ON THE USE OF CAST AND WROUGHT IRON BEAMS IN BUILDINGS.

From Report by Sir Henry Thomas de la Beche and Thomas Cubitt, Esq., Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Fall of the Cotton Mill at Oldham.

"We abstain from all remark as to the forms which may at present appear best adapted for cast-iron beams, further than to observe that when calculations as to the strength of such beams are founded on the supposition that the cast-iron employed is of uniform texture, it would appear difficult to obtain this homogeneity except in castings of nearly uniform thickness in the various parts; that when cast-iron beams are suddenly removed red-hot from the sand in which they are cast, we should expect them to be comparatively brittle, however good the iron may otherwise be; and that some efficient proof of cast-iron beams is most desirable before they are employed in buildings, since, assuming effective forms and the use of good iron, every care having been taken to cool them properly, flaws may exist, not visible externally, rendering them unfit to support the weights they are intended to sustain.

"We are desirous of observing that, although in districts viewed on the large scale, certain differences in the original quality f the cast-iron manufactured may exist, marked by corresponding differences in the market value, much caution should be employed when consulting tables presenting the results of experiments as to the strength of iron from particular works, since, as it is well known to those who are engaged in this manufacture, that even the same furnace may afford different qualities of iron at different times, though only one quality may be desired. Hence injustice may often be done to those engaged in such works, should

inferior qualities of iron be considered as always produced at these establishments because at the time of given experiments their cast-iron may not have been found amongst those exhibiting fair average strength, less care in the manufacture at one time than another, or a change of the persons superintending the furnaces, being sufficient to produce corresponding differences in the quality of the product from similar materials.

"While on the subject of cast-iron for beams, we would state our strong conviction, founded on a general view of the subject, of the importance of substituting wrought-iron for cast-iron, whenever it can be accomplished, and we anticipate that wrought-iron will be rolled into a sufficient size for all the uses to which large cast-iron beams are now applied, judging from the present size of rolled pieces of iron. When this shall have been accomplished a great advance will have been made in the use of iron, seeing that beams, or other large pieces of that metal may, with confidence, be relied upon. We consider that when wrought-iron can be thus rolled and employed, its use will become most extensive, and that the consumption of iron for building purposes would be greatly increased, to the benefit of an important branch of our national industry."

Extract from Supplementary Report by Mr. Cubitt.

"I would further humbly represent to your Majesty, that, since the first introduction of iron into buildings, its use has progressively increased; and considering that it is desirable to encourage the erection of buildings that are composed of incombustible materials, affected as little as possible by the changes of weather from dryness to humidity, and free from the effects of dry rot, or the ravages of vermin, and cast-iron at present being one of the principal materials by which these advantages are conveniently secured, there is, it must not be disguised, great danger to be apprehended in its use, in consequence of our limited and imperfect knowledge of its qualities and properties.

"Buildings constructed with floors of wood, though at the mercy of an incendiary, and subject to many inconveniences, have, at least, this one advantage, namely, that an injudicious application of it in their construction is to be less dreaded than when cast-iron is the substance employed.

"Wood being much more elastic, receives without injury shocks which would be fatal to cast-iron; while its great flexibility adapts it to give warning of its own insuffi

ciency, or of an undue pressure acting upon it, perhaps in time to avert danger; whereas cast-iron, from its nature, is incapable of affording the like demonstration of its weakness; and the fall of a building so constructed, from the weight and solidity of the material, is likely to be attended with far more disastrous consequences.

