is composed of a mixture of the carbonate or sub-carbonate and the sulphate of soda; equal quantities of both salts being used.

Two modes of producing artificial ice, from the carbonate or sub-carbonate of soda, by treating it with sulphuric acid, are also described.

When sulphur is used, ten pounds of it are melted, by the application of heat, and then poured into moulds, across which a number of wooden laths are placed, so that when the sulphur hardens, the laths, being embedded in it, will strengthen the slab. Laths are also used, in the same manner, when forming alum into slabs. If preferred, the sulphur, instead of being poured into moulds, may be cast in its intended place on the floor.

The slipperiness of these substitutes for ice is increased, by rubbing a small quantity of powdered French chalk over them.

A substitute for ice, for sliding upon with shoes, the soles of which are studded with nails, having round convex heads, is formed by laying plates of zinc, iron, or steel, highly polished, along a track or pathway.

The surfaces of these substitutes for ice may be either horizontal, or inclined to the horizon, and they may also be made slightly concave.

The patentee claims, the substitute for ice for skating and sliding purposes, as herein described, to be laid in an extended continuous even surface, which may be a horizontal surface, an inclined surface, or a curved surface; and which substitute for ice may be made in the manner described. [Inrolled in the Inrolment Office, May, 1842.]

To EDWARD EMANUEL PERKINS, of Westow Hill, Norwood, in the county of Surrey, Gent., for improvements in the manufacture of soap.-[Sealed 21st September, 1841.]

THIS invention consists in obtaining products from the refuse soap-suds produced in the manufacture of silk, wool,

cotton, and linen, or from other sources where soap is used, and applying such products to the manufacture of soap.

The refuse soap-suds, resulting from the manufacturing and dyeing of woollen goods, are run into an open cask; and when the fatty, oily, and soapy matters, are precipitated, the supernatant liquor is drawn off; the precipitated matters are then drawn off to within half an inch of the bottom of the cask; and to every ten gallons, two gallons of lime-water are added (the precipitate being well stirred whilst the lime-water is poured in) to disengage the ammonia generally contained in those matters. After this mixture has remained undisturbed for about an hour, it is strained through a stout calico sieve, for four or five hours, and the matters that remain upon the sieve are put into an open vessel, and dressed down with caustic soda lees, of from 19° to 20o, specific gravity of Beaume's hydrometer, in the proportions of a pint and a half or two pints of the lees to each gallon of precipitated matter. The mixture or composition thus produced, may be used, instead of soap, for scouring, one gallon of it being equal, in effect, to a pound and a half or two pounds of the soap usually employed for those purposes.

The refuse soap-suds, produced in manufacturing and dyeing cotton and linen, are treated in the way just described, the extraneous matters (inconvertible into soap) contained in them being separated by placing a horse-hair sieve at the top of the cask into which they are run.

The refuse soap-suds, arising from the dyeing of silk, are treated in nearly the same manner as those before mentioned, the only difference being, that after the supernatant liquor is drawn off, the precipitated matters are stirred up with half their quantity of clear water, which is drawn off when they again subside, and afterwards the process proceeds, as before mentioned. But as the refuse soap-suds, resulting from the dyeing of white gum silk, will not precipitate readily, as much alum water is added to them, whilst they are running into the cask, as will separate the organic substances from the water; and after the suds have remained for three or four hours, they are strained through

calico, and treated as above described. The precipitation of the other soap-suds may also be accelerated by this

means.

To make a hard soap, say, for instance, a resin soap, the precipitated matters are (after being passed through the calico sieve) mixed with caustic soda lees, in the proportions of from one to two pints of the lees to each gallon of the precipitate, and the mixture is melted with about oneeighth of its weight of resin; it is then brought to strength by the addition of caustic soda lees, and afterwards finished in the ordinary manner. The quality of this soap may be improved, by mixing with the precipitated matters tallow, fat, or oil, either with or without resin.

To make soft soap of commerce, from the products of soap-suds, the patentee proceeds in the same manner as when making hard soap, using potash lees, instead of soda lees, to the different fats and oils employed, and finishes in the ordinary way of making soft soap.

