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of the divided quills are cut into lengths, they are to be eut both square and clean enough to answer for the point; by which means, in the operation of forming the pen, by forcing the quill a little more or less near the junction of the triangular mouth of the cutters, the width of the pens point will be encreased or diminished in its dimensions; so that by a nice adjustment in this respect, peus calculated for every kind of hand may be cut with strict accuracy.

The last object of the patent is to secure the right of different fountain-pens, which may be combined with the pens already described. The first mentioned of these is form ed of a hollow tube of silver, or other metal, closed at both ends, and made so thin as to be readily compressed, by a small pressure between the finger and thumb, out of a cylindrical form; by which pressure the internal space of the tube being lessened, the ink which it contains will be compelled to ooze out of a small eapillary opening made at its lower extremity for this purpose. Pens prepared as above described, are fastened to these tubes by sockets, in the same manner as to the sticks before mentioned, The lower ends of these tubes are made tapering, to admit the pens to be fastened on them better, and the upper ends are made to open, in order to admit the ink; while this is pouring in, the capillary opening at the bottom must be stopped; and when the tube is full, the upper end must be closed air-tight with a cork or cap, which will prevent any ink running out into the pen, more than is directed by the pressure of the thumb, when it is placed in a fit position for writing.

Another kind of ink fountains, the patentee mentions may be made of inflexible metal tubes, furnished

with small sliding pistons, like those of forcing pumps, by impeting which downwards, by the hand or a screw, the ink may be made to pass into the pèn.

A fountain pen, of the same nature as that first described, the pa tentee mentions may be made of a common goose quill, made sufficient ly soft by scraping to admit of com pression, if it is not so naturally; a small stopper is made to fit into the lower end of this quill, with a mi nute groove in its upper part, next the back of the pen, not larger than what the smallest pin would occupy. so as to cause the least channel po sible for the conveyance of the ink to the pen; this quill may be either formed into a pen at its end, or have one of the above described pens attached to it by a socket; the ink is to be poured in at its lower end, and, when the stopper is put into its place, it is ready for use. Care must be taken that the quill is air tight, or made so; as otherwise the ink would run out. When the ink ceases to flow, from the air become ing too much rarified above the ink, in this fountain pen, or the first described, by turning the pen with the point upwards, sufficient air wilk be drawn into the cavity through the capillary aperture, to restore the balance with the outward air, and make the ink flow freely again.

Lastly the patentee proposes, that the pens of several writing at one desk, may be supplied from a vessel on a shelf over head, from which small pipes shall pass, each, furnished with a cock, to the station of each writer, so that he can fill his fountain pen without moving from his seat: and as a farther improvement, states, that small flexible tubes may be made to pass from these pipes to the fountain pens in the writer's hands, so that they shall always be sup→ plied with ink, without any farther

care than opening and shutting the cocks. The lower ends of these flexible tubes are to be fastened to the tops of the hollow handles of the pens, by hollow screws, like that of the brass nozzle of a fire-engine. In some cases, instead of the methods above described for letting down the ink from the hollow handie into the pen, the patentee prefers to make a small perforation, for the admission of air, in the upper extremity of the handle; which aper ture is stopped or opened by a valve or slide; when it is open the ink will descend, and charge the pen at pleasure, but when stopped, its farther flowing will be prevented.

Observations. The method of form ing many pens of one quill thus brought into notice by its ingenious author, (to whom the public are indebted for many useful discoveries, and several beneficial applications of former inventions,) is of more importance than might at first appear; for it evidently will form a material addition to the plan for difinishing the expences of educating peor children, by which Dr. Bell and Mr. Lancaster have done themselves so much credit; and which many benevolent men of judgment and experience have most sanguine hopes, will prodúce a most material amelioration in the morals, prudential conduct, and consequent happiness of the labouring part of society; if carried forward to the extent, which the interest they excite so justly promises. The value of this intens tion for this purpose may perhaps appear more clearly, by stating that the expences of educating children is reduced by the methods mention ed, to so small a sum annually for each, that the saving produced in a few hundreds of quilis by adopting Mr. Bramah's plan, will probably be sufficient to pay for the iostruction of a child additional.

