dust will derange the ingenious arrangement of the present 6-pounder bronze cannon would cost the breech. Besides, it has this defect inherent in the Belgian Government about 2,500 francs, or £100 system, that the stopper offers only a limited resist-per gun. Besides this, there is the cost of carriages; ance, and is therefore liable to be soon broken. so that altogether the cost of replacing the present This happened frequently during the experiments Belgian cannon by cannon on the Prussian breechmade in 1856, 1857, and 1858, at Braeschaet. loading system, may be estimated at 3,250 francs, Similar accidents have happened with the Arm- or £130, for every new 6-pounder. Is there any strong guns in China, and the Cavalli guns at necessity for incurring so large an expenditure? Gaeta. In regard, also, to rapidity of fire, the This important question M. Fourcault answers in French are equal, if not superior, to the Prussian the negative. On the contrary, he proposes to rifle and English, as the former may be fired 100 times the present Belgian cannon by means of a machine without sponging. Comparing next the projectiles, which would rifle three cannons a-day. Two of he states that it has been ascertained, from expe- these machines would rifle all their field artillery rience, that lead-coated projectiles are not easily (160 pieces) in three months. The rifling would carried, as violent shocks, or the shaking, is apt to cost only about 4 or 5 francs cach. Thus the subchange the form of the soft metal. The harder stitution of the Prussian cannon for the Belgian 6metal of the French projectile cannot be injured in pounders would cost from £100 to £130 each; this way, Also, it was ascertained, from the expe- whilst the rifling of them upon the French system riments at Braeschaet, in January last, that the would cost only about 4s. each. The difference lead covering is liable to strip off the iron, and between these two sums is therefore the immediate might kill outlying riflemon, This separation of saving which would be effected in Belgium by the the projectile also tends to impair the accuracy of application of the French system of rifling to their the fire. With the French projectiles tried at present artillery. Besides, the expense of altering Braeschaet the result was entirely different, and the and repairing bronze cannon is but trifling. In same projectile was fired a second time with results Holland, the change and improvement of their generally as good as upon the first trial. These bronze cannon has been effected by a very simple are the chief reasons for preferring the French to and ingenious process, which deserves notice. the Prussian system of rifled artillery. Holland had in her arsenals some 6-pounder bronze The most important point in the comparison of cannon so defective that they had been condemned the two systems is the accuracy of the fire, and in to be remelted and recast. To avoid this expense, this respect also, according to the experiments in they simply filled up the bore partially by another Belgium, the French system is stated to be equal casting of bronze, rifled them, and thus changed to the Prussian. The accuracy of the latter has their 6-pounders into 4-pounders. By this process been highly praised. But with the Prussian guns they have obtained cannon equal to those of France the charge of powder is only about one-tenth, or and Russia, and at a cost for each piece of only 15 one-twelfth, the weight of the projectile, and hence or 20 florins (£1 5s. to £1 13s. 4d.) It is also the initial velocity is slow, and the angle of eleva-stated that the French projectile is cheaper than the tion large. The trajectory is more curved than Prussian, the difference amounting to 3:46 francs with the French gun, and the bullet has less (or over 2s. 6d.), for every shot fired, in favour of chance of striking the mark, especially where the the former. Besides this expense for guns and mark is constantly moving. The Prussian gun, ammunition, an additional number of skilled and others on the same principle, are, therefore, to artillerymen would be required to work the rifled a certain extent, mortars, very useful in a siege, or breech-loading Prussian guns. At present the when the distances are known exactly. Cannon effective force of the four regiments of artillery in rifled on the French system are much more de- the Belgian army is 8,000 men. The introduction structive, and therefore more useful. With them a of the Prussian rifled guns would, upon the most larger charge of powder may be used; the angle of favourable supposition, require an increase of their elevation is less, the trajectory is lower, the projec- artillery to 32,240 men. Instead of adopting a tile flies, for a greater distance, nearly parallel to system so expensive, and, if not defective, at least the ground, and is