LIST OF IRISH PATENTS GRANTED IN

SEPTEMBER, 1838.

NOTES AND NOTICES.

Launch of the Archimedean Steam-Vessel.-On Thursday a steam-vessel, named the Archimedean, was launched from the yard of Mr. Wynn, of Millwall, nearly opposite Deptford. on which the vessel is proposed to be propelled The principle up(Ericsson's) is one which has long been in agitation, and which has already been experimentally tried with considerable success upon a vessel of eight tons, and of four-and-a-half horse power, and the objects which it is desired should be attained are at once speed, and the ready application either of steam or sailing power. The engine will be placed amid-ships, as in the steam-vessels now in use, and the propeller or paddle, which is under the stern, will be worked by a communicating shaft, acting upon a screw, called the Archimedean screw, in the application and use of which the invention is grouuded. The propeller being placed under the stern, the inconvenience arising from the paddle now in use, which act themselves as a backwater, is avoided, and great benefit will be derived in seas when the wind is on the beam, when, instead of a great portion of the power being lost as now, the revolutions of the paddles will continue with as good effect as in calm weather. Should any circumstance render it necessary to remove the steam power, the wheel may be immediately unshipped, or its action upon the water may be prevented, and sailing power may then be applied. The vessel has been built at the yard of Mr. Wynn, under the direction of Mr. Smith, and is of exceedingly elegant construction. Its dimensions are as follow:-Extreme length fore and aft, 155 feet; length between perpendiculars, 107 feet; breadth of beam, 22 feet 6 inches; depth of hold, 13 feet; diameter of screw, 7 feet; length

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of screw 8 feet; and it is intended to apply engines of 45-horse power.-Chronicle.

New American Steam Ship.-The steam-ship Liverpool made an experimental trip on Saturday from Liverpool to Dublin. The weather was very boisterous, but the ship made her way at the rate of about 10 miles an hour and reached Dublin in 12 hours and 21 minutes. In returning, the wind was

not quite so strong, and blew from the west, and the distance from Kingstown harbour to Liverpoo was accomplished in 10 hours and 42 minutes. The Liverpool Albion says-"The result fairly justifies the conclusion that, when all on board is completed, the stiffness of the engines worn off, and the improvements made which this first voyage has suggested, she will be one of the most ocean-worthy and swiftest vessels hitherto built, and become a credit to the owners and to the port." She started on her first trip to New York last Saturday.

Foreign Railroads.-Mr. Stephenson, the celebrated railroad engineer, has been engaged by the Florence and Leghorn Railroad Company to make the requisite surveys and plans for that line. Two English engineers have already arrived at Florence, to commence the preliminary works.

Iveson's Smoke-consuming Plan.-Sir,-I perceive an article making the round of the newspapers, upon the saving of fuel, and the consumption of smoke, said to be the discovery of a Mr. Iveson, manager of the Castle Silk Mills, Edinburgh, on which, with your leave, through the medium of your valuable columns, I wish to offer to the public the following remarks:-It is part of a plan which I mentioned to several gentlemen so long ago as 1835, for the consumption of smoke, the economising and condensation of fuel in bulk, applicable to steamers in long voyages. I may here observe, that this fuel is not more expensive than the best Newcastle coal, and somewhat less than one-half the bulk. The use of the fuel will involve a slight alteration in the frame-work of the furnace, and render the smoke-funnel or chimney no longer necessary. Among the gentlemen to whom I mentioned my discovery in 1835, was the Rev. George Jacque, of Auchterarder, N.B., and again in conversation with him upon the same subject, in July 1837, he suggested an improvement in the mode of applying the jet of steam, which was to take it from the exhauston-pipe after the steam had done its work; and early last winter it was mentioned to Matthias Dunn, Esq., of this town. Having some specimens of the fuel prepared, I shall be happy to show them to any person interested in this important subject.

I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, J. M. ARNOTT. 33, Blackett-street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, October 15, 1838.

