ; and certain economical arguments ftie used in favour of flax-culture generally. Eveiy-day-folks know very little of this culture in our own country : it may be well, therefore to say something on this matter. Flax-cultivation is no new idea in England. In old times it was moie thought of than at present^until the' recent agitation of the subject. Ho long ago as 1«77, one Andrew Yan-anton published a pamphlet under the foUowing magniloquent title—" England's Improvement by Sea and Land ; to out-do the Dutch without Fighting ; to pay Debts without Moneys ; and to set at Work all tlie Poor of gland with tlie Growth of our own Lands. The burden of this national tii ph was— the extended and unproved culta- vation of flax. During the eigh ^nth century there was a gi-eater average of flax-culture in England than tliere has been in the nineteenth. The plain truth seems to be. that the great profits from com husbandly during the war rendered that a more attractive crop than flax ; flax was abandoned, not be- cause it yielded no profit, but because com yielded more. Now that the artificial stimulus to com-oulture is withdmwn, flax may perhaps have fair play. Another reason why flax-cultvu-e was nearly abandoned in England and the Scottish liowlands, after having been carried on to some considerable extent, was, that the seed was never saved. Growers are now being told, from all ipiarters, that they must preserve the seed, which would make a diff'erence of some Oi. or 7^. per acre. The value of oil-cake (cmshed flax seed from which linseed od has been pressed) as food for cattle is better appreciated tlian at any former period ; it is known that the animals fatten well on it, and that the manure produced by the use of this food is very rich for com crops. The lowland farmers are now closely calculating this matter— without reference so much to the fibre as to the seed ; but if the fibre and seed both find a market, the spinner, and the ^iculturist may, perchance, both be served by the same crop. Sir Robert Kane, too, tells the farmers that the water in which flax has been steeped constitutes a useful liquid manure. It certainly is a movement of no slight importance to determine whether we can grow our own flax. The flax, flax seed and oil-cake which we import annually frwn foreign countries, amount to a value of something like nine millions sterling ; and, if the visions of the flax-cotton advocates should be even par- tially realised, the use of flax must greatly increase. That we should en- deavour to grow the flax at home is an advice supported on such grounds as these : that we have large ti-acts of land well adapted for tlie culture ; that its cultivation and preparation would afford employment to a large number of persons now unemployed ; and that the culture would render us less depend- ent on the exigencies of foreign supply. On the other hand, it is generally (though not, universally) admitted, that flax is an exhausting crop fof the sod ; ,itmi»iMMmhimimn~onttM n'ii.i.iinitifl" ''•""" —■--"■•■"'•«'--■ ' 10 COTTON AND FLAX : A COHTRAST. !l and that the whole of tho opemtions. froir. first to last, would require moro skilled Ifthour tlmn is usually lound in purely agricuUural districts. Ihe balance between Uiose two opponinK account*) must detemiinc whoaier wo can compete with the Hax-growcra of bt-lgium aiul Russia. Mr. Warnos, a tlax- m-ower of Norfolk, Ih enUmsiastie in the matter ; he says that if one acre out of everv hundie«l cultivated acres in England were devoted to flax, we could eniplov'more than all our redundant and poor population— so numerous are tlie deniands for labour after tlie flax has bi-en i)ulled. , . , . It is ill tliis light that the Irish Flax Society ought to be estimated. A little moro Uiim ten years ago tiie Flax Society at lielfast commenced Us ope- rations ; and, whatever may be tho future results, tlie Society unqucstionablv desei-ves thanks for having kept public attention directed towards this branch of culture. One mode mlopted was, to send agents— missionaries of indu8try~- omonc tho Irish Maimers, to give tlieni oNcry information concerning the method of flax-cultnre adopted in Flanders. Intelligent persons were also sent from Ireland to Fliuiders at Uio Society's expense, to witness the whole i-onge of operations ; tmd the Societ/ also published small tracts or papers, in which plain instmctions were given in a plain manner. From tlio figures presented by the Society, it appears that flax-culture in Ireland rose in annual amount from 1841 to 1H44, feU from thence to lb4H, and rose from this latter date to tho present time. In 1841, when the Societys operations commenced, there were ii50,0()0 spindles in Ireland engjiged m flax-spinning, working up about 16,000 tons of flax annually. In 1851 there were about 500.000 spindles, using 33.000 lens. The number ot flax miUs m Ireland is now about ninety. Besides Uio encouragement afl^prded by the Belfast Society, which hmits its operations chieay to Uie Ulster counties, much activity has recently been displayed in the south of Ireland, where the cidti- vation of flax is extending, under the auspices of some ot the landed pro- prietors. A year or so back, when the flax-steeping projects were under dis- cussion, an off'or was made to purchase 1000 tons of Irish flax straw, at 4.1. per ton, to be steeped on tlie Claussen method; the growers being Urns os- sm-ed of a market, to a certain extentr— this b»-ing one of Uie gi-eat dithculties to which flax-growers without capital ai-e exposed. ,„,, , ,i . At the aimual meeting of the Royal Irish Flax Society in 1851, held at Belfast, striking proofs were adduced of tlie rapid advance of this culture in Ireland, within the last two or tliree years. There ai-e now twenty-two counties in connection with the Society. There were about 64.000 acres under flax- culture in 1848, 00,000 in 1849, 91,000 in 1850, and 139,000 m 1851; this last quantity is estimated to be adequate to the producUon ot more tban a fourth of the whole flax consumption of the counUy. But tliere is this draw- back—scutching mills ai-e scarce in Ireland; Uie poor fanners cannot erect them : and unless capitalists do, the culture wiU be greaUy checked. Oi the four provinces of Ireland, Ulster is that which most promotes this culture; in 1851, 1 acre in 44, throughout Ulster, was under flax crop. The average Yield of flax fibre in Ireland, for Uie last three years, is estimated at about 6 cwt. per statute acre ; this, for 1861, and at iU. per ton, wcuid give the im- portant sum of a million and a half sterling. It seems strange that the Flax Society have to mourn over the obstinacy of the Iiish famiere, in respect to the waste of the seed. They mU not save - the seed; they insist upon doing as their forefatliers have done--rettmg the stems with tiie seeds attached, instead of rippUng off the seeds before llie rettmg In every other country Uie seed is saved, eiUier for sowing or lor rorro.N and fi.ax: a roNTHAW. 17 it, would require mom uitural districlH. Th(! iniiiuo whothor wo ciui i. Mr. Wumert, t\ tlax- lya that if oiio aero otit voted to Hox, we could lion — MO luuncrous aio it to bo estimated. A [wt commencod itH opo- Society unqucstionablv »d towards tliin brancli isionaries of industry — rviation conceniing the ;ent persons were also le, to witness the wholn small tracts or papers, ler. iars that Hax-culture in ill from thence to 1848, [841, when the Society's in Ireland engaged in mually. In 1851 there e number of flax mills gement atfprded by the Ulster counties, much relaiid, where the culti- )nie of the landed pro- rojects were under dis- Irish flax straw, at 4/. growers being thus ns- of Uie gi'eat difficulties society in 1851, held at vance of this culture hi now twenty-two counties 54,000 acres under flax- 139,000 in 1851; this )duction of more than a But there is this draw- »or fanners cannot erect [reatly checked. Of tlio promotes tliis culture; flax crop. The average 8, is estimated at about 1- ton, wcai4 give the im- oum over the obstinacy eed. They will not save have done — retting the off the seeds before the either for sowing or for making linseed oil; and tlie estimati'd value of tlie uatted seed, in. Ireland, for 1M51, is aoo.OOiJ/. "The Society's instructore, " we are told, " hnvo con- stAntly endeavoured to inculcate the importance of this economy; but so (Irt'ply rooted is the prfjudice against saving the seed, that as yet it is only to a limited e.vtent tliat farmers have attended fo this advice. " llow provoking is ail this — how utterly unoonnuercial and unthrifty. The avurage not profit of Uaxculturc in Ireland is estimated at about 10/. jwracre; and as 500,000 acres are required to produce all the flax spun in the United Kingdom, the home-growth of the whole quantity would yield a profit of five millions sterling, supposing (which is, however, a bold 8U[ipositioii) otlior things to bo all favourable. It nmst bo undci-stood, however, that tliis 1(1/. per acre nlers to the flax after it has been steeped, turned, lifted, and scutched ; the profit from the actual growth seems to be about til. per acre. This question concerning price is evidcaitly one which requires a voiy searching investigation. The farmers are looking .at for cash-accounts, poimds and shillings' estimates, of the resulLs of flax-growing, that they may form a judgment for themselves ; and such accounts are occasionally published. Messrs. Marshall — perhaps the greatest flax-consumers in the world — are doing their part toward the encouragement of flax-ciUture in England. Ono of the partners has erected extensive works near Patrington in Yorkshire, for retting and scutching flax ; and is offering every inducement to the neighbour- ing fai-mers to enter upon this culture. The works ai-e ancemed. Firet, the seeds have to be removed ; the plants are drawn tlirough a kind of open comb, which strips off the seed as they pass ; or a kind of bat or small flail is em- ployed to beat off the seed; and the seeds, thus separated by 'ripplmg,' are i n r'-'-^-T'— i i n i «ra»-«nrii i rft r ■ '•"•- "■'■""-'^■" iirini Irflill iBa m^ laiffrru ..Itaiiiiiii It corroM AND ri^x: a contbabt. ,„lvc lh« «lut<„. llml .1.0 fib,™ !■;•);, "'XS-*" ■£ 2," ulric, or floors, one above another, as is usuaUy the ^ase, tt^e whole is nere This monster room is ne«^ly ^^ „„,, ,, COTTON AM) KIJIX : A t'OKTIUW. 19 iMfld oil, olloftlcfi, imkI kta tho gliitDn from iho ho Imuii ; he has ti» (Hh- IH (UsHolving in t'tt'nctfMl 'Httxcotton' tiieomiH Mxch II iiipitl pftce iw wnlifr rrttinij find (/cir n water for a wock or n ghiten aixl looseiiH the y ut the right time, tho (tUmis are exposed for ruin, and wind on a ,1 than hy tho water or tern 18 acted on ; watcr- >e more weeks. "When id snitched; that is, tho [I arc then ho beaten an ly tlie stalks are cmshed ipon tlu-m, and &im prodtices finer flax sing large quantities of ped In RnsHia ; hence it X plant may yield a more weight ; and it is found rniines tho great bulk of sidered on an average of iy centre, and two-tenths about half its weight of gether ; so that the flax X stem. Now any mode be of more importance the finer goods; but the there are two directions lis art. g career, before noticing ; regards the monotonous, tages ; but there is one dity of design. This is iving several stories, tiers, the whole is here thrown on, facility of access, uni- f machine arrangements. f by more than two hun- ster Hall; and, until the ;d the largest (or nearly so) I of about seventy domes, being supported by iron rve also as water-pipes, to .;onvey tlm dniiuttgo from U»e roof. The roof, proseuang an area of utaily two acres, wa»( a few yeai« ago cover.tl witli mcjuld luiil grass ; so that one could literally take a walk in a gr'ion field on tlio riM)f of a factory ; wiielhor lliis airangonicnt m still niaiiituinotl, we are not awaio. Tho iuti'rior ot tho, room is filled \siUi boauliful iiiacliim'ry, i\v piuforining all the various oporur lions on flax ; and beneatli ai-o vaulted posHttgef* which conUiiii all the arrange-^ menu for supidyiug »t«aiu power, warmth, and ventilation, to tho hive of buny operativ.'s working ab<»vo. It i» certainly a triumph of engineering and mechanical skUl, when such a building is filled with the finoiit machines which iiiodoni ingenuity can produce. How niu8 have been veiy gradually introduced; tlie old-fashioned scutching and heckling and carding and spinning implements are still to be met with in remote country districts. Mr. Plummer, tlie machinist, of Newcostle-upon-Tvno, has patented and brought into use a largo number of flax machines. There is a ' llax-breaking machine;' tlioro is a 'double-cylinder twilling machine;' there is a 'double- cylinder heckling machine,' suitable for heckling short flax; tliere is an ' improved heckling machine,' adapted for long flax ; there is a ' rotary disc scutching mill ;' and there are ' improved holdei-s for scutching and heckling.' All these machines have relation to the earlier stages in the flax manufacture, and not to those of spinning ; but the various processes in tho manufacture of flax, aa in tliat of cotton, ai-e constantly receiving aid from the mechanical skill of the engine makers. It may not, perhaps, be supei-fluous to remai-k, tliat a Jlajo mili does not weave flax into linen or other finished goods ; it merely brings the flax into iiMMiiWMaiaMii 'iti i iiftrWr- --••'••■"' ■'■■-'■^^"■''■"''*'"'''"''''^''' '' '*' ' '''"*'"*'**" iM'Wi;iWiWiMn»Mj flax Beed. to detemiine how to produce a good crop wiUi the cheapest manui-e^ This experimental mode of inquiiy would certainly yield valuable results, if a man of capital led the way. „ . i „ But it is in rrep have not knowri how extensively mechanical aid is now applied to agn- Tultoe Fo p epa ng the ground, L sowing the seed, for tending the youjig nlZs while growing, ^.r gathering the crop, lor prei.anng it lor market-foi ftesfopeS^ of L most ingenious kind have been invei e.l WV S barley avelers. carts and waggons, chaff ^""eii',. culUv^U^r . d^iU m-ubbers drill ploughs, drill sowing machines, lannmg mills, gorse-cutti ig S .?phini ^asH cutting machines, grubbers, han-ows, ploughs, hay-makmg Zh ne • hTLTSw-cutting machines, liquid-manure machines mowmg Sid reaping machines, oil-eake mills, ploughs, scaiihers. seed-dibb mg machineTagricuUural steam-engines, subsoil pulverizers, ti"-e«l;!"S ^."^ "»^ ; Srnh>cu ling machines, winnowing machineH-all were at the Crystal Palace A^dUieewf re irrespective of tlie simpler tools for hand-husbaiidry, sucl as f^yiierchrff-knives. hay-knives, gi-ass-hooks, reaping-hooks. bUl-hooks. sickles, Rttftdes shovels, hoes, rakes, flails, and the like. . . ^Nor did ore gn countries neglect to show us to what extent «'niJai- aid available among themselves ; difficult as it must have been o send many Jhe e pondroi^^ machhies across tlie wide ocean Austria, lor mBUnce. se t us seed htuTows. carrot drillei-s. seed coverers. seed looseners, weed desti-oyers, subtoTl pSs and harrows. Belgium exhibited her seed bags, cast-uon mllers seed n ills, ploughs, harrows, winnowing mtvchines. weeding machines, BUaw-ch^^^^^^^^ grasUlearmg machines. Canada contributed gram Sefmarpronged hay-forks, and ploughs. Efeypt showed us her some- w£ mce SLoks. sickles, hoes, ploughs, and the Norez machine for sowmg reed From France wa had ploughs. haiTows. winnowing machines clo^el- Seshing machines, corn-cleansing' machines. &c. Holland contributed seeJ Se Uquid-manure machines, swing ploughs, tunup-cutters and a ve^ curious iiistrument called tlie dynanwsUUer, to measme the sU-ength of tho action "pbughs Switzerland iUusLted her hand-husbandiy by such ^m^-^P^- ments L pitchforks, rakes. scyUies. prunmg knives, and so forth. Pr^^s*^ "^^ Z vaffous German states sent us chaff-cutters, sowmg machines dn Is, S?oshTng machines. Flemish ploughs, subsoil ploughs wat^x-furrow ploughs, S Sto mUls. The United States-busy in aU the fields of mdustiy- Shib'rd to 's some of her Virginia gram-reapers ^niut machines ho,., rakes hay-forks, scythes, nloughs, cultivators, ''mlroad hoi-se-power seed- utoterPgiain drills, and-lasl though not least-the now lamous reaping maobinea by Hussey of Baltimore and M'Corraick of Chicago. AnS we take, among tlie English agricultm-al specimens, any one class of inmkmentstwhat a scene of activity did it not display ! Let it be ploughs, fo instance There were nearly fifty exhibitors of ploughs, some of whom se "S varieties. Here we iay lairly expect Uiat all which the farmer coul do down to the middle of the nmeteenth centuiy. was put fordi in the be^t mMiner There were common ploughs, without any distmctiye name ; Uiere weTiuinhig ploughs, "criterion prize ploughs." iron wheel ploughs, wood Twing pSxl bro^l-shai-e ploughs, double ploughs witii wi-ought-iron beam, " nateut N G H ploughs." gold-hanger ploughs, one-way-turnover ploughs, tw%oileulsvvhig ploughs, skim'ploughs, welded-joint ploughs, ploughs \CHINEnY. IN 1861. cent eongi-es9 in Hyde irtiuent of industi-y was to smin-ise greatly thoso is now applied to ugri- d, for tending the young iring it for market — for ind have been invented, juttera, cultivators, drill ling mills, gorse-cutting 8, ploughs, hay-making nure machincH, mowing scarifiers, seed-dibbling ;ers, tlu-eshing machines, ire at the Crystal Palace, hand-husbandry, such as Liooks, bill-hooks, sickles, ?hut extent similar aid is e been to send many of Vustria, for instance, sent oseuers, Aveed destJ-oyers, her seed bags, caat-irou hines, weeding machines, mada contributed grain pt showed us her some- Sorez machine for sowing nowing machines, clover- Holland contributed seed lu-nip-cutters, and a veiy i tlie su-ength of tho action idry by such simple imple- ind so forth. Prussia and sowmg machines, di'ill^, »hs, water-furrow ploughs, 1 the fields of industry- 's, smut machines, horee- ulroad horse-power seed- -the now famous reaping jf Chicago. pecimens, any one class of ly ! Let it be ploughs, for )ugh8, some of whom sent all which the farmer could , was put fortli in the best ay distinctive name ; there iron wheel ploughs, wood IS witli wrought-iron beam, one-way-tumover ploughs, ded-joint ploughs, ploughs CORN AND DRBAD: WHAT THEY OWB TO MAOHINERT. S witli drilling machines attached, double-breast ploughs, double-furrow ploughs, double water-furrow oiler ploughs. West Indian ploughs, Netherby ploughi, Tweeddale trench ploughs, shifting-coulter ploughs, friction-wheel ploughs, and others, distinguished one from another by i)eculiarities which would wholly escape an ordinojy observer, but which are signiticant to tlie eye of a farmer. There were, too, ploughs of a more ambitious description — such as Lord Willoughby U'Eresby's machine for ploughing land with a stationary steam- engine ; Usher's riiouel of a locomotive steam-plough, in which the ploughs, revolving behind the carriage, act as propellers ; and Lyon's machine for ploughing, sowing, manuring, and rolling tlie land in immediate succession. This agricultural department — this noble glass case 050 feet in length — this area of 30,000 square feet of flooring — shone with a brightness of colours which quite dazzled our foreign visitors. They could not understand the bright red and yellow and blue which here met tlieir gaze. In their own countries, whether on the east or the west of the Atlantic, the implements ai-e seldom or never so bedizened ; they have rough work to do, and rough implements to do it ; but with us, whether it be for reclaiming bogs and swamps, or preparing the soil for culture, or depositing seed and manure, or tending and cleaning the growing crop, or gathering tfie crop when ripe, or preparing the crop for market, we find that showy paint is abundantly applied to tlie machines employed. At the Exhibition this kind of adornment wa.s practised in an additional iiegree, ajjparently to befit tlie holiday occasion. Some of our visitors doubted whether the implements were really good which had received such adventitious aid ; and it may, indeed, be worth while for our implement makers to consider whether it comports with the dignity of tlieir excellent productions to continue a practice which was probably first adopted as a lure to the purchasers of common-place goods. Some of the makers have already begun to abandon, or at least to subdue, the brightness of these decorations. Good mechanism, like good wine, is its own best advertisement. It is a singular feature in modern English agriculture, that debior-ai'd-creditor accounts of farming enterprises are being made public in a more exact form than used to be the case. Like as an experimental philosopher notes down facts as materials whence he may, by induction, establish principles, so does an experimental farmer note down all tlie items of outlay, and all the sources of profit, in order to draw out a balance-sheet tlierefrom. It is true that gentleman-farming involves much fallacy unless scrupulous care be taken to enter all the items on the unfavorable side of the balance ; for the real farmer ha.s often difficulties to contend against, which do not affect the experimentalist Still there is no reason why eveiything should not be honestly entered to the best of the experimentalist's judgment; and if the results ai-e accepted approximately, without being made tlie basis of too hasty generalisation, good must ultimately aocrue tlierefrom ; for men's minds come by degrees to appre- ciate the relations in which certain items of expenditure and income stand to each otlier. Mr. Mechi, of Tiptree Hall, in Essex, has become quite a leader among these gentlemen-farmers — these experimentalists who, deriving their capital from o&er departments of commercial industry, apply a portion of it to investigations concerning farming enterprise. Those who were familiar with the ' Fine Arts Court' at the Great Exhibition, will perhaps call to mmd tlie large model of this Tiptree farm. It showed tlie 'economical ^plication of steam power to threshmg, grinding, chaff-cutting, corn-dressing, pumping, sack-lifUng, and cooking Uie food for live stock. It also exhibited the new M 3 a> 'ijtfMi'lri''--*-^"'- 4 CORN AND bread: WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINERY. principle of keeping and feeding animals on open boarded Boors, thus d.- pensing with the use of straw for bedding^ atatement of the results Mr. Mechi has made P"W.cniore than one tabular^^^ debtx)r.and- of his farming experience at Ttptree. ,«"« «' °^^^^ 1^,5,), t« October 30, creditor accounts-embraces the pmodfrom^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ 1861. He gives, m the fii^t place, th«;^'"™ "' " calves, pigs, imple- date, mcluding the items of horses «^«;r^ ^"^^^^^^^^^ ments, hay. root crops, and manure the value 01 ai^ - ^^^^^j^^, in pounds, shillings, and pence. He next gives tne «>^^ J^ ^ ^^^j-, labour, in ordinary farming, trenchmg, ^^'""^^^Jf'^f; Jjtt^^ the twelv! live stock. Then .omes a long ^'^ "^^f "'' j\S^STeased by him, a furtlicr months, comprising rent of his own land renoManc^^^^^^^ ^^^^ percentage for his improvements «" ^"^JfSg'^^' ^nd tools, repairs to police r^s, property tax s^-^^yors rate, new mpleme^^^ .1^ ^^^ Lam-engine. coals for ditto «««^^\7^J^^*^;^^^^^^^^^^ the capS^ «""^ '" '^'' for the stock, guano and other "^'^"^^^-J^^'^^^.^ous it«ms are giouped to- fai^, and miscellaneous expenses. Th se ~--J*Xe famiiS^, sU at live stock, dead meat, wool, and butter. onnosite sides of tJiis The exact natui. of the ^^^^f^^l^^ZeXX Ess':d and closely account we do not advert to . larmers uave ^ ^^^ressed on Uie matter. estabUshmeut of t^« 1^"^^' ^^^^f^^^r X^^^^^ near Patrington, in we live ui, may perhaps be ^^^l^J;'^- ^^^v!^" ^ fonn is mentioned in Yorkshire. In our paper on Cotton *^^ * ^'"^ ;'"f- J^I^farm in the more coiuiection -th Ajx^ulture ; but^ ^(^oESon^er'^f t" Ti^-o.e of those usual sense of tliat temi. Ihe ^o™i"is brought into such a Commissioners whom the en^'-gy f /JT "^j^f g'^^^^^ this remai-kable de^ee of ««'t»^'\:;^'f„„tl k«^^^^^^ ^e^ ««««Pi«*l fai-m, this food-factory. somewhat niinutel^ Sin making efficient roads to in building and stocking the farm ^"^Id^g^l^^^XX^^^^^^^^ occupies connect them with the fields. A steam-engine f J ^/»^^® barn are all the Se centre of the bam ; and under the «XT doof processes oThu^and^ . best and newest machines adapted for '^^^^'^^;°l^'''^l'ZTde\\yev, it hi The threshing machine threshes nnd dresses J« ^"^.^^^ "f "/ ^ound and and laid aside for the baiter. */"•"", , ^ j^ j^ ig operated upon straw is carried hy an endless web to °f°r processes of husbandry, om, and tlieu deUvers it in ft, where it is ground and vhere it is packed in sacks the threshing machine the where it is operated upon Bak beans and oats for the :ing with the cut chaff. In igine, lift the tumips up to es fall into a truck, and this CORN AND BRKAD : WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINERY. 6 truck travels along a railway to tlie feeding sheds. In another compartment, steam from the boiler boils and cooks food of various kind* for pigs and other live stock. In the cattle houses, each aniuial has its comfortable box, twelve feet by ten, with a supply of fresh water in one comer, and a manger for its food in another. The milway convoying the trucks of sliced tumips traverses the space between two parallel ranges of cattle boxes. Underground is a great arched tank, into which all the rain-water that falls on the farm-buildings is conveved by spouts and pipes ; from this tank the boiler of the steam- engine feeds itself with water ; and the engine likewise pumps up the water to a tank on the highest part of the bam, whence it supplies by pipes all the different divisions of the farm-buildings, and also sei-ves as a reservoir in case of fire Manure pits, and liquid-manura Umks, are placed so as to render the refuse from the cattle-houses as readily available as possible for use in the fields. The whole establishment, indeed, is an exemplification of the factory system applied to agriculture. The Affricultural Colleffca constitute another marked feature in modem times. Let us glance for a moment at that of Cirencester. Here students — boys, youtlis, and men — are taught various sciences and arts which bear upon agricultural pureuits. Some are boarded and lodged within the college, some in the houses of the masters, some elsewhere. They pay from 40/. to 80/. each per annum, according to the an-angements respecting board and lodging. Besides regular instruction, and lectures in various sciences -and departments of knowledge, the pupils have access to an experimental farm connected with the college, where various theories ai-e practically tested, and instructions illustrated, having relation to grazing, farming, management of stock, pre- paring of com for the market, application of steam-power to agiicultural machines, and so forth. There are many other agricultural institutions and fanners' clubs, where the principles of science ai-e sought to be made available to husbandry; they are slowly doing a good work. We have just mentioned the steam-engines at Tiptree and at Patrington. This marks a notable advance. The application of steam-power to agriculture is one of tliose measures which are probably destined to exercise great in- fluence on the welfare of this department of industry. There is a general estimate made, that one-fifth of the whole produce of the land is consumed by the horses employed to cultivate it ; that is, taking one farm with another, and the average number of horses on each farm, the vegetable produce is diminished ao per cent, by the time the horses themselves have been fed. This is a serious item. Even if men were to scmple (which few men do at the present day) to employ machinery to supersede human labour, this scniple would have no place in relation to the subject now under notice ; it is horse labour which agricultural steam-engines are intended to partially supersede. All such operations as threshing com, cutting chaff, cutting tumips and other roots, crushing grain and seeds, &c., can be very well performed by steam power. Even in districts where coal is SOs. per ton, it is calculated that one shilling's worth of coal will do as much work as four shillmgs applied in feeding a working horse. One serious matter is, that lai-ge farmers only can beai* the expense of purchasing stea,m-engines ; the small farmer can barely afford to purchase one, and the operations on his fann are not extensive enough to keep an engine regularly at work. Here, however, a new commercial element comes into exercise. Those who are familiar with Binningham manufactories know that L OORM AND DREAD WHAT THEY 0W« TO MAOMIIIBBY. .u^am DOwer ia oft«n M out In Ujftt town; two men. for exaropU. hare work- WimiuB to be applied in U.e ugrioultural districts. The ownar of a iwrt abEr^-SiKi^e JonveyH it from fanu to fann. at the seasons when much tiho^TrSdovlt iuoh periodical intervaU an may siut liie ammge- mtn^ of Z fim'er it i. used to perform Uie farm-work. a i-ent » paid for r^t. Ld it Sn trave H on to another farm-it is a perlpateUc operajxe whiXi.res u^n coalH and water, and patiently W «»y^h«« ^ •*» ""^ ^""^ "^S'^rrtp^ferenca now claimed for -veable i^te-d^of fix^^^ atoam-enmnes for fa^8 are something as foUowB:-in a l**^ j^' ^.J £;:;^r^^r oX:t s=:^ - - 9 ~H S^;^;^he^,isr s r^a rs^^^^ t;{^ much ess e penLml oV^^r^^^^ labLr than by the fixed engine. In u«mg Sriattor the co-n is put up into ricks, pulled to pieces agam. carted to the SLC'ba^..Stien brought under the action of the fixed engme ; but wl.on a moveableTniine is employed. Uie complex Uireshmg raaohme .a attached to ftTa tmidir K a locomJuv^. aiid both are driv.n into tiie com field (fin weSi^bih^gof^urHenecesBary); U.e sheaves are tossed at once mto ih. rresZr."^hme. which is set to work by a band or gear from tl»« «•«'"« ; i«d It ii^now fom.d that it takes no more time to thresh the com m th.B waj than it formerly did to cart tlio com to tlie bam. FaHM-MaCHINEB, AS BOPERBEDINO HaND-IMPIUMKNTS. But we must examine a litUe more in detaU the doings of the com- huSlZal^. to Tin what way. and to what extentjjorsa labour has super- Bfided hand labour, and tlie steam-engine superseded both. Mj vZyXimK presented to the Royal Agricultural Society a valuable «pS onh^lJrogres* of agriculture durina the eight years preceda^ th. dr His discusln of ffibig's celebrate! chemical theones wejnU no tou^h upon ; but the mechanical aids to agriculture come preo»B«»Jy T^'*^™ ^ «^ge ; W it is instructive to see what so competent an obatrver ha. to lay °"m3toM then, that agricultural mechanism is "certainly the branch in which Te ^mafe^f toowfige haa done the mo«c good to farmer, that h»crease bSiSnartlTextension and piStly advance." In 1840. in the same parish and tlKta^e S one farmVs'plough might be -" h^^^ tat^be'^n than anotlier plough for two. In many places three ^o««« ^V.^^, *^ ploughing light loMU : a waste of power never now seen ,^8"*^I", hao i!^ Se Imi^hinK in number; those entered in the Tax Returns for 1B40 were 5?l flS^lSaa ^ose for 1848 were only 297,858. This ia a very smgulw Sld^ho^^lSatrie power is feeing L. mora skilfully employed tha|^U was a short time back, owing to the improvement m maxihmea. Mr Posey Smat«8 that the actual saving to the English farmers m this item alone, ''4*. tAOMIMBMY. for example, hwe work- Dut the oU»er not ; » belt vhich botli may have U»c ^turer i>fty« ft rent tn the jtliing similar to Uiii is The owner of a portr the seaBOBB when much iH may Buit the arrange- i-work, a rent is paid for ( a peripatetic operative, anywhere to do any kind oveable instead of fixed —in u large farm, with ft xr for man and horse in operations centre in oiio itead of the crop to the all, it will not atford work I might suffice for two or Bom to be threshed with 10 fixed engine. In usuig )ieoe8 again, carted to the he fixed engine ; but when ng machine is attached to I into tlie com field (fine J tossed at once into tlie jr gear from tlie engine; resh the com in this way )-IMP1.EMFNT8. the doings of the com- jt, horse labour has super- Iboth. sultural Society a valuable Bight years preceding that lical theories we will not come precisely within our ent m observer has to say s " certainly the branch in )od to fwroei-s, that increase to, in the same parish and •en heavier for three horses u-ee horses might be seen seen. Agricultural horses Tax Returns for 1840 were 8. Thin is a very singular e skilfxiUy employed than it in machines. Mr. Pusey farmers in this item alone, CORK AKO BRHXn : WHAT TIISY f>WR TO MAOHINBHV. T comparing lft4« with 1840, must amount to nearly a million stAriing annually. AnotlMjr signiii<-iuit iniprovoment is, the substitution of light carts tor heavy waggons in field work. Many trials have lately nhown that single-hoi-«e nu ts, of the NorUminborland build, vrill bring in a liel.l of com jii aboiU the same tinifl as the two-hoi-so waggon ; and that both in the first cost ot tlie vehicles and the horses, and in the daily expenses of the latter, the substitution will have a most monitntous effect on tlie fiimier's profits. Oiir authority spf^aks of the matter in an unequivocal maniipr :— " Here (in Wiltshire), since tarmers have compared the two systems, no one buys wb ^Rons in stocking a larm ; but those who have waggons do not like to buy a m-.w set of carts. I should say Uiey had better sell their waggons while they can. anil if tliey cannot, mak« a honjin of thmn. To use tht-m still is like mniiiiig a stage coach in these (lays between London and Bath." We may, periiaps, better follow out the object of this paper by trafling tiie main operations of com-huHbandry in succession, so far as they involve the use of machinery: and see howiai- Mr. Puseys paper, and the Agricultural Jury's Report, will aid us. The Report here spoken of is that ot Jury No. IX., relating to tlio agricultural machines in the Great Exhibition ; it is printed a^ a separate pamphlet, and also in the Moumal of the Uoyal Agricultural And first for draining, about which we hear and read so much in the pre- sent day. . , The. di-aining of arable land has given rise to many machines ot great m- ffenuity. It is not an annual process to be pertbrmed by the famier, nor on some land is it required at all ; but in wet soils the landlord now finds it worth his while to bear Uie expense of thorough draining once tor all. Drains or trenches have to be dug, and tiles or pii>es laid in these trenches; hence ttU) and plM-making machines have conio to occupy an important position at our Agricultural Shows. Until about 1840 the tiles were made by hand; but now pipes are generally substituted, made by machinery at less than halt the cost of hand-made tiles ; this diminution of cost has encouraged laiulloids to drain wet land very largely. So important is the matter now regarded, that at one of the recent shows no fewer than forty-eight of such machines com- peted for the prize. , , , , .,, , ^ . _ The drains or trenches for the pipes are dug by hand with spades ; but a bold attempt is now being made to substitute machinery for this as well aa other hand processes. Mr. I'owler's draining plough is really an extraorduiaiy machine; it ploughs out a channel three or four feet below tlie surface, and hy$ down thspiptt in that channel. The Agricultural Jury recently tned it; and in their report tliey thus comment on it:—" But for the American reapers. Mr Fowlers draining plough would have formed the most remarkable feature in the Mrioultural department of the Exhibition. Wonderful as it is to see the standing wheat shorn levelly low by a pair of horses walking along its edge it is hardly if at all less wonderful, nor did it excite less interest or surprise among the crowd of spectators when the Uial was made, to see two horaes at work by the side of a field, on a capstan which, by an mvisible wiie- rope, draws tciwards itself a low fiiimework, leaving but the to-ace of a narrow slit on the surf-ace. If you pass, however, to the other side of the field, which the framework has quitted, you perceive that it has been dragging after it a string of pipes, which, still following the plough's snout, tlmt buirows all the while four feet below ground, twists itself like a gi„ intic red worm mto the earth; bo that in a lew minutes, when the fiumework has reached the capstan, I CORN AND BRRAD: WHAT TOIY OWK TO MACHINERY. the Hiring is withdrawn from tlie necklace, and you aie asaured that the drain has thuH been invisibly formed beneiitli your feet. " Tliis thorough draining iH a licavilvexpensivti openition. But let ns next watch tlio nioro general and iinnually-recuiTcnt operation, of which that of the filoiufh is an important ont'. _ The minute shades of dirterenre in tlie aiTungeinent and action of ploughs are quite beyond the appreciation of ordinary obsei-vera. The liwt quarter of a century has produced modificuliouH and iniprnvementa almost out of number. 8omo of tlie new patent ploughs owe their distiuctivo cliaractcr to being made of wrought iron ; others are specially adapted to penetrate the groiuid U) particular depths; one manufacture||. prides himself on tlie geo- metrical accuracy with which the cur^•e8 of tlie share and the fur/ow-tumer and tlid mould-board are planncil ; imother seeks to attain a certain symmeti-y and compactness in the arrangement of tlie several parts ; anotlier is noted for tlie mechanism by which the share is fixed higher or lower according to the state of the soil ; hero we have a peculiar adjusting power for tlie coulter ; tliere a novelty in the application of the draught or pulling force of tlie horse ; in one, by a change in the mould board, the same plough mav be used for heavy and light land ; in another, tho parts lure susceittible of being readily taken to pieces, for the convenience of emigrants. Nor ore foreign countries wanting in modem novelties in ploughs ; though we may fairly claim to be ahead of most of them in this matter. The Belgian ploughs are still strong and stout, but rough and heavy ; tho Austrian, the French, the North German, the Dutch— all are somewhat rude. But our brethren across tlie Atlantic show a good deal of neatness and cleverness in their ploughs ; tlie woodwork of these ploughs (white oak, of great toughness) is made by machinery ; and it is thus so accurately fitted, that all the parts can readily bo taken asunder for repair or for rdiiioval to a distance. The Jury Report informs us that it was Messrs, Ransome who furnished the modem English plough with two low wheels, and with mould-boai-da adapted to different soils. Mr. Howard and Mr. Busby have especially duected their attention to tlie mould-boards— those curved surfaces which, after raising each fuiTow-slice of ploughed eoitli, gradually lays it over half inclined on the preceding slice. Foreigners are said to have been struck wiUi the lengUi of the English mould-boards, at the Great Exhibition ; this length has been found advantageous for the hlilV clay soils of England. In respect to han-ows, the square-bar haiTow, with straight-set teeth, has been used from the eailiest times till widiin tlie last few years. Harrows are now made with the teeth diagonally arranged, so that the frame which contains them can be drawn square forward instead of obliquely. There is also a very ingenious expanding hai-row now in use, in which the cross bars are jomted loosely, 80 that the tines or.tfleth can increase or decrease their mutual distance behind and before, by decreasing or mcreasing the distance to the nght and left— like the ' lazy-tongs.' . , ., . .u - n m,- Anotlier implement which assists in preparmg the soil is the roller. ^ inis, like the plough, has undergone great improvement recentlv. " Not many years ago," the Jury Report tells us, " the landlord was often asked by his tenant for some old tree to convert into a roller. The tree roller, when manufactured, had its framework loaded witli rough materials to give it weight; but it soon wore and cracked." Sometimes there was no framework at all, but the traces for the horses were fastened to two pins at Uie ends of the roller. Now, however, our Crosskills and gthers have produced excellent rollers, some serrated and "Hf" ICUINEBY. nsaureil that the drain tion. But let ii8 next ition, of which that of t aiul action of plouRhs erM. The liist quarter kementH ahnost out of (IJMtinctivo diameter to apted to penetrate tlio js himself on the geo- and the furiow-tumer lain a certain symmeUy )arts ; another is noted ;r or lower according to 5 power for tlie coulter ; lling force of tlie horse ; ilough may be used for uptible of being readily or are foreign countiicH I may fairly claim to be I)lough8 are still strong nch, the North German, ren across Uie Atlantic ploughs ; the woodwork lude by machinery ; and sadily bo taken asunder Ian some who furnished imd witli mould-boards liusby have especially curved surfaces which, aduttUy lays it over half to have been struck with Exhibition ; tliis length England. h straight-set teeth, has few years. Harrows are he frame which contams ly. There is also a very e cross bars are jointed ttse their mutual distance iistauce to the right and soil is ihe roller. This, t recently. "Not 'many . often asked by his tenant )ller, when manufactured, ve it weight ; but it soon ^ork at all, but the traces the roller. Now, however, )llers, some serrated and mtmm COBN AND nUKAI): WHAT THKY OWK TO MACHINERY. • some plain. Farmers used to break their still' clods partly by the harrow and partly by the plain roller; but now tlie clodermher—a kind of roller bristling over Willi teeth— etVeolually breaks down the hard lumps of oarthwhicli impede luable culture. Tlie Norwegian harrow, a kind of triple roller anned with much sharper teeth than the clod-crasher, is another modern implement for breaking^the clods. The implement called by the various nanus of ,7n(/»fc/', xartfier, and adtivator is a kind of Hubstitute for the plough ; it is a modem invention to which gi-eat value is attached by experienced men. The Jury lleport encourages an expec tation that tlio cultivator may, when brought into general use, save one-half of the entire labour now bestowed upon ploughing ; and that it ought to take rank witli the reaping-machine, in its prospective value to practical farmers. 'J'he scarifier or cultivator cuts up five feet width of soil at once, but to a less depth tlian tlie plough ; and tliis wholesale cutting up, when adopted at a cer tain season, saves three or four ploughings ; the instrument has generally about eight or ten tines or cuttei-s, something like ploughshares. Next we come to the drillti or seedsowimj machines. These are not less marked by diversity tlian the ploughs of the present day. Lot any one examine the drills in the Great Exhibition, or in the Smithtield Cattle Shows, or in Uie aunuid shows of the Agricultural Society, or in the tradccirculara of the various manufacturei's — he will see ample proof of this. Some of the drills are for sowing turnip seed only ; some arc equally adapted for all seeds ; some deposit manure in the same holes as the seed ; otliers lay the manure at a trifling distance from the seed ; one manufacturer attends par- ticulariy to the driving or steering apparatus, by which the drill is made to do its work in regular straight lines ; another tries to make his drills work well on Uie side of a hill ; in one drill we see the seed descend through a string of tin cups, each dipping into the one below it ; in another a vulcanized indio- mbber tube supersedes the cups ; some are two-row drills, while others are four, sL\, eight, or ten ; some of the manure-drills are so nicely adjusted that they can be made to drop small portions of pulverized manure at any required distances apart. . , . " The sower with his seed-lip," says the Jury Eoport, " has almost vanished from soutliem England, driven out by a complicated machine, the driU, depo- siting the seed in rows, and drawn by several horses." Although horae.^ ai-e used for the drill, and not in hand-sowing, yet horses are used for the han-ows which follow the hand-sower, and this to such an extent that it is calculated one-half the horse-power is saved by adopting tlie drill instead of the " broad cast " method of sowing. There i's a saving of seed, too, by the drill. But the Jury Report, which discusses this subject with much clearness, states that the proper mode to view the drill is as tlie keystone of what may be tenned machine-agriculture; the scarifier loses much of its value imless the drill, instead of the broadcast method, follows it; and the horse-hoe— anotlier important member of the machine series— requires tlie drill to precede it. The drills are costly machines, some rising to the price of C40 or £50 ; but the makers are cheapening them, and are introducing many varieties among them. The jury instituted a trial of twenty drills at Pusey— ten-rowed corn drills, ten-rowed com and seed drills, three-rowed drop drills, two-rowed tumip drdls, hill-side drills, general-purpose drills, self adjusting steerage drilk— ell were there, and others besides. There was also a hand-baiTOW drill, worked by a man instead of horses, which obtained a highly-eulogistic character. Ihe modem drills not only economize seed, but manure also. Farmers i^sed, not K 8 mm 10 CORN AND bread: WHAT THBT OWE TO MAOHINKBT. long ago, to scatter the lime or phosphate or other manure over the whole surface of a field ; but now the manure-drills concentrate it in lines along the rows of seed ; nay, Mr. Homsby's drill drops the seed and manure, by a second advance in mechanic frugality, only at those points m the lines where the plants are intended to stand. This has been well characterised as "an elaalic pliability by which mechanism in agriculture has seconded chemistry." There has been a very striking improvement in drills made recently, by which a wholly new principle is brought into requisition— wholly new, at least, so far as regards the art of sowing. We caimot do better than give Mr. Pusey's account of this matter :— " The most sUikiug novelty is Chandler's water-drill, which bids fair to remedy a great evil for southern farmers. Often when our land in July is ready for tlie turnip seed, on the success of which depends our flocks' subsistence in winter, that land is as dry and dusty as a turnpike road. We watch vainly eveiy cloud, and in vain set our weather-glass ; weeks pass without rain, or, worse still, a shower falls, but we find that the rain has not entered the ground. This drill, however, deposits along the line of seed enough water, which serves also as a vehicle for maniu-e, such as superphos- phate, to stai-t the young plant in readmess for the coming change in the weather. It 's used extensively by practical fiu-mers m Wiltshire, and bids fair to remove from the root-crop one of tKe farmer's pecuUar obstacles— uncer- tainty, to remove which, if there be a leading object of improvement in agri- cultiure, is tlie main object" , . ^ t t^ _x i Mr. Pusey, both in tlie Agricultural Jomnal and m the Jury Keport, does his best to recommend the horse-hoe and the horse-rake to the notice of farmers, as being valuable appUcations of horse-power to field labour. The horse-hoe has a row of hoes or knives, at a distance apart equid to that of the rows made by the drill ; whetlier the seed be turnip or wheat, tliis compound hoe will drive fearlessly between the rows, and hoe tliem effectually. So nicely do the parallel hoes do their work, that "for a field operation," Mr. Pusey remarks, " it is as delicate as the action of the revolving knives with which the loose threads are shorn from tlie surface of broadcloth at Leeds." He gives the farmers some hard nibs concemingtlieirwasteof horse power in field waggons, and states that the expense of a horse-hoe would not equal the difference between that of a two-horse waggon and that of an equally efficient single- horse cart. x ''i Machine Processes, from the Harvest to the Granary. As we we here heating of agricultural matters only so far as they have been brought withm the range of machinery, no apology is necessary for our skip- pmg over the more mmute, patient, and manipulative processes which engage so much the attention of the fanner. We will suppose the field of corn to be ripe, and then see what the machmist has done for this com. Of all the recent applications of machinery to farming, none have excited greater attention and astonishment thau reaping machitiM. Threshing machines have ceased to be a novelty; but reaping machines are only now taking fast hold of tlie position which they are destined to maintain. How the reaping-hook and tlie sickle are employed by hand laboui-ers, every one knows who has walked tiirough a corn-field m harvest time; the stooping position and the slow progi-ews have often suggested to Uie observer that a day »»Hit come when some plan moie efficient would be adopted. At the beginning of the present eeuiuiy, FwrUamont voted a reward to the 1 «Miii mm AOniNEBT. manure over the whole ate it in lines along the nd manure, by a second in the lines where the I characterised as " an ns seconded chemistry." rills made recently, by n — wholly new, at least, ter than give Mr. Pustey's 8 Chandler's water-dnll, niers. Often when our 8s of which depends our lusty as a turnpike road, ather-glass ; weeks pass id that the rain has not along the line of seed xxue, such as superphos- B coming change in the i in Wiltshire, and bids Bcuhar obstacles — uncei'- of improvement in agri- in the Jury Report, does ! to the notice of fanners, labour. The horse-hoe to that of the rows made this compound hoe will tually. So nicely do the on," Mr. Pusey remarks, ives with which the loose t Leeds." He gives the se-power in field waggons, not equal the difference 1 equally efficient single- } THE Gbanaby, ^ so far as they have been is necessary for our skip- e processes which engage >se the field of corn to be bis com. rming, none have excited jf machinal. Threshing g machines are only now tined to maintain. How band labom-ers, every one r\'e8t time; the stooping to Uie observer that a day adopted, lent voted a reward to the CORN AND dread: WHAT THEY OWE TO MiCHINERY. 11 inventor of a reaping machine ; but the machme was so mUicate that it L'radually feU into disuse. Another was afterwards invented in one ot our colonies, but it cut off only die heads of the com, leiiving the greater part ot the stiaw stjinding— a serious impecUment to proper culture. One or two other machines were afterwards uivented, but they went so completely out ot use that, at the opening of the Great Exhibition, the two American machines appeared almost like perfect novelties. Mr McConnick has given an account illustrative of the slow steps by which his machine arrived at efficiency. His fatlier, a farmer in Virginia, made two different attempts, at periods long apart, to construct a reaping machine ; he abandoned botli as being unsatislactory. In 1831 the son begaii his experi- ments, and in that year constructed a machine for leapmg. It is one ot the peculiaiitiea of a reapmg machine, tliat it can only be tested dunng a lew weeks in the year ; a manufacturmg machine, in most other trades, can be used or tried at all seasons of tlie year ; but a reaping machine only comes into use when the com is ready for harvest. Hence it happened, that when any defect was found m Mr. McConnick's machine, he had to wait nearly twelve months before he could test the usefulness of any changes or improve- mente he might make. It was nine years before he sold a single machme, and fourteen yeai-s before a regular demand arose. At length, Uie yeai- 1845 saw the machme completed ; and since that time there has been a sale in America for aboui a thousand annually. It seems strange that six years should elapse before these machme- became known in England, and that our Great Exhibition should be the n. ons of making them known ; but England has always looked ratlier for raw produce than for machinery from the United States ; and, moreover, agricultural machmes are ponderous articles to transmit BO gi'eat a distance. ,. ■ ■ u- u- A few words must suffice to explain the principle of action in tins machme. Two systems have been tried in the machines hitherto made : the one to cut by a series of clippers or sheai-s, and tlie other by a revolving plate. In McCormick's machine there is a cuttmg blade about an mch m breadth, iacged or toothed m the front edge ; it extends across the front of the machine near the ground, and has a reciprocating or osciUator)- horizontal motion given to it Over tliis blade is a light reel, to which are fixed oblique blades or spaiB of deal: tliese spars, when the reel revolves, get behind the stalks of standing com, and hold them steadily whUe bemg cut; the stalks are piessed between projecting tines or fingers, and are there cut by the saw-hke action ot the blade. Whan the stalks are thus cut near the ground, they fall on the floor of the machine. The reel, with its windmiU-lookuig appendages, is the strangest part of this machine ; it seems at first as if it would beat out all the cars from the com as it revolves; but this we may presume has been guarded {urainst by the inventor. There has been, and still is, a battte ragmg between two reaping machines, McCormick's and Husseys, both from tlie United States. It is quite plain that both ai-e veiy efficient machines ; and Uiat though, rather from untoward accident than design, one obtained a -'councU medal" and the other did not the jury would have been very gkd if both had obtamed this much-coveted "^On one of the trials made before the Exhibition Jury, McCormick's machine cut fifteen acres in ten hours, and did it lower down the stalk than by ordinary hand reaping. Mr. Pusey 's estimate of the saving by the use of this machme is extraordinary; he assumes 9a. an acre to bo tlie labour-wages for ordmary 1 jBiiHiiiifeiiitaiiiMafi MMi t .w a .'-i ' " 13 COBN AND bread: WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINEHY. renping, making 6/. 15s. for fifteen acres; he estimates the wages for the two men on the machine, the theaf binders, and die horse food, at -21. 7s. M., leaving a margin of Al. Is. iid. in favour of the machine ; in sti-lcoiess, a small percenUige ought to be added to this, as interest on tlie cost price of the machine and the two horses. But Mr. Pusey thinks that a feature of greater importance Uian this saving is, that the machine may enable the fai-mer to save more of his crop in bad seasons and late districts by its rapid rate d action. On one occasion Mr. Hussey's machine was ti'ied before a lai-ge concourse o£ persons at Hadham HaU, near Bishop's Stortford. It firs* cut a field of barley, tlien a field of clover, then a field of wheat, and did its work so cleanly and quickly as to astonish all the lookers-on. One incident (if newspaper reporters told it correctly) mus't have been very rich in its way. A Herculean smockfrocked spectator, with. a reaping-hook in his haiid, was so overwhelmed with astonishment at what he saw, that he broke his reaping hook and threw away tlie pieces, in despair of ever equalhng this magical corn-cutter. In another trial at Wmdsor, before Prince Albert, Hussey's machine was tried upon a very rough and uneven piece of femy ground ; the machine cut the ferns veiy rapidly, cleanly, and close to the gi-ound; and Mr. Hussey himself, standhig on the platform as the machine moved along, raked the fern off the platform on tlie ground in heaps of convenient size for gathering into sheaves. The aiTangement of the cutting points. or edges seems to. ensure a kind of clipping of the stalks, analogous to that by shears, whereas McCormick's has a cutting action more like that of a saw. In a trial of the two machines at Tiptree, the verdict was given in favour of McCoi-mick's ; at anotlier trial near Middles- borough, the verdict was most decidedly in favour of Hussey's. " When doctors disagree," &e. ; we may, however, safely settle down mto the conclusion that both are admirable and important contrivances, and that probably each one is better fitted for a particular crop or a particular stat« of tlie ground. These two are not the only reaping machines now attiacting public notice. Some short time ago, Uie Hon. Mr. Tollemache, travelling in the United States, saw one of the reaping machines in operation (we do act know whether Hussey's or McCormick's), and was struck witli its effective action ; on his return to England he described the machine to Messrs. Gan-ett ; and those eminent implement makei-s — pai-tly from his description and partly from their own ingenuity — produced a new reaping machine, which was brought before public notice in the early pai-t of 1851. This machine cuts wheat, barley, oats, or beans; it acts neai-ly on the same principle as the other two machines, and cuts about an acre in an horn-. There is a machine recently invented by Mr. Winder, for cutting com or grass by a series of rotatmg horizontal knives, adjusted in a singular manner. There are many other reaping machines of recent invention now trying to make their way into the mai-ket and into the com field ; but it must be confessed that — like American revolvers and American pick-locks — ^American reaping machines are at present in the ascendant. It was one of tlie notable stages in the history of English agriculture when the threshing machine invaded the domain which had before been held undis- puted by tlie flail. All our manufactmres experience analogous changes. A time comes when inventive talent, spun-ed on by the obvious imperfections of the old hand implements, contrives a machine which saves a great amoiint of labour, and very likely performs the work more efficiently. This machine is introduced ; it is tried by the inventor or others ; a great outcry is raised by those %mm HkhMi ■I* ilWW ilUBifcliillll I M i r i m* n ii -WT i ww i nftrm i t i i i ACHINERY. i the wages for the two Ji-se food, at '21. Is. Gd., e ; in strlcaiess, a small 1 the cost price of the hat a feature of greater ly enable the fai-mer to •icts by its rapid rate cf efore a lai'ge concourse It firs* cut a field of I did its work so cleanly incident (if newspaper 1 its way. A Herculean lid, was so overwhelmed reaping hook and threw I corn-cutter. In another ichine was tried upon a chine cut the ferns veiy lussey himself, standing he fem off the platform •ing into sheaves. The nsure a kind of clipping cCormick's has a cutting machines at Tiptree, the ither trial near Middles- ■ of Hussey's. "When down into the conclusion and that probably each r state of tlie ground. attiacting public notice, ravelling in the United [we do not know whether effective action; on his jsrs. Garrett; and those ion and partly from their hich was brought before hine cuts wheat, barley, ciple as the other two e is a machine recently by a series of rotating There are many other make their way into the ssed that — like American g machines are at present English agriculture when before been held undis- 3 analogous changes. A obvious imperfections of saves a great amoimt of er.tly. This machine is it outcry is raised by those foux AND bread: what tiiev owk to machinery. 