more destructive to the enemy. not superior to the French muzzle-loading system, If a mistake be made as to distance, there is less why should not the Belgian Government introduce chance of missing the mark. It is necessary here the latter system, which has been so thoroughly to guard against the erroneous opinion that the tested in the Italian, African, and Chinese wars; accuracy of the aim is the same as the efficiency of which has been adopted in France, Russia, Austria, the gun. We should also remember that the accu- Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Tunis, Egypt, and racy of fire is the result of the rifling, and not of Holland; and which had been formerly so highly the breech-loading mechanism. We are compar- valued by the Belgian Government that its adoption ing two systems of rifling equally efficient for ac- was, if not decided upon, at least publicly announced curate firing, and both greatly superior to smooth- in August, 1860? Why, towards the end of the same year, and immediately after the appearance of the new Prussian cannon, and before it had been sufficiently tested, adopt it, and introduce a system that may be less efficient, and is far more costly than the French muzzle-loading system? Such are the leading facts and arguments used against the present proposition of the Belgian War DepartThese facts and arguments are so weighty that the Belgian Government should have better reasons than those stated in their report to justify them in their proposal to levy a new tax of £578,446. But as those who are in office seem naturally inclined to favour any policy which increases the national expenditure and their own patronage and power, and as the people are always ready to pay liberally when their own independence and safety are at stake, we may expect to see the Prussian system of breech-loading cannon introduced into the Belgian service. bore cannon. But the advocates of the breech-loading Prussian system may say that its superiority consists not in the gun but in the projectile, which explodes on striking an object, scattering on all sides a shower of bullets. To this argument it is replied that if the Prussian fusee and projectile are so perfect, why not use them with the French muzzleloading gun? The same argument is equally applicable in this country. If the superiority of the Armstrong system lies in the projectile, as generally acknowledged, we should endeavour to use it in that class of rifled guns, namely, muzzle-loaders, which on the whole appear to be the most highly recommended for general use in war. In regard to the cost of rifled artillery, our Belgian informant states, as an established fact, that the price of a bronze cannon is the same as that of a cannon of cast steel, both being made on the same plan; but the breech-loading mechanism increases this price about 700 francs (£28). Also it is admitted that old cast steel is almost worthless, while old bronze is worth from 2 to 3 francs the kilogramme (10d. to 1s. per pound). The price of a 6-pounder breech-loading Prussian gun, made of Krupp's steel, is 3,750 francs, or £150. The Belgian bronze cannon of the same calibre costs 2,250 francs, or £90, but it may be sold as old metal for about 1,250 francs, or £50. Hence the substitution of 6-pounder steel cannon for the ment. The position of Great Britain at the present moment so closely resembles the position of Belgium that this controversy has the stronger claims upon our notice. The new Prussian gun has lately been tried in this country, and Sir William Armstrong has to some extent adopted and recommended the system. His new gun, as described by him before the Society of Civil Engineers, is supposed to be an improved form of the Prussian gun. There seems, therefore, to be a combined effort on the part of Prussia, Belgium, and Great Britain to produce cannon superior to those of France; and to attain this object, each of the three powers is willing to pay any price. National rivalries may thus modify, and interfere with, the progress of improvements in the art of war, as they do frequently in the arts of peace. The wisdom of this policy is, however, very questionable, Fas est ab hoste doceri. At present, instead of hastening the manufacture of new cannon, or the introduction of the new Prussian system, as modified by Sir William Armstrong, our War Department should consider the more important question of utilizing our old stores. The fact that the French have preceded us should not prevent us from following in their wake, for we know that we can outstrip them in the race. It is well known that numerous plans have been laid before our War Department for rifling our former smooth-bore cannon. What has been done with these plans? What has become of all the cannon manufactured before the late war panic, and the reign of Sir William Armstrong? We