· Amended Standing Orders for subsequent

Sessions.

No. 1 and 2 same as No. 1 and 2 for next Session.

3. That such notices be inserted twice in the month of February, and twice in the month of March, of the year immediately preceding that in which such application is intended to be made, in some one and the same newspaper of every county, in or through which any such railway is intended to be made, or in which such railway, already authorised to be made, is intended to be varied, extended, or enlarged, or if there is no such paper printed therein respectively, then in the newspaper of some county adjoining thereto. But in case any such Bill shall be for the purpose only of altering any existing tolls, rates, or duties, or of continuing or amending any former Act, such notices shall be inserted three times in the months of August, September, October, and November, or either of them, immediately preceding the Session of Parliament in which such application is intended to be made, in some one and the same newspaper of every county in or through which any such railway is authorised to be made; or if there is no such paper printed therein, then in the newspaper of some county adjoining thereto.

4. Same as No. 4 for next Session, except that the plan must be deposited" on or before the 1st day of March, in the year immediately preceding that in which such application is intended to be made."

5. Same as No. 5 for next Session.

6. That parties desiring to make any alteration in the line of any railway, the plans for which shall have been deposited, and the notices for which shall have been given as before-mentioned, shall be permitted so to do, provided no one deviation shall exceed one mile in length, and provided a plan and section of such alteration, together with a book of reference thereto, shall be deposited with the clerk of the peace, and a plan and section so far as relates to each parish, together with a book of reference thereto, with the parish clerks of the several parishes in which such alteration is intended to be made, on or be. fore the 30th day of November, in the year immediately preceding that in which such application is intended to be made, and that the intention to make such alteration shall be advertised in manner before directed, twice in the month of September, twice in the month of October, and twice in the month of November, and that personal application shall be made to the owners or reputed owners, lessees or reputed lessees, or in their absence from the United Kingdom to their agents respectively, and to the occupiers of lands through which any such alteration is proposed to be made.

7. That parties desiring to make an appli

cation for a Bill to vary, extend or enlarge, any line of railway, for making which an Act of Parliament shall have been passed, shall be permitted so to do, provided that no one deviation shall exceed one mile in length, and provided a plan and section of such variation, extension, or enlargement, together with a book of reference thereto, shall be deposited with the clerk of the peace; and a plan and section, so far as relates to each parish, together with a book of reference thereto, with the parish clerks of the several parishes in which such variation, extension, or enlargement, is intended to be made, on or before the 30th day of November, in the year immediately preceding that in which such application is intended to be made, and that the intention to make the application for such variation, extension, or enlargement, shall be advertised in manner next before directed, in September, October, and November; and that personal application shall be made to the owners or reputed owners, lessees or reputed lessees, or, in their absence from the United Kingdom, to their agents respectively, and to the occupiers of the lands through which any such variation, extension, or enlargement, is proposed to be made.

8. That parties desiring to renew (in the then next ensuing Session) any application to Parliament in respect of any railway, the plans for which shall have been deposited, and the notices for which shall have been given, as before directed, shall be permitted so to do, provided that no one deviation shall exceed one mile in length, and provided a plan and section of such railway, together with a book of reference thereto, shall be deposited with the clerk of the peace; and a plan and section, so far as relates to each parish, together with a book of reference thereto, with the parish clerks of the several parishes through which such railway is proposed to be made, on or before the 30th day of November, in the year immediately preceding that in which such application is intended to be made, and that the intention to make such application shall be advertised in manner next before directed, in September, October, and November; and that personal application shall be made to the owners or reputed owners, lessees or reputed lessees, or, in their absence from the United Kingdom, to their agents respectively, and to the occupiers of the lands through which any such railway is proposed to be made.

Nos. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16, same as Nos. 6. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13, of standing orders for next Session.

13. That before any petition shall be presented to the House for making any railway, or for varying, extending, or enlarging any such railway already made, the lists mentioned in the preceding Resolution, and an estimate of the expense, signed by the person

making the same, and a copy of the subscription-contract after-mentioned, together with a statement of any alterations from the book of reference which may have arisen since the same was deposited, be lodged in the Private Bill-office of this House, and that the receipt thereof be acknowledged accordingly by one of the clerks of the said office upon such petition.

14. That before any petition is presented to the House for a Bill for making any rail. way, a subscription to the amount of onehalf at least of the estimated expense shall be entered into by persons under a contract, binding themselves, their heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, for the payment of the money so subscribed.

15. That no such Bill shall be reported to the House until it has been proved to the satisfaction of the Committee, that threefourths at least of the proposed capital of the Company has been subscribed under a like

contract.

