THE CLEANSING OF WATER PIPES.

Sir,-Your correspondent " J. Cole," seems rather inclined to be facetious concerning a certain point in my last, while at the same time he exultingly points his antagonist, Mr. Baddeley, to a fact which favours his own side of the question. I would venture, however, to suggest to Mr. C., that he or Mr. Stuckey can supply the dealers to whom he alludes with an excuse, which certainly would not break down so soon as that, which he is so benevolent as to discover for them in my communication. "Our tea, Madam, cannot be done justice to unless the water has been filtered according to Mr. Stuckey's plan. The absence of carbonic acid-gas causes a bad flavour to appear prominent, and till you can obtain Sluckey's water you will not have good tea." This would serve "Mr. S." by enlisting a very important body on his side, viz. the old maids.

However, to be serious: I know the details of Mr. Stuckey's process; it may be good, it may be absolutely perfect; but I merely point out that even if the water left the reservoir in a pure state it would not reach the consumer in equal perfection, because in many cases it would pass through a great length of dirty and corroded pipes.

It is the besetting failure of inventors, that they cannot judge impartially. Their own invention is in their eyes the perfect one to the disparagement of every other. Mr. Stuckey has, I think, fallen into this error by condemning all small filters. There is one construction of small filter, which does not destroy the carbonic acid to the extent spoken of by Mr. S. if it does at all. I believe that using charcoal as one of the filtering mediums obviates the defect which he speaks of.

However, I hope that Mr. S. does not mean to say, that because a substance or fluid may become putrid by lapse of time, it therefore is injurious to cat that substance or drink that fluid, before it putrefics; or else his objection would apply to beef, or mutton, &c.

With most sincere good wishes for the success of Mr. Stuckey or any one else, who may be the means of supplying the public with better water,

I remain, yours truly,

St. John-street-road.

W. H.

THE MECHANICS' ALMANACK, AND ENGINEERS' YEAR-BOOK, FOR 1843. The last year's number of this popular and useful almanack, was full to overflowing with articles on the bread and cheese questions which then occupied, and still unfor

tunately occupy, so much of the public mind-the Corn Laws-the Sugar Dutiesthe Rate of Wages, &c.; the present is more largely devoted to matters of a mechanical and engineering description, and will not, on that account, we apprehend, be less acceptable, or less useful to the generality of our readers. We have first, a well-classified list of all the Patents for new inventions granted during the past year, with a good digest of the New Designs Registration Act, and instructions for registering. Two interesting articles follow, on (Mr. Smith of Deanston's) improvements in the construction of fac tories, and on the internal regulation of the same, so far as regards payment of wagesuse of stimulants at work-dress of workmen, &c. The substance of the late parliamentary report on the state of labour in our coal and other mines is then given, with an abstract of Lord Ashley's excellent Act, for the abolition of female and infant labour. A number of valuable scientific tables next present themselves, among which we must notice with particular approbation a Table of the comparative strength and other properties of British irons, a Table of approved proportions of stationary steamengines, a Table of the velocities of steamengines, (compiled from a larger Table of the late lamented Samuel Seaward, Esq.), and a Table of the proportions which the journals of first movers should bear to engine-power and speed. The Admiralty

regulations respecting the examination, ap. pointments, &c. of engineers in the Royal Steam Navy are given at length, and a very complete statement of the number and tonnage of British shipping, including steamers as well as sailing vessels. From the miscellaneous articles, which are of a more quotable description than the rest, we select the following article on the Elements, as an example of the new and useful sort of information which the work contains.

THE ELEMENTS.

Anciently it was thought there were but four elements or simple bodies, namely, earth, fire, air, and water; the alchemists reduced these to three-salt, sulphur, and mercury, to which Paracelsus added two more, which he called phlegm and caput mortuum (the water and earth of the more ancient philosophers). Modern chemistry has completely overthrown the whole of these theories, and shown us not only that all the elementary bodies of the olden time are mere compounds, but that instead of four, or three, or five, the number of simple bodies is at least fifty-four. By simple bodies, however, the reader must understand only bodies which chemical analysis has not

"Although the simple or undecomposed bodies are so numerous, the great bulk of the vegetable world is composed but of three -oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon, and the animal world of the same three, with the addition of nitrogen. It has been further calculated, that one half the habitable world is made up of oxygen alone, for besides the important part which it plays in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, it forms half of all the water of the globe, about one fourth of its atmosphere, and enters more or less into the composition of every earth and stone."