have been informed that all of them can be rifled and made as efficient as the latest and bost of the Armstrong guns. Why should not this be done immediately? Public confidence in the present administration would be greatly strengthened by the assurance that our large stock of smooth-bored cannon, which has been accumulating for many years, at a heavy expense to the country, would speedily be made as efficient as the rifled artillery of France or Russia. The advice of M. Fourcault to the Belgians seems to apply also to us. utilize our present smooth-bored cannon by rifling them upon a system which has stood the test of actual war, and thus obtain, at a trifling expense, an artillery equal or superior to that of any other power in Europe. Let us GOLD-PRODUCING MACHINERY. A RETURN recently laid before the Parliament at Melbourne by the Minister of Mines shows the rapid progress made to the 31st of December last, in applying steam and machinery to the production of gold in that colony. It shows that on the 31st of December, 1860, there were 107,572 adult miners viz., 60,874 Europeans and 28,100 Chinese engaged in alluvial workings, and 18,570 Europeans and 28 Chinese engaged in quartz-mining. The number of steam-engines employed in alluvial workings for winding, pumping, puddling, &c., was 294, amounting to 4,137 horse-power. Besides steam-engines there were 3,957 horse-puddling machines, 354 horse whims, 128 water-wheels, and 56 horse-pumps. In addition to these there were engaged in quartz-mining and crushing 420 steamengines, equal to 6,696 horse-power, 158 whims, six water-wheels, 26 whips, and 40 horse-crushing machines. The approximate value of all this mining plant is set down at £1,259,660, and there are in the principal towns in the mining districts manufactories of engines and machinery that compete successfully with those imported from England. Great as is the progress shown by these figures in giving a character of permanency to the supply of gold, it is now probable that the colony is about to enter on a still greater development of this source of wealth, the alluvial diggers having hitherto been kept idle for a large portion of the year by the want of water. Government are forming large reservoirs for collecting and storing rain on the various diggings, and quartz-mining is likely to receive an immense impetus from the many experiments being made and patents claimed for improved methods of extracting the finer particles of gold from the débris, or tailings of quartz that have passed through the ordinary processes of crushing, washing, and amalgamating. Among those thus employed is Mr. Porter, of Italian Gully, near Ballarat, who, being engaged in quartz-crushing, announces that he has discovered that by placing 76lb. of quicksilver in the bottom of a retort, and then putting into it 225lb. of tailings, and placing the retort on the furnace until the quicksilver is vapourized, it is by this means brought into contact with all, even the most minute particles, while the loss of quicksilver has been only 6oz. out of the 76lb. placed in the retort. The result alleged to have been obtained FIC.3. in these comparatively small experiments is, it is remarked, "so great that, if the same can be obtained on tons as is announced on cwts., it will be difficult to give an approximate estimate of the extent to which the production of gold will be carried in Victoria; for the great bulk of the colony, from Ballarat to Twofold Bay, and from the banks of the Murray and Ovens Rivers to the parallel of Melbourne, is one great goldfield of more or less richness." The immediate consequence at present is that quicksilver is all bought up at 2s. 14d. to 2s. 6d., and is now held for 3s. to 3s. 6d. HINTON'S IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FICJ. ARMOUR'S DIES FOR PIPES. V FIC.2. THE above engraving is a sectional view of a portion of a blast furnace, to which an apparatus is fitted for the manufacture of iron, steel-iron, and steel, from certain waste products, and to the remelting of large lumps of iron or steel. The invention of Mr. G. Hinton, of Oldbury, which consists, firstly, in manufacturing iron from the "bears" or waste lumps thrown out from the blast furnaces; and, secondly, in the furnaces to be employed in remelting such lumps, which furnaces are also applicable to the remelting of large lumps or masses of iron or steel. The furnace is constructed of firebrick (cased with iron plates if necessary), and form in the centre of this furnace a hearth of stone, by preference a block of Gornal stone, of about two feet six inches in diameter, hooped with iron, and protected by a coating of composition formed of boulders burnt in a kiln, and then ground up with fire-clay, so that the base of the hearth extends to the width of about seven feet, and forms a pyramidal hearth; this