16. That no such Bill shall be reported to the House unless provision be made:1. That no such Company shall be authorised to raise, by lean or mortgage, a larger sum than one-third of their capital; and that, until 50 per cent. on the whole of the capital shall have been paid up, it shall not be in the power of the Company to raise any money by loan or mortgage. 2. That, where the level of any road shall be altered in making any railway, the ascent of any turnpikeroad shall not be more than 1 foot in 30 feet, and of any other public carriage-road not more than 1 foot in 20 feet; and that a good and sufficient fence, of 4 feet high at the least, shall be made on each side of every bridge which shall be erected. 3. That no railway whereon carriages are propelled by steam shall be made across any turnpike-road or other highway on the level, unless the Committee on the Bill report that such a restriction ought not to be enforced, with the reasons and facts upon which their opinion is founded.

Special Resolution, applicable to all future Sessions.

That no line of railway shall be deemed a competing line in contemplation, unless the plan and section for the same shall have been deposited, as required by the standing orders, on or before the 1st day of March in the year 1837, or on or before the 1st day of March in any succeeding year.

NOTES AND NOTICES.

Belgian Railway-An account has been pub. lished of the original cost, expense of maintenance, and revenue, of the railway from Brussels to Antwerp, with the general results of the undertaking, forming, on the whole, a document of some interest to railway projectors and speculators. The line from Brussels to Mechlin was opened in May, 1835,

ou

and that to Antwerp, which completes the undertaking, on the 1st of May of the present year. The cost of the whole line, including the purchase of land, with locomotive engines was, in round numbers, 179,000/. The expense the line to Mechlin, for the first year, was 7,3501. The sum received was 14,3767., and the clear profit, after charging 5 per cent. as interest on the capital,. was 34 per cent. The namber of passengers during the first year, 563,000. During the month of May last, when the whole line was open, the number of passengers was 101,000, and the sum received was 4,3131. According to an estimate prepared of the charges and income from May, 1836, to May, 1837, a profit of 11 per cent. was anticipated on the invested capital, in addition to the ordinary interest of 5 per cent. The average duration of the passage from Brussels to Mechlin, 13 miles, is from 30 to 35 minutes, including stoppages; that from Brussels to Antwerp, 27 miles, is from 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes, including stoppages. The speed originally calculated was two hours. The fare in the coaches is 3s.; in the waggons, 1s. Before the opening of the railway from 15 to 20 diligences ran between Brussels and Antwerp, carrying a yearly average of 80,000 passengers, at 2s. 6d. to 4s. each. These have entirely ceased to run, as well as the canal-boats, except a few for the conveyance of goods, for which the railway has not yet been employed.

Phrenology.-The Academie de Medecine has been called upon to decide the important question of phrenology. The discussion occupied four sit tings. Dr. Broussais, who is at the head of the phrenological school, maintained the principles which he had laid down in his lectures. M. Gueneau de Mussy had to sum up the arguments on both sides, and in conclusion gave an opinion that the system ought not at present to be adopted. The Academy, concurring in this opinion, deferred its decision till the system was established upon more solid bases.-Paris Journal.

Errata in the Description of Mr. Pickworth's Padale-Wheels.-P. 322, col. 1, lines 5 and 6:The "transverse bars" here mentioned do not exist in the drawing, but instead thereof there is a pintle on one side of the revolving-frame and a crank on the other.-Col. 2, line 5 from the top, for "to" read "that the broader part of the paddle shall".

P. 323, col. 1, lines 1 and 2 from top, for the words, when revolving as well as when fixed; both have," read "both revolving and fixed; each has".

P. 325, col. 1, line 27 from bottom, the word "time" should end the paragraph.-Dele "And"; the word "when" begins the new paragraph.Line 24 from bottom, for Nearly" read “but”; and for may be" read "are".

64

The Supplement to Vol. XXIV., containing Title, Contents, Index, &c., and embellished with a Portrait of Mr. Walter Hancock, C. E., is now published, price 6d. Also the Volume complete in boards, price 9s. 6d.

354

ERICSSON'S PATENT LEAD, OR SOUNDING

INSTRUMENT.

This instrument may be considered as an important addition to the valuable discoveries which have been made in modern times to render navigation safe and easy; its principle being such, that it enables the navigator to take soundings, or ascertain the depth of water, whilst the ship is under way, and independently of the measurement of the lead line.

The inconvenience, loss of time, and frequently danger, consequent on rounding a ship to the wind every time a cast of the deep-sea lead becomes necessary, is best understood by the experienced sailor; and he can best judge of the utility of a sounding-instrument who has seen the safety of a numerous crew and a fine ship depend entirely on the accuracy of the soundings.

