mable vapour to be ignited by the flame of a lamp h; these valves being worked by cams, i, k, on the revolving crank shaft, or by any other convenient method.

A perforated plate of thin metal 7, is introduced into the cylinder below the piston B, supported and guided by small rods m, m, working sufficiently tight in a stuffing box in the piston B. This plate 7, ascends and descends with the piston, and is prevented from rising higher than the vapour pipe e, by the upper ends of its rods m, m, striking a stationary part above. In this situation it forms a partition between the explosive mixture, and the air in the lower part of the cylinder. A wire gauze should also be placed between the vapour valve ƒ, and inflaming valve g, to prevent explosion, should the former not close in time. It will be seen at fig. 2, that there are two cylinders fitted up in this way, and communicating with the same preparing vessel and crank shaft.

To prepare the explosion mixture, there must be a small quantity of alcohol, or alcohol and water, either alone or mixed with spirit of turpentine, or spirit of turpentine and water, or any other inflammable materials, capable of evaporation, introduced into the lower compartment of the vessel F. A lamp n, or other heat if necessary, is now to be placed under the preparing vessel, for the purpose of raising the temperature, and keeping the materials about blood heat. The flame of a lamp h, is also to be stationed at the inflaming valve g. If too much vapour is raised in proportion to the quantity of air, the mixture ceases to be explosive.

The piston B, in its ascent would cause a partial vacuum in the cylinder, but this is prevented by raising the valve E, which supplies the cylinder with air till B, reaches the pipe e, here the perforated plate, stops, while the piston B, continues its motion to the top of the

cylinder; the air-valve E, is now closed, and the remainder of the cylinder above 7, is supplied with explosive mixture through the pipe e, from the preparing box. Just before the piston B, reaches the end of its stroke, the inflaming valve g, opens, and the flame of the lamp communicating to the vapour, causes an explosion which instantly drives out the contents of the cylinder through the perforated arched plate 7, and flexible leathern valve D, which leather valve immediately collapses again to prevent the return of the air.

The steam formed by the explosion, is condensed by keeping the cylinder below the pipe E, cool, by surrounding it with water in the jacket 0, 0, and by injecting a jet of water through the cock p, (which is also worked by a cam q, on the crank shaft.)

The vacuum being formed under the piston B, it descends by the pressure of the atmosphere, and its connecting rods communicate motion to the crank-shaft, in the same way as in ordinary steam-engines; and a similar operation being carried on in the second cylinder, the power is taken from the crank-shaft, and employed as a moving power.

This machine admits of so much variety of construction by combinations of different pieces, common to steamengines, and other machinery, that the patentee does not intend to claim any particular construction or form, his object being:-" 1st, to secure the method of mixing mechanically, or by machinery, with the inflammable materials, previous to their entering the exploding chamber, such portions of atmospheric air, as they would combine with in combustion, thereby rendering them highly explosive, and enabling them to be made use of in an airtight cylinder; 2ndly, keeping the explosive mixture separate from the atmospheric air in the cylinder, and

driving out the latter without making use of it in the combustion; 3dly, the peculiar construction of the flexible valve; and lastly, preparing the explosive mixtures at a temperature much below that of the boiling point."

[Inrolled October, 1826.]

TO RICHARD ROBERTS, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Civil Engineer, for his Invention of an Improvement or certain Improvements of, in, or applicable to the Mule, Billy, Jenny, Stretching-frame, or any other Machine or Machines however designated, or named, used in spinning Cotton, Wool, or other Fibrous Substances, and in which, either the Spindles recede from, or approach the Rollers, or other deliverers of the said Fibrous Substances, or in which such Rollers or Deliverers recede from, or approach the Spindles.

[Sealed 29th March, 1825.]

THESE improvements apply to such machinery for spinning wool, cotton, or other fibrous substances, as are to be actuated by the uniform power of steam or water. The movements of the mule, billy, jenny, or stretching frame, in ordinary (use for spinning, is regulated by the hands of the workman, and the uniformity of its operations, that is, the degree of twist given, and backing off or coiling of the yarn upon the cop, depends entirely upon his skill; consequently it has been a desideratum, long sought, but without effect, to obtain some combination of mechanism, which should perform all the varied movements of the spinning-mule, billy, jenny, or stretch

ing machine, and with such accuracy, as would ensure the production of perfect yarns, of uniform twist, and by the same mechanism, coil or wind them into cops.

The mechanism proposed by the patentee, appears to possess considerable ingenuity, but is, from the nature of the business it has to perform, extremely complicated.

The leading features of the invention, are-1st, the levers and their appendages, which depress the faller or rod that guides the yarns on to the cops, in backing off; 2nd, a method of regulating the movements of the faller, and forming the cop to its required shape, by the assistance of a long wooden cam; 3rd, changing or reversing the motions of twisting and of backing off, as the different parts of the operation are required to be brought into action; 4th, regulating the coiling or winding of the yarn upon the cop, according to its increasing diameter, by the gradual approximating of the faller, and another similar rod, called a counter-faller.

The description of these improvements, as given in the specification of the patent, is extremely long, and far from clear, by reason of the numerous references to a multitude of letters, numbers, and detached figures, distributed over several sheets of drawing, appended to the specification, and the drawings exhibit such an accumulation of small parts of the mechanism drawn upon a scale so minute, that we are utterly unable to compress them within the compass of our Journal, in any intelligible way. We are thereföre compelled, in this instance, to deviate from our usual practice, by only giving a brief and general description of the patentees intentions.

The moving power by which this machine is to be put in operation, is to be communicated from a rotatory shaft, extending along the building, from whence a band is brought down to a transverse shaft, placed immediately

over the machine. Upon this tranverse shaft there are several pullies, with endless bands extending down to other fast and loose pullies, adapted to turn different parts of the machine. Let it be supposed that one of the bands by passing round a pulley, fixed to one of the rotatory shafts, causes the stretching-frame or carriage to recede, for the purpose of stretching or extending the yarn: by the time that the receding-carriage has reached its destination, a cam upon a latteral shaft has been brought to act against a lever so as to move it side-ways, and shift the band from the fast pulley on to a loose pulley, or one that slides loosely upon its axle. The spindles will now stand still until another movement has brought a clutch-box to act upon a part of the machinery which turns the spindles the reverse way, in order that they may take up or coil the yarn upon the cop in backing off.

The faller, which guides the yarns on to the cop, is brought down at the time the backing off takes place, by means of compound levers, acted upon by rotatory cams, and as the horizontal rod of the faller directs the laying of the yarns upon the cops, its movements are determined by a lever and friction-roller running along a piece of wood placed by the side of the machine called the shaper.

This piece of wood is of an irregular form, partaking of the figures of a cylinder, a cone, and a spiral; it is mounted upon an axle, and made to revolve very slowly, by means of a toothed-wheel and endless screw, connected to the main shaft by an upright spindle, so that every time the 'stretching carriage recedes, the frictionroller at the end of the lever last mentioned, passes along a different part of the surface of the wooden-cam, and consequently the lever acts differently upon the faller, and causes it to regulate the laying of the yarns upon the