composition protects the hoops and also the stone block. Upon this hearth the "bear" or lump to be melted is raised. The patentee employs a single belt with two rows of tuyeres, one row of which blows up under the "bear," and the other down upon the top of it. This effects the melting of the "bear," from which a very large per-centage of pure metal is obtained, which metal is readily convertible into steel-iron or steel by any wards, as shown. The supply of air to this furnacements are embodied. a, al, are guide bars secured ARMOUR'S DIES FOR PIPES. levers Works, Kilmarnock, whose invention for regula- which and the frame or die e the clay from the MR. J. ARMOUR, of the Perceton Fire-clay cle to be manufactured. d is the "bell," between ting the feed of clay for the making of pipes, &c., pug mill passes; f, f, are links jointed to the we noticed in the number for January 6, 1860, points h, h, on the guide bar al; i, i, are other 9, 9, which are free to move about tho ments in dies employed in the manufacture of which is free to move about the point on a lug has recently obtained a patent for improve-links jointed to the levers g, g, and to the lever k, sewerage pipes, chimney linings, and other hollow projecting from the frame b; m is a handle by bodies of clay. To the outside of the die two guide bars are which the levers are operated. It will be seen attached, with grooves placed parallel to each that these levers are so arranged as to move the other, and on opposite sides of the opening of the plates c, c, in opposite directions along the die; he places two thin plates of steel or other grooves thus by moving the lever in the direction suitable substance, properly strengthened, oppo-versâ. To use the apparatus, open the plates, of the arrow, the plates are opened, and vice site to each other, sliding in the grooves of the and admit clay from a pug mill or pipe-making parallel bars, and having their inside faces shaped machine between the bell d and die e. As the to the size, or nearly so, of the half of the bell or clay advances, and, consequently, as the pipe portion of the die that forms the interior of the is made, it descends below the bell, resting on a article. Levers are connected to these plates, which move them in opposite directions, so that guide board descending with it until sufficient when the hollow article is pressed out of the clay is admitted to make it of the desired length. machine to the length desired these thin plates The two plates c, c, are then brought quickly cut it square off, and, by meeting tight against together, which sever the made pipe from the the bell of the die, prevent any further exit until bell, and it is removed from the guide, which Large masses of iron, which have hitherto re- be taken from the machine, and the guiding appa- of more clay until they are again opened ready the plates are opened, thus allowing the article to ascends to the mouth of the bell ready to receive another pipe; the knives cl, cl, prevent the exit quired to be broken up, can by the use of this fur-ratus which carries the article while it is being to make a fresh pipe. nace be remelted without breaking. made, to be brought up before the exit of another article is allowed to commence. of the ordinary processes. When it is required to produce pipes or other articles that are to have a faucet or half faucet on one end, the die is made with a recess in the bottom of it corresponding to the outside of the faucet required. The cutting plates are then made to act below this widened portion, which on being moved up to the bell forms a space to be filled with the clay corresponding to the required shape of the faucet outside, and of the bell inside. By placing a small opening at the top of this recess it can be ascertained when it is pressed full of clay by the clay oozing out of the opening. On the plates being opened, the pipe proceeds, having this collar or band of clay formed on its end. The inside thickness of clay is afterwards cut or turned out to complete the formation of the faucet. The cutting plates may be divided into two, three, four, or more segments of the circle, and made to act as above described. X is an outer casing of iron, having a double air belt or chamber y furnished with a double row of tuyeres attached to it; this casing entirely incloses the fire-brick walls w of the furnace; j is the hearth upon which the "bear" or lump to be melted is to be placed. This hearth, as before stated, consists of a block of Gornal or sandstone hooped round with iron bands i, i, which, together with the stone, are protected from the action of the fire by a coating of composition k, formed of boulders, burnt pebbles or flint-stones ground to powder, and mixed with fire-clay to a proper consistency for use. This composition is also useful for lining the furnace. a is a pipe