"Yet, notwithstanding the many casualties to which cast-iron is liable, its introduction into buildings has been a great gain; and I believe that fewer accidents have happened, with all its disadvantages, than might have been reasonably expected. And buildings very essential to the safety of the inhabitants of thickly-peopled towns, affording security against the devastations of fire, either by diminishing the risk of its first outbreak, or cutting off the communication with the adjacent burning houses, in order to stop the progress of the flames, could not be constructed conveniently, adapted to the purposes of trade, or for public rooms, without the use of iron,

"Much, if not all the risk involved in using iron for beams would be avoided, by the substitution of wrought for cast-iron; but, up to the present time, the anxiety for this change is not widely enough diffused to lead to any immediate practical result in the manufacturing of wrought-iron beams of such dimensions as are applicable to buildings of the largest size. And it may be remarked, that the larger the building is, there is generally greater danger of failure, with more deplorable results; consequently, the more urgent need there is for increased precaution in providing a corresponding amount of strength, the greater are the difficulties at present experienced, at least as regards wrought iron.

"The expenses necessary to the production of large masses of iron, rolled in the form of beams, being more than a private individual might feel himself justified in incurring for his own use, and the demand from an inadequate conception of their value not being sufficiently pressing or extensive to secure the manufacturer from loss, it is to be feared that it will take some time yet before we shall be in possession of the many advantages which it may be expected will result from their manufacture, unless some stimulus be given in order to hasten the attainment of this very desirable object.

"I therefore humbly suggest for the consideration of Your Majesty the expediency of devoting 1,000l. or 1,500l. to this purpose, and would propose that premiums of such sums as it may appear advisable, be offered for the best and strongest rolled-iron

221

beams, calculated for the use of floors, to sustain a load not under 25 tons, with bearings not less than 24 feet apart.

"And in order to ensure a steady progress in the improvement of the manufacture of iron generally, perhaps an exhibition once a year of the best samples with new forms, will forward the attainment of this end. Such samples might be tested in a proving house, which it may be thought expedient to establish for the accommodation of the public generally, where parties may be allowed to have beams or chains proved at a moderate expense, by which the value of the commodity and its fitness for the proposed work may be ascertained.

"The cost of apparatus for proving beams only, being heavy, and requiring much practice in order to make such fully available and to arrive at correct results, it follows that those persons only who are extensively engaged in building, provide themselves with means for testing the strength of iron beams, whilst those whose use of them is occasional, have no convenient opportunity of proving them; and it would seem that such persons have greater need of this sort of assistance than those who, from their extensive practice, become more conversant with the general strength of iron.

"I would, therefore, beg leave to recommend for the consideration of your Majesty's Government, the expediency of providing a proving house, if not in every large town, at least in London, where any person might send their beams and rely upon their being correctly tested.

"I believe that if facilities were furnished for getting wrought-iron of large dimensions, very few large timbers would be used in building; and as iron can be produced in unlimited quantities, and the whole of the cost of its production spent in employing the labour of this country, the benefit it would produce could hardly be calculated; for, in addition to that required for our own use, an immense demand would grow up for exportation, as it would provide the means of making safe and durable fire-proof buildings-what every person desires, but which at present is very difficult to attain.

"Thus the community at large would be benefited by an extended manufacture of wrought-iron, and particularly all the public works under the immediate control of your Majesty's Government. All buildings, whether used as storehouses, barracks, or hospitals, might be rendered more safe and more permanent. Large beams of wroughtiron might be very advantageously employed in ship-building generally, and more especially for supporting the decks over the

boilers of steam-vessels. And, to conclude, another step would be taken in order to secure to this nation that pre-eminence it has hitherto maintained in the manufacture of iron."

PHOTOGRAPHY.-METAL SPECULA.

Sir, When Mr. Cumberland's letter appeared in your Magazine, I had then intended to have made a reply, but the letter of "Homo" has nearly included all that I could have said. The speculum and its properties are known to almost every amateur in photography. It is now about three years ago that I first saw a metal speculum, of Sheffield manufacture; but I have not in practice found them answer the intended purpose: they certainly facilitate the painful operation of sitting with that death like stillness so essential for a good sharp image; but, as a set-off against that, they burn or solarize the plate, and of course destroy the tint so requisite to Daguerreotype Glass

specula no doubt give double images, in spite of all that has been said to the contrary. We may, nevertheless, misunderstand Mr. C. in the kind of arrangement he did mean to favour your readers with; if so, Mr. Cumberland will no doubt give a more explicit description. A. B. C.

