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CONSTANT CURRENTS OF WIND AT HIGH ALTITUDES.

ferred, 1st, That a load may be transported with perfect safety over sound ice, eight inches in thickness, by distributing the entire weight of the system, so that each square foot (in contact with the bottom surfaces of the runners) shall experience a pressure of not more than about 1115 lbs. 2nd. That a load cannot be safely transported over sound ice, 5.56 inches thick, when the weight is so distributed, that each square foot of surface (in contact with the bottoms of the runners) shall experience a pressure so great as about 1125 lbs.

CONSTANT CURRENTS OF WIND AT

HIGH ALTITUDES.

Sir, I think that if, as has been lately stated, there are at different altitudes opposite currents of air always blowing in the same direction, aerostation may, nothwithstanding all that has been said about it, prove a pleasant but sure method of travelling to the Continent and back again. Now, as is well known, directly any portion of the atmosphere gets heated, it becomes rarefied, and as such it is lighter than it was before, and consequently it rises, and the cooler air rushes into the space that it before occupied, and thus forms a wind. As the sun may be considered always over the equator, the air directly under it, or that in the middle of the torrid zone must become considerably warmed, and consequently rise, and there must be a corresponding rush of cooler air below from the north and south to supply its place. That there is such, is known in the form of the trade winds, and the reason of their not being due north and south is owing to the whirling of the earth; but the heated air becoming cooled as it ascends, must in the upper regions form an opposite blast to the trade winds; and it has been clearly seen that there is such, by large masses of clouds being observed rapidly moving at a great height in a contrary direction to the wind, at the surface of the earth. A balloon taken to almost any part, within thirty degrees of the equator, would quickly ascertain at what height the change took place, and ballooning might prove of utility out there, if it never does in this country. Although the winds near the earth in the temperate zones are not, from various local circumstances, very steady, there is great probability that there may be different

currents at some height, and it could be easily ascertained by a few aerial trips made by an experienced person on purpose for that intent.

With respect to guiding balloons by sails, supposing that by placing them obliquely you were enabled to obtain a little side way, it would, I think, be too trifling, compared with the length you would have gone in the same time with the wind, to be of any practical advantage, and to compensate for the greater size and expense of the balloon. It is as unreasonable, in the words of Dr. Arnott, to suppose that an insect, driven along at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour by a river torrent, should have power to stop or sail against the stream, as a man in a balloon by means of wings or sails, could resist or change a motion in the air generally exceeding fifty miles an hour. I remain Sir,

Your obedient servant,
VINCENT BROWN.

BALLOONING.

Sir, It gives me great pleasure to perceive that an attempt is about to be made to turn air-balloons to some useful account; and that the conduct of the undertaking is likely to be intrusted to the active mind and enterprising spirit of Colonel Maceroni. Perhaps the whole amount of utility to be derived from air. balloons is very limited; but they are not on that account to be disregarded. We must not despise small things; the happiness of mankind, such as it is, is made up of a number of small enjoyments. It is a pity, I had almost said it is a disgrace to an intelligent nation, that this interesting art should be allowed to remain in its present worse than useless state. At all events, the mere attempt to advance it is honourable; whilst the failure can be no disgrace.

The difficulty consists simply in this:The resistance is greater than any power that has been hitherto applied to over come it. To meet this difficulty, we must increase the power and decrease the resistance.

With respect to the power, I would refer Colonel Maceroni, and your readers generally, to a paper on that subject in No. 637 of the Mechanics Magazine. To decrease the resistance, the present

LIST OF ENGLISH AND SCOTCH PATENTS FOR SEPTEMBER.

globular form of the balloon must be
rejected altogether; nothing can be done
whilst this shape is retained. It appears
to me that an oblate cone offers the
largest capacity with the smallest resist-
ance, or rather a cylinder with conical
ends. The cylinder might be kept in a
compressed form by connecting the oppo-
site sides by means of cords in the in-
terior of the balloon, so as to allow of its
being distended by the gas in a lateral
direction only. Colonel Maceroni ob-
jects, that the cone might rise endwise,
or any way but the desired one.
may be easily guarded against by having
the interior divided into several compart-
ments, so as to prevent the gas from
shifting.