THE SMOKE NUISANCE AS IT WAS AND IS.

We extract the following very pertinent observations on this subject from Mr. J. Harrison Curtis's recently published work, 64 The Preservation of Health."

"That an abundant supply of pure air is indispensable to the enjoyment of health, and it is a truth universally admitted in words, but, like many other truths, this is wofully disregarded in practice. To how large a proportion of the inhabitants of London, for instance, is this necessary of life denied! Hemmed in closely on all sides by brick walls, they scarcely ever feel the breeze

blowing freely on their cheeks; and the atmosphere is impregnated with, and vitiated by, a thousand different exhalations and fumes, which render it more capable of still further corrupting the blood than of conducing to its purification. It is nearly 200 years ago since a similar complaint was made by the well-known John Evelyn, at a time when the evil cannot have been at all comparable in magnitude to what it now is.

Speaking of the situation of London, he says:-"We shall every way finde it to have been consulted with all imaginable advantages, not onely in relation to profit, but to health and pleasure; and that if there be any thing which seems to impeach the two last transcendencies, it will be found to be but something extrinsecal and accidental onely, which naturally does not concern the place at all, but which may very easily be reformed, without any the least inconveni"But I

ence.

And again, a little farther on: will infer, that if this goodly city justly challenges what is her due, and merits all that can be said to reinforce her praises and give her title, she is to be relieved from that which renders her less healthy, really offends her, and which darkens and eclipses all her other attributes. And what is all this but that hellish and dismal cloud of sea-coal, which is not only perpetually imminent over her head, but so universally mixed with the otherwise wholesome and excellent air, that her inhabitants breathe nothing but an impure and thick mist, accompanied with a fuliginous and filthy vapour, which renders them obnoxious to a thousand inconveniencies, corrupting the lungs, and disordering the entire habits of their bodies; so that catarrhs, phthisicks, coughs, and consumptions, rage more in this one city than in the whole earth beside."

In confirmation of this last assertion, he afterwards asks, "Is there under heaven such coughing and snuffing to be heard as in London churches, and assemblies of people, where the barking and spitting is incessant and most importunate?"

He gives the following corroboration of his opinion as to the deleterious effects of the "sea-coal" smoke upon the air of the metropolis::-"Not to be forgotten is that which was by many observed, that in the year when Newcastle was besieged and blocked up in our late wars" (the civil war between Charles the First and the Parliament), so as through the great dearth and scarcity of coales, those famous works, (i. e. factories, &c. &c.), many of them were either left off, or spent but few coales in comparison to what they now use; divers gardens and orchards, planted even in the very heart

of London (as, in particular, my Lord Marquesse of Hertford's, in the Strand, my Lord Bridgewater's, and some others about Barbican), were observed to bear such plentiful and infinite quantities of fruit, as they never produced the like either before or since, to their great astonishment; but it was by the owners rightly imputed to the penury of coales, and the little smoake which they took notice to infest them that year. For there is a virtue in the air to penetrate, alter, nourish, yea, and to multiply, plants and fruits, without which no vegetable could possibly thrive."*

"As a remedy for these evils, he proposes a legislative measure for compelling the removal of all such establishments to some distance from town. It is much to be regretted that this proposal was neglected; for the evil has so grown upon us, that its remedy seems almost impossible, at least by the measure which he suggested. The advance of science, however, has put other and more simple means within our power for removing or abating the nuisance in question; all that is necessary, is an act compelling all factories, breweries, gas-works, et hoc genus omne, to consume the smoke which they generate, and not to pollute the vital element with their refuse.

"This measure I conceive to be of the utmost importance, and essential to the success of any other plans for improving the public health. Parks, and other places of public resort and amusement, derive the chief part of their utility from furnishing opportunities and inducements for exercise in the open air; but if that air be tainted and rendered unwholesome, this becomes an evil rather than a good.

