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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.

I

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? 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.

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:-" At 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

claimed by this engineer, of whom Bishop Heber so ingenuously speaks.

I may add that Bishop Heber's tour across India took place in 1824 and 1825. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, J. D. L. Jermyn-street, St. James's, 25th September, 1845.

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.

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. September 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 216 square feet. A more compact and well-arranged Square

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. 8d. 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 Black wall 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.