P.S. En passant, can any of your readers give any information about the great unknown lenses that came from Germany some twelve months (or may be more) ago? I have somewhere heard or read of three sets, one pair at 607., ditto 80%., ditto 1007. Now, if the highest price for good German lenses has hitherto only been 67. or 71., what must be the properties of these monstrous priced ones? If we take the thing arithmetically, it would amount to about the value of St. Paul's to a China orange.

THE KING OF OUDE AND SCREW PROPELLING.

At

Sir,-In perusing the colonial edition of Bishop Heber's Indian Journal, I find he states (page 219, vol. ii.) in speaking of the King of Oude, the following :this breakfast he was more communicative than he had been, talked about steam-engines, and a new way of propelling ships by a spiral wheel at the bottom of the vessel, which an English engineer, in his pay, had invented."

From the above paragraph I am led to conclude that the application of the Archimedean screw to the purposes of propulsion, is not, as is generally supposed, the original idea of Mr. Smith, but may more fairly be

COPYRIGHT OF DESIGNS.

Guildhall, London, Sept. 15.

Mr. DENTON, a paper-stainer, in Leadenhall-street, was summoned before Aldermen KELLY and MOON, to answer an information, filed on behalf of Mr. BosWELL, a paperstainer, in Dublin, for selling a fraudulent imitation of a registered design for paperhangings, the property of Mr. BOSWELL.

Mr. CLARKSON attended to support the information, and Mr. PELHAM appeared for the defendant.

Mr. CLARKSON stated the nature of the provisions of the Act respecting the registration of certain original designs, and that Mr. Boswell registered a new pattern for paper-hangings on the 8th of February, 1843. After some time he found his pattern had been copied by a London manufacturer, and was being sold in Dublin. He proceeded against that person, and obtained a conviction; and he gave notice to the defendant to desist from manufacturing it. The defendant wrote back a letter, in which he said he could prove that the pattern had been copied from a Parisian manufacturer, and was not original, or if it was, that it had been published before it was registered, and therefore was not entitled to registration.

Mr. Alderman MooN asked if this was not properly a question for the Court of Chancery?

Mr. CLARKSON said he was sure the alderman was, like himself, one of the last persons who would advise anybody to get into Chancery who could possibly keep out of it. The very object of the law was to give a small tradesman a speedy relief at a small expense, in cases of piracy upon some invention or improvement he had registered.

Evidence was then adduced to prove that the defendant had printed and sold paper exactly corresponding in design with the design registered by the complainant.

After which Mr. Alderman Kelly and Mr. Alderman Moon consulted together, and pronounced the defendant's paper a fraudulent imitation of Mr. Boswell's, and fined the defendant 57.

Mr. Denton promised he would sell no more of the paper,

Alfred Vincent Newton, of Chancery-lane, mechanical draftsman, for certain improvements in machinery for manufacturing India rubber fabrics. (Being a communication.) August 28, six months.

William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, civil engineer, for improvements in machinery or apparatus for spinning. (Being a communication.) August 28; six months.

Mathieu Francois Isoard, of Paris, for improvements in obtaining motive power. August 28; six months.

John Vaux, of Frederick-street, Gray's-inn Road, gent., for improvements in apparatus for warming boots and shoes. September ; six months.

Henry Samuel Rayner, of Ripley, Derby, gent., for certain improvements in locomotive engines. September 4; six months.

Henry Bewley, of Dublin, chemist, for certain improvements in flexible syringes, tubes, bottles, hose and other like vehicles and vessels. September 4; six months.

Charles Lampitt, of Banbury, engineer, for an improved dibbling machine. September 4; six

months.

Alexander Haig, of Great Carlisle-street, Portman-market, engineer, for certain improvements in machinery for ventilation and other similar purposes, to which the said machinery can be applied. September 4; six months.