Statue of James Watt in Greenock.-The statue of James Watt, by Sir Francis Chantrey, is now placed in the building erected for it in Union-street. It is an 8 feet figure, of statuary marble, and weighs upwards of 2 tons, and the pedestal, which is of Sicilian marble, weighs about 3 tons. On the front of the pedestal is the following inscription, from the classic pen of Lord Jeffrey:-"The inhabitants of Greenock have erected this statue of James Watt, not to extend a fame already identified with the miracles of steam, but to testify the pride and reverence with which he is remembered in the place of his nativity, and their deep sense of the great benefits his genius has conferred on mankind. Born XIX January, MDCCXXXVI. Died at Heathfield, in Staffordshire, August xxv., MDCCCXIX. On the right of the pedestal is a shield containing the Arms of Greenock, and on the left strength and speed. On the back is an elephant, in obvious allusion to the beautiful parallel drawn by Mr. Jeffrey between the steam-engine and the trunk of that animal, which was equally qualified to lift a pin or to rend an oak,

Bridge over the Danube.-The new suspension bridge over the Danube, between Buda and Pesth, which will be begun the next spring, is a colossal undertaking. Two piers of granite and the red marble of Neudorf, 35 feet thick, and 150 feer above the level of the foundation, will support the whole structure. There will consequently be three openings for the water to pass through, the middle passage being 640 feet in width, and each of those at the sides 270 feet, making in all 1,180 feet. The entire length of the bridge will be 1,600 feet. Castiron beams will support the platform, which is to be 37 feet wide, viz., 25 feet for the carriage-way, and six feet for each foot-path. The whole will be suspended by 12 chains, weighing together upwards of 2,000 tons.

The last of the First Steam-boat.-A curious fate has attended the first actually employed steamvessel, which was constructed for the late Mr. Miller of Dalswinton, by Mr. William Symington, on the Forth and Clyde Canal, near Falkirk, and from seeing which Fulton took his idea of introducing steam-vessels on the rivers of the United States. In the formation of some new works at the eastern extremity of this canal, it lately became necessary to fill up the course of a stream, which formerly ran into the harbour of Grangemouth; among the rubbish and materials used for this purpose, the venerable remains of Mr. Miller's vessel have been buried-strongly reminding us of the lines of the poet

"

Imperial Cæsar, dead and turned to clay, May stop a hole and keep the wind away." Sir James Anderson's Steam-coach is finished, and will start from Buttevant for this city in a fortnight, travelling at 15 miles an hour.-Limerick Paper.

The Suspension Bridge at Freyburg, the longest in the world, was completed and thrown open in 1834. The engineer who constructed it is M. Chaley, of Lyons. Its dimensions, compared with those of the Menai bridge, are as follows:Length. Elevation. Breadth. 905ft 174ft 28ft. 580 130 25

Freyburg Menai It is supported on four cables of iron wire, each containing 1056 wires, the united strength of which is capable of supporting three times the weight which the bridge will ever be likely to bear, or three times the weight of two rows of waggons, extending entirely across it. The cables enter the ground on each side obliquely for a considerable distance, and are then carried down vertical shafts cut in the rock, and filled with masonry, through which they pass, being attached at the extremity to enormous blocks of stone. The materials of which it is composed are almost exclusively Swiss; the iron came from Berne, the limestone masonry from the quarries of the Jura, the woodwork from the forest of Freyburg: the workmen were, with the exception of one man, natives, who had never seen such a bridge before. It was completed in three years, at an expense of about 600,000fr. (25,0007. sterling.)-Hand-book for Switzerland.

Sweden.-The Swedish government has recently published a military map, in which are figured the works of public utility, commenced, continued, or finished under the reign of the present king, Charles-Jean Bernadotte. There are fifteen canals, eight ports, eight roads, nine lines of defence, the expense of which has amounted to 77,177,095fr., all

furnished, (without borrowing) by the royal trea

sury.

