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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION, ART, SCIENCE, MECHANICS, CHEMISTRY, AND MANUFACTURES. 

NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 24, 1877. 

Vol. XXXVI. --No. 8. [NEW SERIES. ]

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VOL. XXXVI. , No. 8. [NEW SERIES. ] _Thirty-second Year_. NEW YORK, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1877. 

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CONTENTS. 

(Illustrated articles are marked with an asterisk. )

 Academy of Sciences, New York. 117 Answers to correspondents. 123 Arts, lost, in New York. 113 Augers and drills (16). 123 Bain, Alexander. 121 Blue glass deception, the. 113 Blue glass science. 121 Boilers for small engines (2, 14). 123 Business and personal. 123 Caffeone. 114 Chromate of lime, acid (18). 123 Circle problem, the three (8). 123 Clock collector, a. 119 Coal, burning small (19). 123 Cremation temple, proposed*. 119 Dark days (11). 123 Dates and the date palm*. 111 Diseases, infections. 121 Dyeing process, a cold (9). 123 Engines for boats (12). 123 Floors, filling for hardwood (6). 123 Friction at rest (15). 123 Frost plant of Russia, the*. 116 Glass making, toughened. 121 Greenhouses, tar paint in (3). 123 Harness cockeye, improved*. 118 Heating ranges (17). 123 Heating rooms (7). 123 Hemi-plunger, the. * 115 Hens, Leghorn. 114 Ink, purple marking. 117 Iron trade in England. 117 Laboratory manipulations. 117 Lathe chuck. * 118 Lathe, screw-cutting. * 118 Lead, sea water and. 119 Moneyed men. 122 Mortar, black (10). 123 New books and publications. 122 Ornaments in winter, natural. 118 Papin's steam engine. * 120 Patent decision, a. 115 Patent matters in Washington. 116 Patent office annual report. 117 Patents, American and foreign. 122 Patents, official list of. 124 Planing mill machinery. 115 Posterity, for--a suggestion. 112 Railroad, the Wetli mountain. * 114 Rock sections for microscopy. 117 Roofs, leaky slate (1). 123 Rose bushes, soot for. 119 Salicylic acid for the feet. 115 Sawdust in rough casting. 114 Seed-distributing panthers. 111 Self-reliance and success. 121 Snow a fertilizer. 119 Something to do. 121 Spectroscope prisms (11). 123 Steam engine, Papin's. 120 Steam engine, the Brown. 120 Suicide statistics. 116 Telegraph, the speaking. 120 Trolling hook, improved*. 114 Watch, position of a (13). 123 Waterproofing, suint for. 114 White color in animals. 114 Wire, crossing a river on a. 121 Wool, purifying. 114 Zinc roofs (4). 123

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TABLE OF CONTENTS OFTHE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 60, For the Week ending February 24, 1877. 

I. ENGINEERING AND MECHANICS. --Artificial Production of Ice by SteamPower--The American Roller Skate Rink, Paris, 1 engraving. --The LittleBasses Light House, 4 figures. --The Souter Point Electric Light. --Onthe Minute Measurements of Modern Science, by ALFRED MAYER. --Method ofMeasuring by Means of the Micrometer Screw furnished with the ContactLevel; Method of Electric Contact Applied to Measurements with theMicrometer Screw, 2 engravings. --Abstracts from Report of the BostonSociety of Civil Engineers on the Metric System. --New Turret Musicaland Chiming Clock for the Bombay University, with 1 page ofengravings. --Water Gas and its advantages, by GEO. S. DWIGHT. --BratticeCloths in Mines. --Eight Horse Power Portable Steam Engine, withdimensions, particulars, and 1 page of engravings. --Clyde ShipBuilding and Marine Engineering in 1876. --Four Masted Ships. --NewBridges at and near New York city. --The Sutro Tunnel. --Independent CarWheels. --Passenger Travel, New York city. 

II. --TECHNOLOGY. --Design for Iron Stairway, and Iron Grilles, with 3engravings. --The Process of Micro-photography used in the Army MedicalDepartment. --Direct Positives for Enlarging. --A MonsterBarometer. --Architectural Science, Carpentry Queries and Replies. --TheCarpet Manufactures of Philadelphia. How the Centre Selvage is Formed, 3 figures. --Glass of the Ancients. --On the Preservation of Meat; aresume of the various methods now practiced. --CaliforniaPisciculture. --Savelle's System of Distillation, 2 engravings. --NewBromine Still, by W. ARVINE, 1 engraving. --The Phoenix Steam Brewery, New York. --French Cognac Distillation, 1 engraving. --Schwartz's SugarRefinery, London. General description of the establishment. --ViennaBread and Coffee. --How Pictorial Crystals are Produced and Exhibited. 

III. LESSONS IN MECHANICAL DRAWING. New Series. By Professor C. W. MACCORD; with several engravings. 

IV. ELECTRICITY, LIGHT, HEAT, SOUND, ETC. --Magnetic Action of RotatoryConductors. --The Sensation of Sound. --Sympathetic Vibration ofPendulums. --Protection from Lightning. --Musical Tones, photograph of. 

V. MEDICINE, HYGIENE, ETC. --On the Treatment of Typhoid Fevers. ByALFRED L. LOOMIS, M. D. --Hydrophobia Cured by Oxygen. --The efficacy ofLymph, by M. HILLER. --Success of Chloral Hydrate for Scalds andBurns. --Uses of Cyanide of Zinc. --Dr. Brown-Sequard on Nerve Disease. 

VI. MISCELLANEOUS. --Geological Notes. --A Geological Congress. --Thelast Polar Expedition. --Old Men of Science. --Pre-glacialMen. --Post-glacial period, Esthonia. --Northern Pacific Formations. 

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NOW READY. --The SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT for 1876. Complete intwo large volumes. Over 800 quarto pages; over 2, 000 engravings. Embracing History of the Centennial Exhibition. New IllustratedInstructions in Mechanical Drawing. Many valuable papers, etc. Pricefive dollars for the two volumes, stitched in paper; or six dollarsand fifty cents, handsomely bound in stiff covers. Remit by postalorder. Address

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DATES AND THE DATE PALM. 

Even those whose knowledge of the customs of the Orient extends nofurther than a recollection of the contents of that time-honored storybook, the "Arabian Nights, " are doubtless aware that, since timeimmemorial, the date has been the chief food staple of thedesert-dwellers of the East. The "handful of dates and gourd of water"form the typical meal and daily sustenance of millions of human beingsboth in Arabia and in North Africa, and to this meager dietethnologists have ascribed many of the peculiar characteristics of thepeople who live upon it. Buckle, who finds in the constant consumptionof rice among the Hindoos a reason for the inclination to theprodigious and grotesque, the depression of spirits, and the wearinessof life manifest in that nation, likewise considers that the morbidtemperament of the Arab is a sequence of vegetarianism. He points outthat rice contains an unusual amount of starch, namely, between 83 and85 per cent; and that dates possess precisely the same nutritioussubstances as rice does, with the single difference that the starch isalready converted into sugar. To live, therefore, on such food is notto satisfy hunger; and hunger, like all other cravings, even ifpartially satisfied, exercises control over the imagination. "Thisbiological fact, " says Peschel, "was and still is the origin of therigid fastings prescribed by religions so widely different, which aremade use of by Shamans in every quarter of the world when they wish toenter into communication with invisible powers. " Peschel and Buckle, however, are at variance as to the influence of the date diet asaffecting a race; and the former remarks that, "while no one will denythat the nature of the food reacts upon the mental powers of man, thetemperament evoked by different sorts is different;" yet "we are stillfar from having ascertained anything in regard to the permanenteffects of daily food, especially as the human stomach has, to a greatdegree, the power of accommodating itself to various food substances, so that with use even narcotics lose much of their effect. " The sameauthor also adds that the date "trains up independent and warlikedesert tribes, which have not the most remote mental relationship tothe rice-eating Hindoos. "

It remains for the reader to reconcile this disagreement of learneddoctors according to his own judgment. The evidence of those whosubsist on the date is certainly overwhelming in its favor. TheAssyrians, tradition says, asserted that it was such a great gift tothem that its worth could not be too extravagantly told; for they hadfound, for the leaves, the fruit, the juices, and the wood of thetree, three hundred and sixty different uses. The Mohammedans adoptthe date palm into their religion as an emblem of uprightness, and saythat it miraculously sprang into existence, fully grown, at thecommand of the Prophet. Palm branches still enter as symbols ofrejoicing into Christian religious ceremonies; and throughoutPalestine constant reference is found to the date and the palm in thenaming of towns. Bethany means "a house of dates. " Ancient Palmyra wasa "city of palms, " and the Hebrew female name Tamar is derived fromthe word in that language signifying palm. In Africa there is animmense tract of land between Barbary and the great desert namedBilidulgerid, "the land of dates, " from the profusion of the treesthere growing. 

[Illustration: GATHERING DATES IN CEYLON. ]

In this country, the date as an article of food is classed with theprune, the fig, and the tamarind, to be used merely as a luxury. Wefind it coming to the markets at just about this time of year in thegreatest quantities, packed in baskets roughly made from dried palmleaves. The dates, gathered while ripe and soft, are forced into thesereceptacles until almost a pasty mass, often not over clean, isformed. Their natural sugar tends to preserve them; but after longkeeping they become dry and hard. This renders them unfit for use; butthey still find a sale to the itinerant vendors who, after steamingthem to render them soft (of course at the expense of the flavor), hawk them about the streets. Dates in the pasty condition are notrelished by those who live on them; nor, on the other hand, would weprobably fancy the dried, almost tasteless fruit which, strung on longstraws, is carried in bunches by the Arabs in their pouches. 

The date palm (_phoenix dactylifera_) is the most important speciesof the dozen which make up its genus. Though slow in growth, itshoots up a magnificent stem, to the height sometimes of eighty feet, the summit of which is covered with a graceful crown of pinnatedleaves. The trunk is exceedingly rough and spiny; the flower spathes, which appear in the axils of the leaves, are woody, and containbranched spadices with many flowers; more than 11, 000 have beencounted on a single male spadix. As the flowers are dioecious, it isnecessary to impregnate the female blossoms artificially in order toinsure a good crop; and to this end the male spadices are cut off whenthe pollen is ripe and carefully shaken over the female ones. At fromsix to ten years of age, the tree bears, and then remains fruitful forupward of 200 years. An excellent idea of the palm in full bearing maybe obtained from our illustration, which represents the mode ofgathering the dates, of which a single tree will often yield from oneto four hundredweight in a season. The fruit varies much in size andquality; and in the oases of the Sahara forty-six varieties have beennamed. 

The utilizations of the date palm and its products are very numerous. The stem yields starch, and timber for houses, boats, fences, fuel, etc. , as well as an inferior kind of sago. The leaves serve asparasols and umbrellas, and for material for roof covering, baskets, brushes, mats, and innumerable utensils. At their base is a fiber, which is spun into excellent rope. When the heart of the leaf is cut, a thick honey-like juice exudes, which, by fermentation, becomes wine(the "toddy" of India), or vinegar, and is also boiled down intosugar. The young shoots, when cooked, resemble asparagus; and thedates themselves are dried and ground into meal, from which bread isprepared. 

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PANTHERS AS SEED DISTRIBUTORS. 

It is well known that bees carry pollen from flower to flower, andthat eggs of marine animals are often carried long distances in thestomachs of aquatic birds. A very curious instance of this kind, showing how vegetable species may be diffused by means which nobotanist, however acute, would be likely to think of, is mentioned byMr. Alfred Smee, who states that, attached to the skin of a pantherrecently shot in India, were found numerous seeds, each of which hadtwo perfect hooks, manifestly designed to attach themselves to foreignbodies. As the panther moved about it collected the seeds on the skinand carried them about wherever it went; but when it rubbed againstthe shrubs, it of necessity brushed some off, and thus distributedthem. One of the seeds produced a handsome plant, and beautifulclusters of tubular flowers. It was immediately recognized to be the_Martynia diandra_--a plant which, although introduced into England asfar back as 1731, has scarcely ever been cultivated, although it hasbeen commented on by botanists and other writers. 

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FOR POSTERITY--A SUGGESTION. 

The Irish gentleman who declined to aid an enterprise for the benefitof posterity, remarking that posterity had never done anything forhim, was, after all the sport made of him, no unfair representative ofthe bulk of mankind. There is talk enough about doing great things forthe advantage of future ages, but the real motive is apt to besomething very different. To perpetuate their own name or fame, men ornations often set up lasting monuments, and sometimes unintentionallyconvey thereby to after times a few more or less instructiveindications of the artistic or industrial skill of their day andgeneration. To further their own immediate ends, or to secure somebenefit to their immediate descendants, men frequently undertake greatmaterial enterprises, and sometimes the work so done remains for agesthe source of perennial good. But very rarely, if ever, can it be saidthat any work of man was undertaken solely, or even chiefly, for thebenefit of posterity--more rarely still, for remote posterity. 

Hence it happens that we owe far more to accident, to fire, rapine, volcanic outbursts, and the protecting care of desolation, for theknowledge we have of times long past, than to any intentional legaciesof art or learning left us by the men of those times. The lost andabandoned tools, weapons, and ornaments of the stone age are all thatwe have to tell us of the childhood of humanity. Had no fierydisasters ever overtaken the pile-dwellers of the Swiss lakes, weshould probably have never heard of such a people. 

To the mud and ashes of Vesuvius, rather than to the historians of theRoman Empire, we owe the best of our knowledge of how Roman citieslooked and Roman citizens lived eighteen hundred years ago. In thefragments of a _terra cotta_ library, buried in the ruins of a royalpalace, we find almost our only records of the arts and sciences ofancient Assyria. Under the ash heaps of a forgotten age, in Cyprus, Cesnola finds the only known vestiges of a primitive civilization, reaching far back into the domain of mythology. Thanks to thedestroyers of Troy and Mycenæ, and the protective care of temporaryoblivion, Schliemann is now able to verify tradition and lay before anastonished and delighted world numerous precious relics of heroic ageshitherto remembered only in song. 

Who can estimate the value of these and similar findings to us--thevalue of the revelations they bring of man's condition in those remoteages? Who can say how many or how few the ages will be ere the timecomes when the antiquaries of the future will be rejoicing overequally fragmentary vestiges of the doings and possessions of our day?

On the other hand, who can estimate the value of the knowledge lostbeyond hope of recovery, or the checks to human progress experienced, in the repeated wiping out, so to speak, of the higher races and thecivilizations they embodied? And who can say that similar disastersmay not come again and again to humanity?

Suppose a pestilence peculiarly fatal to the white race should fallupon the world to-day, crippling, perhaps exterminating, the nowdominant civilized nations; how long would the material elements ofour science and art or general culture remain with power to enlightenthe barbarous tribes that would inherit the earth? Human progress hasmore than once been set back for centuries by such natural orunnatural causes, leaving the sites of once splendid civilizations tobe overrun with barbaric hordes knowing nothing of the better timesthat went before. 

Suppose, again, that, by one of those geologic changes so numerous inthe history of our unstable globe, the existing continents should sinka thousand feet. Every center of modern civilization would besubmerged. The great social and political organizations of humanitywould be broken up, and in the wreck of nations that would ensue verylittle of the glory and culture of the race could survive. The earthis dotted with vestiges of lost and forgotten empires. Can wereasonably assume, in the face of such facts, that the nations ofto-day are immortal?

The question is: Shall we continue to trust to chance, as all othercivilizations have, for the preservation of the conquests we have madeamong the forces and secrets of nature; or shall we do somethingpositive for posterity, and leave the ages to come some certain andabiding legacy of our treasures of art and learning?

It may be that human progress will go on and on to the end of timewithout a break; that in the course of centuries mankind will surpassus in civilization, knowledge and power, as much as we surpass theearliest and rudest men we have yet found traces of: maybe infinitelymore. 

In such a case, what would not the scholars of, say the year 5000A. D. , or any other future age, be willing to give for a comprehensivepicture of humanity as it exists to-day--for a reasonably completelibrary of our literature, science, and art? We may safely assumethat nothing of the sort will be possible if matters are left to taketheir natural course. By that time every structure, every machine, every book, every work of art, now in use or stored away in ourlibraries and galleries of art, will have disappeared, a prey to time, the elements, or the more destructive violence of man. 

On the other hand, it may be that, through repeated disasters of onesort or another, mankind, three thousand years hence, will have lostall the knowledge men ever possessed, and be slowly struggling upwardfor the hundredth time from inherited barbarism. In such a case, whatenormous benefits might not accrue to man from a fortunate opening upof the wealth of knowledge we possess!

In any supposable case between these extremes of progress ordegradation, a legacy of art and learning, such as we might easily setapart for remote posterity, would certainly be acceptable, perhapsextremely useful. Besides, it might be possible for us to set such aworthy example to those who shall come after us that, come what might, humanity would never be left absolutely void of the means ofinstruction, nor any worthy human achievement be absolutely lost orforgotten. The experience of these later years has demonstrated thevalue of such legacies even when unintentional, unselected, andwretchedly fragmentary. It has made clear also how a legacydeliberately made may be indefinitely preserved. 

Roughly outlined, the carrying out of such a truly philanthropicenterprise would involve nothing more difficult than--

_First_. The construction of a practically indestructible treasurechamber in some secure place; and

_Second_. The preparation of a library well calculated to withstandthe corroding tooth of time. 

Two kinds of structures would meet the first demand--massive pyramidsof covered earth or of solid masonry, or chambers hewn from the heartof some granitic hill. In low latitudes, where glacial action is notto be feared, the pyramidal form might be preferable: in more northernregions the rock-cut chamber would probably be at once cheaper andmore durable. In either case, an elevated site should be chosen as asafeguard against submergence. 

To secure the permanence of the records would be more difficult. Ordinary books and papers would clearly be unsuitable for longkeeping; though for comparatively limited periods they might answer ifsecurely packed in airtight waterproof cases. Nothing liable tospontaneous decay should be admitted. Stereotype plates of metal wouldbe even more open to objection than printed sheets. The noble metalswould be too costly, the baser would corrode; and with either thevalue of the plates as metal would be a standing danger to thedeposit. The material basis of the library must be, as nearly aspossible, worthless for other uses (to insure them against the naturalgreed of man), yet such as will hold the records sharply andfaithfully under all circumstances. The _terra cotta_ tablets ofancient Assyria are instructive in this connection. Possibly plates ofartificial stone, or sheets of a _papier-maché_-like preparation ofasbestos, might be less bulky and equally durable. 

Having determined this point, and dug from the solid rock a chamberfor the reception of our legacy, the next step would be the selectionof its contents. Obviously the books to be preserved should embracefirst of all lexicons and grammars of every known form of speech, since it is impossible to tell which of the dialects of to-day will bethe parents of the dominant tongue of any distant future time; whilewe may be practically certain that some one or more of the languagesof to-day will furnish a key to any language that men will ever use. Next in order would come encyclopædias, the most comprehensive andcomplete that there might be room for. The sacred books of all nationsmight come next; then the works of the great poets, historians andnovelists; after them, the best obtainable records of art, science, the various industries, and so on, with specimens of the best and mosttypical of our works of art, manufacture, and the like. 

The spaces between the various articles should be filled in with someinsoluble and neutral substance, to prevent corrosion, or theinfiltration of water and consequent damage to the plates. Then, theentrance to the chamber being securely sealed, permanent recordsshould be made in many places and in various ways, setting forth thepurpose of the deposit, its exact location, and the nature of itscontents. Among such records not the least valuable would be deeplycut polyglot inscriptions on natural cliffs in different parts of theworld, observation having shown that such records may remain tochallenge human curiosity for ages after all other records of theirtime have disappeared. 

Even a single deposit of this sort might prove of enormous value tothe race at some critical period of its history. But the probabilityis that the good work would not end with one deposit. From age to agethis and other nations might repeat the experiment, commemorating inthis way important epochs in their history. The fashion once set mighteasily become a permanent feature of all great national celebrations. The cost would be comparatively small: a penny contribution from eachof the visitors to the Philadelphia Exhibition, for example, wouldhave been quite sufficient to provide for a memorial of our firstCentennial year that would have carried an imperishable picture of thecivilization of the day to the end of--our first millennium, at least;and we may safely infer that, whatever may be the condition of theworld at that not very remote epoch, a memorial of that sort would besomething worth having. 

As we have intimated, the custom might easily become general, so thatin the course of ages the earth would become dotted with suchrepositories of art and learning. Then, come what might tohumanity--whatever might be the ups and downs of nations--whatevermoral, social, or intellectual advances mankind might make--whateverlapses or disasters might befall them--it could hardly happen that aknowledge of any considerable period of human history, or theadvantage of any worthy human achievement, could ever be permanentlyblotted out and lost. 

It is true that "posterity" has never done anything of the sort forus. It is true that "posterity" may have no valid claim on us for sucha legacy. But we might venture to make "posterity" a present! It wouldnot cost us much, and it might turn out to be immensely valuable anduseful to some far future age. 

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THE LOST ARTS IN NEW YORK. 

While the objects of ancient art contained in the Castellanicollection, recently placed on exhibition in the Metropolitan Museumof Art in this city, are individually of great rarity andarchæological value, they derive additional importance from the factthat, viewed conjunctively as a collection, they represent connectedhistories of two great industrial arts extending over many centuries. Both in the work of the goldsmith and of the potter, we are enabled totrace progress from the earliest stages up to a period when thegreatest skill was attained, and even subsequently into the era ofdecadence. In both industries, we find that ancient and mediævalworkmen possessed knowledge which we do not possess; and among SignorCastellani's treasures may be seen handiwork which is the embodimentof two lost arts, the secrets of which the modern world, with all itsinfinitely superior wisdom, has not yet rediscovered. 

The productions, in the Castellani collection, of precious metalworkers dating from prehistoric epochs, the exact dates of which arewholly unknown, and covering the long period ending in the thirteenthcentury, are represented by the contents of some twenty cases. Thefirst three of these receptacles bear no dates. The ornaments whichthey contain are of bronze, amber, silver, and glass (the latterhaving become converted into opalescent silicic acid), and were foundin Præneste (modern Palestrina, Italy), and in the territory which wasancient Etruria. Case No. 4 bears date 700 B. C. , and here is a richtreasure of primitive Etruscan and Phoenician ornaments of gold, adorned with granulated work. Signor Castellani considers that theworkmanship of these objects is so perfect that it is impossible atthe present time to explain the process of execution, and verydifficult to imitate it. The ornaments are of two kinds--those forordinary use and those for funereal purposes. The first are massive, and might be worn for years without injury; the others are extremelydelicate. All are made of the purest gold, and their decorationevinces the most consummate skill and taste on the part of the artist. There is, for example, a small flask, shaped something like an antiquewine jar, and about five inches in height. It is of beaten gold, andis covered with a pattern intended to imitate the similarly shapeddesigns of variegated glass of the Græco-Phoenician period. Thispattern is entirely produced by minute globules of metal soldered tothe surface in tiers of zigzag or Vandyke patterns. Another specimenis a strip of gold covered with granulated lines and bearing a row ofbirds in relief. On other ornaments are exquisitely carved heads andflowers, produced apparently by hammering on the reverse of theobject, but with a delicacy and precision of touch which is simplymarvelous. 

The closest students of this ancient handiwork are entirely at a lossto understand how the processes of melting, soldering, and wiredrawing, which were employed in the art, were performed. Modernworkmen have failed in their attempts exactly to imitate the oldornaments; and it is certain that the secret of the mechanical agents, whereby it was possible to separate and join pieces of gold hardlyperceptible to the naked eye, is lost. Signor Castellani has takengreat pains to solve the problem, reading all the treatises ofmediæval goldsmiths, inquiring of all classes of Italian jewelers, andexperimenting with all kinds of chemicals, in the hope of finding thesolder wherewith the minute grains were attached to the surface of themetal. At last he found some of the old processes still employed in aremote district, hidden in the recesses of the Apennines, far from thegreat towns. Bringing away a few workmen, he gave them much moreinstruction, and at last succeeded, not perhaps in equalling, butcertainly in rivalling the ancient productions. 

We question whether the Etruscans used fire at all in their soldering, as it would be almost an impossibility to keep the excessively finetools necessary for the work at a proper heat. Mr. Joshua Rose offersthe plausible suggestion that a cold flux was employed, with which theworkman followed the lines or dots of his pattern. Then the goldgranules were possibly sprinkled over the surface, and adhered only tothe solder, the superfluous grains being brushed off after the solderhad set. 

There is also a fragment of a finely woven fabric, made of threads ofpure gold, found on the body of a woman in a tomb at Metapontum. Thisis without doubt the material to which the Psalmist refers in speakingof "the King's daughter" having "clothing of wrought gold;" and in thePentateuch there is reference to gold threads being used upon looms. 

As we follow the various objects in the twenty cases above mentioned, the decline of the goldworker's art when the use of enamels came intovogue is evidenced. Continuing on to later periods, the decadence ismore marked under the successors of Alexander. In Rome, under theemperors, we find gold used as a mere setting for precious stones, andfinally the collection terminates with examples of workmanship of thetime of Charlemagne, when the workmen had lost their cunning, and thenoble metal had been altogether debased to secondary uses. 

The second instance where a lost art is exemplified in SignorCastellani's collection is in the glazing of the Gubbio majolica. Wehave not space here to review the magnificent series of ancientspecimens of pottery in detail; and thus it will suffice to say that, beginning with some of the earliest pieces made by the Arabs when theyoccupied Sicily, from the twelfth to the sixteenth century, thecollection presents examples of all the finest types of later mediævalart. Gubbio, where the peculiar kind of majolica above noted was made, is a small town once in the territory of the dukes of Urbino; and inthe sixteenth century it became famous for its pottery. This wasattributable to the talent of one man, Giorgio Andreoli, who isreputed to have invented the wonderful luster characteristic of theGubbio ware. The body of majolica is mere common clay; and after thepiece is finished on the wheel, it is dried and burnt in a furnace. After the biscuit thus prepared has been dipped in the glaze, thecolors are applied on the soft surface of the latter, and thevitrifying process fuses all into a glossy enamel of the color of thepigment. This is still the common practice; and we mention it merelyto show that to his pigment and glaze Andreoli must have added somethird substance, which rendered the enamel capable of reflecting whitelight as blue, red, green, or yellow light--in other words, of givingthe object a luster of a color wholly different from the tints of thepigment. He evidently could produce any desired color at will, and theeffects gained are indescribably beautiful. The Castellani collectioncontains 130 superb specimens, which glow like jewels. In one, thescene of the nativity of Christ is provided with the figures in lowrelief, and the exquisite cerulean lustre is imparted to give theeffect of moonlight. The rarest pieces are those of which the lusteris a delicate green. Some blaze with yellow, as if of gold; othersexhibit the brilliancy of the ruby; while others resemble the interiorof the pearl oyster shell. Whether this sheen is produced bypolarization of the light in some manner, or whether it is at allanalogous to fluorescence, is yet to be decided. The impression of thesurface with fine microscopic lines might produce an iridescence, butnot separate and clearly defined hues. The ware was intended forornamental purposes, not for household use; and it was suspendedagainst the rich, dark tapestries of the period with which walls werecovered, thus aiding, as it were, in illuminating the apartment withits exquisite radiance. 

 * * * * *

THE BLUE GLASS DECEPTION. 