18 whose labour is displaced, and by others who advocate their interests ; entreaties Mid complaints, threatenings and violence, succeed each other ; tlie machine gradually conquers its opponents, and mattei-s gradually adjust themselves to a new order of tilings. Such has been tlie case in respect to the mstruments for separating gi-ains of com from the straw; every yeai- is the threshing ma- chme seen to be more and more employed, and eveiy year are the old-fashioned flails lessening in number. In Uie earlier machines the grams were liable to be rather more broken or bruised than by a well-managed flail ; but the im- plement makers have gradually surmoimted all obstacles. ■^ireshing machines bear a pretty general resemblance to each other in tlieir mode of action. The essential part is a large cylindrical dmm, on the outer surface of which are fixed bars or beatei-s pai-allel with the axis ; the (h-um is made to revolve with a velocity of five hundred to a thousand turns in a minute. The stalk of com bemg passed between feeding rollers, it comes in contact widi the beaters on the rapidly revolving dmm; the gram is beaten out and falls to the ground, while the steaw passes on to the other side ot the machine. Most of tlie threshing machines have straw-shakers attached, to separate more effectually the straw from the grains of com. Among our most noted manufacturers, the thi-eshuig machines ai-e usually made Irom five to nine horse-power ; most of the machmes (dovm to the present time) are worked by horses, who go romid in their monotonous circular course two or three times in a minute ; in an average machine, about a hundred sheaves ot com can be threshed in three minutes. The revolving dmm being the com- mon type of all the machines, mmor improvements are introduced by par- ticular makers ; one has applied anti-friction wheels to the axle of the dram ; another uses serrated instead of plain beaters ; some of the machines are fed with the com-stalks in a vertical position, some horizontal ; in one kind Uie maker cares only for the complete extrication of the com from the straw; while in another, which is to be worked near towns, where clean unbroken straw has a good and ready sale, the mechanism is so consU'ucted as to kave the straw in as whole and unbroken a state as possible. The Jm-y Report, in reference to the efficient tlireshing machmes of mo- dem days, adduces a very exti-aordinary fact, which this Exhibition Jury has undoubtedly done much to bring to light, viz., tlie enormous loss of POwer in the ordinary horse machines. The threshing machines which superseded the flail are worked by three or fom- horses movmg in a cn-cle ; but it h^ been found that, until very lately, tlie various wheels, shafts, levers, and other working parts were so unskilfuUy adjusted that three horses out of four are employed in moving the dead weight of the apparatus itself, and only one hoi-se-power left for the actual threshing. Mr. Amos, the consulting engmeer to the Royal Agricultural Society, discovered this fact only three years a^o ; and tlie implement makers, made acquainted with this rather glaring proot ot forgetfuhiess, are now busied ui devishig a better an-angement of the workmg parts. But when the thresbmg machine is worked by steam instead of horses, the saving of power is veiy notable. The Jury Report gives the result of some investigations by Mr. Pusey, to ascertain the relative cost of diflerent modes of threshing: he puts down 3s. 6d. per quarter of com for the flail method, 2.?. for the horse threshing machine, and only 9d. for the steam threshing machine; w^es, hoi-se-food, coals, use of the engine, vvear and t«ar, all seem to have been chai-ged. This result, if correct, is certauily very unportant. A still later experiment has shown the steam method to be i ii ilMn W iii M l WiTWf -'--^"''^''^^- 14 CORK AHD BHEyU>: WHAT THEt OWE TO MACHINERY. capable of threshing and winnowing at an expense varying from M. to h,/, per quarter. The winnowinff machine, Uke most other machines in aginculture, has now become an important economizer of time and labour. Instead of trusting the threshed com to the action of the wind, to separate the grain from tlie husk or chaff, it is placed in a machine which works with great rapidity and exact- ness. Homsby's winnower or dressing machine not only separates the good from the bad in this way, but actually discriminates and separates six quali- ties, known technically by the names of best com, good tail, tail, whites, »ereen- ings, and chaff. It effects this separation at the rate of fifteen quarters in an hour ; and dresses the whole of it a second time at the rate of twenty quarters in tlie hour ; so that a wheat-rick of twenty quarters can be made ready for the market in five hours. CoBN, In its Commercial and Marketable Relations. Before tracing our crop of com to the miller and the baker, let us note a few facts illustrative of the vast influence which such crops exert on the ordi- nary commerce of the country. We are a bread-eating nation ; but we seldom pause to consider how the supply is kept up. nor how admirably the ordmary routine of commerce suffices to ensure a supply wherever the pence are foi-th- coming to pay for it. x ^ i. i Nothing shows better the magnitude of our operaUons m respect to bread and its materials, than the course of commerce in one of our great ports during a definite period. Take, for example, tlie corn-trade of Liverpool during the year 1861, as given in the trade circulars of tliat wonderful town. Com is now the greatest of all imports at Liverpool, witli the single exception of cotton. Ireland used to be the granary fcv South Lancashire ; but Irish f^culture has been shaken in vaiious ways; and supplies now pour mto Liverpool from foreign countries in enormous quantities — to be either con- sumed in the manufacturing districts, or to be re-shipped to otlier pc ts. At the beginning of the year 1851 there were in stock, in the Liverpool warehouses, -300,000 quarters of wheat, 300,000 banels and 100,000 sacks of flour, &0,000 loads of oatmeal, and 100,000 quarters of Indian com. There were imported into Liverpool, during the year, 750,000 quart«r9 ol wheat, 480,000 sacks and 1,500,000 baiTels ot wheat flour, '^00,000 quartei-s of oats, 300,000 loads of oatmeal, 70,000 quarters of barlej-, 830,000 quarters oi Indian corn, and small quantities of other kinds of grain and meal. Notvritlwtandmg tliese almost incredible importations ; notwithstanding that these, «Mided to the stock at the beginning of the year, make an aggregate of 1,750,000 quwters of grain, and 1,800,000 barrels, 530.000 sacks, and 850,000 loads of flour and meal ; yet the stock in hand on January 1, 185*2, was very much smaller than on that day twelve months ; so enormous baa been the sale at LiTiffpool. It was not until ten yews ago that Indian com was impoi-ted Ut any ni>t«bl© extwit into Liverpool ; yet we find that Uie merchants o* that port disposed of 400,000 quarttra in 1861. Almost all the Indian com imported into Liverpool is r Ireland ; a poition of the wheat is re-shipped to other ports ; but by iax tha gieater part travels inland, and spreads itself over the country. London, as may be supfposed, receives vrithin its vast and busy port much more com than ia required im- its two miliiona of indwellers ; it ia » centra AOHINERY. urying from M. to Krf. n agiiculture, ha« now Instead of trusting th« e grain from tlie husk reat rapidity and exact- mly separates the good ,nd separates six quali- tail, tail, whites, oeremi- i fifteen quarters in an ! rate of twenty quarters can be made ready for .E Relations. lie baker, let us note a crops exert on the ordi- g nation ; but we seldom admirably the ordinary ever the pence are foi-th- tions in respect to bread one of our great ports coni-trade of Liverpool of tliat wonderl'ul town, vitli the single exception h Lancashire ; but Irish supphes now pour into titles — to be either con- shipped to otlier pc ts. stock, in the Liverpool n-els and 100,000 sacks usurters of Indian corn, ear, 750,000 quarters of It flour, ^00,000 quailei-s barlej-, 830,000 quarters nds (if grain and meal, is; notwithstanding that tr, make an aggregate of iO,000 sacks, and 850,000 anuwy 1, 1852, was very ormous lias been the sale lian com was impoi-ted to lie merchants o*" that port the Indian com imported ■ the wheat is re-shipped nland, and spreads itself vast and busy port much indweilers ; it is a centre COEK AND bread: WHAT THEY OWR TO MACHINEHV. IB from which com distributes itself to oUier great markets. The supply of com received in London during the year is of course immense. In ia4» it amounted (in round numbers) to 1,060,000 quarters of wheat, 050,000 of barley, 1.800,000 of oats, smaller quantities of a few other kinds ot giam ana 'iflOOOO sacks and 45,000 ban-els of Hour; tlie proiX)rtion received Irom abroad is many times greater than tliat received from our own home counUes. In 185U the quantities of eveiy kind brought to London were smaUer than m 1849— thereby indicating an altered state of the markets, Bntish and loreign. Taking the whole countiy, and estimating Hie flour and meal, as well as the com, Uqiuirter» instead of sacks and hands, we find that tlie Umtfid Kingdom imported from the colonies and from foreign countries the following quanUties in 1860 —4,800,000 quartei-s pf wheat and wheat flour, 1,040,000 quarters ol barley and bailey-meal, and 1,160,000 quarters of oats and oatmeal—giving the immense quantity (added to our own home growth) of 56,000,000 bushels of these three kinds of com, besides Indian com and a few oUier kinUs. France sent us more m that year than any other coimtrj-, Prussia next, Kussia third, and the United States fomtli. Those who wish to compare these various entries must bear in mind Uiat 380 lbs. of flour is about equivalent (in bread-making power) to one quarter of wheat. The quantity ot wheat flour imported from France alone in 1850 was something quit« enomious— placing at a wide distance anything that had beibre occurred; it was veiy nearly a,000,000 cwts. ! In 1851 om- imports of grain amounted, in round numbers, to 6,000,000 quarters, besides flour and meal. It would be weU if we had in England any such agricultural statistics as those which tho Eail of Clarendon has caused to be obtained in Ireland. The constabulary force has been occasionally employed in that country, within the last few years, m making most minute investigations into the state ot Irish farming. We are not cognizant of any trustworthy estimate of thequanUty of com grown annually in Great Britain. The warehousing of com— that intermediat* commercial stage between farming and grinding— is an important matter, requiring capiul to support it and care to conduct it. ParUy from tlie operation of revenue laws, and partly to meet the exigencies of various markets, com has frequently to be kept tor a long period in the granaiy; and great caution is Uien necessarj' to prevent it from becoming damp or otherwise injured. So far as the metropolis is coneemed, the commercial history of a quarter of com is somewhat as follo^v8:— The fanners and great dealers in oom send up to Mark Lane, three times a week, samples of the com which they have \o seU ; these samples are consigned to com-factors or com-brokeis, who lease or rent stands at the Com Exchange. The millers, meaUnon, com-chandlera, and oUiers who wish to buy com, attend at the Com Exchange and make theb- purchases ; they iudae only from the samples, and deal only with the factors— knowing nothing aiul caring notliing who may be the actual sellers. The broker or factor obtains the best price he can for his client, and receives a smaU commission for his trouble. In short, it is so far analogous to most of tlie great ti-admg operations in the city, where a broker takes a world of tiouble off the shoulders of the seller, and often obtains a better price for him than he could hunselt. Whether com is collected flrom various home counties, and centa^d at a great emporium like Wakefield; or whether it comes from abroad, and is stored on the banks of the Thames, or the Mereey, or the Humber--it is placed in large lofty granaries. It is «q>read out in layers on extensive floors, 16 CORN AND BREAD : WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINERY. wiiich layers are gradually increased in depth or thickness; and by being shovelled about and turned over from time to time, tlie com is preser\ed in good condition — sometimes for several years. Some of the gnmaries at Lantzic are nine stories in height. In some countries the com, after being dried and aired, is kept covered up in pits. As we have already briefly adverted to the fine display of agi-icultural im- plements^ in the Great Exhibition, so might we now, if it were deemed ne- cessary, show tliat com-crops and theii products were to the full as amply illusti-ated. In respect to com itself, there were tliirty or forty exhibitors, headed by Prince Albert; some sent wheat, others oats, others rye, others barley, and various kinds of grain. Some of the specimens were intended to show how a pai-ticular soil is suited for grain ; §ome were illustrative rather of the effects due to particular maimres; while others again were associated with pai'ticular systems of rotation in ai-able cultm-e. But in this we were far outdone by our foreign friends. Those countries (and they are many) which depend rather on agricultural thaii on manu- facturing industiy, naturally sent to our great international display the best that they could produce in the shape of com. No less than thirty different foreign countries and colonies sent us com specimens ; and of these, Russia, Spain, Canada, and Belgium, were particularly rich in the number of ex- hibitors. Those who remember the Russian section will call to mind the excellent mode of an-angement adopted to display the agi-icultural specimens. It is ti-ue that very few pereons are competent, on handling a few grains of com, to predicate anytiiing concerning the excellence of the soil or the skilfulness of tlie culture ; but it was a point of much importance that tliose who are competent should have such an opportunity as was afforded at the Ciystal Palace. And tlie instmments. for hai-vesting or preparing com, and for bringing it into the edible form of flour, and bread, and biscuit — tliese were neither few nor unimportant. Home of them have already been named in a fonner page ; but otliers are fully as much worthy of attention. There were com-drying machines ; com and grain cleaning and dressing machines ; com and grain grinding and crushing mills ; com and seed meters ; corn-stack levels ; com- whisps and dusters ; millsto;ies for flour mills ; and various other machines and implements having relation to com before it assumes the fomi of flom\ Then, besides com-flour o hibited by about sixty pereons, English and foreign, we had flour-dressing machines, flour exti-actors, winnowing machines, and others, which relate to flour rather tlian to vmground com. Next, carrj'ing forward the industrial history of a com-crop to a further stage, we had bread- making machines, bread-cutting machines, biscuits, biscuit-baking machines, and ovens of various kinds. But we must hasten to see what the miller does with the com which reaches his mill, and whether modem machinery ihas given a new aspect to his operation. Corn Ciiundino, from the Hand Mill to the Steam Mill. In almost all the modes of grinding com — by the hand mill, the cattle mill, the water mill, tiie windmill, the steam mill — there ai-e two horizontal stones one above another, between which the com is groimd by the rotation of the upper stone. The hand, the cattle, the water, the wind, the steam — are ^he CHIKERY. ckness; and by being le com is presenccl in ! of the granaries at i the com, after being lay of agi'icultural im- if it were deemed ne- to the full as amply :y or forty exhibitors, its, others rye, others nens were intended to •e illustrative rather of again were associated ids. Those countries Itural thai> on manu- ;ional display the best ss than thirty different and of these, Eussia, n the number of ex- will call to mind the igriculturol specimens, idling a few grains of ie of the soil or the importance Uiat those as was afforded at the jm, and for bringing it hese were neither few med in a fonner page ; here were com-drying chines ; com and grain !om-stack levels ; com- arious other machines Dues the form of flom*. 18, English and foreign, tiowing machines, and com. Next, carrying er stage, we had bread- scuit-baking machines, with the com which given a new aspect to E Steam Mill. nd mill, the cattle mill, e two horizontal stones by the rotation of the ad, the steam— are ^e CORN AND bread: WHAT THEY OWK TO MAOHINEHY. IT agents for rotating the upper stone ; it is to the two stones themselves that the actual grinding process is due. The upper stone has a hole in its centre, through whicli the com falls ; and tlie distance between the stones, which is susceptible of adjustment, determines the fineness to which the com can be ground. The opposing sm'faeos of these stones ai-e fun-owed witli channels which extend from tlie centre obliquely towards the circumference ; and being in opposite directions, these furrows meet each other like the blades of a pair of scissors. These clmnnels sene to convey the ground flour to the edges of tlifi stones, where it escapes into a box or receptacle. The number and direc- tion of tlie furrows seem to be left to the fancy of tlie miller, without any veiy definite rule. There are some very peculiar features connected with the manufacture of these grooved millstones. It is not every country that can boast of possess- ing tlie proper stone ; indeed veiy few can, and among these few, France and Gemiany take the lead. At about ten miles from Coblent:! on the Rhine, and iieai- the small town of Andemach, are the millstone quaiTies of Nieder- Mendig, which have been celebrated for two thousand years. There is a stratum of veiy hai'd porous lava, abo.it five miles long by three broad ; it is sup- posed that tliis lava is the }iioduce of an extinct volcano, and it is found to bo admirably calculated for the pui-pose of millstones. Seven quanies have been excavated, to tlie depth of about fifty feet ; each quarry is a kind of funnel, twenty-five feet in diameter at the top, and tv/elve at the bottom, with a path cut spirally around it. There is a thickness of fifty feet cf gravel and loose lava to be cut through before tlie quan-ymen reach the true stone ; and these funnel openings peneti-ate through this thickness. An-ived at the bottom, the rcen quai-ry right and left, forming galleries and passages in all directions. The stone is very haid, and requires good tools, aided by wedges and levers, to work it. There are cracks and fissures which enable the men to separate it into slabs large enough each for a millstone. Hammers and chisels tlieii bring the stones to a proper shape. The Avorkmen form themselves into a kind of working company ; taking tlie oflices of miners, lifters, dressers, and loaders, according to theu- abilities, and shai-ing the produce among them. Most of the millstones, when made, are conveyed to Andemach, and are there congregated as a cargo for an enormous timber raft, which is floated down the Rhine to Holland ; when airived in Holland the raft is broken up and sold as timber, and the millstones ai-e dispersed whithersoever a market may be found for them. But France has also a goodly shai-e in the supply of millstones, made from a bury stone which is found in tiiat country — so hard | and flinty that a pair of stones are sometimes said to work regularly for thirty yeai-s before they become worn out. Barley, oats, and lye are chiefly ground, in this country, either with Welsh stones or Derby stones. The Derby millstones are only one-fourth the price of French ; but they ai-e so much inferior in hardness and durability, and so much less fitted for giinding wheat, that the French stones maintain theu- pre-eminence. This French material is seldom found in pieces large and sound enough to make a whole millstone, and it is therefore customai-y to cement two or more pieces together and bind tliem round strongly with iron. Practical men differ as to the relative merits of large and small millstones — whether a six-feet stone rotating sixty times in a minute is better or woi-se than a smaller stone rotating more rapidly, and so forth ; but on these matters we say nothing. The stones used by millers ai-e of vai-ious sizes, according to the intensity of ai 'I iiw*!*"''**"*''''''''''''*'''^'''^'''''''''"^''''''* '"'''"''' ' 1« CORN AND nUEAD: WHAT THBY OWK TO MAOHINKBY. movinc power obtainable. Technically, the two stones are called the rttn»wr rndtheCS- andthe operation of 'hanaing a runner/ or adjusting the ^.per stone m^er Z lower^s one of some Sehcaey : since not only must ^e tio be Sorouslv pai-allel, but the distance between them must denend on the fineness of TefloErto be produced and on the rapidity with whicli he upper Stone rot^ter Other thinJs being equal, the greater the velocity, the cfoser LusUhe Snes be togethfr. else Uie centrifugal force would dnve away the "XKljbSrptityorthecom^^^^^^^^^ meal when U leaves the millstones, but it must be separated before we could obtain a^vthing like wheaten bread. In old times, a boltt,uf.mM was used to £ thrsSt on; this consisted of a sort of bag made of a pecuhar open csnfas i^STe meal was tl.rown ; within the bag was a reel revolving S^eTSity. and exterior to it were several bm-s or beaters ; and the I^ttn^vl sSA by the centrifugal force produced ^V^^^^^^^^' the flour was driven forcibly through the meshes of the boltuig cloth leavmg Se K wkhinside This machiSe is somewhat complicated and has been nearlvTupo rseded by the dre»,ing machine. The latter consists principally of rhoC^cYlhXc.5Vme covered with wire aauze, increasing in hneness from on^ endtotiiTother ; the cylinder is placel in an inclined posiUon with STfinest t^uze uppemos ; and evolving brushes are fixed to a central axis Ke cyliE TKiachine being fed Sith ground com. and the axis b^ng ml to^Zte rapidly, the bmshes sift or rub the flour tf^^jugh the meshes ^^ Srwire gauze— first through the finest gauze, which only lets^in^ flour pass , Sen TwSTownSie cylinder, through the ntet finest, whiCh allows .*cc«J flour' t^ pass dien Hirough two other degrees of fineness which give exit feTpecUver o Z middlings and the poUard .^until at lengdi all the meal or floui bSseparated. the ian or husV falls out at the end of «1^« ^y^^jf^J . In this as in many other processes, different persons advocate different meSiods some mmei separate tlieir flom- into four kinds, some limit i to rrSwhileTtheS extend it to five; but in any case there is » ™'^P"«d^"f mimberin the degrees of fineness in the wi:e cloth, and of shyt-up oom- n^Sentehito which the flour falls. The meshes of the wire clotlf employed ITThom abouTa skteenth to a slxtyfourth part of an inch. In some m^ Sesthere is a still coarser kind, a vibrating sieve, which separates tlie br«i ^TerSKly^on^TrLttTm mills in England i« that which fonns p^ of theVlctualling Yard at Plymouth, in connection with the ship-bisci, t esta. bLhrne^ S^uUdingwhich contams the machinery is nearly two hundred 3 fX feet in length, by above seventy in height Each wmg of w'lich it J^nsisS contains twelve pairs of millstones, driven by a steam-engme of 46- Se powerTSe st^nes^are mther more than four feet in diameter and make aS ?So revolutions in a minut«. Each pair of stones can ffrmd fve bushels of Torn in Ml hour; so that the whole assemblage could grmd twelve hundi-ed busheTsTn^ day of ten hours. The same two steam-engines which work SSse two grouVof miUstones also work four wheat-screening machmes and St flo^Sing machines. The com is deposited in bms on Uie upper X Tihe buildig ; from these it passes through Bcreening machmes ma^e in a curious manner, by which it traverses a very large surface of wure-doth, S^tSrseraratlng tli grains firom sand and dirt ; it passes thence by spouts HINUBT. are calle»i the runner ler,' or fttljustlng tlie ice not only must the 1 must depend on the with which the upper he velocity, the closer would drive away the ,e grinding machinery, ea flour. The reason lomes mixed with the irated before we could ii>.;iiiiiriHiWiW ii it i)a >rtBi MW.i ii ii i'i *iiii«; : WHAT THET OWE TO MAt'UINBKV. vctuined in tlie cylinder, and notliiiig but fiuo flotn- escafxis. By another apparatus, the fine Hotir wljich is blown out f'n)rii bet%v*^pn the mill»toncH, and ascends (instead of descends) by its lightness, U forcibly driven by n blast into a chamber, whose walls are fonnod of cloUi ; il i.*' nifted through tliis clotli by the blast, ai\d collects iu the chamber as useful Hour. This is tlio portion which, m an ordinary mill, goes to waste, aistl fills Uie air with anncyini^ duHty particles. Thus has Mr. Bovill endeavoured to meet the whole ot tlm 'ivils enumerated above. An interesting cour.se of experiments was onducted a few months back, iu a mill which the Lords of the Admiialty p. nnitted Mr. Bovill to construct in Deptford Dockyard, in close proximity to unotlier mill on the old principle ; the .object being to fairly compare tlio two systemH, Many gentlemen in- tei-ested in tlic welfare of English agriculture were present; and Mr. Bovill commenced by showing, in a rcnuu-kable way, how lengthened is the path which n. <»rn''- of corn is often coniji'lled to follow before it can escape from thf jtauxuii li-idstonoH; he plactnl u piece of French chalk between the stcnes, and this chalk left an evei widening circular mark on the lower stone during tlie revolutions of the uppei ; the spiral path was no less than 6300 feet long, considerably more than a mile, showing that the chalk had had to traverse Uiis distance before ii could escape ut the edge of tlie stone; and iin inference may be drawn from this concerning the violent rabbuig to which com is exposed, even after it has been reduc<>il to tiour. The comparative experiments yielded the following results : !i5 qniirters of wheat, half red and half white, were ground and dressed on the old plan ; tli' operatio-is required 9 hours and 60 minutes, and tlie moving power consumed JJIOC) lbs. of coal. The same quantity and quality were then ti-eated on the new plan the time being 6 hours and iM minutes, and the coals SJ404 lbs. The temperatures of the two mills whUe at work were nearly alike ; but the flour uh it escaped fi ni the stones hi the old mill showed a temperature of 95" Falir., whereas u il in the new mill was only 79°. The relati\ e produce was as follows : — Old system. New system. Best flour . . . 9889 lbs. 9886 lbs. Seconds . . . none 243 „ Middlings . 434 „ 708 Pollaid . . 894 .. «47 Bran . ' 611 „ 411 Money value . . 58/. 88. 7rf. 59/. 18« id. . It thus appears, if these experiments are to be relied upon, that the new system is distinguishable for yielding seconds and middlings flour rather than pollard and bran ; the quantity of fine flour being nearly alike. A little more coal is used in steam-power, but less manual labour is required in the opera- tions. If it be ti'ue, as is stated, that three or four quaitern loaves more can be made from a sack of flom' if ground by the new plan instead of the old, and that as fine flour can be made by the new method from com at 408. as by the old ii'om com at 46». — then indeed is this a notable improvement. The Thames steamers have enabled thousands of passengers, during th^' year 1851, to witness tlie exterior of a monster new buildiu}.;, situated betwe Blackfriais Bridge and St Paid's. This is a corn-mill, lately built n ai expense of no less tlian 80,000/.; it contains sixty pairs of mill-stones, d en by a steam-engine of 300-horse power ; and it is said to have all the appliances for grinding 1000 quarters of wheat in a day, on Mr. Bovill's principle. L-UINIRY. escapoH, By auother 'H the millHtones, and driven by a blast inti > through tliis clotli by Tliis ia Uio portion !)fl air with nnnoyini; neot the wholo oi tli(! I few months back, in Bovill to construct in i en the old principle ; Mtuiy gentleiutin in- «sent; and Mr. Bovill rigthened is the path fore it can escape from h chalk between tliii irk on the lower stone was no less than ttSOO t the chalk had had tu of the stone ; and im lent rubbuig to Avhieh )ur. The comparative of wheat, half red and 111' operations required med 210«) lbs. of coal. le new plan the time The tempei-atureH of lour u-i it escaped fr >m 5" Falir., whereas Uiut .s as follows : — New system. 9886 lbs. 243 „ 706 „ «17 „ 411 „ 69/. 18«. Ad. ied upon, liat the new llingg floui- rather than ly alike. A little more required in the opera- lartern loaves more can an instead of the old, od from com at 408. as ible improvement, passengers, dming tb' Idinj.;, situated betwe^ nill, lately built n? aii s of mill-stones, duven have all the appliances ovills principle. CORN AND KRRAD: WHAT THBT OWE TO MACHINERY. 81 A vei-y convenient kind of corn-mill has been recently patented by Messi-s. Qarrett. Altlioiigh portable, it is suwceptiblo of being adjusted either to steam, wiiicr, or horse power. The millstones are !e public, about a dozui olSuLn years aKo. for m^dung breal on a large and .team-tactory «calo. and iu it." adverted by the old baken.. nuooeoded in beating down the new- angled broad which had been deprived of Uiin alcoholic ttcoompaniment j^J- ^r„ HavrUiat the quantity uf spirit capable of being Haved while bre«l is bakmg K extiemelj J that'the pnljec^^^^^ of the bread '^-oonsiHted in "taking the cash out of the pocketa ot Uio sha^^hoE The Chelsea ginleH«-b?ead factory cost aO.OOO . to establish Mr. IVrkins- 'hot-wuter oveu ' is an A.norican novelty j^hich became ann- bar to us at the Great E.xhibition. There was perhaps a d«h «f .'^roll q-^ack^ erv in the large loaf exhibited above the oven, and in the small slices of brea water pipes can act upon the br^^.^d no deleterious gases can afl^ect iU flavour or quality ; it is economical, brcfus" vom tho mode of'applying the heat, one-half of the fuel .ss^^^^^^^^ ft constant and equable heat maintained ; it is easy of adaptation, because the temperatme, indicated by a thermometer placed outside the oven, can be raised or diminished at pleasure by openmg or cbsmg a damper, so as to meet the requirements of different kinds of baking operations. A ve^ extended application would be necessary to determine the validity ot these ''^"Sere was no lack of ovens at tlie Crystal Palace which put fcrtli their claims to public notice. There was Mr. PoweU's ' Port»We/co«omical oven. There was Mr. Shave's 'patent oven for bakmg bread, &c exhibited for economy of fuel and time.^ Mr. Ed^.mis' • atmopvr* hoods ' a™ ovens of a somewhat remarkable kmd ; they are gas-o'/ens, which act "omewhat on Ae same principle as the wire-gauze envelope of the mmers '«»ty-»^'"P- ^"^^ Le mSde of porcelain; gas is intmiuced into Uie mtenor, whence it escapes through sraaUperfomtions in the sides; these tiny streams of 8". "ot more than ^e-fiftieth of an inch in diameter, when ignited on *« «"^'^\^. »f^ hood, bum with a pale blue flame ; this flame emit* veiy htUe light, but ite Seat is 60 intense aL to make the mass of porcelain red hot m a few minutes^ When several of these atraopyres are grouped together, they form a awt oi solid fire which wiU speedily heat an oven; and there "« "^8*"^*^. '^f, Sapting the number to the sise of the oven required. P*^''^«l'^»" ^»i^^!" many repeated red-hot firings without being destroyed; and it »»* all events interesting to see this beautiftil principle (for beautiful it certainly is) of ■MTMlllilMlii mttkvt ) eoonomiEe ipafi«, aiid ibUiined. AnoUier part v\kd. luHtead of uninK ected iu some way inU) on^^e.' Tho dough woh tholvt;* in an immense rmiU circulated in the bake Uie bread without w pubhe, about a dozen gteam-ittctory scale, and d— " brtwl with tho gin ig down the newfangled lompaniment Dr. Ure I while bread ia baking ng to " take the gin out of the pocketa " of tho aO.OOOi. to establish, elty which became fanii- is a dash of droll quack- tho small slices of bread nay have been baked iu not be very satisfactorily »ven is, that tlie tempera- ftii adaptation of the hot- Idings. There are three ne»s, economy, and eau oj 1 of any kind used in tlie r pipes can act upon the quality j it is economical, f of the fuel is saved, and f adaptation, because the utside the oven, can be jsing a damper, bo as to ng operations. A very ine the validity of these ce which put forth their lortable economical oven.' bread, Ac.,' exhibited for ra hoods ' are ovens of a toh act somewhat on the inera' safety-lamp. They nterior, whence it escapes streams of gas, not more «d on the outside of the ts very little light, but its red hot in a few minutes, jther, they form a sort of lere are anrangements for ired. Porcelain will heal- ed ; and it is at all events autiful it certainly i«) of cjoiiN AMU iihhad: what they owb to maciunmiiy. M niiuuttilydividod gas streams iippliod to the purposes of an oven. He«id<>s our own li^uglisli ovens, theto was M. EspinnaMen model of an ovmi for brrtad- baking, un a new ptiUsnted system ; Uiure was Kaesen's Cologne iron oven ; and thert) was a Chtuese uveii, heated by tho tluinu of a Itunp pasuliig Into the centre. With respect to tlie ovens ordhiarily employed by bakers, the old method of huating by shavings lun-ned iu the oven itself has gone vary much out of use, btiing supei'seded by tines heated in a rect- ptacle distinct from the oven. But it must be ownud that the iicating of bakera' ovens has not acquired tho oom- pluteuesH of which i' '<4 doubtless susi eptible. It is ratlun- singiilar that biscuits have become more decidedly a maeliine-niade proollationH, loini; of them. First came the driver ; the proper proportions of (lour and water being put into u trough, ho, witli his naked tuid lusty arms, beat and thuuipe d more within the domain of mechanics. The horse is helping the labom-er, the "Svindmill is helping the horse, the steam-engine is helping the ^vindmiIl ; and the whole together are helping the farmer, the miller, and the baker, to produce more bread from an acre of ground than formerly, to do this with less outlay than formerly, to accomplish the task in less time, and to brave many exigencies of weather which the old-world farmers knew not how to contend against. mattOi lanriiriii 1 iiiiiiii'ftlini -rnrrrMtlliiiir •- Ti ihiiiii I NEHY. is a whole array of g, and cutting the shaft to which the Hour has been put corporated, but not is by two ponderous loroughly kneaded. }ugh into six-sided in ovens ; and then, ien apart by hand, iir and ' middlings ') in something less lean white trousers, ' propriety.' luced at Liverpool old-fashioned hand at the ship-biscuit ter are placed in a i thum thoroughly, dich it is speedily pressed to the re- i^els on an endless Iters which descend ui oven, ss'here they )n slowly advances ' feet, and tlie heat the biscuits reach left for them. The -automatic machine the flour and water at the other, or making what are steam-power. The d in a trough, and I to pass beneath a working over a flat iite of a continuous out into pieces pro- .e " staff of life "— ost other extensive d more within tlie er, the Vindmill is dill; and the whole T, to produce more ith less outlay than many exigencies of tend against. A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. " A SHIP, in the nineteenth centuiy," is an assemblage of as great a number of ingenious contrivances, perhaps, as any production of man's industry. There is not a science but has been brought into requisition ; there is scarcely a material of manufacture but has been employed ; there ai'e none of our great departments of manufacturing skill omitted in supplying the ship and her fittings ; there is not a quarter of the globe (and scarcely a coxmtry on the globe) which has not supplied some one or other of tlie necessities or con- veniences of the floating fabric ; and there is no production in which the skill of different nations is brought more distinctly into comparison. The middle of the present century is distinguished from its opening by the phenomena of steam navigation, above all othere connected with ships and shipping; but in numerous other particulars, concerning both the constmc- tion and the fittings of ships, the advance has been marked and rapid, show- ing tliat the discoveries and improvements in other arts have been promptly applied to those noble stnictures whose home is to be on the bosom of the ocean. In noticing a few of the novelties and curiosities presented by this suivject, we shall presume the reader to have access, in other quarters, to ordinary manufacturing details respecting the production of ships and ships' fittings : the present sheet is in some sense supplementai'y to till such details. A Bibd's-Eye Glance at Sinps in general. And now, at the outset, it may veiy fairly be asked, how are ships distin- guished from boats, and what are the characteristics which separate ships into classes? Many of the modem improvements apply to one class of ships rather than to others ; and the answer to tliese queries thus becomes pertinent to the present subject. The term vessel is more general in its application than ship ; since the latter, in strictness, is applied only to three-masted square-rigged vessels, conse- quently to vessels only of a large size. A square-rigged vessel is one in which tlie sails ai-e suspended from yards fixed horizontally to the masts, usually at right angles to the direction of the keel. Single-decked vessels, witli one mast and a bowsprit, but no yards, are called cutters and sloops, and have the sails generally in a right line with the keel ; the cutter having relatively larger sails tfian the sloop. Two-masted square-rigged vessels are brUfs ; but if there are no yards, and if the sails lie in a line with the keel, the vessels are then schooners. Most of the pleasure vessels belonging to the Yacht Clubs are either cutters or schooners. The above appellutions are given chiefly to merchant vessels and pleasure vessels, but ships of war are differently desig- nated ; they are shi2)s of the line, if lai'ge, and variously named if small. A "=1" L 2 A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. first-rate has 100 guns or more, a second-rate 90 to 100, a third-rate 60 to 90, and so on ; frhjates, (jim-hritjs, &c., are smaller vessels. Boats are open or un- decked vessels ; but some of them are so large, such as the lony-boat, the barffe, and the ;>/«/««<■« of a man-of-war, that tliey can can-y an anned and well- provisioned body of men on short expeditions. Life-boats (not yet adopted so extensively as tliey should and might easily bo) have a buoyancy of construc- tion, which renders it difticult for tliem to bo upset, stove-in, or sunk. These vessels, however varied they may be in other respects, show how skilfully materials have been combined to make a floating fortress, or a float- ing warehouse, as the case may be ; stability of constniction, steadiness ot flotation, capacity of interior, swiftness of movement — all are, more or less, combined. As to interior capacity, the tonnage is rather a perplexing matter to ordinary readers; we often hear of a vessel carrj'ing a much greater weight of cargo than is indicated by her registered tonnage ; while, on tiie other hand, tliej-e is nothing to show whether this tonnage includes tlie ■weight of the vessel itself. The case seems to be this — the tonnage is an estimate of the weight of stores and merchandise which a ship can carry without overloading, but does not include the weight either of the ship or lis crew and passenger.=j. A 74-gun ship is supposed to weigh, when fully equipped for sea, thrc times as much as its registered tonnage. Ship- builders and ship-insiuers have cei-tain technical rules by which tlie tonnage of a ship is estimated from its dimensions ; but these rules have been altered witliin tlie last few years, so that we have now "old measure" and "new measure;" and there art many indications tlmt improvements in ship-build- ing will, ere long, ovcrtuiu even the new measure, and require the adoption of some new principle of tonnage-measurement. The greatest ship now belonging to the British navy is, we believe, the Boyal Albert— still on the slips in Woolwich Dockyard, where it has remained since the keel was first laid do^vn nearly ten years ago. A beautiful model of this ship was prepared for the Great Exhibition, by Mr. Lang, the master shipwright at Woolwich, who designed the leviathan man-of-war. The model was on the scale of a quarter of an inch to a foot. We may here remai-k, that the Great Exhibition rendered only scanty justice to the naval architecture of our country. There were models of exteriors, and models of midship sections; there wfere many interestuig novelties, and not a few oddities ; but Uiere was no such series as would have compared the early English ships witli the modem, or war ships with mer- chant ships, or steam-vessels with sailing vessels, or screw-steamers with paddle-steamers, or iron vessels with wooden vessels, or roomy vessels with fast vessels, or one kind of rig with anotlier kind, or the craft peculiar to one part of our coast with that obsei-vable on another, or the ships generally of our own country with those of foreign nations. There were isolated examples, but anything that could be called a series there certaitdy was not. A mai-itime nation might have done better. If we watch the labours at a ship-builduig yard, we still find the saw, tlie axe, iand the adze employed in fashioning the timbers witli which a ship is built: machinerj' has yet done little in this matter, owing to the tortuous forms which Ujese timbers are made to assume. There are, it is true, liiadimes now before public notice for cutting these great oaken ribs, and a pretty model of one oi them was exhibited in working order at the Great fexliibltioxi ; but we hmst be content to leave to the next generation the gathering of this friit. In our gi-eat ship-yards we still see the draughtsman n-rrrf r-'-'f swWIW'''"*' ■ " • — .i m t tt axiMlifci mmm mmmtmmmmmm msmtmmm'srTjm:^ third-rati! 60 to 90, ats are open or uii- the hny-hoal, the lin anned and well- (not yet adopted so oyanoy of construe- in, or sunk. respects, show how fortress, or a float- ation, steadiness of 1 are, more or less, a perplexing matter ng a much greater lage; Avhile, on tlie nnage includes tlie —the tonnage is an h a ship can carry ither of che ship or o weigh, when fiilly •ed tonnage. Ship- y which tlie tonnage es have been altered leasure" and "new ments in sLip-huild- eqnire the adoption ■ is, we believe, the lere it has remained A. beautiful model of r. Lang, the master -of-war. The model ndered only scanty ere were models of re many interesting series as would have war ships with raer- screw-steamers with ' roomy vessels with craft peculiar to one ships generally of our solated examples, but as not. A mai-itime ill find the saw, tlie ,vith which a ship is ving to the tortuous lere are, it is true, eat oaken ribs, and a ' order at the Great next generation the gee the draughtsman A SHIP, IN THE KINETEENTH CEKtOHY. 8 make I.is drawings on paper, and from these drawings chalk out the fuU-gized curvatures of the ship on a flat boarded floor, and make lath or thin patterns Irora these chalk marks; the 'converter' has still the oflice of selecting the oak, and elm, and other woods, and appropriating one piece to one purpose, T^il^'n"*'*^'"' ^^''^""^i^g ^ its size and shape; and the sawyers still cut up the bulky timbers aa they were wont to do in past times. Elm for the keel, and oak for the tunbers generally, are still the principal kinds of wood em- ployed (always excepting iron vessels, of which we have yet to spealc). But a notable mark of modem improvement is in tlie bracing or strengthening of tlie huge carcass tlius built up ; diagonal; timbers, diagonal plates and bars of iron, are now disposed in the interior to an extent that would quite have puz- zled the old ship-builders. And another grand innovation is the rteaming of such timbers, or ratlier thick planks, as are to be bent to the curvatures of the .ship : a huge iron vessel, supplied with steam, is tlie receptacle into which the timbers are placed ; and here they are steamed and soddened to facilitate their bending. But what of malwffam ? Cannot we have our ships as well as our tebles madeuf this beautiful wood ? Practical men are beginning to uiquire whetlier m^ogany can be efieotively thus used, and whether it can be obtained at a suffaciently reasonable i)rice. Until a recent period, neai-ly all our mahogany was obtained from tlie West India Islands ; and as most of the trees growing near tlie shore have been cut down, die exigency of land-carriage from the interior has added to the former cost of shipping this valuable wood. The dis- covery of the riches of California has, however, shed a new light on this subject. Dense forests of splendid mahogany trees spread for hundreds of miles in Cen- tral America ; and as these regions will shortly be traversed by a railway at Panama, and (i»erhaps) by a ship-canal aC« Nicaragua, the forests will be laid open m a way never before contemplated. The trees are at present absolutely valueless, simply because we cannot get at tliem ; but a commercial value will anse as soon as they can be easily felled and shipped. Then will be the time to determine whether mahogany can be bought as cheaply as oak or teak for ship-building. Mahogany is said to be stiffer, less liable to dry-rot, and more buoyant than most other woods used largely in ship-building ; and tliere are records of a few mahogiuiy ships which have shown an extraordinary degree of durability. There is said to be a singular inile adopted at Lloyd's, which, for the present at all events, deters buildere from using mahogany, iiTespec- tive of the high price which will necessarily prevail until the Nicaraguan forests are laid open : it is, that if mahogany be used uistead of oak for cer- tain parts of a ship, the ship ranks " A 1" for only ten years instead of twelve. Possibly the autliorities have not yet had sufficient experience of mahogany ships to enable a right judgment to be fonned in this matter. And this "A 1" IS an important matter to a ship-owner; for it affects the reputation of his ship, the facility with which he can obtain freights, and the rate at which he can have it insured. We have just mentioned " Lloyd's.' Although tliis remarkable establish- ment, this mysterious tribunal — which every one reads about, but few rightly understanc?— is related rather to commerce than to ship-building, a few details concerning it may not be out of place here. More than a century and a half ago, one Lloyd established a coffee-house, in Lombard Street, where undenvi-iters or sliip-uisurers were wont to congi-egate ; and from tliat day to tins these msurors have acted together as a body, to which the name of "Lloyd's" is given. At present they occupy apartments in the New Royal N 2 1 4 A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH OENTURT. Exchange. There is an underwriters' room, a merchants' room, and a cap- tains' room, each of which is opened at a certain annual subscription ; and all these subscribers elect the committee which constitutes the govemmg body at Lloyds. Underwriters go there to effect insurances on ships ; mer- chants and shipowners go there to seek for such insurances; insm-ance brokei-s go tliere to act botli for the insurers and for the insured ; merchants and captains go there to consult on theu- mutual business ; and all go there to ascertain every fact which it is possible to collect concemuig the merchant shipping of this country. The extent and minuteness of tliis information are quite extraordinary. Large maps of all the seas on the globe ; registers of all the ships in 'Lloyd's List,' of all the occasions when these ships have been " spoken with," and of all 'lisasters which may occur to them ; meteorological instruments to determine tlie state of tlie weather at all hom-s in London; tabular statements of the weather from all parts of the world ; a collection of nearly all the newspapers from every country ;— such ai-e the means provided for earning on this remarkable establishment. An under\vnter makes hun- self responsible for the safety of a ship, receiving a certain premium for his risk ; and he has thus an interest in storing his mind (or his books) with eveiy imaginable record — physical, mechanical, political, and moral — which may affect the fortimes of a ship at sea. Novelties and Improvements in Ship-building. But we must resume our brief sketch of ship-novelties and ship-curiosities. One of the peculiarities which distinguished early British ships from those of the present day was the great height of the hull out of the water. "The forecastle, in a modem ship, is anything but a castle ; it is the foremost raised deck, very little elevated above the general level. In old times, however, the forecasde really towered up to a great height. So likewise in respect to the poop, or hindmost deck : this used to soar to an elevation (in some cases) of fifty or sixty feet ; but this has likewise experienced the levelling tendencies of modern ship-building. Our ships are becoming more and mere flush from end to end, and the mountain of woodwork above tha water is becoming lessened ; the rounu and squai-e ends too are giving way to sharp ends ; and the convexities of the hull are being (in many parts) superseded by con- cavities, which modem science shows to be better suited for cuttmg through tlie water. Pictorial representations of the Harry Grrike de Dieu (built by Henry VIII.) and tlie Boyal Sovereign (built by Chai'les II.) are to be met with in many English works, and both were represented by models at the Great Exhibition ; in these we may see how the old ship-builders piled up poops and forecastles, turrets and bulwarks, until the huge mass almost resembled a feudal castle floating on the bosom of the sea. But the general aiTangement and desigu .tion of the timbers of a ship have not undergone much change. We have still the keel, and the stem, and the stem-post; the keelson, tlie stemson, and the stemson; the bulky masts and the ' steps ' or blocks hito which they are fixed ; tiie external ' skin ' and the internal ' lining ' of planks, five or six inches m thickness ; the beams and the ' knees ' which fasten them to the ship ; the ' partners," and ' coain- ingg,' and ' cai-lings,' which form a framework between the beams; tlie deck and its fastenings ; and the treenails and bolts. Masts ai-e still built up in pieces, but a curious novelty has been herein par- tially mtroduced. Messrs, Jetfery's manne (jlue is one of the miuo/ aids to L i W i ,-. room, and a cap- subscription ; and ;e3 the governing ;es on ships ; mer- rances ; insurance isured; merchants and all go there to ling the merchant his information are globe ; registers of se ships have been 3m ; meteorological hom-s in London; rid ; a collection of he mesuis provided rwriter makes him- in premium for his or his books) with and moral — which DINO. Mid ship-curiosities, ih ships from those of the water. The the foremost raised times, however, the e in respect to the (in some cases) of levelling tendencies ind mere flush from water is becoming ,o sharp ends ; and superseded by con- fer cutting tlirough ', de Dieu (built by 11.) ai-e to be met d by models at the p-builders piled up huge mass almost i. nbers of a ship have id the stem, and tlie i; the bulky masts external ' skin ' and lickness ; the beams artners,' and ' coam- le beams; tlie deck has been herein par- )f the minor aids to A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 5 ship-building inti-oduced witliin the last few years. The claim of the invontor is nothing short of this — that a joint secured by this glue is less easily separable than tlie actual fibres of the wood itself. In the Great Exhibition were many curious specimens illustrative of the use of this extraordinary cement. One was a piece of the mast of the ship Curai;oa, found inseparable even by the wedge. Another was a piece of mainmast, from which a glued fragment was torn awpy only after a force of 22 tons had been applied. A third was a block of elm, joined with glue ; it was exploded by gunpowder, but the joint did not yield. Another was an oak oannon-ball, made of two glued pieces ; it had been fired with eight ounces of powder, but the joint held fast. Another was a deal block, which broke in the fibres by a force of four tons. Others were pieces of masts, intended to show 'low intensely strong a mast becomes when built up with pieces which are joined by this glue. It is not only a glue : it is also a substitute for pitch. Many government vessels have the seams payed or caulked with this glue, which is found much more durable for the purpose tlian ordinary pitch. Forest-trees are as chaiy as ever in furnishing trunks long and thick and strong enough to furnish the largest masts ; occasionally the newspapei-s tell us of such man-els, but they ai-e ' few and fai- between.' The total lengtli of the mainmast of a ' 74 ' is little short, of two hundred feet; and it is not only made in three lengths, but each length or subordinate mast is built around widi numerous pieces to make up ihe requisite bulk ; why theso pieces are knowny)y the elegant names of 'cheeks,' 'front fishes,' 'side fishes,' 'cant pieces,' and ' heel pieces,' the mast-makers themselves must say. Canadian fir is the wood chiefly employed ; and of this wood there is no less than six tons in the lower mainmast alone of an ordinary East Indiaman. If from the woodwork of a ship we turn attention to tlie sails, we find that one or two improvements have lately worked their way into public favour. The sails are, indeed, a notable part of the attire of *a ship — ^beautiful in eifect, indispensable in sei-vice. All that the spinner and the weaver, the sewer and the rigger, can do to give them strength is done. Sail-cloth is the strongest of all varieties ( '" the flax manufacture ; or sometimes it is of hemp ; or sometimes of botli combined. The Admiralty is very scrupvdous about its sail-cloth, and shipowners have little less reason to be so. A ' bolt ' of sail- vlcth, forty yards long by two feet wide, weighs from 22 to 44 lbs., according to the thickness ; but all alike, stout or fine, are made of these nan-ow widths. The cutting out for a whole suit of sails is a formidable affair ; in an East Indiamaii of average size, tJie quantity of sail-cloth thus conswrned is said to be very little less than nme tliousand yai'ds. How the cutter-out economises his material, and provides for slanting edges, so as to use up odds and ends in all tlie nooks and corners, may be pretty well guessed by those who have to cut out any woven goods for garments ; 'but the stitching is a more weighty affair, owing to the great strength requked. There is a stipulation between the sailmaker and his employer as to the number of stitches to be put- in a given space; and every attempt is matle to cuable the sail to bear a powerful strain. A veiy simple addition has been recently introduced in tlie means of strengthening 1. ~, ils of ships. This is by Trail's storm-sails. The canvas is the same, the shape of the sail is the same, the mode of sewing is the same ; but these sails differ from tliose ordinarily in use by having strengthening t.inds of cauvas placed diagonally ; tliese bands are corded and are stitched iinnlytothi sail at intervals of a few feet apart. These bands, by their 6 A Siltf, IN TUB NINETEENTH CENTltRt. diftffonal arrangement, tack the various warp and weft tlireadn together, and add very greatly to the strength of the whole Hprend of canvas. 1 artially- wom sails by having these banda aftixed to thoni, take a new lease ot ser- viceable existence, and eflfect a postponement of the period when new sails become necessary. Independent of any tesliinonlala on the subject, this system carries with it much to recommend it to the judgment ; for diagonal bracings, in all kinds of constructions, are yeaily coming more and more into use. . ., . Another modem improvement is in the sail-cloth itself. Messrs Milvam, of Newcastle, have devised an ingenious mode of thickening sail-cloth a. intervals, by introducing an extra quantity of wai-p thread ; Uiereby forming bands or straps of very thick twilled canvas, ranged pai-allel to each other at a certain number of inches apart. These bands cannot loosen, as they form part of the canvas itself; while they add greatly to the strength of the whole. . , It is a feature worth noting that ropes— hempen ropes— seem now to have reached nearly beyond the region of improvement. The novelties are rather in the substitution of iron wire for hemp, than in the merits of hempen ropes themselves. This is instructively displayed in the history of Captain Huddart's beautiful cable-making machinery ; its excellence is unquestion- able, but chain-cables have thrown it out of work. All the world knows how string is made ; and a cable is but a reduplication of a niul^tude ot strings. First the spinner, witli a bundle of hemp wound round his body, the fibres fastened at one end to revolving hooks, and his hands working busily, spins yams at the rate of something like a hundred feet in a mm"** : tlien a certain number of these yarns are twisted to form a strand ; and three of these strands are twisted together to fomi a rope; and three ropes, when twisted, form a cable. Thus is a bulky cable built up piecemeal, by successive combinations of twisted fibres— each successive twist being in an opiiosite direction to that which preceded it, so as to lessen the liability ot mitwisting. In a fii-st-rate cable of twenty-five inches circumference (little other now than a memento of past days) there are tlu-ee hundred and sixty yarns in a strand. . . Little is it to be wondered at if the making of these monster ropes, requiring so much material and so much power, led to the suggestion of rope-niakmg machines. The late Captain Huddart constructed some beautiful machmeiy for making cables of almost any thickness and any length ; and this ma- chinery was to some extent employed by the government ; but chain-cables have almost driven these machines into idleness. There is, however, machinery of a most ingenious kind now employed, both by the government and by private manufacturers, in making ropes of smaller size. One such machine must be fresh in the recollection of the visitors to the Great Exhibition ; it was Mr. Crawhall's invention, in which the various strands are made to twist round each other by a very ingenious application of rotatoiy machinery. Ropes and cordage of various kinds, too, we may remai-k, were not wanting in our international display. There wen; round ropes and flat ropes, shroud-laid ropes and reef-point ropes, ropes from Russia hemp and ropes from Manilla hemp, ropes made by steam an ' ropes made by hand, ropes tarred and ropes untaned. The chain-cables so often alluded to above are simply chains of large size. Our chain-makers take a bar of iron of any thickness, weld this up into links, and at (lie same time connect these links one to another ; and recent en- ,ds together, and nvaa. Pftrtially- new lease of ser- iriod when new on the subject, ) judgment; for oraing more and Messrs. Milvain, ling sail-cloth at thereby forming to each other at loosen, as they strength of the 3em now to have velties are ratlier erits of hempen istory of Captain e is unquestion- tlie world knows f a multitude of round his body, i hands working feet in a minute ; itrand ; and three and three ropes, lit up piecemeal, e twist being in !n the liability of Gumference (little undred and sixty sr ropes, requiring 1 of rope-making lutiful machinei-y ,h; and this ma- but chain-cables lere is, however, y the govenmient r size. One such 9rs to the Great irious strands are cation of rotatory may remiu-k, were ;id ropes and flat Russia hemp and 3S made by hand, ains of large size, tliis up into links, [• ; and recent en- A SmV, IN THE NINETKENTIl CEKTUIlY. f gineering has shown that tlioro is hardly any limit to the degree of strengUi Urns obtainable. And if wo turn our glance from the cables to tlie anchors which tliey are intended to support, we do not less see the influence of modem ingenuity. Eitlier the anchors ihemselves have been improved, or tlio mode of manufiio- turing them, or botli. All throughout the last European war our anchors were fashioned pretty nearly after one model ; tlie various pai'ts — the ring, the stock, the shank, the crown, tlie arm, tlie tluoat, tho trend, the tluke, the peak, &c. — had their various conventional proijortions to each other ; and the technical designations of sheet-anchor and bower-anchor, stream-anchor and kodgc-anchor, became familiarised to us us a maritime people. How the anchor was made in tliose days om- dockyard guide-books have not failed to tell, and even oiu: poets and song-writera have versified. Tho buildhig up of four tons of iron into a first>rate anchor ; tlie welding of bai-s to form a solid shank ; the heating of the iron on the forge-heaith ; tlie fierce blast by which the heat was maintained ; tlie circle of anchoi'-sniiths wielding their ponderous hammers ; the soo.; dimness, the fiery spai-ks, and the noisy clangour of the smithy — all have been described over and over again. But the world has not consented to allow its anchore to remain un- changed : we now meet with many novel forms and apphancea. Mr. Pering has shown how to group togetlier a number of broad slabs of iron, instead of mere square bai's, to form tire shank. Lieutenant Eodgers has been bold enough to propose and to construct hollow anchors, on the well-known prin- ciple, that a given quantity of material makes a stronger column if hollow than if soHd. Mr. Porter has provided a pivot or hinge at the end of the shank, by which the ai-ms and flukes have a certain freedom of movement, intended to facilitate the use of the anchor. The Great Exhibition illustrated these as well as many other novelties in auchox-s. No one who visited the enclosure at tlie west end could have failed to notice the enonnous anchor sent by Messi-s. Brown and Lenox ; »nd tliere were many cvu'ious eyes directed also towards a certain tank or cistern, filled with "unlovely" muddy water, in which two mimic anchors were repeatedly subjected to mimic experiments, to show that a slight alteration of shape produces a considerable result in the gi-appling power of an anchoi,'. And the mode of manufacturing anchors has imdergone at least as much change as Uie forma of the anchoi-s themselves. A steam-engine now blows a blast into the forge fire, instead of leaving this service to be rendered by hand- worked bellows, And as to the hammering, tliis has undergone a complete revolution. A large sort of hammer, worked by ropes, and tlien a still larger moved by machinery, have had their day ; but Nasmytli's steam-hanimer now triumphs over them all. Many who saw this machine at tlie Ciystal Palace longed for an opportunity to see it in action ; and those who have seen it in the anchor-smithei'ies of our royal dockyards are not likely soon to forget it If we pass from the metal of the chain-cables and tlie anchors to that of the sheathing and the lightning oonductore, we find that science, rather than manufdcturipg skill, has here rendered the chief sei-vice. Copper is still the sheathing luaterial, and it is still applied to the lower pai-t of the hall of a ship m sheets, which ai'e fastened with copper nails ; and when the ship has seen a certain amount of service, which hfxs wtru and injured the nietS, the sheathing is stripped oflf, sold for re-melting, and replaced by new. Om- ship- builders have done little more in this matter tliau to increi sa the ap-iere of usefulness due to tliis system. But in respect to lightuirg -conductors, the -as wnaiua ' mau mm» 8 A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. case is quite different. Year after year did the royal sliips and the merchant ships suffer appalling disasters by lighUiing; year after year did Su- W. S. Harris perseveringly press upon tlie attention of the govemment the important fact, that such calamities may be almost wholly prevented. It is only very recently, however, that his method has come into general adoption : but our finest ships have now generally those slips of slieet copper, which, runnmg down the masts and through the hull into the sea, cari^ off that ten-ible agent which might otherwise rend and destroy the ship. . . ,.. A notable modem feature in connection with shipping matters is the life- boat— not exactly a creation of our own days, but still one which is now more attended to than ever: witness Uie Northumberland life-boat prize, rhe circumstances attending this prize were somewhat remarkable. Notwithstand- ing all the efforts matle by benevolent and enterprising persons, the loss of life on the coasts of England still continues to be seriously laige. The storms which rage in the German Ocean, and impel the poor helpless ships towards the shores and shoals, occasion more destniction, perhaps, tlian those on any other part of our coast. In the winter of 1849 a life-boat, manned by a brave crew of twenty Tyne pilots, was lost while attempting the rescue of a ship's c\ew ; and this, addetiil liiMifiiiltllUlWii niiin ^■ nummmK< tmimmiiim mm d the merchant V did Sir W. S. nt the important It is only very option ; but our which, running lat terrible agent itters is the life- lich is now more loat prize. The Notwithstand- sons, the loss of isly lai-ge. The 3r helpless ships fhaps, tlian those boat, manned by f> the rescue of a latrophes, led the ineas to tlie con- sponded to, tliat rs ; the offer was t to an office in !S of manuscript 3 examine all the 1 conducted willi unittee. Certain I ; all the compet- e relative degrees to each quahty; the gi-eatest num- be report of this collected on the aouth, for having A'hale-boat. It is I 'Si feet in depth ; en inches square, Ixtra buoyancy is ; these, with the than eight tons, lency of the boat r-tanks capable of s pipes for enipty- avy iron keel and air-cases near the d a mizen. The I feet ; the weight and the cost 'ibOl. November, 1851, e care of Cajitain i in such position? A SHIP, IN THK NINKTEENTTI CKNTURY. as to allow the surf to have the greatest effect, and tlie result is said to have been such as to fully bear out the high anticipations formed of the excellent construction of the boat. Among the competing plans for life-boats were some of great oddity ; but none more odd, perhai)s, than that which has been displayed at the western end of the Ciystal Palace, where the tubs or cylinders provoked a recollection of the oil jars in which the renowned Forty Thieves concealed themselves. Among the recent projects for life-boats is one that does not relate to tlie shape of the boat itself, but to the introduction of a particular substance as a buoyant material. This substance is not formally described, but its excel- lences are announced in most laudatory terms. The ' substance ' is made up into packages, and these packages are built into the framework of the boat; it can be applied in any bulk, in any form, and to any part ; if a boat be shattered, the pieces, if stuffed with this material, will fonn so many rafts ; the buoyancy is said to exceed that of cork, or even of cases filled with air. In short, if the " Patent Life-Boat, Buoy, Belt, and General Marine Buoyancy Company" do not overstretch their claims, this buoyant material must be a very notable affair; a little incredulity may, however, be wholesome. The substance employed is, we beheve, a kind of rush, prepai'ed under a patent taken out by Captain Light. SwitTNESS, AS A CHARACTERISTIC OF MoDEllN ShIPS. It would obviously be quite beyond the scope of the present paper to go further and fuj-ther into details respecting modem improvements in ship- building and ship fittings. We have said a little respecting the timbei-s, the masts, the sails, tlie ropes, the anchors, the cables, the sheathing, the con- ductors, the boats ; but there are almost numberless other directions in which we should find novelties and curiosities, could we search for them. Our ever- busy age would indeed belie itself, were such not the case. Let us, however, before touching on the mai-vels of steam-shipping, render due justice to the sailing vessels of tlie middle of the nineteenth centui-y, in respect to sailing qualities. Speed is the great characteristic of our age in respect to travelling. It is tlie key which unlocks tlie mystery of all our modem locomotive aiTangements. It shows its power on the water as well as on the land, and in sailing ships as well as in steamere. Many newspaper readera mar\'el what a clipper may mean ; but whatever may have been the origin of the name itself, a clipper is simply one of the exemplifications of this speed-producing tendency in modem ship- building. The clippers of the German Ocean have arisen thus : when salmon and other perishable commodities began to be sent in lai^e (quantities from the north to London, it was found tliat the clumsy brigs and other coasting craft of the Tyne and Wear were of too slow a movement to convey the cargo with the necessary rapidity. Newcastle, and Shields, and Simderland, did not want high speed for tfieir coal, and glass, and chemical cargoes ; bv.t Aberdeen, and Dundee, and Leith knew how to value any increase of speed for tlie con- veyance of their salmon and cattle, and other articles which became deteriorated by a long voyage. Hence it is to our Scottish neighbours that we are indebted for clippere, or fast-sailing merchant ships. The clipper sacrifices a portion of space for tlie sake of increased speed ; she carries a somewhat smaller cargo than the old vessels of equal length, but conveys it sooner to its destination. The clipper is naii"ow, gracefully tapering behmd, very sharp at the bows, and N 3 -lr< imsatmrnm 30 A 8HIP, IS Tira NINETKRHTU CEJITUU\. Bltoffether calculated to cut cleanly and rapidly througiUie water, attamiug a speed about double that of the old coaHling bng. 