BELFAST MAG. NÓ, XXX.

Another saving advantageous to the same object, will arise from the economising the time of masters, now spent in making pens, by the use of the machine for this purpose herein described. Mr. Lancaster, in his lectures on his method of teaching, has always stated a sav ing in this respect to be an object of considerable consequence, and recommended for this use an instrument very inferior in accuracy and facility of reparation, to the above, but which was the best be fore this was contrived.

It is obvious however, that this machine may be much sintplefied, as there can be to need of the force of a screw-press, to cut part of a quill. A small lever to press down the sliding cutter, and a spring to raise it again, would be all that would be necessary; the first more to make the motion steady than for the sake of gaining power, and the lat ter for convenience.

In what the patentee states, of forming the divided pieces of a quilt into pens at both ends, he does not seem aware that nearly one third of the upper part of most quills is unfit for this purpose, on account of its splitting with serrated edges, commonly called cat's teeth; but this, though it forms some deduction, does not materially diminish the va lue of the invention.

Among the fountain pénis the patentee mentions one (formed by a tube and sliding piston) as his invention, which has long been before the public as the contrivance of Mr. David Leroy, a French gentleman; and of which an account was given in the Athenæum for December 1807, translated from Sonini's Ency clopedie des Arts. But it is proba ble that Mr. Bramah never heard of this; for it ean scarcely be thought that a plagiarism so easily detected in such as unimportant matter,

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The last plan proposed by the patentee for supplying pens with ink, is liable to obvious objections; for it would both greatly endanger the blotting and defacing account-books and other papers of importance, which might lie on the desks, in case of the breaking any of the metal pipes, or mismanageing the cocks; and would add so much resistance to the motion of the pen, by the weight of the flexible tube, as in all probability would tire the hand with a much less portion of writing than - would be the case with pens not this encumbered.

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Making the fountain pen act by compression, seems a valuable improvement, and promises to come into such general use as, added to the sale of the machines for making peus, to recompense the patentee for his trouble and expense; means will probably be soon de vised to regulate the expansion of the air from an encrease of temperature, which when much air is in the tube, would cause the ink to flow out, and then the only remaining inconvenience to which this pen is liable will be removed.

Patent of Mr. David Meade Ran dolph, of Golden-square, Middlesex, for a method of manufacturing boots, shoes, and other articles, with a substitute for thread or yarn.

Dated Feb 1809. The substitute for yarn in making boots and shoes, consist of smail brads, sprigs, or tacks, made of copper, iron or other proper metals, applied in forming the soles and heels alone, principally by the use of a last, constructed with an iron sole about the thickness of common sole leather. This iron sole has hree holes made through it, about an inch in diameter, one near the

toe, another about half-way between the toe and the heel, and a third in the heel; which holes are filled up level with wooden plugs, and are made for the purpose of fastening the boot or shoe to the last, in the usual mauner while making. When the upper-leather and inner-sole are placed on a last of this des cription, the outer-sole is nailed to the inner-sole by brads of such a length, as will allow them to perforate the inner sole, with which the metal sole of the last being in close contact, it turns and clinches them so as to present a smooth surface inside; and the brads thus connect the two soles so as to serve instead of stitching or sewing them. This new method is not limited to the edge or margin of the sole, but can be also applied to any intermediate space, where strength and durability may be deemed requisite.

Another application of the same principle, with some addition, is mentioned by the patentee at the end of the specification, in the following words. I also apply as a substitute for yarn, &c. in the fabrication of braces, traces, or other articles to which the same cau be usefully applied, and in place of stitching, wires made of iron, brass, or copper, or other fit metal. These wires Fuse lengthways, by stretching them the whole length of the tracé or brace; and they are fastened at each end round small metal cylinders, inclosed between plates of leather, connected, by means of the substitute mentioned.

Some account of experiments on different kinds of charcoal, for improv ing the manufacture of gunpowder, and of the slowness of combustion of chesnut wood, extracted from a paper by M. Proust.