On September 26, 1871, General A. J. Pleasonton, of Philadelphia, Pa. , obtained a patent for "utilizing the natural light of the suntransmitted through clear glass, and the blue or electric(!) solarrays transmitted through blue, purple, or violet colored glass, or itsequivalent, in the propagation and growth of plants and animals. " Inhis specification, of which the above constitutes one claim, he statesthat he has discovered "special and specific efficacy in the use ofthis combination of the caloric rays of the sun and the electric bluelight in stimulating the glands of the body, the nervous systemgenerally, and the secretive organs of man and animals. " He alsostates that he finds that vegetation is vastly improved by thetransmitted blue light. These alleged re-discoveries--for the Generalonly claims to have devised the method of utilizing them--wereextensively promulgated through the press early in 1871. Subsequently, in 1876, General Pleasonton published a book on the subject, thevolume being appropriately bound in blue and printed in blue ink. Recently public attention has again been called to the subject by aNew York daily journal. The peculiar kind of glass in question isknown as "pot metal blue, " that is, it is stained a bluish violetthroughout, and is not clear glass covered with flashings of blueglass. It is used in greenhouses, etc. , in connection with clearglass; and in General Pleasonton's grapery it appears that only everyeighth row of panes was blue. Some of the results alleged to have beenobtained by exposing animals and plants are as follows: Twenty grapevines, in their second year, after being set out under the blue glass, bore 1, 200 lbs. Of splendid fruit. A very weak Alderney bull calf wasin four months developed into a strong and vigorous bull. Heifers whenkept under blue glass may safely bear young when 18 months old. A weakchild, weighing but 3½ lbs. At birth, weighed at the end of fourmonths 22 lbs. --the light in this instance having come through bluecurtains. Two major-generals with rheumatism were cured in three days. A young lady whose hair had come out regained her tresses; and tothese must be added various other cures of severe ailments which wehave not space here to recapitulate. The above are the alleged facts;and we propose to consider the supposed discovery in the light ofprevious investigations. 

With reference to the theories of electricity, etc. , advanced byGeneral Pleasonton to account for his phenomena, their absurdity is socomplete that we shall waste no time over them. The important questionin the matter, and the only one in which the public is interested, iswhether or not blue glass is capable of producing all or any of theresults imputed to its use. In order to clear the way for theexamination of the investigations, the records of which we havecarefully collected, let us consider first those which GeneralPleasonton quotes in support of his views. These are (1) Seunebier'sresearches, which go to show that the blue and violet rays are themost active in determining the decomposition of carbonic acid inplants, and (2) experiments of Dr. Morichini, repeated by Carpa andRidolfi, proving that violet rays magnetized a small needle. The firststatement has been totally disproved. Dr. Von Bezold, in his recentwork on color, states that "the chemical processes in plants, as faras they are dependent upon light, are principally caused by the raysof medium and of lower refrangibility. The development of the greencolor of the chlorophyll, the decomposition of carbonic acid, as wellas the formation of starch, etc. , in the grains of the chlorophyll, are induced by the red, green, and orange rays. " The blue, violet, andultra violet rays, the same authority goes onto explain, influence"the rapidity of growth, compel the so-called zoöspores to move incertain directions, and alter the positions of leaves, etc. " Inconfirmation of this, we have Sach's experiments in 1872, which showthat light, transmitted through the yellow solution of potassiumchromate, enables green leaves to decompose over 88 per cent. Ofcarbonic acid; while that passed through blue ammonia copper oxidedecomposes less than 8 per cent. This proves the superiority of theyellow ray to decompose carbonic acid; and this fact Professor J. W. Draper discovered a long time ago by the direct use of the spectrum. In still further confirmation, we may cite the investigations ofVogel, Pfeiffer, Selim, and Placentim. The last three have conductedresearches in full knowledge of those of General Pleasonton, and theirexperiments show that yellow rays are more promotive of the evolutionof carbon in animals and its absorption in plants than any others inthe spectrum, the violet rays having least power in these respects, with the exception of the red rays in the case of animals. Theabsorption of carbonic acid by plants, and its evolution by animals, we hardly need add, are prime essentials to the growth and health ofeach. The notion that light possesses a magnetizing power on steel wasupset by Niepce de St. Victor in 1861. After removing every source oferror, he "found it impossible to make one sewing needle, solarizedfor a very long time under the rays of light concentrated by a stronglens, attract another suspended by a hair, whether the light was whiteor colored by being made to pass through a violet-colored glass. "

We can proceed further and even show that violet light is in somerespects hurtful to plants. Cailletet, for example, says in 1868 that"light which was passed through a solution of iodine in carbonicdisulphide prevents decomposition altogether. " Baudrimont says that"no colored light permits vegetables to go through all the phases oftheir evolutions. Violet-colored light is positively injurious toplants; they absolutely require white light. " This scientistinstituted the most elaborate experiments on the subject, ranging over11 years, from 1850 to 1861; and the result of all his labor may besummed up in the simple statement that no illumination which humaningenuity can devise is so well adapted for promoting naturalprocesses as the pure white light provided by the Creator. So much byway of general denial of the claims of superior efficacy residing inblue light of any kind. 

Now we have yet to examine the peculiar variety of blue light hereused. Sunlight can, by means of the prism, be split into colored rays, any one of which we may isolate, and so obtain a certain coloredlight. Similarly we may obtain light of a desired color by the use ofa colored glass which will stop out the rays not of the hue required. So that we may obtain violet light from the spectrum or by filteringsunlight through violet glass. When, however, Dr. Von Bezold, asabove, asserts that the violet rays have such and such an effect, hemeans the violet of the spectrum, which has its specific duty toperform in the compound light of which it is a necessary portion. Butthe violet light of the spectrum and filtered violet sunlight arealtogether different things. The first, as our valued contributor Dr. Van der Weyde has very clearly pointed out, is "a homogeneous colorcontaining, besides the luminous, the invisible chemical rays withoutany caloric rays; while the light colored by passing through violetglass is a mixture of blue rays with the red rays at the other end ofthe spectrum; and it contains a quantity of the chemical raysbelonging to the blue and the caloric rays belonging to the red. Infact, violet glass passes a light identical with sunlight, only muchreduced in power, containing but a portion of its caloric, chemical, and luminous agency: being simply deprived of its strongest rays. " Andthis the spectroscope has clearly demonstrated. Reduced to itssimplest terms, then, the necessary conclusion is that the violetglass acts purely as a shade for decreasing the intensity of the solarlight. And in the simple fact that it does so serve as a shade liesthe sole virtue (if any there be) of the glass. In 1856, Dr. Daubenymade experiments on the germination of seeds, and in his report isthis suggestive sentence: "In a south aspect, indeed, light which hadpassed through the ammonia sulphate of copper (blue solution), andeven darkness itself, seemed more favorable than the whole of thespectrum; but this law did not seem to extend to the case of seedsplaced in a northern aspect where the total amount of light was lessconsiderable. "

In our next issue, we shall review the effects of light and darknessupon the animal organization, and endeavor to account for the curingof diseases and the production of other phenomena which have beenerroneously ascribed to the influence of the blue filtered sunlight. 

 * * * * *

THE WETLI MOUNTAIN RAILROAD AND ITS DISASTROUS TRIAL TRIP. 

Among the various means proposed of late years for building lines ofrailroad on the steep slopes of mountains, that of M. Wetli, ofZurich, Switzerland, has attracted considerable attention fromEuropean engineers. We have already laid before our readers the systemof central toothed rails used on the Righi and other mountain roads inEurope. In the Wetli system, instead of this rail and the pinion onthe vehicle engaging it, there is a drum having a helicoidal threadwhich engages with triangular rails. This drum is attached to thelocomotive. The construction will be readily understood from theillustrations given herewith, which we take from _La Nature_. Thethread on the drum is precisely that which would be formed could arail similar to one of the central angular rails be wrapped around it;so that it always is in contact with the mid rails, and necessarilyprevents any bodily sliding or rolling of the vehicles over theregular track when the drum is held motionless. The V-shaped mid railsare securely fastened to horizontal iron ties, which rest on woodentraverses. The angle of the V is 50°; the distance between any twotraverses is 2. 8 feet. 

[Illustration: Fig. 1. --THE WETLI MOUNTAIN RAILROAD. ]

The locomotive has three coupled axles, on the mid one of which thedrum is attached so as to be raised or lowered to engage the rails atthe will of the engineer: it being possible to cause it to act on therails with a pressure of 3. 7 tons. The diameter of the drum is 2. 14feet. Its spiral thread is of steel, very solidly attached, and somade as to grip the rails to a distance of 0. 6 inch below the level ofthe track. In order to insure this contact, on the drum axle are twopulleys which run on the exterior road, and of which the diameterdetermines the depth of the hold of the threads. These pulleys are34. 7 inches in diameter, while the driving wheels are very slightly inexcess, to provide for the use of tyres. 

M. Wetli's invention, as we have described it, was placed betweenWoedensweil and Einsiedlen, Switzerland. The difference in altitudebetween these points is 1, 513 feet, the distance 9. 6 miles. The gradeis from 4 to 5 per cent over the first six miles of the way, andsubsequently decreases to 1 per cent. The Wetli railroad wasestablished last October only on the heavy grade, that is, the firstsix miles. 

[Illustration: Fig. 2. ]

Early in November, trial trips were made which did not provesatisfactory. Sometimes the drum thread gripped the triangular railsproperly and acted well; again it would wedge itself upon them, andoften would simply roll over their tops without engaging at all. Afterthe first trials, during which very many of the rails were broken, M. Welti re-adjusted the drum thread. Finally, he concluded that he hadovercome all difficulties in his apparatus; and accordingly a formaltrial was arranged on November 30. For about four and a half miles ofthe ascent the drum worked well; and the hoarfrost, with which therails were thickly covered, showed good contact. Afterward it workedirregularly; but the station of Schindelleghi, a distance of fivemiles, was reached without accident, the locomotive dragging a carloaded with 20 tons of rails. It was then attempted to make thedescent by the aid of the helicoidal drum; but this jumped the rails, and broke them almost immediately. By the aid of back pressure ofsteam and brakes, the locomotive was stopped. Then, unfortunately, theengine was started again; but hardly had the descent been resumed whenit was evident that the drum was not holding, and that the speed wasaccelerating rapidly. Brakes and steam were both found useless, andthe engine went tearing over the rails at the rate of a mile a minute. Of the fourteen persons in the vehicles, three were thrown out andkilled, and the rest were more or less seriously injured. The heavilyloaded car left the track, and tore up both central and side railsuntil its coupling broke. The engineer, with great intrepidity, clungto his engine, coolly giving signals to open switches so that thelocomotive might run upon the level track and so expend its momentum;but the engine left the rails at a sharp curve, destroyed the trackfor about a hundred feet, and finally stopped a mass of ruins, withits brave engineer mortally wounded. Whether the Wetli system can bemade to work as intended by the inventor is regarded as doubtful bythe engineers who have examined into the causes of the disaster. 

 * * * * *

LEGHORN HENS. 

If a man keeps Leghorns he must have no garden, or he must cover thetop of his hen yards. That Leghorns are great layers and active hens, there can be no denying, but they are great flyers. We have built ouryard a lath and a half high, says the _Poultry Review_, but what dothese saucy things care for that? Although they have the whole outsideworld to range in, yet the garden seems to have a greater attractionthan all the rest. The other day we found it necessary to feed a weakchicken in the garden by itself, so that it might be sure of itsshare. A few minutes afterwards, on looking out of the window, wediscovered the weak chicken in the henyard and two Leghorn hensfinishing up its food. We went out, but the two robbers had fled. Going around the corner, we found them rolling in a flower bed. ALeghorn will do as much mischief in a garden in five minutes asanything we know of. 

 * * * * *

SAWDUST IN ROUGH CASTING. 

Siehr recommends very highly the use of sawdust in mortar as superioreven to hair for the prevention of cracking and subsequent peeling offof rough casting under the action of storms and frost. His own house, exposed to prolonged storms on the seacoast, had patches of mortar tobe renewed each spring, and after trying without effect a number ofsubstances to prevent it, he found sawdust perfectly satisfactory. Itwas first thoroughly dried and sifted through an ordinary grain sieveto remove the larger particles. The mortar was made by mixing 1 partcement, 2 lime, 2 sawdust, and 5 sharp sand, the sawdust being firstwell mixed dry with the cement and sand. 

 * * * * *

SUINT FOR WATERPROOFING FABRICS. --A German chemist has patented thewaterproofing of finely woven fabrics, linen, cotton, etc. , by meansof suint composition. He adapts his method to securing the suint towool-washing establishments at a small cost. 

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ABSENCE OF WHITE COLOR IN ANIMALS. 

Some very curious physiological facts bearing upon the presence orabsence of white colors in the higher animals have lately been adducedby Dr. Ogle. It has been found that a colored or dark pigment in theolfactory region of the nostrils is essential to perfect smell, andthis pigment is rarely deficient except when the whole animal is purewhite. In these cases the creature is almost without smell or taste. This, Dr. Ogle believes, explains the curious case of the pigs inVirginia adduced by Mr. Darwin, white pigs being poisoned by apoisonous root which does not affect black pigs. Mr. Darwin imputedthis to a constitutional difference accompanying the dark color, whichrendered what was poisonous to the white colored animals quiteinnocuous to the black. Dr. Ogle, however, observes that there is noproof that the black pigs eat the root, and he believes the moreprobable explanation to be that it is distasteful to them, while thewhite pigs, being deficient in smell and taste, eat it, and arekilled. Analogous facts occur in several distinct families. Whitesheep are killed in the Tarentino by eating _hypericum criscum_, whileblack sheep escape; white rhinoceros are said to perish from eating_euphorbia candelabrum_; and white horses are said to suffer frompoisonous food where colored ones escape. Now it is very improbablethat a constitutional immunity from poisoning by so many distinctplants should, in the case of such widely different animals, be alwayscorrelated with the same difference of color; but the facts arereadily understood if the senses of smell and taste are dependent onthe presence of a pigment which is deficient in wholly white animals. The explanation has, however, been carried a step further byexperiments showing that the absorption of odors by dead matter, suchas clothing, is greatly affected by color, black being the mostpowerful absorbent, then blue, red, yellow, and lastly white. We havehere a physical cause for the sense-inferiority of totally whiteanimals which may account for their rarity in nature. For few, if any, wild animals are wholly white. The head, the face, or at least themuzzle or the nose, are generally black. The ears and eyes are alsooften black; and there is reason to believe that dark pigment isessential to good hearing, as it certainly is to perfect vision. Wecan therefore understand why white cats with blue eyes are so oftendeaf--a peculiarity we notice more readily than their deficiency ofsmell or taste. --_Dr. Wallace, British Association_, 1876. 

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IMPROVED TROLLING HOOK. 

Mr. Henry C. Brush, of Brush's Mills, N. Y. , has patented through theScientific American Patent Agency an improved troller, the novelfeature in which consists in attaching a float to the shank of theimplement under the revolving blade, the object being to keep thetroller near the surface of the water, where the fish may see it morereadily, and whereby the liability of catching in weeds and logs isobviated. 

[Illustration]

A is a float, attached to the shank, _a_, of the troller. B is thespoon, which is swiveled in the usual manner. The device is verysimple, and is claimed to prevent all the annoyance arising from thehook catching in sunken obstructions. 

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PURIFICATION OF WOOL AND WOOLEN STUFF. 

The process, patented some time ago, for the removal of straw, burrs, etc. , from wool, by treatment with sulphuric acid, has been modifiedby Lisc as follows: The stuff is worked for one to two hours in a bathconsisting of about 26 gallons sulphuric acid, of 3° to 6°, 1 lb. Alum, ½ lb. Salt, and 750 grains borax. It is then treated in acentrifugal machine, and afterward subjected to a temperature of 212°to 248°. For removal of the acid it is first washed with pure waterfor 1½ hours, then treated for two hours with fuller's earth, soda, and lime, and finally washed for two hours with fresh water. Assulphuric acid can only be employed with uncolored cloths, or such ashave been dyed with indigo, chloride of zinc and chloride of manganesediluted to 6° are substituted with fabrics otherwise dyed. 

 * * * * *

CAFFEONE. 

Caffeone, the aromatic principle of coffee, may be isolated bydistilling 5 or 6 lbs. Roasted coffee with water, agitating theaqueous distillate with ether, and afterwards evaporating the ether. It is a brown oil, heavier than water, in which it is only veryslightly soluble. An almost imponderable quantity of this essentialoil will suffice to aromatize a gallon of water. 

 * * * * *

THE HEMI-PLUNGER. 

The novel form of vessel, to which the above odd name has been givenby its inventor, M. Donato Tommasi, of Paris, France, is a combinationof a boat wholly submerged with a raft: a connecting link, to borrowthe naturalist's expression, between the submerged torpedo boat andthe monitor. The advantages which are expected to be realized fromthis hybrid craft, the inventor describes as follows: "It is evidentthat a vessel, plunged several yards below the surface of the sea, isno longer influenced by wind or wave. Let the sea be agitated, letthere be the most violent tempest, yet the boat which navigates underwater will never be wrecked, for the same reason that a fish cannot bedrowned. * * * What a beautiful vision, that of traversing the ocean, as a balloon floats through the air, with the same tranquillity, without shocks, without the insupportable rolling and pitching!" etc. The construction of the invention introduced in this glowing mannerwill be understood from Figs. 1 and 2. A is the plunger cylinder, shown with its side broken away in Fig. 2. In Fig. 1, G is the rudder, H the propeller, and I the tube through which sea water passes to thepump. In Fig. 2, C is the smokestack, M M are compartments in whichwater may be admitted to increase the weight, and hence the depth offlotation of the plunger, the same being filled or emptied by thepump, P. N is the hold for merchandise, partitioned off from theboiler room as shown. 

[Illustration: Fig. 1. --TOMMASI'S HEMI-PLUNGER]

[Illustration: Fig. 2. --THE HEMI-PLUNGER, THE SUBMERGED PORTION]

From the plunger, A, rise two hollow columns, E, to which metallicplates, F, are attached to diminish friction through the water. Thesesupport the upper division or platform, B. The second shaft (notlettered), which rises above the platform in Fig. 1, serves toventilate the plunger. The columns, E, serve as shoots down whichmerchandise is lowered to the compartments, N; and their upper endsare received in two immense inverted cups attached to the bottom ofthe part, B. Through these cups pass large screws, which confine thecolumns so that, by removing the connection, the whole submarineapparatus may in case of necessity be freed from the upper works. Oneach side of the platform, B, which is of elliptical figure, is alarge float, seen in Fig. 3, which, by means of racks and gearing, maybe raised or lowered at will. Usually these floats are carried at aheight of a yard above the water. In calm weather, this distance isincreased, and in storms it is diminished, the object of the floatsbeing to keep the whole vessel on an even plane, and to prevent tooviolent oscillations. In order to facilitate navigation in shallowwater, the columns, E, may be made telescopic, and operated byhydraulic apparatus, so that they may be shortened at will. Any formof engine or propeller may be used. 

[Illustration: Fig. 3. --THE HEMI-PLUNGER ON A VOYAGE]

Besides the advantage of the vessel being unaffected by waves, sinceits submerged portion travels far below them, the inventor claims thatit will meet less resistance from the water than would a vessel ofcorresponding volume sailing on the surface. It will make fasterprogress, because it has no waves to mount and descend; and hence italways travels in a nearly right line. The screw being submerged at agreat depth will not tend to turn the vessel from her straight path. The platform being easily detachable may serve as a raft in case ofinjury to the submarine boat. For fast travel, on lakes, rivers, andshallow water generally, M. Tommasi proposes to support his platformon two floats which rest on the surface of the water. No weight, therefore, is thrown on the submarine vessel, which need beconstructed with only just enough buoyancy to sustain itself and itsengine. In this way, the upper craft has no engine or other load thanits cargo; and as it merely rests upon the surface, the inventorthinks that it will skim over the same like an ice boat on ice. 

For war purposes, the hemi-plunger is especially adapted, because thevulnerable portions, engines, boiler, rudder, etc. , are wholly out ofthe reach of shot. Guns are mounted on the platform, which thusbecomes a circular or elliptical turret, just above the water when thevessel is in fighting trim. Instead of steel armor, M. Tommasi has anew invention which he calls hydro-metallic plating. He reserves thedetails of this for future publication; but generally the armorconsists of tubes in which liquid is forced under a pressureequivalent to the resistance, say, of forged steel. He thinks thiswill oppose shot as effectually as the solid metal, and will have theadditional advantage of superior lightness. 

 * * * * *

IN-SOLES saturated with salicylic acid have been introduced as aremedy for perspiration of the feet. 

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SUPREME COURT PATENT DECISION. 

A United States patent was granted May 23, 1854, to John Myers andRobert G. Eunson for a wood-sawing machine for cutting boards intothin stuff for making picture frame and mirror backs. One of theprincipal claims was for the employment of two deflecting plates, oneon each side of the circular saw, by which both sides of the sawedstuff, as fast as it was cut, was slightly deflected so as not to bindupon the saw. Suit was brought by the patentee against Dunbar andHopper for infringement, and judgment was given in favor of thepatentees, in the United States Circuit Court, this city, the damagesawarded being $9, 121. The defendants thereupon took an appeal to theSupreme Court of the United States, which tribunal has reversed thefinding of the Circuit Court and dismissed the complaint. It was heldby the Supreme Court that, inasmuch as the use of a single deflectingplate was old, well known, and in common use, it was simply anexercise of ordinary mechanical skill, and not a patentable invention, to employ a second deflecting plate, although the superiority of thedouble deflectors, for certain kinds of work, appears to be conceded. 

 * * * * *

PLANING MILL MACHINERY. 

The planing machine, next to the saw, is perhaps the most importantagent for the conversion and manipulation of wood in use; and beforeproceeding to consider it, in its present form, says the author ofthis article, Mr. F. H. Morse, in the _Northwestern Lumberman_, it maynot be out of place to notice briefly its origin and history. 

The first man to employ power in the operation of smoothing thesurface of wood was Sir Samuel Bentham, of London, England, and to himbelongs the honor of having discovered the principle upon which allplaning machines operate. A brief personal notice of this remarkableinventor will serve to show under what circumstances the planingmachine originated. His education was secured at the Westminsterschool of London, and, as far as can be ascertained from the meagerrecords of his life that have come down to us, was of the mostthorough kind, both classical and scientific, that could be obtainedat that time (1770). When his education was finished, he was bound tothe master shipwright of the Woolwich dockyard, to whom he served anapprenticeship of seven years, acquiring in that time a practicalknowledge of the methods of working in both wood and iron then invogue, and receiving the best scientific instruction that thedevelopment of that period afforded. After his term of apprenticeshiphad expired, he spent about two years in looking up the localpeculiarities of other shipyards whose methods of working differed insome respects from those of the Woolwich mechanics. 

In 1779 he was ordered by the government to examine into the progressof shipbuilding in Northern Europe, and in carrying out thiscommission he repaired to Russia, where he invented the first machinefor planing wood. Its mode of operation, whether reciprocating orrotating, it is impossible to ascertain positively, but the conclusionarrived at, after referring to the specifications of his first patent, which was issued in 1791, is that it worked upon the former principleby means closely analogous to the operation of planing by hand. Heseems to have made no use of his venture in Russia, though he residedthere several years and filled several important positions under theRussian Government. He returned to his native country in 1791 andjoined his brother, Jeremy Bentham, who had at that time just receivedan appointment from the government to introduce industrial prisons inEngland. To utilize the unskilled labor of the convicts, the talentsof Sir Samuel were called into use, and he devised a number of newmachines, the greater part of which were for working wood. For want ofa more suitable place, these machines were constructed at theresidence of Jeremy Bentham, which was thus converted into the firstmanufactory for woodworking machines. This factory was established in1794, but was soon found to be too small for the purpose, and anotherbuilding was occupied. In a lecture before the Society of Arts, in1853, Professor Willis, referring to the shops of the Benthams, statedthat "there were constructed machines for all general operations inwoodwork, including planing, molding, rebating, grooving, mortising, and sawing, both in coarse and fine work, in curved, winding, andtransverse directions, and shaping wood in complicated forms; andfurther, as an example, that all parts of a highly finished windowsash are prepared, also all parts of an ornamented carriage wheel weremade so that nothing remained to be done by hand but to put thecomponent parts together. "

In 1797 the Admiralty consented to the introduction of such of thesemachines as could be used to advantage in the different dockyards, andthey were manufactured under the direction of Jeremy Bentham, andforwarded from time to time to Portsmouth and Plymouth, where theywere used with good results, performing all that was claimed for them. 

Bentham was joined in 1810 by another genius (formerly in the employof the brothers) by the name of Brunel, who had invented severalvaluable machines, among which was one for shaping block shells, whichseems to have had Bentham's indorsement. As Inspector General, in1803, Sir Samuel advised the Admiralty to introduce many of his newmachines, and also to permit the use of steam engines; accordingly, the dockyards were fitted with engines for sawing, planing, boring, tenoning, mortising, etc. The labor saved by their use can be inferredfrom the fact that Brunel, who had assisted in their construction, received as a premium for his inventions the amount saved in the yardsby their use in one year, which reached the respectable sum of$80, 000. In the same year the government settled with Jeremy Bentham, after arbitration, and allowed him for machines furnished the yardsand prisons, $100, 000. We learn from testimony given before thearbitrators that "Sir Samuel Bentham prepared a system of machineryfor the employment of men without skill, and particularly with a viewto utilizing convict labor. In 1793 patents were taken out on theseinventions to secure their exclusive use for the prisons. " Thetestimony states that no skill was required in the use of thesemachines; they were introduced into the dockyards and worked by commonlaborers. It was claimed that nine tenths of the labor was saved bythe use of Bentham's machines, which proves that they were at leasteffective, which cannot be said in all cases of those of modernmanufacture. 

The patent of Bentham, issued in 1793, is doubtless one of the mostremarkable ones ever issued, both for the importance of the inventionsit protected and the clearness with which they and the principles onwhich they operated are described. Richards, in referring to thatsection of this patent which relates to rotary tools for woodcutting, quotes the inventor as saying: "The idea of adapting the rotativemotion of a tool with more or less advantage, to give all sorts ofsubstances any shape that may be required, is my own, and, as Ibelieve, entirely new. "

For those not skilled in nor acquainted with the nature and extent ofthe various operations in wood conversion which come under the head ofshaping with rotary cutters, it will be difficult to convey an idea ofthe invention here set forth; it includes, indeed, nearly alloperations in woodworking, and as an original invention may be said toconsist in the discovery of the fact that flat surfaces, or surfacesof any contour, can be properly prepared by the action of rotatingtools. It is not to be wondered at that such an operation should nothave been sooner discovered, for even at the present time there arefew processes in treating material which seem so anomalous as that ofplaning a flat surface with cutters revolving in a circle of a fewinches in diameter. 