'Iho fm.t trade ot the IModiteniuuum and the A/ores is gradually coming withm the doumin ot rapid clippei-B ; and tlie records of daily commerce bhow itu a progressive oxleiiiiou of the same system to ocean sailing. .,,«.. i i • The oiM ninu of the China trade has had a wonderful effect m developuiK the enoruies of our shipbuilders. Two of tha Aberdeen clippers have recenUy been vim.A upon the China route, one by a London linn an.l Uie oUier a Liveniool. They ai-e comparatively of small burden, the .^tormway being 000 tons, .uid the CaVw. 160 ; yet, smaU as Uiev are, ^« <^"™' '^^^ J.^; nlished the out and home voi.iges between Lngland and China m 10-4 and U'.. days ve«pectively; and the latter in 103 and 104 day s-a nn,st extraordinary equality of action. They outstripped tliree Amencan clipp.i with which Uicv happened to come into competition, and beat evei-yUung elst large and sma 1. It was ascertained about a dozen yeai-s ago, by a carelul oxuiuination ot neax' y a hmidred log-books of Indiamen, that the a\erage tune Irom London to Bmnbay. in all the ships, large and small, was 1 Vi days. When we consider Uie much greater distimce to China, we shall the better appreciate Uie re- markable perfoi-raances of these modem clippers. , . , t* This clipper form is unquestionably now ot much unportanee. It was about the year 1H40 tl.at Messrs. Hall, of Aberdeen, first buldly adopted-on Z wav. principle developed by Mr. Scott KusseU-a form wmch cornbines great capiity with gv. at speed. The tonnage of a vessel (as was before remarked) does not now tell us how much caigo can be coiiveyed; the sb p- builders have managed to obey certain conventional ru es, and yet »uorea«e the avaSe capacity of^their ships. Thus the Vknp>oUu is Baid to be o 450 tons yet she brought 000 tons of tea from Chuia. On one day ihe ChrysoUtei, said to have sailed 8^0 knots or nautical mUea m twenty-lour houra. Ihe ' Aberdeen bow' has thus I come a very notable recommendaUon to a ship. There is, however, a claun put forth by Baltimore to the honour ot bavmg introduced the clipper style of ship: at any rate, the 'Baltimore chppei-s. usuaUy single or double-masted vessel h, had a faiuous reputation m the western world long before the pr.isent rage for high speed arose. Since New York and Boston W sent their beauUful ' hners' to sea, the smaller Ba^Umore clippers have lost a little of the sunshine of populm-ity. These larger ships, which cross ^rAUantio and the Indian Ocean to China, or double Cape Horn to Ca ifomia. S merely make the now insiguilicant run to England, have generally some Lrdevf name given to Ihem-tlie White SqwM, the Black SqmU, ^^ Sea S^Xihe Sea Hound, the Sea Witch, the Orey Eagle, the Oanie CWfc^uoh %?e American Ss- just mentioned are indeed aniong «i« ^"fi,';;^;?* afloat Thev are sailing vessels which ply between Lngland and the United States ; and the rivalry It steam has urged their buildei^ to throw the utmost effortemtotlaeconsu4tion. Atintervalsof ^^^'T/ew'no"*^". «/ «;^^;«f «' the news from the great ports announce to us the launching or the hrst voyage S some new member oAhis well-appointed series. Take for «^^Pl«. ^>« olioner ' liner' lUicer, which was buUt at New Yoxk, and made her hrst appear- ance at I'lve^ool in the autumn of i85L Her length is 207 feet ; her breadth of beam, 4a feet: her deptli of hold, 28 feet; her ' t^^^e^i dec'is Imgbt, 7feet; her load line, 30 feet draught ; her registered tonnage, about 1.00 tems^ She is long and sharp, for speed) hut la yet roomy wthm. On the upper deck betwwn Ihe fore and mizen maets. U a l^e and qommodioua .tructure. ^fcy. -- I uii^^iiafcftii^'aaiiwifl^waiwaiiliaw L I wutfii', atttuuitig fruit Uttdo of tlio (Uiiuttin of lapid [re»sive exleiiiiou jct in developing iGYi have recently and tlie othtu- tit riMuay being OOO riner h&a lUiconi- min loa andlUi) >uBt exUiiordiQuy •H witli which tln') largo and small, uinationof nearly from liondou to (Vhen we oonbider appreciate Uie re- portanoe. It was jldly adopted — on 1 wnich combines el (as was before .nveyed ; the ship- id yet iuoretwe the I to be of 450 ton«, ly the Chrysolite ia -four houra. The latiou to a ship. I honouf of having Ittltimore clippera,' tion ui the western ince New York and Baltimore clippers r ships, which cross Horn to CaUfomia, ive generally some aok Squall, the Sea i Game G'ocfc—^uuh ag the finest Khipa [id and tlie United throw the utmost iths, or even weeks, g or the first voyage i, for example, the de her first appeor- )7feet; her breadth een decks' height, ge, about 1700 tons, in. On the upper nmodioua ttracture, A 8HIP, IN TUB KlNEIEBSTll CENTURY. M contuiuint? apartments sufiphed with cooking niiiv,'os, a hospital, boys' room, vegetable room, ice-houso, Ac. The chief cabin is maguiticeritly fitted with ill the solid conveniemes whicli mahogany and rosewood can furnish, aiid all I decorations wliioh g and : apier-maclio can supply. In occordance with tlio Americim cu torn lu ipplyu*!Jj an immense surface of soils to ensu o speed, tlio litmr sprea/fs upwards mI hOOii yarda of canvas. This vessel — mu apiiropriately named— has lately accomplished the run from Now York to l,iverj)ool in fourteen days — a speed thu' throws far ui the shade all previous sailing achievements across Uie Atlantic. But even Uiis bus since been cX' ceeded While these pages are being prg tii tlio same du'oction, as oiu- yacku plainly enough show. How cluu-acteristii^ it is, tliat Robert Stei)henson, who lias done more to aucolerale the si)eed of i ravelling than any oUier man living, should have gone to Egypt in his own pleas ure-jucht, the 'I'itania, and that tliia yacht should have been v^onstructcd on the spetJd-producuig plan of Mr. Hcott llussell, and that the object of the voyage should hove relation to tlio speed of railway Uunait across tlie Isthmus of Suez. The man, i«id the yiwjht, and tlio uccosion, wore wortliy one of another. The yacht America is, perhaps, not so noticeable in regard to its own merits as having been the means of drawing a lai'gc amount of public attention to the build, the sails, and the rig of ships in general. I belonging to a member of the New York Yacht Club, tliis yacht was construcli^a in tliat city eaily in 1H61, mainly with the view of competing with tlie Enghsh yachts at Cowes. She aiTivod m this country in July, al'ter a rattling nm acr'iss tl Atlantic; and her shape, her rigging, her sails, all showed marked difft .onces irom those jiresented by English yachts. She was built by Messrs. Stetjra, for Mr. Stevens, the commodore of tlie New York Yacht Club. Her exti ne length is 01 feet, and breadth about 28 feet. The masts have an extraordinai •• ' rake,' as nautical men temi it — that is, a backward inclinatUm. The standing sails whieii she cai-ries are those called by sailors the jib, mainsail, and for' ^ail. The intomul arrangements comprise state cabins for the master and matt;, maun cabin, witli side bertlis for fourteen seamen, three or four extra state rooms, cook's galley, pantr}', wash room, bath room, clothes room, wine room, soil room, &o. Such was tiie vessel which challenged the British yacht owners, and which won the victory on August 2-2. Ihen did curiosity sot to work in right eai-nest. Was the America built on a new model ? Did not the Aberdeen men, or the Yarmouth men, know this build previously ? Was she built for comfort as well as speed, like Enghs'i yachts, or for speed only? Was thero a new arrangement of saUs ? Was the quantity of sail more for the tonnage than in English yachts? Did the 'rake' exceed that in Enghsh yacixts? Wew not tlie masts less encumbered with rigging than ours ? Did her superiority show itself vvhetlier sailing with or against the wind, in fair or m rough weather ? — ^AU these questions have been canvassed with extraordinaiy eagerness ; and English yacht-builders must be unlike other Englishmen, if tliey do not show that tlie discussion may be made fruitful in good results. ■ J^IIII^'itMUnimiiir'ii L la A BHIP, IN TTIK NINETKKNTU CENTUBY. Steam Navioation; ith Eaiu.y Dayh and itb Rapid Growth. But all improvements in sailing vesBels must give way to that which resulted from tlie application of Htcani as a moving power, NVhut « sciino has half a century witnessed in Uiis matter! It was about 178 4 tliut two Americans, Fitch aiid Rumsoy, exhibited two boats which wore slowly propelled in the water by steam puwcr — a humble beginning of a groat system. It was in 17HM tliat Symington, u'ld Miller, and Taylor, applied steam power to work a paddle-wheel ; while in tie following yeiu: they were tlie first to atuin a steuiii- boat speed of seven miles an lijur, on tlie Fonh and Clyde Canal. It was iu 1802 that Symington first drew a heavy load along a canal by steam power. It was in 1H07 tlmt a steamboat first plied for traffic from Albany to New York on the Hudson lliver; this boat, the Clnrmo>it,wm constructed by Fulton, and waa of so great burden us HIO tons. It was in IHOH that a steamer hi-st ventured on a coasting voyage, which Sttvens made from Now York to tlie Delawu/e. It was in 1812 tlmt the fii-st passenger steamer plied in Britain ; this was Henry Bell's little boat, the Comet, of only 25 tons burden, and !l-horse power; it carried passengere up and down the Clyde. It was in 18ia that a steamer first ujade its api)earance on the Thames, aa a passenger-boat between London and (Jravesend; and it was in tlio same year that a steamer first braved the rough seas of our coasts in a voyage from Glasgow to London. By the yeiu* 1818 there were 46 steamers plying iu tlie twelve rivers — Clyde, Forth, Tay, Trent, Tyne, Humber, Mersey, Yare, Avon, Severn, Orwell, and Thames ; and about tiie same time the steamers in tlie United States exceeded tills number. It was in 1818, too, that the first regular trading over-sea steam navigation conmieiiced, by tlie placing of the Rob Boy on the Greenock and Belfast route ; altliough the English Channel, tlie Iiish Sea, and the Ger- man Ocean, had all been crossed by steam before tliis date. It was David Napier, of Glasgow, who took the lead m steam navigation between 1818 and 1830, and his cousin Robert who has since taken up this honourable position. It was in 1838 tliat the problem of ti-ansallantic stearamg was effectually solved by the safe voyages of the Great Western and the Siriua ; and in the fourteen years which have subsequently elapsed, tlie progress of steam naviga- tion has been truly astonisliing— Uttle less so than that of its sister-system, the railways. Let us imagine that a ' bird's-eye ' glance could be taken at the surface ot Em-ope, in relation simply to the steam-ships which have been mainly esta- blished for post-office service. We should see tlie steamers of twelve Com- panies, formmg an unparalleled fleet of a hundred splendid ships, employed by the Enghsh government alone. These ships (it has been lately stated) have cost not less than 8,000,000i. ; they have 30,000 horse power of engines, and 80,000 tons burden ; they U-averse 2,000,000 miles of ocean in a year, and their owners receive 760,000<. per annum from the British government for postal service. Southampton is the packet station for nearly one-half of these fine steamers; and the three companies which make it theu- depot receive much more than one-half of this large sum. If we watch these hundred steamers, careering over seas and oceans, we find that they touch at most of tlie great ports in both hemispheres ; they carry not only British letters to foreign countries, and foreign lettei-s to the British domuiions, but also foreign letters to other foreign countries ; France, Denmark, Spam, Holland, all have colonies separated from the mother countiy by the broad Atlantic ; but none i lY. RAPin Orowth. J to that which resulted \\t a sctuio luiH Imlf a I that two Americans, lowly propelled in the out HyBtem. It wa« in Htoani power to work a I tirst to attuui a Hteam- !lydo Canal. It was in canal hy steain power, from Albany to New constructed by Fulton, 08 that a steamer Hrwt from New York to the jamer \A\iiA in liiitain ; ' i25 tons burden, and Clyde. It was in 181;J B8, aa a passenger-boat une year that a steamer ira Glasgow to London. 3 twelve rivers — Clyde, n, Severn, Orwell, and United States exceeded ligular trading over-sea )b Boy on the Greenock Irish Sea, and the Ger- is date. It was David ition between 1818 and lis honourable position, earning was effectually the Sirius; and in the rogress of steam naviga- lat of its sister-system, taken at the surface of have been mainly esta- teamers of twelve Com- iidid ships, employed by been lately stated) have B power of engmes, and A ocean in a year, and British government for nearly one-half of these B it theur depot receive 3 watch these hundred , they touch at most of , only British letters to unions, but also foreign Spain, Holland, all have oad Atlantic ; but none ■h I .% %. ^o ^>^^ .cu\^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) y A f / ^ij M/-) ^ ///// <. % i ransacked to aid the processes. Then, again, there was the ' calico-printing trophy,' really an extraordinary assemblage. It is said that Mr. McCallum, one of the masters ot the Manchester School of Design, had almost endless trouble in collecting the specimens ; and this may well be believed, considering that old specimens are in all probability fen cm- n dress imagine how las bee)i ransacked to iting trophy,' really an , one of the masters of mble in collecting the lat old specimens are ma, illustrative of the period than eighty-six 1765 to 1851. The ivhich was then coiled le cylinder to another, a square opening in iiorama, analogous to :tion. rest of tliis paper to a ods from flax, and the t of industry. Great Exhibition by ily; but important in ds Mr. McEwan, who hn Russell, asking for : culture, in Islay and teed of the fitness of had proposed to two of a steeping and scutch- Is might grow. About land, and he states the to assist in employing ing them to emigrate, asserts that there are clueless, which would 5 Highlands, from its humidity, will yield better flax than that of England ; that the agricultural money value of an acre of well-cultivated flax is e'jual to that of wheat, but tliat its commercial or manufacturing value is greatly larger ; that the flax- cultm-e is peculioi-ly suited to the present state of the Highland population, as it would absorb the unemployed labour both of adults and childreri ; and that the rapid streams of the Highlands would furnish water power for flax factories. He asks the Government to aid the landed proprietors in intro- ducing flax-cultivation as a part of the rotation of crops ; to establish a pauper flax-farm in every parish ; to establish flax-steeping and scutching mills ; and to erect quays in convenient spots for shipping the produce. Here, then, we are introduced at once mto the flax world ; we are told of flax in Scotland, ami of flax in England ; and certain economical arguments are used in favour of flax-culture generally. Evei^-day-folks know very little of this culture in our own country : it may be well, tlierefore to say something on this matter. Fla.x-cultivation is no new idea in England. In old times it was more tliought of than at present — until tlie' recent agitation of the subject. So long ago as 1677, one Andrew Yananton published a pamphlet under the following magniloquent title — " England's Improvement by Sea and Land ; to out-do the Dutch wiUiout Fighting ; to pay Debts without Moneys ; and to set at Work all tlie Poor of England with tlie Growth of our own Lands." The burden of this national triumph was — the extended and improved culti- vation of flax. During tlie eighteenth century tliere was a greater average of flax-culture in England than there has been in the nineteenth. The plain truth seems to be, that the great profits from com husbandly during the war rendered that a more attractive crop than flax ; fla:>- ms abandoned, not be- cause it yielded no profit, but because com yielded n. m e. Now that the artificial stimulus to corn-oulture is withdrawn, flax may perhaps have fair play. Another reason why flax-cultuxe was nearly abandoned in England and the Scottish Lowlands, after having been carried on to some considerable extent, was, that the seed was never saved. Growers are now being told, from all quarters, that tliey must preserve the seec , which would make a dift'erence of some iil. or 11. per acre. The value of oil-cake (crushed flax seed from which linseed oil has been pressed) as food for cattle is better appreciated tlian at any former period ; it is known that the animals fatten well on it, and that the manure produced by the use of this food is very rich for com crops. The lowland farmei'8 are now closely calculating this matter — without reference so much to the fibre as to the seed ; but if the fibre and seed both find a market, the spinner and the agriculturist may, perchance, both be served by the same crop. Sir Robert Kane, too, tells the farmers that the water in which flax has been steeped constitutes a useful liquid manure. It certainly is a movement of no slight importance to detemiine whetlier we can grow our own flax. The flax, flax seed and oil-cake which we import annually from foreign countries, amount to a value of something like nine millions sterling ; and, if the visions of the flax-cotton advocates should be even par- tially realized, the use of flax must greatly increase. That we should en- deavour to grow the flax at home is an advice supported on such grounds as those : that we have large tracts of land well adai)ted for the culture ; that its cultivation and preparation would afford employment to a large number of persons now unemployed ; and tliat the culture would render us less depend- ent, on the exigencies of foi-eigu supply. On the other hand, it is generally (though not universally) admitted, that flax is an exhausting crop for the soil ; . r dis- sol\e the sh ten that the fibvea may be separable. This dissolving is ctfected hVL«L W ;,r or rottinr,. Tu old times, before the ' ilax-cotton ' theones ^leTeJTV^T^^^^ men did not work at such a rapid pace as iey do nZ the growei-s selected one of two methods-imf.r retUno nnd dnw TeUinT in the first method, tlie stems are steeped in water for a week or a fortnight a fermentation ensues, which dissolves Uae gluten and bosens U^e fibres^ bit if this fermentation bo not stopped exactly at the right tune lj»^ fibre becomes injured. In the second method, the stems are exposed foi t£?e r or even nine weeks to the action of dew, rain, and wmd on a meadowT'the fibre i^ hotter, though more slowly, retted than by tlio water or Seepinl' process. Sometimes a double or medium system is acted on ; water^ ret ingfo? two weeks. ai.d dew-retting for two or three "we weeks When thoroughly dried after the retting, tlio flax is broken and Pitched; ^'^t is the stalks are so pressed as to crush the woody centre, and are then so beaten as to epamte the toents thus broken. In a simple way the stalks are crushed Iv wooden Srs, which are brought down forcibly upon them, and are then sSed by being beaten in every par* : b"t machines have been evented for Sering LK these processes* When tJie woody fragments are beaten out the flax is in a state to be sent to tlie flffx mil. in relaSn sU-ictly to the beauty of the' fibre, Belgium produces finer flax than Siy other coiLtiy; but the power of P/^'^r^g /^^.^ £ee i moderatelv-Kood flax at a cheap price is more developed m Russia -hence it Sto iSSfaSat we mainly look'foV a supply. One flax plant ."-7. yjf ^^nd soft and glossy fibre; another may yield a greater weight ; and it is tound omn^rcially tfmt Uie latter is the quality which determines the grea bulk o thrpurchases. The stem of a flax plant may be considered on an average of pXens to consist of eight-tenths loon or ^o^ w-'^^^^-^ f?^ ^^SS^fof hare or fibrous envelope ; and this hare contains about half ite weight oi dutinous soluble matter which binds the fibres together; so that the flax Ibrf is abouT one-tenth tlie weight of the whole flax stem. Now any mode of cultmrwhidi would increasi this ratio would be of more importance SarimprovhiK the quality of the fibre, pxcept for tlie finer goods ; but the t i7oSslyako a notable feature; and thus there are two directions '^Si^XZa/:^ZS^^<^er, before noticing VaxtrSk?ccisrror^^^ duskj^coloured. wide-spreading, many-windowed IVonteges = ^.^t ^^^^^^^is is which eclipses all tiie rest m boldness and ongmality of design, .^his is MessJs SSshall's flax mill at Leeds. Instead of having several stones tiers fr floors oS above another, as is usually the -^^^e whde is here h^^^^^ upon one floor-to ensure convenience of supervision, facility of accjss^ ""J fom temperature, good ventilation, and simplicity of machine arrangement. S Sster Wm is nearly four hundredjet long by more &an two h^ dred broad- it is five times as large as Westmmster Hall; and, unti the cAstal Palace was built, this Leeds room was deemed the largest (or nearly so) £Se woS The room has a vaulted ceiling, formed of about seventy domes^ havhiV Slights at their upper exti-emities. and being supported by iron pS These pillars, as at the Crystal Palace, serve aTso as water-pipes, to wiflflrti H» i-«ilhini ■MBMI't rinifciiftiiiiniiiwii iscecl oil, oil-cake, and ito tho gliittm from the ho boon; ho has to dis- iH dissolving is effected e ' flax-cotton ' theories such a rapifi pace as — water rettinfi and ihw n water for a week or a gluten and loosens the y at the right time, tho stems are exposed for rain, and wind on a d than by the water or tern is acted on ; watt!r- !e more weeks. When jd mttched; that is, tho i are then so heaten as ly the stalks are crushed pon them, and are then have been invented for y fragments are beaten iiun produces finer flax ling large quantities of ped in Russia ; hence it X plant may yield a more weight ; and it is found rmines tho great btilk of sidered on an average of ly centre, and two-tenths ibout half its weight of ^ether; so that the flax : stem. Now any mode be of more importance lie finer goods ; but the there are two directions lis art. J career, before noticing regards the monotonous, tages ; but there is one lity of design. This is ving several stories, tiers, he whole is here thrown m, facility of access, uni- ! machine arrangements. ;, by more than two hun- ter Hall; and, until the d the largest (or nearly so) I of about seventy domes, being supported by iron ve also as water-pipes, to COTTON AND SlAXl A CONTRAST. 10 convey tlio drainage from tlio roof. The roof, presenting an area of neaily two acres, was a few yeoi's ago covered with mould and grass ; so that one could literally take a walk in a green field (ju tlie roof of a factory ; whctlier this arrangement is still maintained, we are not aware. Tho interior of tlio, room is filled with beautiful machinery, for performing all the vai-ious operar liona on llax; and beneath are vaulted pa.ssages which contain all the cj range- nientu for supplying steam power, wannth, and ventilation, to tho hive of busy operatives working above. It is certainly a triumph of engineering and mechanical skill, when such a building is filled witli the finest machines which modem ingenuity can produce. How much mind, how .much capital, how much labour, must have been thrown into such an assemblage ! How do wo here trace the accumulation of many years' experience — tho bringing to bear upon one object of so many distinct agencies and sources of power, mental and material, social and commercial ! One of the earliest machine operations is tliat of scparatihg the seed from the stem ; Jlajs-seedin;/ machines have been invented, which separate tho seeds by the careful action of rollers. Then come the Jlax-hreakinff machines ; tliese have fluted or grooved roUei-s, between which tlie flax stem is made to pass, so tliat the woody portion becomes thoroughly broken witliout cutting the fibre. Next come into operation the fliuvsculchintj machines, in which revolving arms or blades visit the flax with such vigorous blows tliat the woody fragments are neai-ly beaten out, and the fibres to a certain degree sepiu-ated. A i Lor this the flaw-hecldiiuj machines give the flax a thorough comb- ing, by means of long rows of teeth or spikes ; the fibres are combed out straight and tolerably clean ; and the low or short fibres are, removed, to be used for other puiposes. The heckled fli\x is then in a state to be acted on by the vai'ious machines which bring it into the state of yarn for weaving ; these machines ai-e of tliree kinds, according as tow, long flax, or cut flax is to be acted upon. The tow-carding and tlie tow-rovimj machines sei-ve for tho first kind ; Uie Jla^x-spreadintj, Jiaw-cardinij, and flax-roving machines for the second ; and the flax-cutting machine, followed by those for carding and roving, for the third. The spinning machine follows all these ; and it differs from cotton- spinning machines chiefly iii having a provision for wetting the flax, either with cold or hot water ; there is still a little gum or mucilage among the fibres, and this becoines moi'e manageable m the machine when moistened. All Uie machines hei-e named are the modem or factory means of operations ; in old times all was done on the hand metliod, and tlie machines have been veiy gradually introduced; the old-fashioned scutching and heckling and carding and spinning implements are still to be met with in remote country districts. Mr, Plummcr, tlie machinist, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, has patented and brought into use a large number of flax machines. There is a ' flax-breaking machine ;' there is a ' double-cylinder twilling machine ;' tliero is a ' double- cylinder heckling machine,' suitable for heckling short flax; Uiere is an 'improved heckling machine,' adapted for long flax; there is a 'rotary disc scutching mill;' and there are ' improved holders for scutcliing and heckling.' All these machines have relation to the earlier stages in the flax manufacture, and not to those of spinning ; but the various processes in the manufacture of flax, as in tliat of cotton, are constantly receiving aid from the mechanical skill of the engine makers. It may not, perhaps, be supeifluous to remark, that a flax mill does not weave flax into linen or other finished goods ; it merely brings the flax into 7 'I- f * nb COTTON AND FLAX: A CONTRAST. the State of yarn, to bo woven in other esLiblishments. Even the giant flax n^m rLeen" not a weaving null. At that -tablishment un4^^^^ onhnary circumstances of trad.-, no less than tlnrty tons (nearly 7<».00< bs.^ ot flax are said to bo worked up weekly into yam ; and it is estimated that to main- tab i such a supply weekly throughout the year, would require six thousand Ss o flii land to be kept in cultivation. This kind of i lustm tion serves to g ve an idea of the magnitude of the operations. ^-■^^^V'r^'ZtelXl is afforded by the number of hands employed. The weaving of the «P'" «'^-^ nU. various kuids of cloth gives employment to Uiousands who work lor the L-eater mrt in theh- own humble homos and by Uie aid of simple hand-looms; butTeil ar^also weaving mills, tho nmnber of which is gradually increasing and in which power-looms ai-e employed; here the general features of the 'TlT'^'arThmg for Ireland that she has a reputation for linens and damaks- i^t dmws the attention of merchants and dealers towai-ds her and Ss tons the people to those hu-ge and comprehensive operations which the Etoi^ system is sure to introduce. As early as Uio bcLnnnrng of the last century the manufacture of linen damasks was introduced into Ireland fi;om GeSy an h^^ still exist specimens woven in Ireland a hundred and th.r y year ago. The manufacture has gone on increashig m excellence ; and i ^^considered that the high-class Irish damasks e.pua '^"X /;;rS,r „ 'e S country. Almost all are used in our own countiy, and the bettor kinds aie so cost IvTimt none but the wealthy can purchase them. Hand-loom weaving is nvlwy adopted for the best dLasks ; but the P«-«rdoom is now beginning to be employed for the cheaper damasks and diapei-s ; and it is hoped that this will ci3 a^foreign market for them. The Jacquai-d- bom is extensively used for Se richer da.nasks, for which it« wonderful action especially adapts t. What a Jacnuai-d-loom is, a long and wearisome descnption would scarcely make i^toSble ; what it aj,pea,^ like, the thousands who watched the working Xe^ever^ Jacquoi-d-loonls'^at the Great Exhibition may Per^'^PS remember ; what it does, is exemplified by specimens of pattern, or damask or figure weavinc for which it is specially adapted. In desigiung table-cloths, table- Zk ns' and d-oyleys. for toyal personages, city companies, club houses, and Smental messes, tie damLk manufacturers of Ireland sometimes display cSerable taste and this taste afterwards reflects some ot its light upon SrSper and ordinaiy commercial products. We believe it is yet a dis- Sited pS among persons artisticaUy inclined, what kind of ornamentation is C fitted for colom-less damasks; hmnan forms and features are sedom damasked satisfactorily, and buildings are veiy tame affairs when so depicted, at present, heraldic emblems seem to take tlie lead. ;n.,^f,.nf,vP nf There is another notable fact worthy of bemg borne in mmd, » l";'tia«^;e of the excellence of Irish manufactures in flax. It is understood that Iiish clbrics mi sent to France in an unbleached state, by tons at a tune, to be JheebeaSied and sold as French cambrics. This ^^f ;^,^,^«^*«,;; /*!*, ifj,^ Irish cambric is better tlian the French, or (more probably) tliat for a given ''"KwLto'St of flax specimens in om- gi-eat industrial display of 1 H5L All coinSs showed us whai they could yield, and in what Btata they bring riie yield to mai-ket. Messrs. Lawson exhibited to us specimens of flax, gi'own n sCand from BriUsh. Dutch, and Riga seed. The ^^rcign^i^ showed u^^ their flaxen fibre as grown in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Irance, Flandeis, HoUaurFriesland. Aasti-ia, Belgium.' Sweden. Norway, Russia. Pmssia, L COTTON AND FLAX : A CONTRAST. ai Even the giant flax imeiit, under ordinary ly 70,000 Ibs.i, of flax stimatutl that, to niain- rcquiro six thousand d of illustration Bei-yes jspective of that which saving of the spun flax ands, who work for the of simple hand-looms ; is gradually increasing, general features of the )utntion for linens and jalers towoi'ds her, and fe operations which the 3 beginning of tho last luoed into Ireland from ,nd a hundred and thirty x\ excellence; and it is [.ud any from any other [ the better kinds are so Hand-loom weaving is r-loom is now beginning (md it is hoped that this loom is extensively used ion especially adapts it. 3cription would scarcely vho watched the working may perhaps remember ; n, or damask, or figure jniiig table-cloths, tablo- panies, club houses, and aland sometimes display 1 some of its light upon 3 believe it is yet a dis- kind of ornamentation is md features are seldom affairs when so depicted ; le in mind, illustrative of s understood that Irish , by tons at a time, to be indicates either that the jrobably) tliat for c given ndustrial display of 1 B51. in what state they bring i specimens of flax, gi-own 'he foreigners showed us rtugal, France, Flanders, forway, Kussia, Prussia, America, Australia, Egyjyt, Canada, China, New Zealand, and India: and many of the kinds in various stages of prepoiation. Mr. Donlan aflorded tlio meiuis of comparing flax seed hi the natmul state with flax seed which has undergone a certain chemical process, said to quicken and improve its growing powei-s. Tho Chevalier Chiusseu diHi)layod, in all tlie stttgi-s from stalk to ciotli, the flax to which his remui'kuble processes are u|)iilied, und from which he hopes to bo able to produce such valuable materials for textile fabrics. Nor did Mr. Schenck fail to supply us witli illustrations of tho efl'ect of his ho^water process, as applied to the steeping or retting of flax. 'I'he Belfast t'lax Society showed how varied is tho value of flax, according to the caro witli which it is prepared for market : Monaghan flax as low as 3h<. per ton, Antrim flax as high as iOO^ j)er ton. And our English counties, too, i)laced before us specimens of tlieir handiwork, produced undtn- very diverse circum- stances : flax and flax seed from Yorkshire ; steeped and scutched flax from Hampshire and from Surrey ; flax grown and scutched at Faniborough work- house ; flax scutched by the i)risonei-s in Winchester Gaol — all were there. Nor were the woven flax goods less varied or interesting. There were linen goods from almost e\ ery countiy in Europe ; tliere were damasks and diapers, sheetings and shillings, and all the well-known fabrics in which flax is the chief or the only material ; there were mixed fabrics in which flax was com- bined with cotton, silk, or wool ; there were threads, and yams, and twists ; there were tlie coarse canvas and sail-clotli, and the fine cambric and lawn ; there were Uie plain goods from the common loom, and the highly-oniato damasks from the Jacquard. There were specimens of flax canvas exhibited whose sti'ength was hidicated by the fact that it had been tested to 490 lbs. in the direction of the waii), and to 5(50 lbs. in tlie direction of the weft. In respect to the kinds of goods known by the above names, imd other kinds also made of flax, tho difl'erences arise from various causes, somewhat analo- gous to tliose in cotton goods, but not so great in number or variety. Linen is the best kind of quite plain flax fabric ; dama.sic has a pattern produced by a particulai' arrangement of the loom ; diaper and doniock are two twilled or tweeled products, having a sort of pattern less intricate than that of damask ; sheetiiu), towelling, sail-cloth, cauras, and many otlier kinds, are coarser and stronger than linen, but, like it, divested of any pattern ; huckaback, used for towels, is something like diaper, but finer. In all those cases, colour has nothing to do witli the production of different qualities ; tho fineness of the yam, tlie closeness of the woven texture, and tlie manner of weaving, being tlie som-ces of the vai-ious differences which present themselves. Flaxen goods are less subjected to tlie dyeing and printing processes than those of cotton, silk, or wool. That fl.ax occupies a lowly position relatively to cotton, is admitted; yet, when we tliink that liiO million yards of linen and 18 million pounds of linen yam were exported in 1851, besides other goods, and after supplymg the home demand, we cannot but regard it as an important manufacture. Indeed, taking the weight of flax and cotton which we use annually at a tliousand million pounds, and the flax ratio to bo one-fourth of tliis, flax may assuredly ' look up ' in tlie commercial sense. The Flax-Cotton Pkojects. Let us now direct a little of our attention to the flax-cotton movement, as it has been called. Mr. Porter, a gi-eat authority in tlie pliilosophy of trade Id COTTON AND FLAX : A CONTBA»T. and manufacturo.. >«. am,.nK tl)08e wh.. deem Uuh movement -^^ •"'P^'^nt one At tho Kdinburffh meotiiiK of the Hntwh AhsociuUoi . m 1«6U, hn mid, "Tho unSnoHH whi5h it in natural to IVol ...uUr tho c,rc»m«tttnc.m her. detoribc." [the doticiency of cotton oropsl han Ld to the d.h«.ju -» of flax, beyond that offered by other -^rtieleH may bo lound in tho fact, that to bring it to the mvme condition as that in winch it is uh.ioI y mp<^^.ted Vou. foreign countrioH calln for the omploynient of a considerable vmouVu of human labour. There is no part of the Un tod K.ngdomjn wluch tlie ilux.plant cannot be succeHnfully cultivated • and Uiere » l»^^>ly ^ y oomitry whence it might not be brought to supply our dehciencies, should ""one CTcat ditficulty which besets this subject is, that the miuihinerir employed for sphEg cotton is not well udapt.,d for spinnhig tLix ; the tonner .s spun dry the latter In spun wet ; and ilax is less manageable generally, loss y.oldmg Siini^al agency, tlmn cotton. It is said Umt die l'^-'--^ " PT'ne? and spinT.h.g cotton, of average quality mvolve an "'^^''^yj' ",^ '"* '^- , ^^ pound; while the average expenses of the ^'^ V^^''''^' ^ S If be oualitv. and by tho ordinary Hax machnicH, reach as high ns Wd It this Ue irt becomes indeed important to see whether flax may be so ' coUouu=ed .u, to be susceptible of preparation and sp.numg by the '^f .«» "'*«bine^. One among the many directions hi which improvement las been sought is iu ill treatment of tho L seed it«elf. The - pickling «». «= ^T'^'^l ^^^-^^^'^J^^ of seeds i^ not a new idea; many experiment^i-s have tliought, tliat as the rhemi al constituents of the soil mainly determine the mi.idity or slowness m J e Jiowth of pbmts. so might a little chemical aid to tlie seed itself bo con^ luciTe to a favourable result. Mr. Donlan has proposed such a mode of tieating Ihix seed. The particular recipe has not. wo believe, been made pub c; no^does it appear U.at experiments on a suihc.ently e«ve «c^' have >^t been made. It would seem as if an enterprising capitalist might renL- benefit, first to himseh and tlien to the community, by preparmg a piece of Trd,aying it out in patches or sections, steeping or pickhng tla.x seed m as many diftereSt ways as Uiere are patches, sowing each section with one nartLlai- kmd. treating Uiem all ahke during growth and companng the Sua wheiT pulled a^d retted. This would place the ~« jJ-J^^J systems in fair competition. AnoUier piece ot land might, at Uie same time be S out in sect bus, aU diftorently manured, and sown with ordmai-y flax seed to detennine ho^ to produce a good crop with the cheapest manum Ss experimental mode of inquiry would certainly yield valuable results, it a '^B:!^:^^^^^ after growing, that the puiport of vecoiit schemes has been chietlv exhibited. The Chevalier Claussen Invs ceiWy displayed nmch energy ii/bringing his invention into public notice. He has sen hs anna atuB to Lancashire, to Ireland, and to other districts, that it might be woK in existing mills, and thereby tested. One experm.ent was made at cient li> [iresent tiio following sketch. 'J'ho (irnt atlt^nipl was to prepare long llax tibro for the ordinary linen manu- facluro. i''our Imndrod woight of Mux in the Mtniw was boiUjd in'u Htone vat, in water contaihing caustic alkali ; the boiling lusted foiu- hours, which was said to idtuv sepamto lliu libres as eft'ectually as an ordinary steeping of weeks' duration. It is tWMortcd, also, that tlie libre is developed in uniform strength ; that it is lesH discoloured than ity the old process ; and that nmch more of the glutinous or giunmy matter it* nuuovod. The flax was removed fiom tlm alkaline liquid, tuid sti'ejied for two liours in water slightly acidtdated with sidphurio a flax: A CONTRAST. presence of the membei-s; it was steeped in tlie allinline liquor selected by Claussen, and in that state appeared like a damp rigid "^"^^^ = b"* ^, ^°?" J'^ it was exposed to the acid, by which carbonic gas was generated and thefibies burst the whole of the flax spread out into an expansive nrnsB of cottony Sure-like leavening dough or expandmg sponge. , "Ifo result is to^^ as having been veiy stx-ikmg; for the spectators saw boUx the beginning and the end of tlie process dui-ing an ordinary sitting. It has been asserted tiiat one pound of ordinary flax, spun to a certain degree of fineness, wdl produce 2 !oorwds of yam f while 5ne pound of split or ' cotton zed 'flax will yield Sooo yai-ds. If this be tme, it is indeed a commercial tnitn of no little 'ThSer Claussen states that he was led by an accident, m^ tl^e Jii^st instance, towards his theoiy of cottonmng flax. Walkmg one day on the banks of a BrL^iUan river, on his own estate, he saw a white downy substance adhering to some of the ti-ees. He fomid, on investigation, that a heap of flax suw which he had placed near the river had fermented, that gases had been gen raS tha? these gases had greatly modified the fla. ^bre, that the fibre Ll become soft and downy, and that some of it had be^n washed into the river and caught by overhanging branches. An induction from tliese facts led the obsen-er to his theory of splitting the fibres. t,. isisbo Anotlicr recent scheme is that of Mr. Schenck, of New York. In 848 he brought before the notice of the Irish Flax Society his plan for flax steeping I consisted mainly in maintaming the steep-water ^\^ ^'l^^\^'^^ temperature, by which he considered that he could ret or steep flax as effeSly iA sixty hours as in two or tliree weeks on the old method. Ihe Society Lr much investigation, recommended the new system-not to the flar™rs'but to persons^f capital, who might purchase the flax straw from the farmers, ret and scutch it with the improved apparatus and P™'=e3ses Jjd sell the fla^ fibre to the spinners. A few ' retteries' (as these new estabhsh- nens are conveniently called) ai-e in operation; and the Ulster Aax-giwers mTe now a choice between two plans-either to sell he fli« straw to the Sers, or to ret the flax themselves by the old method, have it scutched at a ^TCtliit'pi'ljresses were patented in 1851 by Mr. Bower, of Leeds^ ^vhich seem to aim at a medium between the Claussen system and the od system of flixx prepai-ation. The chemistry of his plans seems to be lntell^ gMe; but its Sonimercial advantages as a system ^"I'l .''X^;, ^^Tax careful test. It has been brought under the notice of the Behast Flax Society. J ' i n lull ■^■>wwy" ■ ,.„ltivfttors drill And these were m-especuveot the ^'^l"""* £' S,SKke, sickles, seylliea, ohaltkiuves, hay-kmves, greBS-hooks, leapiBg-liooBs. mu am nt'lSgnTili .S-Ttliw «s to »ha. e.te„t simUar aid i. S£ liquSnaiiure machines, SNvmg ploughs, tur^ip-cutters and a ve^ Sous' u)strument called tJie dyniimo>,UHer, to measure the sUength of the acUon in>nleuients .vhat a scene of activity did it not display ! Let it be ploughs, loi ns aSce i' eie were nearly fifty exhibitoi-s of ploughs, some o whom sen S Sa variS Here we n^iay Lly expect U.at all -hi^^^V^tS tLTs ^in Twn to the middle of the nineteenth centuiy, was put fortli in the be.t mi Theie wire common ploughs, ^vitl.out any distinctive name ; Uier we drain ig ploughs, "criterion pri.e ploughs," iron wheel ploughs, wood Twing pTughl^bro^l-shaie ploughs, double ploughs witli ^^rought-u-on bean , " patent NG H ploughs," gold-hanger ploughs, one-way-turnover ploughs, two ho"le iim swing ploughs, skim ploughs, welded-joint ploughs, ploughs tItKERY. 1851. at congress in Hyde ment of industi-y was surprise greatly those now applied to agri- for tending the young ng it for market — for dliave been invented. Iters, cultivators, drill g mills, goi-se-cutting ploughs, hay-making ive machines, mowing arifiers, seed-dibbling s, threshing machines, ! at the Crystal Palace, iid-husbandry, such as oks, bill-hooks, sickles, *t extent similar aid is been to send many of stria, for instance, sent euers, weed destroyers, er seed bags, cast-u-on nes, weeding machines, ida contributed gi'ain , showed us her soine- )rez machine for sowing )wing machines, clover- olland contributed seed nip-cutters, and a very he sU-eugth of the action -y by such simple imple- i so forth. Prussia and owmg nia<:hine8, drills, 18, water-furrow ploughs, the fields of industry— snrit machines, horse- road horse-power seed- iie now famous reaping Chicago. icimena, any one class ot 1 Let it be ploughs, for ghs, some of whom sent I which the farmer could ivaa put fortli in the best ' distinctive name ; tliere ron wheel ploughs, wood wiUi wrought-iron beam, ne-w&y-turnover ploughs, !d-joint ploughs, ploughs CORN AND BKBAD: WHAT THEY OWB TO MAOHTNBRT. 8 with drilling machines attached, doublo-breaat ploughs, double-fm-row ploughs, double water-furrow oiler ploughs, West Indian ploughs, Netherby ploughs, TweedJale trench ploughs, shifting-coulter ploughs, friction-wheel ploughs, and others, distinguished one from another by peculiarities which would wholly escape an ordinary observer, but which ai-e signiticant to tlie eye of a farmer. There were, too, ploughs of a more ambitious description — -such as Lord Willoughby D'Eresby's machine for ploughing land with a stationary steam- engine ; Usher's model of a locomotive steam-plough, in which the ploughs, revolving behind the carriage, act as propellers ; and Lyon's machine for ploughing, sowing, manuring, and rolling the land in immediate succession. This agricultural depai'tment — this noble glass case 060 feet in length-^this area of aOfiOO square feet of flooring — shone with a brightness of coloui's which quite dazzled our foreign visitors. They could not understand the bright red and yellow and blue which here met their gaze. In their own countries, whether on the east or the west of the Atlantic, the implements are seldom or never so bedizened ; they have rough work to do, and rough implements to do it ; but with us, whether it be for reclaiming bogs and swamps, or preparing the soil for cultiu-e, or depositing seed and manure, or tending and cleaning the growing crop, or gathering tfie crop when ripe, or preparing the crop for market, we find that showy paint is abundantly applied to the machines employed. At the Exhibition this kind of adornment was practised in an additional degree, apparently to befit the holiday occasion. Some of our visitors doubted whether the implements were really good which liad received such adventitious aid ; and it may, indeed, be worth while for our implement makers to consider whether it comports with the dignity of their excellent productions to continue a practice which was probably first adopted as a lure to the purchasers of common-place goods. Some of the makers liave already begun to abandon, or at least to subdue, the brightness of these decorations. Good mechanism, like good wine, is its own best advertisement. It is a singular feature in modern English agriculture, tliat debtor-and-creditor accounts of farming enterprises are being mode public in a more exact form than used to be the case. Like as an experimental philosopher notes down facts as materials whence he may, by induction, establish principles, so does an experimental fanner note down all tlie items of outlay, and all the sources of profit, in order to draw out a balance-sheet therefrom. It is true that gentleman-forming involves much fallacy unless scrupulous core be taken to enter all the items on tlie unfavorable side of the balance ; for the real farmer has often difiiculties to contend against, which do not affect the experimentalist Still there is no reason why eveiything should not be honestly entered to the best of the experimentalist's judgment; and if the results ai-e accepted approximately, without being made the basis of too hasty generalisation, good must ultimately accrue therefrom ; for men's minds come by degrees to appre- ciate the relations in which certain items of expenditure and income etand to each other. Mr. Mechi, of Tiptree Hall, in Essex, has become quite a leader among these gentlemen-farmers — these experimentalists who, deriving their capital from other departments of commercial industry, apply a portion of it to investigations concerning farming enterprise. Those who were familiar with the ' Fine Arts Court ' at the Great Exhibition, will perhaps call to mind tlie lai'ge model of this Tiptree farm. It showed the ' economical application of steam power to threshmg, grinding, chaff-cutting, corn-dressing, pumping, sack-lifting, and cooking Uie food for live stock. It also exhibited the new M 3 I - ' -.l^ tti^tK. 1 COBI.ASDBKEAD-. »HATTraTOWKTOM*CBINEBV. pHnc>p>e o, Weeping ». feea,„,^-» .„ opc„ Wde. «oo., O.-. d.. pensing with the use of straw ^^ J'^^^ing^j^^ ^^^ular statement of the results Mr. Mecbi has made pubhc more than one t^u^^^^ debtor-and- of his farming experience at ['I'^^'^^-jf^om October 30, 1850, to October 30, creditor accounts-embi-aces the peiiodlromu^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^ 1851. He gives in the fii^t place, Jej^lj^Xcks cows, calves, pigs, in-ple- date, including the items of horses ^^^ep,^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^der six headmgs ments, hay, root crops, and manure the vauem^ ^^ ^^ ^^,^^^^ ths' in pounds, shillings, and Pff^^;. .^^^^'^^o^rnTrocks and stones, and tenrl-ng labour, in ordinary farnnng, trench ngiemo^^^^^^ ^^^ the twelve live stock. Then comes a ^^"g J'^^^VSof land leased by him, a fmther month8,comprisingrentof hisownland ren ot 1 ^.^.^^^ percentage for his ""P^'^^'-^tntl m^^ new S police rates. Property tax sunreyor smte.n^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^ ^ Lam-engine, coals for ?Xrn«s InteS^on the capital sunk in the for the stock, guano and other "^^""'^J' '" „uinerous items are grouped to- fai-m, and miscellaneous expenses These numero ^^ ^^ ^^^.^^ ^^^^ ^^ SfnJi^roteTn^S^^^^^^ ^^^^" ''-''' live stock, dead meat, wool, a,nd ^""er. opposite sides of Uiis The exact nature o the ^^^^^^^'j^Zeel^ly disLssed and closely account we do not advert to; ^^^^f'Xve been expressed on the matter, canvassed the result, and vanous «P*"^^"\f4,^''hing required ; for it must But tins open and candid discussion »^ J^^ ^^^^ '^^^^^^^ ,\ense that farming in the en,i bring out "^^^'^V bprome Tat le industrial statistics. accounts, if honestly prepared, become ^aluablen . ^^,,^^ from the Some of the modem fai-mmg enterprises J^e >« y a high-class scientific mode in which they ^^'^.'^jf "f ^^^eam en^e t^icies of ihe age estabUshment of tliis kind smt^ato t^^ Patrington n we live in, may perhaps ^^Jp±2^\Zf^^"iias form is mentioned m Yorkshire. In our paper ^^^.^ow^^^^Jl^J ^ be also a farm in the more collection with llax-culture ; bu i^ a^Pe^^^^^^^^ ^^^ Times "-one of tliose usual sense of that term. The ^o™";^^,";"" j^^s brought into such a Commissioners whom the ^f^'gy^^^XS few years-has described this remai-kable degree of -^^^ivity within Jie last e^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^„„pi,d fai-m, this food-factoiy, ^oniey^^immn^ ^d in making efficient roads to in building and stockmg the fai-m ^"'^J'Sii^ of eight-hoi-se power occupies connect them wiUi the fieids. ^^^fJ^^S^g roTof this bam ai-e all the the centre of the bam ; and ^^^^'^f^^^^Xe in door processes of husbandry. . best and newest machmes "^^P^ed /oi the 'i^e S and tlien delivei-s it m The threshing ^^l^"'^^ t^^'l^'o^he SXriofrwhere it is ground and the gi-anary; it P'^^^^^^^^'^ *", **'1C S^V ^^^ P"^"^"*^ ^" '^^' dressed, and whence it descends to alower Bto^y- wn^ ^J ^^^ine the and laid aside for die baker, ^^lom the end ot tn .^ .^ b ^^^^^^ straw is carried hy an endless web to ^^^^f ^' ^^^^ ^^^ai^s and oats for the lUrn^mSirt^S Z^^et^'^^^ ^^ -^ ^ ^^'^ ^^ ^^^ '<*ii' r" T lCHINEHY. )arcled floors, thus dis- tatement of the results raents— his debtor-and- JO, 1850, to October aO, is stock at the former )ws, calves, pigs, in.ple- ese, under six headmgs, cost of twelve months and stones, and tenfV-ng enditure for the twelve leased by him, a fui-ther ind, tithes, poor rates, snts and tools, repairs to )il-cake and com as food tlie capital sunk in the i items are gi-ouped to- of the farming stock at is items are less or more omea a valuation of the l-wurzel, turnips, clover, ■0 opposite sides of tliis [y discussed and closely expressed on the matter, ing required ; for it must iuch a sense that farming istrial statistics, ■ei-y insti-uctive, from the 1 example of a high-class me tendencies of the age fam, near Patrington, m his farm is mentioned in also a farm in the more the Times"— one of tliose ;s has brought into such a years— has' described this Ben months were occupied making sfficient roads to eight-horse power occupies )of of this bam ai-e all the )r processes of husbandry. ;om, and Uien delivers it m ft, where it is ground and vhere it is packed in sacks the threshing machme the where it is operated upon eak beans and oats for the ung with the cut chaff. In igine, lift the turnips up to es fall into a truck, and this CORN AND BflEAD: WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINERT. 5 track travels along a railway to tlie feeding sheds. In another compartment, steam from the boiler boils and cooks food of vario'is kinde for pigs and other live stock. In the cattle liouses, each animal has its comfoitable box, twelve feet by ten, witii a supply of fresh water in one comer, and a manger for its food in another. The railway conveying the trucks of sliced turnips traverses the space between two parallel ranges of cattle boxes. Underground is a great arched tank, into which all the rain-water that falls on the farm-buildings is conveyed by spouts and pipes ; from this tank the boiler of the steam- engine feeds itself with water ; and the engine likewise pumps up the water to a tank on the highest piu't of the bam, whence it supplies by pipes all the different divisions of the farm-buildings, and also sei-ves as a reservoir in case of fire. Manure pits, and liquid-manure tanks, are placed so as to render the refuse from the cattle-houses as readily available as possible for use in the fields. I'he whole establishment, indeed, is an exemplification of the factory system applied to agriculture. The Agricultural (Jollefins constitute another mai-ked feature in modem times. Let us glance for a moment at that of Cirencester. Here students — boys, youths, and men — are taught various sciences and arts which bear upon agricultural pui*suits. Some are boarded and lodged within the college, some in the houses of the masters, some elsewhere. They pay from 40i. to %i)l. each per amium, according to the arrangements respecting board and lodging. Besides regular instraction, and lectures in various sciences and departments of knowledge, the pupils have access to an experimental fai-m connected with the college, where various theories ai-e practically tested, and instmctions illustrated, having relation to grazing, farming, management of stock, pre- paring of com for the market, application of steam-power to agricultural machines, and so forth. There are many other agricultural institutions and fanners' clubs, where the principles of science are sought to be made available to husbandry ; they are slowly doing a good work. We have just mentioned the steam-engines at Tiptree and at Patrington. This marks a notable advance. The application of steam-power to agriculture is one of those measures which are probably destined to exercise great in- fluence on the welfai-e of this department of industry. There is a general estimate made, that one-fifth of the whole produce of the land is consumed by the horses employed to cultivate it ; that is, taking one farm with another, and the average number of horses on each farm, the vegeUble produce is diminished 20 per cent, by the time tlie hoi-ses tliemselves have been fed. This is a serious item. Even if men were to scrapie (which few men do at the present day) to employ machinery to supersede human labour, this scrapie would have no place in relation to the subject now under notice ; it is horse labour which agricultural steam-engines are intended to partially supersede. All such operations as threshing com, cutting chaff", cutting turnips and other roots, cnishmg grain and seeds, Ac, can be very well perfomied by steam power. Even in districts where coal is iiOs. per ton, it is calculated that one shilling's wortli of coal will do as much work as four shillings applied in feeding a working hoi-se. One serious matter is, tliat large farmers only can bear the expense of purchasing steam-engines ; the small farmer can barely afford to i)urchase one, and the operations on his fami are 'lot extensive enough to keep an engine regularly at work. Here, howeAer, a new commercial element comes into exercise. Those who are familiar ,' "i Binningham manufactories know that iini ti iM i wWrnwm i iMn i i iii 't"i n i RiiMaMMi iHg/morm 6 CORN AND BREAD : WHAT THEY OWE TO MAOHISBRY. Steam power is oft«n let out in that town; two men, for example, have v/ork- JhoS adjoining each oaier; one has a steam-engine, but die ot^her not; a belt or shaft .9 carried from one shop to Uie other, by which both may have Uie ^Vl of Ihe sLm-enginea power; find the one manufacturer W* rent U> the other for ihe 8t*am power thus afforded. Now someUnng similar to Unnj heZZa to bo apphed in the agricultural districts. The owner of a port- abfe s3-engine Jonveys it from farm to farm, at the seasons when much kboi "required, or at such periodical int«nals as may smt Ae arrange nente of the farmer; it is tised to perfomr the farm-work, a rent is paid for te use and it then tmvels on to another farm--it is a peripatetic operative which Cs upon coals and water, and patiently V« anywhere to do any kind '^Thf ^rro/preference now claimed for moveable instead of fixed Bteam-enffines for farais are something as follows:— in a large farm with a fixeTengfnTin one spot, there is great waste of labour for man and home in Sing^Sl the com to one spot, Ind making all the operations centre m one spS "f the engine can be taken to the crop, instead of the crop to the TgU power wm be economised. If a farm be smaU, it wUl iiot afford work eSgh for a fixed engine; but a moveable engine might suffice fortvoor mo^e such Lms. The moveable engine enables com to be threshed with much kss expenditure of time and labour Uian by the fixed engine. In using Jhe atter, the com is put up into ricks, pulled to pieces agam, carted to the thresh ngbmi, and then brought mider the action of the fixed engine ; but when a moSle^g^e is employed, the complex threshing machine is attached to it as a tender is to a locomotive, and both are driven mto ^e com field (fine weathL being of course necessary) ; the sheaves are tossed at once into the rSing machine, which is set to work by a band or gear from the engine; aid U "s^now found that it takes no more time to thresh the com m this way than it formerly did to cart the com to tlie bam. Farm-Machines, as supkrsedino Hand-Implements. But we must examine a littie more in detail the doings of the corn- husbandman, to see in what way, and to what extent, horse labour has super- seded hand labour, and tlie steam-engine superseded both. Mj Pusey; m 1850, presented to the Royal Agiicultuwl Society a valuable report on the progress of agriculture during the eight years preceding that date. His discussion of Liebig's celebrated chemical theoriea we mil not touch upon ; but the mechanical aids to agriculture come precisely withm our range ; and it is instractive to see what so competent an observer has to say *^"we^aJe told, then, Uiat agricultural mechanism is "certainly the branch in which the increase of knowledge has done the most good to farmers, that increase being paitly extension and partly advance." In 1840, m the 8a°>« P»"«t»^"id^ wiai the game soil, one farmer's plough might be seen heavier for three honies than another plough for two. \n many places tliree horses might be seen plouching light loam : a wast« of power never now seen. Agricultural horses Se dhuinishig in number; those entered in the Tax Returns for 1840 were 371,937 ; whereas those for 1848 were only 297,868. This » a very smgulai faipe-viakinif machines have come to occupy on important position at our Agricultural Shows. Until about 1840 the tiles were made by hand ; but now pipes are generally substituted, made by mcchinery at less than half the cost of hand-made tiles ; this diminution of cost has encouraged landlords to drain wet land very largely. So important is the matter now regarded, that at one of the recent shows no fewer than forty-eight of such machines com- peted for the prize. The drains or trenches for the pipes are dug by hand with spades ; but a bold attempt is now being made to substitute machinery for tliis as well as otlier hand processes. Mr. I'owler's draining plough is really an extraordinary machine ; it ploughs out a channel tlu-ee or four feet below the surface, and lay$ dmm ike pipes in that chaimel. The Agricultural Jury recently tiied it ; and in Uieir report they thus comment on it : — " But for the American reapei-s, Mr. Fowler's draining plough would have formed the most remarkable featm-e in Uie agricultural department of the Exhibition. Wonderful as it is to see the standing wheat shorn levelly low by a pair of horses walking along its edge, it is hardly if at all less wonderi'ul, nor did it excite less interest or surprise among the crowd of spectators when the tiial was made, to see two hoi-scs at work by the side of a field, on a capstan which, by an invisible wire- rope, draws towards itself a low framework, leaving but the ti'ace of a narrow slit on the surface. If you poss, however, to the other side of the field, which the framework has quitted, you perceive that it has been dragging after it a string of pipes, which, still following the plough's snout, that bun-ows all the while four feet below ground, twists itself like a gigantic red worm into the earth ; so that in a few minutes, when the fhunework has reached the capstan, i \ 8 CORN AND BRKAD: WHAT THKY OWE TO MACHINERY. the string is withdrawn from the necklace, and you ai-e ftssured that tlie drain has thus been invisibly formed beneath your feet." Tiiis thorough draining is a heavily-e.xpensive operation. But let us next watch tlie more general and annually-recurrent operation, of which that of the })lou{fh is an important one. The minute shades of difference in tlie aiTangement and action of ploughs ai-e quite beyond the appreciation of ordinary obsenera. The last quaiter of a century has produced modifications and impiovements almost out of number. Some of the new patent ploughs owe their distinctive chai-acter to being made of wrought iron ; others are specially adapted to penetrate the ground to particular depths; one manufacture)^ prides himself on the geo- metrical accuracy with which the cunes of the share and the funow-tumer and tlie mould-board are planned ; another seeks to attain a certain symmeUy and compactness in the arrangement of the several parts ; anotlier is noted for the mechanism by which the share is fixed higher or lower according to the state of the soil ; here we have a peculiav adjusting power for tlie coulter ; there a novelty in the application of the draught or pulling force of the horse ; in one, by a change in the mould board, the same plough niav be used for heavy and light land ; in another, the parts are susceptible of being readily taken to pieces, for the convenience of emigrants. Nor are foreign counU-ies wanting in modern novelties in ploughs ; though we may fairly claim to be ahead of most of them in this matter. The Belgian ploughs are still strong and stout, but rough and heavy ; the Austrian, tlie French, the North German, the Dutch— all are somewhat rude. But our brethren across Uie Atlantic show a good deal of neatness and cleverness in their ploughs ; tlae woodwork of these ploughs (white oak, of great toughness) is made by machinery ; and it is thus so accurately fitted, that all the parts can readily be taken asunder for repair or for removal to a distance. The Juiy Report infoii.is us that it was Messrs. Ransome who furnished tlie modem English plough with two low wheels, and witli mould-boai-ds adapted to different soils. Mr. Howard and Mr. Busby have especially directed their attention to the mould-boards — those cuned surfaces which, after raising each fuiTow-slice of ploughed eartli, gradually lays it over half inclined on tlie preceding slice. Foreigners are said to have been struck witli the lengUi of the English mould-boards, at the Great Exhibition ; tliis length has been found advantageous for the stiff clay soils of England. In respect to han-ows, tlie square-bar han-ow, with straight-set teeth, has been used from the eailiest times till within tlie last few years. Harrows are now made with the teetli diagonally aiTanged, so that the frame which contains them can be drawn square forward instead of obliquely. There is also a very ingenious expanding han-ow now in use, in which the cross bars are jointed loosely, so that the tines or. teeth can increase or decrease their mutual distance behind and before, by decreasing or increasing the distance to the right and left— like the ' laxy-tongs.' , Another implement which assists in preparmg the soil is the roller. Ihis, like the plough, has tmdergone great improvement recently. "Not 'many years ago," the Jury Report tells us, " the landlord was often asked by his tenant for some old tree to convert into a roller. The tree roller, when manufactured, had its framework loaded with rough materials to give it weight ; but it soon wore and cracked." Sometimes there was no framework at all, but the traces for the horses were fastened to two pins at the ends of the roller. Now, however, our Crosskiils and others have produced excellent rollers, some serrated and I tgltmf'rmwmttivftaii^'Bi tlNRRY. isuied that tlie drain 1. But let us next )n, of which that of nd action of ploughs ). The Iftst quttiter nents ahnost out of stinctivc chai-acter to led to penetrate the himself on the geo- [\(l the fun-ow-tumer 1 a certain symmetiy ts ; anotlier is noted or lower according to ower for the coulter ; g force of the horse ; igh may be used for ible of being readily are foreign countiiea lay fairly claim to be oughs are still strong 1, the North German, I across tlie Atlantic ughs ; the woodwork e by machinery ; and ily be taken asunder isome who furnished 1 Willi mould-boai-ds iisby have especially ned surfaces which, lally lays it over half lave been struck witli diibition ; tliis length ngland. straight-set teeth, has ' years. Harrows are frame which contains There is also a very ross bai's ai*e jointed their mutual distance smce to the right and il is the roller. This, 3cently. " Not ' many len asked by his tenant r, when manufactured, it weight ; but it soon k at all, but the traces roller. Now, however, rs, some serrated and CORN AND BREAD : WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINERY. some plain. Fanners used to break their stiff clods partly by the han'ow and partly by the plain roller ; but now the clod-crusher — a kind of roller bristling over with tooth — etfcctually breaks down the hard lumps of earth which impede arable culture. The Norwegian Imnow, a kind of triple roller amied with much sharper teeth than the clod-crusher, is another modern implement for breakingjtho clods. The implement called bj the various names of gruhher, scarifier, and cultivator is a kind of substitute for the plough ; it is a modem invention to which gi-eat value is attached by experienced men. The Jury Report encourages an oxpec tation that the cultivator may, when brought into gouoml use, save one-half of the entire labour now bestowed upon ploughing ; and that it ought to take rank with the reai)ing-machin(!, in its prosiiective value to jtractical farmers. The scarifier or cultivator cuts up five feet width of soil at once, but to a less deptli than the plough ; and this wholesale cutting up, when adopted at a cer tain season, saves tliree or lour ploughings ; the instrument has generally about eight or ten tines or cutters, something like ploughshares. Next we come to the drillH or seed-sowimj machines. 