All persons employed in laying down deep soundings, in the construction of charts, know the ordinary way of doing it to be a laborious and unsatisfactory operation; for although the ship is rounded to the wind at every cast of the deep-sea lead, still, as the line which the lead takes down with it considerably retards its descent, the ship drifts over it, and by the time the lead has got to the bottom the line is no longer up and downwhich is the sole condition on which the depth is measured-and therefore arbitrary allowance, depending on circumstances, must be made on the depth shown, which causes all deep soundings, unless taken under the most favourable circumstances, to be liable to great uncertainty.

an

In order to remedy this great defect in navigation, many persons have suggested contrivances by which the pressure of the water might be made available in ascertaining the depth. The idea of using compressed air for this purpose is of very remote date, but the difficulties in the way of applying it to practice have been, first, the establishment of a register which could be depended on to certainty to remain at the same point after the pressure that advanced it was taken away-and, secondly, the graduation of the sca'e; because the air being compressed into half its bulk at a depth of only 5 fathoms, the graduations must diminish very rapidly. These difficulties have been overcome by the invention we are about to

describe, in a manner peculiarly simple, and altogether precluding the possibility of error in the indication.

A (see front page) is a glass tube open at both ends, firmly bedded in the cast-iron stem F, by means of plaster of Paris or other cement. B is a small tortuous pipe inserted into the top of the glass tube, and in continuation with it; this pipe is open at the top, and communicates therefore freely with the air-chamber C; and this last, with the external air by the small tube, whose orifice is D; E is a common stopcock at the bottom of the glass tube; and G is a slide, or guard to the glass tube and the graduated scale of fathoms. The lower end can be loaded with lead when required, and takes the arming as usual. When the instrument is to be used, the stop-cock E is closed, by setting it at X, fig. 2, after turning it to let out any water that may have been suffered to remain in the tube; the guard is drawn round, and the lead is thrown overboard, with the line attached. The pressure of the water at D begins at once to exceed the pres-. sure of the air within the chamber C and tube A, which of course was that indicated by the barometer before the lead was thrown overboard, and the water begins to rise through the small tube D into the chamber, driving the air before it into the upper portion of the chamber and tube A, until it has risen to the top of the tortuous pipe B. At this instant the whole of the air before, contained in the chamber and tube is confined in the tube only; the water, therefore, still entering at D, falls over the orifice of B into the glass tube, and rises in it; the division to which it rises always indicating the depth to which the lead at that instant has descended.

It is evident from this description, that the air in the tube being in a high state of compression before the graduation begins, the divisions of the scale are more uniform, and therefore indicate greater depths with more accuracy than if the tube alone contained all the air.

Again, the register, being the column of water in the tube, cannot be affected by any shock, nor disturbed, unless the whole be held for a second or two with the upper end downwards, which the tortuous or cork-screw tube B is intended to provide against; and, lastly, the pressure of the air within being always exactly equal to that of the water without, there

is no strain upon any part of the instrument, except the effort every where to crush the solid material, which probably would not take place even if the force were infinite, because there is the greater probability that the water would first penetrate the pores, and thereby preserve the equilibrium.

As the lead is hauled up again, the air. expanding in the tube, forces the water gradually out of the chamber, and it rises till it arrives at the surface. When it is taken on board, being always held nearly upright, though not necessarily quite so, the guard is drawn back, the soundings read off, and then the arming examined. The water then being let out by the cock, it is set again at X, and the instrument is ready for use.

The divisions on the scale are made not by calculation or any theoretical process, but by actually subjecting each instrument to hydraulic pressure in an apparatus constructed by the inventor for that purpose, and by which a pressure equal to that of the water in the sea, at any given depth, is denoted with great accuracy.

This instrument being capable of measuring very great depths, we understand it is about being employed for the purpose of determining the depth of the ocean, a problem of great interest. On this ground, and in order to form a correct notion of the effects of the temperature of the water on the indications of the scale, on ordinary occasions of sounding, the following investigation of the properties of this instrument (extracted from the Nautical Magazine for July last) cannot fail to interest the mechanical world:

"Since at any depth, in consequence of the free communication, the pressure without (p) is in equilibrium with the elastic force within (f), we have the equation p=f, both pressures being referred to in the unit of surface.*

"Let a be the depth of the machine in a state of rest, p the density of water, B the height of the water-barometer. Also, the elastic force being directly as the whole quantity of air, or solid content (S) of the chamber and tube, and inversely as the space

"Captain Ericsson has constructed another form of this instrument, in which the equilibrium is established between the weight of a column of quicksilver and the elastic force of nitrogen gas, but it is the same in principle as that here discus sed by Lieut, Raper.-ED. N. M."

Taking for granted, to begin with, that the water is colder than the air, the quantity of air actually compressed into the spaces is not S, but is S diminished by a quantity due to its condensation by cold. Let the temperature of the air, e' that of the water at the depth a, in degrees of Fahrenheit, and a the fraction which a given mass of air expands by the addition of 1° of heat (a= 4 nearly); then S' being the content, or mass of air, as affected by temperature, S'—S—a(0—0′) S = ((1—a (0—0,)) S. ¡ Hence, by reduction, we get