In reference to planing mouldings, it is said: "If the circumferenceof a circular cutter be formed in the shape of any moulding, andprojecting above the bench no more than necessary, the piece beingshoved over the cutter will thus be cut to a moulding corresponding tothe cutter--that is, the reverse of it, just as a plane iron cuts thereverse. If a plane cutter, such as that above spoken of for cutting agroove in the breadth of a piece, be made so thick, or, as we might beapt to say now, so broad, or so long, as to cover the whole breadth ofthe piece, it will present the idea of a roller. This I call a cuttingroller; it maybe employed in many cases with great advantage toperform the office of a plane. "

The cutting roller of Bentham is the present cutter block of England, or the cutting cylinder of America, and after what has been quoted itmay be seen that the idea of rotary planing and moulding machines hadbeen fully grasped by Bentham. He goes on as usual to the variousconditions which attach to the process of planing, and says further:"if a cutting roller of this sort be placed with its axis horizontaland the bench beneath, it may be made to rise and lower. The bench(machine) may be very readily adjusted, so as to determine thethickness to which a piece will be reduced by being passed under theroller. " "To gain time, cutters may be applied to different sides of apiece at once, and such of them as make parallel cuts may be mountedon the same spindle. "

These extracts would not be out of place in an explanatory lecture oressay on woodcutting at the present day, and cannot help awakeningsurprise that they should have been written eighty-three years ago, when there had, so far as we know, been no precedents, nor evensuggestions from previous practice. 

The foregoing shows that nearly all the fundamental principles, uponwhich woodcutting by machinery in its present development depends, were familiar to Sir Samuel Bentham, and though his name has beenalmost forgotten, it may be safely asserted that he gave to the worldmore useful inventions than any other man of his age. His work showsthroughout a constant method and system of reasoning, which pointrather to a life of persistent labor than to one of what wouldordinarily be called genius. That latter quality he must certainlyhave possessed in the highest degree, for without it even hisknowledge and experience could not have been equal to the work heaccomplished. Directed to different ends, his talent and genius woulddoubtless have secured for him a fame that would live for years, though it does not seem possible that he could have conferred upon theworld a greater benefit. 

 * * * * *

SUICIDE STATISTICS. 

A curious and suggestive table of statistics has recently appeared inFrance, which will doubtless prove of much value in the hands ofstudents of psychology and nervous mental ailments. It relates tosuicides; and the conditions, etc. , of the people who made away withthemselves in 1874 in France are taken as the basis of the figures. Inthat year, 5, 617 suicides occurred, the largest number ever known inany one year in the country. Of these, 4, 435, or 79 per cent. , werecommitted by men, 1, 182, or 21 per cent. , by women. In spite of thecareful investigations of the police, the ages of 105 people could bedetermined. The 5, 512 others are divided as follows: 16 years, 29;between 16 and 21 years, 193; between 21 and 40 years, 1, 477; between40 and 60 years, 2, 214; exceeding the last mentioned age, 1, 599. About36 per cent. Of these unfortunates were unmarried, 48 per cent. Married, and 16 per cent. Widowers. Of those which constituted thelast two classes, nearly two thirds had children. More than seventenths of the suicides were effected by strangulation or drowning. Thecrime was most frequently committed during spring, when 31 per cent. Of the whole number destroyed themselves; during other seasons thepercentages were: in summer, 27; in winter, 23; in autumn, 19. 

Included in the tables are the results of the judicial inquests, showing the professions and callings of the deceased. About 33 percent. Were farmers, 30 per cent. Mechanics, 4 per cent. Merchants orbusiness men, 16 per cent. Members of the liberal professions, 4 percent. Servants, and 13 percent. Were destitute of any calling. Thetable even analyzes, in all but 481 people, the motives which causedthe fatal act. Thus we are told that 652 killed themselves because ofreverses in fortune, 701 through family troubles, 572 throughdrunkenness, 243 through love, debauchery, etc. ; 798 died to avoidphysical suffering, 59 to avoid the penalties of capital crimes, 489for unclassified troubles, and 1, 622 were clearly shown to have beenafflicted with some mental disease. 

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COMMUNICATIONS. 

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THE FROST PLANT OF RUSSIA. 

_To the Editor of the Scientific American:_

Mr. Charles Williams, of Winoa, Ohio, has written a letter to thatveteran botanist, Humphrey Marshall, of Chester county, Pa. , on thesubject of the abovenamed plant, and my opinion concerning it has beenasked for. Seeds of this plant were obtained by citizens of Boston, who had snow brought from the White Mountains and from the coast ofLabrador, and who stated that they have "now the most unboundedsatisfaction and pleasure of announcing that all signs are favorableto the realization of their fondest hopes. " This wonderful plant, itseems, was found amid the perpetual snows of the northern boundariesof Siberia, in 1863, by Count Swinoskoff, the eminent Russianbotanist, and it was by him cultivated at St. Petersburgh. The accountsent me is very vague, and is evidently not from the pen of abotanist. It is stated that it comes forth on the first day of theyear, grows to the height of three feet, and flowers on the third day. It continues in bloom for twenty-four hours, then dissolves itself, being of the finest snow; it has a stalk one inch in diameter, andleaves, three in number, 1½ inches wide, covered with infinitesimalfrost or snow cones. The flower is of the shape of a star, with petals3 inches long and ½ inch wide at the broadest part, forming abasketwork of frost. The seeds are like a pin's head. This is aboutall that can be gleaned from the description, and is by no meanssatisfactory. Allow me to present my humble views of an analogousdiscovery of frostwork on December 6, 1856, in a sandy loam in Chestercounty, Pa. , near the Paoli monument. In the _Horticultural Journal_of Philadelphia, then edited by J. Jay Smith (New Series, volume vii. , page 73, 1857), an account was published of my observations then. These I have since more fully confirmed. The common dittany (cunilaMariana) is frequently met with in December, with the base of the stemsurrounded with shellwork of ice, of a pearly whiteness. Dr. Darlington, in his "Flora Cestrica" published in 1853, page 199, underthe article cunila, observes: "In the beginning of winter, after arain, very curious ribbons of ice may be observed, attached to thebase of the stems, produced, I presume, by the moisture of the earthrising in the dead stems by capillary attraction, and then beinggradually forced out horizontally, through a slit, by the process offreezing. The same phenomenon has been observed in other plants. Seeobservations on _helianthemum_, page 27. " Had the doctor given a moreextended investigation, I fancy he would have agreed with me as to thecause. I found hundreds of diversified specimens. I am not aware thatit was after a rain, but I took up a number of the plants, and alwaysfound a vigorous scaly root bud, undergoing development at this earlyseason under ground, to produce a new stem the following spring. Icame to the conclusion that, as the temperature was below freezing andsnow was on the ground, the expanding bud, in close proximity to thesurface, gave out sufficient caloric or warmth to generate vapor fromthe moist soil. This vapor rising around the stem of the plant, andattracted by it, becomes congealed into what we term hoar-frost, innumerous forms; some like shellwork, others like tulips, with radiatedpetals, variously contorted, and often as symmetrical as snowflakecrystals. 

[Illustration: Root-bud and frost-flower of the Cunila Mariana(Maryland Dittany). A, the developing or budding root. B, the old stemof the previous year. C, the congealed vapor or hoarfrost, forming thefirst flower of various shapes. ]

That plants in germinating have the power of generating heat wasproved by Mr. Hunter and by Lamarck. Experiments of Hales and Du Hamelshow that vegetation is not wholly suspended, however cold it may be;and that there is a regular and gradual progress till the returningwarmth of spring gives a greater degree of velocity to the juices, rendering their development more vigorous and apparent. If thecrystallization takes place when the air is calm, the crystals will beregularly formed; otherwise, when windy, I have seen them like a shellwithin a shell, very thin, of a pearly whiteness. Professor Tyndallhas shown in a very beautiful manner that ice is but an agglomerationof snow crystals: the transparency of the former being due to theexpulsion of the air, entrapped in and causing the whiteness andopacity of the latter. There is a formation called the snow plant ofCalifornia, which arises to some height, and has been compared tovarious things, a fountain convoluted and enlarged above, acrystallized small bushy shrub, etc. ; but on closer inquiry, I havefailed as yet to get any definite ideas to its true character. Somebulbs in the soil might cause such formations by the congelation ofvapor deposited successively upon itself, or the stems of the previousyear's growth yet remaining, and thus give them a sheathing offrosting. 

The shape of a star is common in snow crystals, which we all knowassume the most beautiful forms, and which are illustrated in variouspublications. The eminent botanist Count Swinoskoff should give ussome clue as to the genus or character of the plant, the flower ofwhich, we are told, melted away on being touched, and as to thestamens, the diamond seeds like a pin's head, etc. The whole needsfurther explanation. 

I trust those Bostonians who are in such hope will edify the public asto the final result of their experiment. What has that veteran inbotany, Dr. Asa Gray, to say about it? Let some one well qualifiedtell us more about this frost flower of Russia. 

 J. Stauffer. Lancaster, Pa. 

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PATENT MATTERS IN WASHINGTON, D. C. 

_To the Editor of the Scientific American:_

From the report of the Commissioner of Patents, just issued, itappears that its surplus revenue for the past year amounts to over onehundred and five thousand dollars, and that there is nearly a milliondollars in the United States Treasury to the credit of the PatentOffice; and yet, notwithstanding that this enormous amount is lyingidle, our pseudo-economists at the Capitol refuse to grant the Officesufficient of its own funds to carry on its business promptly. So muchis the work behindhand in some of the departments that, as theCommissioner states in his report, some of the attorneys who requirecertified copies of papers have been obliged to employ their ownclerks to do office copying, and then had to pay the full legal rateof ten cents per hundred words, the same as though the Office had donethe work. This style of _economizing_, by making inventors pay twoprices for their work, may be "reform" in the eyes of the averageDemocratic Congressman; but speaking for myself, as one of those whohave had to pay twice, I would prefer to dispense with this style of"retrenchment and reform, " and therefore ask you, Messrs. Editors, inbehalf of the inventors of the United States, to so stir up ourlegislators that they will allow the Office sufficient of its ownfunds to do its work properly, and not delay the work of theinventor--work that he has to pay for in advance--and so prevent thediscouragement and trouble which these delays always cause. 

As the Patent Office has been doing a good business lately, thereappears to be some attempt at rivalry at the Capitol, as the followinglist of applications for extension will show:

LIST OF APPLICANTS FOR EXTENSIONS OF PATENTS NOW BEFORE CONGRESS. 

 ---- Reynolds, power loom brake. Strong & Ross, scales. Wm. & W. H. Lewis, photographic plates. T. A. Weston, differential pulley. S. S. Hartshorn, buckles. H. A. Stone, making cheese. N. Whitehall, cultivator. J. R. Harrington, carpet lining. H. L. Emery, cotton gins. J. Stainthorp, moulding candles. Walter Hunt's heirs, paper collars. A. B. Wilson, sewing machines. S. A. Knox, plows. Rollin White, firearms. Aikin A. Felthousen, sewing machines. H. Woodman, stripping cotton cards. L. Hall, heel trimmer. J. A. Conover, wood splitter. J. Dyson, carding engine. G. Wellmann, card strippers. E. Brady, safety valves. Jearum Atkins, harvester rakes. John Thomas, re-rolling railroad rails. Thomas Mitchell, hair brushes. Stephen Hull, harvesters. T. R. Crosby, wiring blind slats. G. W. Laban, mitre cutting machine. T. A. Whitenack, harvesters. J. J. Vinton, furnaces. A. Fuller, faucets. D. Baker, pitcher spouts and lids. G. F. Chandler, refining sugar. G. H. Nott, boiler furnace. William Hall, lightning rods. B. F. Rice, paper bag machines. S. D. Nelson, shovels. E. T. Russell, car springs. Hubbell & Conant, steam pumps. C. A. Chamberlain, shovels. C. A. Adams, locks. E. A. Leland, paint can. 

In addition to the above, I find the following names as applicants forextensions, but the inventions covered by the patents sought to beextended is not mentioned: S. S. Turner, Arculous Wyckoff, De Witt C. Cummings, Moses Marshall, J. W. Fowler, and Holloway & Graham. Many ofthe applicants have apparently given up their cases for this session, but they may be only lying back to its close in hopes that in thefinal rush their "little bills" may slip through easily. 

Several bills tinkering at the patent laws are before Congress, andone of these (House Bill, No. 3, 370) passed the House on the 30th ult. It has one section that may be made to work great harm to inventors, as it prevents infringers being sued for more than one year's damagesprevious to notice of infringement being given. By this bill, if it isallowed to become a law, a person will be able to build and usepatented machines or processes for years in some out of the way placewhere the inventor cannot easily find him; and should he bediscovered, he can only be sued for one year's damages. There areother sections in this bill which will bear ventilating. 

Another bill, introduced into the Senate by Mr. Paddock, provides thatall appeals from the Board of Appeals shall be direct to the SupremeCourt of the District of Columbia, instead of to the Commissioner asheretofore; and that the fees shall be the same as now paid to thelatter official. 

Mr. Sampson has introduced into the House a bill changing section 4886so that it shall read as follows: "SEC. 4886. Any person who hasdiscovered any new or useful art, machine, manufacture or compositionof matter, or any new or useful improvement thereof, not known or usedby others in this country, and not patented or described in anyprinted publication in this or any foreign country, before hisinvention or discovery thereof, and not in public use or on sale formore than two years prior to his application, unless the same isproved to have been abandoned, may, upon payment of the fees requiredby law, and other due proceedings had, obtain a patent therefor:_Provided, That the manufacture or composition of drugs as a medicineshall not be patentable_. " The change is the addition of the words initalics. 

The Smithsonian Institute has sent to Congress a memorial settingforth that the present Institute building is already too small for thevast amount of articles already placed there on exhibition; that atthe late Centennial Exposition the Commissioners of various countriespresented their entire collection of exhibits to the United States, which had delegated their care to the Smithsonian Institute, and theyhad no place for them; that the armory building was being fitted upfor the reception of the United States Centennial collection, and theytherefore asked that a building be erected for the foreign collection, which could be used as a national museum, or otherwise we should haveto offend the donors by keeping their valuable gifts stowed away incellars and other rubbish receptacles. 

Mr. Eads, who is now here on the lookout for his pay for his work onthe South Pass of the Mississippi's mouth, has received intelligencefrom the resident engineer at the jetties that the channel through theshoal at the head of the South Pass is now twenty-two feet deep, andthat the least width at which twenty feet depth is found is onehundred and ten feet. The principal works to improve this shoal wereconstructed during the last six months. The low stage and feeblecurrent of the river has delayed their effect until the recent floodfrom the Ohio reached them, and the problem of deepening the shoal hasbeen fully solved by the rapid scouring away of the obstruction. It isstated that the channel is quite straight and is deepening rapidly. The channel through the jetties at the mouth of the Pass is twenty-onefeet deep. The entrance from the sea through the jetties is onethousand feet wide, and through the works at the head of the Passeight hundred feet. 

A recent telegram from Nevada states that the Sutro Tunnel (of which Igave you some particulars in one of my letters) has now progressed atotal distance of 15, 565 feet and has fairly entered the mineral belt, and will soon help to increase the already vast products of theComstock lode. 

While on the subject of mining, I will state that the amount ofquicksilver produced in California has increased so immensely duringthe last two years that it has attracted the attention of allinterested in the article throughout the world. The receipts for theyear have been 63, 928 and the exports 48, 010 flasks. In addition tothe receipts there, probably about six thousand flasks were shippeddirect from the mines to Nevada, thus bringing up the total productionto over 70, 000 flasks, a gain in round numbers of from twelve thousandto fifteen thousand flasks over 1875. The exports in that year were34, 844 flasks, or 13, 666 less than in 1876. 

 Occasional. 

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TYRIAN PURPLE INK FOR MARKING LINEN. --Von Bele gives the followingmethod for preparing an ink for marking linen and cotton: Neutralize75 grains of carbonate of ammonia with pure nitric acid, and triturate45 to 60 grains of carmine with the solution. Mordant the fabric witha mixed solution of acetate of alumina and tin salt, and write uponit, when it is perfectly dry, with the ink. 

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NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 

On Monday evening, January 29, 1877, a meeting of this Academy washeld at the School of Mines, Columbia College, Dr. J. S. Newberry, President, in the chair. Mr. A. A. Julian, A. M. , read a paper on the

PREPARATION OF ROCK AND MINERAL SECTIONS FOR MICROSCOPIC STUDY. 

The speaker described in detail the various operations, exhibited thedifferent kinds of apparatus employed, showed the operations, andexhibited the finished sections. In some rocks a thin chip can bebroken off, others require to be sawn, and for the latter purpose thediamond saw is best. Having obtained the chip, it is first polished onone side, then cemented to a little square of glass, and the otherside polished in the same way. The sections must not be too thick, nortoo thin; they are usually made from a hundredth to a thousandth of aninch thick. Lathes employed in polishing minerals require to beprovided with conical spindles, so that the wear, due to grit andemery dust getting on them, may be readily taken up. The grindingwheel may be either horizontal or vertical; the former has theadvantage that the mineral can be held in either hand; with the latteronly the right hand can be employed, and that in an awkward andtiresome position. Mr. Julian then referred briefly to the kinds ofemery, its preparation by elutriation, etc. , and cautioned operatorsagainst using rouge or tin putty powder in polishing rock sections, although they may be employed in polishing certain minerals and gems. The object of making the rock sections being to study theirconstituents and determine what minerals enter into their composition, it is important that no foreign substance, liable to adhere to thespecimen and to be mistaken for one of its ingredients, be placed onthe section while grinding. Lastly, the minerals are mounted on glass, with or without covers, by means of Canada balsam. Square glasses areto be preferred to the long and narrow strips, usually employed, asless liable to break in the center, and more easily revolved on thestage of a microscope. 

Mr. L. H. Landy then exhibited, by means of the gas microscope, severalbeautiful rock sections, both American and German. The same gentlemanalso showed the effect of passing polarized light through certaincrystal sections, the black cross and rainbow-hued rings revolvinglike so many wheels as the polarizer was turned. 

At the conclusion of this brilliant exhibition, Dr. P. T. Austen madesome remarks on

LABORATORY MANIPULATIONS. 

The points referred to were the apparently unimportant details whichoften contribute so much to the ease and pleasure of working. First, the use of square pieces of felt, such as are used under beer glassesin saloons, for setting hot beakers and flasks on to prevent chillingand consequent cracking. Second, in crystallizing substances forexamination under the microscope; one watch glass is placed uponanother with the substance between them, and the upper glass filledwith ether, the cold produced by its evaporation hastening thecrystallization. Third, removing precipitates and solid matter fromflasks, by heating to boiling, and inverting in a vessel of water. Fourth, crystallization by gradual dilution. Fifth, filter paperwithout ash. In German laboratories it is customary to dissolve outthe mineral matter from white filtering paper by washing in dilutehydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids. Sixth, the use of infusorialsilica for drying purposes. Being very porous, it will absorb fivetimes its own volume of water. If a filter paper, holding a wetprecipitate, be placed upon a layer of this earth, it will becomequite dry in a very short space of time. Mr. Austen also remarked thatsubstances retain their heat for several days when placed in corkboxes. To keep a substance air-tight, it may be placed in a flask, theneck painted with a solution of india rubber in chloroform, and aplate of glass laid upon it. The solvent quickly evaporates, leaving adelicate film of rubber, which holds the glass tightly in place. 

The next meeting of the Chemical Section will be held February 12; ofthe Mineralogical Section, February 19. 

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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PATENT OFFICE. 

The annual report to Congress of the Commissioner of Patents, for theyear 1876, has made its appearance. 

The amount received on applications for patents, reissues, designs, extensions, caveats, disclaimers, appeals, trade marks, labels, copies, etc. , was $757, 987. 65. The amount paid for salaries was$425, 930; other expenses, $226, 612. Total payments, $652, 542. 

 Number of applications for patents during the year 1876 21, 425 Number of patents issued, including reissues and designs 15, 595 Number of applications for extension of patents 2 Number of patents extended 3 Number of caveats filed during the year 2, 697 Number of patents expired during the year 814 Number of patents allowed but not issued for want of final fee 3, 353 Number of applications for registering of trade marks 1, 081 Number of trade marks registered 959 Number of applications for registering of labels 650 Number of labels registered 402

Of the patents granted there were to--

 Citizens of the United States 16, 239 Subjects of Great Britain 511 Subjects of France 104 Subjects of other foreign governments 172 ----- Total 17, 026

The number of applications for patents was a little less than duringthe previous year. The Commissioner suggests that Congress shouldappropriate $50, 000 to promote the printing of the old patents; thatadditional examiners be employed, and more clerks, for the purpose ofexpediting the business of the office; that the price of the OfficialGazette be reduced, also the fee for trade mark registration; that thelibrary fund be increased; that more space be provided for models, andfor the transaction of business. 

In respect to the Centennial, the value of new improvements, and theservice of the Patent Office in stimulating discovery, the ActingCommissioner speaks as follows:

 "The display made at the Exposition by the Patent Office was creditable in every respect, and excited general attention. About 5, 000 models of inventions, representing the leading branches of the arts and manufactures, were exhibited in suitable cases, and properly labeled, the various publications of the Office were displayed, its practice fully explained to all inquirers, and copies of the Patent Laws and the Office regulations and forms freely distributed. The knowledge of our patent system thus imparted to foreigners and all others unable to visit Washington has more than repaid the small cost attendant upon the representation. The exhibits were sent from and returned to the Office with scarcely any damage being suffered. 

 "But the array of models, etc. , made by the Patent Office at the Exposition was not needed to illustrate the value of our patent practice. The wisdom of that system was demonstrated in the most practical and triumphant manner in nearly every branch of that munificent enterprise. Not only in the grand display of labor-saving machinery, but in the vast collection of manufactured articles, and even in the department of fine arts, were seen the fruits of that provision in our Constitution giving to Congress the power 'to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. '

 "Whatever persons may do in a 'perfect condition of society' in sharing, without price, the fruits of their labors with others, it must be apparent to the dullest observer that the wonderful growth of the useful arts in this country is due, thus far, to the protection given by our Government to property in inventions--a property as sacred as any other class of property, and whose value is determined by the same general law of supply and demand. 

 "It may be safely said that two thirds of the manufacturing interests of the country are based upon patents, and the welfare of all such interests are intimately connected with the welfare of the patent system. During the past seven years a larger number of applications for patents were filed and patents granted than during the entire seventy-eight preceding years, reaching back to the enactment of the first patent law. The needs of the Office have advanced in proportion to this sudden and vast increase of work, but have been but partly supplied. Nay, in fact, its already scanty force and accommodations have been actually reduced at a time when most required. If these vast interests, and the future promotion of science and the useful arts are to be encouraged, a liberal recognition must be made of the wants of this Office. 

 "The Examining Corps, the duties in which are most arduous and exacting, comprises gentlemen of legal, as well as scientific, attainments. It should be re-inforced by more of the same character. They should be relieved, by legislation, of continual embarrassment by reason of meager salaries and fears of removal incident to merely political changes. The Office would then be spared the continual loss of its most experienced and efficient men. "

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THE IRON TRADE IN ENGLAND. 

The British _Mercantile Gazette_ of January 15 states that thesituation and prospects of the iron trade have not materially improvedin the month of December, but some week or two must elapse yet beforetrade returns to its regular channels. In the north of England thetone of the market is tolerably cheerful, and prospects, though stillvague, are considered encouraging. Makers of pig iron go into the nextquarter with a good supply of orders on their books, and merchants andconsumers are desirous of buying over the first half of the year. Notwithstanding the great depression which has ruled throughout 1876, there is likely to be a greater production of pig iron by severalthousand tons than ever there was before, and the total make mustconsiderably exceed two million tons, which is twice the quantityturned out in Scotland, though in the latter district a greater numberof furnaces have been kept in blast. Prices are nominally the same aswere quoted last week, but show an upward tendency. The bulk of themills and forges, foundries, etc. , have resumed work, and the finishediron trade is again in full swing. The plate department is wellprovided with orders, but the rail manufacturers, though rather betteroff than they were, are still in a poor position. The miscellaneousbranches of the iron trade, such as the foundries and tube, wire, andcut-nail manufactories are generally well off for orders, andengineers find plenty to do. The wages agreement in the finished irontrade ends this week, but it is thought that no alteration will bemade. In the South Staffordshire iron trade, work has been onlypartially resumed as yet, and many of the mills and forges will not bestarted until the quarterly meetings, next week. Orders have rarelybeen so scarce as they are at this moment, arrears having been prettygenerally cleared off before the holidays, and no new ones coming in. Nevertheless, the feeling of the trade is more hopeful than it was amonth ago. The number of furnaces in blast in this district is nowonly 58 out of 153; but should the expected improvement in tradearrive with the quarterly meeting, this number will soon be increased. In the finished iron branch, in which quotations for marked ironcontain the basis of $45 for bars, makers of leading brands of sheetsand bars are better off than the manufacturers of cheap iron, whosuffer much from competition in the north. Some considerable contractsfor girders, bridges, gasometers, etc. , are under execution at theworks devoted to constructive ironwork; but the merchant iron trade, as a whole, is very dull. Unmarked iron is weak and variable, and tothis circumstance may be attributed the reduction, announced thisweek, in various descriptions of common iron hardware. 

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IMPROVED LATHE CHUCK. 

The annexed engravings represent a new lathe chuck, which may beconstructed of any size, which holds tools with great firmness, andwhich is provided with an improved device for taking up wear and forthe separate adjustment of the jaws. The implement is made of the beststeel, by special machinery, so that its parts are interchangeable. 

[Illustration: VINTON'S LATHE CHUCK. ]

Figs. 1 and 2 represent the chuck taken apart so as to exhibit theinterior. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views. A is a collar whichencircles the spindle, and has formed on its outer face a bevel gearwheel, B. C, Fig. 3, is the rear portion of the shell of the chuckinclosing the forward part of the collar, A. Also on said collar, A, is a washer, D, which rests against the shell, C, and a nut, E, whichtravels on a thread formed on the collar. As it is necessary, as willbe explained further on, to turn the entire shell in order to move thejaws, the use of the nut just described is to jam the part, C, and theenlarged portion of the collar, A, tightly together, and so rigidlyhold the jaws in any position in which they may be adjusted. Fig. 1represents the outer face of the chuck with the jaws and their workingmechanism. Within the chuck, each jaw has attached to it a screw, E. This enters a bevel wheel, F. As the jaws are incapable of any butradial motion, it follows that, when the chuck is rotated bodily andthe bevel wheels engage on the motionless gear wheel, B, the effect ofthe rotation of said bevel wheels is to cause the jaws to traveltoward or from the center of the chuck face. And it will be furtherclear that this motion must be simultaneous in all the jaws. As theouter portion of the chuck is rigidly secured to the shell, C, byscrews, of course when that shell is jammed, as already stated, by thenut, E, it becomes impossible to turn the chuck bodily; and hence thebevel wheels cannot be rotated around the main gear wheel, andconsequently the position of the jaws cannot be altered. The abovecomprises the mechanism proper of the device, that is to say, all thatis necessary for moving or clamping the jaws. 

There is, however, another feature of considerable importance yet tobe described, and that is the device for taking up any play of thejaws due to wear, and which enables each to be adjusted so that themotion of all may be uniform. By referring to Fig. 4, it will be seenthat, above the bevel wheel, there is a projection, into the threadedinterior of which, as already explained, the jaw screw enters. Surrounding this projection is a sleeve, G, the outer surface of whichis threaded to fit a similarly threaded aperture, cut partly in theshell and partly in the face plate. The upper portion of the sleeve isnotched to receive a wrench or driver; and beneath the sleeve an armedwasher, H, is slipped over the projection. The arms of this washerenter recesses in the face plate. It will be evident that, by turningthe sleeve, F, so that the screw works inward, the jaw and all itsappendages will be moved bodily in corresponding direction. But itsmovement is limited by the arms of the washer, G, which, through thenarrowness of the recesses, are allowed only just enough play tocompensate for slight changes in the jaw. As the above device isapplied to every jaw, it follows that any one of them may be nicelyadjusted from the outside, so that all are caused to grasp the toolaccurately. The spindle, instead of being solid as represented, may bemade hollow. Patented to J. H. Vinton, August 18, 1874. For furtherinformation, address the manufacturer, Mr. F. Armstrong, Bridgeport, Conn. 