Fermentation an act of Vegetation.-M. Turpin has lately published his observations upon certain phenomena, which he considers sufficient to show, that the act of fermentation, concerning which chemists have been so much embarrassed, is owing to the rapid development of infusorial plants. He states, that all yeast, of whatever description, derives its origin from the separation from organic tissue, whether animal or vegetable, of spherical particles of extreme minuteness, which particles, after a certain time, rise to the surface of the fluids in which they are immersed, and there germinate. Their germination is said to be caused by a certain amount of heat, and by contact with atmospheric air. The carbonic acid obtained by fermentation is ascribed to the infusorial plants. M. Turpin considers the act of adding yeast to liquids, when fermentation is languid, as equivalent to sowing millions of seeds in a favourable soil. He calls the yeast plant of beer Tolura cerevisia: he considers each infusion to have its peculiar plant, and he names the whole race of such beings Levurians. No doubt the yeast of beer consists of minute molecular matter, the particles of which are globular; and that those particles produce, from their sides, other particles like themselves, which even. tually separate from the parent, but we do not know that they are therefore plants.-Athenæum.

Life-saving Buoys.-Sir,-I think it would be an excellent plan, if the Trinity-house Commissioners were to order a set of iron handles, to be fixed round all their buoys that are anchored in the sea, and in mouths of rivers, for marking rocks, shoally bottoms, or channels, in case of a vessel being wrecked, or a boat upsetting, near such a buoy. Some of the immersed crew might gain it, and by means of the handles hold on until other assistance came. In making new buoys, or repairing old ones, these handles might be easily attached, as one of the hoops might be forged with them on it, or they might be rivetted to the hoop, the increased cost and trouble of making would be very trifling.Arthur Trevelyan.

The Compass in Iron Vessels.-Sir,-In reading your Magazine of this day, I observe among the hints upon iron and other steam boats by Junius Redivivus, his alluding to the alleged impractibility of navigating iron-boats across the ocean, owing to their effect upon the compass. I beg to say, that two or three years back I tried some experiments by placing the compass within an iron rim, and in an iron desk, in order to make attraction equal, and to neutralize the partial attraction of the ship's iron, and I enclosed the account to the Admiralty, and 1 think I enclosed it to you, but in neither case was it thought worthy notice; the idea seems now revived by Redivivus, and I certainly believe it much more likely to be successful than the experiments that I read of lately, of turning the compass upside down. I had thought of it for years, particularly to counteract the partial attraction of the ship's iron. Your constant reader. C. P. ASTON.

26, Little Windmill-street, Golden-square, October 20, 1838.

The Railway Map of England and Wales continues on sale, in a neat wrapper, price 6d. ; and on fine paper, coloured, price is.

SAVORY'S MAGNETIC TIMEPIECE. Great curiosity has been excited in the neighbourhood of the Exchange for some days past, in consequence of the exhibition in the window of Mr. T. Cox Savory, the well known silversmith, of a time piece, apparently consisting of only a dial of glass, on the centre of which an index hand turns, and points correct time, and without any visible mechanism. Our ingenious correspondent, Mr. E. Whitley Baker, has handed us a communication, suggesting that the motion of the hand is obtained by means of a magnet. The following is the description of a method, by which a magnet may be made to act in a timepiece similar to that exhibited by Mr Savory-and if the plan be different from that which this gentleman has adopted, Mr. Baker has given to the world certainly a most ingenious and valuable contrivance.

On our front page, fig. 1, is a perspective view of the (supposed) magnetic clock as made by Mr. Savory. The dial is of clear glass, with the hours painted upon it, so that it is evident, the dial does not move. This dial is bordered by a ring or rim of brass, or other metal, supported by an elegant pedestal.

Figure 2, shows the modus operandi of the timepiece. A A is the frame, or rim containing the dial; within this frame is placed the ring B B, which has a certain number of teeth on its outer edge, and which, on its inner edge, works freely on small frictionwheels placed in such a manner as to support the toothed ring correctly in the frame ring. C is a connecting shaft, hidden in the inside of one of the scrolls connecting the frame with the pedestal, having on its upper end the endless screw D, and on its lower end the be

G

velled wheel E, the teeth of which take into another bevelled wheel F, the shaft of which leads to the the minute hand pivot of works similar to those of an ordinary watch, or timepiece. These works may be placed in the pedestal of the clock. G is a magnet fixed on any part of the toothed ring B B. H is an arrow or index hand having a steel point, and revolving freely on its pivot in the centre of the dial. The re

lative numbers of teeth necessary in the wheels may vary according to the will of the maker-as, a pinion of 10 working in a ring of 120; or a pinion of 30 in a ring of 360-and so cn, according to the size or other circumstances attending the making of each particular timepiece.