This

I am convinced that the difficulties and obstacles which at present appear to stand in the way of this undertaking, may be overcome by ingenuity and perseverance and that in calm weather a balloon might be conducted with safety and certainty in any direction that the aeronaut might desire to steer.

I am, Sir,

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LIST OF ENGLISH PATENTS, GRANTED BETWEEN THE 1ST OF SEPTEMBER AND 22D OF SEPTEMBER, 1836.

Robert Griffiths, of Birmingham, machine-maker, and John Gold, of the same place, glass-cutter, for certain improvements in machinery for grinding, smoothing, and polishing plate-glass, windowglass, marble, slate, and stone, and also glass vessels and glass spangles and drops. September 1; six months to specify.

John Pickersgill, of Coleman-street, merchant, for improvements in preparing and in applying India-rubber (caoutchouc) to fabrics: being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad. September 1; six months.

James Surrey, of York House, Battersea, miller, for a new application of a principle by which mechanical power may be obtained or applied. September 1; four months.

William Bush, of Wormwood-street, Bishopsgate Within, surveyor and engineer, for improvements in the means of, and in the apparatus for, building and working under water, part of which improvements are applicable for other purposes. September 3; six months.

Charles Farina, of Clarendon-place, Maida Vale, Middlesex, gentleman, for an improved mashingapparatus. September 15; six months.

William Hinckes Cox, of Bidminster, near Bristol, tanner, for an improvement or improvements in tanning hides and skins. September 15; six months.

John Frederick William Hempel, of Oranien. burg, Prussia, but now of Clapham, Surrey, Officer of Engineers, and Henry Blundell, of Huli, Yolk

463

shire, paint and colour-manufacturer, for an improved method of operating upon certain vegetable and animal substances in the process of manufacturing candles therefrom; being a communication from Frederick Hempel, of Oranienburg, aforesaid, deceased. September 15; six months.

Joshua Bates, of Bishopsgate-street, London, merchant, for improved apparatus or machinery for making metal hinges; being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad. September 15; six months.

Peter Ascanius Tealdi, formerly of Mendovi, in Piedmont, but now residing in Manchester, Lancashire, merchant, for a new extract or vegetable acid, obtained from substances not hitherto used for that purpose, which may be employed in various processes of manufacture and in culinary or other useful purposes, together with the process of obtaining the same; being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad. September 15: six months.

William Bates, of Leicester, fuller and dresser, for improvements in the manufacture of reels for reeling cotton. September 16; six months.

Moses Poole, of Lincoln's Inn, Middlesex, gentleman, for improvements in the description of pub lic vehicles called cabs; being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad. September 21; six months.

Robert Jupe, of Bond-street, Middlesex, cabinetmaker, for improvements in apparatus applicable to book and other shelves. September 22; six

months.

William Crofts, of Radford, Nottinghamshire, machine-maker, for certain improvements in machinery for bobbin-net lace, also called twist-net or lace, part of which improvements are for the purpose of making figured or ornamented bobbin.net lace, or figured or ornamented twist-lace. September 22; six months.

Henry Van Wart, of Birmingham, Warwickshire, gentleman, and Samuel Aspinall Goddard, of the same place, merchant, for certain improve ments in locomotive steam-engines and carriages, parts of which improvements are applicable to ordinary steam-engines and other purposes. September 22; six months.

John Smith, of Halifax, Yorkshire, dyer, for certain improvements in machinery for dressing worsted and other woven fabrics. September 22; six months.

LIST OF SCOTCH PATENTS, GRANTE DBE.
TWEEN THE 21ST OF AUGUST AND 22D
OF SEPTEMBER, 1836, INCLUSIVE.
John Sharp, of Dundee, N. B., flax-spinner, for
certain machinery for converting ropes into tow,
and certain improvements in preparing hemp or
flax for spinning, also certain improvements in cer
tain machinery for the preparation thereof for
spinning, part of which improvements are also ap
plicable to the preparing of cotton, wool, and silk,
for spinning. Sealed August 24.