 * * * * *

SCREW-CUTTING LATHES. 

[Illustration: Screw-Cutting Lathes]

An English lathe, now in use at the Rogers Locomotive Works, Paterson, N. J. , contains several novel features. The ways are flat on the faces, instead of having raised Vs; and this is a feature of all Englishlathes, and of those known in this country as the Freeland lathes. Agreat deal of discussion has at various times taken place as to therelative qualification or merits of these two forms of lathe bed. Theadvocates of the flat way, with Vs at the edges of the way, claimsuperiority on the score of steadiness, increased wearing surface, andstrength; while, on behalf of the raised Vs, it is urged that, the Vsbeing true, the saddle is bound to travel true, because there can beno lost motion on the slides; whereas any lost motion, from want ofadjustment of the slides in flat ways, is liable to be reproducedtwofold in the work, for the reason that 1/100 of an inch lateralmovement of the slide carriage becomes 1/50 of an inch in the diameterof the work. Then, again, the most of the wear upon a lathe bed takesplace at the part at and near the running center of the lathe, becausethe saddle is, on account of short jobs, more used in that part thanon any other. As a result, when wear has taken place, the saddle, ifadjusted to suit the worn part, becomes too tight to travel over theunworn part of the bed; and hence, after the wear has taken place, aproper adjustment of the lathe saddle becomes impossible if the job isa long one. In the case of raised Vs, however, the wear simply causesthe saddle to fall vertically, so that an amount of wear equal to1/100 of an inch would have the same effect as lowering the tool 1/100inch, its effect upon the work being almost imperceptible by ordinarymeasurement. On the other hand, however, V lathes are usually madewith either a weight or a spring to keep the saddle down; and as aresult, when the cutting tool stands far out from the tool post, thesaddle is apt to tip, especially in the case of boring with a lathetool. In some cases, the raised Vs are accompanied with gibs to securethe saddle; but in many instances the gibs are given too littlewearing surface. In the lathe above referred to, there are three waysin one casting, with the slide angles on the outer edges. There arealso three separate and independent tail stocks fitting into the twoopenings between the ways. The running head has one cone pulleyconnected by suitable gearing to three face plates. The three centersat the running head are stationary. The slide rest saddle spans thethree ways, having a V slide which contains three separate sliderests, all connected by a nut to the feed screw, so that all three areoperated by the one screw. In addition to this, the two back sliderests have the nuts so attached that they can be moved by means of aseparate screw, the object being to facilitate setting the cuts, sinceit would be a tedious matter to set all three tools to an equal cut, or to their desired respective cuts, without means of operating two ofthem independently. To set the cut during screw-cutting operations, the ingenious device shown in our engraving is provided. A representsthe cross-feed or slide rest screw, which operates the three sliderests. It is fast to the notched wheel, B, and is operated by it inthe usual way. C is a short screw which provides journal bearing forthe screw, A, by a plain hole. It is screwed on the outside, and theplate in which it fits acts as its nut. It is fast to the handle, D, and is in fact operated by it. The handle or lever is provided with acatch, E, pivoted in the enclosed box, F, which also contains a meansof detaining the catch in the notches of the wheel, or of holding itfree from the same when it is placed clear. If, then, the lever, D, bemoved back and forth the feed screw, A, and hence the three sliderests, will be operated; while, if the catch be placed in one of thenotches on the wheel, B, both the screws, A and C, will act to operatethe rests. When, therefore, the operator is cutting screws, he setsthe catch, E, into one of the notches so soon as the tools areproperly adjusted to the work; and then lifting the catch, E, he turnsthe wheel, B, so that the catch falls into the next notch, and thisputs the cut on. When the tool has taken that cut, and while thelatter saddle is traveling back, the catch is placed in the nextnotch, and so on, the cut for the forward travel always being put onas above while the saddle is traveling back. Thus is insured anexactly equable amount of cut on the whole three rests. When thelever, D, is not in use, the catch is removed from the wheel, B, andis allowed to rest against the pins, G or A, provided for thatpurpose. For piston rods, or for work such as cutting jack screws, this lathe is very useful. It is obviously, however, a special tool. 

 * * * * *

NATURAL ORNAMENTS IN WINTER. 

Now that the hedges are no longer green, and the trees stand black andbare on the landscape, is the time to seek for endless variety andbeauty waiting to be admired in its turn. What miniature fairy glensand grottoes are distributed over the hedge banks of our countrylanes! Mosses, delicate and beautiful, may be found in the intersticesof any old wall, or at the foot of almost any tree or shrub. In thewinter time mosses and lichens are found in fruit, and are beautifulobjects. A pocket microscope lens is essential for their properobservation; and though the delicate carmine cups of the species knownas the cup moss, and the familiar gray and yellow mosaic appearance wesee on twigs and branches on our way, are easily recognized, the studyof this form of winter vegetation is an inexhaustible one, and is anoccupation for a lifetime, if earnestly pursued. We do not however, suggest that every one who endeavors to recognize the differentspecies of moss, lichens, or fungi should necessarily do so throughthe medium of the microscope; but it will greatly add to the pleasureof making a collection out of doors if there be a good microscope athome, so that when the contents of the basket be turned out, after thewinter's walk, there should be interest even in the fragments left, after a little pile of varied bits has been constructed, rivalling thechoicest summer bouquet in beauty of form and color. We have seen sucha collection formed into a beautiful object by raising a little moundof rough bits of bark in a plate or saucer, and placing on itvarieties of fungus of every shade of red, brown, yellow, and gray. They seem to spring forth from a bed of sphagnum or bog moss ofbrightest emerald green; while a clump of the screw wall moss infruit, with its curious little box-like capsules, supports a gray oryellow lichen, which has been gently removed from some old wall ortree. A bit of stick or a twig, incrusted with a bright orange-coloredlichen, supports a trailing branch of delicate green ivy, the mostbeautiful and adaptable of all winter foliage. Over this littlearrangement is placed a bell glass, to preserve it from dust and theeffect of a dry atmosphere; and we know how pleasing to the eye is itsvaried beauty of form and color, lasting thus, a constant source ofpleasure, for many a day without renewal. --_Chambers' Journal_. 

 * * * * *

IMPROVED HARNESS COCKEYE. 

We illustrate herewith a very simple little device for attachingtraces to the single tree. It forms a secure fastening which may beinstantly attached, and which, by its construction, is prevented fromwearing out rapidly. 

[Illustration: Figs. 1 and 2]

Fig. 1 shows the cockeye attached to the single tree, and Fig. 2exhibits parts in section, displaying the construction very clearly. The yoke is of the usual pattern. Swiveled to it is a long loop, whichis chambered out to receive a spiral spring which acts upon a plunger. The latter is provided with a follower having a semicircular notch, which corresponds in form to the inside of the end of the loop. Thefollower also has guiding lips which extend over the sides of theloop. Through the yielding of the spring, the space between thefollower and loop adjusts itself to studs or hooks of any size. Patented December 12, 1876, through the Scientific American PatentAgency. For further particulars, address the inventors, Messrs. F. W. Knapp and C. Schallhorn, Fiddletown, Amador county, Cal. 

 * * * * *

PROPOSED CREMATION TEMPLE. 

Cremation, in this country at least, is not popular. For a time, itoccupied here some public attention, but only in a sensational way;and the sober discussion of the subject, which followed after itsnovelty had worn off, led to the general opinion that, while every onemight be quite willing to see his dead neighbors cremated, no onewould acquiesce in the disposal of his friends and relatives in soabnormal a manner. Hence, with the single exception of the laterevolting exhibition in Pennsylvania, which we alluded to at the time, the dead in this country have continued to be deposited in theirhallowed resting places, and have not been packed away, in anincinerated state, in labeled urns. In Europe, however, cremationstill finds many warm adherents; and during last summer a congress ofthe "Friends of Cremation" (a society which, we are informed by_Engineering_, whence we take the annexed engravings, has branches invarious parts of the world), was held in Dresden. Before this meeting, a large number of designs for cremation and mortuary buildings werebrought in competition, and finally the prize was awarded to Mr. G. Lilienthal, a Berlin architect, for the imposing structure illustratedherewith. 

This will be the grand temple of cremation when it is erected--aproceeding to take place in the dim future: when or where not stated. On each side of a central chapel there is a circular memorial hall;and extending so as to inclose the garden of the establishment, on thesides of the halls are wings containing a large number of niches forthe reception of funeral urns. 

The cremation ceremony is proposed to be as follows: The body, havingbeen brought into the hall, is subjected to the usual medicalexamination; or when an inquest is necessary, it is removed to officesin another part of the building, where the required investigation canbe held. When all is ready, the body, placed on the platform, B, Fig. 2, is raised by a lift into the hall, A, where visitors are gathered, and here the result of the medical examination is declared, andwhatever preliminary religious ceremonies that are desired areperformed. The body is then transported to the chapel, E, in front ofthe pulpit, F, where the burial service is performed. The bier isafterward lowered mechanically, and brought to the furnaces, which arearranged in a semicircle and partitioned for the reception of severalbiers. The ashes are subsequently placed in an urn, on which thename, etc. , of the deceased are recorded, and which is set up in asuitable niche. 

[Illustration: Fig. 1. --DESIGN FOR A CREMATION TEMPLE]

The building, which we illustrate both in elevation, Fig. 1, and inplan, Fig. 2, is designed to contain 100, 000 urns, and is adapted fora town of 200, 000 inhabitants. The architect has certainly exhibitedmuch taste in his design for the building, and has provided everyconvenience in the internal arrangement for carrying on a largebusiness in the cremation line. 

[Illustration: Fig. 2. --SECTION OF A CREMATION TEMPLE. ]

 * * * * *

HOW TO REJUVENATE AN OLD ROSE BUSH. 

Never give up a decaying rose bush till you have tried watering it twoor three times a week with soot tea. Make the concoction with boilingwater, from soot taken from the chimney or stove in which wood isburned. When cold, water the bush with it. When it is used up, pourboiling hot water on the soot a second time. Rose bushes treated inthis way will often send out thrifty shoots, the leaves will becomelarge and thick, the blossoms will greatly improve in size and be morerichly tinted than before. --D. H. Jacques. 

 * * * * *

A CLOCK COLLECTOR. 

One of those odd geniuses, who spend their lives and means incollecting curious and rare articles, lately died. His name wasSylvester Bonaffon, a retired merchant of Philadelphia. His elaboratecollections were sold at auction, and their oddity has attractedgeneral attention. His chief mania was for clocks, which literallycovered every portion of available space in his apartments, whetherthey were placed on chairs, tables, shelves, or hung against the wall. Some of these timepieces were of unique construction. One clock wasmade to run for 400 days after one winding; another was set in thedashboard of his carriage, and he used Mr. Bonaffon also had anespecial fondness for electrical apparatus. His windows were providedwith ingenious burglar alarms, his rooms with fire alarms, and heignited his gas always by electricity. His place of business, hisstable, the Continental Hotel where he dined, were all connected withinstruments in his room; and he even had perfected arrangements sothat he could set at home and send his own messages to California. Besides the clocks and electric apparatus, there was an immensecollection of _bric-a-brac_ of every conceivable variety, which wassold at the auction--as is usually the case--at prices much belowthose paid by its late owner. 

 * * * * *

FERTILIZING INFLUENCE OF SNOW. 

Snow is often called the "poor man's manure;" and if it is true thatit has any manurial value, the farmer's prospects for the next seasonare certainly flattering. The body of snow upon the ground in all theNorthern and Middle States is very great, and millions of acres ofland are covered by it as with a blanket of the whitest wool. It isprobable that seldom, perhaps never, has so wide an area of ourcountry been covered as during this month of January, 1877. Thequestion whether snow is capable of affording to lands any of theelements of fertility is one often asked; and in reply, the Boston_Journal of Chemistry_ says that it probably is. The atmosphere holdsammonia and some other nitrogenous products, which are without doubtbrought to the soil by snowflakes as well as by rain drops. Experiments both here and abroad would seem to prove the truth of thisconclusion. 

Rains are not only valuable for the moisture which they supply, butfor what they bring to us from the atmosphere. During a thunderstormnitric acid is produced in considerable quantities; and dissolved inthe rain drops to a high degree of attenuation, its effects upon soilsare highly salutary, as the nitrogen permeates the entire soil. 

 * * * * *

ACTION OF SEA WATER ON LEAD. 

The _Journal of the Chemical Society_ says that freshly cut strips oflead were kept in a bottle of sea water for four days, the bottlebeing frequently shaken. No trace of lead could be detected in thewater, but the bright surface of the strips was coated with aninsoluble lead compound. Hence lead pipes may be used in marineaquaria without any fear of injury to their inhabitants. 

 * * * * *

PAPIN'S STEAM ENGINE. 

BY PROFESSOR CHARLES A. JOY. 

It is a matter of history that, as early as 1688, Denis Papin, Professor of Physics and Mathematics at the University of Marburg, proposed to substitute steam for powder in the engine invented byHuyghens, and that in 1695 he published a description of several newinventions, in which steam played an important part. The Elector Carl, of Hesse-Cassel, was anxious to be free from the annoyances andimpositions practised upon his boatmen by the authorities at Münden, and he proposed to avoid that city by constructing a canal connectingthe Weser with the river that flowed through Cassel. Much of the workwas accomplished, and the half finished line of the canal can betraced even at the present day. Papin was authorized to build apowerful steam pump by which the supply of water was to be regulated. A working model of this pump was completed; and the Elector was on thepoint of visiting the laboratory to witness its operation, when afearful explosion frightened the workmen, and afforded an opportunityfor enemies to intrigue for the expulsion of Papin from the country. The model was preserved for a long time in Cassel; but at the time ofthe French invasion, it disappeared, and no trace of it has since beenfound. In writing about his inventions, Papin says, in 1695: "It wouldoccupy too much space for me to describe in what manner this principlecould be applied to removing water from mines, throwing bombs, sailingagainst the wind, and for many other similar purposes; everyoneaccording to his wants can imagine the constructions that could bemade. I cannot, however, refrain from remarking how much preferablethis power would be to oars for those whose business calls them to thesea. " And further on he says: "The steam cylinders could be employedfor a great variety of purposes. " One of the cylinders, which was toform a part of the pump, was cast at the foundry in Cassel, and aftervarious vicissitudes has finally become the property of the HistoricalMuseum in that city, where it will be preserved, with jealous care, from any further injury. During the recent exhibition of philosophicalinstruments in London, this remnant of Papin's invention played animportant part, it having been generously loaned by the authoritiesfor that occasion. After the flight of Papin from Germany, thecylinder was used as a receptacle for iron turnings and borings in theroyal works; and after the destruction of those works by fire, it cameinto the possession of Henschel, the founder of one of the mostextensive locomotive works in Germany. This man fully appreciated thevalue of the historical relic; and when I visited him at the works, twenty-five years ago, he pointed out with pride to me the inscriptionon its side, "Papin's Cylinder, " and said that he intended to have itplaced upon a solid pedestal near the gate. His grandson has sincepresented it to the city, and its preservation from destruction orsale is now secured. A copy of the drawing made by Papin of the pumpof which this cylinder was to form a part, and which was published in1695, has recently appeared in Dingler's _Journal_, and I send it toyou, hoping that you will have it engraved and perpetuated in yourvaluable paper. It is a peculiar combination of Savery's invention andPapin's piston engine, suggested for another purpose, and is a decidedimprovement on Huyghens' powder engine. 

[Illustration: PAPIN'S STEAM ENGINE. ]

A is the boiler for the generation of the steam, provided with asafety valve (an invention of Papin). On opening the stopcock, C, thesteam passes through B into the cylinder, D, and by its expansiondrives the plunger, E, against the water contained in the cylinder, D, which is thus forced into the chamber, F, compressing strongly theair, which in turn expels the water through the pipe, G, to the heightdesired. K is a funnel for the fresh supply of water, and at I and Hare valves opening upwards and downwards. After the condensation ofthe steam in D, a renewed supply of water, through K, forces theplunger, E, to the top of the cylinder, ready for the next action ofsteam. The strokes of such a pump could not be frequent, and it wouldnot compare very favorably with the wonderful machinery exhibited inPhiladelphia last summer; but it contains the germ of the idea, and isworthy of all honor. Having often seen it stated that Papin hadinvented a steamboat, I resolved during a recent visit to Germany toinvestigate the matter, and especially to search for thecorrespondence between Papin and Leibnitz in the library at Hanover. It will be borne in mind that two hundred years ago, on December 4, 1676, Leibnitz was appointed to take charge of the library in Hanover, and that he remained in this position until his death in 1716. Hebequeathed his manuscripts to the library; and as he had the habit ofwriting upon all manner of loose scraps of paper, it has cost muchlabor to assort and classify them. 

On making my application to the librarian to be permitted to see thecorrespondence between Papin and Leibnitz, my request was at oncegranted; and a table having been assigned me, I was able to examinethese precious relics at my leisure. I was also shown a copy of anoriginal treatise on the steam engine by Papin, which containednumerous marginal notes by Leibnitz. In one place, Leibnitz criticizedPapin's method for condensing steam, and makes a drawing on themargin, showing a piston and valve which he thought would be morepractical. It is somewhat remarkable that the Germans have not causeda fac-simile of this little volume to be published. After considerablesearch, I found a copy of the original letter addressed by Papin toLeibnitz in 1707, asking Leibnitz to assist him in obtaining theconsent of the Hanoverian Government to navigate the river Weser witha sidewheel steamboat. The letter was dated July 7, 1707, andcontained among other interesting passages the following sentence:"The new invention will enable one or two men to accomplish moreeffect than several hundred oarsmen. " It is evident that Leibnitz wasdeeply impressed by Papin's letter, and he supported the simple andreasonable request contained in it by the following petition addressedto the Councillors of State. This communication from Leibnitz bearstwo indorsements, one by the clerk of the council, "_pro memoria_respectfully, in reference to the passage of a ship from the riverFulda into the Weser;" the other is in the handwriting of Leibnitz:"Papin's sidewheel ship. " This last indorsement is of great value, asindicating the fact that Papin proposed to apply side wheels for thepropulsion of his new invention. The following is a translation ofLeibnitz' letter, the original of which I saw in the library:

"Dionysius Papin, Councillor and Physician to his royal highness theElector of Cassel, also Professor of Mathematics at Marburg, is aboutto dispatch a vessel of singular construction down the river Weser toBremen. As he learns that all ships coming from Cassel, or any pointon the Fulda, are not permitted to enter the Weser, but are requiredto unload at Münden, and as he anticipates some difficulty, althoughthose vessels have a different object, his own not being intended forfreight, he begs most humbly that a gracious order be granted that hisship may be allowed to pass unmolested through the electoral domain, which petition I most humbly support. 

 G. W. LEIBNITZ. "Hanover, July 13, 1707. "

This letter was returned to Leibnitz with the following indorsement:"The Electoral Councillors have found serious obstacles in the way ofgranting the above petition, and, without giving their reasons, havedirected me to inform you of their decision, and that in consequencethe request is not granted by his Electoral Highness. 

 H. REICHE. "Hanover, July 25, 1707. "

This failure of Papin's petition was the deathblow to his effort toestablish steam navigation. A mob of boatmen, who thought they saw inthe embryo ship the ruin of their business, attacked the vessel atnight and utterly destroyed it. Papin narrowly escaped with his life, and fled to England, where he endured great hardships and poverty, andall traces of him were soon lost, so that it is uncertain in whatcountry he finally died or where he was buried. 

This remarkable man was driven out of France on account of hisProtestant faith, and found a refuge in Germany; here he was againpersecuted on account of the injury that ignorant and jealous peoplebelieved his inventions would inflict upon the industries of thecountry; and when the climax of steam engines for pumping water andpropelling ships was reached, the enlightened government of the period"found serious obstacles" in the way of granting him protection, and, without condescending to state what those "objections" were, secretlyinstigated the mob to make an end of the trouble. It is anotherinstance, unfortunately too often repeated in history, of the mischiefmen dressed up in a little brief authority can work upon theirgeneration. If Papin had been permitted to navigate the Weser with hisship, and to carry it to London, as was his intention, it is possiblethat we should have had steamboats one hundred years earlier than theywere given to us by Fulton. The plan proposed by Papin was highlyimpracticable; but a knowledge of what Savery had done in the way ofsteam machinery, aided by the shrewd suggestions of Leibnitz, combinedwith the practical assistance of Englishmen, would, no doubt, haveenabled him to improve upon his invention until it had obtainedsufficient credit to be secure against the misfortune of beingtotally forgotten. After the lapse of 100 years from the date ofPapin's invention, when the first steamboat was put upon the riverRhine, the vessel was fired into by concealed marksmen on shore, andnavigation was more dangerous than it is now on the upper waters ofthe Missouri in times of Indian hostility. It was only afterstationing troops along the banks of the river to protect the boatmenthat the government, fortunately more enlightened than in the days ofLeibnitz, was able to establish steam navigation on a secure footing. 

I have thought it worth while to make this contribution to the historyof steam navigation, particularly as I have been able to authenticatea portion of it by reference to original documents. 

Columbia College, New York city, January, 1877. 

 * * * * *

THE SPEAKING TELEGRAPH. 

We have heretofore given accounts of the wonderful success ofProfessor Bell in transmitting the vibrations of the human voice byelectrical means over a telegraph wire. He has lately madeimprovements in his method of transmission, by which he dispenses withthe use of the battery, and substitutes the magneto-electric plan ofproducing the current. The Boston _Transcript_ describes a recentexperiment with the new apparatus, by which conversation and singingwas successfully carried on between Boston and Malden, a distance ofsix miles. The telephone, in its present form, consists of a powerfulcompound permanent magnet, to the poles of which are attached ordinarytelegraph coils of insulated wire. In front of the poles, surroundedby these coils of wire, is placed a diaphragm of iron. A mouthpiece toconverge the sound upon this diaphragm substantially completes thearrangement. As is well known, the motion of steel or iron in front ofthe poles of a magnet creates a current of electricity in coilssurrounding the poles of the magnet, and the duration of this currentof electricity coincides with the duration of the motion of the steelor iron moved or vibrated in the proximity of the magnet. When thehuman voice causes the diaphragm to vibrate, electrical undulationsare induced in the coils environing the magnets, precisely analogousto the undulations of the air produced by that voice. These coils areconnected with the line wire, which may be of any length, provided theinsulation be good. The undulations which are induced in these coilstravel through the line wire, and, passing through the coils of aninstrument of precisely similar construction at the distant station, are again resolved into air undulations by the diaphragm of thisinstrument. 

The experiments were as follows: Telephones having been connected withthe private telegraphic line of the Boston Rubber Shoe Company, conversation was at once commenced. Stationed at the Boston end of thewire, Professor Bell requested Mr. Watson, who was at the Malden end, to speak in loud tones, with a view of enabling the entire company atonce to distinguish the sounds. 

This was so successful that a smile of mingled pleasure and surpriseplayed on the features of those present. That it, however, might notbe supposed that loud speaking was essential to intelligibility, Mr. Bell explained that soft tones could be heard across the wires evenmore distinctly than loud utterances, even a whisper being audible. Inconfirmation of this statement, Mr. Watson commenced speaking in turnwith each member of the company; and after the efficiency of thismethod had been proved to the satisfaction of all, he took up anewspaper and informed the assemblage that gold had closed theprevious evening at New York at 105-5/8. As there were quite a numberof business men present, the effect that this practical demonstrationof the value of the telephone produced can scarcely be exaggerated. Other passages from the daily journals were then given, and by thistime the desire for conversation having become general, Mr. Watson wasplied with questions such as: "Is it thawing or freezing at Malden?Who will be the next President?" etc. It was remarkable that Mr. Watson was able to distinguish between the voices at the Boston end, he calling at least one gentleman by name as soon as the lattercommenced speaking. 

This went on for some time, until a lady at the Malden end sent thecompany an invitation to lunch per telephone, and an appropriateresponse was made by the same medium. At length the Boston companywere requested to remain quiet while a lady at the other end conveyedto them the sweet strains of music. The assemblage thereupon listenedwith rapt attention while a young lady commenced singing "The LastRose of Summer. " The effect was simply charming. The sound of thevoice penetrated into the Boston end of the telephone with adistinctness equal to that attainable in the more distant parts of alarge concert room, and a unanimous vote of thanks was sent by thehandy little instrument which had procured for the assemblage soagreeable an hour. 

 * * * * *

The superb steam engine built by C. H. Brown & Co. , of Fitchburg, Mass. , which was illustrated and described on page 1 of our currentvolume, has been purchased by Messrs. Phineas Jones & Co. , and isbeing erected in their extensive carriage wheel works at Newark, N. J. 

 * * * * *

CROSSING A RIVER ON A WIRE. 

A reporter of the New York Sun wanted to realize the sensation ofbeing suspended on a wire 275 feet from the surface of the earth. Heapplied to the engineer of the Brooklyn bridge for permission to crossthe East river on a wire, three quarters of an inch in diameter, whichhangs between the two towers. He was refused permission; but hefinally saw the president of the company, who granted his request. Arriving at the appointed time, the engineer, Mr. Farrington, said:"Well, sir; whenever you're ready, I am. "

"All ready, said I, as bold as brass outside, and as nervous as theEndorian witch on the inside. He walked on and I followed, when, Horror of Horrors--capital H's--to both Horrors--instead of leading meto the 'cradle, ' which I called a raft, he took me to a little squareboard held up by two crossed iron arms, called a 'buggy. ' It was aboutthree feet square, and depended from the 'traveler, ' a three quarterinch wire which crosses the river, and is run from tower to tower overapparatus, by means of a stationary engine. It was too late to backout, but I didn't feel exactly prepared to plunge in. He did. 

"He jumped in, and the little buggy swung from side to side, preciselyas a swing does when you jump on the board and try to steady it by theropes. I looked at him, at the scale--that's it; it's exactly like apair of scales, with one scale--at the deep depths below us, and atmyself. I imagined the ticklish thrill which would permeate my bodywhen we started. I fancied the glories of the prospective perspectivebefore me. 

"'Come, hurry up, please, ' interrupted Farrington, and withresignation I hurried down. He stood up. I crouched down. Perhaps youthink you'd have stood up as he did. You're mistaken. I crouched downand held on tight. Make no mistake. I held on tight and waited for mythrill. It didn't come. Then I stood up, and Farrington gave the word'Go. ' 'Wouldn't you better take a rope along?' said one of the men. 'Yes, I think I would. ' What did he want of a rope? He feared I wouldbe nervous. He meant to grapple me in the middle of the river, and tieme in. I knew it. I felt it. But I didn't say a word. 