Motion being given to the bevelled wheel F, by the mainspring and works of a watch, as before mentioned, will be communicated by the shaft C, with its

bevelled pinion and endless screw, to the toothed ring B B, and cause it to perform one revolution in twelve hours. The magnet G being fixed on the ring B B will revolve with it, and the steel point of the arrow H will follow its course, and indicate the time by the hours on the dial.

There is a large timepiece in the Adelaide Gallery, working in a manner apparently the same; but the mechanism is on so large a scale that it can easily be detected. A watch is concealed in the tail end of the hour hand, and moves it by means of a shaft connected to a fixed point on the axis.

SYMINGTON'S STEAM VESSELS. Sir.-Concerning the remains of Mr. Symington's boat lately discovered at Grangemouth, and noticed in your last Number, they are not, as imagined, those of the one used in the experiments of Messrs. Millar and Symington in 1789, but those of the steam-boat constructed by Mr. Symington for Lord Dundas in 1800 and 1801.

The first boat used in the canal in 1789 was dismantled at Grangemouth and removed to Bruce-Haven. The second boat, the one now found, not only towed vessels on the Forth and Clyde canal in 1801, but also from the Forth up the Carron into Grangemouth, and carried Mr. Fulton, the American engineer, a distance of eight miles in an hour and twenty minutes, on this very canal.

I deem it an act of justice to the memory of Lord Dundas, who, with the exception of Mr. Symington, did more for steam navigation than any other individual, to furnish this explanation.

In order to prevent future mistakes, I may add, that Mr. Symington fitted and propelled four boats with the steamengine:-The first, in 1788, on Dalswinton Lake; the second in 1789; the third in 1801; and the fourth, in 1803, on the Forth and Clyde canal. The first and second were under the patronage of Mr. Millar; the third and fourth under the patronage of Lord Dundas.

I remin, Sir,

Your most obedient humble servant, ROBERT BOWIE.

44, Burr-street, Oct. 31, 1838.

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REMARKS ON THE PROPER SOURCE OF FOOD FOR MAN. REPLY TO JUNIUS REDIVIVUS.

Sir,-Without entertaining the most distant desire of being classed with those -if such indeed there be-who deem Junius Redivivus a “visionary in his ideas," I take the liberty of adverting to one little circumstance in his last communication, in which he has carried his speculations, not only beyond the bounds of probability, but has really exceeded the limits of possibility.

I allude to the remark made by Junius Redivivus, at page 36 of your last Number, that "knowledge will eventually be our's to prepare food from inorganic matter, as stimulating and as nutritious as that now furnished by the lower animals, who are made to die that we may live." Now, it is held by physiologists to be a well-ascertained and unalterable law of nature, that life can only be sustained by that which has itself possessed life. It is undoubtedly true, that metals, minerals, and other inorganic substances are continually employed in medicine as stimulating and disturbing agents, or as sedatives; but no nutritious powers were ever supposed to exist in any of these substances. Indeed, our present chemical knowledge of the constituents, general powers, and properties of most inorganic matters, though possibly far from perfect, is quite sufficient to enable us positively to deny the existence in them of any nutritive characters.

Under these circumstances, we are fully justified in taking it for granted, that no further advancements in knowledge can ever find, amid the vast range of inorganic matter, any efficient substitute for the food at present obtained from organic nature, in all the numerous varieties of animal and vegetable life. I remain, Sir, Yours respectfully, WM. BADDeley.

London, October 22, 1838.

IMPROVEMENT IN SERAPHINES.

Sir, I fancy that the effect of the trumpet-stop in organs, might be given to seraphines, by merely using one bellshaped vent, made of fine brass, similar to