The supernatant liquor, separated from the refuse soapsuds, produced in the manufacture of silk, may (after being semi-solidified, and deprived of its colour and fetid smell) be used in the manufacture of soap, candles, or wax.

The patentee claims the mode of manufacturing soap from soap-suds, by means of obtaining precipitated and strained matters from soap-suds, and converting them into soap, as described.-[Inrolled in the Inrolment Office, March, 1842.]

To HENRY BROWN, of Codnor Park Iron Works, in the county of Derby, iron manufacturer, for improvements in the manufacture of steel..-[Sealed 22nd April, 1841.]

THESE improvements consist in manufacturing iron into steel, by first reducing the crude, pig, or refined metal, into a dry granulated state, by the operation of puddling, and passing it, when cold, through a sieve, the meshes of which are about twenty per inch. It is then cemented in an ordinary cementing furnace, for which purpose a number of

wooden frames are used; these frames are about a quarter of an inch thick and an inch deep, divided by wooden par titions, at distances of ten or twelve inches, and made an inch or two less in length and breadth than the cementing pots.

The mode of cementing the iron is as follows:-Upon the bottom of each cementing pot, a layer of pulverized charcoal, half an inch deep, is spread, and covered with paper, upon which is laid one of the wooden frames abovementioned, with its compartments filled with granulated iron, and covered with paper. On this paper another layer of charcoal, half an inch deep, is spread, and covered with paper, over which another frame, filled with granulated iron, and covered with paper, is laid, and so on continually, until the pot is full, a layer of charcoal, three or four inches deep, being spread over the top paper. The pots are then closely covered with loam, to exclude the air, and the furnace is kept heated to a very high heat, for from thirty to sixty hours, after which the pots are allowed to cool. By this process, the granulated iron is formed into cakes of steel, (the size of the compartments in the frames,) which are afterwards broken into pieces and melted in crucibles, as usual.

The patentee claims the mode of manufacturing steel, by reducing iron to a granulated state, by the means described, and submitting the same to cementation by carbon. -[Inrolled in the Inrolment Office, October, 1841.]

TO LANCELOT POWEL, of Clydach Works, Brecon, ironmaster, and ROBERT ELLIS, of Clydach Works, aforesaid, agent, for certain improvements in the manufacture of iron.-[Sealed 24th April, 1841.]

THESE improvements are for the purpose of rendering iron malleable, and consist, firstly, in boiling iron in a boiling furnace, (into which it is conveyed in a red-hot state from the blast furnace,) in addition to the ordinary puddling operations.

VOL. XXI.

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The furnace is constructed in a similar manner to the ordinary puddling furnace, except that the floss-bridge or altar, instead of being two or three inches in height, is in this twelve inches; thus the iron, when boiling and fermenting, is prevented from boiling over the bridge, and the scoria, in place of discharging itself over it, as usual, is drawn off through an opening, near the bottom of the furnace.

Secondly-In causing a stream or streams of blast or atmospheric air to impinge upon and pass over the iron, whilst boiling and fermenting in the boiling furnace, for the purpose of purifying it, and rendering it malleable, and for correcting the "red short" quality, to which iron, that has not undergone the process of refining, is liable.

The patentees claim, Firstly :-The manufacture of malleable iron, by subjecting the iron to the operation of boiling, in addition to that of puddling and fermentation; which iron is conveyed, in a molten or red-hot state, immediately from the blast furnace to a boiling or reverberatory furnace, of the particular description or construction above mentioned, or of any other suitable construction; also by subjecting the iron, in the boiling furnace, to the action of blast or atmospheric air, as described.

Secondly:-The passing or driving a stream or streams of blast or atmospheric air, upon and over the surface of the metal, for the purpose of assisting in the purification of the same, and rendering it malleable, whilst under the operation of boiling, puddling, or fermenting, in a reverberatory furnace, of any description or construction, but under no other circumstances whatsoever.-[Inrolled in the Inrolment Office, October, 1841.]

TO JAMES GREGORY, coal-merchant, and WILLIAM GREEN, turner, both of West Bromwich, in the county of Stafford, for certain improvements in the manufacture of iron and steel-[Sealed 14th May, 1841.]

THE first part of these improvements relates to the manu