"With a gentle jerk we started--slow, slow, very slow. Farringtonstood in front and watched the wire. I stood behind and watchedmyself. I felt nothing. I was'n't exhilarated. I was'n't scared. Iwas'n't even timid. I can't look from the top of a house withoutdesiring to jump off, but I looked down from the buggy and hadn't theleast desire to jump. Farrington says: 'It's because it's so high up. 'Well, we went on without any special sensation till the buggy struckagainst a stay rope which reaches from one of the cables to the tower. In the effort to free the buggy, Mr. Farrington gave a push whichswung us out some little distance and back again, at which a littlepiece of indigestion seemed to be monarch of my interior, and for amoment I was on the verge of a sensation. Having passed the middle, the ascent was more labored. I waved my handkerchief to the people onthe ferryboats. I looked out toward the sea. I looked up at theheavens. I even looked toward Harlem, but, like the buyer in theBible, I said: 'It is naught, it is naught. '

"In about eight minutes we touched the New York side--all but tenfeet. The red flag waved for the engine to stop. There we hung inmid-air 275 feet above the level, swinging to and fro like a drunkenbuggy, at an angle of forty degrees, and quite uneasy. The rope whichwas to haul us on was fastened to the iron--blest be the tie thatbinds--and with a few hearty pulls we were brought so near the NewYork tower that without difficulty we clambered up. I had made thetrip, but I had not felt a feel. From the top of the New York tower Isaw much, but the chief point of interest was the innumerable jets ofsteam which flourish in the air, and fantastically curl off intospace. 

"Again the steeples, the tower, and the long, narrow, dirty riverfilled the prospect, and the bright sun of a charming day lightened upthe western sky That was all, except to say 'thanks and good-bye, ' anddescend the stairs. There were 417 of them stairs, and before Ireached the bottom I was dizzy, faint, seasick, and filled with adecoction of tickle, so that I had to shut my eyes and rest from mylabors. 

"Thus ends the trip which filled my anticipatory imagination as thewaters fill the sea, but which resolved itself in realization to asimple, childlike faith in the fixtures on the wire, and in the skilland competence of the man who guided them. MONSIEUR X. "

 * * * * *

BLUE GLASS SCIENCE. 

There is nothing more reassuring in these days, when new "isms" of thescientists are slowly sapping the foundations of cherished beliefs, than to remember that, after all, the much vaunted dicta of Nature areyet opposable by the sound operations of honest common sense. See forexample how one of our evening dailies, tossing the dogmas ofso-called science contemptuously aside, evolves such profoundlyoriginal thoughts as these, to explain the lucid blue glass theory ofGeneral Pleasonton: "The blue glass presents an obstruction to thesun's rays which can only be penetrated by one of the seven primaryrays--the blue ray; the remaining six rays, travelling with thevelocity of 186, 000 miles a second, falling upon the blue glass, aresuddenly arrested; the impact evolves upon the surface of the glassfriction, heat, electricity and magnetism; the heat expands themolecules of the glass, and a current of electricity and magnetismpasses through it into the room; this current, falling upon animal orvegetable life within, stimulates it to unusual vigor. Certainly theresults achieved, and abundantly certified to, are marvellous, andsufficient to provoke further experiments and inquiry. " Prior to thesesplendid original discoveries of our contemporary, we ignorantlybelieved that blue glass only partially sifted out the orange andyellow rays from the spectrum, and that with this exception, it actedmerely as a screen to diminish the intensity of all the rays. We alsosupposed that there was a sharp distinction to be drawn betweensunlight after passing through blue glass and the blue spectral ray:that in one case all the colored rays were more or less present, andthat in the other but one was. But think of the utter dismay of suchpretenders as Helmholtz, Tyndall, and Henry when they learn that theundulatory theory of light with which they have so long taxed ourcredulity is overthrown--that of the seven primary rays, six bounceoff from blue glass and distribute themselves over the adjoiningneighborhood. That the glass is heated by the impact; and as the sunpersistently emits more rays, there are more impacts and more heat. The glass gets hotter and hotter; but--mark the scientific acumenhere--just as we are wondering whether it will reach the meltingpoint, the pores open. It is the Turkish bath of Nature. Electricityand magnetism, no longer shut out, rush in between the separatemolecules. Hand in hand, these great curative powers seek a propersubject. They meet (we learn from a report, also in our contemporary, of Pleasonton's latest triumph) a pig or a young lady whose hair hascome out--a heifer, a rooster, or a rheumatic child. Forthwith the pigfattens, hair equal to that produced by the finest _tricopherus_pervades the female scalp, and "unusual vigor" and general happinessprevail. Such is the boon which Pleasonton bestows on humanity, aselucidated by the original genius of our contemporary. 

 * * * * *

INFECTIOUS DISEASE PROPAGATION. 

In view of the alarming prevalence of scarlet fever in many parts ofthe country, the following hints by the _British Medical Journal_ arewholesome warnings: "There are three common ways by means of whichinfectious diseases may be very widely spread. It is a very usualpractice for parents to take children suffering from scarlet fever, measles, etc. , to a public dispensary, in order to obtain advice andmedicines. It is little less than crime to expose, in the streets of atown and in the crowded waiting room of a dispensary, childrenafflicted with such complaints. Again, persons who are recovering frominfectious disorders borrow books out of the lending departments ofpublic libraries; these books, on their reissue to fresh borrowers, are sources of very great danger. In all libraries, notices should beposted up informing borrowers that no books will be lent out topersons who are suffering from diseases of an infectious character;and that any person so suffering will be prosecuted if he borrowduring the time of his illness. Lastly, disease is spread by tractdistributors. It is the habit for such well meaning people to call ata house where a person is ill and to leave him a tract. In a week orso the tract is called for again, another left in its place, and theold one is left with another person. It needs not much imagination toknow with what result to health such a practice will lead if the firstperson be in scarlet fever or smallpox. "

Dr. Hutton offers "a warning on the reckless manner in which parentsallow their healthy children to run into the houses of acquaintanceswho have members of their families suffering from scarlatina, etc. , and states that he has seen the infection thus carried from thepatient, and several families attacked. "

 * * * * *

TOUGHENED GLASS MAKING IN BROOKLYN. 

A _World_ reporter has lately visited the works in Brooklyn where themanufacture of the La Bastie toughened glass is now in activeprogress. The manufacturer states that, in June last, his factory wasdestroyed by fire, and the introduction of the glass into our marketshas for that reason been delayed. Only one kind of goods, lampchimneys, are now made, and the process is as follows: A workman, having in his hand a pole about eight feet long, with a knob on theend of the size of a lamp burner, fits a chimney on the knob andplunges it into the flame of a furnace. He with-draws it twice orthrice that it may not heat too quickly, turning the pole rapidly thewhile, and when the glass reaches a red heat quickly shoots it intoone of a dozen small baths fixed on a revolving table, and seizesanother chimney. A boy keeps the revolving table always in position, and as the chimneys come around to him, having been the proper time inthe bath, he takes them out to be dried, sorted, cleaned, and packed. The bath has to be of just the right temperature, as, if it be too hotor too cold, the chimneys are liable to explode. In either case theprocess of annealing is imperfect. By working the tables at a certainrate, the baths are kept at the right temperature by the immersion ofthe red hot glass. Oil or tallow is used in the bath. Any greasysubstance will do, though tallow has proved most satisfactory. 

M. De la Chapelle, the manufacturer, states that he has already sold$150, 000 worth of the chimneys. The toughened chimneys are about 60per cent dearer than those of ordinary glass. The factory is inDelavan street, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

 * * * * *

ALEXANDER BAIN, ELECTRICIAN. 

This ingenious man, whose inventions in connection with the electrictelegraph entitle his name to be held in grateful remembrance, died inJanuary last at the new Home for Incurables at Broomhill, Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow, Scotland, and on Saturday his remainswere interred in the burying ground in the neighborhood of that townknown as the Old Aisle Cemetery. Mr. Bain, who was about sixty-sixyears of age, was a native of Thurso. He was the inventor of theelectro-chemical printing telegraph, the electro-magnetic clock, andof perforated paper for automatic transmission of messages, and wasauthor of a number of books and pamphlets relating to these subjects. Sir William Thomson, in his address to the Mathematical Section of theBritish Association at its meeting in Glasgow last year, said: "In theUnited States Telegraphic Department of the Great Exhibition atPhiladelphia, I saw Edison's automatic telegraph delivering 1, 015words in 57 seconds. This was done by the long neglectedelectro-chemical method of Bain, long ago condemned in England to thehelot work of recording from a relay, and turned adrift as needlesslydelicate for that. " Mr. Bain was stricken by paralysis, and sufferedfrom complete loss of power in the lower limbs. For some time he hadreceived a pension from the government, obtained for him, we believe, through the instrumentality of Sir William Thomson. Mr. Bain was awidower, and has left a son and daughter, the former of whom is inAmerica, and the latter at present on the Continent. Photographs ofhim by Mayall were recently presented to the Society of TelegraphEngineers and the American Society of Telegraphers at Philadelphia. --_The Engineer. _

 * * * * *

SELF-RELIANCE NECESSARY TO SUCCESS. 

Self-reliance, conjoined with promptitude in the execution of ourundertakings, is indispensable to success. And yet multitudes live alife of vacillation and consequent failure, because they remainundetermined what to do, or, having decided that, have no confidencein themselves. Such persons need to be assured; but this assurance canbe obtained in no other way than by their own successes in whateverthey may attempt for themselves. If they lean upon others, they notonly become dissatisfied with what they achieve, but the success ofone achievement, in which they are entitled to but partial credit, isno guaranty to them that, unaided, they will not fail in their verynext experiment. 

For want of self-reliance and decision of character, thousands aresubmerged in their first essays to make the voyage of life. Disappointed and chagrined at this, they underestimate their owncapacities, and thenceforward, relying on others, they take and keep asubordinate position, from which they rise, when they rise at all, with the utmost difficulty. When a young man attains his majority, itis better for him, as a general rule, to take some independentposition of his own, even though the present remuneration be less thanhe would obtain in the service of others. When at work for himself, ina business which requires and demands foresight, economy, andindustry, he will naturally develop the strong points of hischaracter, and become self-reliant. 

A glance at the business men of any community will show who have andwho have not improved the opportunities of their earlier years. Theformer transact their business with ease, promptitude, and profit. They rely upon themselves, and execute what they have to do withenergy and dispatch. But those who shirked everything in their youthare compelled to rely on their clerks and salesmen for advice, and arenever ready to act when occasions of profit arise. Many parents commita lamentable error in this respect. They lead their children tobelieve that they can do nothing without the constant assistance oftheir superiors, and after awhile the child becomes impressed withthat idea. Fortunate will it be for him when he emerges from theparental roof, if he can at once acquire the self-reliance which hasbeen kept down at home--otherwise he must necessarily fail in whateverindependent enterprise he undertakes; and in such a case, while themisfortune is his own, the fault lies at the door of misjudgingparents rather than at his own. 

 * * * * *

SOMETHING TO DO. 

It is an old trick of despots, and a good one, to employ theirsubjects. Why? To keep them out of mischief, Employed men are mostcontented. There is no conspiracy. Men do not sit down and coollyproceed to concoct iniquity so long as there is plenty of pleasant andprofitable employment for body and mind. Work drives off discontent, provided there is compensation in proportion to the amount of laborperformed. There must be a stimulant. God never intended a man shouldsweat without eating of the fruits of his labor--reaping areward--more than he intended the idle man should revel in plenty andgrow gouty on luxuries. Industry is a great peacemaker--amind-your-own-business citizen. Something to do renders the despairinggood-natured and hopeful--stops the cry of the hungry, and promotesall virtue. The best men are the most industrious; the most wealthywork the hardest. They always find something to do. Do you ever wonderthat men of wealth do not "retire" and enjoy their substance? We knowsome young men look forward with anticipation to the time of"retiring. " It is doubtful if a man should ever retire from businessas long as he lives. We think we know men who, were they to abandonbusiness, would be ruined, not pecuniarily, but mentally--their liveswould be shortened. God never intended man's mind should becomedormant. It is governed by fixed laws. Those laws are imperative intheir exactions. 

Something to do! "Oh, if I had something to do!" There are young menwho sigh for it, yet one thing they can do--that is, seek for a job. Once found, provided it is an honest one, do not hesitate to performit, even if it does not pay as well as you expected. 

 * * * * *

MONEYED MEN. 

The Cleveland _Herald_ said, twenty years ago, during a stringency ofthe times, that moneyed men are the veriest cravens on earth: sotimid, that on the least alarm they pull their heads, turtle-like, within their shells, and, snugly housed, hug their glittering treasureuntil all fear is removed. The consequence is that a few days'disturbance of the monetary atmosphere brings on a perfect dearth ofnot only the precious metals, but even of paper money, theirrepresentative. Moneyed men never adopt the tactics of mutual support;hence, as soon as a shot is fired into the flock, they scatter, eachlooking out for himself, each distrustful of the other, and eachrecognizing only the great law of selfishness, which is to take careof number one. Courage has saved many an army, even when ammunitionwas low; and many a foe has been scattered by one yell of defiancewhen there was not a cartridge left. 

 * * * * *

NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS. 

ARCHOLOGY, OR THE SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT. By S. V. Blakeslee. Price$1. 25. New York and San Francisco: A. Roman & Co. 

 This book is a very metaphysical treatise on theories of government and the duties of citizens to the law, each other, and themselves. Theoretical politics are little in favor with thinking men of this day; and the social difficulties of our age will have to be solved by practical wisdom founded on experience. The people that knows that a certain course of legislation has destroyed an empire, and that a contrary policy has developed one, will care little as to whether or not "the will controls the feelings by mediate and indirect force. " We are unable to find in this book any attempt to apply the finely worded theories stated to practical use and popular instruction in political science. 

GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF ROOF TRUSSES, FOR THE USE OF ENGINEERS, ARCHITECTS, AND BUILDERS. By Charles E. Greene, A. M. , Professor ofCivil Engineering in the University of Michigan. Chicago, Ill: GeorgeH. Frost. 

 The author of this work truly says that any designer who fairly tries the graphical method will be pleased with the simplicity and directness of the analysis, even for apparently complex forms. The hindrance to the general use of the method is the want of knowledge of the higher mathematics, which are largely used in most treatises on the subject. Professor Greene has avoided this stumbling block, and given us a treatise which may be understood and appreciated by any one of common school education. We therefore give his work a hearty commendation, and we hope that every carpenter and builder may be induced to analyze the stresses which affect the different parts of structures, which he can readily do by carefully reading this volume. 

THE HUB: a Journal devoted to the Carriage Building Trades. Publishedmonthly. Subscription price, $3. 00 a year. New York city: The HubPublishing Company, 323 Pearl street. 

 This journal is widely known for its accurate and extended information as to carriage building, trimming, lining, painting, etc. ; and since its first issue it has maintained its reputation, and given the public an immense amount of instruction in a spirited and practical manner. The illustrations and typography are excellent, and every number shows how extended an area it serves as an authority on the important industry to which it is devoted. 

ASSIGNATS AND MANDATS: the Money and the Finances of the FrenchRevolution of 1789. By Stephen D. Dillaye. Price, free by mail, 30cents. Philadelphia, Pa. : Henry Carey Baird & Co. , 810 Walnut street. 

 Mr. Dillaye differs with the Hon. A. D. White, President of Cornell University, as to the relative merits of money and promises to pay money; and he begins with the assertion that the President's "object is to depreciate American credit, stability, and honor. " Further perusal, to ascertain the meaning of this attack on a patriotic and useful member of society, shows us what Mr. Dillaye thinks he means. He talks of credit being the vital element of national power; and from this he argues that the more "credit" a nation has--that is, the deeper it is in debt--the more powerful it becomes. In short, he confuses credit as opposed to discredit with credit as opposed to cash--a grievous blunder, surely. A nation's credit is like a merchant's; it becomes greater only as his debts become smaller; and people trust a government for the same reason as they trust an individual, mainly because every previous obligation has been honorably observed. It is gratifying to know that persons of Mr. Dillaye's way of thinking are few and unimportant, and their number is diminishing daily. 

CROTON WATER SUPPLY FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK: an Address by George B. Butler to the New York Municipal Society. New York city: Published byOrder of the Society, 87 Madison avenue. 

 A review of the whole subject of our water supply, its sources and the area they drain, the geographical features of the district, and the works erected by the city. Mr. Butler maintains that the Croton valley, with proper storage reservoirs, can abundantly supply the whole city; and that no new aqueduct need be constructed in the present condition of the public debt. 

EINE KURZE ALLGEMEINE EINLEITUNG ZU DEN AROMATISCHENNITROVERBINDUNGEN. Von Peter Townsend Austen. Leipzig, Germany:Winter, Publisher. 

 We are glad to see that an American is able to publish a very useful chemical treatise in Germany, the great head center of chemistry. Dr. Austen, one of our most distinguished young chemists in the field of original research, has produced a work which bears the marks of much patient thought and study. The book is dedicated to the renowned German chemist, Professor A. W. Hofmann. 

OUR YOUNG FOLKS' MAGAZINE: a Monthly Journal of Instruction andAmusement. Subscription price, $1. 60 a year. Boston, Mass. : PostOffice Box 3090. 

 A readable little periodical, well calculated to amuse the little ones for whom it is intended. 

GLASS FOR THE STUDIO AND DARK ROOM. By Thomas Gaffield. Philadelphia, Pa. : Benerman & Wilson. 

 There is much useful information in this little pamphlet, and photographers especially should read it. The matter first appeared in the Philadelphia _Photographer_. 

 * * * * *

RECENT AMERICAN AND FOREIGN PATENTS

 * * * * *

NEW AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS. 

IMPROVED GANG PLOW. 

Ezra Peak, Montana, Kan. --This invention is so constructed that it maybe easily raised from and lowered to the ground, and adjusted to workat any desired depth in the ground. It is claimed to be of lighterdraft than plows constructed in the usual way, also to be simple inconstruction and inexpensive in manufacture. The wheels, the faces ofwhich are notched to give them a slight up-and-down movement as theyare drawn forward, slightly jar the plows, and thus cause them to beeasier drawn than when smooth wheels are used. The shaft can beprovided with a ratchet wheel and pawl to hold it in any position intowhich it may be turned; and to it is attached a rope or chain, theother end of which, is attached to the forward end of the frame, sothat by turning the shaft the plows may be raised from, lowered to, and adjusted to work at any desired depth in the ground. 

IMPROVED PLOW. 

James Willis Hendley, Cedar Hill, N. C. , assignor to David N. Bennettand Samuel T. Wright, of same place. --The objects here are simplicityand cheapness of construction, and such arrangement of parts as willprevent the plow becoming clogged with weeds, etc. The mold-board iswelded to the land side, or cast in one piece with it, so that nobrace or other connection is required between the mold-board andstandard; secondly, the curved beam is attached to the heel of theland-side and supported by a brace, which is bolted to the middleportion of the latter, and arranged in such relation to the mold-boardthat a space is left between them, into which the trash will fall, andthus be drawn into the furrow and covered. 

IMPROVED GRAIN DRILL. 

George W. Osborn, Parkville, Mich. --This is an improved attachment forseed drills, for gaging the depth at which the grain shall bedeposited in the earth. It consists in an adjustable spring gage barattached to the shank of each drill tooth, whereby the teeth may bemade to enter the ground a greater or less depth. It is claimed toensure the planting of seeds at equal depth in hard or soft ground, and to diminish the draft. 

IMPROVED HORSE HAY RAKE. 

Joseph B. Wakeman and John L. Wager, Deposit, N. Y. --The constructionof this implement is such that a large space is afforded beneath therake head for the collection of hay. The pivots of said rake head backare also brought back, so that the teeth may be readily raised todischarge the collected hay. By an ingenious lever arrangement thedriver is enabled to hold the rake to its work by the pressure of hisfoot, and also readily to discharge the hay gathered. 

IMPROVED BEE HIVE. 

George W. Akins, Bridgeton, Pa. --In this hive, holes are bored in thesides of the compartment for ventilation, and windows are flared forthe purpose of inspecting the inside of the hive. A frame is usedwhenever it is desired to have the honeycomb of any particular shape. It consists of a form of tin or other suitable maternal, placed on aframe or slide, and having the shape required in the comb. Bees willbuild inside of the form, leaving about one fourth inch space betweenthe form and the comb. The tin sheet receives a portion of the refusematter, and can be readily taken out and cleaned. On the 1st of Maythe bees are driven out into another hive and the frames examined. Three frames are taken out and set in a new box, and three emptyframes are put in their place. The old queen must be put with the newcolony, and half of the bees must be put in each box and shut up, andput on a stand. The hives are to be opened the next morning. At thenext natural swarming time the swarms can be again divided. The hivecannot freeze, and it is proof against mice. 

IMPROVED PLOW STOCK. 

Robert Weber, New Ulm, Texas. --In this invention, by loosening a nut, the point of draft attachment may be raised and lowered to cause theplow to work deeper or shallower in the ground, or turned to one orthe other side, to cause the plow to take or leave land, and may besecured in place when adjusted by again tightening the nut. 

IMPROVED COMBINED HAY TEDDER AND SIDE RAKE. 

John Huber and Henry Snell, Girard, Ill. --This machine may be usedsimply for stirring up and turning the hay, or for turning the hay andgathering it into windrows. The shaft of a reel revolves in bearingsattached to the side bars of the frame near their rear ends. To thebars of the reel are attached spring teeth, which, as the machine isdrawn forward, take hold of the hay, carry it up and over the reel, and drop it to the ground in the rear of the machine. A carrier takesthe hay from the teeth, when it has been brought to the top of thereel, carries it over the shaft, and discharges it into a trough, downwhich it slides, and is deposited in a windrow along one side of thepath of the machine. 

IMPROVED GRUBBING MACHINE. 

Ira Burley, Redwing, Minn. --This invention consists in the combinationof wheels and axle, tongue, adjusting bar, adjustable brace, uprights, cross bar, two ropes, and four pulley blocks with each other. To theforward end of the tongue is attached a loop or clevis, to receive aniron pin, to be driven into the ground to keep the machine from movingabout while being used. To the pulley block is swiveled a hook, to behooked into a loop, attached to the forward end of a lever. The rearend of the lever passes through a slot in the upper end of a fulcrumpost, and has a notch formed in its lower side to receive a bolt orpin, attached to said post to serve as a fulcrum to said lever. Several notches are formed in the lever to receive the fulcrum bolt, to enable the position of the fulcrum post to be adjusted to regulatethe leverage, and as circumstances may require. To the lever isattached a strong clevis, to receive the hook of the chain, that issecured to the stump to be pulled. 

IMPROVED SEED PLANTER. 

Daniel J. Davis, Red Boiling Springs, Tenn. --In this invention twowheels revolve upon the journals of the axle. Upon the end parts ofthe axle are attached the rear ends of side bars, the forward ends ofwhich are bolted to the outer sides of the forward ends of the plowbeams. The forward ends of the beams are bolted to the ends of thefront bar, to the center of which is secured the forward end of thecentral bar. To the beams are attached the plows for opening furrowsto receive the seed as it passes from the conductor spouts. The lowerends of the spouts or tubes pass in through the sides of the plows, soas to conduct the seed into the bottom of the furrows before they havebeen partially filled by the falling in of the soil. The droppingplate is concaved around its dropping holes, and is provided with aplate that may be adjusted to cover one set of dropping holes to dropthe hills twice as far apart as when both sets of holes operate. 

IMPROVED ANIMAL TRAP. 

Thomas N. Hughes, Muddy Creek, Tenn. --This trap is for animals of allkinds, as rats, mice, and larger animals, as foxes, minks, coons, etc. , that are allured by bait, and is automatically set again by theanimal caught, to be ready for the next animal attracted by the bait. It is divided by a longitudinal partition into two main sections, inwhich the working parts are disposed. The entrance at the end of onesection has a drop door, which is arranged back of the same, resting, when closed, on side strips in inclined position, and being supportedon an upright arm, of a centrally pivoted treadle door, at the bottomof the trap, when the trap is set. The treadle door is only requiredto swing sufficiently on its pivots to release the drop door from thearm, suitable seats at the under side of the trap, at both sides ofthe treadle door, preventing the door from swinging farther thannecessary. The bait is placed, in a grated receptacle, near thetreadle door, and entices the animal to pass in, so as to close thedrop door when it arrives at the part of the treadle door near thebait. The back end of this section is perforated or grated to admitlight, which attracts the frightened animal and induces him to passtoward the light. The top part of the trap may be grated to admit air, and the glass door at the end made to slide, to admit the taking outof the animals for killing them. 

 * * * * *

NEW MISCELLANEOUS INVENTIONS. 

APPARATUS FOR THE HYDRATION OF CHLORINE GAS. 

William Maynard, New York city. --This invention relates to an improvedconstruction of apparatus for the hydration of gases, and moreparticularly chlorine gas for the manufacture of chlorine water foruse in the industrial arts of bleaching, etc. It consists mainly in acase having an inlet for the water above, an inlet for the gas below, and provided with an intermediate water percolating medium; combinedwith a reservoir located below the level of the case and having awater-sealed communication therewith, which reservoir receives thehydrated gases, and which water seal prevents the heavy gas in thecase from passing out through the bottom inlet. The case for thepercolation of water and the absorption of the gas is made of conicalshape, with the largest diameter at the bottom, to produce thegreatest absorption of the heavy gas when first admitted; whilehorizontal partitions, or shelves, in said case are provided withupwardly projecting tubes which hold a permanent surface of water onthe said partition or shelves. The tubes permit, by their peculiarshape, the water to pass down on one side and the gas up on theopposite side of said tube, while their alternating arrangement in thealternating shelves gives a zigzag and long continued passage to thegas and water in moving in opposite directions through the case. 

IMPROVED PROCESS OF PREPARING GAS FUEL. 

Martin N. Diall, Terre Haute, Ind. --This inventor saturates wood byimmersing it in any hydrocarbon oil for from six to twelve hours, asrequired by the nature of the wood, so that it may take up thenecessary quantity of oil for the required strength of gas. The woodis then immersed in a bath of water, for taking up a quantity of wateroutside the oil, and is then charged in the retorts, the same as coal, and distilled in the same way. By this process the inventor claimsthat he produces fixed gas equal to coal gas, much faster, and withless expense, the wood and water furnishing the hydrogen, and the oilfurnishing the carbon. 

IMPROVED FISHING LINE LEADER. 

Welmer T. Jahne and Anthony Moors, Jersey City, N. J. --This consists ofa leader made of spring wire, bent into V form, provided with a swiveland eye at its middle part, and with eyes or loops at its ends toreceive the line and snells. By this construction the snells and hookswill be kept apart however the line maybe thrown, and however they andthe leader may be turned about by the tide or current. The device isone well calculated to meet with a favorable reception from fishermen. 

IMPROVED ABDOMINAL CORSET. 

Christina Lascell, Newark, N. J. --The object of this invention is tofurnish an improved abdominal corset, which supports the weight of theabdomen in a perfectly comfortable and easy manner, and throws thestrain on the shoulders and hips of the wearer. The corset isadjustable to the varying conditions of the abdomen, does notinterfere with the motion and different positions of the body, and isreadily put on and taken off. It has adjustable elastic shoulderstraps, and opening at the sides by lacings and elastic bands andbuttons. The front part of the corset is stiffened by a stay thatslides in a pocket to provide for stooping. A central front and lacingadmit the front part of the corset to expand. The lower extension partof the corset has short stiffening stays, and it is connectedindependently of the upper stays by short side lacing and elasticstraps to the side or hip parts of the corset. A hernial band extendsfrom the lowermost part of the corset-extension between the legs tothe rear, and is attached by adjustable hip straps to the sides of thecorset. 

IMPROVED FIRE ESCAPE. 