'J'liesc are not less mai'ked by divei-sity than the ploughs of the present day. Lot any one examine the drills in the Great Exhibition, or in the Smithfield Cattle Shows, or in tlie annual shows of the Agi-icultural Society, or in the trade-circulars of the vai'ious manufacturers — he will see ample proof of this. Some of the drills are for sowing turnip seed only ; some are equally adapted for all seeds ; some deposit manure in the same holes as the seed ; otliers lay the manure at a trifling distance from tlie seed ; one manufacturer attends par- ticularly to the driving or steering apparatus, l>y which tlio drill is made to do its work in regular straight lines ; another tries to make his drills work well on Uie side of a hill ; in one drill wo see the seed descend through a string of tin cups, each dipping into the one below it ; in another a vulcanized india- nibber tube supersedes the cups ; some are two-row drills, while othei-s are four, six, eight, or ten ; some of the manure-drills are so nicely adjusted that they can be nuae to drop small portions of pulverized manure at any required distances apai-t. " The sower with his seed-lip," says the Juiy Report, " has almost vanished from soutliem England, driven out by a complicated machine, the drill, depo- siting the seed in rows, and drawn by several horses." Although horses ai-e used for tlie drill, and not in hand-sowing, yet hoi-ses are used for the harrows which follow the hand-sower, and tliis to such an extent that it is calculated one-half the horse-power is saved by adopting the drill instead of tlie " broad cast " method of sowing. There is a saving of seed, too, by the drill. But the Juiy Report, which discusses tliis subject with much clearness, states that the proper mode to view tlie drill is as tJie keystone of what may be termed machine-agriculture; the scarifier loses much of its value unless the drill, instead of the broadcast method, follows it; and the horse-hoe — another important member of the machine series — requires tlie drill to precede it. The drills are costly machines, some rising to the price of £40 or £60; but Uie makere are cheapening them, and are introducing many varieties among them. The juiy instituted a trial of twenty drills at Pusey — ten-rowed corn drills, ten-rowed com and seed drills, three-rowed drop drills, two-rowed turnip drills, hill-side drills, general-purpose drills, self adjusting steerage drills — all were there, and otliers besides. There was also a hand-baiTOw drill, worked by a man instead of hoi-ses, which obtained a highly-eulogistic character. The modern drills not only economize seed, but manure also. Farmers used, not M 3 10 CORN AND dread: WHAT TmST OWK TO MACHINBBT. lone hho. to scatter the lime or -hoapliate or other manure over the whole sm-face of a field ; but now the manure-drills concentrate it in lines along tho rows of seed ; nay. Mr. Hornsby's drill drops tlie seed and manure, by a second advance in mechanic frugulity. only at tliose points hi Uie hnes where the plants arc intended to stand. ThiH has been well chai-acUTised as "an elastic pliability by which mechanism in iitt * i*i»ill i i ii i i i i « » i ' i*Mi»»i>j»« « *W'>« ' l '' M ' "***' NERT. lure over the whole t in lines along the nannro, by a Beeond ho lines where tho uTicU'risetl as " an 'conded chemisti^." made recently, by vholly new, at leant, lan give Mr. Pusey's landlor's water-dnll, It. Often when our ' which depends our 08 a turnpike road, r-glaas ; weeks paas littt the rain has not ig the line of seed such an superphos- ming change in the Wiltshire, and bids lar obstacles — uncer- iiprovetiient in agri- ie Jury Report, does tlie notice of fai-merH, 3ur. The horse-hoo lat of the rows made 8 compound hoe will ly. So nicely do the Mr. Pusey remarks, with which the loose eda." He gives the )wer in field waggons, ; equal the difference ually efficient single- [E Gkanaky. far as they have been lecessary for our skip- oceases which engage he field of corn to be :om. ig, none have excited mhiim. Threshing lachines ai-e only now i to maintain. How 1 laboui-ers, every one t time; the stooping lie observer that a day 3ted. voted a reward to the mm I OKN AND imSAO : WHAT THEY OWK TO MAriHINKRV. 11 inventor of a reaping machine ; but the machine was ho intricate that it jiradunlly fell into disuse. Another was afterwards invented in one of our colonies, but it cut otf only the heuds of Uie corn, liMivin^f tlie grtnitei' [lart of the stmw stiinding — a serious impediment to proper culture. One or two other niachineH were afterwards invented, but they went so comi)letely oiit of use tliut, at the opening tif tlie (ireat E.xhibilion, tlie two American machines appeared almost like perfect novelties. ISlr. McCormick has given an account illustrative of the slow steps by which his mnehine arrived at ethcieitcy. His father, a farmer in Virginia, made two different aUempts, at periods long ajuu-t, to construct a reaping niiMihine ; Jjo abandoned both as being unsatisfactory. In 1H:H the son begiui his experi- ments, and in that yeai- constructed a machine for reaping. It is one of the peculiarities of a reaping machine, tliat it can only bo tested during a few weeks in the year ; u manufacturing machine, in most other trades, can be used or tried at all seasons of the year ; but a reaping machine only comes into use when tlie com is ready for harvest. Hence it happened, that when any defect was found ui Mr. McCormick's machine, he had to wait nearly twelve months before he could test the usefulness of any changes or improve- ments ho might make. It was nine years before he sohl a single machine, and fourteen years before a regular demand arose. At length, tlie yeiu' 1845 saw tho machine completed ; and since that time lliere has been a sole in America for about a tlioiisand anmiiUly. It seems strange that six years should elapse before tliese machines became known in Engliuul. and that our Great Exhibition should be tlie means of miikuig them known ; but England has always looked ratlier for raw jiroduce than lor machinery from the United Htates ; luul, moreover, agricultural machines are ponderous articles to transmit BO great a distance. A few words must sullice to explain the princijile of action in this machine. Two systflins have been tried in the machines hitherto made : tlie one to cut by a series of clippera or sheoi-s, and tlio oUier by a revolving plate. In McCormick's machine tliere is a cutting blade about on inch in breadth, jagged or toothed hi the front edge ; it extends across tlie front of the machine "near tlic ground, and has a reciprocating or oscillatory horizontal motion given to it. Over tliis blade is a light reel, to which aie fixed obli(|ue blades or spai-s of deal; tliese spars, when the reel revolves, get behind die fnlks of standing com, and hold them steadily while being cut ; Uie stalks are piL.^ed between projecting tines or lingers, luid are there cut by the saw-like action ol" the blade. When the stidks aie thus cut near tho ground, tliey fall on the floor of the machine. The reel, witli its windmill-lookmg api)endages, is the strangest part of this machine ; it seems at first as if it would beat out all the ears from the com as it revolves ; but tliis we may presume has been guarded against by the inventor. There has been, and still is, a battle raging between two reaping machines, McCormick's and Hussey's, both from the United States. It is quite plain that both ai'e veiy efficient machines ; and tliat though, rather from imtoward accident than design, one obtained a " council medal " and the other did not, the JU17 would have been veiy glad if boUi had obtained this much-coveted honour. On one of the trials made before the Exhibition Jury, McCoi-mick's machine cut fifteen acres in ten hours, and did it lower down the stalk than by ordinary hand reaping. Mr. Pusey "s estimate of the saving by tho use of tliis machine is estraordinary ; he assmnes 9s. an acre to bo tlie labour-wages for ordinary — **wKife. 18 CORK AMD nHK.AP: WHAT TIIKV OWE TO MACHINERY. ho CHtiinutcH tho wiiKoa for the two rcftpiiiR, mttkinn 0/. 1 5«. for fifteen acres ; men on the nimhhie, tho Kheiif b'nulfis, iiiul lh<' hoims food, at 'J/. 7.i. M., leaving ii nmrgin of II. 7«. M. in liixomof tlu; uiiu'hino ; in Htnctnt-KH. n Hnmll perccnliino ou^!ht to ho mldcil to this, as intii the straw; every y»'ar is the threshing ma- chinoseen to be nion nd nioreeniployeii, and every year are the old-fashioned flails lessening in innnber. In the < urlier niacbiiies the grains wore liable to bo rather more broken or bniised than by a well-nianag''d flail ; but the ira- pUducnt makers have gradually svnniounted all obstacles. 'IJiresiiing machines bear a pretly gene.al resend)lance to Oftch other in their nuxle of action. 'I'ht! essential part is a large cylindrical drum, on the outer surface of which are fixed bars or beaters parallel with the axis ; the drmn is made to revolve with a velocity of five hundred to a thousand tunis in a minute. The stalk of corn being passed betwien feeding rollers, it comes in co;ituct, with the heaters on the rapidly revolving dnnu ; the grain is beaten g^err. S^tiriX^rSe would driL away the com unground or half-ground. „„^r>iAvitv of the erinding machinery, Whatever may be the ^^'^V^f'^^ ^'^^"^^r^flt^^^Zc. The reason all com requires to be < Wc^ or W «rf bef^. ^1^^^::^^^^^^ with the for this IS obvious ; the bran oi nusK oi ui ,„„_„ted before we could Ineal when it leaves ^\^'f-X:i^ l^ oTt^mes, a'S m'« wa« used to obtain anything like wheaten bread. /» f '^ "V'f ^' * ^.^ ^f a Pecul'*"" «P«° effect tliis sepaSition ; this cons.st'.d of a sort ot bag mac^e^t a pe ^^^J canvas, in which the meal ;-^ J\7";,^r^^,'e,em? bl oTbeat^rs ; and the with groat rapidity -md ^f -^,,*J„^^^^^^^^^ by the revolving reel, action was such tl^at. by the centri ugai lo i i/oUing-cloth. leaving tlie flour was driven forcibly tlu-ough f^« '^fX,''* 'ii"ated and has been the bran withinside. This machine « .;«"^«^^f J^^ ^^^^^^^ of nearly superseded by the dressing ^'^''^f"^.^^™' leasing in fineness from one end to the other , tne ^J"""^'. '»,,.,„,_„ „„ fi„ed to a centitd axis the finest gauze uppemost ; and T^^? T|. ^^^"f^'^Xom a^^ the axis being in the cylinder. The machme be'ngffdj^th ground c^^^ ^^^^^^ b^ xnade to'rotate rapidly, the brushes Jift or .^^ thicro^v l"^ ^J"" flo"^ pass ; the wire gauze-first through thejinest g^^J^' ^^^J*^^" ^hich allows monA J^en. lower down Uie cy hnder.^^^^^^^ ^^ flour to pass ; then thiough t^" ""'^J .» .-, . leuedi, all the meal or respectivily to the middUngs and ^^e f'^'-^ ^-^^^^^^^^^ ^.^^^^ flour being separated, the frmn or h ^^^ 5"^",^ * ^^,^8 advocati diflferent In this: as in many oUier f««««!^«A^*r'"*,PS Tnds some limit it to methods; some millers f P^J^^?!«-J^7J„*"e^^^^^^^^ three, while others extend it to five, ?"\l" "^.yj'~f.'^' ^^ of ghut^up com- itself into two degrees of fineness. Vn^land is that which forms part wmmm MljMiriitaMHM INBRY. ire called the runtur r,' or adjusting the B not only must the must depend on the ith which the upper i velocity, the closer ould drive away the grinding machinery, 4 flour. The reason mes mixed with the tited before we could Uiiuf-miU was used to le of a peculiai" open was a reel revolving I or beaters ; and the by the revolving reel, bolting-cloth, leaving icated, and has been lonsists principally of icreasing in fineness acUned position, with axed to a centi-al axis m, and the axis being hi-ough the meshes of Jy lets^ine flour pass; which allows seconds jness, which give exit length, all the meal or nd of the cylinder, ins advocate diff'erent sinds, some limit it to ere is a corresponding and of shiit-up com- le wire dothf employed n inch. In some ma- ich separates tlie bran 1 that which fonns part h the ship-biscuit esta- f is nearly two hundred Each wing of which it a steam-engine of 46- in diameter, and make i can grind five bushels d grind twelve hundi-ed m-engines which work creening machines and id in bins on tlie upper reenmg machines made »e surface of wire cloth, passes thenoe by spouts COHN AND BREAD : WHAT TllKY OWE TO MACHINERY. 19 to hoppei-8 which supply tlie millstones. There arc likewise two wheat-drying mills and an oatmeal mill connected wiUi the establishment. To what extent the govemnjsnt supplies of biscuit for tlie navy aie obtained from tlie flour ground at this establislnnent we do not know ; the ratio probably varies at ditlerent times ; but a3 50,000 souraon require 20.000,000 lbs. of biscuit ui a year, the supply of flour from some quarter or otlier must be very lai-ge. When once the steam-engine is set to work within tlie walls of a buildmg, there is no predicting where or when it will stay its progress : we may tell what it can do, but must be cautious in assertmg aught concerning what it cannot do. So it is with com, as with cotton. We are getting beyond the steam mills of Uie Government Yards. Mr. Bovill, the engineer, has recently introduced in^irovements of an important kind m the processes of conigrind- ing. Simple as tliis operation seems to be, it is now known that many dis- advantages attend Uie ordinary aiTangement of mechanism ; and it is to the remedying of these dlsadvanteges tliat Mr. Bovill has directed his attention. To understand the remedy, it will be necessary to notice tlie defects to be remedied. When com is ground between two ordinary millstones, tlie centri- fugal force generated by the rotation of the upper stone drives out the ineal or flour at the edges of the stone. AU the flour thus travels outwards before it can escape from the stone; and in its travels it suffers deterioration. When the running stone has performed even a single revolution, some portion of tlie com, however small, has been ground into flour; but this [)ouion, instead of escaping at once as it ought to do, is retained among tlie rest, and is ground over and over again before it oan find an outlet at the edge of the stone. The flour which is thus overground is found to be deteriorated m strength and colour; and it is so heated that two or three weeks are necessary before it is fit to pass through the dressing machme. During this lapse ot time, any dampness which may reach the over-heated flour tends to produce a slight fermentation, which sours the flour and renders it otherwise out of condition. The damp and heated condition of the flour, aided by our humid atmosphere, renders it necessary to use a dressing machuie with coarser meshes than those which are now used by millers in France ; we use coarse wire cylinders— they employ meshes of silk ; and the consequence is, that a considerable portion of bran becomes mixed up with our flour. Another notable circumstance is, that much flour becomes diffused through our corn- mills, occasioning both waste of property and a deterioration of the atmosphere in which the men are employed. Now this list of inconveniences is rather a formidable one — the flour weakened in strength, deteriorated in colour, rendered liable to ferment, compelled to lie idle while cooling, imperfectly freed from bran in dressing, wasted in the form of dust, and allowed to pollute the atmosphere of the miU. It is to -remedy some or all of these evils that Mr. Bovill's apparatus has been contrived ; and this apparatus we may now describe. In the first plane, by a very simple adjustment of a revolving fan, a strong blast of wr is directed between tlie millstones, by which every particle of flour is blown out directly it has been ground, thus avoiding over-gnndmg and over-heating. The flour falls into a reservoir, and is immediately con- veyed by an endless chain of buckets to the room where the dressing machme is "at work. Mr. Bovill has discarded the old dressing cylinder of wire meshes and bmshes, and has adopted the French system of silk cylinders; his dressing machine is an octagonal cylinder (if such a name may be used), covered with silk, and mode to revolve in an inclined position ; the bran is ■MM 90 CORN AND DREAD : WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINERY. retained in the cylinder, and noUiing but fine flour escapes. By anotlier apparatus, the fine flour which is blown out from between the millstones, and ascends (instead of descends) by its lightness, is forcibly driven by a blast into a chamber, wliose walls are formed of cloth ; it is sifted through tliis cloth by the blast, and collects in the chamber as useful flour. This is the portion which, in an ordinary mill, goes to waste, and fills the air with annoying dusty pai-ticles. Thus has Mr. Bovill endeavoured to meet the whole of tlie evils enumerated above. An interesting course of experiments was conducted a few months back, in a mill which the Lords of the Admiralty peimitted Mr. Bovill to construct in Deptford Dockyard, in close proximity to another mill on the old principle ; the, object being to fairly compare the two systems. Many gentlemen in- terested in tlie welfare of English agriculture were present ; and Mr. Bovill commenced by showing, in a remiu-kable way, how lengthened is the path which a grain of corn is often compelled to follow before it can escape from the ordinaiy millstones; he placed a piece of French chalk between the stones, and this chalk left an ever-widening circular mark on tlie lower stone dm-ing tlie revolutions of tlie upper ; the spiral path was no less than 6300 feet long, considerably more tlian a mile, showing Uiat the chalk had had to traverse this distance before it could escape at the edge of the stone ; and an inference may be drawn from this concerning the violent rubbing to which com is exposed, even after it has been reduced to flour. The comparative experiments yielded the following results : 25 quarters of wheat, half red and half white, were ground and dressed on the old plan ; the operations required 9 hours and 60 minutes, and tlie moving power consumed 2106 lbs. of coal. The same quantity and quality were then ti-eated on the new plan ; tlie time being 6 hours and 30 ramutes, and tlie coals 2464 lbs. The tempemtures of the two mills while at work were neai-ly alike ; but the flour as it escaped from the stones in the old mill showed a temperature of 95° Fahr., whereas that in the new mill was only 79°. The relative produce was as follows : — Old system. New system. Best flour . . . 9889 lbs. 9886 lbs. Seconds . none 243 Middlings ■ 424 „ 706 PoUai-d . . 894 „ 647 Bran 611 „ 411 Money value . . 58Z. 8s. Id. 69/. 18s 4rf. It thus appears, if these experiments are to be relied uiion, that the new system is distinguishable for yielding seconds and middlings flour rather than pollard and bran ; the quantity of fine flour being nearly alike. A little more coal is used in steam-power, but less manual labour is required in the opera- tions. If it be tiue, as is stated, that three or four quai'tern loaves more can be made from a sack of flour if ground by the new plan instead of the old, and that as fine flom- can be made by the new method from com at 40«. as by the old fi-om com at 45s. — then indeed is this a notable improvement. The Thames steamers have enabled thousands of passengers, dui-ing the year 1851, to witness tlie exterior of a monster new building, situated between Blackfriai-s Bridge and St Paul's. This is a com-mill, lately built at an expense of no less tliaii 80,000Z. ; it contains sixty pairs of mill-stones, driven by a steam-engine of SOO-hoi-se power ; and it is said to have all the appliances for grinding 1000 quarters of wheat in a day, on Mr. Bovill's principle. mnumm HtaiMMM mmt ■IINKRY. scapes. By anotliei* I the millstones, and Iriven by a blast into through tliis cloth by This ia the portion e ah- with annoying eet the wliole of tlie few montlis back, in Bovill to construct in on the old principle ; Many gentlemen in- sent ; and Mr. Bovill igthened is the path )re it can escape from chalk between the k on Uie lower stone 'as no less than 6300 the chalk had had to >f the stone ; and an jnt rubbing to which iir. The comparative f wheat, half red and e operations required ued '2106 lbs. of coal. 3 new plan ; tlie time The temperatures of our as it escaped from t" Fahr., whereas that i as follows : — New system. 9886 lbs. Ui^ „ 706 „ 647 „ 411 „ m. 18a. 4rf. ed uix>n, that the new lings flour rather than Y alike. A little more equired in the opera- utern loaves more can m instead of the old, )d from com at 40s. as ble improvement. passengers, during the (ling, situated between lill, lately built at an of mill-stones, driven lave all the appliances )viirs principle. COBN AND BREAD : WHAT THEY OWE TO MACHINERY. 21 A veiy convenient kind of com-mill has been recently patented by Messrs. Garrett. Although portable, it is susceptible of being adjusted either to steam, water, or horse power. The millstones are iW inches in diameter, and are inclosed in a framing of metal and wood ; the shaft which bears the upper stone has a bevel wheel which facilitates its adjustment to the moving power. The stones will gi-ind wheat, barley, beans, or peas ; and it is intended for use on large farms, where it would be a waste of time to send eveiything to an ordinaiy mill to be gi'ound. Another ingenious mill of recent introduction is the Paragon mill (as it is called) of Messrs. Barrett. It is intended to combine in one portable apparatus the requisite action for grinding, crushing, and splitting, according to the nature of the corn or other crop to be acted upon. ^luch difficulty has hitherto been encountered in securing these threefold powers in the same machine. Messrs. Barrett have sought this result by employing three rollers, parallel to each other — two in front and one behind ; two of the rollers are grooved, for acting on grain or seed, while the other, acting in conjunction with an upright plate, is adapted for splitting beans. Machine Bread and Machine Btscurra. The natm-al course of our subject now bi'ings us to such modern mechanical arrangements as facilitate the production of bread and biscuits from the floiu* — whetlier the latter be gi-ound on the old or the new style. How the baker prepares his long aiTay of loaves, while those who ai'e to eat the loaves are quietly asleep in their beds, a short description may render plain. Pity it is tliat the sallow-faced baker is exposed to this necessity : his is an unnatural sort of life, turning night into day, and inhaling an atmosphere very deleterious in its ingredients. Perhaps we may yet see the day when a little additional application of scientific knowledge — a little mechanism in one part and a littU; chemistry in another — may release our indispensable friend from the bakehouse and put him into a comfortable bed during the hours when bed is most welcome. Potatoes ai'e used in most modem English bread ; they are boiled, mashed, mixed with a little yeast, allowed to stand several hours, strained, diluted with water, and then employed as liquid ferment. This femient is mixed with a portion of Uie flour to be employed, to make a kind of dough called sponge ; and this sponge is allowed to rest five or six hours, to rise or swell. More water (having salt and a few other matters dissolved in it) and more flour are added, and tlie whole worked up by Uie baker's hands and ai'ms into dough ; the dough is left quiet for an hour or two, after which it is cut into pieces, weighed, and shaped into loaves. The oven being prepared, the baker ' sels the batch ; ' that is, he ranges his loaves in rank and file on tlie floor of the oven — taking cai-e that the ' cottages ' shall not be close together, whereas the ' bricks ' are packed up as compactly as possible. Here tlie bread remains for an hour and a half or two hours, when the hot steaming assemblage is removed from the oven. Some yeai's ago an attempt was made to establish what (with veiy little error) might be termed a bread factoiy, in Leicestei-shire. There were many novel- ties inti'cduced by the owner or owners. In the first place the com passed through two pairs of millstones, placed one over the otlier ; it was partially ground by the upper pair, then fell through a sieve or sifter, and was again groimd by the lower pair ; and a current of air tended to keep the meal cool. «i OOBN AND BHKAD; WHAT THKT OWE TO MACHINERY. The objectH held in view were, to eoonomiKC labour, to economize spiMM, and to iiroduco better (lour— all very desirable, il' to be obtained. Another part of the estabUshniont was devoted to the making of bread. Instead ot ugmg yeaat, there eeenis to have been carbonic acid gas injected m some wav mto the dough, and mode to cauue Uie ' rising of tlie sponge.' The dough was Hhaped into loaves, which were baked on hoUow iron shelves m an nnmensc oveu- the waste steaui from tlie engine of the ttour-mill circulated m the hollows of the shelves, and heated them sufficiently to bake the bread without further fuel. There were many other projects before the public, about a dozen or fifteen years ago, for miUiing bread on a large and steam-factory scale, and for exti-ftcting spirit from Uie bread; but thoy all failed—" breatl with the gm iu it," advertised by the old bakers, succeeded in beating down the new-fangled bread which hatl been deprived of Uiia alcoholic accompaniment Dr. Ure says that tlie quantity of spirit capable of being soved whde breatl is bakmg is go exti-emely small, that the project^instead of being to " take the gin out of the bread"— consisted in "taking the cosli out ol the pockets ot^^ shareholders. The Chelsea ginless-bread factory cost aO,00()i. to establish. Mr Perkins' ' hot-water oven ' is an American novelty which became tanu- liar to us at tlie Great Exhibition. There was perhaps a dash of di-oU quack- en- in the large loaf exhibited above the oven, and iu the small slices of bread liberally bestowed upon the bystanders ; the bread may have been baked in that pw-ticulai' oven, but tlie merits of the oven could not be very satisfactorily tested in such a way. The leading [irineiplo in this oven is, that the tempera- ture is regulated by hot water instead of hot air, by an adapUtion of the hot- water system now so extensively used in wamimg builduigs. There are three merits claimed for this oven by its inventor-— c/«on/inm, economy, md ease oj adaptation. It is cleanly, because, there being no coal of any kind used in the oven, nothing but Uie pure heat from the hot- water pipes can act upon the bread, and no deleterious gases can aftect its flavour or quality ; it is economical, because, from the mode of 'applying the heat, one-half of the fuel is saved, and a constant and equable heat maintauied ; it is easy of adaptation, because the temperature, indicated by a thermometer placed outside the oven, can be raised or diminished at pleasure by opening or closing a damper, so as to meet the requirements of different kinds of baking operations. A very extended application woidd be necessaiy to determine the validity of these clftims There was no lack of ovens at tlie Ciystal Palace which put foiih their claims to public notice. There was Mr. PoweU's * portable economical oven.' There was Mr. Shave's ' patent oven for baking bread, Ac.,' exhibited for economy of fuel and time. Mr. Edwards' ' atraopyre hoods ' are ovens of a somewhat remarkable kmd ; they are gas-ovens, which act somewhat on the same principle as the wire-gauze envelope of the miners' safety-lamp. Ihey are made of porcelain ; gas is introduced mto tiie interior, whence it escapes through small perforations m the sides ; these tuiy streams of gas, not more than one-fiftieth of an inch in diameter, when ignited on the outside of the hocjd, bmii with a pale blue flame ; this flame emits very little light, but its heat is so intense as to make the mass of porcelain red hot in a few minutes. When seveial of tiiese atmopvres are giouped together, they fonn a sort of solid fire which will speedily heat un oven ; and tliere are aiTangements for adapting the number to tiie size of the oven required. Porcelain wUl beai- many repeated red-hot firings without being destroyed ; and it is at all events interesting to see this beautifid principle (for beauUfid it certainly w) of "Vftrfi^niiilimiiiwiiMiiiiirtiii'i HK- '"*»* OHIMERY. economies spiwM, and ituiued. Another part ad. Instead of using oted in some way into ngo.' The dough wbb iliclvos in an immense mill circulated in the Jake the bread without ! public, about a dozt-u team-factory scolo, and — " breatl with the gin ; down the new-fangled mpaniment Dr. Uro while bread is baking g to " take the gin out f the pockets " of the lO.OOOi. to estabhsh. Ity which became fanii- a dash of droll quack- le small slices of bread 11/ have been baked in ot be very satisfactorily en is, that the tempera- 1 adaptation of the hot- lings. There are three m, economy, and ease of of any kind used in tl»e pipes can act upon the lality ; it is economical, of the fuel is saved, and adaptation, because tlie tside the oven, can be ing a damper, so as to ^ operations. A very le the validity of these i which put foilh their rtable economical oven.' •ead, &c.,' exhibited for hoods ' are ovens of a h act somewhat on the ers' safety-lamp. They terior, whence it escapes treams of gas, not more 1 on the outside of the vei-y little light, but its ed hot in a few minutes, ler, they foi-m a sort of re are aiTangements for ed. Porcelain will bear i ; and it is at all events itifvd it certainly is) of COIIN AND nRBAO: WHAT TIIEY OWE TO MACHIHKRY. SB minutely-divided gas streams applied to the piiri)ose8 of an oven. Hesldes our own Englifedi uvimih, thero was M. EspiiiaHsr's model of an oven for bread- baking, on a now jjutented system ; tliere was Kacsen's Cologne iron oven ; and thero wiw u Chineso oven, heated by the llame of a liuap possuig Into the centre. With reMi>tct to tlie ovens ortlinarily employed by bakers, the old metho Thus. then, we see that the manufactunng history of Uie statt ot hte — though more dependent on vegetable chemistiy than most other extensive manufactures— is really coming, year after year, more and rnore wiljin the domain of mechanics. The hoi-se is helping the labourer the windmill is helping the horse. Uie steam-engine is helpmg the windmill; and tlie whole together are helping tlie farmer, the miller, and the baker to produce more bread from an aJ-re of ground than formerly, to do tliis with less outlay than formerly, to accomplish the task in less time, and to brave many exigencies ol weather which the old-world fai-mers knew not how to contend against. A UlNEllY. 11 is a whole amv of >ii(», iiiul cnttiiiR the a Hhtift to whicli the 3 ;lour has boen put incorporated, but not ites by two ponderous thoroughly kneaded, dough into 8ix-Hi vessels are then schooners. Most of the pleasure vessels belonging to the Yacht Clubs are either cuttei-s or schooners. The above appellations are given chiefly to merchant vessels and pleasure vessels, but ships of war are differently desig- nated ; they ai-e ships of the line, if large, and variously named if small. A K % A 81UP, IS TJIE NlSETEENTIl CENTIHY. I.I. (Ill tn 100 li thiril-ratK tin to (H», n,„.rat.' ha. 10<> puis ..r more, a "^'"''''■^ \'; ' "i, "''y , 1 urc, o,„.n or un- banjo, ami th. yj/mmr t u """'';' ^''^J,^' ^ ' v./'.f. (not jet aaupt.-l so proviHioned body ot men on short M'^;l't '•>'^. ^ bucyan4 of .■oustruc- ixtoHKivoly u- Uioy Bhoul.l aiwl might ^^f'^./''^* %'„;;.■,?,. o/ mmk. Sion. whici. n«n.l.-r. it MYunh or Ih.'.n to ' ' V«^«. ;f - ,'• ^,„„,, ,,„, Th-o vessels, howov.r vannl th.,v ''''^^^^ :';,;, .Ja-eH^. or a tloat- Hkiltully matorials have -- ;;-t "l^.i^^. --n-'-». ^t.-a-Un.sH of i„(,' warchous.'. as tlio cas • may l; , **" ." f,,^.,,,,..,„t„,ai ar.'. more or U'hs, notation, capacity of interior. sw.Hncss ' ' ^ '^ ,.< '. a j.-r .l."xin« "mlt-' comhincV Ah to interior cnpac, y. l^^''/" '^ ^. "^ .VvniJ a .mu-h ^'n•at.■r to onllnai; roa.lors ; f ^ ''"r" H 'h r rS^^^^^^^^^^^ -''''''''" ^''" weight of .-arRo than \h m.hcat.d by ^n uM^tcr i i " inchules the ^thfV hiuicU there r^n^iUiu^i;; ^ ^^^ S'thlrS tonnage i. an .voightof »;>^;vosHc- itKoJ^ Ihc can ^^ ^^,,,..,, , ,,,ip can ran^ OHlimate of tho woight of sto^^^^ ""' , , ,, ,,.,,i^,,t. cither of tlic slni) or withont overloa,ling. but 'I'f ""\, ';\' i „npp'"', ,1' 1 ,v here it hm miminea jusfice t.'uio "-al architecture otour^^^^^^ h - - m^^^^^.^^ ixteriors, and models ^\ J^}^'^^.^''^^^.^^^^^^^ novelties, and not a few oddities ; ]^'^J. .^J""' '^/^^^^^^..'"^r war ships with rner- compared the early ^^^^I'^^^.f " ,;^'^^; i>^.\":^^^^^^ with chant ships, or ^'eam-vessels vith sa i^ ^esbel^^^^ or roomy vessels with paddle-steamers, or iron vessels with ^V,''''^.^ 'l or the c mft peculiar to one nation might have done better. ^ ^ ^ g^^^ ^hc If ^ve watda the labours a ^ ^^^'J; "^^^hrt^i^iSrs w tli which a ship is axe. and tlie adze employed m f^f/j'^'f^f'^^^i owing to the tortuous built: machinery has yet done ^'"^^^"^.^^^^'tsume There are. it is tme, forms which tliese timbers are ma e t« J^^"'^^^^ St oaken ribs, and a machines now before public notice f«\,'^";^ "? "'''^,f/j'';;aer at the Great Lttv model of one of *em was exhibrt^ u --\^-«^-f ^^^...u,,, the ^^ E ^U r ^S^:;)S:.:e stiU see Ui? draughtsman mmm fhirdniW iM to «0. ,1s nil) opon or mi- llm hinii-liii'il, ll"' im unufil "iii'l wi'll- (lU)l Ji;t lulopUMl sa )jiuic.j' ol' couslnu;- ill, oi- stiiik. •I'Miii'cts, >^lu»w huw foitrcHs, or II lloiit- •tii»n, stt'iuliiif!^^ lit' I lire, luorc or U-sh, II j.crplcxiiiK iniilU'i- iig IV iiiiu'h jjiviitor !«{?<' ; wliil<'. "" •'"' tiimRc iiu'lmleH Um- — tho toniiagfi if ivn •h a ship can cany illior of the sliip «>r u) wfigli, when InHv red toiuiaj^c. Hhip- V which the toiiiiai^'f ips have het'H altevetl iicasiirf " aw\ " ik'W .iin'Tits ill ship-hnilil- rc(iniro thi^ adoption y IS, wi.' heUi've, the here it has roniained A hcaut'ifiil model of fir. Lang, the master n-of-war. The model •eiulered only scanty here were models of ere many interesting 1 scries as would have r war ships with luer- ■ screw-steamers with or roomy vessels with craft peculiar to one 3 ships generally of our isolated examples, hut was not. A mai-ilime still find tlio saw, tire s with which a ship is owing to the tortuous There are, it is tme, great oaken rihs, and a ing order at the Great le next generation the ,11 see tlio draughtsman A imp, IK TItR KIKRTEWKTII CKKTCnY. ■ malio hiu drawinRH on paper, and from theso dmwingH chalk out the fuU-«i/fl(l ciir\'aturoH ot the ship on ii tiat hoiii-dcd floor, and niak'^ hith or thin patterns from thene ciialit marks; the ' coimnter' lias still the othce of selecting the oak, and eltn, and other woods, and appropriating one piece to one piiipose, oiiii to aiiiitlH'!-, acnoi'iiing to ita Hi/.ti mid Nliape ; and the sawyers still cut up tlio hulky timbers as they wore wont to do in pa.st tinios. Kiln for the ke«l, anil oak for the limlieiH generally, are still the principal kinds of wood em- ployed (always excepting iron vesHels, of whii^h we have yet to speak). Hut a notable mark of modern iinproveiiient is in the hiacing or strengthening of the liiigo carcass tlius Imill up ; diagonal^ timbers, diagonal plaU« and bars of iron, are now disjiosod in the interior to an exttnit that would quite have puz- zled the old ship-hiiililers. And another grand innovation is the ntmmiiitf of such timbers, or rather thick planks, as are to be bent to the curvatures of the ship: a huge iron vessel, supplied with steam, is the receptacle into which the timbers are placed; tuid liore tliey are steamed and soddened to facilitate their bending. Ihit what of mnhofiamj .' (Cannot we have our ships as well as our tables made of this beautiful wood? I'ractical men are beginning to inquire whetlier mahogany can bo effectively thus iiseil, and whether it can bo obtiiined at a siitliciently reasonable price'. I'litil a recent p<>riod, nearly all our mahogany wiw obtained from the West India Islands; and as most of the trees growing near the shore have been cut down, the e.xigency of land-carriage from the interior has added to the former cost of shipping this valuable wooil. The dis- covery of the riches of (lalifoniia has, however, shed a new light on this subject. Dense forests of splendid mahogany trees spread for hundreds of miles in (!en- tral America; and as these regions will shortly be traversed by a railway at Panama, and (perhaps) by a ship-canal ar Nicaragua, the forests will be laid open in a way never before contemplated. The trees are at present absolutely valueless, 8im|)ly because we cannot get at tliem ; but a commercial value will arise as soon as" they can he easily felled and shijiped. 'J'hen will he the time to determine whethtir mahogany can he bought as cheaply as oak or teak for shipbuilding. Mahogany is said to be stitVer, less liable to dry-rot. and more buoyant than most other wooils used largely in ship-building ; and there are records of a few mahogany shijis which have shown an extraordinary degree of durability. There is said to be a singular rule adopted at Lloyd's, which, for the present at all evf^its, deters builders from using mahogany, irresjiec- tive of the high price which will necessarily prevail until the Nicaraguan forests are laid open; it is, that if mahogany be used instead of oak for cer- tain parts of a ship, tlio ship ranks " A 1" for only ten years instead of twelve. Possibly the authorities have not yet had suthcient experience of mahogaiiy shii»8 to enable r right judgment to be fonned in this matter. And this "A 1" is an important matter to a ship-owner; for it affects the reputation of his ship, the facility with which he con obtain freights, and the rate at which he can have it insured. We have just mentioned " Lloyd's." Although this remarkable establish- ment, this mysterious tribunal — which every one reads about, but few rightly understtmd— is related rather to commerce than to ship-building, a few details concerning it may not be out of place here. ]\Iore than a century and a half ago, one Lb^yd established a colTee-house, in Lombard Street, where underwi-iters or ship-insurers were wont to congregate ; and from that day to this these insurers have acted together as a body, to which the name of "Lloyd's" is given. At present they occupy apartments in tlio New lloyal N 2 11 1:t Ml J. A SHIP, IK THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Exchange. There i. .. ^^^^^^^ ^T^:^^ ::ZX^ S tains- room each of which ^ «P« ^^^V J^J ^^^^^^ the' govei-nmg aU these subscnbevsekc^^^^^^ insurances on ships; mei^ body at Lloyds, ^"^^^'"^"^^^f .^ „„„k lor such insurances; insurance chants and shipowners go ^^'f^J^J^^^^'ZAtor the msured; merchants brokers go there to act botli for the 'J^^}^^f2iZ\hLneHH ; and all go there to and captains go f-- to cons^^^ on th.u ^-^-[^^^^^^^^^ the'merchant ascertain eveiy fact which it is P°™°^^^. „,„j,ess of this information are shipping of *- countg^J^i^^^^^^^^^^ globe; registers of quite extraordmaiy. Lar^e ^"J^,,";, ^' gio^g .^hen Uiese ships have been all the «bips in; Lloyd B Lis ot^^^ ^ ^^^^. ^meteorological "spoken with, and ot all disasteis wmci J' ^^ j^ London; instruments to determine tlie state of the wea her a au ^ ^^^^^^^_^^ ^^ tabular statements of the ^^t^^^' ^^^^I' ";^^ P^^.^.^c^^^^^^^ the means provided neaily all the newspapers fr^";' /JShshSt An ui dex-writer makes him- may affect the fortunes of a ship at sea. Noat:ltie8 and Improvements in Ship-buiujino. «„,. v^ripf sketch of ship-novelties and ship-curiosities. But we must resume our briel sketcn oi «" P British shins from those One of the peculiarities which d'^tinguif e ea 1> Bnt'«^^ ^^^ of the present day was the great height of the hull ^"^ « ^.^^^^.t raised forecJle, in a modem ship, is aviything but a castle >* '« ^iie i •deck, vei^ little elevated above the g^^^^^ ^f ^^^^ ^^J*^^^ to the forecastle really towered up to '^ gre^\hmght. Jl^^^^^\^ ^J, ..^ses) of poop, o^''"-^-^ tS^hish^Uk^^^^ levelling tendencies fifty or sixty feet ; but ttns has l^^m^ becoming more and more flush from of modern ship-buddmg. Our shil« aie "'''^ b . ^.g^oming end to end, and the momitain «^,f °f^f „S^^^^^ ends; and lessened; «J.« '^«7<^,,'f ^X^e betriin Xy^ superseded by con- tjie convexities of the hull aie »emg Vin i y F !^ r ti,rough cavities, which modem science shows to be better »^^ D,e/(built by the water. Pictorial representations °^ ^^^.^v ghSs II ) are to be met JeseKd a fe.d.1 casUe floating on |ho b»om of ■*- - ^,. „ ,y ^„. But Iho gene™l arransement and J««8",« ™;/£,S tLe stem, md the not undergone much change. We ""«*?,,"'%,' ,■„ bulky masW *n,.post; the tee^f». *= »«';|»\"i.*L^y^^^^^^ and t tJS'^^^^^^l iri: .';;iS U'd° 'c= I nd a cap- tion; and governing lips; mer- insurance merchants go tliere to merchant mation are •egisters of have been .eorological 1 London; oUection of IS provided nakes him- imn for his books) witli )i-al — which j-curiosities. '. from those water. The emost raised liowever, the spect to the ne cases) of g tendencies i-e flush from is becoming p ends ; and ided by con- ting through ieu (built by re to be met nodels at the ers piled up mass almost of a ship have stem, andtlie bulky masts lal ' skin ' and iri ; the beams },' and ' coam- ,ms; the deck sen herein par- minor aids to A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 6 ship-building introduced witliin the last few years. The claim of the inventor is nothing short of this — that a joint secured by this glue is less easily separable tlian tlie actual fibres of the wood itself. In the Great E.xhibition were many curious specimens illustrative of the use of this extraordinary cement. One was a piece of tlie mast of the ship Curacfia, found inscpai-able even by the wedge. Another was a piece of mainmast, from which a glued fragment was torn away only after a force of a2 tons had been applied. A third was a block of elm, joined Avitli glue ; it was exploded by gunpowder, but the joint did not yield. Another was an oak cannon-ball, made of two glued nieces ; it had been fired with eight ounces of powder, but the joint held fast. Anotlier was a deal block, which broke in the fibres by a force of fuin- tons. Others were pieces of masts, intended to show how intensely strong a mast becomes when built up with pieces which ai-e joined by this glue. It is not only a glue : it is also a substitute for pitch. Many government vessels have the seams payed or caulked with this glue, which is found much more durable for Uie purpose tlian ordinary pitch. Forest-trees are as chaiy as ever in furnishing trunks long and Uiick and strong enough to furnish the largest masts ; occasionally the newspapei-s tell us of such marvels, but tliey are ' few and far between.' The total lengtli of tlie mainmast of a ' 74 ' is little short of two hundred feet ; and it is not only made in three lengths, but each length or subordinate mast is built around witli numerous pieces to make up the requisite bulk ; why these pieces are known^by tlie elegant names of ' cheeks,' ' front fishes,' ' side fishes,' ' cant pieces,' and 'heel pieces,' the mast-makers themselves must say. Canadian fir is the wood chiefly employed ; and of tliis wood there is no less than six tons in the lower mainmast alone of an ordinaiy East Indiaman. If from tlie woodwork of a ship we turn attention to tlie sails, we find that one or two improvements have lately worked their way into public favour. The sails are, indeed, a notable part of the attire of a ship — beautiful in efl'ect, indispensable in seniee. All that the spinner and the weaver, the sewer and the rigger, can do to give tliem streugtli is done. Sail-cloth is the strongest of all varieties of the tlax manufacture ; or sometimes it is of hemp ; or sometimes of both combined. The Admiralty is veiy senipiUous about its sail-cloth, and shipowners have little less reason to be so. A ' bolt ' of sail- cloth, forty yards long by two feet Nvide, weighs from 22 to 44 lbs., according to the thickness ; but all alike, stout or fine, are made of these nan-ow widths. The cutting out for a whole suit of sails is a formidable affair ; in an East Indiaman of average size, the quantity of sail-cloth thus consumed is said to be veiy little less than nine thousand yai'ds. How the cutter-oat economises his material, and provides for slanting edges, so as to use up odds and ends in all the nooks and corners, may be pretty well guessed by those who have to cut out any woven goods for garments ; but the stitching is a more weighty affair, owhig to the great strength required. There is a stipulation between the sailmaker and his employer as to the number of stitches to be put- in a given space ; and every attempt is made to enable the sail to bear a powerful strain. A very simple addition has been recently introduced in the means of strengthening the sails of ships. This is by Trail's storm-snih. The canvas is the same, the shape of the sail is the same, the mode of sewing is the same ; but these sails differ from tliose ordinarily in use l)y having strengthening bands of canvas placed diagonally ; these bands are corded and ai'e stitched firmly to tlie sail at mtervals of a few feet apart. These bands, by their l:| T •.™«/»w"^ ■ « A Blltf, l^ «tB NIKETKRNTIt CENTttllt. diagonal arrangement t^k the va.ous ^jp a^^^^^^^^^ add ver^ greatly to ^^e strengUi of Je whok ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^f ^^,. woni sails, bv having these bands '^^^f^'^ ^^ t^''"'/T„ period when new viceable existence, and effect \S«« P^^'^ftert molKn the subject, sails 1-con.e necess.^^ TS'TrtZ^ilT^Ztl^e judgment; for SoSrci^S^^^ S Ms"of constnxctions. are yearly connng more and ""ZTerZoiem imp^v^nent is ^^^^t^'S^J^t^SA of Newcastle, have devised an "^g^'"^ T^^^^^hr^'^a SSreby fom intervals, by introducing an extm T^«;"J»ty ofjarp toead. "^'^^ J ^^^er at bands or straps of veiy. thick twdleu <^« ™S,^;™ loosen, as they IZ'";^ rrcit:?f r^^ile ti;i;^SdVeatly to the strength of the ^^'Tt iL a feature worth noting that -^--^-P- ^^^^S^^Ze^^^i reached nearly beyond the region of ™P™;^ J^^\^ \^l "Merits of hempen in the -bstitution o .on --J-;-^ CapU ropes themselves. 1 his is ^"'^"^""-"^^^l^. ' . ':.. excellence is unquestion- Huddart's beautiful cable-makmg '"^f^^^O' • ^^.f •^'XH^e world knows able, but chain-cables have ^^7" J^J"' "J^Zikation of a multitude of bowstring is "^'^^e; and a cable i^ bu^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^.y, strings. Fii-st Uie spinner, with a bundle oi uei i working the fibres fastened at one end o ^'^^^l^^.t^twred^^^^^^ busily, spins yams at the J^^eot something 1 ke a h^^^^^^ eet^^ . ^^^^ ^^^^^ tlien a certain number of these jams tux J^'J^ea to lor of these strands are twisted together to form a jope i^^^^ when twisted, form a cable. ^^.'\"j\ >.\;^,^3,','^^^^^^^^^ twist being hi by successive combinations ol ^^^'f ^^^^^^ [^^-'^^^ ^'" o kssen the liability of Z WBite direction to that which Vr<^'^:^y\^^ ^^^^^^^ ^ike :^^.^:r!S^^^^^^ ^--^ -' «^^^^ 'T£ t^t wondered .i if the -;^^g;^;J- mor.^ X^ZSl have almost driven these machines '"^o X» ^ government machinery of a most ingemous l^^^iaTopS of s^eJ size.^ One such and by private ^-^^:^Z'i:^:^:^Si^7of\e visitors to the Great machine must be tiesli in ™f •"»:„„ in which the various strands are Exhibition ; it was ^^ Crawha^l s^m^^^^^^^^^ ^, ^„,,,,,^ made to twist rouiui each other "X » ^^^"^ "^ , 4' ^^y remark, were machinery. Ropes and cordage «f J'^^^^^r^;"?' wor; Tound ropes and flat not wanting in ^ '"'"'""rlfSn? rone opes from Russia hemp and ^^;[ rTstm: trcrneltXsf SronrSUhei. ; J recent en- A f gineering has shown tl Uius obtainable. And if wi3 turn our intended to support, w Eitlier the anchors llit turing them, or both, wei'e fashioned pretty the stock, the shank, t peak, &c. — had tlieir v technical designations kodge-anchor, became anchor was made in t tell, and even our poe four tons of iron into shank ; the heating of the heat was maintaiiK hammers ; the sooty c smithy — all have been But tliG world has changed : we now me has shown how to gr of mere square bars, I enough to propose ar ciple, tliat a given qua if solid. Mr. Porter li which tlie ai-ms and f] facilitate the use of t well as many other nc tlie west end could Messrs. Brown and I towaids a certain tai which two mimic and show that a slight alt gi-appling power of ar And the mode of i change as Uie forma o blast into the forge fn worked bellows, Ani revolution. A large a moved by machinery, triumphs over them t longed for an opportu the onchor-smitheries if we pass from tl the sheathing and the manufacturing skill, 1 sheathing material, ai ship in sheets, which seen a certain amoun sheathing ia stripped builders have done li usefuluesa due to thi •w^ v s together, and ivas. Partially- ew lease of eer- iod whon new on the subject, judgment ; for mhig more and VIesars. Milvain, mg sail-cloth at thereby forming to each other at loosen, as they strength of the em now to have relties are rather srits of hempen .story of Captain 3 is unquestion- he world knows f a multitude of round his body, i hands working reet in a minute ; itrand ; and three and three ropes, lit up piecemeal, e twist being in m the liability of cumference (little undred and sixty 3r ropes, requiring n of rope-making autiful machlneiy th; and tills ma- ; but chain-cables liere is, however, •y the government >r size. One such tors to the Great raiious strands are lication of rotatory may remark, were md ropes and flat Russia hemp and )e8 made by hand, liains of large size. I tills up into links, er ; and recent en- A SHIP, IN 'fHE NINETEENTH CENTUEY. 7 gineering has shown that there is hardly any limit to the degree of strength Urns obtainable. And if wo tuni our gl-uico from tlie cables to the anchors which tliey are intended to support, we do not less see the influence of modem ingenuity. Eitljer Ihf uiicliors themselves have been improved, or tlie mode of manufac- turing them, or both. All throughout the la-st Eiiropean war our anchors were fashioned pretty nearly after one model ; the vai'ious parts — tlie ring, the stock, the shank, the crown, tlie arm, the tliroat, tlie trend, the flulce, tlie peak, Ac. — had tlieir vai'ious conventional projiortions to each other ; and the technical designations of sheet-anchor and bower-anchor, stream-anchor and kedgc-anchor, became familiarised to us as a maritime people. How tlie anchor was made in tliose days our dockyard guide-books have not failed to tell, and even our poets and song-writers have versified. The building up of four tons of iron into a first-rate anchor ; tlie welding of bai-s to form a solid shank ; the heating of the iron on the forge-heailh ; the fierce blast by which the beat was maintained ; the circle of anchor-smiths wielding their ponderous hammers ; the sooty dimness, the fiery sparks, and the noisy clangour of the smithy — all have been described over and over again. But tlio world has not consented to allow its anchors to remain un- changed : we now meet with many novel forms and appliances. Mi\ Pering has shown how to group togetlier a number of broad slabs of iron, instead of mere square bars, to form tlie shank. Lieutenant Rodgers has been bold enough to propose and to construct hollow anchors, on the well-known prin- ciple, that a given quantity of material makes a stronger column if hollow than if solid. Mr. Porter has provided a pivot or hinge at tlie end of tlie shank, by which tlie arms and flukes have a certain lieedom of movement, intended to facilitate the use of the anchor. The Great Exhibition illustrated tliese as well as many other novelties hi anchoi's. No one who visited tlie enclosure at the west end could have failed to notice the enormous anchor sent by Messre. Brown and Lenox ; and there wei"e many curious eyes direoted also towai'ds a certain tank or cisteri;, filled witli "unlovely" muddy water, in which two mimic anchors were repeatedly subjected to mimic experiments, to show tliat a slight alteration of shape produces a considerable result in the grappling power of im anchor. And the mode of manufacturing anchors has undergone at least as much change as the forma of the anchors themselves. A steam-engine now blows a blast into the forge fire, instead of leaving this service to bo rendered by hand- worked bellows. And as to the hammering, tliis has undergone a complete revolution. A large sort of hammer, worked by ropes, and tlien a still larger moved by machinery, Lave had their day; but Nasmydi's steam-hammer now triumphs over them all. Many who saw tliis machine at the Ci-ystal Palace longed for an opportunity to see it in action ; and those who hav« seen it in the anclior-smitheries of our royal dockyai'ds are not likely soon to forget it. if we pass li'om the metal of the chain-cables and tlie anchors to that of the sheathing and the lightning conductors, we find that science, rather than manufacturing skill, has here rendered the chief sei-vice. Copper is still the sheathing material, and it is still applied to tlie lower part of tlie hull of a ship in sheets, which are fastened wilji cop,jer nails ; and when the ship has seen a certain amount of service, which has worn and injured the niet^, the sheathing is stripped off, sold for re-melting, and replaced by new. Our ship- buildei's have done little more in this matter than to increase the sphere of usefulness due to thia system. But in respect to ligbtuing-oonductors, Uie '! U i f 1; i, T ^1 ,,,^»ir^- •J g A SHIP, IN THK NINETEKNTO CENTCUY. move fairness than that which was h"^ «"^mitted to ^ j j^^ ^^^^^^t- dualities were decided °" ^l^'*'^;^ "l.^ ^ all Ve«e 1^ relative degT-ees iLg plans were compared m re«P««t *« j" ^^^^^^^ to each quality; of excellence in all were 5«f:«f "^''^^^y "'{"^''^^^ViTon to the greatest nnm- and that plan which stood highest m the 1^* "i J^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^he report of this ber of qualities, was adjudged to^'^e the best me Doai. '^ ^^ th^ commitL contains the greatest body of mfoma^^^^^^ yZ^Xt having subject The prize was awarded to Mi. ueccmng, o« produced the best of all the life-boats. , ,.. ^.faale-boat. It is ^^"'^iM M«iM A SHIP, IN THK NINETEENTH fENTURY. 9 and the merchant enr did Sir W. S. lent the important I. It is only very adoption; but our er, which, mnning that ten-ible agent matters is the life- which is now more e-boat prize. The )le. Notwithstond- )er8ons, the loss of ■iously large. The poor helpless sViips perhaps, tlian those ife-boat, manned by ting the rescue of a catastrophes, led the guineas to tlie con- responded to, tliat iitors ; the offer was ient to an office in unes of manuscript i to examine all the trial conducted with committee. Certain sess ; all the comoet- the relative degrees lect to each quality; to the greatest nura- The report of this iver colbM led on the famiouth, for having a whale-boat. It is and ^ feet in depUi ; seven inches square. Extra buoyancy is boat; tliese, with the lore than eight tons, tendency of the boat ,vater-tank8 capable of e are pipes for empty- 3 heavy iron keel and ght air-cases near the 1 and a mizen. The two feet ; the weight ms, and the cost -.iMi. In November, IHf)!, ;r the care of Captain lacod in such positions as to allow the surf to have the greatest effect, and the result is said to have been such as to fully bear out the high anticipations formed of the excellent construction of the boat. Among the competing plans for life-boats were some of gi-eat oddity ; but none more odd, perhaps, than that Avhich has been displayed at the western end of the Ci-ystal Palace, where the tubs or cylinders provoked a recollection of the oil jars in which the renowned Forty Thieves concealed tliemselves. Among the recent projects for life-boats is one that does not relate to tlio shape of the boat itself, but to the introduction of a particular substance as a buoyant material. This substance is not formally described, but its excel- lences are announced in most laudatory terms. 'L'he ' substance ' is made up into packages, and these packages are built into the framework of tlie boat; it can be applied in any bulk, in any fomi, and to any part ; if a l)oat be shattered, the pieces, if stuffed with this material, will fomi so many rafts ; the buoyancy is said to exceed that of cork, or even of cases filled with air. In short, if the " Patent Life-Boat, Buoy, Belt, and General Marine Buoyancy Company" do not overstretch their claims, thi'3 buoyant material must be a very notable affair; a little incredulity may, however, be wholesome. The substance employed is, we beUeve, a kind of nish, piepai-ed mider a patent taken out by Captain Light. Swif-TNESS, AS A CHARACTERISTIC OF MoDEIlN ShIPS. It would obviously be quite beyond the scope of the present paper to go further and further into details respecting modem improvements in ship- building and ship fittings. We have said a little respecting the timbei-s, the masts, the sails, the ropes, tlie anchors, tlie cables, tlie sheathing, the con- ductors, the boats ; but there are aJmout numberless other directions in which we should find novelties and curiosities, could we seaich for them. Our ever- busy age would indeed belie itself, were such not the case. Let us, however, before touching on tlie marvels of steam-shipping, render due justice to the sailing vessels of the middle of tlie nineteenth century, in respect to sailing qualities. Speed is the gi'eat characteristic of our age in respect to ti-avelling. It is tlie key which unlocks the mysteiy of all our modem locomotive aiTangements. It shows its power on the water as well as on Uie land, and in sailing ships as well as in steamei-s. Many newspaper readei-s marvel what a clipper may mean ; but whatever may have been the origin of the name itself, a clipper is simply one of the exemplifications of this speed-producing tendency in modern ship- building. The clippers of tlie German Ocean have arisen thus : when salmon and other perishable commodities began to be sent in large quantities from the north to London, it was found that the clumsy brigs and other coasting ci-aft of the Tyne and Wear were of too slow a movement to convey the cargo with the necessary rapidity. Newcastle, and Shields, and Sunderland, did rot wtmt high speed for tfieir coal, and glass, and chemical cargoes ; but Aberdeen, and Dundee, and Leith knew how to value any increase of speed for tlie con- veyance of their salmon and cattle, and other articles which became deteriorated by a long voyage. Hence it is to our Scottish neighbours that we are indebted for nlippei-s, or fast-sailing merchant ships. The clipper sacrifices a portion of space for the sake of increased speed ; she caiTies a somewhat smaller cargo than die old vessels of equal length, but conveys it sooner to its destination. The clipper is nan-ow, gi-acefully tapering behind, very sharp at the bows, and N 3 I II I I II ji _i^.^«-fliaiitiiS«>^ j,j A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH OENTUUY. altogether cal.ulated to cut cleanly and ^^^^ ^^^^^.^^J^TZ . ', about aouble that o J;;;^^-S^^thiu':Se'il of ..pid of the^amesyBtmu to ocean sjuhn^^ had a wonderful effect in developing The opening of the ^}'2^lf^,l'2 of the Aberdeen clipper, have recently the energies ol ""^^ »l»P;^l^'^'^^"; , J^^ L a Lo^^^^^^^^^^ fi„.i and Uio other at been ^1^^'^^^^ ^^^^^^^.S; ^rsm^all^uXtthe .SWua..., being CO laveipoo . rhoy '^'*^,.f"\"P^7p?'^,,,„u ^ they aie. the former has acconi- tons, and the ChniHolite 450, yet, s'"^';j^,!:"7 , ^.idChhiain Wi and 103 phshed the out -dhon.e voyages ^ fw -^^'^f/^^^'^^^^^ ,;,,,t exUaordinary days t^spectively '^^^ *«^Jj^^ i^/^; J^^ with which they equality of action, iney ouibuipi>t." "• ,,,.„,.vtliinf» else lar«e and small, happened to come into competition. ""^^ JH'a ;v73 It was a.scertoined about a dozen ye'^'s ^ • ^ ^0 tii^h^^^^^ London t^ a hundred log-books of Indiamen ^^^f^ /^'"^^^^^^Xs W S:::ta;;^r i£Si^r(^i:t!;S^^^tuer apprecia^ Uie re- markahlc perfomances of these J»«^^em elopers. i,„ rbvnce. It was This clipper /j™^- ^^^s^^ HaU VIL LSfh^^^ adopted-on about the year 1H40 that INlessis. JJf '^°; \ u^a form which combines the wave principle developed by Mf- ^'=°" ""'"^^ ^ ..^ssel (as wrvs before great capacity with g^-tlfl-^-,^ ^J^.i" ^ 1 be conveyed; Uie ship- remarked) does not now tel ua l^^. "'^^'^^,7.." j. Tj.„ij,g and yet increase the builders have managed to obey certain conve^^^^^ usually single or double-mast^d vessels, had * f^»J>^; J^P^^^ ^'^'J '^J^w York and world long before the Pf ««"* J-^f.-t^^^it 2a iesmedler Baltimore clippers Boston have sent their beauUful ;l'°«'^,^;®*'Xse larffer ships, which cross have lost a Uttle of the sunshine of roP^^^y. The e ^rger^u^ . California, are the Yankee chppera. indeed araona the finest ships The American 'liners' just "^^^/oned are indeed w^^^^^ ^^^.^^ afloat. Tiiey am sa ling vessels ^^f ^ P^j/^^^^'ia^^^^^ Uie utmost Statos ; and ti.e nvalry of steam h^S^^/^^eiX 1»^^ o»' ™ ^««^^«' efforts into the consU-uction At ^^t*'!^.