James Champion, of Manchester, machinemaker, for certain improvements in machinery for spinning, twisting, and doubling cotton and other fibrous substances. August 31.

John Springall, of Oulton, Suffolk, iron-founder, for an improved mode of manufacturing certain parts of ploughs. September 2.

Richard Thomas Beck, of Little Stonham, Suffolk, gentleman, in consequence of a communication made to him by a foreigner residing abroad, for a new or improved apparatus or mechanism for obtaining power and motion, to be used as a me

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chanical agent generally, which he intends to deno. minate rotæ vivæ. September 10.

Henry Scott, jun., and Robert Stephen Oliver, hatters, of Edinburgh, in consequence of a com munication from abroad, for a ertain improvement or improvements in the manufacture of hats, caps, and bonnets. September 10.

Elisha Haydon Collier, of the East India Cottage, City-road, Middlesex, formerly of Boston Massachusetts, U. S., civil engineer, for an improvement or improvements in steam-boilers. September 20.

William Barnett, of Brighton, founder, for certain improvements in apparatus for generating and purifying gas for the purposes of illumination." September 21.

NOTES AND NOTICES.

Submarine Illumination by the Drummond Light. We find by the Irish newspapers, that Mr. Steele, who has devoted himself with so much ardour to the subject of submarine operations, and who is the inventor of the communicating divingbell, has lately made a very important improve ment in this department of physica' science. This improvement consists in the substitution for the light which he originally proposed for the irradia. tion of objects under water, of what he calls "the piercing lay of the Drummond light in its gorgeous glory." He has con usted several highl distin-guished engineers of th's m trop lis, and they have been unanimous in their opinion, that this new ap plication of the Drummond light is an improvement of the greatest importance, in! it is impossible that any thing can be more simple than the mode proposed by Mr. Steele for its application to his pur pose. It appears from the Irish newspapers that this improvement in his theory was made by him while observing Mr. Deane's operations at Kilkee, on the coast of the county Clare. We have seen several of Mr. Steele's publications on this subject in the journals of our Irish contemporaries, and he writes in terms of measure.ess admiration of the infinite beauty and perfection of Mr. Deane's sys tem of rapid diving. Among the London engineers who have expressed the highest approbation of Mr. Steele's new theory of submarine irra.. diation by the Drummond light, is, we understand, Mr. Alexander Gordon, who has particularly applied himself to the subject, and lately obtained a patent for a very beautiful mode of generating and applying the oxy-hydrogen gas.-Sun.

Manumotive-Carriage.-A mechanic, a whitesmith by trade, named Nicholson, of the town of Enniscorthy, has invented a new carriage, on most simple principles. It is very ingeniously con. stracted, having three wheels, one in front and two behind-the latter about three feet in diameter, the former one and a half. It is propelled by an iron handle, which the guide moves to and fro with the right hand, and not tiresome, being quite a gentle motion; on the left there is a small lever, to be touched by the finger when any obstruction appears on the road, which raises the first wheel over such impediments, and prevents the guide from receiv ing any shock or interruption. Then over the smal wheel there is a handle, or tiller-stick, to be touched when the driver wishes to turn the gig, and which is done instantan ously; there is another spring for the foot, which retards the progress of the machine. The maker is quite confident of its ultimate success, and says he can

improve on the general principle, the present mo. del being too small to contain more than one per son and we suppose the driver or guide would work it for eight or ten miles without tiring. It has taken the artist some years in its completion, and we wish him every success and encouragement to which his genius and industry justly entitle him.-Dublin Paper.