John F. Werner, New York city. --The terrible disaster in the Brooklyntheater is serving as a stimulus to induce the invention of deviceslooking to the prevention of a like occurrence. The present inventorhas devised a new fire escape for theaters, concert halls, and otherpublic places of amusement, by which the space at the upper parts ofthe entrances, halls, or vestibules of the buildings is utilized forthe purpose of forming additional passage ways for the persons in thebuildings, to be used in case of fire for the more convenient and lessdangerous exit of the same. The invention consists, mainly, of amovable floor, suspended by chains, pulleys, and weights, near theceiling of the entrances, and lowered in case of fire. It is supportedon projecting rests of the side walls, at suitable height above thefloor. Sliding extensions and swinging stairs and rear sectionsconnect with the ground outside of the door, and with the staircasesof the gallery, so as to form separate exits above the regularentrances. 

IMPROVED ELECTRO-MAGNETIC DENTAL PLUGGER. 

James E. Dexter, New York city. --This invention consists, first, in amagnet having a centrally bored iron core, surrounded by a magneticcoil, which is enveloped by an iron shell that is concentric with thecentral core, and is attached to a flange formed on the lower end ofthe said central core. One side of both shell and core are split forthe purpose of obviating residual magnetism. The invention alsoconsists in combining a spring yoke, a vibrator, and a spring contactpiece, as hereinafter particularly described. The third part of thisinvention consists in the arrangement of the key for completing thecircuit, which is made with an insulating exterior, and is providedwith one of the termini of the magnet coil, and bears against the sideof the key to insure a constant contact of the surfaces. The variousparts of the plugger are combined, so that pressing the key with thefinger makes the circuit, and a succession of regular strokes isproduced, the force of which may be varied by an adjusting screw. 

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NEW MECHANICAL AND ENGINEERING INVENTIONS. 

IMPROVED COTTON GIN. 

Joseph W. Thorn, Iuka, Miss. , assignor to himself and M. W. Beardsley, of same place. --In this machine there is a new construction of thebrush drum for simplifying the same, and facilitating the applicationof the brush wings, so that they can be readily taken off and put on;also, an arrangement of the ribs between the saws for facilitating theseparating of the seed from the cotton without breaking and injuringthe fiber. There are also ingenious devices for preventing the seedfrom gathering and clogging at the ends of the saw drum. 

IMPROVED SAFETY CHECK FOR ELEVATORS. 

Nathan H. Fogg, Boston, Mass. --When the car is suspended normally fromthe rope, the rubber balls, arranged in sockets near the lower part ofthe car, are supported on their seats in a state of rest; but theinstant that the rope breaks or gets detached from the bolt the actionof a spiral spring throws an actuating plate downward, and levers andball-carrying rods upward. The balls are thus thrown off their seatsand wedged between the inclined sides of the pockets and the guideposts of the elevator so as to stop thereby the car. 

IMPROVED COMBINATION LOCK. 

Achille Parise, Naples, Italy. --This is a new combination lock fordoors, trunks, safes, etc. , that admits of a large number ofcombinations, and may be opened and closed quickly. It consists ofsliding tumbler plates, having longitudinal slots and a number ofperforations placed at different relative positions to the slots ofeach tumbler. The trunks are connected by screw set pins attached toface slides, and passing through any one of the perforations, admitting the setting of the tumblers and opening of the lock by outerprojections or buttons of the slides to fixed exterior guides. 

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR WIRING AND BINDING HATS. 

Mari A. Cuming and Judson Knight, New York city. --This is a machinefor binding hats, felt skirts, and similar articles, by a uniform andparallel pressure on the rims, and by facilitating the applying andtaking off of the articles from the machine, and accomplishing thecutting of the binding or braid and wire in a reliable and improvedmanner. Pressure rollers attach the binding and the wire, if one isrequired, in connection with a grooved gage that is supported on aseat of the shaft of the lower pressure roller. The wire is guided byannular recesses or chamferings at the rear circumference of thepressure rollers and the groove of the gage. The gage is so connectedto its seat that it may be turned and another guide groove of the samebe exposed to face the pressure rollers, so as to adapt the same for avariety of work. 

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BUSINESS AND PERSONAL

_The Charge for Insertion under this head is One Dollar a line foreach insertion. If the Notice exceeds four lines, One Dollar and aHalf per line will be charged. _

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Manufs. Of Scissors address J. W. D. E. , Harmony Grove, Ga. 

For Sale--36 in. Lathe, $4. 00; 72 in. Lathe, $4. 50; 10 in. PrattWhiting Shaper, $2. 75; 35 H. P. Loco. Boiler, $300; 12 in. Lathe, $65;at Shearman's, 132 N. 3d St. , Phila. 

Iron Tubing--Wanted, a yearly supply of 1-4 in. Light Iron Tubing. Address P. O. Box 1250, New York city. 

Baxter's Adjustable Wrenches--The best for Farmers, Householders andMechanics. Greene, Tweed & Co. , 18 Park Place, N. Y. 

For Sale--Baldwin No. 4 Foot Lathe and fittings; in perfect order. Address P. O. Box 196, Clinton, Mich. 

National Steam Pump--Simple, durable, economical. Reduced price. National Iron Works, N. Brunswick, N. J. 

Manufs. And dealers in Cotton Gins, Grist Mills, and Rice Hullers andPolishers, address with terms, Y. L. Ridley, Liberty, Texas. 

For Sale--Patent Combination Fruit Press, Filter and Funnel. Anindispensable article in every household. For circulars, address G. A. Newsam, 118 3d Pl. Brooklyn. 

Mill Stone Dressing Diamonds. Simple, effective, and durable. J. Dickinson, 64 Nassau St. , N. Y. 

Will purchase or introduce, on a reasonable royalty, some good, usefularticle. Address, with description and full particulars, A. E. Lowison, Boston, Mass. 

Mechanical inventors familiar with Envelope Manufacturing. L. J. Henry, 615 Kearny st. , San Francisco, Cal. 

Set of Mechanical Curves, as illustrated in Sci. Am. Supplement, No. 50, mailed on receipt of $5. 25, by Keuffel & Esser, New York. 

Hyatt & Co. 's Varnishes and Japans, as to price, color, purity, anddurability, are cheap by comparison than any others extant. 246 Grandst. , N. Y. Factory, Newark, N. J. Send for circular and descriptiveprice list. 

Lightning Screw Plates. A perfect thread at one cut adjustable forwear. Frasse & Co. , 62 Chatham St. , N. Y. 

Wire Needle Pointer, W. Crabb, Newark, N. J. 

Power & Foot Presses, Ferracute Co. , Bridgeton, N. J. 

Superior Lace Leather, all sizes, cheap. Hooks and Couplings for flatand round Belts. Send for catalogue. C. W. Arny, 148 North 3d St. , Philadelphia, Pa. 

F. C. Beach & Co. , makers of the Tom Thumb Telegraph and otherelectrical machines, have removed to 530 Water St. , N. Y. 

For Best Presses, Dies, and Fruit Can Tools, Bliss & Williams, cor. OfPlymouth and Jay Sts. , Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Water, Gas, and Steam Pipe, Wrought Iron. Send for prices. Bailey, Farrell & Co. , Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Walrus Leather and supplies for polishing Iron, Steel, and Brass. Greene, Tweed & Co. , 18 Park Place, N. Y. 

Hydraulic Presses and Jacks, new and second hand. Lathes and Machineryfor Polishing and Buffing metals. E. Lyon, 470 Grand St. , N. Y. 

Solid Emery Vulcanite Wheels--The Solid Original Emery Wheel--otherkinds imitations and inferior. Caution. --Our name is stamped in fullon all our best Standard Belting, Packing, and Hose. Buy that only. The best is the cheapest. New York Belting and Packing Company, 37 and38 Park Row, New York. 

Steel Castings from one lb. To five thousand lbs. Invaluable forstrength and durability. Circulars free. Pittsburgh Steel Casting Co. , Pittsburgh, Pa. 

M. Shaw, Manufacturer of Insulated Wire for galvanic and telegraphpurposes, &c. , 259 W. 27th St. , N. Y. 

Shingle, Heading, and Stave Machine. See advertisement of Trevor &Co. , Lockport, N. Y. 

For Solid Wrought iron Beams, etc. , see advertisement. Address UnionIron Mills, Pittsburgh, Pa. , for lithograph, etc. 

Articles in Light Metal Work, Fine Castings in Brass, Malleable Iron, &c. , Japanning, Tinning, Galvanizing. Welles Specialty Works, Chicago, Ill. 

See Boult's Paneling, Moulding, and Dovetailing Machine at Centennial, B. 8-55. Send for pamphlet and sample of work. B. C. Mach'y Co. , BattleCreek, Mich. 

Wanted--Novel and practical invention, by a reliable house, formanufacturing. Address Post Office, Box 25, Chillicothe, Ohio. 

Chester Steel Castings Co. Make castings twice as strong as malleableiron castings, at about the same price. See their advertisement onpage 125. 

Hand Fire Engines, Lift and Force Pumps for fire and all otherpurposes. Address Rumsey & Co. , Seneca Falls, N. Y. , U. S. A. 

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NOTES & QUERIES

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S. J. S. Will find good recipes for laundry soaps on pp. 331, 379, vol. 31. For toilet soaps, see p. 289, vol. 28. --B. F. T. Will finddirections for putting a black finish on brass on p. 362, vol. 25. --J. C. S. Will find directions for coloring a meerschaum pipe on p. 90, vol. 36. --A. B. Will find a good recipe for Babbitt metal on p. 122, vol. 28. --G. A. D. Will find directions for coloring butter withannatto on p. 187, vol. 31. --L. O. J. Will find something on iceboatssailing faster than the wind on p. 107, vol. 36. --J. M. L. Will finddirections for clarifying cotton seed oil on p. 91, vol. 36. --D. V. Will find a good recipe for shoe polish on p. 107, vol. 36. --A. B. Willfind directions for japanning on metal on p. 408, vol. 30. --T. S. D. Will find recipes for all kinds of colored fires on p. 203, vol. 34. --G. S. C. Can fasten his paper labels to wood with flourpaste. --W. R. B. Will find directions for dyeing billiard balls on p. 88, vol. 34. --G. W. M. Will find directions for making raisins on p. 59, vol. 34. --T. F. T. Will find something on burning petroleum in steamboilers on p. 165, vol. 30. --S. B. U. Will find some illustrations oflathes for turning spokes, tool handles, etc. , on p. 88, vol. 36. --W. E. P. Will find a formula for safety valves on p. 330. Vol. 32. --A. O. Will find directions for removing mildew on p. 138, vol. 27. For mending rubber boots, etc. , see p. 203, vol. 30. --W. C. L. Willfind directions for preserving eggs on p. 306, vol. 34. --R. M. G. Willfind a recipe for root beer on p. 138, vol. 31. --W. F. H. 's plan for arefrigerator might answer. See p. 251, vol. 31. --J. C. Can remove thewool from pelts by steeping the skins in water, and hanging them uptill the wool putrifies. Then scrape with a blunt knife. For cleansingwool, see p. 6, vol. 32. --W. H. J. Will find a recipe for a cement formarble on p. 344, vol. 32. --T. B. Can gild his steel scabbard byfollowing the directions given on p. 106, vol. 34. --A. H. B. , J. A. C. , W. H. H. , J. F. P. , D. S. , J. N. H. , J. P. , F. F. , M. N. , M. C. , R. C. , K. S. W. , T. J. , and others, who ask us to recommend books on industrial andscientific subjects, should address the booksellers who advertise inour columns, all of whom are trustworthy firms, for catalogues

(1) R. H. C. Says: We have a slate roof which leaks very much. I havenot discovered any defect in the way in which it was put on; itappears to be perfect. The pitch may be too low, and the rain may bedriven through by the wind on this account. Is there any wash, paint, or cement that might be used for the purpose of remedying this defect?A. There is an india rubber paint which is used to make leaky roofstight, but we have not learned of its being applied to slate roofs. 

(2) C. C. B. Says: I am making a small steam engine. The cylinder has, inside diameter, about 1 inch with 2½ inches stroke. What would be themost suitable material and dimensions for the boiler? A. Make one 10or 12 inches in diameter and 18 inches high, of 1/8 inch iron. You cancarry 60 lbs. Steam pressure. 

(3) M. C. Says: I have had charge of some greenhouses that were erectedabout four years ago; they are thoroughly heated, and all the pipeshave a thick coat of black paint. The houses never gave anysatisfaction, no matter how healthy the plants were in the fall. Soonafter the fires were lighted both leaves and flowers began to drop, and some plants died. My predecessors attributed it to gas gettinginto the houses. Upon inquiry I found no gas was there except when thepipes were hot, and that the hotter they were the worse it was. In myopinion, the cause of the trouble was a strong smell of paint from thepipes. Since then I only keep heat enough to save the plants fromfreezing. A. From your statement there is no doubt that the paint usedon the pipes was an imperfectly purified coal tar. Such tar contains agreat number of hydrocarbons--naphtha, naphthalen, anthracen, phenol, several organic alkaloids, hydrosulphuric and hydrocyanic acids, etc. , all of which are more or less volatile at the temperature to whichthey must have been subjected. These exhalations have proved fatal toplant life when in sufficient quantity. We do not know of a betterremedy than that of removing the cause. Painting the pipes with astrong solution of washing soda and lime would, in a measure, preventthe escape of the most objectionable constituents into the air, byforming with them compounds non-volatile at any temperature to whichthey are likely to be subjected in contact with the pipes; but theformer would be the surest plan. 

(4) C. D. W. Asks: The roof of the new Illinois State House, as well asthe stylobate cornices and upper portion of the dome, are covered withzinc. It has been on about three years, and I am told is materiallyaffected by oxidation. The theory is that zinc, though subject tooxidization, has the peculiarity that the oxide does not scale off asfrom iron, but forms a permanent coating impervious to the action ofthe atmosphere. Some mechanics, however, assert that neither zinc, copper, nor lead will withstand the action of our atmosphere, asbituminous coal strongly impregnated with sulphur is almost the onlyfuel used. It is claimed by some that the sulphurous acid in theatmosphere tends to corrode zinc so as to make it worthless for roofsor gutter linings. A. Are you sure that the roof and gutters inquestion are not of galvanized iron, iron coated with zinc? This isthe material most commonly used for that purpose at the present time. Zinc has been found to be too brittle for the strain to which it issubjected, in such cases, by the expansion and contraction induced bychanges of temperature. A slight oxidation will adhere to the surface, but an acid deposit from the atmosphere will penetrate the coating inpoints and deteriorate the metal. 

(5) N. J. S. Says: I have a floor of ash and black walnut which has beenoiled with raw linseed oil once. How can I finish it so as to get ahard, smooth finish that will not be scratched by boot heels nor besticky or retain the dirt as a waxed floor does? A. Oil raises thefiber of black walnut and gives it a rougher surface than when freefrom it. To polish any wood, it is only necessary to fill the poreswell, and then rub it down to a smooth surface. Thus painters preferto put on a coat of shellac varnish first, before oiling walnut andother hard woods. For fine floors, a thin coat of liquid wax isapplied as a finish. 

(6) A. J. S. Asks: What is the best plan for putting up a cheap dryhouse of lumber, for drying (by steam) white oak, hickory, and otherlumber used in wagon and buggy making? A. Make as tight a house aspossible with tongued and grooved siding-boards, floors, roof, etc. , and provide a stack of steam pipe containing 1 foot of heating surfaceto every 50 cubic feet of air contained in the building. Set the steampipe in compact shape and enclose it with a casing of galvanized sheetiron open at the top; supply cold air from outside of the building bya boxed conduit to the bottom of this stack. The air when heated willrise and diffuse itself into the room, and as it cools will fall tothe floor; provide registers in the floor, through which it may escapeinto other boxed tubes under the floor leading to an upright chimneydischarging above the roof. Let a smoke pipe from the boiler enter thechimney and extend up inside the flue far enough to heat the same. Thechange of air is necessary to dry the lumber. The size of the house ofcourse will depend upon the quantity of material required to bestacked up into it at any one time. 

(7) G. Asks: 1. How do you calculate the amount of pipe of a givensize to warm a room of a given size? A. One square foot of plate orpipe surface is generally taken as sufficient to heat about 70 cubicfeet of air in dwellings. 2. What allowance should be made for doorsand windows? A. The said foot of surface will heat, in accordance withvarying conditions, from 40 to 100 cubic feet of air, and allowanceshould be made for extra exposures, to correspond with that scale. Asteam pressure of 5 lbs. Is sufficient for heating purposes. 3. Whatis meant by the terms direct and indirect radiation, in givingcapacity of steam generators for heating houses? A. Direct radiationis used when the pipes are located in the room, and indirect when theyare located in a chamber in the cellar, to warm air which is conductedto the room by air pipes. 

(8) D. M. Says: After reading L. S. W. 's reply to J. B. C. , p. 75 (6), vol. 36, I think the following demonstration will be more acceptable toJ. B. C. : Imagine three spheres of which the given circles are greatcircles, and a plane tangent to the three spheres. Any two of thespheres may be conceived to have been generated by the revolution oftwo of the circles about the line joining their centers. During suchrevolution, the lines tangent to the two circles describe a conicalsurface. We have, therefore, three spheres and three conical surfaces. Now the plane, which is tangent to the three spheres, is alsoevidently tangent to the three conical surfaces; and therefore thevertices of those conical surfaces are all in the tangent plane. Nowthose vertices are the points (1), (2), (3). But the same points arealso in the plane passing through the centers of the three spheres, which is the same with the plane of the paper on which the figure isdrawn. Those points, being in two planes at the same time, musttherefore be in the intersection of those planes, that is to say, in astraight line. 

(9) C. W. H. Asks: Can dyeing or coloring be done in cold water? A. Manyof the coal tar colors may be used in this way: For animalfibers--wool, silk, | etc. --the affinity of these colors is so greatthat, in most instances, no mordants are necessary. The baths areusually made slightly acid. With vegetable fibers, however, a fast dyeis not assured without mordanting. Some of the finer goods areprepared by treating with steam coagulated albumen (animalizing), gelatin, various tannates, tin salt, alum, and other metallic salts. The following is, the usual method of treatment, except with goodsintended for very light shades: Pass the goods through a strongdecoction of sumac or other tannin solution for an hour, andafterwards for an hour or two through a weak solution of stannate ofsoda; wring out, dip into a dilute solution of sulphuric acid, andrinse well in water. The goods are then ready to be passed through thecolor bath, slightly acidulated. For different tints, these baths areworked at different temperatures. 

(10) F. W. Says: I wish to lay the face tier of a brick wall in blackmortar. How can I make the coloring material and mix it? A. Someprefer to use red mortar and afterwards pencil the joints with black. Color the ordinary white mortar with Spanish brown for red mortar, andwith ivory black for black, by mixing in enough of the color in apowdered state to give a good deep tone. 

(11) H. A. S. Asks: 1. How many prisms are required in a spectroscope todetect mineral elements in presence of all the ash ingredients oforganic bodies? A. If we understand you, one 60° prism will answer. 2. What is the best and cheapest form of apparatus to heat such compoundsfor examination? A. Mix the substance with a little pure hydrochloricacid and glycerin, and introduce into the flame on a coil of platinumwire. 

1. Has soup prepared by dissolving meat bones in a Papin's digesterever been known to produce ossification of any of the soft tissues? A. We have never heard of such a result. 2. Has it ever been known toproduce a new crop of teeth in toothless persons? A. We have no dataas to such a fact. 

I have seen a statement that May 19, 1780, was so dark a day thatcandles were necessary everywhere; and I have heard that anotheroccurred about the year 1820. Has any scientific explanation ever beengiven of this phenomenon? A. The darkness on the days you mention werethe result of solar eclipses. They occurred on days of unusualcloudiness. Perhaps the darkest day in modern history was that causedby the total solar eclipse in the year 1806. 

(12) A. B. Says: 1. I have built a boat 15 feet long and 4 feet 6inches wide. How large a boiler and engine do I require to work her tobest advantage? She is 22 inches deep from top of rail to top of keel. A. Cylinder, 2½ x 3 inches; boiler, 20 inches in diameter and 3 feethigh. Propeller, 18 to 20 inches in diameter, and of 3 feet pitch. 2. How fast ought she to run? A. Probable speed, 5 miles an hour insmooth water. 

(13) L. L. Asks: 1. Does it make any difference in what position awatch is in when running? A. For watches adjusted to temperature andposition, it does not make much difference. 2. When not being carried, what position should it be left in? A. In the case of ordinarywatches, we imagine that the wear will be rather more uniform whenthey are in a vertical position. 3. If a person sleeps in a cola room, would a watch be better under his pillow than on a table or hung up inthe same room? A. It is best not to subject them to great changes oftemperature. 

(14) W. G. Says, in reply to C. W. W. , who has an engine, of 2-5/8 inchesbore and 4 inches stroke, which runs slower with increase of pressure:Having had much experience with small engines and boilers, I willstate that I have had the same difficulty when using an uprighttubular boiler, and discovered the following to be the cause: Theupper portions of the tube superheat the steam to such a degree as toprevent lubrication on the valve and piston surface by condensation, and thereby reduce the speed of engine. Even with increased pressure, this effect will be more appreciable when the area and travel of slidevalve are in excess. 

(15) J. M. T. Asks: Is there friction between two bodies while at rest, or only when one or both are in motion? A. Both when at rest and inmotion. 

Why does a balloon rise in the air? A. See p. 64, vol. 32. 

(16) S. J. S. Asks: 1. How are augers twisted? A. By special machinery. 2. How are twist drills made, and are they single or double grooved?A. They are double grooved or double twisted, and are cut out in amilling machine. 

Can weights, springs, or water from a tank be used to any advantage torun a lathe? A. No. 

How much do iron and brass, in rods or bands, expand in length whenheated to red heat? A. Iron about 1/8 inch per foot, brass 1/10 inch. 

Is the pressure of the air to be added to the weight of water in thebottom of a vessel in estimating the pressure on the bottom? A. No. 

Does a watch or clock run faster when just wound up? A. No. 

Is it not moisture in the air that makes it heavier, and so affectsthe barometer? A. Yes. 

Is the pressure in a siphon equal throughout, or is it greater in theupper end? A. Equal throughout. 

Will it take more power to run two millstones in opposite directionsthan it will to run one at the same speed, the other being stationary?A. Yes, it will take double the power. 

1. How are common screws made? A. In lathes, with tools and dies. 2. How can I make wooden screws perfectly smooth? A. By using keen tools. 

What is the simplest way of cutting a square hole in a bar of iron? A. Drill a round hole and square it out. 

(17) G. E. C. Asks: Could I have a brick range 2×3 feet, built on aplatform about 1 foot from floor, with two compartments, to be heatedwith petroleum, the lower one to be used as an oven, the upper one tohave a stove top to set cooking utensils on, and have a ventilatingpipe run from each compartment of the oil receptacles into the placein the chimney where the stove pipe usually goes, to carry away anygas or smoke? I want the oil receptacles to be arranged to be drawnout, to be filled and trimmed, and I would like four burners to heatan oven 22 inches square, as hot as the same oven could be heated withwood. A. We doubt the propriety or the economy of substituting oil forwood, but something may be done to make the atmosphere of kitchensmore endurable in summer, and permanently so in warm climates. Adouble faced range could be made and set in the center of thethickness of the chimney, with the space above the top of it open tothe exterior of the house; a very slight structure, simply having agood floor and roof and open around the sides, and built against thechimney as an extension to the house, would answer for a summerkitchen, while the ordinary kitchen inside the house could be used inwinter. The transposition could be made by a pair of iron slidingdoors shutting off the kitchen not in use; and these doors could betransferred from one side of the chimney to the other when the changeof season required it. 

(18) A. X. A. Says: In your issue of December 2 is a recipe in which"insoluble acid chromate of lime, " and gelatin are to be used; and ina succeeding number of your paper the modes of preparing the insolubleacid are given. I have made the acid according to your directions, butthe result of my manipulation of the recipe is a failure. You say:"Take of insoluble acid chromate of lime one part, and of gelatin fiveparts;" but you do not say what further is to be done. Will the aciddissolve the gelatin, or must warm water be added? In my experimentthe acid would not dissolve the gelatin, and I had to add considerablewarm water before it would do so. A. Dissolve the bichromate of limein the smallest possible quantity of warm water, and filter; then addthe gelatin, previously softened by immersion in cold water. Heat themixture over a water bath until the gelatin is completely dissolved, stir well, and use while hot. The recipe should have stated that thiscement was best suited for glassware. The bichromate of potash or ofammonia will answer nearly as well as the lime salt. 

(19) E. C. N. Asks: How must a stove be constructed to burn pea coal, for heating outbuildings? Is there any way of constructing a draughtbelow the grate of any common heating stove, sufficiently strong to dowithout an extra long chimney? A. Use a broad grate to spread the coalout well, so as to avoid the necessity of heaping it up much; make theopening for the draft some distance below the grate, and regulate bythe usual slide dampers in the lower and upper doors. 

MINERALS, ETC. --Specimens have been received from the followingcorrespondents, and examined, with the result stated:

F. R. R. S. --The substance you send is carbonate of iron. It is held insolution in the water by the large excess of carbonic acid which thewater contains. On boiling the water the carbonic acid gas is expelledand the iron salt is precipitated from solution. The removal of thisand some other objectionable salts which the water very probablycontains, may be removed by the addition of the proper quantity ofclear lime water to it--the lime in this instance will combine withthe excess of carbonic acid and fall to the bottom together with thecarbonate of iron. To determine the precise quantity of lime waterrequisite, add the reagent (saturated solution) to a small portion (ofknown volume) of the freshly drawn water, in small quantities at atime, and with constant stirring until no further precipitate forms. Then by a simple operation in proportion the quantity of the reagentnecessary for the purification of a given quantity of the well watermay be easily determined. An excess of the reagent must be avoided. This impurity would probably prevent the successful working of aninjector. 

W. S. W. Asks: How is the best rosin, used on violin bows, prepared?--W. F. Asks: What is a simple method for washing clay forbrick and tile making?--E. S. D. Asks: What is the best kind of wood toconstruct a guitar?

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COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED. 

The Editor of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN acknowledges, with muchpleasure, the receipt of original papers and contributions upon thefollowing subjects:

 On Rheumatism. By A. R. E. On Postage Stamps. By E. B. On Boiler Explosions. By G. B. B. On Reaching the North Pole. By J. H. S. On Heating Street Cars. By P. T. On a Hybrid Fruit, By R. S. B. On an Air Vessel. By J. T. R. 

Also inquiries and answers from the following:E. B. M. --F. F. F. --N. B. H. --B. B. --O. F. --R. V. J. --F. M. --N. B. C. --C. F. E. --W. T. --C. W. C. --T. F. --C. A. S. --S. N. M. --J. R. D. --P. J. D. S. 

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HINTS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

Correspondents whose inquiries fail to appear should repeat them. Ifnot then published, they may conclude that, for good reasons, theEditor declines them. The address of the writer should always begiven. 

Inquiries relating to patents, or to the patentability of inventions, assignments, etc. , will not be published here. All such questions, when initials only are given, are thrown into the waste basket, as itwould fill half of our paper to print them all; but we generally takepleasure in answering briefly by mail, if the writer's address isgiven. 

Hundreds of inquiries analogous to the following are sent: "Who sellsa tool for truing up a crosshead wrist? Who sells tools for refittingsteam valves without unscrewing them from the pipes? Who sellsspoke-turning lathes? Who makes machinery for freeing wool of burrsand dirt? Where can tungsten, or tungsten steel, be procured, and atwhat price? Who sells silicate of alumina and silicate of potash?" Allsuch personal inquiries are printed, as will be observed, in thecolumn of "Business and Personal, " which is specially set apart forthat purpose, subject to the charge mentioned at the head of thatcolumn. Almost any desired information can in this way beexpeditiously obtained. 