Elisha Haydon Collier, of Goldsworthy-terrace, Rotherhithe, engineer; for certain improvements in the manufacture of nails, and in the machinery or apparatus to be used for such purposes. September 11; six months.

Henry Mandeville Meade, of New York, America, for improvements in distilling from Indian corn and other grain. September 18; six months.

Joseph Francois Lambercan, of Paris, gent., for improvements in obtaining power. September 18; six months.

Charles Hodgson Horsfall, of Liverpool, merchant, for improvements in the manufacture of iron. September 18; six months.

William Eccles, of Blackburn, power-loom manufacturer, William Cook, of Livesey, hand-loom weaver, and William Lancaster, power-loom weaver, of Blackburn, all of Lancaster, for certain improvements in looms for weaving. September 18; six months.

Charles Minland, of Castlewellan, Ireland, flax spinner, and Edward Lawson, of Leeds, machine maker, for certain improvements in machinery for preparing and spinning flax, and other fibrous substances. September 18; six months.

James Polkinghorne, the younger, of Hoxton, gent., for certain improvements in treating ores, and in separating from them the metals which they contain. September 18; six months.

James Caldwell, of Broad-street, Radcliff, engi neer, for improvements in ships' riding bits, and in windlasses. September 18; six months.

Stephen Higginson Perkins, of Charlotte-street, Bedford-square, for certain improvements in the steam engine, and in its application to steam navigation. (Being a communication.) September 18; six months.

Edward Ghrimes, of Rotherham, brass founder, for improvements in cocks and taps. September 25; six months.

LIST OF PATENTS GRANTED FOR SCOTLAND, FROM THE 22ND OF AUGUST TO THE 22ND OF SEPTEMBER, 1845.

George Meyers, of Lawrie-terrace, Westminsterroad, Lambeth, builder, for improvements in cutting or carving wood, stone, and other materials. Sealed, August 27.

Jacob Brett, of Hanover-square, Middlesex, esq., for improvements in printing communications made by electric telegraphs. (Being a communication from abroad.) August 27.

Joseph Lambaux, chemist, of Paris, for improvements in atmospheric railways. September 8.

John and George Cox, of Gorgie Mills, Edinburgh, tanners and glue-makers, for improvements in tanning and leather dressing. September 8.

Hypolite Louis Francois Salembier, of Mincinglane, London, merchant, for improvements in the manufacture and refining of sugar. (Being a communication from abroad.) September 8.

William Edward Newton, of Chancery-lane, Middlesex, civil engineer, for improvements in machinery or apparatus for spinning. (Being a communication from abroad.) September 8.

William Wylam, of Gateshead, Durham, esquire, for certain improvements in artificial fuel, and in machinery for manufacturing the same. Septem

ber 16.

John Russell, of Edinburgh, accountant, for a manufacture of glass tiles. September 16.

Edwin Hill, of Bruce Castle, Middlesex, gentleman, and Warren De la Rue, of Bunhill row, Middlesex, manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of envelopes. September 19.

Jacob Brett, of Hanover-square, Middlesex, gentleman, for improvements in atmospheric propulsion, and in the manufacture of tubes for atmospheric railways, and other purposes. (Being a communication from abroad.) September 19.

James Hardcastle, of Firwood, Bolton-le-Moors, Lancaster, esquire, for certain improvements in the method of conveying water. September 22.

(Omitted in our former list.)

Thomas Russell, of Kirkaldy, Fife, iron-founder, and John Peter, junior, of Kirkland works, in the said county, for certain improvements in flaxspinning and flax-spinning machinery, which are also applicable to the manufacture of other fibrous. substances. May 8.

James Lamb Hancock, Frederick Augustus Lamb Hancock, and William Lamb Hancock, of Guildsford, Montgomery, for an improved rotary steamengine. May 13.

Erratum.-William and Colin Mather's patent was stated to be dated the 10th July; it should have been July 15.

NOTES AND NOTICES.