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Another Locomotive-Engine for Russia. On Thurs tay, the 15th of September, a large and powerful locomotive-engine, built by Mr. Timothy Hack. worth, of New Shildon, for the Emperor of Russia, was shipped on board the Barbara, at Middlesbro'. This engine is constructed on an improved prir ciple, and finished in the best manner. She has been tried on the premises, and propelled at the rate of 72 miles per hour. It is said that this ma chine, and the similar one built at Newcastle, will, on their arrival at St. Petersburgh. have cost the Emperor upwards of 2,000l. each. Who, a few years ago, would have dreamed of the exportation of machinery from the river Tees. This engine is for travelling on the railroad from St. Petersburgh to Pawlowsky, where stands one of the country palaces of his Imperial Majesty -From a Correspondent.

Magnetic Balance.-Could not small philosophical scales be more nicely suspended by magnetism than by the present method; with the precaution, to use no metal in their construction acted on by magnetism, except the centres, the edges of which must be reversed?-TYRO-MECHANICUS.

Correction.-Sir, If you will review p. 383, you will find that some alteration of the manuscript text of that paper on "The Tides"-through iuadvertent omission, I apprehend-has rendered the pa sage unintelligible as it there stands. I therefore beg leave to send you the subjoined emenda. tion, in failure of the original being at hand :"It is manifest that atmosphere, a transparent firmament, is interposed to conduct (not originate, if to qualify the hues by extraneous floating particles of moisture,) the light, however distant; rather than, by a property at variance with its fitness as medium of all rays, to impede their progress to recipient vision."-W. FRA. GODOLPHIN WAL DRON, Sept. 15, 1836.

British and Foreign Patents taken out with economy and despatch; Specifications, Dis claimers, and Amendments, prepared or revised; Caveats entered; and generally every Branch of Patent Business promptly transacted.

A complete list of Patents from the earliest period (15 Car. II. 1675,) to the present time may be examined. Fee 2s. 6d.; Clients, gratis. Patent Agency Office,

Peterborough-court, Fleet-street.

LONDON: Published by J. CUNNINGHAM, at the Mechanics' Magazine Office, No. 6, Peterborough-court, between 135 and 136, Fleet-street. Agent for the American Edition, Mr. O. RICH, 12, Red Lion.square. Sold by G. W. M. REYNOLDS, Proprietor of the French, English, and American Library, 55, Rue Neuve, Saint Augustin, Paris.

CUNNINGHAM and SALMON, Printers,
Fleet-street.

END OF THE TWENTY-FIFTH VOLUME.

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Alloys, fusible, inquiry into the use of plates
of, to prevent explosions of steam-boilers,
103, 114

America, rise of a city in the wilds of, 315
American Patents, recent, 44, 125, 151, 190,
255, 398

law of patents, 232, 249
Animal substances, preservation of, 112,
⚫ 159, 192

Anthracite, fire-places and grates for burn-
ing, 45, 126

coal, use of, in steam-vessels, 368
Anvil, how to deaden the noise of hammering
on, 224

Apples, alcohol from, 190

Arago, M., experiments by, on steam-boiler
explosions, 91

Arches, Mr. Brunel's mode of constructing,
without centering, 48

Arms and hands, mechanical, 112
Arnott's, Dr., new stoves, 320
Arsenic, detection of, 202, 320

Ash-pan for locomotive-engines, Curtis's, 337
Artronomical observations facilitated, 293
Auger, improved, 46

Aurora Borealis, cause of the, 204
Automaton, Hancock's steam-carriage, 401
Avery's rotary steam-engine, 412

B.

Bache, Professor; his fusible alloy to prevent
steam-boiler explosions, 118

on the non-conducting

power of ice, 200
Bacon, Roger, writings of, 384
Baddeley, Mr. William, on Merryweather's
fire-engine branch-pipe, 35; Merrywea
ther's fire-ladders, 65; Ford's fire-escape,
129; Mordan's patent triple-pointed pens,
153; Stevens's improved fountain inks,
229; the use of pipe-clay in washing,
270; Heaton's brick-making machine,
282; improved handle for street water-
posts, 378; fires and London fire-engines,
435
Balance, magnetic, 464