Journal de Physique.

Five parts of pulverised and very dry salt peter were put into a large bronze mortar, along with one part of the charcoal intended to be examined; a few drops of water were then sprinkled on it, and the mixture was triturated with an iron pestle for half an hour. Water was then added, but only a little at a time, so as to keep the mixture sufficiently moist to prevent it from flying about this labour was continued for six hours, and when the mixture appeared to be as dry as it could be made by the action of the pestle, the powder was withdrawn, wrapped up in a double fold of paper, and placed on a drying stove, When dry it was beaten in the mortar for about half an hour, in or der to obtain an impalpable powder, which was then put in a bottle and secured by a cork.

When the several mixtures were prepared, they were exposed a second time to the stove, in order to bave them all of the same degree of dryness; from one to two ounces only of each mixture was prepared.

Sventy-two grains of each mixture was put into a brass tube, half a line thick, three lines in diameter, and two inches and a half or more in length, closed at one end, soldered without leaving any lumps inside, and perfectly equal in the caliber. Several tubes of this kind were prepared, diftering only in length, and sized from two and a half to three inches in length, encreasing only a line in each size. The tubes were charged with a quill cut sloping, and the mixture was rammed down with a brass rod of the same diameter as the tube, and about five inches long, the upper end of which

was formed into a ring; when the 72 grains were rammed in, each tube was cut off so as to leave a line above the charge; it was then fixed in a round of cork half an inch thick, and about two inches in diameter, with its upper edge only two or three lines above the surface of the cork; after this the cork and tube were set to float in a drinking glass filled with water: in order to keep the tube cool, whose heat was however sufficient to make the water biss that touched it, and to detatch bubbles from it.

A pendulum that vibrated seconds, hung from a quadrant, with divisions like those of Mr. Pierre Leroy, was got ready to note the time of the combustion; and a priming of the best gunpowder, finely pulverised, being put at the top of the mixture in the tube, where a space of a line in depth, was left; it was fired by the point of a match, at the instant when the ball of the pendulum was put in motion.

As there was a remarkable coincidence between the duration of the combustion, and the weight of the residuum left in the tube, its weight was carefully noted, and was always less as the combustion was most rapid, and the force of the mixture was greater also in the same proportion, which illustrates the fact frequently observed by sportsmen, that the longer time gunpowder takes in consuming on a piece of paper, so much is it weaker, and so much more does it foul their guns.

The following table shows the time of the combustion of various species of charcoal, managed as recited, and the weight of the re siduum left in the tubes after combustion,

TABLE OF THOSE KINDS OF CHARCOAL THE MIXTURE OF WHICH BURNED

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Among the remarks made by Mr. Proust on these experiments, the following on chesnut timber seem the most deserving of our notice.

The Chesnut tree, whose charcoal requires 26 seconds to be consum ed, or rather the wood of it, has received from nature a peculiar quality, which renders it very va luable in those countries where it is plentiful, and which does not seem to be so generally known as it ought to be.

Charcoal of indigo

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of wheat gluten
of glue

of white of egg
of human blood
of tanned leather,

open air as if it was plunged into carbonic acid gas; this hap pens so quickly that a pipe canhot be lighted by it. It is probably this difficult combustibility that occasions its being preferred for floors (in the Asturias) which are there, scarcely ever tiled. In all the hou ses the floors are brought so near the fire place, that one is astonished at the security of the inhabitants; but one soon becomes as indifferent as they are in this res pect, when it is observed, that if any burning wood happens to fall on the floor, there is no more danger than if it fell upon tiles. A plank will at the utmost be scorched, but there is no risk, as with other kinds of timber, of the house being set on fire.

In the Asturias a province as rich, by the fruitfulness of its soil, as it is enchanting, by its picturesque views, which are worthy the pencil of Casas, the chesnut is sometimes used for fuel. If a brand of it is taken from the fire, it is seen not without some surprise, that it is extinguished as rapidly in the nut charcoal, that this kind of fuel

It is also from the nature of ches

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