^ "' ^ laScSng or the tii-st voyage the news from tlie great ports '"'"'l^'^'^^^J ^^^^'^S,L example,' the of some new member of this wel m^om^^^ Sk and nSe her first appear- .4 A BUiP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTIBY. 11 10 water, attaining ) fruit ti'twlo of the le domain of rapid ogressivc oxtonsion flfect in developing ppers have recently I and tlie other at tonmray being 0(»U former haa aeconi- liinain WU and 103 most exUaordinary )ers with which they Ise, large and small. ;amination of nearly le from London to When we consider V appreciate tlie re- niportance. It was boldly adopted— on inn which combines issel (as was before conveyed ; tlie shi})- and yet increase tlie aid to be of 450 tons, day tlie VhrysolUe is ity-four liom-3. The Bndation to a ship, the honour of having 'Baltimore chppers,' itation in tlie western Since New York and ler Baltimore chppers ger ships, which cross pe Horn to Cahfomia, have generally some BUtck Squall, the Sea the Game Cocfc—suoh mong the finest ships gland and the United fl to tlu-ow Uie utmost nontha, or even weeks, hing or the first voyage 'ake, for example, tlie made her first appeor- s 207 feet ; her breadth 'tween decks' height, mage, about 1700 tflns. nthin. On Uie upper commodious structure, containing apartments supplied with rooking ranges, a hospital, boys rooni vegetable ivom, ice-houso, .tc. The chief cabin is nuignificfntly fitted with all the soUd conveniences which maliogany and rosewood can lunush, and aU tlio decorations which gold and papier-niaclu) can supply. In accordance wiUi tlio American custom of supplying an immense surface of sails to ensure speed, the Hacer spreads upwards of HOOO yards of canvaa. This vessel— so appropriately named— has lately accomplished the run from New \henson, who has done more to accelerate the speed of travelling than any other man living, should have gone to Egypt in his own pleasure-yacht, the Titanta, and that thia vaclit should have been constructed on the speed-producing plan of Mr. Scott lUissell, and that tlie object of the voyage should have relation to the speed ot railway U'tuisit across the Isthmus of Suez. The man, and the yacht, and tlio occasion, were worthy one of another. The yacht America is, perhaps, not so noticeable in regard to its own ments as having been the means of drawing a laige amount of public attention to the build, the saUs, and the rig of ships in general. Belonging to a member of the New York Yacht Club, this yacht was constructed in tliat city eaily in 1851, mainly with tlie view of competing with tlie English yachts at Cowes. She arrived in this country in July, after a rattling run across the Atlantic ; and her shap(!. her rigging, her sails^ all showed marked differences from those presented by English yachts. She was built by Messrs. Steei-s, for Mr. Stevens, the commodore of Uie New York Yacht Cliil). Her exti-emo length is 91 feet, and breadtli about 2B feet. The masts have an extraordinary ' i-ake,' as nautical men temi it— that is, a backward inclination. The standing sails which she cim-ies are Uiose called by sailors the jib, mainsail, and foresail. The interniU anungements comprise state cabins for the master and mate, main cabin, with side bertlis for fourtt^en seamen, throe oi- four exti-a state rooms, cook's galley, pantiy, wash room, bath i-oom, clothes room, wine room, sail room, &c. Such waH tlie vessel which challenged the British yacht owners, and which won the victoiy on August 2'2. Then did curiosity sot to wi-ik in right eiunest. Was the America built on a new model ? Did not tlio Aberdeen men, or the Ym-mouth men, know this build previously ? Was she built for comfort as well as speed, like English yai'lits, or for i-peed only? Was there a new arrangement of sails? Was the quantity of sail more for the tonnage than in English yachts? Did the 'rake' exooed tliat hi English yachts? Were not tlie masts less encumbered with rigging than ours ? Did her superiority show itself whether sailing with or against the wind, in fair or in rough weather ?— All tiiese questi. ns have been canvassed witli extraordinaiy eagerness ; and English yacht-buildei-s must be unlike other Englishmen, if tliey do not show that the discussion may bo made fruitful in good results. i'i 1^ I T" jl t \'i SHIP, IN THK NINETEENTH CENTUBY. Steam NAviaAiK.N ; its Eably Days and m Rapih Growth. But all improvements m sailing vessels must give >v^ to U^at^vhicb^^^^^^^ from the >^V^-ffi;>\^^ "^ ^^^Z Ameiavns. SrU Zi; exl^ibi " L boatrvJhich w^-e slowly propellea in the wate by sir power_a humble beginning of a great system. It was n mn that sjn^ngton. and Miller, and Taylor, applied steam power to work a lui a TaTer'n^Se its appm^i on ll.e Tha,ne». M . P'fft'f-';"' tbat a au-araei '""^ /jmvcJiHl- and it watt in tiio same yeai- that a atfiamer 'rbmv^dtnoS s";': :i om 'iln a voyage from Glasgow to Lond.. Bv the year 1818 there were 48 steamers plying in the twelve "vers-Uj^e. vLr-Kv Trent Tvne Humber, Mersey, Yai-e. Avon, Severn, Orwell, and Thames l^raboutr^^^^ steamers in the United States exceeded J,tTumbTi It was in 1818, too. that the tirst regulai- trading over-sea Steam XigaUoi™^ by tlie placing of the Eoh Boy on the Greenock SsSLt'route; although the EngUsh Channel the Insh Sea. >^^^^^^^^ man Ocean, had all been crossed by steam before tins date. " ^^as JJimu Nanier of Glasgow, who took the lead in steam navigation between 1818 and 1830 iind Ms cous'n Robert who has since taken up tliis honourable position. tw;J^n 1838 that the problem of transadaxitic steaming was effectuaU^^ tolWbvthe safe voyages of die areat Western and tlie Stn.«.; and m ttie fourteeKrs which have subsequenUy elapsed, tlie progiess of steam nav.ga- ZZ Ken Sily astonishing-Uttle less so than that of its sister-system. *^ IS'Sagine that a ' bird's-eye ' glance could be taken at the surface ol" Fiioie ii Sion simply to the steam-ships ^vhich have been mainly esta- blShed'fS postoffice sei4e. We should se, tl.e steamers ot twelve Com- n^ies ibiS ^unparalleled fleet of a hmid. d splendid ships employed by SrSiTsh government alone. These ships (it has been late y stated) have i^tf^nf Ipi. Si^ 3 000 000/.. ; they have 30,000 horse power ot engmes, and BoSoO tin? b^en; they ti-aVerse^ 2.000,000 miles of ocean in a year, axid ^Sr o^J^iers rTcetve 750^00/.. per annum from the British goveni«ient for X r;i?e. Southampton is'the packet station foj: --£ ?"-^J^/,tS fine steamers: and the three companies which make it then- depot recene muchlTre thr one-half of this large sum. If we wateh these hundred rame^carSg over seas and oceans, we find that they touch at most o^ the Treat ports in both hemispheres; they caiTy not only British letters to foreiSi countries and foreign letters to tl^e Bi^tish dominions but also fore^n «tteS^to other foreign covmtries; France. Denmark, Spam. HoUand. all have coE s^S^tid frSii the mother country by the broad AtlanUc; but none iMHPiiiiHli I ID Gkowth. that which resulted a Hccne has half a hat two Americans, rly propclk'il iu the system. It was in xm power to work a ■St to attain a steani- lo Canal. It was in rial by steam power, om Albany to New nstructed by Fulton, that a steamer lirst in New York to the iier plied in Britain ; ;5 tons burden, and yde. It was in IBU* as a passenger-boat e yeai" that a steamer Glasgow to London, welve rivers — Clyde, Severn, Orwell, and nited States exceeded iilai- trading over-sea Roy on the Greenock •ish Sea, luid the Ger- date. It was David on between 1818 and 1 honourable position, iming was effectually te Siriun; and in the i^ess of steam naviga- t of its sister-system, ken at Uie surface of a,ve been mainly esta- amers of twelve Corn- lid ships, employed by 3en lately stated) have power of engmes, and ocean in a year, and hitish government for learly one-half of these it tlieir depot receive watch these hundred they touch at most of only British letters to nions, hut also foreign pain, Holland, all have ad Atlantic ; but none A SHIP, IN THE NINETEKNTII CENTUBY. i;J of these use their own steamers to peifomi the mail service to tliose colonies ; it is cith.-i effected by sailing vessels, or by the English mail 8teamers--tho latter beinj, the method now adopted more expensively year after year. The West India Company take such mails to the colonics lying contiguous to America ; the Peninsular and Oriental (Jompany convoy those bound eastward ; and iu such cases the mail-bags from foreign countries are either brought to Southampton, or we pick them up at Cadiz, or some otlicr port. The ladia mail, alone, presents a lively picture of the business-like age in which we live. It is said that tlio steamers which leave Southampton on the yoth of each month for Alexandria, bearing the Mediterranean and India mails, usually take out as much a.s three enormous railway vans can contain ; there are some two or threti hundred boxes or cases of letters and dispatches, and numerous sacks of letters and newspapers — the whole weigh- ing four or live tons, and comprising generally about a hundred thousand lettei-s and twenty thousand newspapers. This, it must be borne in mind, is only one among many monthly steamers ; there arc five or six others which leave Southampton every niontli for various ports in tho Teninsula and the Mediteri-aneon. Wood and Iron Steamers: Taddlks and '-^'Kews. But we are somewhat anticipating our subject. There a few interesting matters to be touched on, relating to the steps by which stc auiers have reached their present degree of efficiency. First, then, we have to bear m mind, that steamers were originally all built of wood, that they all had paddle-wheels, and that tlie boards or floats of these wheels were all rixed pai-allel with the axis ; but these points have undergone notable changes. Our dai-ing engineei-s have met with equally dtu-ing cap- tains, who scruple not to go to sea with steamers " clothed in circumstances of almost perilous novelty; and the result has shown that this dwing has had a sound scientific basis to rest upon. Iron steamers ai-e among the creations of our age. Mr. Grantham, m a paper read before the British Association a few yeai-s ago, enumerated so many advantages which iron ships have over those of wood, tliat it is matter for surprise why ship-builders do not more generally adopt tlie former material — unless indeed they differ from him in opinion. In the first place, he states that the ' fonn of least resistance,' which enables a vessel to glide most readily through tlie water, is more easily constructed in iron than in wood ; he thinks tliat iron ships excel wood in strength and durability, in facility of luiiting the various pieces, in comparative stowage, in comfort and convenience, and in expense. In respect to the last-named item, Mr. Grantham adduces the instance of tlie Hindostan, a fine timber-built East Indiaman costing 7-^,000i., of which the wood alone cost 48,000/. ; whereas in an iron vessel costing the same sum the crude iron would not be worth more Uian 5000/. — so much more is distributed in wages for the latter tlian tlie former. The difference here stated seems excessive ; but tliere can be little doubt that, in a countiy which yields so abundantly the iron fit for ship- building, great economical advantage' ought to result from the substitution of iron for wood, otlier things being ecpial. Whatever may be [said on other as- pects of the subject, it remains on record that the largest steamer in the world —the Great Britain — built of iron, was for more than three hundred days lying in peril on the sands of Dundrum Bay ; and yet escaped at last with the hull 11" I f. ' M L 14 A snir, IN TllE NINKTEENTIl CENTCnY. of iron ahnost unsliakmi and uninjured. The connnorcial nusfortuncs of \im hirklois vosscl ought not to liido Uii.s fact from view. ,. . „ It nuiHl 1.C ownod that, whoa an iron ship is Been under process ot conKtmc tion. it is ditticult to reaUbo the fa.-t tliat it will possess Uio sUonglh rofiuisite to bear up against the power .;f the ocean. The keel is fonued ot bwH securelv rivoM side hy side and end to end ; a kool six inches deep by three in width being largo enough, it is said, for a vessel of a th..usan.l tons burden. The stem-i)Ost. the stcin-post, the ribs— all are lonued of bar-iron, the shght- ness of which atfords a striking contrast to the bulky masses ot a timbev- built ship. Tho surfaces are all formed of sheet-iron ; and Uiese slicotfl are fastened to each other, and to Uio various bars, by a countless number ot iron rivets— rivets dirough tho keel, rivets Uuough the ribs, rivets tlirough the sheetij, rivet* everywhere. There is no soldering, there is but little wehling. there ai-e but few screws— all. or neai-ly all, the fastening is etlected by rivets ; and aiese rivets bhid Uio various parts togeUier wiUi almost irresisUble lorce. Of the noisy tumult which the hammeruig of these thousands ot rivc.ts pro- duces in a ship yaid, we need scarcely speak; steam-boat tourists on Uio Thames and the Clyde know sometlnng ot this matter. It is ditticult U> say wheUier the use of iron m building a steamer, or tlic adoption of the screw principle for propelling it, has been productive ot^ most ndv image. Both tu'c great inventions. The noble Great nntatn, y,iih hei burden of JiOOO t«ns, and her engines of (orighially) lOOO-horso power Is a screw ship ; and Uie Scmo SWam Naciyntiou iJom),mft, lonued in IHlt) Uas fully demonstrated, on Uio Meditenanean rout« and the Cupe route. tl.at Uie screw, though perhaps not so swift as the paddle, consumes less tuel and leaves a larger space for coi-go. It seems, at tirst tbought strange tliat a mere screw, placed at Uie stern of the vessel just above Uie keel, should have power to propel a ship. The steam-engine causes Uie screw tx) rotate on its shatt or axis, and Uie blades of the screw enable it to worm its way Uirough Uie water; but Uien it should be remembered Uiat Uiese blades lu-e someUmes as much as fifteen feet in diameter, and Uius act on Uie water wiUi immease New screw steam-ships are crowding in upon our waters from aU quai-ters, Hi'miticantly t.^.lling Uie tale of Uieir etticiencv and desuablenesa. Ihe capa- city of screw-steamei-s. compai-ed with Uiose having paddles, has led to a pro- ject of constructing such vessels, of 2U00 tons bmden. as emigrant ships between Liverpool and New York-a most important curcuuist^ce tor emigrants, if they can Uiereby reacli Uie place ot Uieir destmaUon m two weeks instead of si.\ or eight. ,, , In the Great Exhibition was placed a model of a acrew-propeller, by Captain Cai-peuter, comprising a very curious arrangement. Ah« ;«'« ^^"f* Uie vessel is like that of an ordinary screw-steamer; but from Uie m dsbip secUon to the stem it has two h>ek, placed two feet or more apart. wiUi the water flowing between them. There are two screws, the axes ot which are m line wiUi tiiese two semi-keels, one to each, but one a htUe m adyfuico oi the oUier- and Uiere are two rudders, one behind each screw. WheUier Uiw sincnlai- project has advanced beyond Uie condition of a model, we do not know ; but the hopes of Ore inventor ai-e said to be, Uiat Uie two screws will trive a higher speed Uian one under Uie ordinary arrangement, and Uiat Uie two rudders will enable the vessel to tuni in one-half of Use oi-dmary apace. Tlie aiuvUUmi mm is one of the best of recent mventions. It rests upon the priuQlple that during a foYOuraUe wiod » ship sbaU pi-ogreas by means ot L. — — ^ , nust'ortimcs of tliis process of couHtruc- sti'onj^th riKiiiiaite 1 ia fonueil of barH nchos deep by threo ijiisiind tons burden. bur-iron, the slight- nosst'S of a tinibev- nd these sheets iire tk'ss number of iron , rivets tlirough the s but Uttle weUling, is eifocted by rivets ; ost irresistible force. Lisands of rivf^ts })ro- joat touriatfi on tlio ig a steamer, or the 11 productive of n\ost eat Britain, with her ()( (-horse power, is a formed in IHiO, has I Oui)e route, tluvt tlie sumes less fuel and ;t, strange that a mere ^l, should have power rotate on its shaft or its way tlirough tlie les are sometinjes as water with immense iV» from all quaiters, ablenesa. The capa- lles, has led to a pro- n, as emigrant ships ut circumstance for lir destination in two a screw-propeller, by ent. The fore half of jut from tlie midship • more apart, with the e axes of which are in ittle in advfmce of the screw. Whether tliis f a model, we do not it tlio two screws will Dgement, and tliat the f the oixiinftry apace, ntions. It rests upon pi-ogreas by means of A SHIP, IN THE KINETEENTU ORNTUmi. t» her sails ; but that, when bad weather sets in. a screw and a steam-ongino shall hot to work, and render good service ut a time when the poor ship would bo otherwise beating al)out at the mercy of adverse winds, or else absolutely powerless in a dt-ad culm. A vessel so coustrucUiil has a screw and cngme skilfully placed so as to be out of the way when not wanted, and yet (imckly iivailablo m time of need ; Uie (luantity of fuel carried is but small ; wlulo die spare room for cargo is much lai-ger tliau in any ordinary steamers. ()ur merchant ships, our war ships, our Arctic exi)loring ships— are now giving iudications tliat the auxiliiuy screw princiiile is rising rapidly in lavour. Indeed, it is evident that tlii'i'e are many sourc-es of advantage hen! m stoi'e ; for it is optional to tlu; commander lo employ steam power just when and as often as ho may choose, or his stock of coals may admit. He has wind to appeal to if short of coaUi ; he has coals at command if ill-i)rovi(led with wind. l''rom the paddle luid tlie screw we may pass U) that mighty agent whereby paddles and screws are made effective— the nmriiio steam-engine— that ti^ chanical unit which had ono-horao power in the earUest experiments, and now has live hundred. . The marine steam-engines at the Great Exhibition gave us a little msiglit into the varied and ingenious contrivances for apiilying steam power to tlie propulsion of ships. There was Mr. Atherton's pair of marine engines, having one beam overhead instead of two beams beneath the cylinders, and a construction such as would enable them tii be applied either to potldlc- stoamcrs or screw-steamers. There was Messrs. SlaughUsr's pair of OO-iiorsc power engines for a screw-steamer, witli cylinders at lui angle ot 45 ', and a tliroe-hladed screw-propeller made of gun meUd. There was Messrs. Boulton and Watts magnihcent pair of TOO-home power enghies, intended for a screw-steamer, with four iwlindei-s of b'i inches diameter, and a screw-pro luaier 10 feet in diameter. There were the insb active little motlels, depojited by the same company, of James Watt's oscUlating engine of 1785, luid of his experimental locomotive of tlie same daUa. There were Messrs. Teun's pan- of 1 0-horse power engines, with oscillatixig cylinders, such as we ai'e accus- tomed to see in some of tlio river boats, and such as have been found capable of high speed out at sea; and tlie same Jinn's pan- of SO-horse engines tor a Hcrew-steauier, of a form now used m some of Uie screw ships of war. There was Messrs. Maudslay's beautiful collection of models— comprising a pair of beam-engines, such as are largely used in the royal navy, but which are now being gradually superseded by oscillating engines ; a pair of these last-mentioned oscillating engines; a pair of Uie foiu--cylinder engines patented by this firm, and applied by tliem to many war-steamers ; a pair oi annular-cylinder engines, such as ai-e used by some of the steamers on the Folkstone and Boulogne route; a pair of horizontal-cyUnder engines, for workuig a screw-propeller; a steeple engine, adapted for shallow river steamers— such were tlie mstructive contents of tlie fine glass case containing Messrs. Maudslay's models. There were the curious examples of screw- propellers, deposited by Mr. Smith, who may be regarded as tlie originator of this mode of propulsion, and whose (ollection showed how numerous have been tlie forms of the screw successively adoptad : it included tlie first screw which ever worked a steamer out at sea. Were it possible to trace all tlie improvements made m marine sUJom- onginea witliin the last few yeoi-s, we sliould find that not a single month has passed without tiie mtroduction of some novelty or other connected with the subject. No part of the complex and beautiful appwfttus b«a been left with- \l u Hi wmm M dW ffflii:iiifii Amk^ 10 A Smr, IN TlIK NINKTKl'.NTH CENTrilY. . k out its ncwlypatonted inventions, or itn registered iniprovenicnlH, or itn Huggested ulUiiatiouH which have never risen to the dignity cither of ii patent or H registiy. And if we glance tluougli tlie puge.s of tliose journalH whicii record new patentH and invontionH, we hnd Unit there is nlwiiyH Honie contn)- versy or oilier going on respecting the merits of certain tiigliii-M and parts of engines, or wheUier the ' I'ire-rty," or the ' l-'ire-king,' or tlio ' Iron Duke,' or the ' Asia,' or the 'Atlantic,' or any vessel, is worthy of tlie lofty position which its advocates claim for it. All such discussions indicate the strength of the ciuTent of opinion and invention respecting steamers and their engines. Hiun Steam-Hi'fkk : tuk Wave Princ ii'i.k. One of the best gifts which the British Association has bestowed on the practical arts, is the investigation into the nature and forms of waves, and tlie adaiitution of the forms of shiiis to those waves. Nooi-ly twenty years ago Mr. Scott llussell took U|) this subject with a view to its elucidation ; and in IH'M the Association entrusted to him and Sir John llobinson the manage- ment of an extensive series of experiments, conducted at tlie cost of the Asso- ciation. Among other results, the Committee discovered tlie existence of a peculiar wave, generated when a vessel is moving in a channel of detinite width; in this wave the particles of water do not merely oscillate up and down as in ordinai-y waves, but they are lifted fonvard to a new position, at a rate dependent on the depth of the channel. It was also found that a ship, if it could be made to move with a velocity exceeding that of this wave, will have a tendency to ride on tlie top of the wave, and to be urged foi-ward with actually less force tlum if it moved more slowly. A third result was, that if the exterior or water-line of a ship be made to correspond witli the shape ot this wave, tlie speed of tlie vessel will be greater than with any other shape. In many succeeding meetings of the As.sociation this Committee presented Reports of its indefatigable laboui-s — almost wholly due to Mr. Scott llussell ; and those who have not watched the proceedings of that learned body, can scarcely imagine how great and varied were the experiments made by the Committee. Apparatus of the most delicate and ingenious kind was invented for conducting tlie investigations concernuig waves ; and when the forms oi ships came to be incjuired into, tlie Committee applied to the most eminent ship-builders to mention the points on which tliey most wanted infomiation, and the forms of vessels which they would wish to have tried. More tlian a ^ hundred models of vessels were constructed, varying in lengUi from tliree to ' twenty-five feet ; these were drawn through the water witli vaiious velocities, and at dift'erent degrees of immersion, to determine the resistance of all the various forms that might be adopted. Some of the experiments regarded the transverse sections of ships ; some, the ' water-line ' of the bow ; others, the water-line of the stem ; others, the proper point of gi-eatest breadth, and so forth. Not only were these experiments made upon models, but also upon ships of all burdens, up to 1 300 tons. One experiment was very remarkable : —Mr. Russell caused four boats to be constructed, about twenty-five feet long, having all equal length, equal breadth, equal depth, equal capacity, and equal weight ; they were towed along at the same time, with tlie same velocity, and under the same circumstances— notliing difl'ered except the curves of the bortis at various points in the length. Yet so great was the influence which these curves exerted, that one form met witli nioio than twice as much re- sistance as another; the otiier two being midway. The difi'erence of curva- iiprovpmciitH, or its ty eitluT uf u patent tlioHo journals whicli always soino contro- fiiu[iiies lUiil piU'tH of le ' Iron I)\iko,' or tlio fty position which its the strength ol' tho 1 their engines. in.K. las hcstowcd on tlio ni8 of waves, and tlic rly twenty years ago ( I'lucidation ; and in lobinson the nianagc- , tlie cost of tho Asso- ed tlie existence of a k channel of definite srely oscillate up and a nev position, at u Iso found that a ship, .hat of this wave, will )c lU'ged foi-ward with result was, that if the ^■itli tlie shape of this my other shape. Oouiniittee presented to Mr. Scott liussell ; lat learned body, can •itnents made by the 3U8 kind was invented nd when the fomis of 1 to the most eminent t wanted inforaiation, e tried. More tliaii a lengtli from tlu-ee to ' vitli various velocities, e resisttmce of all Uic eriments regai'ded the ' the bow ; others, the eatest breadth, and so models, but also upon was very remarkable : t twenty-live feet long, lal capacity, and equal tlie same velocity, and ept the curves of the iis the influence which an twice as much re- le difl'erence of cur\'a- A Binr, IN TlIK NINElEKNTir OENTrllY. 17 tiire was so slight as to bo detected only by an experienced eye, and yet tho irsults were niont mark.'.!. Tho boat built on tho ' wave principle ' was found to bo not otdy the least subject to resistance, but to be tho best, easiest, and (hiest scft-boat. It was also ascertained tiiai each form has a velocity at which its powers bear thr most favourable comparison w ith others ; two of th«i boats, for instiuice, were nearly eiiual for resistAiic*^ at a speed of thno or four miles an hour ; but one of them gained relatively over the other at six or seven miles hi)eed ; the ' wavelmo ' boat, however, beat all tho others at all rates of speed. A very strange <'omment on our Adniirrdty arrangements was nuulc at the Soutliampton meeting of the British Association in iHttl. After Mr. Scott liussell and others had given evidence of tli.^ great value of the wave principle in ship-building, Mr. Vignolles, the engineer, asked whetlier tin; Admiraltv hud built any vessels on this principle; and if not, whv not? Mr. liussell r.'plieil that "ho had been nmch more desirous for the adoption of tho system in other ships than in tho Admiralty, because ho had been informed that the Admiralty did not like the introduction of scientitic principles into ship-buildiiig, but prefen-ed remaining as tiiey were. He had tlioreforo been averse to obtrude tho subject on thenj." It is pleasant to know, however, that the same engineer who discovered the wave principle, and who has for sixteen or eighteen successive years detailed to the IJritish Association tho results of his indefatigable inquiries, has at last seen even governments (but not that of England) bend to tlio new order of things. At tlie Ipswich meeting in 1851, Mr. Scott liussell stated that a foreign government had consented to the adoption of the wavo prin- ciple in war-steamers. Tho firm of liussell and Robinson had received an Older from a foreign government for two war-steamers, conceraing which these formidable conditions were to be fulfilled—" that Uie ships were to caiTy double tlie annanient of any war-steamer of the same tonnage and power, and go two knots im hour faster, than any vessel in her Majesty's navy." The conditions, we are told, were faithfully obsencd, by the adoption of the wav.? principle in the war-steamers thus constructed. Should tho warlike talk of the age ever result in something more than talk, and should the wave prin.'.iple, or any other scientific pri;5iler of small extent and d bulky and ponderous amount of space, was is been superseded to a in which— the cylinders e-wheels — less space is useful change also has , which are equally avail- that wrought iron is used med of heavier but less (duced in the form of the e economic action on the mlted fi-om diiving the f steam navigadon ; it is irasted, by giving to the sequently to those of the B of speed. There is a Rs it is called. Instead only partly filled, and the vacuum in the cylinder, , insomuch that a quarter ivo-thirds a cylinder-full of steam vessels twelve or )d has fonned one of the A snip, IK TttE WINeTEElWa CENTORT. !• Ocean Stkamers in 1852 : what they are, and what they perform. As an exemplar of die perfection to which tlie arta of civilised life have been brought into requisition on shipboai-d, we might take any one of the later steamers built by the Ounard, the Collins, or die West India Companies. All that a seaman can want in die naudcal excellence of the ship — all that an engineer can admire in the mechanism for die steam machinery — all that a well-to-do passenger can desire in respect to his own pereonal comfort — are realised to an extent that the world never saw before. WTiedier we talie the Asia or Africa of the first of the above-named companies, or the Atlantic or Baltic of the second, or the Orinoco (would that wo might also include the Demerara or the Amazmi) of the thu-d, we should equally find this to be the case. Let it be the Atlantic, for instance, which we may select in courtesy to our transadandc friends. The first American-built steamer which crossed the broail ocean was the Washington ; but die next one, the Atlantic, far excelled it in every respect; it made its first appearance at Liverpool in May, 1850, and formed the commencement of a new era in ocean navigation. Her lengdi of koel is 276 feet; her breaddi (within the paddle-boxes), 45 ; her paddles ai-e 36 feet in diameter, and her floats 15 feet long ; her burden is nearly 2900 tons ; her power is supplied by two engines of 500-horse power each ; her boilers are four in number, each heated by eight furnaces ; her appetite for coal is equal to two tons per hour. Then the passenger arrangements are very unlike those of the old steamers. The deck is nearly flush from end to end. The captain and oflicei-s' rooms, the kitchen, the pantry room, and the barber's shop, are clustered into two convenient groups on two distmct pai'ts of die deck. The bai-ber's room has a multitude of htde handy contrivances for facilitating die delicate operation of shaving during all the varied movements of the ship. On deck also is a smoking i-ooni, shielded alike from the saloon below and from the weather above. The saloons are magnificent apartments, each sixty or seventy feet long, by twenty broad ; one we may call the duiing- room, and die odier die di-awing-room. They ai-« fitted up widi every imagm- able luxury. Rose-wood and satin-wood, carving and gilding, mirrors and stained glass, velve'. cushions and rich carpets, brilliant silver-plate and lustrous cut glass, pamtings and sculptures, polished marble and polished steel, abound in the fittings and furniture. There are a hundred and fifty berdis, situated on eidier side of the saloons, besides a certain number of 'wedding-berths,' which, in accordance with a general custom in America, aie provided in steamers for newly-manied couples who wish to pass the honoy- moon on the waters. Bells are placed in all the cabins, or rather a bell-rope in each, all communicating with a bell-telegi. ph, such as was shown in our Great Exhibition. A bell likewise gives die signal from the captain to the steersman, who steers to the right or the left, according as one or two strokes are given on the bell. A kind of bell-rope, but widi an inscription-card instead of a bell, is used to convey signals from the captain to the engme-maii below ; according as the orders ' go on,' ' slow,' ' fast,' ' ease her,' ' stop ner, or die like, are needed to be given, the captain pulls one or other of several handles, which causes the required signal to appear on an inscription m the engine-room. One litde appendage makes its appearance in the saloons and other elegandy-fitted places where we should litde expect to meet widi it : it Fl ■i| T^ iTWlltaiiii I \m •"' ||0 X SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTTJHIT. is a concession to a certainhabit in ^vhieh Brother Jonathan indulges to a con- ""^ itTar^^'a' in'S ^:^tZe^ at any length on ^e rnagnifi- rpnt steam fleets bdon-^ing to the companies alluded Uy in many of the pre- TeSine pa ai^^^^^^^^^ -^like have availed themselves of those grand "p^i^^nLnKSh BO signally.mark the ^t^-J^S^J.: £.S,W day. If we trace the history, or visit the ships of^<^ Cunard JJ"^« ^""^' ;^ lines of North American steamers at LiveiTOol; or ot tlie i mtnsHwr ««« Srianal, ovlhe West India lines at Southampton; or of the 0«.«« Screw hues TviynZth, we find tlaat all now comprise tmly ^'^g^'^^^^VS hor c buiS of 8000 tons, a length of 300 feet, an engine-force of 1000-horsc nower are no longer isolated wonders in our ocean steamers. „„ v „„, ^ men shSl we mxse t« ask for higher speed ? The world ought, peAap. to be satisfied with being conveyed from Livei-pool to Halifax in eleven days let does the lucent Galway enterprise (and many other projects) show that Len S not ^e content miUl the Jhoitest practicable ocean route is attained Li'eiW is not the most western British port; Halifax is not he most extern American port; hence are the projectors lookmg around ^r o^e'« Siv an eve has been attracted by the favourable western position of Galwa^ SnTe a^ra Iway has been formed from Dublin te that por^ Galway hajput m ^ claim to tlie dignity of a transaUantic mail station. Galway is, perhaps iwoh^dred miles in Advance of Liverpool on the way to America ; and there nS port cSled Sydney, in Cape Breton, seventy or eighty miles nean. t^Erlpe San Halifax; and hence it has been proposed to establish a mad ?oute from G^way U, this little Sydney. Supposing, however, Galway and iSaf tobe selecLd. this distance of about t^o thousand miks might a. s vToned bv sanguine projectors, be accomplished in seven days. But until rSays areS^r adviced i^ British America, Galway must look to New York Sth^r tlian to Hahfax as the other end of her oceanic cham ; and a few months will probably show us something notable m this direction And it is in a somewhat analogous spint that we ^^oukl rega^ the com neting schemes for ocean routes to India and Austi-aha Shall it be by tlio IsSus of Suez, or by Panama, or by tlie Cape? Which is the shortest. wShwiU convCT om- officers, and colonists, and merchandise to the fai- LtTt e.St most^uickly and cheaply? All these questions are being na^^- toXc^J^d; and it is not improbable diat the result will be the jesto^ bUshmentof all three routes-each having its own catalogue of fovomrable cfrcumsSices, and the impulse of competition having taken so decided a f " If we do not effect these things, America will ; and herem is anothei source of commercial activity. . , , v. •„-,#• ^u tmiP How strangely does it strike upon the '"ind-how subversive of dd^^^^^^^ associations— to read such an advertisement as the following :— " Steam Com- mSation beuveen Cairo and the Fii-st Catai-act The Egyptian Transit Ad- rnistmtion begs to inform travellei-s that a steamer wiU be dispatehed from Cairo to Assouan on or about the 10th of eveiy month. . . . • • J^' whole voyage will be accomplished in seventeen or eighteen days, mdudmg Tbout 2i0 hom-s- stoppages at all tlie places where the pnncipal anUquHe^ eS- Napoleon talked^to his soldiers about forty centunes looking ^o^^^ upon them from the Pyramids ; but if Uie builders of Edfou, and Dendem , and Thebes, could " look down" upon a puffing, pantmg creation of Peim and Sons," or " Maudslay and Co.," ratUing audaciously along at the veiy mn indulges to a con- ength on the magnifi- ) in many of the pre- Ives of those grand [Ration of the present unard' or tlie 'Collins' )f tlie Penimular and the Ocean Screw Unes iignificent vessels. A || le-force of 1000-horse niers. world ought, perhaps, [alifax in eleven days ; er projects) show that cean route is attained, ilifax is not the most ing around for others, m position of Gal way ; port, Gal way has put in I. Galway is, perhaps, to America ; and there or eighty miles nearer led to establish a mail ;, however, Galway and sand miles might, as is seven days. But until way must look to New leanic chain ; and a few lis direction, should regard the com- [ia. Shall it be by the Which is the shortest'.' merchandise to the fav- uestions are being nai- result will be tlie esta- catalogue of favourable ing taken so decided a ; and herein is another r subversive of old-time Uowing : — " Steam Com- he ligyptian Transit Ad- ■ will be dispatched from ith The eighteen days, including the principal antiquities centuries looking do^Yn jf Edfou, and Denderali, nting creation of " Peim iiously along at the very A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURT. SI foot of the sacred temples, the sight would be much more startling than that of an amicd host, and more significant of tlie progress which tlic last hundredtli-part of forty centuries has witnessed. The fine steaniei-s of our day aie not to be tinderstood by regarding merely tlieir mechanical and engineering qualities. There are other commercial curiosities e.xhibited by tliem. For example— /ood. Of that part of a ship's accompaniments which relate to the victualling of tlie crew and passengers, no example, perhaps, is more striking than that afforded by the great mail steamers which leave Southam[)ton eveiy month. One of the Oriental steamers some- times contains a crew of nearly a hundred, and about as many passengers ; tliese have to be provisioned for five weeks ; and the principal portion of this supply is shipped at Southampton. Grocers, butchere, bakers, wine merchants, spirit merchants, confectioners, poulterers, cheesemongers — all are busy for several days before tlie starting of the mail, in supplying pro- visions, Avhicli comprise the delicacies as well as the solid comforts of the larder ond tlie cellar. " About iWOO lbs. weight of bread, flour, hops, and malt," says a writer in tlie Hampshire Advertiser, apparently well informed on this subject ; " 2000 lbs. of butchers' meat, consisting of prune beef, mutton, pork, caJves' heads, and ox tails ; 200 head of live stock, comprising sheep, pigs, turkeys, geese, ducks, fowls, and a cow in milk; 100 head of dead stock, consisting of turkeys, geese, ducks, fowls, and rabbits ; '2000 lbs. of pi-ovender for tlie live stock ; 3000 bottles of champagne, claret, Madeira, port, and shen'y ; 6000 bottles of pale ale, porter, soda-water, and lemonade ; 200 gallons of brandy, gin, mm, and whisky ; 3000 lbs. of tea, coffee, and sugai' ; 2000 lbs. of various groceries and spices ; an immense quantity of oilmen's and confectioners' stores, such as anchovies, blacking, bottled fruits, candles, cod-sounds, curry powder, celery seed, gi'oats, heiTuigs, jams, jellies, manna- lade, maccaroni, mustard, salad oil, olives, pearl barley, pickles, capers, salt, sauces, salt fish, catsup, soy, soap, soda, salted ti-ipe, vermicelli, whiting, vinegai-; together witli 1000 eggs, and 1000 lbs. of bacon, butter, and cheese; — are shipped on board evei-y Alexandrian packet at Southampton, for one outward and homewai-d voyage." Of course in a large man-of-war, provided for a long period, the quantities of provisions must be veiy much greater ; but we are speaking of ordinaiy monthly commercie' systems. One word as to the millions of steam-boat passengers. The new Navigation Act, which came into operation on the fii-st day of 1852, contains many im- portant regulations for tlie safety of passengers. An Act of Parliament is not omnipotent, either in the prevention of accidents, or in anything else ; but a ship-passenger is so helplessly and hopelessly at the mercy of others, that it becomes reasonable for the legislature to trj' and throw a shield of protection around him. What, tlien, are the materials of this protecting shield, as set fortli in tlie new Act? In the fii-st place, all steamers are to be surveyed twice a year by sun-eyors appointed by tiie Board of Timle ; these sun'eyore are to examine eveiytliing, in tlie departments botli of the shipwright and of the engineer ; they are to send in tlieir report ; the Board (if the report be favour- able) is to give a certificate, and without such a certificate no steamer must com- mence its six months' liberty of voyaging. In the next place, all our steamers nmst have ti-ansverse water-tight partitions, between the engine-room and the fore and aft parts of the vessel, respectively ; a latitude being allowed in respect to ships already built. Then, again, self-acting safety valves are to be provided to every boiler of every steamer, placed out of reach of any interference from the engine-man. Another clause determines the minimum number and the T .AUmjTSXw— ^H A eltlf , IN tttS NI^KTEWTH CENTtJllY. dimensions of the boats -^^t:'^'^\^:^^'Zt^^^ ^vhether sail or steamer ; one ol these boa «. too to b« « li^ boa ^^^^ pvecautioTiary measure, hose for ^''^ f l''^^^ J,i,r ^^^^^^ to steam- lor signals of disti-ess. are to be F^^^^J"^ J"^l ^-Jf^^J^ S^^^ ""^^t^te. already under stringent contracts, are not amenable to the lioaid imder'this new Act. Ships and SiiipriNa at orn Gheat Commebcial Ports. The advance of any of our great ports, --^^ f ^^^ow - ^T^S^ itself one of the best indices to the "^^^^^f ^™^f ° ,.,7^^^^^^ tl.ere generally. Taking ^^J-f?- - ^ -re'r^h,:^^ trex^nded ; in fonning a river on which a million and a halt steriin nas ^^..^iahtening the ci-ooked embankments, building two miles of ^'^o"^^.'!"'^^"' f S'^^^^^ burden, bends, deepening the bed - - l^-^f;,;?;?;^^^^ cranes and fixing beacons for twenty niiles down the ^^^^f; J^""^ " > ^,f ^i,ips . i,y such all other apparatus to facilitate the loading and ""^g %^^ ^l-^^^. means has Uio Clyde become one «/ ^^^e ^st^"^ and on the banks of this river are ^^t^at^.^.^'^^!^^^^^^^^^^ Here 2e to be our steam ships have ^jf'^^-^i^JJ^^^^^l^^S^^^^^^^^^ of Wood, 'Zt;':^^^^^^^^:^^^^ ai.rsoSndissolubly bound up does not equal that of Liverpool. / ^e sh.pp n^ t^'^je »^^^ ,^,j ^„,ou„t«d, of London, but the exports amount to gjeaU^i ™al v^^^^^ ^ ^,„,. in 1850, to the .dmost incredible sum fj''^'^3^^;;^^r'n.ey comprise not half of the whole exp.)rts o the ^^^^"'^^^^"^ti^^^^^^^^^ Unens of the West only tiie cottons "^^ Lai^cashu^ but also the w^^^^^^^ ^^^^ northern counties. „vxT«.nra that 4440 vessels entered According to returns recent^ pija ved. U W^^rs ^"^ ,f^f ^^^.^ -r,, ,,ere mismmmmm. port claims our attention, ho many «f«"^^^*^Vhe customs receipts in Siat there are more ^Ij- J^-^y J-^^ , f -,, ex;eed:dT500,OOo';. hi SbSnrSia^s'rt'irveHBels aiul all Uie p^dle steamers. L A SHIP, IH TIIE KINETEENTir CENTUHT. 23 'ery sea-going vessel, if'e-boat. A» a further lights, and a cannon 11 accidents to st#am- 8uch is tlie sUilute. ieplorable calamity to ally under the notice 1 mail steamora, being the Board of Trade ;ciAi. Ports. ow or Livei-pool, is in shipping arrangements I see ■' We liave tliere expended ; in fonning uigh toning the crooked thousand tons burden, g sheds and cranes and i?ng of ships; by such rful rivers in Britiiin; foci of industiy where )nient. Here are to be or, of Caird, of Wood, indissolubly bound up tiipping phenomena are s more than four miles IS eight hundred ships ;h cost twelve millions vorld, in respect to the imerce generally. New dous, but its commerce ) is rather less than that /alue. These amounted, , much more than one- m ! Tiiey comprise not and linens of the West id Northumberland, the •unties, the steel of Shef- of all our midland and that 4440 vessels entered ss than two-tliirds were to upwards of a million er exceeded this nund)er. aH'airs, this extraordinary dealings witli Liverpool, L'he customs receipts in jxceeded a,5()0,000<. I" all the paddle steamers. tliere were uo less than 13 screw steamei-a built at Liverpool in l«51, pre- senting an nvcmgo of about 500 tons burden each. And if we take our wondrous metropolis, and the river on wlio.se banks it lies, we encounter, of course, more vast and varied phenomena. In IBftO a lectun? was published by Mr. Howell, entitled 'A Day's Business in the Fort of London.' He selected one particular day in September, 1B49, and pro- cured a mass of Custom-house documents in respect of that day's conunerce on the Thames. We find, then, that 121 ships, navigated by 13R7 seamen, and having an aggregate burden of 30,000 tons, arrived in the Thames on that day; of these only one hi eight were foreign vessels. They came from all parts of the globe, as far nortii as Archangel, as far south as Australia, while tlie remote east and the " far west " supplied their fair quota. These shii)s contained 300,000 lbs. of sugar, 16,000 chests of tea, 7400 packages of coffee, 3000 head of live stock, 8000 packages of butter, 50,000 cheeses, 000,000 eggs, 4458 bales of wool, 1250 tons of granite, 219 packages of specie, H0,()()01bs. of cuirants, besides smaller quantities of almost every conceivable article which commerce brings to this country ; all this, be it reinembered, is one day's arrival at one port. It was not all, however, for home consumption, since London is a spot on the great hif,'hway of nations where merchandise rests for awhile on its transit from one counti-y to another. There is no reason to tliink that the day selected was an unusual one as to commerce, or that it presented other than average amouius ; nor is there any mention hero of the departure-ships with their (cargoes, nor of the immense coasting trade between London and otlier British ports. Our shipping account for 1850 is one of which the nation has no little reason to be proud. In it we find tliat 23,960 ships w(!re registered at British ports at the close of that year ; tliat the burden of these ships amounted to 3,337,732 tons, or about 140 tons per vessel on an average ; that our merchant steamers were 570 in number; that 27,286 ships left British ports for foreign countries, and about the same number entered British ports from those coun- tries ; that about 5000 ships left for the colonies, and rather more than this number arrived from the colonies. But the coasting trade, in which each vessel generally makes many voyages in a year, involv<'s numbers and quanti- ties almost incredible. The parliamentaiy returns tell us, for instance, tliat, in the year now under notice, all the voyages of all the coasting vessels in the United Kingdom anioimted in number to more than 140,000 ; this being the number of vessels which ' entered inwards,' as the maritime auLhoritics tcmi it ; the number ' entered outwards ' being of course nearly the same. During that year 010 timber sailing vessels, 1 8 timber steamers, 1 1 iron sailing vessels, and 50 iron steamers — making a totiil of 689 — were built, or finished building, and were placed ui)on the registry. Let us here do justice to the young but energetic power beyond the Atlantic. Her fine yachts and 'liners' have been adverted to, and lier ' Collins' steamers have been described; but her commercial marine must not bo tlius brieily dismissed : it is certainly among the most remarkable phenomena of this age. We may pardonably boast a little of the general advance of Britiyh shipping ; yet the TTnited States beat us hollow in rapV^Vy of advance. In 1832, just twenty ye; as ago, the shipping of the United States amounted to a little more than 1,400,000 tons; while in 1850 it reached 3,500,000— a rate of increase ver}' far exceeding that of the British commercial marine. In the year ending June, 1850, we are told (by the government statistics) that no less than 18,196 vessels left or arrived at poiis in the United States, of which rather less than ! i I! i ^ A SHIP, IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 'balance of trade' is pretty nearly kept up, the ^^^^^^^ "^"^/^eh furnish other British port as the point of departure, but .^^/^'^ ''''^^^ ^ "g" mu^ the Atlantic is really veiy large. In the *«^\^ yf.*^^ '^ f ' ' Livei-pcol alone. 'ilU6 snip-loads thus conveyed to search for a new l^^^^^?^ ^ f" -^'^^^^^ , ^^i comprising neaily 600,000 persons, or an average of about g^ .J each ^h^P| '^tftfhL'orflch have occasionaUy been experienced by these poor sepai-ated countries. ■Hi I belonging to otlier m the comparatively he queen city of the id 7303, averaging 20 liere were not much akes of America, and i kinds, on the coast reat and small, were fork, in nine montlis Its, 13 liners or first- tie end of this period city, 12 large steam- ds; making, together, d of such magnitude ing one with another) )f American shipping, n to Britain and other mmerce is treated in may well be supposed le Atlantic yearly, with quire many large and lie of commodities be- ti others, by which the cotton to England has ngland, which furnish is, the acquisition of scovery of the golden , is the activity which ote a few of the recent ping. In 1850, then, 280,849, of whom no d Livei-pool excel any t far exceeded all the being 174,188. The number of souls across .847 to 1850 there were le from Livei-pcol alone, ibout 275 in each ship, id St. George's Channel ;r of emigiants shipped (ig in 1851, when it was erienced by these pom- cooped up in one ship ik ; the emigrant regula- , and dishonesty on the e nineteenth centuiy," is of different and widely- FIRE AND LIGHT: CONTRIVANCES FOR THEIR PRODUCTION. Ik we look around us it ^yill speedily become apparent that the artificial pro- duction of Jire imd lijfht forms a very largo and isurious depailraent of com- mercial industry — full of ingenious contrivances, bold enterprises, and uncer- tain speculations. The precarious search for whales in the Greenland Seas and tlie Pacific Ocean ; tlie wholesale slaughter of oxen for tlio sake of theu- tallow in Russia ; tlie busy collecting of palm-oil in Central Africa ; the bm-- rowing of miners through hundreds of miles of subtenanean galleries in search of coal ; the vast shipping and commercial airangements for ti-ans- porting tlie oil, the tallow, and the rial from place to place ; tlie erection of the numerous and extensive stnicti^es for obtauiing gas and coke from coal ; the subway ai-teries tluough which tliis gas is conveyed to our sti-eets and houses ; the lamps for applying the oil, the candles for applying tlie tallow, the burners for applying the gas, and the stoves for applying tlie coal ; the complex mechanism for warming extensive buildings ; tlie enormous furnaces and ovens for applying heat to manufacturing purposes — all tend to show that man's labours in the production of fire and light ai-e both vai-ied and ex- tensive. Nor ai-e tliese subjects less mai-ked tlian others by curious attendant circum- stances and ingenious modem inventions. A few of these wiU here engage our attention. Coal; Coal Fields; Coal Mines; and Colliers. The mode in which tlie inhabitants of a country habitually wai-ni their dwellmgs must obviously depend on tlie kind and quantity of fuel which they can readily obtain ; and no inconsiderable effect on tlie internal aiTangement of dwellmgs is ti-aceable to this source. The wood-fuel districts have their characteristics, differing from tliose of coal disti-icts, and both differmg from those in which fuel of every kind is scarce. It is mstmctive to compare the fire-places (if thus we may call them) of different countries and different ages. There is the Laplander, with a lai-ge lamp of stinking fish-oil in the centre of his hut, tlie flame and smoke of which supply him with his only fire dm-ing tlie long Arctic winter. There is the Persian fire-pot, or Imirey, containing some slowly-burning fuel, and covered with a large quilt, beneath which the family tuck their feet and legs to obtain warmth. There is the open vessel containing burning charcoal- often a medium for displaying great elegance in the braziers and tiipods, but always a dangerous contaminator of the air. There is tlie Chinese system of hollow walls and tile-made flues, tluough which hot an- passes from a sto\e eontainmg a compost or mixed fuel. There were the open fire-places of our o !l ■| % I 2 FinK AND MOHT: CONTKIVASCKS FOU TlIEin FHOI>t!CTI0N. feudal hall8. widi Uie andirons for supporting the bummg .l>':'"^^^«' f;;^^;;^;,^^ boards in the roof for the escape of smoke without adnuttnig nun and the s^Sattv^ge grandeur whi^h the glare of light threw -und 1- ,^^ " There were Uie fire-pbces of a later dat« m our old l^"^^'^^'"'^^"^/^^^^^^^^^^ where an enormous chhnney replaced the louvre-boanls, and ' ' J^"^ ' ;^^^^^^^^ seats were smigly ranged around the cheerful lire. There are t e "umm. us and vS conttivancL consequent on the substitution o ^oa or wood- uel There lue the clos. stoves of the Continent, some made ot metal ad some ol clav but all repugnant to our English notions ot a cheerful open fiie. iUeic Ttl^ economical novelties for proaucing sn.all fires for minor ^o^es and the culinaiy novelties for employing gas, or spu-it or '^^^^'^''^'^^l cool; and the scientific novelties (sometimes fadures) lor warmmg oui laib^ ^"Jfanf mt^%aps, now wltl> difllculty realise the «tate of thmg« ^vhen coal wi r^Mised a.nong us as a fuel ; yet sudh a thue of -«»*- «;"2 ' "J^ it is not difficult even to name the period at whuh ''/"•"r^^^f -^ made. This period was rather more than si-x centuries ago, ^^hen the neigh bourhood of Newcastle was first explored for coa ; and froni ^hat ".6; ^^^^^^ many hmidreds of years, discoveries were giwlually made m «"^"0f"»;"; ™u/tie. of valuable Lds of coal. At first the phonies and he«^^^^^^ lishmen would not receive the black sooty fuel ; it did not .f" /'^« J« Jj**^^ or the domestic habits of tlie people: but It was tound «« /dapted lor the bla^ksmitli and the Ume-bumer. Only th« layers ^'^''l^'l'^f^^'^ZHnd ooal-fields adjacent to rivers or seas, were first opened ;l.ut ^^ t^^jT'JJJ increased, th. miners dlVed more deeply ihto the ^oWels of the ear^ and boldly worked the coal wherever it was to be found- Whett the tnil es became deen the miners were sadly perplexed how to get rid of the Water, and it 'r^oftiirihe slni-enginlUu. t« their aid tl-t they fully mas1.i^^^^ rlifticultv But the preiudices of tlie users were as difficult to suiinovtni as Jhe p is .d ffie mlne'rs; we are even t..ld of a period, when a citi..n ot London wfts tried and executed foi* burning sea-coal, in oppo^tio^ to a stringent law passed in respect to that subject ; but even long af^r such m o emnce as this had passed away, coal was .^ft« ago, when the neigh- froni that time, dm-ing nade in our northern and heartlu ' of Eng- not Suit the fire-places I well adapted for the ar the surface, and in hut tvhen tlie denlftnd Wels of the earth, and 'hen the tnines became tl hf the water ; and it hey fully mastered tliis ifficult to sunnotint as riod when n citizen of al, in oppositloti to a even long after such in- I good society. Ijatlies complexion ; and it was 1 warmed by a coal fire, (]nestionttbly had much lice, foi' the alinoSt ttHal I*, and removing smoke nnd disagreeable com- I ; and whatevfcr hiftjr be lerity of Great Britain, )ne of the most notable. It to the manufacturing OTJn not only the crude 'rtrth, btlt vatious other It supplies not only all derating commerce with outthig down the residue irows a liffe of indUsti^ ess moor atid mountain Klrttl ANr» I.IOMT! rONTIllVAMnKi KOH TIlMtB MiODUOTIOK. R It Is indeed remarkable that so gmidl a oountry should furnish so mighty a sup- ply of fuel. We havo 1 •J,(»(t() H(juai'(; miles of coal area- -nearly one-tenth of the entire area of our island ; but still this bears but a small ratio to the total quantity In all countries. According to the estimates of Professor Ansted and Mr. Taylor, the ascertaiK.Ml area of all the <-oal strata in the world is not less than lOO.dOO square miles. And yet the annual atnount of coal worked atul brought to light in the J)ritis*i islantls is nearly double of that in all other countries taken togetJier — so enormous are now oui' colliery operati(mH. The number of coal-fields in tliese islands, comprising distriots detached from all others, is about :tO ; the number of distinct workable seams in these coal- fields varies from I to HI ; the tliiokest seam in any one field taries from :) to W feet ; and the aggregate thicl-.ness of all the seams in each field vai-ios from .•» to yoo feet. From these various coal-fields tliere are now extracted not less than ;t5,f)()0,()(l() tons in a year— the value of which, including transit to the place of consumption, is about 1H,00(),0()(I/. This estimate, of about ten shillings per ton, nuiy seem snudl to Londoners, uccustomed tc a i)rice so much higher; but in all the coal-mining and iron-smelting districts, tho average is far under that here named. Of the 18,000,(100/., it is supposed that about one-half is the value at tlie pits mouth, and the other half the value of the transit to the consumer. The fixed capital employed in the coal- trade, Including mining machinery and transit machineiT, is roughly esti- mated at 10,000,000/. The Newcastle Coal-field is that witli Mrhlch tlie inhabitants of tlie metro- polis have hade of working mus "ecessa dy. tliereibre vai-v considerably according U) the depth. In nearly all cases hovx- eJerrere^e vertical slmfts dug from the surface till they n.tei-sect the bed of Joa ind rom Uie bottom of these shafts horizontal gal enes are worked m tl e subslce of the coal. The galleries themselves yield coal whde bemg excavated, anut on^Uun of the coal is tJius extracted, and the maintenance ot the colliery woi kings is no longe. necessary, tlic colliers carefully break away the supporting masse d 2 v the roof to fall in as it may. The method of mining here described s ca e"l the pUlur and stall method, and is adopted m Nortlmmberiand and 'urian- but in Yorkshire ami some other districts the «n^-,.v.« me hod .. a ted on ; his consists in removing the coal entirely imd at once, the nn^ Sung behind the work as it advances. Where the coal is near Uie surtace u. nSffordshire, the falling in of colliery roots has g^" -Jjjjorch^^^^^^^ u egu^ laritv to the surface of the ground ; so much so, indeed that many ot Uit nier houses require to be propped up, r.s if undei-mined by eartlupiakes^ The whok. of the soil of South St!affordshire may be said to be honeycombed by this cause. Colliery Perils, and their Ee.mkkiks. There is a curious chain of links which connect living wood widi dead coal. Fiis tJiere is p.U, consisting of various kmds of plants and moss, imbedded ai^d Di-essed to-ether into a inass, and exposed to tlie action ot air, or water, ^ bot^^i and pelaps heat, for umuunbered centuries. Then there is %u... formed in neariy the same way from trunks of trees, and accumulated in a "fot vast thickness in (iemany and other parts of Eui-ope I ^ J- n" hiOierto been much used as fuel, but there are '"'l^f ^'""« ^^^ /] ^^'^^^^^^^^^^ ere long. Next comes jet, which appears to be a pecuhai- variety of vegetitbU, matter brought almost to a bitmninous state. Then we have cunnel coal, i UODl CTION. abliiig vcsHels to ship buc^kets, and of the "le were elegant vaHtin LT the (lualilif'M of tlin no siiuilui' nicknacks, nd boardH, braioltits, m\ recently discovered \a[) of their eoal-tield, Lsanis ; and Hections of Tit,' l'l»» **'" "■ ''olliery, igcnients; and liwtly, witli one or two of tlie and sections was sent ng series of the same Ebbw Vale in Soutli B beds of coal whether leil more or less to the oni a few yards to six rking must necessarily. 11 nearly all cases, how- 1 they intereect the Ixid galleries are worked in yield coal while being the mass. But as tliis 1 leave the roof of the lie colliers are careful to When about one-Uurd the colliery workings is f the supporting masses f mining here described ui Nortlnunberland ami the lonij-mdl method is Iv and at once, the roof al is near the surface, as /en extraordinary irregu- leed, that many of tlie ernnned by earllKpiakes. said to be honeycombed iKDIF.S. ing wood witlr dead coal, mts and moss, imbedded le action of air, or water, IS. Then there is I'upilU', ies, and accumulated in ts of Europe ; it has not lications that it will so be ;uliar variety of vegetable Ijen we have vaiiiiel coal, KIHE AKD UOHT: CONTIUVANCEB KoK TlllilK PBODUCTtoX. 8 which not only yields the best and most abundant gas for streetdighting, but has often such a hardness, blackness, luid polish, as enable it to be worked up into very beautil'ul oinamcnts; many persons will reine.mbfi' the garden chair and tht; model of tlio Durham nioimment. in camicl coal, at the (ireat Exhibition. Next is the rdkiti;/ I'i'id oi Newcastle and its neighbi)urho(>d, which combines so many useful (jualitit^s for household purposes. Somewhat difl'erent from thin is tlu' Hlmtifml lonl of the midliuid counties, whicli is olitained in very long pieces, and has less bituminous or caking f the sad deltiiis which corroborate this fact ; and it is impossible to look without interest at any contrivan( • ^ wL :'h may lessen the calamities to which our swarthy coal-miners are subject. As the impure state of the air in the mines leads to disastrous exjilosions, so does the great depth of tlie mines entail great liability to fatal accidents. That men should descend and ascend a cjuarter of a mile of ladders every day, is a wonderful instance of patient daring; but if they desc(!nd by any kind of mechanism, their safety i.s too often dependent on a single rope. It is to ob- viate disasters of the latte'- Kind that Messrs. Fourdrinier have hivented a very ingenious apparatus lately brought before public notici-. It consists of a basket or cage, which may contain either eoid itself or the men who work the coal. It is ra.'sed and lowered through the shaft by a rope workeil in tlie usual way from above ; but it also slides in vertical grooves at tlie sidiJS of the shaft; luid these grooves afford means for safety in the event of tlie rope Ijreaking. Should such a mishap occur, two arms or levers throw themselves out, and catch against the grooved guide rods so firmly that the basket be- comes held fkst, and is prevented from further dtsscent. The apparatus has been repeatedly tried in the collieries of the north, and seems to have been very generally ajjproved. J t would be a great pity if, as in the fire-escape, the good which the appai'atus might render, were rendered of non-effi!Ct by any neglect in the use of tlie machine itself; being essentially a preventive agent, and not a mere cure after tlio evil is jiroduccd, nothing but a pre-adoption of the appai'atus in moments of safety could test its value ia moments of disaster. But it is from explosions, rather than falls, that coal miners sutler disaster. There is a liability to the accumulation of gases which tue deleterious and even dangerous to tliose working in tlio mines ; and very extensive systems of ventilation are adopted, by which fresh air is made to pass through all the passages and shafts of the mine. It is from partial neglect, in otherwise good systems, that many of tlie disasti'ous explosions have occurred. Mr. Nasmyth's recently-invented fan seems to be a notable instiniment for aiding the ventilation of mines. The use of a revolvi. g fan for such a pur- pose is an old idea, generally realised by using the fan as a blowing machine, to force fresh air down a shdft into the mine ; but Mr. Nasmyth, the inventor of the famous steam-hammer, conceiving tliat it would be better to thaw bad air -»«' t FlBD AUti t.Irttrt! cnHruVtAIICPM ♦'OH TttWiH MlOt)«ifHW». out Of ft tninfl U.«f. to foro« fiftsh nlr In-or mtl.of thut U would l.« .rt#/«r ali.J that flesh air woiil.l ho mire l/i follow to fill up llio va«Mimii— tm of appamtus. Above gro....5 from Stirling, a fire has been raging for nearly thirty years ; a mne- feet seam of coal, twenty-six acres in extent, has thus been in a sttiteof deviw- tation ami has been known in the neighbouring districts as "the burning waste of Clackmannan." Th^ tire is supposed to have been caused by some persons who established an Illicit whiskey-stiU hi the old workings^ S*!f"/*'"' T? that no ordinary means would extinguish the hre, a sum of 10,000/. was spent, and five years emtdoyed. in building a mud wall aromid the burning mass, so as to deprive it of all access of air: the builders of this wall hny Collieries, in Lan- sarlypart of 1^51 Mr. luekniannan fire, aiid I in potirlng down into a high-pressure jet of fire, the tehiperatufe FIHB AMD MflHT: fONfBIVAHOFS fOR THWR pnODUCTIOM. 