"The means to which I allude as enabling us to get rid of the nuisance in question, is the patent smokeless or argand furnace of Charles Wye Williams, Esq., which is an invention of considerable importance. Mr. Williams is author of an elaborate treatise on the Combustion of Coal and Prevention of Smoke, chemically and practically considered;' in which he gives an excellent exposition of the chemical theory of combustion, and ascertains the mechanical arrangements that are best calculated to burn with the greatest effect on the grate-bars the carbonaceous fuel and its gaseous products. To the improper and imperfect combustion of the latter are to be attributed those thick

fuliginous particles which, in the form of

"Fumifugium; or, the Inconveniencie of the Aer and Smoak of London dissipated: together with some Remedies humbly proposed to his Sacred Majestie and to the Parliament now assembled. London, 1661."

smoke, contaminate our atmosphere. Mr. Williams's agents, Messrs. Dircks and Co., of Manchester, have built a specimen furnace in that town for public inspection, and they have informed me that it has been visited by several of the nobility, as well as by the most intelligent engineers and manufacturers in that district. The novelty of this inven tion is, that the coals are burnt on the large scale of common engine-boiler furnaces without producing smoke; so that, as has been stated, there is literally no smoke to burn; and, indeed, Mr. Williams in his work ably and most scientifically combats the opinion that 'smoke' can be burnt, that is, with heat-giving effect; and on this he grounds the want of success that has attended smoke-burning' inventions generally for the last 25 years. Mr. Williams's may be called a system of prevention, and depends on a chemical knowledge of the due quantity of air requisite for combustion, and the best mode of regulating its admission. This plan is in use in many large establishments and public works, especially in Manchester and Liverpool, and has met with the approbation of several of the most distinguished chemists and civil engineers-among others, of Professor Brande, Dr. Ure, Dr. Kane, Dr. Brett, Mr. Parkes, &c. &c."

ABSTRACTS OF SPECIFICATIONS OF ENGLISH

PATENTS RECENTLY ENROLLED.

F. P. WALKER, OF MANCHESTER, COAL MERCHANT, for certain improvements in the manufacture of candles, candlesticks, or candle-holders, and in the apparatus connected therewith. Patent granted, May 9, 1842.

The first of these improvements consists in making candles, either of an oval or cir cular shape, with three or more wicks, so that, when lighted, the flame shall have the appearance of what is commonly called the "bat's-wing;" and be also much brighter, and more intense, than the light furnished by separate candles.

A second improvement consists in making the candlestick round on the inside, but of an oval form inside.

A third improvement consists in making the candle-holder large enough to receive a candle of any size ordinarily made, but inserting in the tube a vertical rod, with a screw at the top and a semicircular piece of brass at the bottom, with a screw behind, so that, by turning the screw, the semicircular piece of brass shall press the candle against the side of the tube, and thereby render the candle steady.

A is the shaft or axle; B B', the arms of the wheel, to the extremities of which are fixed two propellers, or boards, C C, suspended on swivel centres at x 1. The lower ends of the propellers or boards C C1 are weighted, so as to cause them to assume, when in the water, a vertical position. At one extremity of the arm B is shown one mode of determining the angle at which the propeller C should rise from the water, and at the end of the other arm B1 is represented the method of regulating the action of the propeller C. The propeller C is attached to a chain adjusted to a suitable length, so as to cause the propeller to rise from the water at the angle of 90°, and not to reciprocate, or swing about. The other mode is similar in principle, only that an iron arc of a circle, with hooked extremities, is made use of, instead of the chain, to keep the propeller at an angle of 90° when leaving the water.

A second improvement consists in employing a fixed propeller-shaft or axle, with revolving arms, which can be shipped or unshipped at pleasure.

The third and last improvement consists of a lever fixed to the side of the vessel, having at one end a paddle revolving on its

axis, and which can be easily stowed away when the vessel has a fair wind.

The claim is, 1. To paddles or floats regulated by the chain or arc.