 * * * * *

OFFICIAL. 

INDEX OF INVENTIONSFOR WHICHLETTERS PATENT OF THE UNITED STATES WERE GRANTED IN THE WEEK ENDINGJanuary 18, 1877, AND EACH BEARING THAT DATE. 

[Those marked (r) are reissued patents. ]

 * * * * *

A complete copy of any patent in the annexed list, including both thespecifications and drawings, will be furnished from this office forone dollar. In ordering, please state the number and date of thepatent desired, and remit to Munn & Co. , 37 Park Row, New York city. 

 * * * * *

 Abdominal corset, C. Lascell 186, 258 Acoustic telegraph, T. A. Edison 186, 330 Advertising card, H. Mahler 186, 209 Air compressor, J. Clayton 186, 306 Air compressor, W. F. Garrison 186, 336 Animal trap, T. N. Hughes 186, 252 Annealing furnace, H. B. Chess 186, 404 Atomizer, W. Kennish 186, 208 Axle tree, trussed, J. B. Brewster 186, 227 Barbed fence, C. F. Washburn 186, 389 Bee hive, G. W. Akins 186, 223 Belt shipping attachment, R. Denmark 186, 318 Blotter and paper clip, C. B. Farrington 186, 288 Bone black, cooling, C. Doscher 186, 327 Book back, metallic, I. Reynolds 186, 216 Bottle and basket, E. Cusenier, Sr 186, 311 Bottle for hair dye, T. Divine 186, 321 Bottle stopper, E. B. Requa 186, 270 Bread cutter, G. B. Heath 186, 248 Brick and tile lifter, Braislin & Wood 186, 303 Broom, W. M. Jackson 186, 254 Brush handle, I. L. Landis 186, 399 Buckle, G. F. Eberhard 186, 329 Buffing roll, L. S. Graves 186, 205 Butter press, W. S. Alexander 186, 224 Button, D. Wilcox 186, 392 Call bell, A. C. Gould 186, 338 Car axle lubricator, R. Macdonald 186, 354 Car coupling, O. & M. Crum 186, 313 Car coupling, J. W. Skeele 186, 373 Car roof, H. Aldridge 186, 188 Car roof, H. Aldridge 186, 189 Cards for fibers, making, Yates & Kellett 186, 396 Cartridge, J. P. White 186, 220 Chamber vessel, J. C. Moore 186, 264 Clamp for ratchet drills, L. Beland 186, 225 Cloth, folding and scouring, R. D. Nesmith 186, 363 Clothespin, W. S. Davis 186, 314 Clutch, A. B. Bean 186, 296 Coffee pot, W. W. Stevens 186, 378 Combination lock, A. Parise 186, 268 Combination lock, G. Winter 186, 393 Combination tool, I. U. Malphurs 186, 259 Combustible, J. B. D. Cassinelli 186, 294 Corn planter, W. Gilman 186, 203 Corn planter, J. L. G. Schmidt 186, 275 Corn planter and cultivator, E. C. Gage 186, 244 Corn popper, G. P. Sisson 186, 279 Corset, J. Mayer, 186, 210 Cotton gin, J. W. Thorn 186, 383 Cotton holder, dental, T. Cogswell 186, 307 Curtain fixture, Collins & Saltsgaver 186, 198 Curtain fixture, J. B. Marshall 186, 357 Dial telegraph, J. H. C. Watts 186, 283 Door and gate fastener, J. Gibbs 186, 337 Door hanger, W. E. Warner 186, 388 Door retainer, R. E. Dietz 186, 319 Drop light, J. A. Evarts 186, 332 Egg beater, G. P. Sisson 186, 278 Egg carrier, L. Inglee 186, 253 Electric gas lighting, C. H. Hinds 186, 343 Electro harmonic telegraph, E. Gray 186, 340 Electric dental plugger, J. E. Dexter 186, 234 Elevator, safety check, N. H. Fogg 186, 241 Fabrics, winding up, G. E. Jones 186, 256 Feed apparatus, punching, J. Morgan 186, 212 Feed bag for horses, G. C. Booth 186, 301 Fence post, P. J. Rickard 186, 271 Fire place, H. F. Watson 186, 390 Fire place heater, J. K. Dimmick 186, 320 Fire place, portable, T. C. Nativel 186, 361 Fish scrap, treating, S. L. Goodale 186, 204 Fly fan, H. B. Baker 186, 292 Fly fan, W. R. Fowler 186, 243 Folding chair, B F. Little 186, 353 Friction wheel, E. Brauer 186, 304 Fruit or paint can, W. H. Fowler 186, 333 Furnace, evaporating, J. Kitchen 186, 349 Furnace, smelting, G. W. Swett (r) 7, 468 Gang plow, W. Fruhling 186, 335 Gang plow, E. Peak 186, 269 Gas and air carbureter, Boomer & Randall 186, 302 Gas governor, J. R. Blossom 186, 299 Gas, manufacturing, J G. Hunt 186, 207 Gas retort cover, A. Schwarz 186, 276 Gate, D. Scherer 186, 274 Gill net, D. W. & S. H. Davis 186, 232 Grafting machine, E. Walters 186, 219 Grain binder, J. M. Rosebrooks 186, 272 Grain separator, O. J. Chubbuck 186, 230 Grain separator, T. J. Doyle 186, 235 Grubbing machine, I. Burley 186, 228 Hand truck, H. R. Ferris 186, 237 Hat bodies, washing, T. C. Beatty 186, 295 Hats, wiring and binding. Cuming & Knight 186, 312 Hay tedder and side rake, Huber & Snell 186, 346 High pressure hot air engine, O. Stenberg 186, 377 Hook for drawrods, M. B. Eskine 186, 236 Hoops, racking, S. Parker 186, 365 Horse power, traverse pinion, J. A. Field 186, 238 Horseshoe, weighted, E. E. Seixas 186, 277 Hose nozzle, M. S. Curtis 186, 310 Hot air furnace, J. C. Sanborn 186, 217 Hydraulic motor, J. M. Bois 186, 195 Indexer, J. Suter 186, 382 Indicator for liquids, I. Levi 186, 400 Insects, destroying, J. B. Margarit 186, 260 Iron fence, Nellis & Guttridge 186, 362 Key board, musical, B. Bishop 186, 298 Knob roses to doors, W. A. Barlow 186, 194 Lamp burner, H. H. Doty 186, 201 Lamp chimney, S. W. Fowler (r) 7, 463 Lathe chuck, metal, J. H. Harris 186, 245 Leather-covered nut, L. T. Smith 186, 375 Letter scales, J. V. H. Nott 186, 267 Lifting jack, C. F. Davis 186, 315 Lifting jack, F. M. Lottridge 186, 402 Lifting jack, D. M. Ross 186, 368 Lighting alarm clocks, H. J. & W. D. Davies 186, 317 Limekiln, J. W. Devling 186, 233 Lock for drawers, etc. , G. W. Baker 186, 192 Locomotive engine, W. Wells 186, 285 Loom, L. J. Knowles 186, 350 Loom, Smith & Skinner 186, 374 Looms, preparing warps for, W. Heaton 186, 249 Molasses gate, S. Barker 186, 193 Multifold pipe coupling, E. A. Leland 186, 351 Muzzle bit for horses, A. J. Short 186, 371 Newspaper file, P. E. Sloan 186, 280 Odorless air closet, G. R. Moore 186, 266 Odorless receptacle, G. R. Moore 186, 265 Oiler, S. S. Newton 186, 364 Ordnance, S. Crispin 186, 308 Ore and coal jigger, G. Schmauch 186, 370 Ores, process of treating, G. D. Wyckoff 186, 222 Paper box, R. H. Foster 186, 242 Paper, cloth, etc. , machine for cutting, E. Allen 186, 190 Paper cutting machine, P. McAleer 186, 262 Paper dish, S. E. Harlow 186, 247 Paper folding machine, L. C. Crowell 186, 309 Paper, folding, S. D. Tucker 186, 384, 186, 385 Pasting machine, T. Goodall 186, 339 Piano forte attachment, E. Zachariae 186, 397 Pins, dowels, etc. , cutting, F. H. Kane 186, 348 Pipes bursting, preventing, A. Bujac 186, 305 Plaiting machine, E. S. Harding 186, 246 Plane irons, adjusting, J. A. Traut 186, 281 Plate for stoves, N. M. Simonds 186, 372 Plow attachment, D. W. Hughes 186, 344 Plow stock, R. Weber 186, 284 Powder, compensating, Miltimore & Totten 186, 211 Printing telegraph transmit, G. M. Phelps 186, 215 Pulleys from shafting, drawing, H. F. Casterline 186, 229 Pulverizing machine, A. B. Lipsey 186, 401 Pump, G. R. McCrum 186, 358 Quilting frame, H. T. Davis 186, 316 Railway brake apparatus, H. F. Knapp 186, 257 Railway car, S. R. & O. V. Wallace 186, 387 Rake, self-cleaning, V. W. Blanchard 186, 300 Refrigerating car, J. M. Ayer (r) 7, 467 Refrigerator, G. H. Crisfield 186, 200 Refrigerator, J. W. Stewart 186, 376 Registering fare box, J. C. Strong 186, 380 Reversing valve, engine, Bevins, Weis & Phillips 186, 297 Riding saddle, J. C. Miller 186, 359 Rotary engine, D. R. Harder 186, 342 Sad iron, Baker & Asbury 186, 291 Sample garment, L. E. Warner 186, 282 Saw set, C. Heinen 186, 250 Saw table, G. E. Burt 186, 196 Screw for piano stools, G. W. Archer 186, 191 Seat, reversible, J. E. Rugg 186, 273 Seed planter, D. J. Davis 186, 231 Seed sower, J. Pearce 186, 214 Seeder and cultivator, W. A. Van Brunt (r) 7, 466 Separating germs from grain, C. A. Duprez 186, 328 Sheep shears, Porterfield & Malin 186, 366 Sheet metal can, J. S. Field 186, 239 Shirt stud, C. H. Field 186, 202 Shot cartridge, J. P. White 186, 391 Sock and stocking, J. L. Krauser 186, 398 Socket for scythe shanks, M. Smith 186, 218 Sofa bedstead, H. Compes 186, 199 Spark arrester, W. S. Hudson 186, 345 Spark arrester and consumer, T. E. Roberts 186, 367 Spinning frame, G. Draper 186, 325 Spinning frame, ring, G. Draper 186, 324 Spinning frame, ring, W. F. Draper 186, 322 Spinning machine, G. Draper 186, 323 Spring back wagon seat, J. W. Wood 186, 394 Spring bolt for sliding doors, etc. , A. Hance 186, 341 Spring for wagons, auxiliary, A. W. McKown 186, 263 Stalls, cutting, J. M. Goff (r) 7, 469 Stencil plate, Wright & Bryant 186, 395 Stove, M. L. Wood 186, 286 Stove pipe, A. B. Allen 186, 290 Straw cutter, D. Maxwell 186, 261 Tempering steel, etc. , G. F. Simonds (r) 7, 464, 7, 465 Tension regulator, G. Draper 186, 326 Ticket case, S. Strandgaard 186, 381 Time attachment for locks, J. Sargent 186, 369 Time lock, E. J. Woolley 186, 221 Toothbrush, S. Woolverton 188, 287 Toy card shooter, C. W. Frost 186, 334 Tubular gang saw, J. A. Balch 186, 293 Underground telegraphs, W. Mackintosh 186, 355, 186, 356 Valve gear of engines, link for, J. H. Luther 186, 403 Vapor burner, W. C. North 186, 213 Variable cut-off, J. Fish 186, 240 Vehicle wheel, H. Mounts 186, 360 Vehicle wheel, G. F. Almy 186, 289 Velocipede, Stineman & Halloway 186, 379 Vent clearer for wash bowls etc. , J. S. Hawley 186, 206 Ventilator, J. B. Hill 186, 251 Vessels, lessening draught of, E. Ellison 186, 331 Wagon end gate, T. L. Black 186, 226 Water closet trunk, E. A. Leland 186, 352 Weaning bit for animals, J. P. Israel 186, 347 Weather strip, E. C. Underwood 186, 386 Whirling toy, J. H. Jenkins 186, 255 Wrench, P. Chapin, Sr 186, 197

 * * * * *

DESIGNS PATENTED. 

 9, 700, 9, 701. --CHAINS. --D. A. Beam, Newark, N. J. 9, 702. --BRACKETS. --O. F. Fogelstrand, Kensington, Conn. 9, 703. --BOTTLE. --A. T. Francis, Paterson, N. J. , et al. 9, 704, 9, 705. --CARPETS. --A. Heald, Philadelphia, Pa. 9, 706. --CARPETS. --D. McNair, Boston, Mass. 9, 707, 9, 708. --CARPETS. --T. J. Stearns, Boston, Mass. 9, 709. --BRONZE. --J. W. Tiemann et al. , Darlington, N. J. 9, 710. --SHIRT FRONT. --S. Weill, New York city. 9, 711. --DESK. --J. H. Frink, Detroit, Mich. 

[A copy of any of the above patents may be had by remitting one dollarto MUNN & Co. , 37 Park Row, New York city. ]

 * * * * *

ADVERTISEMENTS. 

 * * * * *

Inside Page, each insertion 75 cents a line. Back Page, each insertion$1. 00 a line. 

_Engravings may head advertisements at the same rate per line, bymeasurement, as the letter press. Advertisements must be received atpublication office as early as Friday morning to appear in nextissue. _

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WATER WHEELS. 

More than four times as many of Jas. Lefell's improved Double TurbineWater Wheels in operation than any other kind. 24 sizes made, rangingfrom 5 3-4 to 96 in. Diam. Under heads from 1 to 240 ft. Successfulfor every purpose. Large new pamphlet, the finest ever published, containing over 30 fine illustrations, sent free to parties interestedin water power. 

[Illustration]

 JAS. LEFFEL & CO. , Springfield, O. , and 109 Liberty St. , New York City. 

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STEEL CASTINGS, From 1-4 to 10, 000 lbs. Weight. An invaluable substitute for expensiveforgings or for malleable iron castings requiring great strength. Sendfor circular and price list to CHESTER STEEL CASTING COMPANY, EVELINASTREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

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GEORGE C. HICKS & CO. , Baltimore, Md. CLAY RETORTS, TILES, FIREBRICKS, &c. Terra Cotta Pipes of all sizes. 

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CHEAPEST ROTARY HAND CORNSHELLER IN THE U. S. 

Guaranteed to be the simplest, cheapest, most durable, effective andthe best. Buy it. Try it and be convinced. Samples $1. 00. Largeprofits to agents. Address Harrisburgh Pa. , Family Cornsheller Co. Lock Box 9. 

 * * * * *

Y. A. FAY & CO. 

CINCINNATI, OHIO U. S. S. 

WOOD WORKING MACHINERY. 

Woodsworth Planers and matchers, Daniels & Dimension Planers, Universal Wood Workers, Band & Circular Re-Saws, Ripping, Edging &Cross-Cutting Saws, Molding, Mortising and Tenoning Machines, Band &Scroll Saws, Carving, Boring, Shaping, Friezing & Sand PaperingMachines, Wood Lathes & Machinery for Furniture, Car, Wheel &Agricultural Shops. Superior to any in use. Prices reduced to suit thetimes. 

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DAYTON CAM PUMP. 

THE ONLY PUMP IN THE MARKET DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED ESPECIALLY FORBOILER FEEDING. 

Are Pumping water at 268° F. No Dead Centers. The Steam Valve is aplain Slide Valve identical to the slide valve of a Steam Engine, butderives its motion from a cam. Speed can be regulated to suitevaporation. Pumping Returns from Steam Heating Apparatus a specialty. 

Send for Circular. 

Smith, Vaile & Co. , DAYTON, OHIO. 

[Illustration]

 * * * * *

WANTED THE SOLE MANUFACTURE for England, of one or two Patent Articlesin demand by steam users. Advertisers have good manufacturingpremises, and a first-class connection among steam users in Englandand the Continent. Apply in first instance by letter to P. S. B. , careof Mr. G. STREET, Advertising Offices, 30 Cornhill, London, E. C. , England. 

 * * * * *

A NEW YEAR'S GIFT

A $5 NEW YEAR'S GIFT

GIVEN AWAY!

To Every Reader of This Paper!

Consisting of the beautiful and valuable Steel Engraving, entitled

"CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE!"

In an American edition, issued by W. W. Bostwick & Co. , Publishers, 177and 179 West Fourth Street, Cincinnati, O. , and furnished to everyREADER OF THIS PAPER FREE. 

The retail price of the English edition of this Engraving is $12. 00PER COPY. It illustrates one of the most remarkable incidents in thelife time of our Savior. The subject is taken from Luke, SecondChapter, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50th Verses. Its size is three feet longand two feet wide, and has over 30 FIGURES REPRESENTED. 

It is the best Premium ever given away. W. W. Bostwick & Co. Willsupply every Reader of this paper with the valuable and appropriateEngraving of "Christ in the Temple" as a New Year's Gift. 

A NEW YEARS GIFT

Readers will therefore please cut out the following Certificate andsend it to W. W. Bostwick & Co. , Publishers, 177 and 179 West FourthStreet, Cincinnati, O. , for redemption, together with 25 cents to payfor postage, wrapping, roller, and mounting the Engraving. Cut Outthis Readers' Certificate. It is worth $5. 00. 

CERTIFICATE. 

On receipt of this Certificate, together with 25 cents to pay forpostage, roller, wrapping, and mounting, we will send the beautifulEngraving, three feet long and two feet wide, entitled

"CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE, "

To every Reader of this paper, by mail, postpaid. Send for Engravingat once, stating name in full, P. O. Address, county, and State, Address all orders to W. W. BOSTWICK CO. , PUBLISHERS, 17. & 17 W. Fourth St. , Cincinnati, O. 

Readers of this paper will be allowed this New Year's Premium Gift, and all orders must be accompanied with above Certificate, which besure to cut out and send with directions for mailing to W. W. BOSTWICK& CO. , PUBLISHERS, 177 AND 179 WEST FOURTH STREET, CINCINNATI, O. 

A NEW YEAR'S GIFTCOPYRIGHT SECURED

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A MAN OF A THOUSAND. 

Having discovered, in a manner which might be considered almostprovidential, a positive cure for consumption and all Lung Complaints, I feel it my duty to make it known in a practical manner by furnishinga sample bottle, free of charge, to all sufferers, my only hope ofremuneration being that the medicine will perform all I claim for it. The ingredients are of the choicest herbal products and perfectlysafe; will be sent FREE TO ALL. Address at once. DR. O. PHELPS BROWN, 21 Grand St. , Jersey City, N. J. 

 * * * * *

I HAVE 500 ACRES OF LAND IN SAN

Jacinto County, Texas. Rolling and heavily timbered, with two springbranches running through the land. The entire tract suitable forfarming purposes. Title perfect. At the present valuation of land inthe neighborhood, its worth five dollars per acre. The Bast and WestNarrow Gauge R. R. When completed will run within easy distance of theland, which will increase its value materially. I will give a warrantydeed to the above tract of land in exchange for one 15-horse powerportable engine, and 20-horse boiler return flues, new andcomplete-geared to run sugar mill without Band and Gin with Band. Themachinery to be delivered at depot in Liberty. Any reference givendesired. Address Y. L. RIDLEY, Liberty, Liberty County, Texas. 

 * * * * *

$290 FOR BEST PIANOS IN THE WORLD

--in use all over the U. S. In over 900 towns by persons you will findin our Illustrated Circular, probably residents of your own place, orvery near, where you can try our pianos. Genuine Rosewood--overstrung--full iron plate--7 1-3 octaves--Agraffe--and possessing everyimprovement known, and warranted 5 years by a responsible incorporatedManufacturing Co. , referring by permission to the Chemical NationalBank, New York City, by far the strongest bank in America. Pianos senteverywhere on trial. We have no agents. Send for Illustrated Circulargiving full particulars. Address

 UNITED STATES PIANO COMPANY. 810 Broadway, New York. (Please name this paper. )

 * * * * *

PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONTINUOUS BRIDGES. 

By Charles E. Bender, C. E. Illustrated. Being No. 26, Van Nostrand'sScience Series. 18mo. Boards, 50 cents. _Recently Published. _ THEFATIGUE OF METALS UNDER REPEATED STRAINS, with various tables ofresults of experiments, from the German of Prof. Ludwig Spangenberg, with a preface by S. H. Shreve, A. M. 18 mo. Bound, 50 cents. D. VANNOSTRAND, Publisher, 23 Murran Street, and 27 Warren Street. 

[3 stars] Copies sent free by mail on receipt of price. 

 * * * * *

WANTED--A Second-Hand Shaping Machine; 12 inch stroke; in goodcondition. Pratt & Whitney's make preferred. Address, with fullparticulars as to size, make, and price, R. G. E. , 589 Lorimer Street, Greenpoint, L. I. 

 * * * * *

WOOD-WORKING MACHINERY, Such as Woodworth Planing, Tongueing, and Grooving Machines, Daniel'sPlaners, Richardson's Patent Improved Tenon Machines, Mortising, Moulding, and Re-Saw Machines, and Wood-Working Machinery generally. Manufactured by WITHERBY, RUGG & RICHARDSON, 26 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Mass. (Shop formerly occupied by R. BALL & CO. )

 * * * * *

BRAINARD MILLING MACHINES all styles and sizes. Universal MillingMachines from $200 upwards; Brown's Patent Screw Machines. &c. , &c. Address BRAINARD M. M. CO. , 131 Milk St. , Boston, Mass. 

 * * * * *

AGENTS TO CONTROL TERRITORY, West and South (New England States, Connecticut excepted, taken), forthe sale of the "Eureka Button Fasteners, " Patented 1876. No toolrequired to put them on. Samples, &c. , free. W. L. URANN, M'f'r, 21Fulton St. , New York. 

 * * * * *

ENGINES AND BOILERS. 

New and complete. One 2-horse power, $140: 3 H. P. , $175; 5H. P. , $250;10 H. P. , $500; 25 H. P. , $1, 000; all sizes in proportion. Patterns, drawings and models best and cheapest of any. Address POND 187 GrandSt. N. Y. 

 * * * * *

_Founded by Mathew Carey, 1785. _

BAIRD'S SCIENTIFIC BOOK CATALOGUES NOW READY, NEW REVISED EDITIONS. 

Of our valuable SCIENTIFIC BOOK CATALOGUES, which will be sent by mailgratis, and free of postage, on application. 

We are now receiving and keeping in stock the most important ENGLISHAND AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC BOOKS as they are published, and are preparedto furnish them or to give information in regard to all American andForeign publications in this department of literature. 

HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO. , Industrial Publishers, Booksellers & Importers, _810 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. _

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AIR COMPRESSORS FOR ALL PURPOSES. 

_A SPECIALTY of HEAVY PRESSURES. _

THE NORWALK IRON WORKS CO. , SOUTH NORWALK, CONN. 

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OTIS' SAFETY HOISTING MACHINERY. 

OTIS BROS. & CO. , No. 348 Broadway, New York. 

 * * * * *

WROUGHT IRON

_Beams and Girders_

THE UNION IRON MILLS, Pittsburgh, Pa. , Manufacturers of improvedwrought iron Beams and Girders (patented). 

The great fall which has taken place in the prices of Iron andespecially in Beams used in the construction of FIRE PROOF BUILDINGS, induces us to call the special attention of Engineers, Architects, andBuilders to the undoubted advantages of now erecting Fire Proofstructures; and by reference to pages 52 & 54 of our Book ofSections--which will be sent on application to those contemplating theerection of fire proof buildings--THE COST CAN BE ACCURATELYCALCULATED, the cost of Insurance avoided, and the serious losses andinterruption to business caused by fire; these and like considerationsfully justify any additional first cost. It is believed, that wereowners fully aware of the small difference which now exists betweenthe use of Wood and Iron, that in many cases the latter would beadopted. We shall be pleased to furnish estimates for all the Beamscomplete, for any specific structure, so that the difference in costmay at once be ascertained. Address

CARNEGIE, BROS. & CO. , Pittsburgh, Pa. 

 * * * * *

ARSENIC IN THE ARTS. --A Lecture before the Medical Association ofCentral New York. By S. A. Lattimore, LL. D. , Professor of Chemistry inthe Rochester University. A popular and important paper. SCIENTIFICAMERICAN SUPPLEMENT No. 29. Price, 10 cents. To be had at this officeand of all newsdealers. 

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A NEW DEPARTURE. 

Traveling and local salesmen wanted. STAPLE GOODS. NO PEDDLING. Salary$75 a month. Hotel and traveling expenses paid, S. A. GRANT & CO. , manufacturers of ENVELOPES and PAPER. 2, 4, 6, and 8 Home St. , CINCINNATI, OHIO. 

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$66 a Week in your own town. Terms and $5 outfit free. H. HALLETT &CO. , Portland, Maine. 

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MESSRS. B. DAMBACHER & CO. , Hamburg, Germany dealers in AmericanWood-Working Machinery and Tools of all kinds. Messrt. D. & Co. , solicit consignments from American manufacturers. Catalogues anddescriptive circulars desired, by mail. 

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MACHINERY OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, COLD ROLLED SHAFTING, HANGERS, PULLEYS, COUPLINGS, BELTING, TANITEEMERY WHEELS AND GRINDERS, IN STOCK. 

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$10 to $500 INVESTED IN WALL ST. 

Often leads to wealth. A 72 page book explaining everything, and acopy of the Wall Street Review, sent free. 

JOHN HICKLING & CO. , Bankers and Brokers 72 Broadway, New York

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WE ENAMEL in FINE JET BLACK every variety of turned woodwork parts ofmachinery, casting's, tinware and other metalwork, ENAMELED JET GOODS, in wood or metal, made to order. AMERICAN ENAMEL CO. 17 WARREN ST. , PROVIDENCE, R. I. 

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A GIFT By an arrangement with the Publisher we will send every readerof this Paper a sample package of Transfer Pictures free. Send 3¢. Stamp for postage. They are highly colored, beautiful, and easilytransferred to any object. Agents wanted. J. L. PATTEN & CO. , 162William St. , New York. 

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FLOWERS

_Strong Plants_ delivered, _free of cost_ safely per mail at yourdoor. Satisfaction guaranteed. Splendid assortment of ROSES 6 for $1;13 for $2. Send for _New Catalogue of Plants. _ HOOPES, BRO. & THOMAS, Cherry Hill Nurseries. West Chester. Pa. 

 * * * * *

SHAFTS. PULLEYS. HANGERS COUPLINGS ETC. 

In Stock, and for Sale by WILLIAM SELLERS & CO. , Philadelphia, and 79Liberty St. , New York. 

Price lists and pamphlets on application. 

 * * * * *

WANTED Salesmen to sell light hardware to _Dealers, _ NO PEDDLING. Salary, $1, 200 a year. Hotel and traveling expenses paid. AddressDEFIANCE M'F'G CO. , Chicago, Ill. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration]

BARNES FOOT POWER MACHINERY. 

10 INVALUABLE MACHINES for Mechanics and Amateurs. Also Fancy Woodsand Designs. Send for 48 page Illustrated Catalogue, Free. W. F. & JOHNBARNES, ROCKFORD, Winnebago Co. , Ills. 