7 low enough to cool the coaly niONS, and the pressure intense enough to keep out all exteriml air. A fufiiu*!" wan oonwtruDtiid above groiuid, capable of burning coal and cuke ; ii boiler was cicctcd to supply stciuu ; IIuch and pipes were uo phuiud as to (!onvoy the gas and steam to one of the old working shafts of tbn luiiie, lUiil It holit was l.u'okeu tlirough the mud wall bilowto eotublish a coMununication with iho smouldering luussi. The fire was lighted; the choko-dump (a mixture of ( itrl)oni(;-acid and nitrogen) was generati;d ; tht; steam was brought uj) to a high pn'ssure ; and u jet of steam being admitted into the pipe which conveyeil the choke-damp, forced it irresistibly along mid into the uune. l-'or several hours was this flood of gas poiu-ed in, until the mint) contuinud eight million cubic feot ; itwaii completely filled, and remained HO for throe weeks. The absrau^e of free oxygen in choke-damp ' jnit out the fire,' and a Hiibseipiunt stream ut a lower ttMuperuture cooled the mass ; then fresh but damp air was admitted, and was forci^d for some weeks through all the vacuities of Uie mine, by which it wan foimd that the temperaluio lowered a little every day ; luid ut length, on fairly opening the mine, tlie (Irc! wa.s found t«) be utterly extinguished. Tbis was perhaps the most successful uoii- {piest over the buiiiing element ever acliie\ed. But it is not to put out a fire — It is to [)revent a fire fiom kindlitig, that miners are more frequently called upon to show their ingenuity. If they could see to work without lamps or cundles, few or no explosions would ha[tpen ; but die darkneB* of the mine jirevents this : hence, among otlun- means, we have the ' Davy,' or ' safety lamp,' a beautltid contrivance, but one which has not kept the miners free from fearful calamities. How far this has resulted from their own carelessness is still a disputed point. The huge masses of (!oal give off car- buretted hydrogen gas ; this gas combines with the air which enters the mine, and at a certain ratio of mixture the two gases or airs explode when a light reaches them. Hence tlio coal-miner is never quite safe ; he is either liable tt) be burnt by the fire-damp or gas, if this explodes, or to be suflPocated by the choke-damp, which is one of the results of the explosion. Hence tlie earnest desire to prevent any naked flame from reaching the gas, and hence Hir H. Davy's highly-scientific mode of ligliting tlie miner without perilling his Ufa. If a fine iron wire gauze surround ft fiame, no flame can po,ss through the meshes; unignited gas may, but fiame cannot. Herein lies the whole principle of the ' safety lamp.' It is a simple oil lamp, with a wire-gauze en- velope around ihe Hanie. Fire-damp may get into the enclosed space, tlu'ougli the meshes, and may there bum ; but the produced flame cannot get out of the apace, without which it could not ignite the gas in tlie mine generally. It is a fearful thing, to those who know what has occurred and is likely to occur in mineh, to see a fuint blue light witliin the gauze space. This shows that the mine is full of fire-damp, that some has entered the lamp, and thai the least failure in soundness or in carefulness will lead to an explosion. Dr. Clanny has improved upon J)avy's lamp, insomuch as to enable it to give a better light and to act more safely. Mr. Goldsworthy Gumey, too, has re- cently directed his attention to the miners' lamp — not so much, however, with a view to its safety, as to enable it to yield more light to the miners. He states that three-fourths of tlie light of an ordinaiy Davy lamp is lost by the use of dull iron-wire ; but that if the wire were plated and polished the loss would only be one-eighth. Ingenious persons are constantly endea- vouring to make these safety lamps really safe ; but yet the ' Collieiy Ex- plosions ' are fearfidly numerous, and there is every reason to believe that these mining lamps are not looked after so sedulously as they should be. J^ I FIRE AND LIGHT : CONTRIVANCES FOB THEIR PRODUCTION. Charcoal; Coke; Peat; ARTiFtcui, Fuel. The coiil-fields. the collieries, the miners, their lamps, and their disasters, must not hide from our ^iew the existence of other kuids oi fuel, tire pre- paration of which exhihits many curious features. ,,.„,,... We have outlived the days when charcoal was needed m England lor luel. A litUe is made, it is true, for special uses ; and for some purposes charcoal is tlie hest of fuel; hut it is on the Continent that its production toxins a regular and extensive department of manufacture. As m taimmg leatlier, so in charcoal-burning, tliere are quicli as well as slow processes ; and experience seems to show that the slow metliods produce better results tlian the more rapid. Various modes are adopted in makmg charcoal on the Continent In one veiy common method, the billets of wood (oak, beech, alder, birch, fir, &c., according to circumstances) are bmlt up horizontaUy mto a hemispherical mound ; the mound is well packed m witlr turi and charcoal powder ; a fire is kindled in the centre of the bottoni of the mound through holes left for the purpose ; by due management oi an--holes the wood is allowed to give oti' its moisture by slow evaporation ; and then commences the charring process, by which little is left in each billet but carbon. Ac- cording as the mound varies from ten to sixty feet in diameter, so would this charring require a week or several weeks for its proper completion. In another mode of proceedmg. the billets are built up into a long quadrangular mass, and the air-holes are differenUy managed ; but the general nature ot the process is the same. Where the chai'coal-bumer wishes to save some ot the liquid and gaseous products of the wood, he conducts tlie operations in a regularly-buUt furnace, so arranged as to separate and presene the tai-. In one of the busiest parts of Rhenish Pnissia, there is a manutacturing district which illustrates in a veiy striking way a state ol dependence on charcoal-fuel. Neai- the town of Siegen, a sparry iron-ore is lound, which is well adapted for making steel, when smelted with charcoal; and a flourishing st^el manufactme was established at Siegen many centunes ago. The princes of tlic house of Nassau sought to establish a monopoly ot the manu- facture at that spot, for their own pecuniary advantage. A compact was en- tered into by tliem with the smelters, so far back as tlie year 1478, whereby the latter undertook not to carry tlieir art out of those districts, under pam oi forfeiture and death ; in return for which pledge tlie smelters received certain privileges, which were renewed by cluu-ters from time to time. Alter a time it was found that tliis concentration of operations at one spot thinned materially tlie forests whence was obtained the wood for makmg charcoal for the fm-naces Then came another 'protective' measure— that prohibiting the exportation of charcoal ; and then followed a third— that of luniUug the number of smelting works, in order that no one of them might consume too much charcoal. To this succeeded a fourth stage in the same tram of operations— that of prescribing tlie exact number of days m a year which each furnace should work. , As the distillation of wood leaves charcoal as a solid residue, so does that of coal leave coke— a. commodity which our locomotive system is rcndenng very valuable. It is a cm-ious circumstance in respect to the deniand tor difTerent kinds of fuel for diSerent purposes, that coal is made to yield two such kinds— utterly dififerent one from another, and both m full demand as rapidly as tliey can be made. We of course aUude U) gas and coke. Let '' ' '' ■ ,in « » aM *ait i rw i ua? iw *'JCT»i'" i i OnUOTION. 3EL. , and their disasters, ids of fuel, die pre- in England for fuel, ic purposes charcoal ts production forms e. As in tanning I as slow processes ; roduce better results iking charcoal on the 3f wood (oak, beech, built up horizontally ted in witli turf and lottom of the mound, of air-holes the Avood and then commences let but carbon. Ac- iraeter, so would this •per completion. In ) a long quadrangular he general nature of dshes to save some of icts tlie operations in presene the tai'. e is a manufacturing ite of dependence on ire is found, which is aal ; and a flourishing centuries ago. The onopoly of the manu- I. A compact was en- ifc year 1478, whereby listricts, under pain of elters received certain time. After a time it pot thinned materially iing charcoal for the -that prohibiting the -that of limiting the !m might consume too in the same train of fs in a year which each d residue, so does that i system is rendering ct to the demand for is made to yield two both in full demand to gas and coke. Let FIRE ANT) LTOHT: C0NTRTVANCE3 FOR THEfR PRODUCTION. 9 a ton of ordinaiy caking coal be subjectoil to the usual process of the gas- works : what are the products ? About eight or ten thousand cubic feet of invisible carburetted hydrogen gas, and ten or twelve hundred weight of dull, hard, bi-ittle coke. The gas takes nearly all the hydrogen of the coal : the coke'neariy all the carbon ; and the one is fitted to yield more light tlian heat, while the "other is valued rather for heat than light. As there is much more coke reijuired for locomotive and other purposes than the gas (companies can supply, coke ovens are established expressly for file manufacture. Fortunately, small coal is as effective for this purpose as large, and thus the waste heaps at the mouths of the coal-pits become avail- able. Many of our gi-eat railway depots have ranges of ovens expressly designed for making coke. The coal is thrown into these ovens, kindled, clcsed in from the air, and allowed to smoulder for thirty or forty hours ; amngements are made for burning the gases, so that they may not pollute the air ; and tlie solid residue is the coke, which supphes fuel to our countless loc»motives. In tlie open country districts the coke-ovens are often much less complete and much more wasteful than those at the great depots. It is a curbus circumstance, and illustrative of the changes which the carboniferous structure undergoes, that the coal increases in bulk by getting rid of its Qoa ; eight sacks of coal will yield ten sacks of coke. One of tlie curiosities in coke is that, although so granular in appearances, soms of the particles have almost tlie hardness ot he diamond, and are found fitted for cutting glass. A«ross, in the sister island, anotlier fuel may be seen. One-seventli part of the surface of Ireland being covered with jwat, it becomes an important question to determine whether this peat can be usefully applied, and the gi-oiiid beneath it brought within the range of agriculture. Many plans are now in partial operation for expelling the moisture from peat, and rendermg it a useful fuel ; most of these plans operate by pressure ; but one is an application of centrifugal force— now brought mto requisition in so many and such remarkable ways. Sometimes peat is exposed to combustion in close chasibers ; the volatile prochicts are applied to various chemical purposes, and the solid residue foi-ms a kind of charcoal or coke. The great question in such operations is, will they pay '.' They are practicable, we know, but will they yieli a commercial profit, when all expenses are paid? The same question mat be asked, and is often asked, respecting the application of any kind of maiihmeiy to the simple pressing or drying of peat. Practically, peat can be pressed to a density exceeding tliat of coal, and in that state its heating power is leiy considerable. Mr. VignoUes, the eminent engineer, has recently found tint the peat to be met with in many parts of Germany may be made into excellent coke, by a process of his own introduction ; and he has since taken oui a patent with a view to a similar commercial project in Ireland. Poor Irdand ! it would be a worthy application of modem science and mechanism if her bogs could by such agency be converted from useless blots into fruitful sdirces of wealth. A ' British and Irish Peat Company ' has been lately fofmed (or at least attempts have been made to form it) for the reclamation o7 bogs in Dartmoor and in Ireland, and the application of the peat to useful parposes ; besides the formation of fuel, it is known that naphtha, paraffine, ii|ced oil, volatile oil, acetate of lime, sulphate of ammonia, and other che- rticals, can be obtained from peat, and I'laming accounts have been published of the probable profits derivable from a manufacture of such articles from mch a Bource ; but there is much reason for believing that the estimates ai-e 3 1 T.i ■III I .._»»-. J ->-».»— I , I •• yi^ ' - 10 FIRE AMD LISHT; C0»TRIVANCKS FOR THEfR PROBUCTJOW. trreatly exaggerated. So of peat-fuel, too ; we know that fuel ^;^^^^^Z^:^, vvL-established Ivt it has a deeper meamng, and is i^*^^^^ 7.;y • p^nciple now cai-ned, that 'ititic principle. Nay to so njce^u -" - ^ '- f™. P„,u rooms, while a a ,onml reflecting «"r'7, •^. "S^ ^ "" '"''^ ^' "^'^ '"'^ "^" ^ '""" j,a,-aboUc surface is '"i^P^^,'^;". f J^^^^^^^^ ^J,t rays of heat to a disUince. In our tli» latter form bemg adop edto ^^f'^'^^r'l^i^^^.if far too conspicuously into ordinary fireplaces the ugly ash-pit ^^^tmdes itstn la i_^^^^ ^^ ^^^ plica /but in those now muleraons^di^^^^^^^^^ i,ibutable to the some is entirely out ot ^'g^*' ..^^^'J/^^^^'JrSiey warm a lower stratum of air stSes which now gi'ace ""'• j^^^Tv^r theriect nearly all the heat out tlrar can be warned by ord mag ^U^^^ ^f ehimney ;. they remove the un- iiito the room, allowing little to ascenu uw ^ j.^^. jj^jinitxi 3tly a.h-pit i"to a desirable obs^^tyjd*^^^^^^^ ^ J ^^ ^^^^,^1, variety in the tasteful 'iesigns lor ^« \^^^«^^^^^^^^^ .^r Bheffield desi^^ers, a. the fire-place. It is impossible to ^'y"";,^^^^ '"?„ "trivuiK earnestly to throw an tl as those of London and Bnmmgiaj^i. ^^^^ y , ^, ah- of giace and elegance over t»^« «VtV.l nnnaratus for an open English fire, the.fife-irons' ^- - -l':-^^^,J':Z:lf^^^^^ fo give them an attempts arc now ^'^'^'^''^vTtxSZ ii all formed component parts ot artistic connection wiUi the «f ^^^^^^ V^ " ^^^ it is tme ; some are too r. design. Some ^l»»«^f ,;^™»^J^T^^^ gi-ac«ful ap- delicate for coal-dust and ''-'^l^-f,"^/ ' ,^J^"''^JiShed steel and polished braids, plications of 'l«'^.b™«^^*"^ "t'i^i";^^^^^^^ elaborately-decked stoves Ithaa been whimsicaUy said tha ot a cvv o^ housemaid." -fould require an aitist to clean *<^f^ "^^^^,°,^pose the air, or rather the The teniency which heated "^?f , ^^.^.Jf T^ays contains, has led to nUsoellaneous floating f^f '^ *; J^u ^r T7ck^^ instead of iron to form lire Kf^i? ^ZSL'tdtr.le'sUe lie recently introduced vei-y ittgenious stoves on Uiis P"ncjP^- , z^^evs and flues, be made to ' consume Vhen will stoves and bve-places "^^^^^Xs to be done ; and yet the their own smoke'? Hociety calls alo^ tor m „ode-one among oTmand is but UtUo attended to. ^« ^^J^^k^f^P^.unung, we may adduce that mSv-by which furnaces ^ay be made smoke coisuiug, J .^ ^^^_ Pnted'by Mr. '^-kes. The q^^^^^^^^ fut^Lrhillre it is allowed to Lw to sub ect the smoke fron coal *« ^^'^^ j^ the cold air from the ent^ the chimney'? In ^« "^{"^^.^^ j;Trs '^ J there cools the smoke too room enters the vacaiit epa^o abme *« ^^^s . ^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ „f ^ much to admit of any combustion, lovmrnf a ^^^^^^^,^ ^^,^„gg. similar defect, to that .- heijig earned up or down, in or out, according to U»o position of the roouis to be wanned. It tonus a nide analogy to our own bodily uirculation ; the boiler is the heart, while Uk, pines ai-e the veins and arteries. If the boiler be placed m a low position, the water in it, when heated, has a tendency to rise; and if the whole system of T)ipes be filled with water, the rising hot water drives tlie cold water before it, aiul a continuous circulation js produced : the whole length ot pipe hor conies heated by degrees, and gives off this heat to tlie rooms. ^". h'i-.er may be of ordinary lorn,, or it way be (as in Mr. PerkuiftV >j«teni) merely a part of tlio pipe itself coiled up into a cpnipwt mass and placed in a turuace It is said that the tirst building warmed with hot water was a greenhouse at Newcastle, in iVlO ; hut that tlie first successful application on a large suae was at a hatching-roctip— a chickun factory, as it may be Uiinied— m l(7». Since then Uio method has come largely into use. Bometimea pipes are conducted into the rooms to be heated, as at the British Museum, and there coiled up under handsome pedestals ; sometimes a current ot air is heated by beil'i' made to pass over the surface of a vessel containing hot water, ai^ ut the new Houses of Parliament, and then made to circulate by a drauglit caused by ai-tihcial mei»,s. Mr. Bunnell's ' Iletort Calorifere is a recent contrivan<:e foj' applying tlie hot-water method to conservatories. Terhai-^ vood coated wiUr .iiu ^r pitoh; and such torches are knnwn to hfive been used by the Crpeeks and Komans. The substftut^on of a rope of hemp fc the piece of wood tormed A nUCTION. B lifu ; it is yieUiapf in hojne couveiiieiit ti si)ot aiJil entering cunieJ ui» or Uown, •arnic'il. It forms a tiielieart, while tilt? 1 in a low posiliim, if the whole HyaUmx le cold water hoforo ', len^'th of pipe bar rooms. 'V'l^". h*;ller aV.ijBtem) merely a placed ill a furaaiie. was a greenhouse at on on a large siiale jc termed — io 177H. )metimas pipes are Muisenm. and there lit of air is heated by iiing hot water, ay ut •oulat£ by a tained. Then, when coal becanie a ('ouinion fiit^l, the brilliant little jets which occasionally dart out froni it would induce an inquiry how such a source of illumination niight be available ; but it requiicil tho boldness of tlie nineteenth century to give a decisive imswcr to such a (]ues- tjon, Ne^ft, as the electric spark is intensely brilliant, jiractical men would ponder on the possibility of converting it nita a useful source of light ; and we see in oiiy own day how this jiossibility is being tested. Nay, even water itself is now narrowly watched, to see whether tlie bydrogei;, whic^h forms one of its constituent'j, may be liberated and made to remler up its light- givuig power. It is not every one who understands the bit of philosoidiy involved in tho biminig of a candle. We may readily suppose — and the supposition is not tx very absurd one — that th j wick is intended to burn and to give light. Such, however, is not the case. The parallel, or nearly pandlel, fibres of tlje wick fonn the walls of numerous minute tubes, up through which any liquid will ascend by the power of what is called ' cuiiillary attraction ; ' and it is in this minutely- divided state tliat oil or nielted tiiUow is best fitted for combus- tion. The heat of tlie candle melts the upper part of the tallow, which then in a liquid state ascends the little tubes of tlie wick, and is there bunied ; it is true tliat the wick is burned also ; but tliis is not a necessary condition of tlie arrangement ; the candle would give forth its fight even if the wick were formed of (m incombustible material. How a candle is made, and from what materials, are matters fully described in works readily available, 'ihat tlie cotton threads are ranged parallel for wicks; that the wicks are slightly twisted; that they are dipped into a vat of steaming melted tallow ; tliat ingenious mechanism is employed to aid the dipping ; diat some candles are cast in moulds instead of being dipped into vats — are facts pretty generally known. But the extent to which we are dependent on foreign countries for tliis tallow is greater tlian would be gene- rally supposed. In 1860 thi:: quantity was considerably beyond 1(J0,()00,0U0 lbs., a great portion of which came from Russia. Although we are a beef-eating people, our cattlo do not furnish us with a sufficiency of tallow for candle and soap-making pmposes ; and we have to look to other countries in which tlie richness of the meat is not so much regarded as the quantity of the fat or tallow. The fat of all animals which is solid at the ordinary tem- perature of our climate is fitted for making candles ; and it is on commercial ratlier than chemical reasons that the fat of oxen is more largely used by us than tliat of any other animal. The tallow-melting establishments of Russia are vast hi size and most inodorous ui character. Oandlermaking (it is proper here to state) has now become quite a notable u 16 iiuK ANP moht: roNTRn'AVCES Fon thf.tti rnonticTioN. example of fivcton- opornttons, involving enRinoorinf,' and nianufacturmfr die- niistiT on ii voit inslnictive scale. Ainoti-,' nmny Ui^^- ostablislmirnts there is one ivt Vauxliall where ' Price's Patent Candles' are made m almost incon- ceiv.il.lc ..u.intities. Tlie candles are made of palm oil ange coa8t ana uie 1 a. , ■ ,^, i . b„t i,„th .„ ihods are now abuudoued. 'Z^ Ule wtll L: tSu'riluy .-uove the blubbe.- from th« hol^ .U kinU)HnmllpbfiP3, remove tiie sikin and impunlL's, and pack the rt,«t m Lw« Tl u'vJv . u average, be thirty tonn of blubber from ,t lull-grown 21- ^aWmVi;:ri;obtLec1abovetwe^,tyto,..,foil. When th- -vhaler^ tractina tho oil therofrom, to be used hm-eattiir an lainp-oil. The?e is nothing new In all these details ; indeed, Uie whale liBliery. fVom iti, vei^ nature does not uoi..i:, oi auoh variety m mauaqement. I he cLgel^ are local and conunercial rather tha. technieal. One chang. is hat ScSi iVorts arc getting aliead of English in respect fo whaling ships . Se iie is that the^orth AUantie is becoming yea.-ly n.-re and ".ore Weftof Ss No the manifest loss of the whal. rn who voyag. thither; a S is that tl^'Bouth Pacific, especially under the ^-^^^^^'TZ^lf- tlie Messrs. Enderby, is hecommg an important ««?"'^, "[.^""'^^^ri^'^S^ ' while tlie North Pacific is with yet more energy crossed an.l reorossed by Uie '^'^D^e'T^g^llblToils are procured much more easily ; with less danger, less dirt less mimtointy-whetlier at a less saleable price is a question tor actual oommerco 1^ answeJ. Olive-oil, nut-oil. linseed-oil, henipseed-oil, rape-oil-all LTproc'red ^\ve..ure of the vegetable substances -hi'-;!' R-e Uieni nania How t^iese Jarious oils ai-e employed to yield artificial light, o»r kinp- mSeis show most ingeniously. The old table-lamps and shop-lamps of our m-SaS davs gave a smoky and yellow light; then came Argand. who. KexMly g. sing breathing room t^ the flame by means ol a hollow wick. rWucS S^^^ and a less yellow light; and in more recent days came he muUitude of contrivances by which air- and sometimen pure oxygen-.s admSd to U?e flame. Many modem lamps, to which veiy h.gh-sounding iTiefl given, are simply il-lamps, with an improved adjustment for the Th^r;;L2r:3mSKC^ certainly not been forgotten in the con- BtrScttou olUdem lamps ; it is ind..d sontewhat bewildering to read o thn nmnerous novelties which appeal to public favour in this direction Atone Sme w "c^led upon to ilniire the Soho lamp, -hich ,s adapted for burn^ i tiow or fat instead of oil. At another, our all«ntlon s directed to the r .TZiD named aftor a French lanip-maker ; the oil is raised through JiZ inLk-Tork so as to overflow at tlie bottom of the wick and thus So it saSer iCn there are the Hot-oil lamp, in which the oil is heated Seen S concentric tub.s near the flame; the M«<.or lan.p, which bum vairoU-The Sar lamp, which bums seal-oil, and m which three distinct Zrel of air aTe ingeSously brought to bear upon the flam« ^ the (Jamp/un. IplL members of whicl/family rejoice in t^e "^nies « the \ esto h^ • Imoerial ' the 'Victoria,' the 'Gem.' the ' Paragon,' ' Diamond. &o.). In which the iS A^Xved is camphlne. procured by distillation from common Amencau R'n^; TeBwA'l^Sp^ light Jf -^-^^« y-\t'^5V S^lteT 3d benzole, obtoined by distillation from coal-tar ; the B«d«-hght, the ex i PRODKCTIOM. liold. The days were uiitH oil tlie (iiiji'iiland live iilsu bei" amui'^H Ih are now uluiU'loimd. ber from tlui hold, uut , iukI pack the it-st in abht'.v tiojii It luU-gi-owii oil. When tin whaleris IS, and secur«Ml as many ^, Uie> seek ilioir wfiy ro, at tlu' nortliom out- wn Uio blubber und ex voil. tlie whale llwhery, from in inanat?enieiit. Tlie jal, l)u« change is that ■ipeut ' > whaling shipw ; 5 yearly fn"Vn and more H who voyagf thither ; a nergatic niauiigeiuBnt ot scenic for our iisliurleti; ed and reorossed by tlie ; with IcBH danger, less Q ig a question for uotual onipseed-oil, rape-oil — all which give Uiem name, itificial light, our lamp- i and shop-larapH of our then came Argand, who. y means of a hollow wick, in more recent days came iietimeH pure oxygen — is i-hich very high-soimding roved adjustment for the 3en forgotten in tlie con- jewildering to read of tlie in this direction. At one diich is adapted for burn- lention is directed to the tlie oil is raised through om of the wick, and thus in which the oil is heated MetHor lamp, which burns d in which three distmct [1 the flame ; the Camphhu names of the ' Vesta,' the Jiamond,' &c.), in which the on from common American i yielded by a hydiocarbon tar ; the Bude-hght, the ex- rrni? AVP i.ioht; misTHivAwrRs rrnn ttirhi fHrtntirTTos. If eolloiice of which depends on th«i mode of ndmitting air to ui ordinary oil or tias Haine— -and wn mi^ ht extend this U«t much further. '. U we look around us, in our nhofm and bazaars and exhibltionii, we see Wiot, whatever may b. «aid in rwipoot to c«.ncvH tante, the lamps of the present day are especially sptiidid ami ami-ilioiis. Kvoiy new kind ot oil or ppmt or camphine, every new mode of applying solid tallow to a lamp-form apparatus, every suggested method of «upplying air or gas to feed the combu9t«m--hafl been mach^ a foundfttioi. fur one or other of many glittering kinds of adoraments. Many of Uiose attractive articles are, howevir, very cf)mplex and troublesome, and it has been quaintly obsor^'ed, " a lamp which rerpiires as much looking atler. mornltiB and evening, as a baby, is a luxury which those only who can keep a nursery-maid for It car, propeily enjoy/' The telegraph l.imim, the railway lamps, the lighU.ouso lamps, the carriage lamps, the ship lamps, the miners l9int)s— all havf certain mechanical adjustments which fit them for their peculiar purpo.u^s : but we are now speaking of tlie decorative treatment ot domestic lamps. These, whether called Argand or Car.-el or (.am{)lnne, or by any oth«r name, do Certainly now display much variety of ad .mment. W lute metal work, with dead-white glass, brass-work and coloured glass. broiir.e-work with medallion decorations, porcelain relieved wiUi enamel painting— all are present..! in most varied array. And the fomis are not less diverse; some- times the shaft imitat«*H the st«m of a plant, at otliers the ancient tripod, while In other instances an attempt is made to devise new atid gracelul tomis. Messrs Messenger, of Birmingham, who tske a leading position m lamp- making ami brass-work genemlly, are said to have \m\ th.' aid ot Haxman and Chantrey, in throwing classic beauty into the forms adopted by them. And the glass globes and shades which environ the flame : how varied they are— .•up-shaped, hcll-shai.ed, tulip- shaiied, lotus-shaped, ogive-shaped, oval-shaped — all are adoptc , , . . i i tf.,i >■ The lamps now used for lighthouses are highly ingenious imd bemitilul. In the first place it is necessary to distinguish between two sj/sfems— -the mtopnic and tlie ,/- ,Wr/c— Uic former depending on tlie reflection ot light from a mirror, and the latter on the transmission of light through a lens. It a largo lamp were placed oti the top of a lighthouse, with glass roof and windows all around it, the light would shine in every direction, losing its intensity by being so much diffusfd ; but by the use either of mirrors or of lenses, all the light is concentrated to one definite direction: its energy is increased by being cir- cumscribed ill range. In the catoptric system, numerous ^f^.f ^« ^«J«^^"" are placed at definite angles round a central lamp ; they ar > of silvered copper, and aie kept exquisiti^iv bright; and they all contrive to reflect the rays out seaNVard, without allowhig any to waste t^^eir power landward lie dioptric system involVfes the use of powerful convex lenses, through which the rays ai-e focalised in a definite dirr.fion. If very large, these lenses wouW be difficult to make and costly to nrnvhase ; but it has been shown by Brewstei and Fresnel, that a compound lens may be built up of a number oi pieces, pro- vided the curvatures are well adjusted. In relation to this subject, Wo may here remark that dilr lighthouses atid our Ordnance stlfvev tations so far resemble each other, Umt each must throw out a strong gleaiv " light to a great distance. Around our thousands of miles ot Coast-where .e ammal wfecks are from seven to eight hundred, and the btopertv lost amounts to millions sterling-the lighthouses nate passed through many stages of efficien -v. First there was the large coal-fite used on the siinnnlts of ien building, then the old-faahioned . -1 lamps, or some- i 90 vim AND lioht: CONTKIVANOKB koh theih puoduction. i\me^ wax .-andleH, wiih .i looking-^losK reflector behind : tJion tl.o inoro n«htlX.n.mg Ar^{,u.a hnui-. with co.u.uve >u.tall,c reflectors lf'"«^ = . \«^" Sonvex lens'u. foculUe tl^Jray. by transnV.Hsion ; and then th;; lens >m up pieconicul. on th... plan of Hrewntor and t'resnel. 8o that the h«ht may uDDear nlmost as one vast himinoua pillar. '^•'he survey Uglit. have, not been less varied. The three angles ol the enorlu trian^L by which a topogi-aphical Hur>ey is {>"'"-" ycmu^ucted aometinies eighty or a hundred miles asm.d..'. n.ust be visible one horn uuoth "r but how to produce this visibihty ? In the earlier surveys, where such Zh .' d'ist.uu .s were not atten.pted. a signal light vv.us in souje .aso. obtained bv roflectinu' the light of the sui Iron, a well-ad ustod surface ot polished tm : or brUenS lights lH'"'K' ••'>-'l '^^ »'«l't- "^' '•>■ '^ Pow-rt"! Amand larnp being pWTb hi d a lens m- before a parabolic reflector; hut Lieutenant Drum- mm d du ng the progress of the Irish survey, made a happy sugges ion vS echpsil in efticimcy all oUiers. In what is aUled Uie ^>«7 ;"';';;' «\ L.. /,V^^ a small ball of lime is exposed to the f f«" "V' ^ h 7^ bv nure oxygen gas; tlie llame, in a highly vivid state, heats Uie lime to an hninse depee, ^id n Uiis heat.d state it emits a light of surprising bnlhancy i exceedhig that of any flamo yet seen. So beautifully was Druinmonds a paratus'"o'nstructed,uL the iLnp fed itself witli «1''|'\ ^ -'.;;a^; su .idied itself with balls of lime as e.ich one slowly wasted, and reflect^Ml it sm'Eig light from an ex-piisitely-polished p.mtbohc surlace of silvered ™tr It was not merely llguratively but liUu-ally true, that a piece ol hm.., n7b gge^haaVa ho/; Iw.le. eiuitid a light at f^o-^^^f^^]^^\;^ visible at lielfast-a distance in a .lirect line ot nearly seventy »"««<;>' ater occasion Colonel Colby made a lime-light signal visible from Antrim m Sand to lieu Lomond in Scotland, a straight-line distance of ninety-five miles. Gas-lioht; Hai.i- a (Jentury's History. The gas-lighting system now calls for a Uttle notice-Uiat system ^vhich the piesent century has seen to start into existence, to put forth "'oJo« Pn*^"; s..)ns to struggle against commercial and social and pracUcal obstocles to muer these obsta^cles one by one, to spread from the rich to the pom- d s- tHcti and from town into counti-y. to ramify beneath our leet almost as exten- sively as water-pipes, and to extend to most contmeutul counti-ies. I?i8 difticult tJ appreciate fully the advantages of any notable mvent^on o discovery, unless we bring the imagination to bear upon Uie state of things Sch pr;ceded its introd'uction. How little, for example, can the present ^neratL do justice to the grand social improvement "^ ™f '■ "^^^^ ' J^^ call tell what it U ; but only those whose memory extends back to the begm- Zg o the present centmy can compare the Presentwidx that vvhvch px.- cededit The oil lamps were few and detective; Uie streets weie but paSy lighted; tlie turnpike roads were left almost in darkness ; the shops reSuEutiy illumined; much daily trouble was given to aU by whom Tamps wei^ used f and tlie oil being dependent in quantity on the success of the whale-fishers, was subject to frequent vai-iation m price. Bu ? rnay be said, and said justly, that the lamp system which preceded gas was a gi-eat improvement on the earlier pmctice. The public streets owe much to later ages in respect to lighUng; for in early times V^fff^^'^j' night had no li|ht but thatof the flambeaux which were caiTied before them. . ..^i^^.^.^..^,.....^^ I i iiontJCTios. liiid ; then the iiioni flcclors bcliiiul; then then thf lens built up that the li^ht may ! thieo ungliss of tlie priiniu-ily conducted, bo visible «>ne from or Burv«'ys, whero sU(;h m Houie !tis(is obtained •face of polished tin ; or ful Ar^aud lamp being )nt Liciitonant Drum- le a happy suggestion lied the Drummuiiil or )n of a si>irit-flame fed , heats tlio lime to an i)f suqtrising brilliancy, fully was Drummond's ipirit and with i)xygen, asted, and retlecteur feet almost as oxten- il counti'ies. uiy notable invention or ipon the state of things ample, can the present , now under notice ! We ends back to the begin- nt witli that which pre- ; Uie streets were but i in darkness ; the shops 3 given to all by whom lantity on the success of price. system which preceded The public streets owe y times perambulators at vere can'ied before them. riMK AND UUHT: CONimVANCKS K)U IIIKIII I'lloUUCTION. u\ Paria wiw tlio first modern city which was lighted, and this was not till th.i sixteenth century ; thi; lights were not lamps but were /WZ/o/^, vessels tilled witli pitch, resin, and other eombusliblos. 'I'liesc stiilionary lights were some years aftfrwards siiiM'r.s(.'(l(Mli)y lanttaiis ; uud aliout the middb' of tiie last century glass lamps began to be used, .suspended over thf middle of the streets by cords. liond'.i was sonuiwhat behindhand in these nuitters ; f»>r until alM>ut I7:t0 few lights were iisetl in the slret^ts t xecpt thoso which the eiti/t^is hung out in fruui of their houses ; but in that year five thousanil gla.^s lamps were set up by tiic corporation. In many of the cities of the Continent — Amster- dam, llandjurgli, Venice, Madrid, .Vc— tin; streets were fust lighted in the seventeenth centuiy. Home hiul no street iigliis imtil ihr end of the last century, when 1\>[m Sixtus VI. adopUul the singidar e.vpedienl of ordering the nuudxr of lights before the images of saints to bo increased, as a means of lessening the gloom of the streets. In Vienna, untU ITHO, the inhabitants had to take down the lamps from before tht;ir doors in the morning, take them to tlie lamp-othce to be tilled with oil, and light them in the evening on a signal given by the public fire-bell a clumsy method this, which wa.s ob- viated by the establishment of a body of lamplighters. Without departing from our own country, we have abundant evidi'uce of the charact(n-istics of the streets of a busy city before the introduction of gas- lighting. There was the London marching watch of Henry tlie l-li^'hth's time, with tlie ii>iiiniin -r.f,fPP?[frj he cooked 5(iO lbs. of meat in five hours, with a consmnption of < 5 cubic lee of gL; according to the modem London tai-iff the gas would have cost only^;. ; but the Exeter arrangement was of course not governed m relat on to any saving of a few shillin|s in fuel. In most of these gas stoves the heatin'g an-axfgements are of two kinds; in one the lighted jets are jda^d beneath the metallic bottom of a boiler, a saucepan or "^Uer cookmg vessek or an oven; in tlie other the lighted jets ai-e ranged m a circle withm imd aboTe which a joint is suspended for roasting. If well managed, no gas odom- '' Ora'^buS'saturday night, when many of tlie streets aa-e tiironged with retail deale"7 in all kinds %f commodities-edible and culinary-there may £ be een stalls or stands hghtod up with more Uian ordinary brilhancy. attracting no small a(..ntion thereby. The forni of lamp or ight s ^ biguous r it may be from gas, or it may be Irom oil-few can tell at the first crknce which is its real character. It is in fact sometlimg between the two The principle acted on is chat of HoUiday's ' Self-generating Gas-lamp, in which^tie lamp makes its own gas while bui-niiig. The combustible employed is naphtha. There is a reservoir of this liquid, uito which a wick dips , he uaphara ascends by capiUaiy attraction; who. . ai-rives ™ *f Jumer the extreme volatility of tlie naphtha causes it to vaporise by die boat ot toe SpT Jl this naphthalic ."apoui-. mingling with a sma portion of atmo- ;p"ric air. forms a gas well fitted for lighting, when 'g^^^d .'it «maU jets^ The arrangement of the apparatus admits of various modifications but &e principle of -ction depends on tlie formation of vapour of naphtha, by the '"JnltVSbeef busy tiding to produce ga.-hght for public purposes out of odier substances than coal One scheme is for hydrocarbon or ^'<^r.remv gas in which, by compUcated means, water is decomposed in one vessel ana Sn in another, and^the resulting gases made to combine ^r producing light. But ehemists have shown that the quantity of gas produced is not adequate to the cost of the resin consumed; and such is found to be the case in respect to many other proposed schemes. Of the Electric Light, a little has been said in anotlier part ol this woiK. i mtODUCTION. forth their claims to lickens, 4 lbs. of beef, [' water, with less tlian [luer on a large scale, eir Exeter meeting, is ;a.s-cooking apparatus ; ptioii of 7r)() cubic feet gas would have cost it governed in relation ' these gas stoves tlie ighted jets are placed ►r other cooking vessel, in a circle within luid managed, no gas odom- ets ai-e thronged with d culinary— there may lan ordinary brilliancy, f lamp or light is am- ew can tell at the first tiling between the two. merating Gas-lamp,' in J combustible employed which a wick dips ; the es near the bmmer, the rise by tlie heat of tlie small portion of atmo- i ignited at small jets. modifications; but the )our of naphtlm, by tlie , for public purposes out lydrocarbon or water-resin )osed in one vessel and combine for producing of gas produced is not such is found to be the ler part of this work. WOOL AND SILK, FUR AND FEATHERS. The lower animals not only give us tlieir flesh for our food, but their clotliing becomes our clothing. We are proud enough when we compare ourselves with Uiem ; but not too proud to wear the same garments, or garments made from the same materials. The sheep gives us our coats and a multitude of materials for dress, includmg some of the most dehcute for ladies' wear; tlie goat supplies us witli tlie moliah and the Cashmere which now enter so largely into dress ; the llama gives us alpaca ; the little silkwoi-m gives up its egg-shaped house, its cocoon, to supply us wit^ silk ; the beaver and the sable, tlie savage bear and tlie lightsome sijuirrcl, and numerous other animals, yield up tlieir hairy coats to form our hats imd our fumery ; the birds give us their feathers, either for snug bed-clothing by night, or for per- sonal adornment by day. Wool : — Bno.uici.oTH and Fulled Manufactdees. One of the most instructive featm'es in our wool trade, at present, is tlie substitution of colonial wool for German and Spanish wool. Our imports of Spanish wool, in the period between 1815 and 1849, fell from 7,000,000 lbs. to 100,000 lbs. annually ; while that from Australia rose from 70,000 lbs. to ;jfl,000,000 lbs. Of our total import hi 1849 (77,000,000 lbs.), more than half came from British colonies ; and each succeeding year presents yet more striking evidences in the same dhection. For instance, the recent Board of Trade returns tell us that in 1851 we imported 81,000,000 lbs. of wool, of which the truly enormous (juantity of 52,000,000 lbs. was from our own colonies. It is another remarkable feature, that the beautifully soft silky alpaca wool or hair (for it partakes somewhat of both) has now become such a favourite material for dress, that 2,000,000 lbs. were imported in 1851. The day has gone by when ' super Saxony ' was a name really applicable to a piece 6f broadclotli ; Australia has neai-ly displaced Saxony in our wool markets. Yet (so much for fashion) we ai-e not told about ' super Australian' cloths ; we weai' the cloth without knowing or caring whether the wool from which it was made has been brought from our own colonies. How much English wool is worked up witli this continental and colonial wool, no one seems to know ; but our parlianientaiy returns tell us tliat — be the quantity what it may — our woollen and worsted factories now number more than 2000, employing 100,000 persons, 2,500,000 spindles to spin the wool into yarn, and 45,000 power-looms to weave this yarn into clotli. This relates to factory operations aloiK^ ; it touches not upon that vast system of cottage industry which so especially distinguishes the woollen trade, and renders the Yorkshire valleys alive with industrious workers. There is a ceitain family likeness between the processes to which a bag of V ^ ( 8 WOOL AND SILK, FUR AND FEATHERS. wool is subjected in the course of manufacture, and those which apply more particularly to a bale of cotton ; and yet there are differences which show that animal and vegetable filaments have each a particular range of qiialities which require to be humoured in the manufacture. Let the transformation be from a bag of wool to a piece of superfine broad cloth. First we see the wool tumbled out of its bag, and subjected to tlie dissntan^ing action of a ' devil,' or ' teazer,' or ' willy,' the *arp teeth ol which sever the locks of wool one from another. Next we trace it through a •bun-ing machine,' the rollers of which separate the clotted burs which would vitiate the quality of the cloth. Then comes into action the oddly- named ' scribbling machine,' by the sharp teeth of which the fibres are sonb- bkd straight and parallel, and brought into a joontinuous roU. We see ikis soft roll of wool sucked into tlie funnel of a ' la^, machine," and qmckly coiled round a tin frame or cylinder. Next we follow the progress of these coils, and find that several of them are transferred to the ' carding engine,' where the fibres are combined together, and carded out into a continuous sliver. By repetition of tliese drawings and cardings and combings, varying m number according to the kind of material employed, the wool is at lengtli brought to the required loose thread-like state ; and it is tJ.ien spun into yam by a ' mule- machine.' Arrived at length at the cloth region, we trace the woollen yarn kirou^ its successive stages. First th^e comes the weaving, which in tiie West of England is still effected chiefly by the hand-loom, but which m the West Riding is gradually coming within the domain of the power-loom. Then we trace the cloth to the ' beating stocks,' by which the grease and oil are beaten and washed out of the cloth; and to the 'fulling stocks,' by the mcessant +humping of which the cloth is shortened, naiTowed, thickened, md matted in that peculiar way which constitutes felthig. The ' gig-mill,' with its attire of teazles or of wire teelii, then comes into use, for rubbmg or scratching up the filaments of wool, to make a pile or nap ; and the dotih, mot being yet enough tantalised by these various ordeals, passes to the * shearing machine,' to have the pile closely shaved down ; and to the ' brush- ing machine,' to have the short and beautiful nap brushed uniforrniy in one ^•eolion; and to the 'pressmg machine,' to give it that attractive and finished appearance which ' extra Saxony super' is expected to present. In one and all of the above processes the machines employed have under- gone, and are still undergoing, rapid changes and improvements. The machines of bygone years become obsolete ; and even manufacturers living in the same district have each his own fawcarite patented machines. The same may be said, too, of the wonted, or Huff, or hosiery manufacture, in which long wool is emploj'ed. This wool does not felt or fvll, and teqmres a different a-ain of processes, some of which employ very beautiful machinery. It is not one of the least curious among our factory characteristics that two districts, widely separated, share the honour and the profit f our woollen manufactures— tha West of l^gland said the West Riding, The fonxier produces principally fine cloth, whicli is mostly used at home ; the latter })roduce3 all kinds, for the foreign as well as thr borne markets. The forme- retains to a great extent the domestic or liand-work system of old times ; while the lattei- is every year adopting more largely tlie factory system. In the West of England district (Gloucester, Somerset, Wilts, and part of the adjacent counties), Trowbridge is a great centre for ' trouserings ' and narrow goods ; Frome for coloured woollens ; Dorchester for kerseys and drab coat- ings ; whilr Stroud, Melksham, Chippenham, Tiverton, and other towns, are L IS. lose which apply more ifferences which show :ular range of qvialities iece of superfine broad g, and subjected to the illy,' the ^arp teeth of xt we trace it through a he clotted burs which into action the oddly- ich the fibres are scrib- lous roll. We see tiiis line,' and quickly coiled 5;ress of these coils, and ding engiffle,' where the continuouB sliver. By ngs, varying in number is at length brou^t to (n into yam by a ' laule- ; trace the woollen yam weaving, which iu the -loom, but which in the ain of the power-loora. hich the grease and oil ! 'fulling stocks,' by the laiTOwed, thickened, and ,g. The ' gig-mill,' witli nto use, for rubbing or or nap ; and the clotii, ordeals, passes to the iwn ; and to the ' brush- rushed uniformly in one 3 it that attractive and :peeted to present. 3s employed have umder- id improvements. The en manufacturers living itented machines. The r hosiirry manufacture, in dt mfuU, and requires a ery beautiful machinerj'. ctoiy characteristics that the profit f our woollen ;t Riding, The foi-mer 3ed at home ; the latter ne markets. The forme- rk system of old times ; the factory system. In Wilts, and part of the ■ trouserings ' and narrow )r kerseys and drab coat- ,on, and other towias, are VQOl, AMD SILK, FUR AMD FEATHERS. S the centres of clustered villages m which broiwlcloths are made. If tliere be one town in England which takes the lead of all others in tJie finest cloth, whether scarlet for the officer or black for tlie civilian, perhaps it is Sti'oud. Why it is tliat the West Riding is adopting more rapidly than tlie West of England the system of factory labour, may perhaps be explained by the facts that coal is cheaper, that steam and water power are more readily obtainable, that an abundant working population is always at hand, that a complete net- work of railways exists, and that the two great shipping ports of Hull and Liverpool lie east and west of the ' clotlur>g valleys.' There >u'e no such industrious valleys as tliese in any other part of England, and there is no other great manufacturing district which presents so many picturesque spots ; on tJie hill-sides and on the valley-bottoms the clothiers live in villages clus- tered together with a closeness which would astonish those who ai'c fam" a' only witii agi-icultural villages. The variety of goods which come under the designation of woollen mauu- iactures is (we may almost say) increasing eveiy year. ' Broad cloth ' and ' naiTow cloUi,' ' Clarendons ' and ' Peterehams,' ' cashmeres,' ' cashmerettes,' ' kerseys,' ' tweeds,' ' tai'tans,' ' linsey woolseys,' ' angolas,' ' vicugnas,' • Vene- tians, 'Hamas,' • Sardinians,' ' Himalayas,' ' moleskins,' 'doeskins,' ' beavers,' ' ti'ouserings,' ' vestings,' ' coatuigs ' — ^lere is really no end to the names ; for the mjuiufactm-ers, not content with distinguishing names for paj'ticulai- materials and particular modes of maiiufacture, conjure up new names on any grounds or no gi'ounds, for tlae chanu of novelty. Many of the naipes, however, might be made significant of really curious no\elties in the manu- fcictm'e. Thus, there is a new ' bis-unique cloth,' of double thickness, the two surfaces having different patterns, so that the weai-er may have either side outwaids, at his pleasure. There is Mr. Barber's cloth, wholly ma/ie from beaver fur — soft, light, and wai'm — for winter ganneuts. There is, as a thiid example, the comically-named Irish ' i-umswizzle,' a very excellent brownish frieze made of undyed foreign wool. Nothing in om' economical age is, perhaps, a greater industrial 'curiosity' than the shoddif, made at some of the Yorkshii'e mills. The old woollen rags — the last orgtmic remains of coats and trousers — uoed to be employed for various trifling pmposes ; but they have now risen in dignity : they liave be- come the elements out of which new coats and ti-ousers will spring. There is here a kind of metfuipsycliosis of garments, which the ancients luiew nothing about. Dewsbmy draws to itself woollen I'ags from all parts of Europe ; coarse, fixie, litde worn, much worn, whits, coloured, clean, dirty — all are welcome ; they may be so good as to command 50/. per tOii, or so bad as to be wortli less tlian that number of shiUiags : tliey may be clean from Scot- land or fj-om Denmai'k, or dirty from Ii-eland or Italy — aU are grist to the Dewsbury mills. Here they ai'e ' devilled,' or torn to tatters by the shai-p spikes of rapidly-revolving machines ; the ' devil's dust ' rises in stinking clouds, and befouls the whole town in its desce"t ; and tlie women, while soiling the rags, and the men, while feeding tlie ' devils ' with rags, muffle their mouths to wai'd off the cholujig effects of tlie unsavoury dust. Taken altogethei', this is, perhaps, the vilest stage in any depai'tment of our textile manufactures. Some of the ' shoddy,' w< "• 1 up into poor flimsy cloth, is exported to Soulii America for slave-clothing ; but more generally it is mixed up with a gi'eater or Ir*" proportion of new wool, and then spmi into yam for coaa'se goods, h' i/J3 hj -lory of a Jop-shop coat could be told, we might perchance find that i'., hrA hg^ A previ,oui< ^ts^ ,of eji^jtei^ce ; t^i^ after having r mm wHiMm 4 WOOL AKD SILK, FUR AND FEATHERS. gone through a terni of service, and borne its shai-e of rough weather and rough usage, it had been be-deviUed at Dewsbmy, and the shoddy mixed with new wool to form the sleek, glossy, but treacherous materia for a new coat. As the shoddy must necessarily be very short fibred, wo have no nght to expect sti-ength in any cloth wherein it forms a pai-t. Wool :— Stuffs, Flannels, Blankets, Cashmeres, Alpacas. Let us pass on, however, to another and not less remarkable section of the wool tmde. Although 'the Yorkshire clothing-valleys are identified with the wooUen-cloth manufacture, the West Riding generally cannot be under- stood without reference to the modem chaiacteristics of the long-woo or unfelted wool manufacture. The stuffs or mixed goods of the West Hiding have no parallel in luiy other counUy. In bygone times stuffs and such like worsted goods were as commonly worn by women as woollen cloths were by men; and Nomich. with some few other towns, were celebrated for their manufacture. But an astonishing change has come over this department ot manufacture. By mixing alpaca and other fine wools with coarser varieties ; by combining one or more of these with cotton or silk, or both ; by /""'eas- iiig the richness of the dyes given to tlie yam ; by tlie employnient of tastdul designers in producing patterns ; and by the adoption of all available im- provements in looms and weaving apparatus— the 'mixed goods (as they ai-e now caUed) have risen to a manufacture of great magmtude ; one almost peculiar to England, and which at the present time almost rivals that ot woollens in the West Riding. Bradford, Halifax, Huddei-sheld-each is the head-quarters of one pai-ticular branch of this new trade: m Bradford dress goods for ladies, in Huddersfield fancy waistcoatings, m Halifax furniture damasks. It is hai-dly possible to conceive the rapid rise ot Bradford m this trade without comparing its present condition with that of halt a centuiy back. It was then a mere nothmg, very little more than a village ; whereas it is now one of the largest towns in the West Riding. Bradford shares wiUi Brighton the reputation of having risen in population aiid wealth more rapfdly than any other towns m England. True it is, that tlie baiutoy Com- mission gave it a sadly dirty clwacter eight or nine years ago ; but it has mended its manners and washed its face since. Halifax and Bradford aie near neighbours; but they present many points of contrast Ha ifax is a vei-y old town, Bradford has spmng into notice recently ; Hahtax has steep hiUs and picturesque houses and gables, Bradford has nothing picturesque ; Halifax manufactures an immense vaiiety of goods, Biadford confines itseit more to plain stuffs ; Halifax only buys wool for itself and a sniaU sur- j-ounding district, Bradford buys and sells for an immense range of countiy, and is more a prey to speculative fevers and agues. ,. , . , n We may say of these mixed or loug-wool goods, as we did of the woollen or short-wool" goods, that their names are almost intemiinably bewildering. We have alpacas, mohairs, mousselines de laiiie, mousselmes de soio, merinos, Coburgs, Orieans, Henriettas, poplins, paramattas, piiiicettes, qudtmgs, trou- serings, cashmeres, damasks, moreens, table-covers, and a host ot others : some named according to the kind of wool employed, some accord-ng to the admixture of other fibres with tlio wool, some according to tiie uiode of manufacture, others according ta the puqioses to which they aie to be applied,.and tlie rest according to any fai^ciful idea which the manulacturer hopes may assist his sale in the mai-ket. Greatly a.s tliese difler one h-om & af rough weather and lie shoddy mixed with terial for a new coat, wo have no right to JHEB, Al-PACAS. remarkahle section of sys ai'e identified witli •ally cannot be under- ■i of the long-wool or Is of the West Riding es stutfs and such like ivooUen cloths were by ■c celebrated for their ver this department of with coarser varieties ; , or both ; by increas- Bmployment of tasteful on of all available im- sed goods ' (as they are laguitude ; one almost ; almost rivals that of ddei-sfield — each is the de: in Bradford dress i, in Halifax fimiiture ise of Bradford in this that of half a centui^y ui a village ; whereas it Bradford shares widi tion and Avealth more that tlie Sanit^uy Cora- e yeai-s ago ; but it has alifax and Bradford ai-e contrast. Halifax is a ntly ; HaUfax has steep s nothing picturesque; Bradford confines itself itself and a small sur- lense range of countiy, ,s we did of the woollen terminably bewildering, selines de sole, meinnos, incettes, quiltings, trou- and a host of others: yed, some according to according to tlie uiode 3 which they aie to be which the manufacturer ,s tliese differ one from wool, AND SILK, FCR AND FEATHERS. 5 another, they have these points of general resemblance — that they contain long wool instead of the short wool employed for broadcloth ; that printing and pattern- weaving are much more largely attended to; and that tlierc is (usually) no nap or pile on the finished goods. Some of tlie yam for tlie finer goods is spun to a high degi-ee of delicacy ; thus, No. 160, in this depart- ment of manufacture, contains ui)wards of 50 miles of yam in 1 lb. weight. If the reader can fonn a cleai- conception of the various degrees of fineness in the yams, of the mixture of silk with wool in some of the yams, of the occasional interlacing of silk or cotton yams with those of wool, of the dyeing or printing (or both) of the yarns before weaving, of the production of elabo- rate pattems by the loom, and of tlie printing after the weaving — he will see how it is that, by combining any number of these sources of variety, the West Riding manufacturers can throw such endless diversity into their mixed fabrics. Belgium, France, Saxony, Prussia, Austria — all can equal the West Riding in broadcloths and other woollen goods ; but none of them approach it in this more modern department of industry. In Bradford alone there are said to be upwards of 15,000 men employed in wool-combing, preparatory to the spinning and weaving processes. This wool-combing is not, except in a few cases, a factory occupation ; it is done at the homes of the combers, and is paid for as piece-work. To save rent and fire and candle, three or four of these men work together in one room, assisted by their wives and children in tiie easiest parts of the work, and doing the rest themselves. • '■ Why should Rochdale make such miUions of yai-ds of flannel, and yet pro- duce little else in woollen or worsteds? It is one of those peculiarities with which we are occasionally struck in the location of manufactures, a satisfac tory cause for which it is difficult to assign. Rochdale is quite out of tlie woollen district of the West Riding ; it is in Lancashire, among the cotton towns ; and yet it produces flannels in enormous quantity — far greater than any other town in England. Indeed it is the market for flannels ; the prices at Rochdale govern those elsewhere, and regulate large purchases. If we look at the trade reports given in the daily newspapers, and find that at a particular time flannels are ' looking up,' or ' go off briskly,' or ' hang heavily,' we shall find that the writer of the report has Rochdale in his mind as the aiu coloured ice adjustment, so that how the right colour at luccd on this principle, carpets — soft, beautiful. The warp-threads are d tlie weft is thrown in bead of mere yam ; and eads of the chenille arc they are cut and saeared n is dyed in the chenille )t except the ends of the lessen tlie price of well- weaving with the print- to no dyeing or printing ind is in that state woven lite cai-pet is prmted witli ;h the whole substance, 'of Commons is carpeted with ' Bnissels ' made at Kidderminster ; and it may here he stated tliat the House of Lords' library, and some of the other apartnunts of the new legisla- tive palace, r.re carpcfiil with the more costly himI luxurious 'velvet pile,' in which the foot Hniks into .'. downy bed at each ^.i 'Via- is the true 'Wilton' carpet, which din'ers from ' Brussels' chifHy in huving tht loops at the sur- face cut in the manner of velvet, therehy fonniitj? a nap or pile. Most of our carpets are made of mingled worsted and linen — tlio latter hidden from sight by being placed at or near the back of tlie fabric. Cotton — luiit substitute for all the dearer kinds of textile fibres at the present day — ^has not yet been used much in carpc In A sugp^'cstion Iuah been made, however, that such an apjilication might not \n\ at all unreasonable. Cotton carpets — stout, service- able, and handsome — are made aid used in India; they are generiUly striped, rod and blue, or with thr»;e shades of l)!ue ; but sometimes they have figured patterns. Our cotton manufacturers <'an now produce very 8to\it and durable goods; and we II :iy yet see the day for cotton carpets. Let them, however, be called cotton, lul not palmed off as being made of more costly materials; if known at all. let them be honestly known by their proper names. 'I'he 'ladies' carpet,' which has acquired such notoriety in connection with the recent Exhibition, is noteworthy on many grounds. It is not a woven carpet, in the ordinary sense, but is really needlework, and was intended by tiie lathes partly as n specimen of the profitable employment of tlieir leisure hours. Mr. Papworth sketched the original design, to be worked in lierlin wool The carpet measures thirty feet by twenty ; it was divided into a hundred and fifty squares measuring two feet each way, and each square was worked by one lady ; tlie whole were then sewn together, and were, of course, so planned as to form part of tlie general pattern. In the pattern, besides geo- metrical and floral devices, there is an heraldic border so laid out as to con- tain the initials of all the lady executants. From an address, presented by the ladies to Her Majesty on the occasion of presentation, it appears that the gift was an afterthought. " It (the carpet) was commenced with a wish that their skill should be represented at the Industrial Exhibition of all Nations ; but the opinions expressed of tlieir work have so foi" exceeded |their expecta- tions, that they are led to trust it is not unwortliy of your Majesty's favour- able notiie." The Irish ladies, too, produced their joint cai-pet ; it was pro- duced by a hundred and fifteen fair executants, and occupied six months in fabrication ; it was worked in squares, thirteen in length and seven in widtli, and — unlike the English ladies' carpet — each square foniied a distinct design in itself, tliough all aided to form one general and more comprehensive pat- tern ; the subjects of the several squai'es were flowers, fruit, birds, and land- scapes. Other examples of patience in carpet-making are not wanting, there is Agnes Grosmann's caiiiet, in which the stoiy of the Finding of JNIoses is worked in with the needle ; and "Weygold's carpet, in which half a million stitches are devoted to the stoiy of Boaz and lluth — but all such specimens are merely individual 'curiosities;' they are of no commercial importance. As tapestry is associated with the past rather than witli modem inventions, we will say a few words respecting it only to show in what it differs from cai-pet-making and from ordinaiy weaving. What is Oobelin tapestiy, and who was Gobelin, and where did he live ';* Many admirers of tapestry have had to ask these questions. Gobelin, then, was a French dyer, who resided in the Faubourg St. Marcel, at Paris, some two centuries and a half ago ; he was succeeded by others who added cai-pet-making to dyeing, and these by to itooi. AKd BILK, nm Asn vtatukm. f cZ'\L'VrZ\ .uuMinhmenU which it hm evr Bi.,ce remHin.-a- merit twenty or tliirty years tigo. Wyot :— HosiEUY, KNirtTNo Machinks. .hn hfwiprv fluinis a ttle attention, m respect to tn«- wooi wimu the V?*'"-'^. ,"♦;,, it Nftv ttltliouuh cotton HtoeiiingH Imvc to ii liirRo notable an n.gredient » ' ' . ^."^y- S^S ,j^,„ tended U, malce Nottingham 'T.rit1^;:^ttsTJ^v Ue*^ fi the lirst knitting frames what it 18, y«''^'"^^teu was ui material lor the hosiery coimocted ,„.. ,ii..avo„, ; the J^^^^^^^^^^ "-^JJini "a wcid .pi,- WM hiiwked ato.it Iheuii 1107. rien. J i„„,.„ed the resources of the ning "t^hto^"" ■""°«;^' "i,''^rp^^^^^^ in Leicester and a,e TJ7^t« u'jTn.o^rSy t a,e value of Lry p^r, the »e.v.„g or '•tt/.^e'Sn!."^n^Ts^ttlfeS;.:":^'T„Vs«.in,.^^^^^^^ I4 4iMU.« lent <'ontiniw«l t<» Iw " lAUiis XIV. mwle f«r Riiipo remiiintfl — ) tlio tuition. Them' j'very lino and colour actiiftl HUifaco, it irt )U(4 to i»n)(lncf ; bi«h- Dut it i« Ht tlio Haiuci hi8 bfHt, lit tho J>t!Ht I ft yfljir ; n» woiidcT, \ iiiiiimftu'tiir(< of ricti 1)0 Oobeliim osUblish- NE8. ye nothing lurtlior to , cotton niateriiil ; Imt wool whirl) foniis ho ickingH hiivo to a Irtrgo d U) make Nottinghan) I first knitting i'rau)«s the hosiery connocted >rstcd \h tlio only home .(itnrf ; worsted is Htill hat piuT»09«- HoHimy, ; gloves and nil other webbing made on the ) the lieicestcr district, nd — except tlie cottage ; of any such locntiou. ade, Derby that of silk, r knitting frames first a half ago, they were in cretly ; and the produce terwar^s u worsted spin- led the resources of the DC, in Leicester and the sand frames'or machines rts, dnxwei-s, waistcoats, such like articles — all ! produced by a kind of It is one among many des, that the material for d its neighbourhood, but I up in Worcester and its • I its tliousands of glovers g-web at Leicester, and very pair, the weaving or 3 stocking-manufacture is ."iu l*"'^ .o^.\*^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V A / ^1^ f/, 1.0 I.I 1.25 "- IIIIM — [7 |40 M IIM 12.0 1.8 1.4 II 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY 14580 (716) 872-4503 -b •S? <^ ^ <^ L* % Wi (■P. CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. ■ ] ^ ^ ■ CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de nnicroreproductions historiques wool, AND SILK, Pmi ANI> FEATHERS. }1 h social rather than a mechanical question. Large machines are occasionaUy worked, in large factories, for making stockings ; but the wages of hand labour in this branch of industry are so low that manufacturers seem to view the faetoiy System with indifference. Improved hand-machines are, however, now employed. The circular hosieiy or knitting machine is certainly among the most beautifol contri- vances of the age. It is said that the first idea of this machine was due to our French neighbours, who tried it in a rough way nearly a century ago. The late Sir M. I. Brunei, whose extraordinary mechanical genius manifested itself in so many directions, greatly improved the machine in question, and brought it over to England, where it was patented about forty years ago ; but the machinei worked slowly, and failed to establish itself. While, however, the English machinists and knitters allowed this matter to sleep, those of France and Belgium were steadily engaged in working out improvements either in principle or in detail ; and we meet with the names of Touve, Gel- lett, Jacquin, Fouguet, Berthelot, and Claussen, in connection with these improvements. Chevalier Claussen, whose praiseworthy labours in respect to the flax manufacture have attracted so much attention, is one of the most successful of these improvers of the circular loom. His machine is now largely employed at Nottingham. The machine can manufacture all kinds of ' looped fabrics.' In the ordinary stocking frame the loops are made by an alternating motion ; but in the circular loom, whether worked by hand or steam power, the motion of the web while being formed is circular and con- tinuous. The machine produces the looped fabric with astonishing rapidity ; one gi.rl of fifteen or sixteen years old, by attending one machine, can pro- duce material enough intone day for twenty dozen pairs of stockings. To describe in words this beautiful machine is quite impossible ; to show how the ten or twelve hundwf* delicate needles start out and up and down, and loop the thread into a c*iii.a as the machme revolves, is impracticable without many delicate drawings. Little as may be the skill necessary to learn the use of the ordinary stocking-frame, this new machine (requires less — a woman turns a handle, as if it were that of a barrel-organ, and a stocking, or a jacket, or a petticoat weaves itself. Besides the circular machines, other knitting machines of smaller pi'eten- sions have been produced. Messrs. Wliitworth, the celebrated machinists, have patented one of this kind, to be worked either by hand or steam power ; it knits one stitch at a time, similar to hand-knitting. A small machine fbr a similar purpose has also been patented by a Mr. E&stman in the United States. One of the prettiest knitting machines on a small scale is that of M. Lauenville, for making purses, watch-guards, and such like trifles. Al- though only eighteen inches long by twelve in width, it is a perfect maze oi intricate little mechanism ; a handle is turned (which a child of six years old [ might do) and presently we see levers, wheels, needles, hooks, pulleys, bob- bins, cnuoks, axles, spmdles, sliders — all working among and around each other, and twisting a thread of silk into the form of a purse or other small knitted article. Felting; Hats. One of the most notable explications of wool and other animal fibres to Ithe purposes of dress is that which we owe to the ingenuity of the hat-maker. Ilf it is not fur, it is wool ; if not fur or wool, it is silk ; one of tiie three, I i — ,^Jf- J.j WOOL »BD MLK, FUJI AUD PEATHEM. or l«o Of the tl,r« combined, fonn the hat-material for ''''»'«?;*«S^"'» r* oT :kS"'nSr„? Z I7,i.