2. To the fixed propeller-shaft, or axe, with movable arms.

3. To the side lever, with paddle attached. JOHN BENNETT LAWES, OF ROTHAMSTED, IN THE COUNTY OF HERTFORD, ESQUIRE, for certain improvements in manures. May 23, 1842.

Bones, bone-ash, bone-dust, and other phosphoritic substances have been before now employed as manures, but always in a chemically undecomposed state, whereby their action on the soils to which they have been applied has been tardy and imperfect. It is well known, for example, that, in the case of a large proportion of the soils of this country, the application of bone-dust is of no utility in producing crops of turnips, on account of the slow decomposition of the bone-dust in the soil, and the consequent exposure of the young plant, for a long period, to the ravages of the turnip-fly. The present improvements are founded on an intelligent observation of these facts, and appear to be of more than ordinary importance to the agricultural interest. Generally, they may be described as consisting in decomposing the bones, bone-ash, bone-dust, and other phosphoritic substances, previous to using them for the purposes of manure, by the following process. The inventor mixes with the bones, bone-ash, or bone-dust, or with apatite, or phosphorite, or any other substance containing phosphoric acid, a quantity of sulphuric acid, just sufficient to set free as much phosphoric acid as will hold in solution the undecomposed phosphate of lime, whereby the free phosphoric acid is enabled to unite itself at once with the various alkaline earths contained in the soil, and the undecomposed phosphate of lime is left in a state of division, far greater than can be effected by any mechanical means. In the case of soils deficient in any particular alkali, as potass, or soda, or magnesia, or ammonia, the patentee recommends the use of a manure compounded of a mixture of phosphoric acid with the particular alkali required, as potass, or soda, or magnesia, or ammonia, or any earth containing such alkali.

The same improvements, or at least improvements very like them, were recently patented by Sir James Murray, in Scotland, but subsequently to the present patent for England, having been obtained by Mr. Lawes. So far as England is concerned, Mr. Lawes is the only true inventor and patentee.]

TWEEN THE 2ND OF SEPTEMBER, 1842, AND THE 17TH OF NOVEMBER, 1842. Matthew Gregson, of Toxteth Park, Liverpool, esquire, for improvements applicable to the sawing or cutting of veneers. (Being a communication.) November 2; six months.

Joseph Edwards, of Bloomsbury Square, clerk, for an improved razor-strop, or instrument for sharpening certain cutting edges, and an improved material for covering the same, which material is also applicable to other purposes. November 2; six months.

Sir John Scott Lillie, of Chelsea, for certain improvements in roads. November 2; six months. Pierre Pelletan, of Bedford Square, esquire, for improvements in the production of light. November 2; six months.

James Bullough of Blackburn, overlooker, for certain improvements in the construction of looms, for weaving. (Being a communication.) November 3.

Richard Bevan, of Liverpool, wine merchant, for certain arrangements connected with the circulation of steam employed in pipes or tubes for producing heat, and the application of such arrangements to various purposes. November 5; six months.

John Rothwell, of Great Bolton, grocer, for a certain composition and preparation to promote the ignition and combustion of coke, coal, and other combustible substances, in stoves, furnaces, and grates. November 5; six months.

William Coley Jones, of Vauxhall-walk, Lambeth, practical chemist, for improvements in treating or operating upon a certain unctuous substance, in order to obtain products therefrom for the manufacture of candles, and other purposes. November 8; six months.

Pierre Frederick Ingold, of Buckingham-place, Hanover-square, watchmaker, for improvements in machinery for making parts of watches and other time-keepers. November 8; six months.

Arthur Harvie, of Wilmington-square, gentleman, for improvements in the process of vinous fermentation. (Being a communication.) November 8; six months.

Thomas Wrigley, of Bridge Hall, Bury, Lancaster, paper manufacturer, for certain improvements in machinery for manufacturing paper. November 8; six months.

John Mitchell, of Birmingham, steel pen manufacturer, for a certain improvement in the manufacture of metallic pens, and a certain improvement in the manufacture of pen-holders. November 8; six months.