The American Steamer Marmora-The New York Morning Herald, in describing this vessel, which left that city, for Liverpool, at the beginning of this month, but has not yet arrived, says, "She is fitted with Ericsson's propellers, on nearly the same principle as the screws of the Great Britain, and carries a low-pressure engine, a new invention, by which the consumption of coal is comparatively small. The entire steam fixtures, boilers, engine, coal bins, and all, do not cover a space of more than 16 square feet. A more compact and well-arranged engine has never been seen. The main and upper decks have a clear sweep, unencumbered by coal or steam machinery of any description. Her cabins are comfortable and airy, and fitted up with a great deal of taste and neatness, and are capable of accommodating 43 passengers. Her size is registered at 400 tons; she is 24 feet beam, 10 feet hold, and 145 feet keel; engine 155 horse power. She presents a very neat appearance; her rigging is that of a bark, lofty, and exceedingly well trimmed, and capable of carrying her ten knots with a fair wind. Her destination is Constantinople, whither she will proceed after making a stay of a few weeks at Liverpool, having been contracted for by the Turkish Government to ply between Constantinople and Paris.'

The steam-machine for draining the lake of Haarlem was set to work the other day with complete success. In five successive hours it removed 300 cubic ells of water.-Globe.-For a full account of this engine see Mech. Mag. vol. xli., page 129.

New Anti-friction Metals.-Galignani's Messenger mentions the discovery of a new mixture of metals, called anti-friction, as a substitute for the use of brass in the various uses to which that metal has been hitherto applied in the manufacture of locomotive and other engines. From the statement of Messrs. Allcard, Buddicombe, and Co., who have made the locomotives for the Rouen and Paris, and other railroads, it appears that this metal, although very much lower in price than brass, and attended with an economy of 75 per cent. in the use of oil during the working, is of a duration so far beyond that of brass as to be almost incredible.

Italian "Division of Labour."-The high value of Italian farming produce is owing to the remarkable division of labour. It is rare to find the actual farmer, or manager of the ground, at the same time the cheese-maker. The "casaro" is justly esteemed an important personage; and, even where he forms part of a large establishment, is quite independent of the other farming servants. A great deal of the cheese is made in Lombardy by wandering "casari," who contract for the milk of a season, often from more than one dairy, and make the cheese in an out-house on their own account. Rice is extensively cultivated in Northern Italy. Instead of the flax of Belgium and Holland, the Italian produces another material for the loom, which is even of higher value. The dry lands that are not adapted to irrigation combine the culture of the mulberrytree with that of the vine. The production of silk is again facilitated by a division of labour that is peculiar to Italy. The owner of the eggs, or, as they are termed, "the seed," appears at a farmer's residence, and contracts for his mulberry-leaves as the "casaro" does for his milk. He receives a shed, which is emptied for him, and remains six weeks until his worms have attained their growth and spun. He then disappears with his crop of cocoons to seek the most skilful spinners, on whose work the value of what he has obtained very much depends. On the whole, it is scarcely possible to imagine a more pleasing instance of association, combined with division of labour in agriculture, than Northern Italy presents. The financial side of the picture is also a remarkable one. A comparison between the rents specified as paid in Northern Italy and the rents of England, or even of Scotland, will show how much more the Italian landlord receives than the English landlords, although the price of wheat is not higher than 38s. Sd. per quarter, and wine is only rated at 6d. per gallon.Banfield's Organization of Industry.

The Water Lily.-On Saturday last, this rapid screw steamer left the Thames for the Dover station. She made the passage from Blackwall to Dover harbour in 7 hours 10 minutes, against a strong tide all the way, having started at low water. On Wednesday, she made her first trip across the Channel, from Dover to Boulogne, in 2 hours 23 minutes, and returned, on Thursday, with the Magician, in 2 hours and 10 minutes, beating that vessel by 1 minute.

INTENDING PATENTEES may be supplied gratis with Instructions, by application (post paid) to Messrs. Robertson and Co., 166, Fleet-street, by whom is kept the only COMPLETE REGISTRY OF PATENTS.