^rn, at hi. own count^en around seemed a probability that ^viU^ our l^ll^^i^^J^^^^.^^t^J^s^t^^^^ And if >ve e'ffect a change, what shall ^lf^^^'^^^:,\^^tm^tso^l of the modem Turks, q^^te as ungraceful as Uie hat but e^^^^^^^ g diversity '^ Shall it be tlie benwvse ol the Bedomn, tliat "'^""b^ » , S7- midway between a cowl and a m^-cap V ShaU U be ^^e^h^h conical .'«n2ar or sheep-skm hat of tl^^ l^ei-sian, Uie wooi y^ shields the head from the heat ot the sun. hhall »^ be a trencn ;aror3nt^-tarh„r^^^^^ Until tliese questions are answered, beavers and gossamers *^tSe who were so disposed, there were at Je^^^-^,f ^^^^.^^^^^^^^ ties for a sort of extemporaneous apprenticeship to "^^ tiade ot na^m^mK Messrs Cannes and Sanders' model was quite a cunosity in ^^ ^ay. Ihere Sie miniature shops -^i^^^^^^'^^^^^^Xi^-te raSat'e Tr^nt .vomen, each about two inches ^'gh. "^aking^^^^^ ^es even aminiatare Pij"'- ,'-' >>y„^» fffecti °.^1 4« co™d reireoU,d b, "Slltog' Siy of *e LTand .hi, ,ame boSy clothed with rt. gta, •w*-*""— *»^^ 18. "or nmeteen-twentietlis ire thaii this ratio; so lie the limit. Any one wn countrymen around BS. nonths ago ; and there the varieties of oddly- n the busy year 1861, levised. George Cmik- (S,' if not beauties. But noble and the ignoble. e ? Shall it be the jez t, but exhibiting some piece? Shall it be the f which differ in differ- employed in such great at strange sort of cotton > Shall it be the high I woolly fleece of which , be a French dress hat, r ahnost put into your lay subject to almost any tlie hemispherical white re; or the muffin-cap of n-shielding slouch hat of )ut not slouching hat of rench soldiers, which we the humblest ' Jeannot?' gossamers ' must continue 3 Great Exhibition facili- tlie U-ade of hat-making, iosity in its way. There ) model men and model ts; the miniature irons, the miniature processes stretching, brun-forming, ool-bowing, batt-pressing. rhich the men work ; and f the workmen. Messrs. that could be effected by lats in the i-aw state, tbf all the stages of its pro- B ; the skins with the coarse ; skins of the musquash, .rhich now form cheap sub- 1 these kinds of skin ; the ir forming the 'body' of a the hat itself, m a dozen e was also the interesting lush, the plush itself, the y clothed witli its glossy WOOL AND SILK, FUB AND FEATHERS. 13 silken garment. And not without its mterest was the old cocked hat of 1 790. with its Excise stamp of 7». U., which duty was then paid on such hats. Haib-wobk; Fubs; Fcrbieby. Hair and fur and wool have so many analogies to connect them, that we cannot always say to which of the three any particular species belongs. Generally speakmg, wool is derived from hoofed animals and fur from animals furnished with claws, while hair is obtained more or less from nearly all. But be tliis as it may, all three ai-e used very largely for man's convenierice, either to fomi part in the production of articles of attire, or for the fabrication of other articles intended either for personal or household adornment. Hair-working is now made to yield some veiy curious results. Portraits are formed in hair, with considerable likeness to tlie individuals, if not with artistic effect. Emblems and symbols of religion, government, arts, sciences, commerce, industry, &c., form another favourite class of representation. Flowers, bouquets, bracelets, brooches, and personal ornaments are made or imitated in unmense variety, and in some cases with considerable effect. Devices for the binding of Bibles and Prayer Books have recently been in- troduced in hair work. Some of the imitations of feathers are truly re- markable, from the delicacy with which all the minute details are wrought out. The French artists work up hair in very elaborate forms with gold or jewels, to fonn earrings, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, rings, shirt-studs, and such like adornments. , ■ v c Peril > ^ the wig-trade is one of the most curious connected with manulac- tures iu'hair. The French are famous in this department. There is a regular hmx-harveit in some of the central districts of France ; Pans firms send agents into those districts in the spring of the yeai-, who purchase tJie beautiful tresses which the country maidens have been cultivating for that purpose • tliis hair-crop is as much an annual affair as a corn-crop m the fields. The price paid is about threepence (English) per ounce ; but the agents usually pay for the hair with ribbons, handkerchiefs, and oUier Snkets, at fau-s and markets. Not the least ciuious featm-e is, that the agents can distinguish the hah of one district from that of another not lar distant^an ethnographical feat which might puzzle a learned naturalist— and attach a money value to this difference. If it be txue, as is asserted, that two hundred thousand pounds weight of women's hair is thus annually sold in the country districts of France, it must be admitted to lorm a very singular kind of commerce. The .agents sort and clean the hair, and then dispose of it to the Paris firms at about double the former price. Ihen comes the art of the perruquier to fashion this hair into wigs, perukes, and scalps— some of which command a very high price. Of the 'transparent wiM,'the 'ventilating wigs,' the 'bald white wigs,' the ' gossamer-partmg wigs,' the 'fronts with each hah fixed separately,' and other wonders of wig- mSdng— our advertising perruquiers have made us abundantly acquamted. The hair for woven textures, such as hah damask, striped hair seating. hair weft to silk warp, &c., is chiefly horse-hair, taken from the tail, and dyed or otherwise prepared. Weavmg such fabrics is a slow and difficult process. ¥nr is, however, more commercially important than ban-. The skins and fiu-s imported by or for our manufacturers are more varied and more nu- merous, perhaps, than would generally be supposed When we consider, too, how many countries must be ransacked to produce this variety— the 1 a: 1 l« iMMMlMaiinM I u WOOL AKD silk, 9VR AND FBATUER8. beaver, the bear, the erniine, the otter, the racoon, the chinchilla, the wolf, the fox, the musquash, the sable, the martin, th > squirrel, the fitcb, th« mink, the seal, and otliers — it will be plain that the commerce in furs must be con- siderable. In 1850 the squirrel furs imported exceeded two millions, the musquash one million, the racoon half a million ; while the rest made up the total number to nearly five millions — not hides for tanning, be it remem- bered, but skins imported for the sake of tlie fur. The beauty of a fiir does most unquestionably, in the eye of a purchaser, depend largely on the price he pays for it ; and this price depends on the scarcify in the supply. Why else should a black-and-sDver fox ftir command a price of thirty or forty gui- neas, or a sea-otter skin still more? It is true that fashion also tend* to determine the price ; and it seems that the different tastes of different countries curiously illustrate this. Thus, tlie black-and-silver fox Skins are mostly purchased for the Russians and Chinese ; the red-fox skins are in demand in the East for cloak linings and dress trimmings ; the otter skin is used in the same regions for caps and collars ; the beaver fur, now getting out of use for hats, is being made available as a beautiful kind of cloth for dresses ; the lynx, now out of fashion in England, is a favourite in America ; the Wolf yields a coarse fiu", which tlie Russians employ for cloaks and coats ; the sable has long been a favourite in England, and when dark m colour com- mands a high price ; tlie mink (^the choicest specimens) is said to be noW in high favour in Paris; the musquash is largely used in England, it being made to do duty for more costly furs by a little ' doctoring ;' the fur of th« black bear is chiefly appropriated by military men, for caps, holsters, rugs, hammer-cloths, Ac. ; the sea-otter fur is a royal fur ui China, and a noble fui- in Russia, and hence commands high prices in those countries. Most of the furs named m the above paragraph are procured from North America, through the medium of the Hudson's Bay Company ; biit thCTe are some European furs which command an extravagant price. The Russian sable, for instance, will sometimes sell for as much as ten guineas ; and so many of these are employed to form a lining for a cloak, that such a lining has not unfrequently involved a cost of a thousand guineas. The Corporar tion of Ijondon display their sable-furred gowns or robes on official occar sions. The fur called French sable is really that of the stone martin, which the French show much skill in dyeing. The ermine or minever, from Russia and Sweden, is one of the most remarkable of furs, naturally as well as socially. Its beautiful and delicate white can only be msuved by killing Ihd animal in winter, when all is white except the tip of the tail. In Social dig- nities the ermine, perhaps, takes the lead of all furs ; for — ^not only in many countries of the Continent, but in less-despotic England — ^there is a smnpluaiy law or custom respectmg ermine ; the sovereign, the royal family, the pMrs, the peeresses, and the judges, all wear ermine on state occasions ; and this ermine is 'powdered* (as the heralds term it) with small blftek spots or stripes of some other fur ; the number and arrangement of the spots opd stripes being indicative of the rank of the wearer, and no deviation therefrom being per- mitted. For the squirrel fur, which is used in larger quantity in England than any other, we are chiefly indebted to Russia; it is cheaper than any other equal to it in appearance ; and some of the while portions are admired for tiieir beauty. The fitch, with its strong and durable fibres, has latterly been passing out of favour. The lamb skin, at a tender age, has all the beauty of fur ; and some of the foreign specimens oommand a high price. The cat skin is noMr used largely in England as a fur, greatly to the ; ( B0. he chinchilla, the wolf, rrel, the fitcb, the mink, ce in fura must be con- "jeded two millions, the le the rest made up the tanning, be it remem- he beauty of a fur does id largely on the price by in the supply. Why B of thirty or forty gui- t, fashion also tend^ to rent tastes of different and-silver fox skins are \he red-fox skins are in [nings ; the otter skin is beaver fur, now getting lutiful kind of cloth for a favourite in America ; oy for cloaks and coats ; rhen dark in colour eom- ns) is said to be noW in id in England, it being MJtoring ;' the fttr of the "or caps, holsters, rugs, I China, and a noble fur countries. e procured from North Company ; biit there are uit pi-ice. The Bussian as ten guineas ; and so uak, that such a lining guineas. The Corporar r robes on official occa- the stone martin, which or minever, from Bussia •8, naturally as well as B insui-ed by killing the the tail. In socltd dig- ; for — ^not only in many nd — ^there is a sumptuiuy royal family, the pedrs, tate occasions ; and this tail blaek spots ot stripes le spots and stripes being on therefrom being per- •ger quantity ia England sia; it is cheaper than [' the white portions are and durable fibres, has 1, at a tender age, has all mens command a high ul as a fur, greatly to tbe WOOL AND BILK, PUR AND FEATHERS. II danger of the domestic ' puss' in general. Tho rabbit is also an extensnrely- used fur ; and the white varieties are made to do duty as substitutes for cnnino. The littl.; rhinchilla yields a .soft and delicate fvir, much used in England and France. Angora goat skin was at one time worn extensively as a fur ; hut it is now more eustomarv to remove the hair or wool, and manu- facture it into cloth. Seal skins, when to be worn as furs, have the long coarse hair removed, and the rich silky down which lies beneath it is dyed oi a brownish colour. When tliese various! furs are gathered together from every quarter of the globe, and consigned to the hands of the furriers, they undergo certain pro- cesses, which transform them from quadrupeds' attire into bipeds' attire. The ' pelt,' or hinder surface of each fur, has to be converted into a kind of leather, by greasing, and pressing, and scraping, and other processes ; and the hairy or downy surface has to be dyed and prepared in various ways, to develop all the beauty which naturally belongs to it. and sometimes to impart extraneous beautv to it. When the light flocculent down from birds is employed as a fur, it requires much patient labour to adjust all the little fibres to their places, since there is no natural ' pelt' or skin attached to the down when removed from the animal. As instances of this kind of work, we may adduce the Parisian muft" and boa lately made from the down of a bird called the egret ; their value was one hundred and sixty guineas ; tliere had been only three similar sets previously made— for the Empress of Russia, the Prin- cess Adelaide, and the Duchess de Berri. Silk. One circumstance distinguishes silk from the other three gi-eat sources of textile fabrics ; viz., the silk is already a continuous filament before it reaches the hands of the manufacturer ; whereas cotton, wool, and flax are all short in the fibre ; and these fibres have to be combined end to end by spinning. The little silk-worm, intent upon making a warm habitation for himself, wraps or builds around him a cocoon or small egg-shaped hollow envelope, fabricated of one very long and exquisitely fine filament of silk. This filament the silk grow- ers—whether in Italy. Turkey, China, or India (these being the chief silk- producing countries)— unwind by various ingenious means ; and many fila- ments are then combined into one to form a thread sufficiently strong to form into hanks or skeins. Such silk is called raw silk, and in this state most of our supply is obtained. It thence follows that the twisting and spmnmg machinery differs from that employed for the other three kinds of fibre men- tioned above. The silk is transferred from hanks to reels, around which it is wound It is twisted, and wound, and doubled, and wound again, and transferred from one machine to another, until there is sufficient thickness to form a thread for weaving or for sewing, and sufficient twist to give it strength. . , ^v.- i. .if i Among the novelties of recent years m connection with this beautiful ma- nufacture is the appUcation of the Jacquard apparatus, for weaving figured patterns ; or rather, as silk was the first material to which this admirable con- trivance was applied, we ought to say that many recent ingenious applications of the Jacquard loom have been made, either to produce novel combinations or to work with more than usual rapidity. Another notable mvention is a loom without any shuttle whatever, for weaving fringes and other narrow but Hi r . -■ i «(faH ! * i iiy i i i i>Ml i i i a » < i ;ir» I I. 16 WOOL AND BILK, FUR AND FEATHERS. thick silken goods : the silk is threaded into a number of hinged amis or long needles, and then thrown in among thn silk weft in a highly mgenious "^^Perhaps the attention to the silkworms themselves, and to the birth (so to speak) tmd reariiig of the silk, is airiong the most valuable of recent 8 worUi knowing that the Chamber of Commerce at Lyons has assisted M. Du- seigneur with funds to conduct these researches, in its desire to loster every- thing which can possibly improve the silk manufacture ; and it is just possible that the " tight little island " might learn a useful lesson Uierefrom. Another foreigner, Count Brouski, has been growing silk at his estate in Gironde, wiUi a view of increasing the beauty and value of the filament in the highest degree; the quantity, too, seems to have engaged his attention, tor the ordi- nary yield from a cocoon is about live hundred yards, whereas he has caused his silkworms to yield a Uiousand yards. . . ,- , j • ♦•«„ <•„,. With respect to our own countiy, it is impossible not to Jeel admiration loi the unwearied attempts made by the late Mrs. Whitby t« luster the rearing ox sUkworms in England. True, it is no new i(^a-this enablmg England to rear its own silk for its o^vn manufacturers. It is well known that James L endeavoured sedulously to bring about such a result, and Uiat the mulberry trees near some of our old mansions are remnants of the attempt, ine attempt failed, appai-ently owing to the coldness of our climate; but this ma nordeter other experimenters' from further trials. In 1718 a silk-rearing company leased Chelsea Park, planted thousands oi mulbeny trees to feed the silkworms, and built extensive works ; but the project failed Sof* ^as been, on a smaller scale, on numerous subsequent occasions. Mrs. Whitby was among the latest, but certainly not the least untinng of the experi- menters. This lady, about fifteen years ago, began to attend to^^he subject ol sill-worms at her residence in Hampshire ; she studied the habits of the litUe insect, and experimented on the relative value of different kmds ot mulbenr trees as food ; she gave her election in favour of the Phihppme mulbeiry (the Mmiis midticaiUis), some seeds of which she imported into England for the purpose. She communicated the results of her experiments to the Royal Agii- cultural Society and to tlie British Association from time to time Writing in 1849 she said:—" There are many persons in England, and a tew in ire- land who have begun the experiment on a smaU scale ; it requires time to matiiire and perfect any undertaking; but, if I live long enough and the growth of Uie mulberry becomes generally encouraged, I have no doubt my Sdent wish to see tiie cultivation of silk estabUshed m England will be reahsed " Mrs. Whitby did not live to witness tliis realisation ; and it may be that modem attempts wiUfail, as earlier ones have done, to make English silk-rearing a commercially profitable enterprise. Yet was it not a httle mte- resting to see the beautiful banner which was recently made by Messrs. Houldsworth, from silk reared by Mrs. Whitby; tiie tiimg can be done— but will it 'pay?' ' . . .. xi,„* As an interesting fact in recent silkworm statistics, we may mention that M. Nourrigat, a silk rearer of Lunel, m France, placed U ounces ot sUk- worm eggs under proper treatment in 1850 ; tiie worms consumed many hun- I wool* AND SILK, FUR AND FEATHERS. 17 sr of hinged arms or in a highly ingenious ind to the birth (so to ble of recent ' curiosi- onufacturer at Lyons, gy in examining the of different ages and images by the photo- its own history. It is 18 has assisted M. Du- desire to foster every- and it is just possible I tlierefroni. Another estate in Gironde, with ament in the highest attention, for Uie ordi- /hcreas he has caused t to I'eel admiration for to loster the rearing ox enabling England to 1 known that James I. ind that the mulberry of the attempt. The ■ climate ; but this did In 1718 a silk-rearing mulberry trees to feed oject failed. So it has icasions. Mrs. Whitby uitiiing of the experi- attend to the subject of I the habits of the little rent kinds of mulberry hilippine mulberry (the into England for the [lents to the Royal Agii- time to time. Writing gland, and a few in Ire- ale ; it requires time t» long enough, and the I, I have no doubt my ed in England will be realisation ; and it may done, to make English was it not a little inte- lently made by Messrs. hing can be done — but is, we may mention that ced 24 ovmces of silk- as consumed many hun- dredweight of mulberry leaves; and produced ;V2 cwt. of cocoons, which were sold for somewhat above 300i. It tlius appears that one ounce weight of these little eggs has in it the ' potentiality ' (as Dr. Johnson would, perhaps, have termed it) of more than Vil. wortli of silk. Enoush Silk Towns; Workers and Products. The silk manufacture has sought out for itself an English home in Spital- fields, Derby, Coventrj-, Macclesfield, Manchester, and a few other districts — A strangely-scattered domain. It would be pleasant to be able to record any notable advance of Spitalfields and its silk weavers. From the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, more Uian a century and a half ago, when the French Protestants sought refuge in England, Spitalfields has been one great seat of the silk manufacture. The weavers have often shown the pos- session of intellectual tastes ; tliey have at different times established a mathe- matical society, an entomological society, a historical society, and a horti- cultural society ; they have sent forth a Dollond, a Simpson, and other emi- nent men : tliey have become proverbial for their humanising love for birds and flowers; and yet— what are they now? They are amongst the most lowly paid of London artizans ; then- ten or twelve thousand small houses in Bethnal Green and Spitalfields are badly built, badly drained, badly wanned, badly served with the conveniences of life; they walk abroad as a pale, sad, sickly race of men, meanly clad, and msufficiently fed. If it be asked how the Spitalfields weaver has fallen so low, the answer is manifold. The weavers have been in the habit of appealmg to public sympathy so often, that they have lost the self-reliance which might otherwise be their stay. They have m such a mistaken spirit called aloud for ' protection,' that they neglected the best of all means of protection, viz., improved mechanical con- trivances and improved artistic designs. They have brought up all "leir chil- dren to the same trade, so that there are now too many mouths to be fed by the work which is to be done. That there was no real inevitable reason for the decay of Spitalfields, is shown by the vast spread of the silk manufacture at Manchester. England never produced so many silk goods as she now does, and Spitalfields might have had a share of the increase had she adopted the right course to procure it ; but, in truth, that district is behind the age, and siiffGrs ftCCordinGfiY* Let us, however^ not press too hardly on Spitalfields and its weavers. Now that ' protection' to the silk trade is almost universally given up, the Spital- fields manufacturers are showing an energy which was not before exhibited. They have recently produced some silks of especial beauty, and ai-e evidently trying to regain some of then- lost ground. The goods manufactured by them are varied— comprising gros-de-Naples, gros-de-t»ur, gros-royal, ducapes, satins, glace silks, barratheas, Balmorals, paraphantons, armozmes, radzimores, levantines, velvets, sarcenets, Persians, and others whose names would be a puzzle to most persons. Among these are beautiful and costly sOks, which show that Spitalfields can do worthily if it will. A brocaded sdk has been lately produced there, which required thirty thousand Jacquard cards and a hundred shutUes to weave it, and comprised silk of fiileen different colours. We need only mention the ' Spitalfields trophy' to recaU to memory a beau- teous array of goods from that districts- comprising damasks, brocateUes, bro- cades, and furniture silks of great costUness. Nor should we omit to renaark that there is a School of Design m Spitalfields, at which the pupUs study 1 M l\ Hi - * iaiiiiiMWriitiwi' I id wool, AND BILK, F«Il AKt) FEATIIEBfl. many other processes to which Urn '1^ is ^cted boys g^^^^ ^^ ^^_ greater part of tlie work women the next g~^J^ j^ ^^,^ broad-silk the meA's work is chiefly spinning and "»^^«^.^«^X " 'l^^,,j, Derby, in manufacture, much of Uie weaving is done mj^e ;«»ages^ eZoyers. 'fho the houses of the weavers, but m ^^^^ ^^^^"^^^^^^^^ tlmt of employment ot boys and girlb "/"y^j^'X which adult workmen cannot silk just adverted to-.s F"'lu«t^ « P^ «; ™/its^^ its inevitable ,Uk; tor U,;. ■■ -P'3^'=*^ '*J^rstSE.d l»?Sf « cnlu.,. ag», on towns which took trade away irom ^l""*" j ^y j^ ^^ich account chiefly of dT""5:™X^:Up?^^^^^^^ silk and its women, boys, and ^''^''^f^^.^^^^^^^^Zklt their oVn homes, in and prepai^tory P/«««««f ** ' ^te .^i^^ j^TS sXen goods produced here appear around Macclesfield. Ihe cmei Junas "i «"^ » f-j. ^^ ^ | gyta silk towns. „.»,„„„ +Viftt tba larae old villace of MiddletoU) Tf ;« n vprv curious curcumstance, that tne large »nu » »"»«'= . . lies, keep up many old customs wmcn nave u high-pressure Ltu/otSr^'Si.o'^^. "^vFS.£3r.i.rxL'S';o"r:: iteita»»^_ g^^^u^iidaiAia :. nfirVfr— ^" '■■ ■■•■■-■■■■■ ■ iiifacturorfl foster this to elevate the tone of a brighter future for 08 it has long hoen. s»lanil in tlio midst of and tliirty yuars ; and i Hi)un into yam and !, dress silks, hosiery, ho silk hosiery U'ade. te eBtablishraents, ono thousand hands. The ch gicater tlian that of ,(j, filling, picking, and boys and girls do the men tlie least of all ; ng. In the broad-silk ages ai-ound Derby, in ) the employers. Tho [ufacture — as in tliat of adult workmen cannot distance. Its inevitable for the higher or more s probably that the silk es than the cotton and is Macclesfield in an- lively than Derby upon own. It was one of the t half a century ago, on are large mills in which I in spinnhig silk and its leir own homes, in and Is produced here appear ) veils : plain broad silks, the Macclesfield weavers n accustoming a body of the weaving is effected iployed ; and for figured Congleton, in the same )rd, are tvo other notable old village of Middletoni le very heart of huge fac- ues, and power-looms — is i. they carry on their f with each other's fami- B obsolete in most other with the high-pressui^ troduction of this branch a time when the power- loom cotton weavers near WOOL AND SILK, FtJK AND FBATHRRS. 10 Manchester, tho SpituUields weavers were earning a high average rate ol wages, and it was thought that Middleton men might earn more at silk than at cotton ; it was tried, and seems to have so far succeeded as to have con- verted Middleton into a silk-weaving village. The Inhabitants work cheaply enough, it is true, but then- earnings are said to bo better tlian those ol HpitalfieWs. , . . . , .•• *. As to Manchester itself, the great advance made by it ui tlie silk manumc- ti^-e has been duo to the production of npun silk. The best silk goods lu-e made of what is called thromi silk— the long continuous thread obtained from the silkworm ; but the shorter and wast(! fibres can only be wrought »ip by processes analogou.i to those of cotton spinning. Manchester set those pro- cesses on foot, and hence has arisen a wholly new brandi of uulustry. All our very cheap silk goods are now made of spun silk (with an unacknowledged quantity of cotton often added), and are made at Manchester. True it is that silks of the highest order are also produced there ; but it remains not the less true, that tho spinning of waste silk into yam for cheap goods loi-ms the cha- racteristic of Manchester silk manufactures. It is at Manchester that wo may consistently look for the application of steam-power in silk-weaving ; such an application has only lately been first made, and it would be unsafe to predict a future career for a system while in its infancy. Yet it is impossible not to see that the silk manufacture at Manchester may lead to gi-eat results; lor although <;/i«rt/«m began it, there is no reason whatever why excellmcP may not mark its subsequent progress, in a town where all tho elements of progress are so intensely active. Where the Schwabes and tho Houldsworths are en- gaged, fine yams and rich fal)rics may well be expected. Our modem silk mills have produced yam or silken tliread so fine as to give a length ol twenty-four miles to a pound weight ; in woven goods some of the modem 'shaded glace' silks have the threads shaded mto twenty diff^erent tints by dyeing ;' and in embroidered goods, we see the etlects of Houldsworth s ele- gant machine, which embroiders both sides of a piece of silk alike. The Coventry ribbon trade is a puzzle. Why the same town should make watches and ribbons, so dissimilar in material, manufiicture, and use, and in such vast quantities, is one of tlioso ' curiosHies of indiistiy ' which it is rather difficult to understand ; but certain it is that the factories of the employers and tlie humble homes of tlie employed exhibit these two kinds of manu- factm-e to an extent tliat quite excludes all others. Floral ribbons, natural his- tory ribbons, heraldic ribbons, architectural ribbons, geometrical ribbons, por- trait ribbons, landscape ribbons, scroll ribbons, arabesque ribbons, nondescript ribbons— all are made at Coventry. And so are ribbons of all widths, from an eighUi of an inch to nine inches, Until a recent period Coventry aimed rather at the production of cheap than of high-class ribbons ; but tlie removal of 'protective' duties has had an effect here similai- to that observable m so many other quarters ; it has driven the manufacturer to depend on his own resom-ces; he studies design and artistic grace, he perfects all the mechanical arrangements of his spinning and weaving apparatus, he attends to the cbe- mistrj' of colours, and hence he is now enabled to show a nearer approach to his confreres at Lyons and St. Etienne than at any former period. When Prince Albert's industrial gathering was about to take place, the Coventi7 manufacturers adopted an excellent plan to display the present resources of theh art. Besides all the ordinary productions of the ribbon- loom, they resolved to produce a specimen which should eclipse all yet done in England. A committee was appointed to superintend the manulacture ot m I 4 »»«_ 1 1 ..«4^t.ft;^r-.i*^-,i I JO wool. AND BILK. FtIR AND KKATHERS. thU ribbon, at the Joint expense of «on.eof tho c« «rn« : ^J;^ «[f ^^^jS haviuK relation b..Ui to tho oxcellonce an.l tho pr to oi " « ^ i^^^^ £ L dono; and U.c rosujt wan '' "S^ut t '^a «5 the ribbon- equalled hi this country. Ibat -mr ^Z y;'"^f "^^^^^^^ weavcpH of France. povhapH they then^H^^' v^^J^ f CovL^-y ix "ot the only working onward in good heart ^>;^'»'f.«,^;;^"^J^f "^ .y^m. ^vlhas Nuneaton ribbon town in Warwickf-hiro; ' ,!« »^« ''^^ '"/l " "^ a Uning to equal Uie Ld otlier towuB fui »atelliteH. The ^'^^f," J«r'u,r for "ns^^^^^^ haH 'recently greater body in merit if not m HizeNun^^^^^^^ ^j^^^^ ^^ ^^^,, produceda'fjaniituro-ribbon whichrcauired l^^^^^^ ^1,^^ I, i;SS^;i^fi^^Son'SS;:/S^^^ tbonarro. BOO Jac- •^"SJr'Ld Norwich, .idc-ly '^tl^cy ^ -P-^;^^^^^^^^^^^ «ome singular analogies in respect to ^j"' "'X^ir g^^^^^^ i" -hich silk fame for die product oti of certam ^'^^LS^^J^^^Jt Krd^f Irish poplins? and worsted or woollen are '"'^'''i- , ^^*° ^."^^ ."^ '^^^^ They have a wide reputation among tj.ose ^^H '£'' f^E Toniprise silk for are wiUing to pay ar. '«l«q"''f .X/weft • but theriS^ther textile goods- tho warp tVeads and worsted for tlie w«'^ • P"|.2n is famed. In Norwich. damasks, tabh.ets. tabaretB. ^^T-/""- ^^^'^o^iS boniens. crapes, para- however, the variety is more ««"«;'1<-'"^'^^1^,;S stuffs cLmlets. ' Lindiam«' (a mattas. challis. chines, silk and barege «l^f^^:,«^"f ' J^J^ ^^ Norwich: some Smningly-devised name to -''^'^^'^"^'^."^Slretwo Bomblen-resembling arosilk'^iomeworsted some a mixture of the t^^ a Norwich manu- poplin in so far as it has a sdk warp «"«^;;«'^f ^Jd ^^arcely a vestige of it Utuve which fashion has almost completely k.lled«carceiv remains, cheaper goods having «"Pei^«J«' >^ th " Norw ch ^Norwich, at the is cheaper th.il Dublin, but Dublm IS better thjiNo^^^^^^ ^^^^ present' tnne. exemplifies the large amo-^^ StLufacture ; the ^'"Z'a.-e not able, while thus speaking of ^f • ^J-^^^^^^^^^^^ use of ceitain substitutes fo/,^-^„lf;;tn';£^^^^^ its Uy.us the pinna, a monster ?^"\«el*^«.^«^*i,"X of deUcatr fibres, with which the as a silky material; this byssus ^%^^.V^^J ^J^^^XS^^^^^^ at the present day animal attaches itself to rocks or to.the shore A"^ ^^^ . ^^ ^ i^to Jlalk «e S L dweU further ou toir • c»r,o».Ue,. . I 118 ; the object in view tho article itioducfd. porimpH, nover been ■an eiiuiil the ribbon- ly ttSHert ; but they arc veiiti-y is ""t tlio only em, ftnly, that our home sale became large. The variety in shawls is rendered ye' lore striking by the recent intro- duction of printing as a means of producing tho whole or a part of the coloured pattern. There are a few print-works in the home comities, at Crayford, Merton, and elsewhere, where tliis higher class of printing is con- ducted. The processes are slow, and require much care ; cheapness is not attempted ; but shawls and other goods are produced of oxtiuisito beauty by the block-printing method. The material called bamje is now wrought into printed shawls of great delicacy. There is one ' curiosity ' or novelty in tlio silk manufacture, the very name of which is so beautiful that one feels as if it ought to establish a place for itself in public favour. Tmue de verre — ijUun-timu: — the designation points to something delicate, graceful, glossy, rich. We must of course dismiss from our minds the rigid choi-acteristics of glass in its more familiar forais. and think only of the tender filaments which are drawn out by means of tlie blow- pipe and the spirit lamp. One of the very prettiest of work-bench processes is tliis glass-spinning, as carried on at tlie Polytechnic Institution and other places to which the public have access. The softened ductile glass, attached to a sort of spinning wheel at one end, and exposed to tlie action of a flame at the other, yields to the double influence, and spins out into a perfectly even and fine crystal thread. When thousands of these threads are grouped side by side, nothing can exceed their lustrous beauty ; and we need scarcely wonder that the display should suggest the use of such fibres in woven goods. A patented method has been devised ; tho glass threads are combined with other threads of silk, or of gold and silver, and woven into a delicate tissue, which may have the characteristics of satin, or velvet, or brocade, according to the mode in which the weaving is conducted. The manufacture is very difficult ; for the glassy filaments ai-e of course fragile ; and the time has not yet arrived when the novelty will be commercially advantageous to the inventor; like many others, it is too costly to Imve a large sale, aud will scarcely pay with a -i ii I ^g WOOIi AND 8ILK, FUR AND FEATHEB8. very small sale. A glass slipper may, however, by and by, be something else *'Zr7emm "'^rSs'- A curious idea has been lately put forth by But f . ^^J""' .% ''iJ',,!' gin,,entina patterns ad infinUum ; he has patented It is intended for application to any woven goods— silk. wooUen.worsT^o^ c^tSn fkfS^any combination of them ; aiui the patterns to be P-^oduced are Secessar^ to paint the pattern on paper after viewing »' ^^"•^"^i^f ""J"^!; S^^alesWhed Thow at once the "^^^^^ ^rStlf of^e web • ^d rre%Erora^rrfayttrtdutr^^ :™fot'thrJ^^^^^ an interminable variety might be produced by com- bSg'dftSenJ coloured glasses. The idea is not -'f^V^lZZv^m^ in a comitiy wliere artistic taste in design is <«'^fe««f ^y.^^^ JT";*/;^^^ U seems sm-cely desirable to lead designers to a n^chanu^f mode « F^^ucmg the patterns th'ey require. If we can produce gracetul curves, mtersectang atrnitrVit lines will ahnost produce themselves. ju.,„^ Some rtiil' curiosities' of modem ingenuity consist m the expenditure Persons of taste have not yet quite agreed ^l^^t/^f„^?«-\Y„r,'S V,^^^^^^ ap^iffns for carpets wall-papers, fmniture damasks, table Imen, and dress suKS desi^s *«^^^*^^®.^; '''''JJ :, „ growing perception of a certain measure of Lvered wiUi hot dishes in the one case, and to be apphed to the nose in tbe *^wi;il^ sneakina of silks and velvets, woollens aad worsteds we may say a Ssi^hi^issr^s^s^^ Selof ci "a^ d^^^ fl«t upon a cushion; ^^.^'^!^fi''' ""fZ^^l ffe malh^esit^atakindof lathe on -hich tlie cu^-^ "a ^^^^^^^^ treadle with her foot; at each movement of the treadle a ub^-^^ J^^^^ verticaUy and pierces the cloth, canying with it a tJuead, Uie nteaie nab r 1^ 18. by, be something else 3en lately put fortli by nitum; he has patented jutting it in operation, silk, woollen, worsted, srus to be produced are J has Boiiifi analogy to )pe, the patterns being 3 inventor tells us that ti which aaiy pattern, or ariety of designs it can ; them. It is not at all 'it tlirough the mirrors, nber of threads of each readth of the web ; and B breadtli and a consi- By this invention, the oinse of a few minutes, it may be enlarged or ; as straight lines bound ;ht be produced by com- Uiout its ingenuity ; but ily lower than in France, irdcal mode of producing eful curves, intersecting isist in the expenditure and skill, in producing they are quite unfitted, really the best classes of .ble linen, ajid dress silks of a certain measure of clfis and the puri>o8e3 to srfoot, in a caipet design, ^es or gothic porches one 1-paper ; nor does a royal ket handkerchief— to be pphed to the nose iu the i woreteds. we may say a lose materials. Whether, ii-s are barely earning the • expeditious sewing and o the aspect iu which the been introduced. Witness ention for stitching. The he sempstress who works isliiou is laid, and works a readle a needle desceaids tlnead ; the needle ims a WOOL AMU SILK, PUR AND FBATHEE8. 33 small book or noteh on one side, which catches and brings up & thread on its return from the hole ; and thus, two or three hundred times in a minute, a thread becomes interlaced in the cloth in the manner of ' chain-stitch ' or 't«nabom'-work.' The machine, which costs twenty or thirty guineas, can CRilm)i\v.yeA^esi the less yielding kinds of ft^S'^,,^^^ be mjured by sleeping upon health of the sovereigns liege ««hject shoma oe j j iji^tance, no hair, or down, or featiiers, uiJess ^^ ^^f ^^eTs we^^^^ witli ihe dry- feather-beds were to be ^^^'J^^^^^^^Xwe^^^^ ^« ^'''^ puUed feathers ; no dowivheds were al oweu to na v^ ^^ mattresses li the Lincohishire fens) ""^e^^.^^i^^J,",^ J'^^ '^^^^ Jair. It is worthy of ^ere to be stuifed with '^^'^ti' Sl^'^Arti^r^^^ that the feathprs rtiie^'rrSfretS^nrK^ - bJs Sti-ait, are now -r¥r,ttai%^s.^^^^^^^ ; curious application of the ^iffj^.T^^^oi feathers sewn on to kind of textile fabric, «o™P««f J^ P^^ Seing so close togetiier as to present any kind of woven matenal; the pieces oeing » . ^ ^ fe^ed are those fJontinuousfeatiiery or downy ap^^^ ,,ripped off of the turkey, from which the fi\^™f,';'^^"^^°'„iJ„ ^^ skin or cuticle of the in such a manner a. to bring mtii ^^^^^^^1^;,^ securing the feather t^j^^^X^^^^ "a^:irvietrwn":trm'St necessarily be costly. I' iHMWii MTwrn -iniiirii of the Bath from the or officers of the High- sed for imparting bnl- , one feather, gradually le ostrich, we have the the vulture or rhea, t, the peacock, the tur- plied as ornaments to I almost exclusively for able and unfashionable hers are knotted with emu feathers aie more feathers; worn by the plume, and sometimes , The large egret fea- e, to use one beautiful 1 is much more abund- ;rs ; but this afifords no Nevertheless feather- etimes veiy admirable, rs and then- preparation ; i were obliged to ' rough lat vyould appear a little centurj'. In the days of d with straw or heath, or ame substituted for these e was displayed lest the liured by sleeping upon state. For instance, no ere mixed witli the dry- fen-down (from the geese tid no beds or mattresses ,t's hair. It is worthy of ndustry, that the feathprs sar Bass Stiait, are now y obtamed a patent for a ice. He manitfactures a gs of feathers sewn on to ose together as to present iathers pi-eferred are those f portions are stripped ott the skin or cuticle of the ns of securing the feather uread. The material thus or velvet-down, and might aparted to it; but it must THE CHEMISTRY OF MANUFACTURES. It is difficult to say whetlier productive industiy is more indebted to mechanical skill or to chemistry for its recent astonishing advance. Indeed this may be an insoluble [ problem : for almost every mechanical process requires the aid of chemistry in its development ; while chemistry would be nothing Avitliout the aid of the machines, the furnaces, and the vessels which permit the processes to be cai-ried on. What we have to do is, to estimate properly both these invaluable assistants to om- industry, without establish- ing a rivaln- between them. The ' curiosities ' of chemistiy, in its application to manufactures, are many and varied ; and we will attempt a brief notice of some of them. The Chemistry of Metal- Wouking. Let us begin witli a few miscellaneous facts relating to metals — tliose re- markable material products without which man could never have risen far above the level of the brutes, even if existence itself were possible. The chemistiy of the lead-works is often very interesting, and, in some cases, really beautiful. The metal is mostly obtained in this countiy by operating upon galena or sulphuret of lead, a hard grayish substance found in considerable quantity m Derbyshire, Nortlmmberland, and other counties. The problem here is, how to get rid of the sulphur which forms one compo- nent of the galena ; and it is found that the best way to effect this is to give a dose of oxygen by some means, so tliat the union of the sulphur with the oxygen may cai-ry off both in the form of sulphurous acid gas. The galena is i-oasted in a furnace, under circmnstances which produce this result, and the lead is separated in a metallic form. But some of the highly heated lead goes off in the state of vapour, and a sad perplexity this is to the smelter ; for lead-furaes are so deadly poisonous tliat he tries all practicable means to catch the vapom- before it flies off into the atmosphere, and re- transform it into the sohd state. These processes are not particularly remai-kable ; but anotlier, which generally follows, is much more so. Neaily all lead ore contains a little silver, and it is usually worth while to incur the trouble and expense of extracting tliis silver. When the metallic lead has been prepared from tlie galena, if it is fomid to contain even so minute a quantity as five ounces of silver to a ton of lead, it is deemed wortli while to subject it to a retining process, for the sake of the silver. The lead of the Northumberland and Cumberland district averages about ten ounces of silver to the ton ; and it will therefore warrant the adoption of this process, where operations ai"e conducted on a large scale ; some specimens give as higli a ratio as a hundred ounces. The pigs of lead are slowly melted in huge iron til d ,1 ii \ ■' i ■■ ..^ Jiju.^aiaitiiiimtiiat»m 'mwfmmmim M^V-^V^ 0. THE CHEMISTRY OP MANrFACTUHES. vessel,, the molle,, metal berng kept »line,l. T''" J» "' "!° .^^taTX'; Use while co„linB. fall to the bollo,,,, and «f '^T '"j' "^J .,X '^^J ' .ie.l nn»« w ii il i M ii HWrBmrt ■ i.a.. J THE CHEMISTRY OF MANUFACTiniES. WoUaston discovered a better -thod tWs j^^J totht 'STto^rioi remained almost valueless ; for unless it '='^" ^^^^'^^XUe from it. Wol- ..ontinuous sheet, cinicibles and -««««« ^ji^^f^/^,^^^^^^^ can laston showed how, by ar'^''"^''^/'^ ^ t theTrls iTthe fonn of a fine he separated from the other ^«"t "h« ^"i^^l^.f Sn ^ he^ and intense hlack powder ; how this powder, by «;« ^^^^^"^^^''S tgot or block; and pressure in steel moulds can be condensed into a ««"Sj^ ^j touph- how this block can be forged ""f/^« ^"^"^^'L^,*' P^fLefSness of this ness and to any.required degree of ^^imi^f^ -^ ^ct iTresiat. neax'ly all remarkable metal results from the °^f ^^^J^SkSs--^^^ alike are nearly external agents; heat, light, air, ^0lst^^e^^vAs agahes f} -^ ^ho powerless in respect to this refractoiy «"^ft*°*="„, ,"u^f,."cid stills, crucibles. kbrication of vessels for chemical Fu-poses^ .f SnmterTal At one time its capsules. &c., ax-e of great value ^vhen made of '^^^^^^\^^ ^.^Ui gave a tinum. Chemistry of Paints and Colours. • It would be impossible to notice ^-^ -^ ,t^ SS^f trCtmf the • curiosities ' which mai-k the chemistry ^^ ^^mef ^e meUlh or regu- tions incident to manufacturing P'-f «^ ,f J • .f^^^me^^^^ ^'^ little further illustration. ,, . , „H.:„„eW before nublic notice, illus- otherwise. Hence attempts are bevngi^^^^^^^ ^manufacture of the seems at present the ^^^^^^^^^^^/^^^^^^^ Metallic zmc white oxide of zinc is a 'f »^"^" ,,^'^^";*' , .- . :„ admitted ; the zuic vapour- is heated in a furnace to which a ^f \^^^!^^^J;^^^^^^^^ S in houseWing- Then be the ground or substance tor omer colours r ^^ ^^^ comes tiie rivahy between the two ' ^^^»^f -*£" ^^^^f ii upon ; but honate of lead. The chemical virtues of the fo™f J^^ jSi„ ich it is the advocates for the latter have "^^'^f -^ P^ilvb g^^^ unciuestionablytliebet^^^^^^^^^^^^^ z nc-white, and having more Doay yi »" nnintine. In this manu- modes of applying tlie -nc-white^s ." flj-;^^SlSrSv.i11^ a brush and iacture, as every one knows, od P^:"^* ;™^^^^ ^he quantity of paint con- afterwards through the medium o cjved Wocks- ihe qua y P^ r- L.. Ic metal would liavo ^ht into the form of a made from it. Wol- eatment, platinum can in the f^f »""«'": «tead of arsenic, another tint of green is produced, ^he singularly vcmed carbonate of copper, lately rendered so familiar to us ""/f'*. ^^^ "^Twhat .nalnchiU, is sometimes ground to powder to forni a useful but «o«;ewhj^ costly green colour for artists. But sulphate of ''"PPer. more popularly kn..wn by the name of blue vitriol, is one of the most beautiful .f f i e'uark^ able of these copper blues ; the crystalline masses in which it is spinet mes exhibited are indescribably splendid. Nor is its mode of production unin- structive or uninteresting. Wlien a ship returns from a long course of voy- aging, battered and worn, its copper ahcatliing is oft«n found to be HI Mtea to bear further wear; it is stripped off, and replaced with ".ew- A^nong other purposes to which this old copper is applied is tliat of making blue vitnol. t is roasted in a furnace until it becomes converted into an oxide, and this oxide of copper is made to combine with sulphuric acid, and crystallise into the beautiful blue sulphate. . » One of the most extraordinaiy metallic colours, however, m respect to the mode in which it is produced, is unquestionably vermihm. Chemistry pn,- senta few transformations more striking than this If the reader were to submit to himself the question, what colour and what form of ^Vf *^^! would result from melting togetlier solid yellow brimstone and liquid white quicksilver, he would guess long before he hit upon the correct reply, ine substance tlius produced is the lovely red powder known to eveiy one by the name of vermilion. How, when the melted sulphur combines with tjie heated mercury, change of state and change of colour ensue, is yet a mystery ; cne- mista only know that such is tlie case— they cannot yet dive into corpuscular The exquisite blue colour nltramarim— in respect both to its natural origin and to its factitious imitation— is one of the most interesting of colouring substances. The blue is intensely vivid, and possesses the valuable property of being ahnost unaltcsrable by time— so much so, indeed, tliat when all the other colours of a picture have faded, the ultramarine blue remains as bright as ever, rather to the detriment of the harmony of colour m the picture, it is procured from a blue mineral called lapis lazuU,v/hich is occasionally found as a vein in masses of granite in Bokhaia and other countries. The stone is roasted by heat, and pounded to powder : it is then mixed witli oil, wax, piteh, and other substances, and melted, which enables the colourmg matter to separate from the other ingredients of tlie stone, and f^l to the bottom So rare is the mineral itself, and so difficult the process of preparation, that the exquisite blue ultramarine powder is often valued at its weight in gold— nay, there has lately been exhibited a specimen valued at twenty guineas per *^"That chemists and manufacturers should endeavour to imitate this costly pigment, is what might reasonably be expected. During the last twenty-four yeirs Gmelin, Peraoz, Eobiquet. and others, have devised modes of pro- ducing very excellent substitutes for ultramarine; so cheaply, too, that a blue colour, more beautiful, intense, and brUliant than smalt can now be obtained for fifteen pence per pound. This novelty is seriously aflTecting «ie smalt dealers of Saxony ; for, by a clumsy anomaly in our customs tariff, smalt pays an import duty of in.<. per cwt., whereas ultramarine is admitted duty tree. ..- rfrijamfauiiiihij i'i9««»#MWiilR!illMii«Htf^ vr louring mftterials than the brilliant Scheole's eetnieats and toys—is mbined with limo in- The Hin^'ularly veined s tinder the name of useful but somewhat pper, more popularly beautiful and remark- vhich it is sometirnes le of production unin- i a long course of voy- i found to be ill fitted ith new. Among other making blue vitriol ; it rito im oxide, and this d, and crystallise into 'ever, in respect to tlio nilimi. Chemistry pre- If the reader were to hat form of substance itone and liquid white ho correct reply. The m to every one by the mbines with the heated is yet a mystery; che- it dive into corpuscular 5th to its natural origin nteresting of colouring >s the valuable property leed, tliat when all the blue remains as bright our in the picture. It ch is occasionally found ountries. The stone is a mixed witli oil, wax, is the colouring matter nd fall to the bottom. ess of preparation, that at its weight in gold — i at twenty guineas per : to imitate this costly ing the last twenty-four devised modes of pro- eheaply, too, that a blue lit, can now be obtained jsly affecting the smalt ustoms tariff, smalt pays is admitted duty free. TUK CUEMIflTBY OV MANUFAOTtlBKH. 7 Tho blue colour called smalt just adverted to, and of which little loss than two million pounds arc nianufu(!tured annually, has many interesting points con- ni'cUHl witli its production. Mr. Tonilinson, in a valuable paper rciid before tho bociety of Arts in 1851, remarked : — "I think I may safely attirm, that tho blue colour which is so extensively used in painting and varnishing porce- lain and eai-tlienwai-e, for tinging crji'stal, and for (enamelling, for imitating opmiue and transparent precious stones, for imparting a magnificent blue to jjlass, for givuig a blue tint to writing-paper and to linen, for fresco-painting, lor the blue figuies which adorn paper-hangings — tliat tlie blue colour for these and for various other useful purposes hi our arts and maimfactures, is almost entirely obtaijied from two small districts, one in Saxony and tlio otlior in Norway." The discovery of smalt, or ratlier of the cobnlt from which it is made, was closely connected with tho legends of mining. In tlie mountainous district on the confines of Saxony and Bohemia, Uiere have for many ages been valuable silver-mines i and tlu-eo or four centuries ago there was a belief in kobolds, or spirits, who protected the metallic riches of the mines. The silver ore became by degi-ees depreciated by tlie admixture of a brownish ore which no one could understand ; it was tliought tlie kobolds had spitefully converted the silver ore into this brownish nibbish ; and the rubbish came by degrees to receive tho name of the mischievous spirit himself. A glass- maker, however, on trying to melt some of this ore, found hhnself enabled by its meiins to impart a beautiful colour to glass ; and from that day the much-despised kobold (or cobalt in modern orthography) became a valuable material. The manufacture of smalt from cobalt is rather a complicated operation. The Swedish chemist Brandt found out that the mineral in its purest state is the oxide of a metal, to which ho gave the name of cobalt. The ore, how- ever, as met witli in the mines, is a veiy complex affair ; it contains not only cobalt, but also iron, nickel, bismuth, sulphur, and arsenic — all of which must be driven off before tlio beautiful blue colour can be obtained. The ore is stamped into fragments ; it is plentifully washed with water ; it is roasted for niimv hours in a reverberatory furnace, to get rid of many impurities ; it is mixed with calcmed quartz and purified potash ; the mixture is melted in pots, in a fmnace somewhat resembling that used by the glass-maker ; the resulting melted compound is a blue glass, which is poured out in a white liquid state into cold water; the smalt tlius produced is crushed, sifted, ground, washed, and otherwise reduced to a fine powder, which constitutes (according to its quality) tlie azure and smalt of tiie colour-dealer — varying in tlieir delicate blue hues by almost imperceptible shades. The commonest kind of smalt is called zaffre. A part of the smalt used in tliis country is prepared at Bu-minghara ; it is sepaiated from the nickel witli which the so-called ' Gemian silver ' is made, and is tlien sent to Staffordshire to be employed in painting porcelain. In reference to artists' colours, modem chemical discoveries and inventions have enabled them to be produced at much cheaper prices than at any former period. The Society of Arts has recently put this question to the test. Wishing to aid in this matter, the Society offered a prize for the best box of water-colours which could be sold retail at one shilling— undertaking to pur- chase a certain number, to give a commercial start to the undertaking. The prize has been competed for and gained; and an excellent shilling box of colours is the result. ■daw "WH TIIK CHEMIUTKY «)K MANUIfAClURKU. Thk Cmausruv oi' Dyf.ino anp CAUco-PRtNTiNn. ColoureheniiHtry hun no more beHUtiful and important appliciUion than in tlio clyeinK and printing of tuxtilo nuuiufactures. . When a puico of cloth is dyed, does th.^ colonrinK matter combnu; chonih cally with tiio lilament. or does it sinvply lo.l^e in little cells? f;!^^^'"'"^^. "»,« Hci.'ntitic dyers ha>e. lon^ been discussint; this .im-stion but without arriMip ftt undoul.tod results. Ail that s.^etns to be known is. that it any one pa ti- cular dye bo applied to textile luaterials of cotton, tlax, h.anp, silk, wool, lur, or hair; it will adhere to tliem with different def^'rees ot hnnnesH, and wi I prestint ditferent decrees of brilliancy, according to the nature of tbo I la- ment. Whether there bo an attraction or affinity (as chemists tenn it) Dt- tween th.^ filament and Uie dy.N varying in str.mgth in different instances ; oi whether the little cells or pores of the filament b.ar a certain relation in si/e to the dyt^ particles— seems to !)0 left for the dotemiination ot science at some future i)eriod. , . , • i i „ i,„„,. lUit there is another source of divei-sity in the relations which dye^s b ai to tlio various filamentous substances above named. Wiuther it is that tli colls of the filament and the particles of the dye do not suit each ;^>«ho m size without a little 'doctoring.' or wh.>aier prmc.p es of a more chennc I eluu-acter ai-e at work, it is seldom that a piece of .loth w. I receive a dye w^tl - out the intervention of some third material-some friendly agent wh'ch wi I adapt Uie other two tff«rent kinds o effect to be produced on woven cotton goods, by chemical means before Uic dyeing and printing can be fully attained. One is the clemuui). Uie removal of all extraneous matters from the filaments; another is tlie wburuuj, or the imparting of actual tint to the cloth; a third is tho Juiny, or compulsoiy union of the dye with Uic cloth tlirough tlio medium of a mordant ; a fourth is Uie iVmhavqbui, or Uie removal of colour from particular parts of the clot,h by chemicals" subsequently appUed; a fiftli is the protecUn,j, or «l»elduig the cloth from Uie action of pai-ticular colours at particular spots by a preparation called a 'resist;' and la.stly. a sixth is the bri„htenw!j, or tlie development ot Uie beauty of Uio colours by an after application of certam chemicals. Now every one of Uiese six effects has its own particular group of agents— its own range of chemical substances fitted to produce it^its own peculiar connection with the chemistry of colours ; and it is scarcely too much to say Uiat almost every discoveiy in chemistry is made available for one or oUier of Uie above ''\\i"enumerate"tho crj'stals, the liquids, Uie powdei-s, Uie gases Uius em- ployed, would take us a long journey Uirough U.c range of acids alkalies, salts, earUis, and oUier bodies on which the attention of Uie chemist is bestowed. Sulphur assists in bleaching, and is the source whence ttie in- valuable sulphuric acid is obtained; and Uiis sulphuric acid is one of the means for obtaining Uie chlorine, the muriaUc acid, and the soua, which entei so largely mto dyeing imd calico-printmg. Common salt— the removal ol 'lu, ■MMM HINTINO. I appliciitioii tlian in uittcr combiiu! chonii- cells? ChciniHlH and I, but without arriving that it' any ono parti- lidiup. silk, wool, fur, of tirnnJi!S8, and ^yill 16 nature of tlio fila- rhcniiKts t«nn it) be- ditfcrent inntanccH ; or certain relation in size lination of science at tions which dyes bear A'lu ther it is that the Lot suit each other in ^s of a more cheniical L will receive a dye with- ;ndly agent which will ire called by the dyer the word shows) ; they great diversity in mor- dye which is to pene- icnetrated. far more complex than an six different kinds of inical means, before tlio ho cleanhuj. tlie removal • is tlie colouriiuj, or the e fixintj, or compulsoiy of a mordant ; a fourth ieular parts of the cloth )tevtinij, or shielding the ir spots by a preparation , or tl»e development of certain chemicals. Now roup of agents — its own own peculiar connection much to say tliat almost 16 or other of the above lei-s, the gases thus em- range of acids, alkalies, ntion of tlie cUemist is B source whence the in- huric acid is one of the ind the soda, which enter ion salt — the removal of TIIK CIIKMIBTUY o[.' MANtlFACTUKK.S, » the duty IVoni which has been an inestimable good to science and manufac- tures — is, however, the gi'eat storehouse for the last-named three substances ; sulphur btiiiig an agent for developing them from tliis storehouse. Then, again, tliere are nitre and nilrii! aciil, hot and iiitiiig, to act upon various Huhstances wliich will not yield to less cnergetir iicids. Then the metals copper, tin, iron, lead, Ac. — when in tlio state of oxide — are most valuable adjuncts to tlui dyer's store. Again, the acids, when combined with the metals and earths and alkalies, give another series ever widening as chemistry advimces. Add siiiiihmic acid to ahunina, and W(! get alum ; add it to iron, and we obtain coppems ; ailil it to copper, imd there results bhu; vitriol ; add it to soda, and we produce Glauber's salt ; add it to lime, and we obtain plaster of Paris ; and so forth. It is not here meimt, of coume, to imply that if we place the two in ccmtact, the compound named will bo imhiediately produced ; but that the compound is tiie result of the chemical union of those ingredients. Thus it is that, if such organic acids as the acetic, tailaiic, or citric, or such niinend acids as the sulphuric, muriatic, or nitric, be made to act uixni tlie oxides of tlie metals tin, lead, copper, iron, Ac.; or upon the earths lime, alumina, 4c. ; or upon Uie alkalies soda, potash, or ammonia — there result compomids so numerous as (luitc to balHe any ordinaiy enumeration ; and it is the duty and tlie interest of the dyer and the calico-printer to see which of these numerous bodies will be available to him in the production of colour in any one of the six different ways enumerated in the last paragraph. There really seems, therefore, something akin to tlie apparently inexliaustible powers of a pemiutation series in the double, trii)le, luid ipiadruple compounds of chemical substances applicable to the dyer's art. If we were to classify chemicals according to the dyes which they tend to produce, instt;ad of according to their constituent ingredients, we should lind sti-ange companions grouped together. For a yellow colour we should find brilliant crystals obtained from horses' hoofs and blood, and known as prussiate of potash ; chromate of potash ; fustic wood ; quercitron bark ; weld and turmeric; and other vegetable substtmcos. If it be red, we have a great variety of sources : there arc the little bodies of the cochineal insect and of the lac insect; Uiere are the vermilion and tlie lake series; and there are numerous minei-al substances, such as the acetate of alumini^. If it be blue, there are ultramarine and smalt, indigo and weld, and numerous oilier sources. And so might we glance one by one at all the colours: we should mid that the three kingdoms of nature — animal, vegetable, luid mineral — idl contribute under singulai'ly diverse forms. The coloure denominated lakes fonn a «urious gi'oup. They comprise animal or vegetable juices, rendered ojiaque itid substantial by admixture with alum or some otlier mineral substance. CVuTOine, for instance — one of the most beautiful of colours — has for its oi'ganic element the little cochineal insect, which forms such an impoi-tant ttilicle of commerce in Mexico. The vegetable substance called madder yidds anotlier and cheaper kind of carmine. Brazil-wood, by a peculiar mode of treatment, yields brown lake ; while Persian berries, annatto, and iiuei'citron bark are sources whence various kinds of yellow lake ai-e derived. (Jreat is the array of tubs and vats, boilers and cisterns, employed by those who dye laigely in Uie manufacturing districts ; and great the ingenuity requVed to adapt the means to the end to be attained. Sometimes the cotton or the wool is dyed in the filamentous or unspun state ; sometimes as a spun yard t)r thread ; sometimes as a woven cloth. Silk is too fine and fragile to be djtd until after spinning. The chemisti-v of this dyeing is often very a 3 \ to THtl CHKMtBTUY 0»' MANUVACTURM. doop aiul rtciontUic. Let it be n bluo colour which \t to be given to cotton cloth, and indJKo thn dye material. Much luaiiaKouient is noctHuarj' U) lit tho iiKonl lor th(i work it has to lu'rfonn. It is lirat (l.'-oxidiH.ul. to k-imU'I it Holuble, and to ♦mahle it lo t-nUir the littlo pons of lli.t lilanioiit; and then U ia rc-oxitlii*ee little eellH. and U>en entice it to nUiy there. One most important difUculty of the dyer'H tu-t ih to range all his coIoui-h into two groups— iiu/«iu will ofKn v.ject that which wool woul.l receive kindly, and Hilk yet more lii.idly . and tliere Iuih been mueli more thought and expi-rimeutal reMciirch ..uce'tHn-y to .)btom brilliant aner- maiiont dyes for cotton, than for Bilk .-r wool, lu respect to Uio two designa- tions used above, of substantive a' .1 u.yective. we may ailduce the colours called Inken lis examples of ot^octive dyes, which cannot bo hxed m the cloth wiUiout the aid of a mordant. WheUier made from madder, c^chmeuJ Ura/.il wood, saflron wood. logwoo u-d- . and he Uierefore scniples not to devote his bv^st attention toUiatwhio. ii.'V'"ake its appearance ev*"- in a cotton handkercluel sold for a fe"f pu o "the abov* r.a ,.ed processes for Turkey red are Uiose adopted ■■ "'.'.HiOe; *ile Lancashire and Glasgow dyers adopt various modih- cations in ono or other of Uie manipulations. It is said tliat this rich tint owes more to the dyers than to Uie chemists; Uie dyers have discovered it by a series of attempts, while the chemists ai-e yet at fault concemmg Uie rationale of Uio several effects produced. From Uie dyer to Uie calico-print«r is but a step. Few persons at Ui.) pre- sent day, knowing to how extraordinary a degree the business ol callco-pnn^ - -'I'fft i i' i 'ifii'M" ! T-iinr'i i l ir M MMMaata 1 TIIM CHKMIHTUY OI' MANIJKAfni'llM. II to be givwi to cotton 1 1» ii»c«tuiar}' to fit t)in ()xi«'i- (cct to tlin two (h^Migna- iiy a 'X'',™ ^viti^ judgment, and the firing is al8«7«ll ™*»ff ^^mt ve rnS-S iS the °'td°'w!rrs1Sl of Krr».co«. m«y be .aid nearly - ■"- »' ^1;^ S°aT. mrtl^^a cUy to to pm»«l iuto moulds, and partly .B a c^n " l» J»» «^ F>;jrm"iTMS tS,^ the material, haw brilliant colom:. nnpaited to them '^Ttt^^frLp, "^'"clSSuy in the gbt.mg, the painting, .mdjhe feisfco^i-s^raS^^aSeSHi Srafacta«.S have ether. «hich they wi.h '»J»«1' ^f J «?S ,^«SXe Be the ingredient. »hat they ^'J. *«J,«?