John Spinks, the younger, of John-street, Bedford-row, gentleman, for an improved apparatus for giving elasticity to certain parts of railway and other carriages requiring the same. November 8; six months.

Henrik Zander, of North-street, Sloane-street, engineer, for certain improvements in steam-engine boilers and furnaces, and in the methods of feeding and working the same; as also in the machinery for applying steam power to propelling purposes. November 8; six months.

John Barnes, of Church, Lancashire, manufacturing chemist, and John Mercer, of Oakenshaw, Lancashire, calico printer, for certain improvements in the manufacture of articles, used in printing and dyeing cotton, silk, weollen, and other fabrics. November 10; six months.

Charles Rowley and James Turner, of Birmingham, button manufacturers, for improvements in the manufacture of perforated metal buttons. November 15; six months.

André Eustache Gratien Auguste Maurras, of Cornhill, gentleman, for certain improvements in the process and apparatus for filtering water and other liquids. (Being partly a communication.) November 15.

Charles Smith, of Newcastle-street, Strand, for improvements in the manufacture and application of bricks, tiles, and other plastic articles or surfaces, and for cements or compositions to be used with, in, and about the same, for building and other useful purposes. November 17; six months.

NOTES AND NOTICES.

Stale of Mining Machinery in Spain.-Improvements of all kinds find their way very slowly into Spain, especially into remote mountain districts, devoid of roads and infested with bands of robbers. The labour of unwatering the mines of Almaden is in particular severe and expensive. A grand reservoir has been formed in the rock in the fifth level, and into this the water of the lower levels is elevated by hand-pumps, at an expense of manual labour of 300,000 reals per annum, although the elevation of this general receptacle above the greatest depth is only 110 varas. It is then pumped to the surface by a single-stroke steam-engine, the annual cost of which performance is reckoned at 60,000 reals (€001. sterling). This engine is a perfect curiosity, con-w structed on the principle, or rather in imitation of, Watt's first engine, with varioue subsequent additions, which are the very reverse of improve ments, and which, by some miracle, found its way to Almaden in the year 1799, having been probably rejected thirty years before in England. It is an immense lumbering counterpoise affair, with a long cooling-pipe between the boiler and the cylinder, and no valve between, so that the principle of expansion cannot be applied. The condenser sends forth the water nearly toiling-hot, which is no weDder, seeing that its valve has no governor and no connexion with the moving machinery. In conse quence, the boiler takes exactly double the fuel requisite to raise the quantity of water from the mine that it ought to do, and the engine, calculated to be of 42-horse power, only does the work of 20. Besides these motive powers, steam and manual, there is an establishment of from thirty-five to forty excellent mules, which are kept constantly at work, eight at once, in drawing up the ore by a very rude wheel capstan, the friction of which is so great that the animals can only work three hours in the twentyfour, and, although selected expressly for the labour, at a high price, several are disabled in the course of the season. There is no water-power available to move machinery in these mines, and there has been very little care bestowed to render any of the me chanical powers available for the abridgement of labour. Even the ore, which is brought up from the deep sinkings by mules at the rate of 3500 arrobas (25 lbs. each) per day of twelve hours, is all drawn to the furnaces by oxen in rude carros, without the slightest aid from a railway.-Correspondent of the Times.

Stupendous Aqueduct al New York-The cere mony of introducing the Croton waters into New York lately took place, and was concluded amidst great rejoicings. By syphons, aqueducts, &c., the Croton is conducted a distance of forty-five miles into New York, the whole expense having been 9,000,000 dollars. The enormous quantity of 75,000,000 of gallons per day, or three hogsheads for every inhabitant, will thus be conveyed to the city, at an annual charge of 600,000 dollars; while London is supplied with only 34,000,000 of gallons, of seventeen gallons per inhabitant, for 1,380,000 dellars; and Paris, 4,000,000 gallons, or two quarts pet individual, for 750,000 dollars.

INTENDING PATENTEES may be supplied gratis with Instructions, by application (postpaid) to Messrs. J. C. Robertson and Co., 166, Fleet-street, by whom is kept the only COMPLETE REGISTRY OF PATENTS EXTANT from 1617 to the present time).