Balloon, double, with two gases, 393

-, Mr. Green's large, 288, 395, 410.
See Aerial Locomotion.
Balloons, Dr. Agme's project for propelling,

32

as now constructed, 383
Barry's, Mr., designs for New Houses of
Parliament, 132

Bedstead, invalid's, Cherry's patent, 385
Beer from potatoes, 176

Beet-root sugar, manufacture of, in France,

96

366

in Russia,

Belgium, steam engines in, 432
Birch's first class railway-carriage, 369
Bismuth plates, alloy of, &c., to prevent
steam-boiler explosions, 103

--, fusing point, &c. of, 121
Black Sea, substitute for lighthouses on the
shores of the, 357

Blackfriars Bridge, widening of, 21

report of

Committee on, 287

Blind, printing for the, 304

Commons

Book lettering-tools, new mode of heating,

142

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Canal tunnels, new mode of traction through,

257, 365, 397

Candlestick, Walker's patent self-extinguish-
ing, 60

Caoutchouc, machinery for dissolving, &c.,

151

cloth, 204

for spreading on
candles, 144

Cape of Good Hope Library, 222
Capillary tubes, methods of making, in me-
tal, 22

Carbonic acid in vegetation, 140
Carbonisation, preservation of animal sub-
stances by, 112, 159

Carlisle, Sir Anthony, evidence by, against
railway-tunnels, 326

Carriage speed-regulator, 384
warmer, new, 176

Carstairs, on steel-pens, 155
Case-hardening iron, 64

Catalogues of the British and other Mu-
seums, 76

Cave, M., the French engine-maker, notice
of, 272

Cement for road-making, 151
Chaffinch, maternal affection of, 314
Charcoal, improved modes of preparing, 401
meat safe, 192

Chemical works, St. Rollox, 400
Cherry's patent invalid's bedstead, 385
Cheverton, Benjamin, Esq.; Observations
on Exley's Theory of Physics, 418
Chimney-hood for locomotive-engines, Cur-
tis's, 337

turn-cap, Dr. Fox's, 40

Chinese Magazine, Gutzlaff's, 179
Chronometers, prize, 32

Chuck, Wilbee's eccentric, 297
Churning, machine for, 45

Circulating decimals, 12, 43, 68, 109, 175,
197, 253

City in the Wilds, rise of a, 315
Clock, oldest English, 26

Clocks and watches, Henderson's history of,
26

Cloth, improvement in the manufacture of,
121

Colossus Redivivus, 112

Condensing railway-locomotive, Nickolls's,

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Copper sheathing, mode of preserving, 25
Cork-cutting machine, 126

Cornish steam-engine work. See Steam-
engine.

Cornwall Polytechnie Society, third report
of, 2

Cotton trade of Glasgow, 432

Crosse, Mr. A., galvanic experiments of, 375
Crystals, artificial, produced by galvanism,
375, 397

Cube-root, extraction of the, 366
Curtains, &c., new roller for, 125
Curtis's safety-break for railway-carriages,
145; safety railway-carriages, 144; chim-
ney-hood and ash-pan for locomotives,
337; lubrication by water, 380

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Eclipse of the sun, 137, 283
Electric currents, 271

Electrical theory of the universe. See Mack-
'intosh.

apparatus for dancing-figures im-
proved, 247

Electricity, connexion of, with vegetation,
25, 53, 94, 107, 140

--—, experiments in, 271
Embossing on wood, 368

Engraving cheque plates, new mode of, 47
-, wire-plate, 446

Ericsson's patent lead, 353, 459
Euphrates expedition, 287, 302
Evaporation, machine to facilitate, 151
Ewbank's mode of preventing the foaming of
water in steam-boilers, 89

alarm-float, 90

Exley's theory of physics, Mr. Cheyerton's
observations on, 418

F.

Felloes, machine for bending, 125
Férussac, Baron de, notice of, 32
Fire-engine, horse-worked, 9
American, 46
Odiorn's, 153

establishment, Londen, 36

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