^« ."1 gl^oTe'' LvetS £ 5id^ri3tiM^:^i^.32£3^^^^^ ipSisr n^irsrjipoiei^^^^^^^^^ f-. tr.ri£ of the ®»»n^«^"*°. ""'."' -^ (._„„, is ^e attention necessaiy m tins hring ; deveiopes very bnUia^t JmU.. ^J^^^^^^ f^ continuance be either more or ;rrt' but the rojland «m™^,rSS,r::«T.tpin^ ' ^"^ "^iimnwi MMN MNM THK OHEMIBTHY OF MANUFACTUIIKS. 15 Canova, Townshend, of Million, Copeland, >tlier. 11 of pottery to fine-art ractcr; they make no but yet they are sus- cai-efully selected, tho (1 pressing ai-e effected he leHulting terra-cotta >rative mateiial for tho ihurch near Bolton aie Y as much of the now- pavements. The clays rocesses are sedulously lat tlie material is used as a cream to be jMured )lours irapai-ted to them , the pfunting, and tho r stages of inauufoctm'e. em lias been to discover into the state of a solid jredients employed; but secret, each for liimself. to a liquid, in which tho glaise-oveu' converts this le witli which we ai-e so ilding of the more costly Olio oxides, mixed to tlie nds of oils and spirits, and dingy ; but the heat lelibly into the ware, but L necessary in tliis tiring ; nuance be either more or jpment, and perhaps also B glass-stainer are equally irs. tlie stony particles adhere iial to the power of stone 1 famous for iti cohesive need far excels it. In an I prepared, one of Boroan placed in such positions lloman cement yielded to e Portland cement stoutly ight of nineteen hundied. s strength when used as n de Park, a brick beam was 5 bricks were hollow, and n height by two in width. Its more than twenty feet asunder, and weights were suspended from the centre; and not until tlie astonishing weight ol' neaily seventy thousand pomids wtxs thus applied did the beam yield and break. It was not the actual binding power of the cement alone tliiit resisted this enormous force, for tliin slips of ii'on were introduced at difl'erent ])urt;s; but tho experiment was intended to show how much strength might be obtained by hollow bricks and Portland cement, aided by a little ii-on. , , ^ , ., ,. , Tho production of ' artificial stone." now employed for many building and decorative iiurposes, has in it sometliing of a more clicmical character than that of cement ; for flmt is actually dissolved to enable it to combhie wiUi other substjuiccs. What we owe to onn Ratt-Mtnes and Ai-mm-Pits. The chemistry of our invalmible salt district is not so notewortliy for the processes by whii^h tlie salt is brought inU) marketable form, as for those which tho salt itself subserves in the manufacture of cheniictds and drugs. Y<,'t is tlie Cheshire routine of operations very interesting. Beneath the val- leys of tlie Weaver and its tributoi-y streams are those vast saline teeasures wliich seem as if thev would bo inexhaustible. There are near Northwich two beds of hard dirty-looking rock salt, one at a deptli of about three hun- dred feet, and one much nearer tho smface ; tlie beds are very little less tlian a hundred feet in thickness, imd have each an area of about a square mile. The contents, tlierefore, of tho Nortliwicli beds can be approximately calcu- lated. There ai-e nearly twenty mines tiiere, from which the salt is obtained by a series of operations nearly analogous to tliose of coal-mining, and in (juantity amounting to sixty or seventy thousand tons ounually. But this is not tlie sidt with which we are familiar ; it is neaily all exported. Our well- known and precious table-salt is obtained almost entirely from brme-springs, which fonu in unknown quantities beneath the ground, by water flowing over salt-beds of unknown dimensions. Pumps, well applied, never i'ail to draw up tliis sti-ongly saline liquor ; it is pumped by steam-engines into vast reser- voirs, from which pipes convey it to shallow iron on .i)omting pans, where heat causes the water to evaporate and the salt to crystaUise. There are evaporating houses in Cheshire which exceed even tlie Crystal Palace in length, and in wliich a thousand tons of salt can be produced in a week. These brine-springs yield prodigious quantities ; it is said that tho Cheshire l)roduce has now reached neaily half a million tons annually. In ti-acing tlie manufactm-iug uses of salt, we may observe that it is really little less than impossible to follow out correctly the steps by which valuable chemicals result from tho production of other chemicals. Ahuost all chemical trausfonnations result from a play of affinities. A will combme wiUi B, but it has a still stronger liking for C ; while B has a more energetic affinity for D than for A: if these four elements get togetlier, they busily reai^just tlieir connections ; their former states of combination will very probably be over- thrown, and we shall have two resultant compounds, AC and BD. Among many chains of processes, let us take one particular chain as exhibited in the great chemical works of tlie north, in connection with the use of salt, and see how curious are the gradual developments of new compounds. We begin with sulphur — tlie crude yellow brimstone wliich is brought in such large quantities from Sicily, and is also one of the residual products of our copper-smelting works. It is put into a furnace and bm-nt away— form- 16 THB CHEMISTRY OF MAKUFACTURE8. in" sulphurous acid gas by its combination with the oxygen of the atmo- sphere The gas is collected in leaden chambers, some ol which are so vast as to have a capacity of a hundred thousand cubic feet ; and in Uiese chambers it is made to combine with a little more oxygen and then wUh water whence results liquid sulphuric acid— the well-known but stnuigely-named oil ot vitriol This hot burning acid, produced from tasteless sulphur and salu- brious oxygen, is heated in a fumnce wifli common salt ; and one ot the con- sequences is that muriatic acid gas is driven out of the salt. Ihis acid, mixed with water, and allowed to trickle upon common chalk, will produce cai-bonic acid gas in great abundance— either for making soda-water or tor any other puriwses. Muriatic acid, too, if heated carefully m a stone vessel with oxide of manganese, gives up its chlorine in the fonn ot a ga.s; and this chlorine, if admitted to a chamber in which slaked lime is placed upon shelves converts this lime into chloride of lime or hleachtmi jmtvder—a. nnh- stance which has created quite a revolution in bleaching and dyeing pro- CGSS6S • But we must now go back to the point at which the muriatic acid was •sepai-ated from the salt. The sulphuric axiid cannot drive the muriatic acid out of the salt without being itself brought widiin the range ot attinities ; tlie granulai" salt becomes a pasty sulphate of soda. A little coal and a little chalk are added, and another action of affinities commences, which settles down into the production of carbonate of soda and sulphuret of calcium. Carbonate of soda is that invaluable form of soda which is now used to so enoiTOOUs an extent in glass-making, soap-making, bleaching, washmg, mA other operations. When anotlier dose of carbonic acid gas is given to this carbonate of soda, it becomes bi-carbonate, the nice-looking white powder which foi-ms an essential ingredient in soda-water and ginger-beer PO^ders. Thus, then, we see how extraordinaiy is the production of valuable che- micals from tlie decomposition and recomposition of some of the cheapest and most familiar of substances. Brimstone, salt, coal, chalk— nothing very beautiful or costly about tliem; and yet with a littie aid from other sub- stances, we find them yielding sulphuric acid, muriatic acid, carbonic acid, chlorine, bleaching-powder, sodarwater powder, and carbonate of soda. There is one thing which chemistry has not yet done in the matter but which it must do before this beautiful train of processes can be considered complete ; it must discover some use for an earthy substance called sul- phuret of calcium. In the production of the carbonate of soda, although sulphuric acid and chalk are required as agents, to bring about changes by the play of affinities, yet the sulphur of the one and the calcmm of the other form no component parts of the carbonate of soda itself, the resultMit ot the process; they constitute a solid refuse which is a sad burden to the manu- facturers. This refuse or waste is sulphuret of calcium ; no means have yet been devised of making it profitably available ; it cannot be ignored ; it must not be thrown into rivers or canals ; it is a ' great fact,' i^'hich has necessi- tated the purchase of acres upon acres of land, upon which the refuse is thrown up in huge heaps as high as a moderate house, and with a bulk ol many hundred thousand cubic feet. When we find that every fraction of the refuse from gas-works has been rendered serviceable for some purpose or other, we must not doubt that chemistry wiU by-and-by do something with these monster heaps at the soda factories. , , . • * \s salt has its chemical notabilities, co has alum. In truth, the chemistry of this substance has not a little that is remarkable about it. The three very rilK ( IIKMISTHY l)t IIANL'KACTIJUKS. 17 c oxygen of the atmo- mc of which are so vast ; and in tliese chambers lien with water, whence strangely-named oil of 3les8 sulphur and salu- Jt ; and one of the con- •f the salt. This acid, lion chalk, will produce aking soda-water or for refuUy in a stone vessel fonn t)f a gas ; and this lI lime is placed upon bleachhuf powder — a sub- iching and dyeing pro- li the muriatic acid was t drive the muriatic acid the range of affinities ; A little coal and a little mraences, which settles id sulphuret of calcium, which is now used to so bleaching, washing, and £id gas is given to this ce-looking white powder d ginger-beer powders, eduction of valuable che- of some of the cheapest coal, chalk — nothing very tie aid from other sub- ■iatic acid, carbonic acid, and carbonate of soda. done in the matter, but ocesses can be considered hy substance called sul- bonate of soda, although I bring about changes by I the calcium of the other itself, the resultant of the sad burden to the manu- cium ; no means have yet mnot be ignored ; it must t fact,' which has necessi- ipon which the refuse is house, and with a bulk of . that every fraction of the able for some purpose or and-by do something with In truth, tlie chemistry about it. The three very dissimilar substances— sulphuric acid, clay, and potash— combine to form it : and when so combined, its scientific name becomes ' sulphate of alumina and potash.' For many ages it was produced chiefly from a piuticnlar kind ot earth or ore ; but modem ingenuity has devised a mode of prepiuing it by a direct union of the materials. T-et ns briefly glance at both methods. In many countries there are strata of alum-stone or alum-slate, which will yield alum by proper treatment. There is a thin layer of alum-stone between layers of coal and lime ; and when the coal has been removed by mining, the alum-stone becomes gradually so acted upon by tlie atmosphere as to become disintegrated and powdery. But whether stony or powdery it is all brought up to the surface, as it contains sulphuric acid and alumina— two of the ingre- dients for almn. The stony portion is made to yield to lire, instead of air and moisture ; it is built up into huge pyramidal heaps, and there fired until brought to a state of disintegration. Then do tlie processes of steeping and boiling and crjstallising take away from tlie alum that which it does not want (iron), and impart to it that which it needs (potash) ; the potash being added just before the crystallisation. The alum-maker obtains an additional product, too, beyond his alum ; for tlie iron which forms part of the alum-stone he contrives to separate, and to convert into beautiful green crystals of copperas —so surely does any complicated chemical process lead to the production of substances besides that which is tlie immediate object in view. Hut the Newcastle chemists have devised a mode of making alum inde- pendently of the aid of alum-stone. Give them sulphuric acid, clay, and pot- ash, and they will return you a mass of ci-ystalline alum as the resulting pro- ductr— not among the least of the curiosities of chemistry. Oonush clay, calcined and ground very cai-efully, is mLxed with sulphm-ic acid ; the two boil up togetlier furiously, witliout any heat being applied (another ot the ' curiosities ') ; water is added ; and after a time for subsidence, the liquid is pumped into another vessel, where potash is added to it. Crystallising, and steaming, and re-crystallising then convert this liquid into a solid mass ot alum— ready for any of the purposes which it is fitted to subserve in the arts. When tlie ciystallisation takes place hi a veiy lai-ge vessel, and the staves of the vessel are] pulled asunder to liberate the solidified alum (a frequent prac- tice) the appeai-ance of the huge mass is really magnificent, especially if we look at the brilliant i-adiating ciystals in the mterior cavity. One of the many strikhig results of these combinations shows itself in this manufacture. Alum is the product sought for, but Prussian blue is also obtauied in immense quantity ; the clay employed contains some iron, which must be got rid of in some way or other ; and it is finally driven out in that form which constitutes the beautiful Prussian blue. It is one of the grand feats of chemisti-y that— eveiy now and then— it gives commercial value to materials hitherto useless: converts into a boon that which has been a burden. There is an example m point, connected witli our present subject. Around our numerous collieries are huge heaps of a slaty substance called shak, which forms the material of the interlying beds between the seams of coal ; it is removed when tlie coal is mined, and is a perpetual source of annoyance to the coal-ovmers, who do not know where to put it or what to do wiUi it. How great would be the advantage, then, of any project which might bring tliis shale into use ! So thought Mr. Spence, of Manchester, who formed a plan, about seven yeai-s ago, for producing alum from the shale ; he adds one aimoying refuse (gas-works' waste liquor) to an- other annoying refuse (shale from coal-mines), and from the two, by various 19 THK CHEMiSTBV OF MANUFACTUBKH. chemical proceBses, be produces alum, copperas, and sulphuric acid. M. I^- bin exhibits few marveli n.ore ' mysUL-rieu^es ' than those which chenusUT often Sieves -and what is more to the purpose, these cheuucal marvels have a most potent influence on the well-being <>t the world m general. AnoC interesting fact in connection wiUi tlic recent manutactunng his- toid ofal. mis. that dyers aiid calico-priiiters ai-e now begnmu.g to use only tiSeTsenUdmr\» of it? rejecting those which have no mordant quality Alum U a Sl'ol alumina, iith '.e or other of U.e three alkalies, potiv^h joda or amnionia ; but chemists now kn.>w that the alkali simp y causes the alum to cmtTlUse witijout adding to its mordant power. The dyers say " we care notS the crystalline stmcture. give us the mordant;" and tortliwiUi the mlXturing c^iemists of Newcastle devised a way to produce slabs or SSiof op^aque sulphate of alumina, which-though neither ciTstallme nor beautiful— have all Uie potency for which alum la valued. The Chemistht of Febmented Dhinks. There is perhaps no department of manufacturmg chemistry marke.l by more interesting circumstances dian Uiat which compnses tlie Pro'luc/'"" »* fermented liquids. The wonders of organic chemistry are mimy. and some otTem are iiade mainfest in this department. Di^Vrent a« --e may cor^^der the jreneral vegetable structure of corn, sugar-cane, Iruit, beet^root and potato they may aU be employed as som-ces whence to obtam alcohol or spuit dWere^t'as are spiril ieov, vinegar, imd quaitem loaves, they njjy aU ^e obtained from the same com; and different as are wine, beer, cider, malt, sufftu'. and molasses, vinegai- may be t)btained from any or all ot tnem. It is a curious sUse in the chemistry of this subject, that sugar inust be developed before any of the fermented drinks can be produced ; indued, sugui is the substance which undergoes the fementation. In the fli-st place, then, sugai- is a very abundant component Part of ve^e- table substances. It is found in the sugar-cane, m tlie maple, m b««t-ioot, i carrots and turnips, m potatoes and pai-sneps. m giiipes md fimts oi al Ss in mamia. in liquorice, in mushrooms, in every kind of gram-mdeed uTone of the most generally diffused of vegetable principles, ^racticd y the sugar-cane is the source whence the sugai- of comrae^o .^^ mo^^re^ddy Ob -ained. How the canes grow in U-opical counti-ies ; how the slave-question is iSxed up wiUa everything relating to the commerce m these cantos; how lelZZo cut whei ript-tliese are questions which precede what we niay term the chemistry of the subject. The canes are rich m jmce, a sweet but Se UquidT this is expressed from them by die crushing force of ponderous rX^. 2nd rickles inti) a cistern beneath. Then, to prevent an addUying procTss, the juice is at once boded rapidly, the impurities removed kom the surface the watery portion evaporated, and the rest brought to tlie state ol a Sk symp. A hundred average sugai-canes will yield about Ave gallons ot iuice, frorn^ which six pounds of ci-ystalhsed sugai" result The syiup is looTed inihallow vessels, and Uien packed in hogsheads The drammgs or motsses from Ure syrup a,-e fermented to yield mm. and the «'"^|^lf .f «"gjr in ihe hogsheads foms our ' moist' or ' brown ' sugai-^ Then, when brought to England, the sugm- is either sold in the imported state, or is chemically t^eaSd to foi-m 'white' sugar. la tlie latter case it has to pass through strange ordeals. Melted ui hot water, sti-ained tlu-ough canvas bags to get S of tire impuiities, filtered through pounded charcoal to dissipate colour. I ll',H. 1 sulpUiuio acid. M. Ko- ose which cheniisUy often chemical man'els have a I in general. recent manufacturing his- ow beginning to use only mordant quality. Alum ree alkalieH, potash, soda, i simply cuuaci* tlie alum The dyers say, " we care rdaut;" and fortliwith the ivay to produce slabs or hough neither ciystalline is valued. DlUNKS. ing chemistry marked by niprisoB tlie production of istry are miuiy, and sonic [fforent as we may consider fruit, beet>-root, and potato, obtain alcohol or spirit; 1 loaves, they may all be re wine, beer, cider, malt, any or all of them, iubject, that su^ur must be le produced ; indeed, sugar i component part of vege- tlie maple, in beet-root, in n grapes and fruits of all ^ery kind of grain— indeed lie principles. Practically, comraerco is most readily i; how the 'slave-question' lerce in these cam^s; how vhich precede what we may 5 rich in juice, a sweet but rushing force of ponderous Q, to prevent an acidifying npurities removed from the It brought to tlie state of a yield about five gallons of igar result. The syrup is ?8heads. The drainings or n, and the granulated sugar agar. Then, when brought jrted state, or is chemically ise it has to pass through hrougli canvas bags to get harcoal to dissipate colour. THE CHEMISTRY OK MAWUPACTUBEfl. 19 boiled in vacuo to drive off much of tlie water, granulated to prepare for crystallisation, crj'stallised to separate the treacle— all these arc processes through whinh the sugar must pass in its transfomiation from brown 'moist' to white 'lumj),' imd in which many curious processes are involved. One of the novelties in this sugar-chemistry is connected with beet-root. Sugar has been prepared from this useful vegetable for many years past in Fituice and (lermany; and hopes are now entertained respecting it as a panacea for poor Ireland. A hmidred and fifty thousand tons of beet-root sugar are now said to bo made annually on the (Jontinent ; and bh Ireland grows the beet favourably, an atttmipt is being made to establish this manu- facture there. A factory has been built at Mountmellick, in Queen's County, witli a subsidiary establishment for cutting and drying tlie beet. The factory ciufi operate on .*}00 tons of beet per week, Kui»r)osing a supply to be obtainable. The roots are gathered, cut, topped and tailed, washed, and rasped into pulp ; the pulp is pressed to yield the juice ; the juice is boiled, jmrified with lime- water, evaporated, boiled tu vacuo, and crystallised. Perhaps we may yet see the day when tlie beet-root will benefit the sister island. As sugar exists in so many vegetables, so must there be sugar in all the substances which yield fermented drinks ; and the mode of compelling tliis sugar to render up its properties is full of chemic^al niceties. Let us see what results when beer or ale, porter or stout, is to be produced. Any kind of corn will yield beer ; because the starch contained in a gram of com is convertible into sugar, and the sugar into a fermentable substance. But by the process of malUntj (in wliicli moisture and heat ai'e applied to barley) the starch of the grain is converted into sugar in such a state as greatly to facilitate the brewing process. Malt, therefore, or malted grain, is employed by our brewers. The malt is crushed between steel rollers to a powder, or rather giist (we are speaking of tlic operations at the gi'eat porter breweries) ; it is mashed with hot water to extract the saccharine matter from it; the extract is boiled in huge coppers with the flowers of tlie hop, to impart bitterness; the extract or 'wort' is cooled, then fermented in vssels of an enormous size, then ' worked ' or deprived of it"? frothy yeast, an hen fined or cleared. The chemistry of brewing is placed in an interesting light by the recent declaration of the Burton ale-brewers (made under circum- stances which enforce belief), that the high-class Burton ale is made from no other ingredients whatever tliiui malt, hops, and pure water. But the spirit or alcohol of the distiller is more chemically important than the ale or beer of tlie brewer ; since it passes through more advanced stages of progress. Brandy is produced from wine, mm from molasses, whiskey and gin from com ; they ai-e all alike, however, in owing their fundamental qiialit)' to Uie alcohol which they contain. Each country employs the sac- charine material most readily obtained; and thus tlie flavour of diflerent kinds of alcoholic bevei-age depends on local circumstances of soil and cli- mate. The wine-regions of France have in the grape an abundant supply of sweet juice which yields spirit by distillation ; the sugar-planters of the West Indies have a thick sweet residue from their sugai'-drainings which is rich in alcoholic elements ; and corn-gi'owing countries have in store the stai'chy supplies which become transformed first into sugar and then into spirit. The differences between brandy, rum, and whiskey depend on the differences between grapes, sugar-canes, and corn ; the resemblances depend on the alcohol which they are all in common capable of yielding. So far as our own English-made spirits arc concerned, they can be pro- 30 THE CHEMISTnT OF MASUFACTI'RES. curod cither from raw grain or (ron, nmltcd Rra.n. So.no '1 «t.ll.n-s omp % jnalt only, but as this is very costly, raw Rrau. la usually .'niployr.l u» laiRei nul%-barloy. chietly ; but also wh..at. rye, an.l oats; .t .s a q»^- »"» < £. 8. r/. wiUi the .listillcr, at any particular tiu.o am place, to combnie U3 iuKredients according to the state oi the market. These ingredients, then ^fregdarly hrea-ed before tliey can be distilled; the saccharine rnatter nut Z^ extmcted and fennented before alcohol can be o .tamed. The ma i mished, Uio grain is ground, tJ.c >vater is heated, and all three are mashed ^togeUier in a mash-tun ; the sickly-sweet extract or ' wort ' that i-eaults is cooled and then fennented, by which the sugar of the gram becomes con- verted into alcohol. To separate tliis alcohol from the water is the objc^ o^ distilling; the fermented liquor or ' wash ' is boiled m '"^f «/^\'^^*';.7\, '^'^ alcohol, becoming vaporised sooner than water, passes out of the still in a •aporic form, and is Uien condensed into liquid spirit by the vicmi y of coM water. Real good whiskey is much more scumtihcally pure (so t.) spt.ak) than any kind of gin or cordials; the latter are ' doctored in various mysU. nous and questionable ways. i „ ,.„„„ „r.irU in , As spirit is an advance upon beer, so is vinegar an advance "Pon spnit i respect to Uie chemical history of the liquid produced. It may be made from any ..f the substances which will produce beer, or from any which will produce spirit, or from beer and spirit themselves ; but it goes one stage beyond them in the chemistiT of its manufacture. Various sources a e em- ployed by different vinegar makers, but malt is more generally used by tl c manufacturei-s in Uie neighbouriiood of tlie metropolis. It would be a soie "rnplaint to make against the usquebaugh of L-eland, or the ' mountain-dcw ofTSighlands, that it was soii or acid ; and yet Uiese l^"™'"? l^^^;; j^,-; produced from the very same kind oi malt as the gi-eater part of the London Vinegar. The vinegir-maker grinds his malt into grist ; he extrac s ' worf from this grist by mashing; he cools tlie wort m a refrigeratoi ; he ferments the wort into oyfe (a distiller would call the liquor u-o^ t, while to a brewer it would be simplv unfinished beer or ale); he transiers the gyle into casks; and he there causes it to undergo the acetous fenncntat.on which converts it into vinegar. This acetous change is very remarkable, for it ma> be brouRht about either by the heat of a closed room or by the fresh air ol u lield In Fi-ance the stoving is most practised, and it is gradua y becoming extended in England; since the f.eld-n> thod, by leaving the l"iu'd;"«'y weeks or even months in the ca.sks, renders much capital unproductive *XdUheXK2sses-in the extraction of juice from the sugar-cane, in the preparation of brown sugar from the juice, in tlie retming ot this brown !iu!r£. iJto white, in the production of beer and ale, in tJie distillation of U e various kinds of spirit, in the making of vinegar-tho recent improvements have been so many and varied, that we cannot even ^""•"^^•ftf , ^^«'?;; ^/J^" niceties of chemistry have, one by one, been rendered avaUable, either lor Sie improvement of the liquid produced, or for the economy ot the matenals """Wme-raakmg has also its chemistry, tliough not to so notable an extent as the examples just adduced. Take the case of ordmaiy f «7' /«^;,»"«.X^^; The fine Spanish grapes are gatliered m September, when tully ripe , thcj are sorted, turned, and exposed to tlie sun for a couple of days; they au. placed in a shallow trough, and are jumped upon in an uncouUi manner .) men wearing wooden shoes. The bruised grapes are subjected to the action THE CIIEMISTllT OF MANUFACTDnES. 31 ^oino (listilloi-s employ ly t'mj)loy<'(l in larj^'er r, it is II question of place, to combine hia use ingrctlients, then, laccharine matter must :)tainecl. 'I'ho malt is all three arc mivshcd 'wort' that results is le grain becomes con- ic water is the object of n close stills; and the s out of the still in a t liy the vicinity of cold illy ptire (so to spc^ak) ured' in various niystt;- advance upon spirit, in ced. It may be made or from any which will but it goes one stage /arious sources ai'e em- 3 generally used by the IS. It would be a soro I, or the ' mountain -dew' hese buming liquids are ater part of the London rito grist; he extracts ort in a refrigerator ; he 3 liquor wash, while to a 3 transfers tlie gyle into tous fermentation which y remarkable, for it may 1 or by the fresh air of a it is gradually becoming eaving tlie licjuid ma.ny ch capital unproductive from the sugarcane, in le refining of this brown in tlie distillation of tlie ho recent improvements i enumerate tliem. The ered available, either for economy of the materials o so notable an extent as iiai-y sherry, for instance. )er, when fully ripe ; they couple of days ; they me in an uncoutli manner by ire subjected to the action of a wooden press, by which the miiM or juic^e is pressed out ; and this must, received into proper vessels, is allowed to ferment into wine. The great ])oint of difference between wine and the other fermented drinks is, that the former gains very greatly in (juulity by keeping ; the fermented juice contains many more substances tlian merely alcohol and sugar ; and these substances acriuire by age many attributes which tlio connoisseur knows well how to appreciate. Why ' fine old crusted port, twenty years in bottle,' is different from new port, vegetable chemistry must tell us. Wine-making is not a steam-engine process ; it is an old-fashioned operation of old-fkshioned coun- tries, and is but little subject to change or improvement. CuK.Mr(Ar, MlSCEt.LANIKS. We will group together a number of miscellaneous examples which present curious or novel aspects. The boracic acid lagoons of Tuscany afford a notable example of a dreary desolating natural phenomenon being made available to man's use by the aid of chomistrj'. In a mountainous district about twenty miles from Sienna there is a fearful region. Biu-e and bleak mountains are inmiersed in clouds of tliick biili)hurous vapour; boiling hot water bursts from tlie ground witli explosive noise, giving oft" abundance of smoke and vapour ; miniature erup- tions frequently occm- in the ground, producing dismal hollow reverberating noises ; the heat is close and suffocating; tlie suri'ace of tlie gromid is covered with much crystalline and efflorescent matter ; and there lu-e lagoons or ponds containing liquid of such a dread character that no living thing can bear immersion in it for an instant. The water of these lagoons has been found by modern cihemists to contain boracic acid ; and hence it becanie an object to try whether the useful substance borax could thence be obtained. The (piantity of the acid in tlie water is not large ; but it is known that tlie va- pours which curl about tlie mountains include boracic acid vapour ; and a happy mode has been suggested of making these vapours useful instead of deleterious to mankind. Artificial cavities are formed at vaiious heights in the movmtains, which become gi-adually filled with water by the mountain streams ; the hot vapours which burst from tlie ground, in tlic beds of these cavities, combine witli the water, and convert it into a kind of weak boracic acid ; and this acid, by concentration and crystallisation, produces borax. It is awful work, however: an accidental fall into one of the lagoons is almost certain death. Nothing can be more curious and instructive, in connection with manufac- tures, than the contrast between the sources whence chemical subsUmces are obtained, and the purposes to which tliose same substances are appropriated. Acids, alkalies, salts — all exhibit these contrasts. We have noticed many such examples ; let us glance at a lew more. Jjet tartaric acid he soi histmce. This acid is obtained from the 'tartar' (as it is familiarly called) which is deposited in wine-vats during fermentation, and which is subjected to melting and ciystallising and otlier processes to make it yield up the acid. Many thousand tons are procured annually from France, Spain. Italy, and other wine-producing countries; and when the beautiful acid crystals are derived by chemical aid from the tai-tar, they are employed in calico-printing, and in tlie preparation of lemonade and other cooling beverages. White wines and red wines yield two different kinds of tartar, similarly designated as white and red ; and according to the mode of M THK CHKMIBTBY OF MANUPAOTUBBB. I treatment, In tho man«fHCtori.>K n«ar UmAou, Hther cream of tarlar or tarUiru lid is nn,.lucea iV-.n, tl.. onuh- tH.t«r. A.u.ther ac.d, the cUrn; is obta.ne vai-i.-us crystHUising and othm; pr(>c«Hs,.« Oxttlio acid, iallic acM*=^^»'"';'»'; ';^ to lorui oxalic .f .1 ; lor this acid .onsists ..f nothmg but oxyg.'U caibon, au.l water The sorrel which school-boys ,.ick in tin, (i.'lds derives Us sourness fn.m th.^ presence of this acid. In niMUufaclur.is an.l varu.us process.'S it has so et ling of a bleaching acti..n ; for it is use.l by .Mihco-printers lor 'd^charglng- colours from ch.th ; an.l it is ,dso employe.l l..r whit.nmg boo t- topH. stmw bonnets, and ..ther articles. Gallic acid. an.UluT ut the tluee n,.ntione.l above. i« prepared from nut-galls; it t..rms a y,*^'^"^ "»ff;;;;f '" ,'" writing-ink. whi.'h in i.art owes its blmkness to this a.-id. ««"'■«'« '^^'^ pmduced from a gum or resin called benzo n-^.r. in more p..pula language^ he„jamin : it is tho juice of a tree growing m tropical climates, and has a very "^'Therl'n^^mry'oUier acids employed in manufactures or in medicine the sources of which are very remarkable. Thus the '^f'f'^'^'^/'Z-mZ arsenLius acid, is derived largely from the tm-mmes .d ^»"'^^" ' f;.*:' 'ft?' arsenic is combined with most ..res of tin. and m the process of loastm^ the on, tho arsenic is sepaiated in the form of arsenious a.'id «V' t,'"'*"'"L,.^ Nor are the salt« less wortln- of attention m respect to the souici^s whence they are obtained. These salts are generally compounds ..1 aci.ls with alkalies, earths, or metallic oxides. Take tho munate ..t amnumia or al-ammonia;. as an exampl... The first i,.fonnat,..n -^'^ ' '• -^^ ;* . ' ,' respecting this salt was that it came from Egypt, it is w.-H kii. wn tha U. . samly districts of that country aro very deficient in fuel ; tlie '" if f f J^ , to tai their ingenuity to find a substitute ; and one such «"»^«^» " « *" i", camels' dung, which gives a dull smoul.lering kind o fire, fhe bo<^t o 'Srcks- which rises ft-om this fuel is f.,und to contain much "'""ate « ammonia , and means aie n.lopte.l for .xtricatmg tins salt trom the soot 1 htne meanl as adopted by Uie Egyptians, aro singularly rude und primitiye. a .1 weie not likely to maintain ^-ound (so far as the supply ot Europe is con- m^ed) after chemist.^- made its recent gigtmtics- rides. Ammonm. m one or other of its ombhiations, is now known to be present in a «"";'^' «' animal substances, such as silk, hair, and wool-bone blood, and llesh--- hZ hoof, and claws; and the cai'cases of slaughteix^d animals suppy an abundance of such substances at a v-ery cheap rate, ^(.dem chennstxy s the most universal a,id tl.e most useful of all s.nu.3ngers; it «f ^^J* ™ from everv possible quarter, and extracts value and beauty from it. A Morses hoo™ or 2, L hom.ls quite a treasure to tire chemist ; he -iU utterly destroy it so far as fonn and component structure are concerned; but look at tie gliUering crystals, and the brilliant colours, and the uselu aci.ls ami salt^ ffichTe will obtain by the transformation. The gas-woi-ks, too, which are obliged to use liquids to wash and purify the gas, would be burthened with an niR rHKMIHTRY OF MANUPAOTHRKfl. ftB am of tartar or tartaric ihe citric, is obtained iicliuUnR mmio nearly (!0iU!cmtmU!(l juice of 10, and all iiro obtiiinod [e to thoso unfttiniliur ■i-j'stjdlino in ionn and lit'tcr''\« " ^ l\,\^,,xto of potiwh as hy thction. All the n.atchos have ♦'I J". ! V^^^^^ L splintn oL ingredient in the compos.t.on wr^ win i ^W ^ '1 P ^j^^,^^ ^.^,,,i„g ^^ or matches themselves ^^« J'^ . ^iif^l'^ .^amhJd a f.wyea.^ ago before Wood; 'v»d we may hero add. that a witness, tx^^^^^ J ^ Uiousand the Children's Employment ^.«'"""X Tn ' iL^^ ' o'/ meifer-boxes. He pom.ds' worth of Amencaix pme g^^y 'jJ^^^^X^^ oltlfaRliionoa UoiweH. it nhowy iitnl lul)()iir«'* <>» ^''« rn ct)iigr«!V*!— th») vt^ry WhetlK r tho conipo- unotlu'i- of tlie vaiioiis uite noi^^ily hko lucifurw erty oi ignition wimply )v chloruto of potiwh m tipped. Of the splints II the sheet reliiting to 1 ft few yi'-avs iigo before mt ho used a tliousand ig of lucifcr-boxes. He i8« were made every week ;hea, tlio voarly produce usand miUions. STEAM-POWER AND WATER-POWER. CoNHiDi'.RrNo that winds blow and streams run thoir course without man's agency, and witiiout requiring any labour of mind or body on liis part it might seem that wind-power and water-powcsr ow/ht to be more ethcient and economical tlian stoam-i)()wer. Yet our modern engineers and manufacturers do not act as if such were the case : they are building their steam-mills in substitution of tho old familiar windmills ; and even in the valleys of York- shire and Lancashire, where running streams have furnished tho motive power for water-wheels during many geneiations, steam-engines oi'e multi plying rapidly, and aie taking tho place of the older machines. The truth is, that " Wlien the wind blows, Then tho mill goes," — is not merely the assertion of a simple fact ; it contains witliin itself a virtual admission of something else, viz., tliat when the wind does not blow, then the second line will fail— uideed, anotlier couplet in tlie song propounds this impoi-tant trutli. Now mill-owners, in tlie present day, io not like to be dependent on a fickle or uncertain source of power ; tlie steam-engine is an obedient servant, which will work whore, when, and how its owner pleases — being nourished with proper steam-engine food ; and these advantages over- weigh those which might be supposed to render windmill-power cheaper than steam-power. Again, though a running stream will set in niotioii all the machinery of a large factoiy. yet a cessation to its flow, in seasons of drought, may throw all the economicaran-angements into confusion ; indeed, there are factories m the north in which it is found necessary to mak<; special agree- ments between mastors and men, as to wages being dependent on tlie conti- nued supply of water-power. It will probably ever remain true, however, that wind-power and water- power will have tlieir ranges of usefulness, let steam advance as it may : and that steam-power will continue to be a mighty available agent, even if Uie sanguine expectations of some inventors be realised concerning electro-motive power. It is of immense advantage to be able to do things in more ways than one ; since the best method is not tdways tlie most easily obtainable : and a> r other becomes temporarily the best if we have it at command when mop' anted. There is one particular stage in most of our machinery, in which a wheel — call it a * fly-wheel,' or by any otlier name — is made to rotate, and if tliis rotation be produced, the machinery wUl work throughout : the machine-owner has to determine whether a man's muscles, a current of wind, a How of water, or a boiler of steam, shall turn the wheel ; he may choose from all, for all are available in different degrees. L STEAM-POWER AND WATER-POWEB. The IfBiQUiTy of the Steam-Enoine. It will be scarcely necessary, considering the limited object of the present panel to say much concerning the mechanical detaUs ot the s eam-engnj^; but a'few words will suffice to^how the leading facts which disUnguish diffe- "mel^steSirSy required to press the pist ren^'/er faSS theTxtraoi-dina^'velocity with which our exF- « ^ i^^s^::^^:^^^^^ «« r/p^ge^r^ S£S mTa^sy of 60miles an hour is adopted midway l>etween some SfTe atiSis an^ in certain experimental trips 70 ™les an hour Wbeen reached. A speed of 70 miles an houv is about «q»i^«^«"t *" .'^•V^TJw' sSd or 85 vards between two beats of a common clock ; all obj^'^^f "«^ *]*; eye of a passenger .ravelling at this rate will pass by Ws eye ^ri the V^n^^y- fiKart of a second ; and if 36 stakes were erected at the side of the road, a vard asundei tJiey would not be distinguishable one from anoUier ; if pamted LjCv would a~ collectively as a continuous flash of red colour It Iwo^VainswUhthir speed passed each oUier, tiie relative velocity would be 70 vaXoS second! aiid if one of the tmins were 70 ya.-ds long, it would JUbv in a sSe second. Supposing the locomotive which draws such a S to hTve driving-wheels seveA feet in diameter, these wheels will revdve fivTtimesTn a second; the piston moves along the cylinder ten times na seconrthe valve mov^s and the steam escapes ten times m a sf o"*^ Bu LsTher; .ire two cylinders, which act alternately, there are really twenty pufe ^•escicio'flaSin ase;ond. The locomotive -n be heard to '^ ;-^n «,r.vinf^8lowlv the cough being occasioned by the abrupt emission ot waste rSm ff eh nneyfbut twenty coughs per second cannot be separated by t^Tai thdr inSualily becoming lost. Such a locomotive speed is equa to neilY one-fourth that of a cannon-ball; and the momentum of a whoe LrSv?n2 at such a speed would be nearly equivalent to the aggregate E 7 a numbed of clion-balls equal to ^ne-foui1h tl- weight of tiie tmin --that a ' smash ' should follow a ' collision.' is no subject for marvel, Ta train moving afsuch speed-ur anything like such speed-should meet "'SS tSylVneS^'in these days, to dwell at -y -f^-We lengtiriXe important services rendered to society by tiio rapid travellmg ■""^SB v^mmmm\ mmmmmmiiiimmm 3R. which have lately been 1 by all those interested omotive for light trains ; rater being only ten tons, lich he gives the fanciful purposes to that of Mr. d ponderous locomotive, y Company ; and another » tlie London and Nortli- on that line. The loco- ter, and '44 inches' stroke ; ^emotive weighs 32 tons, the steam is as high as of the boiler when at full 1 no other machines what^ ligh-class locomotive. But pted for the broad gauge ; rain weighing 190 tons, at nd tt^nder weigh 52 tons ; about 20 Ids. of coke per , or rather illustmtions, to li our express trains move, e rate of 43 miles an hour, t including stoppages ; to ited midway between some miles an hour have been equivalent to S5 yards per clock ; all objette near the 1 by his eye in the thirty- d at the side of the road, a e from another ; if painted IS flash of red colour. If relative velocity would be !re 70 yai-ds long, it would notive which draws such a 1% these wheels will revolve le cylinder ten times in a m times in a second. But lere are really twenty puffs 'x be heard to ' cough ' when e abrupt emission of waste and cannot be separated by a locomotive speed is ecplal Lhe momentum of a whole iquivalent to the aggregate j-fourth the weight of the X,' is no subject for marvel, e such speed— should meet 1 dwell at any consideroble liety by Uio rapid travelling HTBAM-POWEB AND WATBR-POWBB. 7 which tlie steam-engine has placed within our power ; . but wo will merely point to a few well-known facts, as so many dues which the reader may follow at his pleasure. In tlif! first place, Uien, cheap transport lowers the prices of all commodities in tho market, and thereby stimulates production. The expense of transport, with insurance for risk and interest for sunk capital, foi-ms a notable pait of the price of every ai-ticle; in some cases tliey constitute newly the whole coat, and eveiything which mcreases the speed without increasing tlie cost of tlie transport, or decreases the cost witliout decreasing tho speed, is so much clear gain to the commmiity. How tho steam-engine has wrought tliis benefit, in steam ships and on railways, the world well knows. Why are we able at tlie present time to purchase coals m London at a lower price than formerly? Is it not mainly by lessening the cost of transport? We can hardly realise in our own country, at the present day, the painful contriviUKses which alone can be adopted in countries ill supplied with transit-accommo- dation. Lot us draw an example from the beautiful Dnieper Bridge, now being consU-ucted by Mr. VignoUes at Kiefi', in Russia. It is the largest sus- pension bridge in tlio world ; and ;(.')( 10 tons of iron-work intended for it have freighted sixteen ships from Liverpool to Odessa. At tliat point begim Uui (litticulties of transit. All tliis jjonderous mass of iron-work had to bo ti-ansported in rough carts, dmwn by bullocks, from Odessa to Kieff, a distiuice of four hundred miles. The granite for the roadway, too, hatl to be brought from a distance of a lumdred miles through a comitry destitute of roads. The value of many nnimal and vegetable products depends greatly on their qiikk transmission to the hands of the consumer; such as farm produce, garden produce, daiiy produce, and fish. Tho changes which the steam- engine have brought about in tliis respect are most remarkable. Live sto(!k is killed in the grazing counties, and the dead meat is sent up (say) to London, sweet and good — thereby saving the expense of transporting tlie entire animal. liabbits are sent to us from Ostend, ready skinned, and are sold to die consumers before there has been time for deterioration. Milk is now regularly brought to liondon every morning by railway, from open liealthy districts where cows can be kept more cheaply Uian in London. Fresh fish now reach the busy inland towns, where they were before almost unknown. Many kinds of foreign fruit are now sold cheaply among us, simply because the Southampton steamers afford fiicilities for rapid ti-ansport. We know, also, diat cheap and quick ti-Misport tends to equalise prices, and to bring about justice between the producer and the consumer. An article of gn»wth or of natural produce may, at or near the place of its production, be not merely very low priced, but it may be not required at all ; whereas it would be highly «>cceptable in a far distant region if quickly and cheaply transported thither. All the above adviuitf^es relate to commodUm ; those relating to pastenffera have an interest peculiar to themselves. Every industrious man's time is equivalent to money; quick travelling, by economising time, economises wealth. Cheap and quick travelling is an important element in the industrial proceedings of the operative classes; for, if local circumstances create a demand for labour in a particular spot at a particular time, tliere may be an opening for operatives living in a district already (jierhaps) overstocked. There is reason to believe that this transfer of labour from place to place is rapidly spreading in England, owing to tlie increased facilities for travelling. The wool-combers of Leicester go to Bradford in Yorkshire, in considerable 8 STEAM-rOWKR AND WATEn-in)\Vl! U. h I numbers, aniuially ; tlie brisk demand for combed wool occurs at (liftereut l)eriods in the year, at the two phices ; and cheap traveUing has induced till) men to adapt themselves to variation in the demand for labour. This makes a man practically a political economist, whether he be awaro of it or not. The intellectual labourer, too, is in many respects a more efficient agent than in bygone times ; the steam-engine has doubled his working power. Take the case of a lecturer. We con rai-ely take up the Twies newspaper witaout meeting with advertisements announcing that a certain lecturer will lecture at (say) Livei-pool on Monday, at Manchester on Tuesday, at Leeds on Wednesday, at Sheffield on Thursday, and so on : the distance between the towns being now no bar to tlie easy triuisference of his services from one to another on tlie morning of each day. Of that truly great wonder, a modem daily newspaper, it is scai'cely necessarj- to speak in relation to the advantages of quick travelling. It is steam that tells us what Bombay is doing in a month aftfir the events recorded ; it is steam that gives us New York news in twelve days, and Pans news in twelve hours ; it is steam that gives Edinburgh a London newspaper on the day of publication. Miscellanies of Steam. There aio many minor aspects in which steam and steam-power present tliemselves to our notice. Not the least curious is that often observable in Birmingham and other towis, where steam-power is let or hired out, by one person who has more than he requires, to another who wants a little, but can- not atford to buy a stdom-engine. A belt or a cog-wheel will effect such a transfer. . , „ The steam travelling crane, patented by Messrs. M'Nicholl and Vernon, ol Liverpool, illusti-ates at once tlie ii/tiiKj and locomotive application of steam- power. It is mtended for hfting and removing heavy weights at the goods depot of railways, in timber yards, in foundries and otlier manufactories, and for loading and discharging the cargoes of vessels. The crane, besides hoist- ing a load, may be moved backward and forwaid, and also to the right and left ; and its activity is such that it will perform all three movements at once. The loail is suspended from a kind of low four-wheeled cai-riage ; this can-iage moves along a platform ; the platfoiTO itself moves in a transverse direction ; and all these movements tu-e communicated by a stationary steam-engine. There ai-e cranes on this principle which command an area26« feet long, by 5a wide ; that is, the crane can lift a load from any pai-tof this area, and deposit it at any other part, by a combination of its remarkable tliree-fold movements. It is said that one of tliese cranes, on one occasion, removed 13 logs of timber, contaming 1050 cubic feet, andweigliing 19^ tons, a distance of 100 feet (one log at a time), and piled them, in a7i minutes, at an expense in wages of only threepence; Uie machine travelled iiOOO feet (about half a mile), and made -40 stoppages in the time named, with an average load of 30 cwt. for hall the dis- tance. This illustration shows how nearly the machine is automatic, the steam-engine rendering manual aid almost unnecessary. There have been recently many applications of steam in what is called a 'surcharged' state— that is, heated beyond tlie ordinary temperature— to manufacturing purposes. So long as steam remauis in contact with the water which produced it, it can only have the temperature of that water ; but if sepa- mted into another vessel, it may be heated to any degree that the vessel wUl bear, and it then possesses remarkable drying or baking qualities. M. '"^fm .■.f^rmaa^amsc^ j R. kvool occurs at (litVorent travelling has induced ■nmnd for labour. This ler he be aware of it or Ets a more efficient agent lis working power. Take TiiMs newspaper witiiout in lecturer will lecture at , at Leeds on Wednesday, veen tlie towns being now I one to another on tlie modem daily newspaper, iitages of quick travelling, a montli after the events n twelve days, and Paris rgh a London newspaper md steam-power present i that often observable in s let or hired oiU, by one 10 wants a little, but can- -wheel will effect such a VI'NichoU and Vernon, of )tive application of steam- avy weights at the goods other manufactories, and The crane, besides hoist- ind also to the right and three movements at once, ed cai-riage ; this can-iage in a transverse direction ; stationary steam-engine, m area26t) feet long, by 5>i of this ai-ea, and deposit it tlu-ee-fold movements. It moved 13 logs of timber, I distance of 100 feet (one 1 expense in wages of only lalf a mile), and made "^0 of 30 cwt. for half the dis- lachitj i3 automatic, the sary. steanx in what is called a ordinary temperature — to 3 in contact with the water of that water ; but if sepa- degree that the vessel will n- baking qualities. M. STEAM-rOWEB AND WATEIl-POWEB. 9 Violette read before the Academic des Sciences, a few years ago, a memoir on such applications. Steam is produced from an ordinaiy boiler, and thence passes through a coil of tube, where it is exposed to a higher heat ; it is then sufficient to convert wood into charcoal, the charcoal having different degrees of blackness or carbonization, according to the temperature imparled to the steam. A command is obtained of a range of temperatures vailing from tiW to nearly 1000° F. ; and the steam thus heated is applied to many uses. Steam at 39--i° will bake bread and biscuit; it will extract wood-vinegar (l)yroligneous acid) ; and is very efficient in seasoning timber. In this, as in many modern inventions, over-sanguine persons tliink they have found a new source of power. Highly-heated steam is more elastic, or exerts more pres- sure, than ordinaiy steam ; and hence it has been urged that we niay have almost any amount of power we please, by heatuig the steam sufficiently. But power must be given for power gained ; fuel must be consumed for evei-y increase of temperature in the steam ; and it is not till after tiie quan- * tity of this fuel is ascertained, together witii that which originally produced tiie steam from the water, tiiat the experimenters will be at all in a position to pronounce oh the economical merits of this surcharged steam. Steam is tlireatened by electricity, which bids fair to be a formidable com- petitor in some at least of our numerous engineering and manufacturing exploits ; and coal itself is placed upon its trial by a new aspirant to public favour. Jumping to a conclusion fi-om insufficient data, some journalists begin at once to read a funeral oration over coal — its occupation 's gone ; tiio pits are to be desei-ted ; the colliers are to take their swartiiy persons else- where ; the coal-owners are to bo banki-upt ; the coal-ships are to find employ- ment in other kinds of traffic ; tiie housemaid's jubilee is to commence by the absence of dust and ashes in the grates ; her Majesty's fresh air is to be un- polluted by smoke and soot, and her Majesty's subjects are to reap the benefit thereof in their lungs and on their clean garments ; and, as an agi;eeable wmding up to tiie whole, a gi-eat economy of money imd money's wortii is to be effected. All this is to spring out of the employment of the polytechnic Jire — a peculiar mode of applying gas to platinum, whereby the latter metal becomes heated to a red or a white heat, giving out much warmtii witiiout imdergoing much combus- tion or waste. That a platinum fire may be produced, chemists well know ; tiiat it may be susceptible of advantageous application, is very probable ; but a carefully prepared balance-sheet, a debtor and creditor account — foiuided, too, on long experience — will alone show what is the actual expense at which a given amount of heat can be thus produced. All this relates rather to coal tiian to the steam produced by coal ; but if the project be sound, steam-power will be affected when coal is affected. We have not yet arrived at the day when steam can be bottied up like water or gas, and carried from place to place ; but we have reached that degree of skill by which steam can be made at one place and used at a place a furlong or more distant from it. Witness the Hyde Park arrangements, so instruc- tive in this as in many othjr matters. Beyond the western extremity of the building was an engine-house, whore steam was raised by a judicious an-ange- inent of furnaces and boilers. This steam was conveyed underground to tiie ' machinery in motion ' department, the east end of which must have been at least a sixth of a mile from the engine-house. If tiiis steam had fallen in temperature, it would have become water— one cubic foot would suddenly have conti-acted its dimensions to one cubic inch, and tiie moving power would have been lost. How, then, was this disaster prevented? The pipes R 3 t 'T- jp gTBAK-rOWKtt AND WATBH-POWEB. LS!rm;tSJo?of Sawann and closelyfUting ga.nueut to then- H«3um ^' There are many recent contrivances and prooe^seH in ^hich it « not easy to Say Xthrstc!;.m.power. water-power, or ^iri-wer mo,t prevailB : two «^t of To three, or sometimes aU three, be.ng conjomed m ^''^'■^J^'^yXlt al«nnl«R in which two or three kinds of action arc reqmred at once, au the m- mmmmm 'Ti're"^« Slrproduced by an air-pump has, m . renrntaWe >™y. !««. Another gutta-percha tube, f^^^^^^^^ tu^ZnmT t few grabis of OTKAM-POWEB AMD WATEfrPOWBB. 11 loUied with thick hair- nviw; thuH was lii^li- (•mpted. Tho Covaiiih re purticularly sedulows arment to their sieiun in which it is not easy • most i)revailsi ; two out d in tliera. They aro ■equired at once, auil it power. Machmes of a Iter page ; two or three dges or otlier worka in diile it is not strictly jompriso some of tho piles into tiio bed of a U>n\i a foti'er-dani, tlio ding ; and whether it is by many men pulling at ,' it requires tlie erection ! Hence Dr, Potts was beneath tlie pile, inst^iul IS question led to the in- auch used by our great the sandy bed of a river, uid is brought over Uie ipt an openuig for a tube iiwn out of tlie cylinder, Imder descends into tho 11 a railway bridge lately »n feet in diameter ; but [y soil, where they form e now being consti-ucted «n sunk by this method rises forty or fifty feet at enabled the engineer to , by the combined aid of m a reroaikable way, been n raming operations. Tho ent in a position to use its ilaced ua its proper cleft in ards from the gunpowder. containuig sulphuric acid, ice requisite for tho safety r-pump. A few grains of laced upon the top of tlie pevation. The au-purop is ng tube to tho vessel ; Uns syphon tube, and brings it ; a chemical action results. which inntanUy produces an explosion ol the gunpowder Thoro is son etlung very ingenious in Uiis armngement, which is due to Mr. Taylor, ol Dublin, he caUs it a •piwumatic buttery.' imd his object has been to produce a sub- Htitute for U.o more costly and delicate galvanic blasting m ordinaiy mining or qunnyij.a. ll is not dillicult to «<«« that air-power, water-power, or st^jam- power, may be made to produce, analogous results by a htting arrangement ot mechanisin; provided a few drops of sulphuri.; acid be made \a lull upon Uio i.owdere.l mixture, Uio explosion will take place ; and many htUe contrivances Jnight bring abo.it this ivsult. The power-air. waUa-. or st4,'am-set« som- thifin in motion which causes contact between the acid and the powder, chemisU-y etlects tlie rrst. -• r .1 „ •„„ „«• Messrs. Moilon's 'patent slip' is an insti-uctive proot of tho sayng ot expense which stoam-power. appli.^d hi .ud of uigcnious hydmidic rnachineiy. may effect l. . shipowners. When a ship is out of repair, sh.^ must bo removed wholly out of tlie wat^-r, as th.>. only m.mns for enablmg the artihcers U> gain a.!ce8S to evei:y part. It is for this purp..se that J, ./-,/o./v« are constructed m our royal dockyards, at an enormous expense. Messi-s. Moiton, oi Ldinburgh. some years .igo. -onstructed a ' slip,' or sloping platform, up which a ship cm be dmwn widi u:h ease for puqioses of repair. One of these shps can be constructed ut -eighth of the expense of a diy-dock ol ecjual size, llio Mediterranean t-.i-ts have long been accustomed to the use o «hP« »"» repau'ing vessels; but Uie operation was so excessively slow and laborious tliat the hauling up of a ship of 500 tons is said Ui have involved an expense ot no/ • wheroiis Mortons slip has reduced the expense to a mere tritlc. A steam-engine exerting o.Kvhorse power tor eveiy 100 tons, and acting upon a column of water hi a tube, will draw a ship along or up the Morton slip at the rate of two feet and a half in a minute. CRNTRlFtKiAr. PuMPS KVV HvDBAnUO PuESSFS. But it is tune now to turn our attention to the novelties and curiosities which modem ingenuity has presented to us in water-power and watei-- processes of many kinds. Abmidant proofs have rocentij' been .ifforded tha steam agency h.ui not yet eclipsed hydraulic agency in engineering and manufacturing operations. . , ./. 1 Great attention lias lately been paid to those curious centrifugal pumps which mise water by the revolution, m that water, ol a sniaU wheel, producing a result very much greater Uian would by most persons bo expected. Iheso centrifugal pumps, whether we take Mr. Appolds or Mr. Bessemer s fonn o the apparatus, ai^o exceedingly beautiful in pruiciple. It may appeal- a descent from a great result to a very hmnble one, to appeal to tlie ' ti-undlmg ol a mop as an illustmtion of this centrifugal aetion; but it is reaUy one of the best tiiat can be adopted. The wet mop, set into rapid rotiition gives a centrifugal tendency to Uie water entangled among Uie hbres, and tins water flies off with considemble force. If tho mop, by other mther than manual power, were made to rotate yet more x-apidly, the water wouhi dart off violently If the handle of the mop were a hollow tube connected witli a water tank, it the mop-head were a flat circular box, and if the porous fibres were repre- sented by channels proceedmg from Uie cenU-e to orihces at Uie circum erence of the box, we should have a mde representation ot Mr. Bessemer scentiihigal Dump. Water gams admission to the centre of a rapidly-ieyolvmg box ; channels convey Uio water from Uie centoe towards the cucumfcreuce ; and 1 msmf^^"^-' I'i STEAM-roWEB AND WATEB-POWER. the water ia driven tlionco up a vortical tube loft open for its reception ; the height to which, or tlie force witli which, the water is so driven being wliolly dependent on Uie centrifugal torco which drives it from Uie cenU-e to tiw cir- cumference of the box. in Bessemer's machine the axis of the box, disc, or drum is vertical ; in Appold's it is horizontal ; but the principle of action is nearly the same in the two cases. As compared with ordinary pumps, these centrifugal macihines are best adapted to the njovement of a great body of water to a small height, whereas valve-pumps are better fitted for forcing water to a gi eat height ratlier than in large quantity. Mr. Appold's pump raises a remarkably large body of water witli a com- paratively small i)ower. Witli a hollow cylinder, la inchea in diameter by ;j inches deep, to which a rotation of 000 times in a miimte is given by a steam- engine, this little machine can raise 1800 gallons of water per minute te a heiglit of 10 feet. The cyUnder Itself holds very little more than one gallon ; and yet such is tlie lV)rce generated by the rapidity of revolution, that eighteen hundred gallons pass through the cyluider in the short space of a minute. On one occasion (to test the simplicity of the machine) half a gallon of widnuts were put into tlie cyUnder ; tliey were driven out without injury to tliemselves or to tlie cylinder — tliere being no valves of any kind in tlie latter. A cylinder one foot in diameter has been matle to drive wate'r to a height of nearly seventy feet. In November, lHr»l, one of tlieso pumps was set to work to assist in draining Whittlesea Mere. The cylinder was four feet and a half hi (i times in a miniUi ; and tlie whole of the molasses luid water are driven violently and i|uickly out of tlie mass, leaving the sugai- in a nearly dry and pure state. M. Van Cloethem, a Belgiiui sugai- refiner, has invented a surprising machine, in which fifty sugar-loaves aio rangisd radially in a kind of horizontal wheel, imd then the whole made to revolve with a speed of eight hundred revolutions in a minute. The proper liquid is applied by a beautiful contrivance; ; and in about twenty minutes tlie whole of tlie fifty loaves of sugar are found to be not only freed from molasses, but rendered almost completely diy. Many days would be required to effect tliis by the old method. Another, and u very pleasuig application of this force, is that adopted by Mr. Masters in making ice for confectionery purposes. One apparatus, of a large size, is capable of freezing upwards of one hundred cpiarts of liquid into ice in a quarter of an hour — six different kinds of ice being producible in the one machine, at one time. Not only can the machine make dessert ices, such as raspberry ice, lemon ice, &c., but it can as readily produce huge hollow cylindrical blocks of pure ice, into the liolh)W of which may be placed decanters of water or bottles of wine to bo cooled. Some of these ice- cylindoi-s are made in ornamental forms ; and when placed on a properly- constructed stand, tliey diffuse an agreeable coolness hi a heated room. This ice-making process, however, is in piu-t chemical. Many salts and acids, when mixed, produce an intense degree of cold in the sun-ounding space. Mr. Masters has discovered a mixture which produces this reduction of temperature to a very exti-aordinary degree. The confectionery or liquid which is converted into ice is placed in a vessel of white metal, around which is the space filled witli the freezing n.ixture ; and around tliis agaui is another space filled with pure spring water. Of these three cylinders, the innennost is made to revolve witli gi-eat rapidity, by which the freezing mixture acts quickly on the cream or liquor, and ices it ; while at tlie same time the s_priiig water is converted into a cylinder of beautiful ice. The centrifugal action of the inner cylinder drives tlie confection forcibly against the sides, where it can be more readily acted upon by the freezing mixture outside that cylinder. The applications of tliese centrifugal machines in miumfactures ai-e no' now so a»jW»Pi?eR7ei3Wis?ifciri| It dTPIAM-IHtWKB AND WATKR-WWRIl. WUMWm md varied, that we may reai»onabl> cxpunt to 8<>o many intoroHtiiiK *nKdtt|>»t«itey tli'Mii. , , , . u. . AnotluT i of hyilmulic. miuliiiios, whii!li 1ms liitfly lipon brought to a hiffh a from the iiiiinn of itn Kor prodiuMiij^nHlow cqiialUtd Umh, whotiuu- (> Uicru cniployod mucH iiiiUn pnmn ; ibr novnr 1 tt ])reHs wiiH r