 * * * * *

CELEBRATED FOOT LATHES. 

[Illustration]

Foot Power, Back-geared Screw Lathes, Small Hand and Power Planers forMetal, Small Gear Cutters, Slide-rests, Ball Machine for Lathes, FootScroll Saws, light and heavy, Foot Circular Saws. Just the articlesfor Amateurs or Artisans. Highly recommended. Send for illustratedCatalogues. N. H. BALDWIN, Laconia, N. H. 

 * * * * *

POND'S TOOLS. 

Engine Lathes, Planers, Drills, &c. Send for Catalogue. DAVID W. POND, Successor to Lucius W. Pond, Worcester, Mass. 

 * * * * *

L. SMITH HOBART, PRESIDENT. JOHN C. MOSS, SUPERINTENDENT. D. J. CARSON, GENERAL AGENT. 

PHOTO ENGRAVING CO. 

MOSS' PROCESS

NO. 67 PARK PLACE

NEW YORK

[Illustration]

RELIEF PLATES IN HARD TYPE METAL, FOR PRINTING ALL KINDS OF PICTORIALILLUSTRATIONS IN BOOKS, NEWSPAPERS, AND CATALOGUES. 

These plates are an excellent substitute for woodcuts, being used inprecisely the same way, giving equally good results for much lessmoney. 

ELECTROTYPES AND STEREOTYPES are made from them in the usual manner. We offer special advantages to MANUFACTURERS AND INVENTORS, as ourmechanical work is of the best quality and rapidly executed. Ourplates are used satisfactorily in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN and theSCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, and by Manufacturers and Publishers inall parts of the country. 

"COPY"

We work direct only from Prints or properly prepared Pen and InkDrawings. Any other copy may be furnished, such as Photographs, PencilSketches, or the articles themselves, in which cases we have drawingsmade in the best manner by our own trained draughtsmen. Photographs, taken in the ordinary way, are suitable, and they may be of any size. We make the plates larger or smaller, as desired. We are glad to havecustomers prepare their own Pen Drawings, and append one or two, DIRECTIONS TO ARTISTS:

The most important requisite in Drawings for our use is that everyline shall be _perfectly black. _ The paper or drawing board must be_white_ and _smooth_. For fine work drawings should be made double thescale of the plate desired. Carefully observing these main points, theartist has the utmost freedom in his choice of styles of drawing. Forfurther information and fine samples of our work, send stamp forcurrent number of our illustrated _Quarterly Circular_. 

 * * * * *

 WE ALSO PUBLISH, | LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. PRICE ONE DOLLAR | 1. THE LETTER WRITER. ART ALBUM | 2. THE CROSSING SWEEPER. CONTAINING | 3. THE ROYAL PRINCESSES. Twelve Beautiful Photo Engravings | 4. THE SKEIN WINDER. Suitable for Framing | 5. THE SPANISH SISTERS. Reproduced by Moss Process from | 6. A REST ON THE HILL. Art Journal Steel Engravings | 7. THE FAIR CORRESPONDENT. Published By | 8. BARTHRAM'S DIRGE. PHOTO ENGRAVING CO. | 9. GOING TO SCHOOL. 67 PARK PLACE | 10. PEEP O'DAY BOY'S CABIN. | 11. THE SCANTY MEAL. | 12. THE AMAZON. 

Printed on heavy toned plate paper, 12×15 inches. Liberal discount tothe trade. Sent postpaid on receipt of price. _Please say where yousaw this. _ PHOTO-ENGRAVING CO. , 67 PARK PLACE, NEW YORK. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration]

THE TRADE ENGINE. 

Noiseless in operation--Perfect in workmanship--all light parts ofCast Steel. 

Every Engine indicated, and valve corrected to give the highestattainable results. 

Warranted superior to any semi-portable Engine in the market!

Send for Price List and Circular. 

HERRMANN & HERCHELRODE M'F'G CO. , Dayton, Ohio. 

 * * * * *

Wood-Working Machinery. 

Patent Scroll Saws and Band Saws a Specialty. OVER 100 MACHINES INUSE. Medal at Cincinnati Industrial Exposition. Agents in all largecities. 

CORDESMAN, EGAN & CO. , M'f'rs, Cincinnati, O

 * * * * *

[Hand->]Send for _Descriptive Catalogue_

of

RELIABLE Vegetable and Flower SEEDS containing 192 pages on SEEDS andPlants mailed free. 

H. A. DREER, SEEDSMAN AND FLORIST, PHILADA. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration]

$100. REWARD. $100. 

This MOUSTACHE produced on a smooth face by the use of DYKE'S BEARDELIXIR without injury, or will forfeit $100. Price by mail in sealedpackage 25 cents, for three 50 cents. 

A. L. SMITH & CO. , Ag'ts, Palatine, Ill. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration]

J. H. Blaisdell's MOULDER, North 4th St. , PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration]

Shaping Machines

Have novel device for changing length of stroke while in motion, also, automatic down feed, and quick return. Four sizes. 

Patented 1868, 1871, 1874, Wood & Light Machine Co. Worcester, Mass. 

Manufacturers of all kinds of Iron Working Machinery Shafting, Pulleys, &c. 

 * * * * *

$12 a day at home. Agents wanted. Outfit and terms free. TRUE & CO. , Augusta, Maine. 

 * * * * *

Lathes, Planers, Shapers, Drills, Gear & Bolt Cutters, &c. E. GOULD, Newark, N. J. 

 * * * * *

SNYDER'S LITTLE GIANT STEAM ENGINE

The Best SMALL POWER ENGINES IN THE COUNTRY. 

WARD B. SNYDER

84 Fulton Str. 

New York

[Illustration]

One-Horse Power, with tubular boiler complete, only $150

Two-Horse Power 200

Three-Horse Power 250

Call and Examine OR SEND FOR ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE

 * * * * *

SEE PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS & CHEMICALS

complete, with directions, $10. No toy; takes pictures 4x5½ inches. Send for illustrated circular. 

B. MORGAN, 14 Ann St. New York, P. O. Box 4349. 

 * * * * *

WANTED! SALESMEN at a salary of $1200 a year to travel and sell goodsto Dealers. NO PEDDLING. Hotel and traveling expenses paid. Address. MONITOR MANUFACTURING Co. , Cincinnati, Ohio. 

 * * * * *

$39 Each week to Agents. Goods Staple. 10, 000 testimonials received. Terms liberal. Particulars free. J. Worth & Co. St. Louis, Mo. 

 * * * * *

$55 to $77 a Week to Agents. $10 _Outfit Free_. P. O. VICKERY, Augusta, Maine. 

 * * * * *

THE COMPOUND STEAM PUMP USES

steam expansively, hence economically. Simpler than any other. Onlytwo moving parts in cylinder. No levers, springs, tappets, orreversing valves. Critical examination invited. Address E. & A. Betts, Wilmington, Del. 

 * * * * *

25 Beautiful Cards, with name, 10 cents, post paid. MILLPORT PRINTINGCO. , Millport, N. Y. 

 * * * * *

SPARE THE CROTON AND SAVE THE COST. 

Driven or Tube Wells furnished to large consumers of Croton andRidgewood Water. WM. D, ANDREWS & BRO. , 414 Water St. , N. Y. Whocontrol the patent for Green's American Driven Well. 

 * * * * *

VINEGAR. 

How made in 10 hours from Cider, Wine or Sorghum without using drugs. Name paper and address F. I. SAGE, Springfield Mass. 

 * * * * *

AGENTS. 64 page Illustrated Catalogue, Free. Boston Novelty Co. , Boston, Mass. 

 * * * * *

The Toll-Gate! PRIZE PICTURE sent free! An ingenious gem! 50 objectsto find! Address, with stamp, E. C. ABBEY, Buffalo, N. Y. 

 * * * * *

$984 Made by one Agent in 57 days. 13 new articles. Samples free. Address, C. M. LININGTON, CHICAGO. 

 * * * * *

LIGHTNING SCREW PLATE. 

[Illustration]

Will make a perfect thread at one cut, and can be adjusted for wear. Send for catalogue to the agents, FRASSE & COMPANY, Dealers in Fine Tools, Files, Steel Wire & Supplies, 62 CHATHAM STREET, NEW YORK. 

 * * * * *

ADVERTISEMENTS. 

INSIDE PAGE, EACH INSERTION--- 75 CENTS A LINE. BACK PAGE, EACH INSERTION--- $1. 00 A LINE. 

_Engravings may head advertisements at the same rate per line, bymeasurement, as the letter press. Advertisements must be received atpublication office as early as Friday morning to appear in nextissue. _

 * * * * *

GUARDIOLA'S COFFEE & SUGAR MACHINERY

COFFEE, MAIT, CORN, COCOA, AND GRAIN-DRYING MACHINE. COFFEE-HULLINGAND POLISHING MACHINES. COFFEE-WASHING MACHINE. HELIX SUGAREVAPORATOR. 

MESSRS. C. ADOLPHE LOW & CO. , 42 Cedar

Street, MESSRS. MUNOZ & ESPRIELLA, 52 Pine Street, new York, are Mr. Guardiola's Agents, and they will give prompt attention to all ordersfor any of the above machines. 

 * * * * *

FOUR GRAND PRIZE MEDALS!

AWARDED OUR EXHIBIT AT THE CENTENNIAL!

[Illustration: BLISS'S SELECT GARDEN SEEDS. ]

BLISS'S ILLUSTRATED SEED CATALOGUE AND AMATEUR'S GUIDE TO THE FLOWERAND KITCHEN GARDEN. --200 pages, including several hundred finelyexecuted engravings, and A BEAUTIFULLY COLORED LITHOGRAPH, 35 CENTS. 

BLISS'S ILLUSTRATED GARDENER'S ALMANAC AND ABRIDGED CATALOGUE. --128pages. Embraces a monthly calendar of operations, and a price list ofall the leading GARDEN, FIELD AND FLOWER SEEDS, profusely illustrated, with brief directions for their culture. 10 CENTS. 

BLISS'S ILLUSTRATED POTATO CATALOGUE contains a descriptive list ofall the varieties recently introduced, with many other desirablesorts; also much useful information upon their cultivation. 10 CENTS. 

B. K. BLISS & SONS, 34 BARCLAY ST. , (P. O. BOX 5712. ) NEW YORK. 

Please state that you saw this advertisement in the SCIENTIFICAMERICAN. 

 * * * * *

WANTED. --A FIRST-CLASS MOLD MAKER ON Undertakers' Hardware. AddressCRANE, BREED & CO. , Cincinnati, O. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration: PATENTS]

[ESTABLISHED 1846. ]

MUNN & CO. 'S PATENT OFFICES. 

THE OLDEST AGENCY FOR ELICITING PATENTS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

_THIRTY YEARS' EXPERIENCE. _

MORE PATENTS have been secured through this agency, at home andabroad, than through any other in the world. 

They employ as their assistants a corps of the most experienced men asexaminers, specification writers, and draughtsmen, that can be found, many of whom have been selected from the ranks of the Patent Office. 

SIXTY THOUSAND inventors have availed themselves of Munn & Co. 'sservices in examining their inventions and procuring their patents. 

MUNN & CO. , in connection with the publication of the SCIENTIFICAMERICAN, continue to examine inventions, confer with inventors, prepare drawings, specifications, and assignments, attend to filingapplications in the Patent Office, paying the Government fees, andwatch each case, step by step, while pending before the examiner. Thisis done through their branch office, corner F and 7th Sts. , Washington. They also prepare and file caveats, procure designpatents, trade marks, and re-issues, attend to rejected cases(prepared by the inventor or other attorneys), procure copyrights, attend to interferences, give written opinions on matters ofinfringement, furnish copies of patent business, both in this and inforeign countries. 

A special notice IS made in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN of all inventionspatented through this agency, with the name and residence of thepatentee. Patents are often sold, in part or whole, to personsattracted to the invention by such notice. 

Patents obtained in Canada, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Russia, Prussia, Spain, Portugal, the British Colonies, and all othercountries where patents are granted, at prices greatly reduced fromformer rates. Send for pamphlet pertaining specially to foreignpatents, which states the cost, time granted, and the requirements foreach country. 

COPIES OF PATENTS. 

Persons desiring any patent issued from 1836 to November 26, 1867, canbe supplied with official copies at reasonable cost, the pricedepending upon the extent of drawings and length of specifications. 

Any patent issued since November 27, 1867, at which time the PatentOffice commenced printing the drawings and specifications, may be hadby remitting to this office $1. 

A copy of the claims of any patent issued since 1638 will be furnishedfor $1. 

When ordering copies, please remit for the same as as above, and statename of patentee, title of invention, and date of patent. 

A pamphlet, containing full directions for obtaining United Statespatents, sent free. A handsomely bound Reference Book, gilt edges, contains 140 pages and many engravings and tables important to everypatentee and mechanic, and is a useful handbook of reference foreverybody. Price 25 cents, mailed free. 

 Address MUNN & CO. , Publishers SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 37 PARK ROW, N. Y. 

BRANCH OFFICE--Corner of F and 7th Streets, Washington, D. C. 

 * * * * *

EMERSON'S PATENT DAMASCUS TEMPERED SAWS

Patent Planer, Clipper, Lumberman's Clipper, from clipper cross-cut, Universal Adjustable Saw Swage, Band Saws for Saw Mills and re-sawing, and solid saws of all kinds. Are superior to all others, Extra ThinSaws a specialty. Send your full address, plainly written, for PriceList and Circular to Emerson, Smith & Co. , Beaver Falls, Pa. , Successors to Emerson, Ford & Co. 

 * * * * *

ROOTS' PATENT PORTABLE FORGE. 

[Illustration:

 ADAPTED TO EVERY VARIETY OF WORK. ]

THE ONLY FORGE WITH FORCE BLAST BLOWER. 

THE ONLY EFFECTIVE FORGE MADE. 

P. H. & F. M. ROOTS, Manuf's, CONNERSVILLE, IND. S. S. TOWNSEND, Gen'lAg't, 31 Liberty St. , NEW YORK

 * * * * *

First Premium ahead of All at Centennial, Hand and Self-Inking. 

[Illustration:

 Do Your Own PRINTING

 The Excelsior Presses

]

Save money! Do more advertising. 

$3 Press for cards, labels, envelopes, etc. Large sizes for largework. _Anybody_ can work them, have good pastime for spare hours, andcan make money by taking in small Jobs. 

BOYS have much fun and make money very fast at printing cards, etc. , Send two stamps for catalogue, to Mfrs, KELSEY & CO. MERIDEN, CONN. 

 * * * * *

MACHINISTS' TOOLS. 

NEW AND IMPROVED PATTERNS. Send for new illustrated catalogue. 

Lathes, Planers, Drills, &c. 

NEW HAVEN MANUFACTURING CO. , New Haven, Conn. 

 * * * * *

To appear end of February, The United States

BUSINESS DIRECTORY

FOR 1877. 

This Directory contains over 400, 000 names of persons in all kinds ofbusiness. Arranged alphabetically according to States, and classifiedaccording to business. It is a valuable aid to the Merchant, Manufacturer, and Mechanic, for correspondence or the distribution ofcirculars. The edition of 1877 is the third year of issue, and hasalready received a largely increased patronage from the businesspublic. 

Price to parties who send their order before the book is issued, $7. 00. 

GEO. DE COLANGE & CO. , Publishers, 8 Bond St. , New York. 

 * * * * *

HARTFORD STEAM BOILER

Inspection & Insurance

COMPANY. 

 W. B. Franklin, V. Pres't J. M. Allen, Pres't J. B. Pierce Sec'y. 

 * * * * *

ELOCUTIONIST'S JOURNAL gives choicest standard and new pieces forprofessional and amateur Readers and Speakers, and interestingarticles on appropriate subjects. Just the thing wanted. 10 cts. Ofany newsdealer or by mail. JESSE HANEY & CO. , 119 Nassau Street, NewYork. 

 * * * * *

NOYE'S MILL FURNISHING WORKS

are the largest in the United States. They make Burr Millstones, Portable Mills, Smut Machines, Packers, Mill Picks, Water Wheels, Pulleys and Gearing, specially adapted to flour mills. Send forCatalogue. 

J. T. NOYE & SON, Buffalo, N. Y. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration:

 ROCK DRILLING MACHINES AND AIR COMPRESSORS

 MANUFACTURED BY BURLEIGH Rock Drill Co. SEND FOR PAMPHLET. FITCHBURG MASS. ]

 * * * * *

[Illustration]

NIAGARA STEAM PUMP WORKS. 

ESTABLISHED 1826. 

CHARLES B. HARDICK, No. 23 Adams Street, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 

 * * * * *

NON-COMBUSTIBLE STEAM BOILER AND PIPE

COVERING

WITH "AIR SPACE" IMPROVEMENT. Saves 10 to 20 per cent. CHALMERS SPENCECO. , Foot E. 9th St. N. Y. ; 1202 N. 2d St. , St. Louis, Mo. 

 * * * * *

The HOADLEYPORTABLE STEAM ENGINE. WITH AUTOMATICAL CUT-OFF REGULATORAND BALANCED VALVETHE BEST AND MOST ECONOMICAL ENGINE MADE_SEND FOR CIRCULAR_The J. C. HOADLEY CO. LAWRENCE, MASS. STATE WHERE YOU SAW THIS

 * * * * *

IMPORTANT FOR ALL CORPORATIONS AND MANF'G CONCERNS. --BUERK'SWATCHMAN'S TIME DETECTOR, capable of accurately controlling the motionof a watchman or patrolman at the different stations of his beat. Sendfor circular. J. E. BUERK, P. O. BOX 979. BOSTON, MASS. 

N. B. --The suit against Imhaeuser& Co. , of New York, was decided in myfavor, June 10, 1874. Proceedings have been commenced againstImhaeuser & Co. For selling, contrary to the order of the Court. Persons using clocks infringing on my patent, will be dealt withaccording to law. 

 * * * * *

ESTABLISHED 1844. JOSEPH C. TODD, (Formerly of Todd & Rafferty), ENGINEER and MACHINIST. Flax, Hemp, Jute, Rope, Oakum, and Bagging Machinery, Steam Engines, Boilers, etc. Also Agent for the celebrated and improved Rawson & Rittinger HoistingEngine, I will furnish specifications and estimates for all kinds ofmachinery. Send for descriptive circular and price. Address

 J. C. TODD, 10 Barclay St. , New York, or Paterson, N. J. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration:

 PATENT COLD ROLLED SHAFTING. 

]

The fact that this shafting has 75 per cent. Greater strength, a finerfinish, and is truer to gauge, than any other in use, renders itundoubtedly the most economical We are also the sole manufacturers ofthe CELEBRATED COLLINS' PAT. COUPLING, and furnish Pulleys, Hangers, etc. , of the most approved styles. Price list mailed on application to

 JONES & LAUGHLINS, Try Street, 2d and 3rd Avenues, Pittsburgh, Pa. 190 S. Canal Street, Chicago, Ill. , and Milwaukie, Wis. 

Stocks of this shafting in store and for sale by FULLER. DANA, & FITZ, Boston, Mass. GEO. PLACE & CO. 121 Chambers St. , N. Y. 

 * * * * *

A Cyclopedia of Mechanics and Engineering, FOR SALE. The few copies of the Author's Extra Edition of Prof. R. H. Thurston's Report on Machinery and Manufactures at the GreatInternational Exhibition, 1873, with an account of Europeanmanufacturing districts. 

The volume contains over 450 pages, and contains 223 wood-cuts andplates. 

Please send orders for copies at once. Price, $4. 00. 

 F. T. THURSTON, Civil and Mechanical Engineer. HOBOKEN, N. J. 

 * * * * *

TUBE CLEANERS

for cleaning Boiler Tubes. THE NATIONAL STEEL TUBE CLEANER Co. 814 E. 9th St. , N. Y. 

 * * * * *

KNOWLES STEAM PUMP WORKS, 92 & 94 Liberty St. , New York. 

Great reduction in prices. Send for catalogue. The "Knowles" hasalways been the best steam pump made. 

 * * * * *

[Illustration: TO INVENTORS AND MANUFACTURERS]

FOLLOWS & BATE, Manchester, England, Hardware and Machinery Merchants, are prepared to buy American Goods for Cash, and to act as SoleWholesale Agents. 

 * * * * *

PUNCHING PRESSES

Drop Hammers and Dies, for working Metals, &c. THE STILES & PARKERPRESS CO. , Middletown, Conn. 

 * * * * *

ALCOTT LATHES, for Broom, Rake and Hoe Handles. 

S. C. HILLS, 78 Chambers St. , N. Y. 

 * * * * *

MACHINERY OF IMPROVED STYLES FOR making SHINGLES, HEADING and STAVES;also GUAGE LATHES for TURNING HANDLES. Sole makers of Law's Pat. Shingle and Heading Sawing Machine. Address TREVOR & CO. , Lockport, N. Y. 

 * * * * *

CHLORIDE OF CALCIUM. 

FOR SALE VERY CHEAP. 

RANSOME, 10 Bush Street, San Francisco, Cal. 

 * * * * *

PERFECT NEWSPAPER FILE

The Koch Patent File, for preserving newspapers, magazines, andpamphlets, has been recently improved and price reduced. Subscribersto the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN and SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT can besupplied for the low price of $1. 50 by mail, or $1. 25 at the office ofthis paper. Heavy board sides; inscription "SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, " ingilt. Necessary for every one who wishes to preserve the paper. 

Address

 MUNN & CO. , Publishers SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. 

 * * * * *

LECOUNT'S PATENT MACHINISTS' TOOLS. 

REDUCED PRICES. 

 Set Iron Dogs, 3-8 to 2 in. , $5. 60 " " " 3-8 to 4 in. , 12. 00 " Steel " 3-8 to 2 in. , 6. 30 " " " 3-8 to 4 in. , 13. 00

Iron & Steel Clamps, Die Dogs, Clamp Dogs, Vice Clamps ExpandingMandrels, &c. Send for latest Price list to C. W. LE COUNT, SouthNorwalk, Conn. 

 * * * * *

BEST

DAMPER REGULATORSAND LEVER GAUGE COCKS. 

MURRILL & KEIZER, 41 HOLLIDAY ST. , BALTIMORE. 

 * * * * *

BRAYTON READY MOTOR

It has no boiler, is safe, economical, started by any one in oneminute, occupies small space, and gives an unsurpassed steady, reliable power. Address

 Penna Ready Motor Co. , 20 N. 4TH ST PHILADELPHIA, PA. 

 * * * * *

THE TANITE CO. , STROUDSBURG, PA. 

EMERY WHEELS AND GRINDERS. 

GEO. PLACE, 121 CHAMBERS ST. , NEW YORK AGENT. 

 * * * * *

BOLT CUTTERS

SCHLENKER'S NEW MACHINE REVOLVING-DIE. 

Send for Catalogue, giving prices and full description. 

HOWARD IRON WORKS, BUFFALO, N. Y. 

 * * * * *

STATE, COUNTY AND SHOP RIGHTS for sale of C. Koons' Patent Rat Trap;best out; caught 16 one night. Enclose stamp to owners andmanufacturers, J. T. WILHIDE & BRO. , York Road, Carroll Co. , Md. 

 * * * * *

$5 TO $20

day at home. Samples worth $5 free. STINSON & Co. , Portland, Me. 

 * * * * *

DUC'S IMPROVED PATENT ELEVATOR BUCKET, FOR BREWERS, FLOUR MILLS, GRAIN ELEVATORS, SUGAR REFINERS, &C. 

These buckets are made of the best charcoal stamping iron, and arewarranted to outwear six of the "OLDSTYLE BUCKETS. " The cost is aboutthe same. Address T. F. ROWLAND, Brooklyn, E. D. , N. Y. 

 * * * * *

$3 WATCHES. Cheapest in the known world. _Sample watch and outfit freeto Agents. _ For terms address COULTER & CO. Chicago. 

 * * * * *

BOGARDUS' PATENT UNIVERSAL ECCENTRIC MILLS--For grinding Bones, Ores, Sand, Old Crucibles, Fire Clay, Guanos, Oil Cake, Feed, Corn, Corn andCob, Tobacco, Snuff, Sugar, Salts, Roots, Spices, Coffee, Cocoanut, Flaxseed, Asbestos, Mica, etc. , and whatever cannot be ground by othermills. Also for Paints, Printers' Inks, Paste Blacking, etc. JOHN W. THOMSON, successor to JAMES BOGARDUS, corner of White and Elm Sts. NewYork. 

 * * * * *

_WORKING MODELS_

And Experimental Machinery, Metal or Wood, made toorder by J. F. WERNER, 62 Center St. , N. Y. 

 * * * * *

EAGLE FOOT LATHES, [Illustration: Eagle Foot Lathe]

With Scroll and Circular Saw Attachments, Slide Rest, Tools, &c. ; alsoSmall Engine Lathes, Metal Hand Planers, &c. Neatest designs, superiorfinish. LOW PRICES. Our new Catalogue describes these and every toolnecessary for the Amateur or Artisan. Send for it. 

WM. L. CHASE & CO. , 95 & 97 Liberty St. New York. 

 * * * * *

PYROMETERS

For showing heat of Ovens, Hot Blast Pipes, Boiler Flues, Super-HeatedSteam, Oil Stills, &c. HENRY W. BULKLEY. Sole Manufacturer, 149Broadway, New York. 

 * * * * *

PROSPECTUSOF THESCIENTIFIC AMERICANFor 1877, THE MOST POPULAR SCIENTIFIC PAPER INTHE WORLD. ----THIRTY-SECOND YEAR. ----VOLUME XXXVI. --NEW SERIES. ----

The publishers of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN beg to announce that on thesixth day of January, 1877, a new volume was commenced. It willcontinue to be the aim of the publishers to render the contents of thenew volume more attractive and useful than any of its predecessors. 

_To the Mechanic and Manufacturer. _ No person engaged in any of themechanical pursuits should think of doing without the SCIENTIFICAMERICAN. Every number contains from six to ten engravings of newmachines and inventions which cannot be found in any otherpublication. 

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. One copy of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN will besent for _one year_, 52 numbers, POSTAGE PREPAID, to any subscriber inthe United States or Canada, on receipt of _three dollars and twentycents_ by the publishers. 

_One extra copy_ of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN will be supplied gratis_for every club of five subscribers_ at $3. 20 each; or six copies for$16. 50 without extra copy. Postage free. 

THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT. 

A weekly paper, uniform in size with the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, but adistinct publication. It contains working drawings of engineeringworks, and elaborate treatises on every branch of Science andMechanics, by eminent writers, at home and abroad. An illustratedcover protects the handsomely printed sheets. Price, $5. 00 per annum. Single copies 10 cents. 

_One copy of the_ SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN _and one copy of the_ SCIENTIFICAMERICAN SUPPLEMENT will be sent for one year, postage prepaid, to anysubscriber in the United States or Canada, on receipt of _sevenDollars_ by the publishers. 

The safest way to remit is by Postal-Order, Draft, or Express. Moneycarefully placed inside of envelopes, securely sealed, and carefullyaddressed, seldom goes astray; but it is at the sender's risk. Addressall letters and make all orders, drafts, etc. , payable to

 MUNN & CO. , 37 PARK ROW, NEW YORK. 

 * * * * *

THE "Scientific American" is printed with CHAS. ENEU JOHNSON & CO. 'SINK. Tenth and Lombard Sts. , Philadelphia, and 59 Gold St. , New York.