supplying air from the fan or blast cylinder to the lower row of tuyeres b, b, the air passing from the pipe a into the hollow belt or annular chamber c, and thence to the tuyeres; d is a second air-pipe from the fan or blast cylinder supplying air to the upper row of tuyeres e, the blast being first received into the annular chamber or belt f, and thence distributed through Fig. 1 of the accompanying engravings is a the tuyeres e. The tuyeres e are laid horizontally, vertical section, and fig. 2 a plan of the under whilst the lower ones are inclined slightly down-side of the die, in which the foregoing improve Fig. 3 is a vertical section, and fig. 4 a plan of the under side of a die and bell for producing pipes with a faucet or half faucet, as last described. n is the recess at the bottom of the die; the mouth of the bell is made longer than in the arrangement shown at figs. 1 and 2. It will be observed, that in the die for the straight pipes the small portion of the bell under the knives c1, cl, or plates c, c, is somewhat less in diameter than it is at its upper part. This is also the case in the faucet die, but to a greater extent, the portion removed extending in this case to about the shoulder of the bell, where the faucet part strikes off. This is done to avoid friction as much as possible; in other respects this apparatus is similar to that before described. The cutting plates may be divided into two, three, four, or more segments of the circle, and made to act as above described; or they may be made in four, or in any other number of straight or other shaped plates, to correspond with any shaped die, whether it be round, oval, oblong, or otherwise. DONALD MANN'S DIGGING IMPLEMENT. SIMPSON'S PATENT PUMPS. THIS invention, by Donald Mann, of New York, relates to improvements in implements for cultivating the earth, having for its ohject the digging or spading up of the soil, and pulverizing it, at one and the same operation. The principle consists in supporting upon a suitable carriage, an endless chain or chains forming a belt of any desirable width, and upon which are rows of spikes or teeth, which are made to penetrate and leave the ground as the carriage is drawn along, the chain being so extended over rollers or drums, in a moveable frame, that it will be inclined to the surface of the ground. Thus, the teeth will descend, as it were, along an inclined plane, gradually penetrating the earth, so that when arrived at the lowest roller, which will be near the ground, they ill have sunk to their full depth, and, turning hort about the last roller, the teeth are made quickly to change from a vertical or nearly vertical to a horizontal position in leaving the ground. The earth is upheaved thereby, and falls back in finely broken pieces. The engraving shows in side elevation an implement constructed according to this invention. At a, a, are represented two drums of equal size, or nearly so, and a third of smaller diameter at b, supported in a quadrant-shaped frame c, which frame is hung to the carriage by a hinge joint at A. The arc of the quadrant has teeth cut upon it, and a pinion B to operate the raising and lowering of the lower end to and from the gound, whereby the depth of penetration for the teeth can be regulated, or the lifting of them entirely out of the ground can be performed. The endless band is shown at d, with the digging teeth at e. This chain band is composed of links of iron so shaped as to enable it to bend in going over the rollers, but to be rigid in the other direction. In passing over the larger drums, a, the teeth descend toward the ground at a certain incline, as shown, until they pass under the lowest one; from this to the small roller b, the angle is changed to a horizontal one, or nearly so. The roller b is for the purpose of thus guiding it, and it is also made small in order to cause the teeth to take a short turn in rising out of the ground, thereby lifting the soil and completely turning it up. SIMPSON'S PATENT PUMPS. MR. G. SIMPSON, of Glasgow, has just obtained a In a pump constructed according to this in- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a pump suitable for draining mines, which may be actuated by means of various arrangements of machinery or apparatus, and worked by an inverted direct-acting steam cylinder A, placed immediately over the pump B. Instead of the ordinary bucket there is substituted a hollow plunger C, which works in the pump barrel B, and through a stuffing box b in the upper end of it. The hollow plunger C is at the lower end of a long tube or tubular rod D, which answers both as ascension pipe and as pump rod, being attached to the piston rod crosshead E, by means of a lower crosshead F and side rods G. The upper open end of the tubular rod is enclosed in a delivery box H, and works through a stuffing box in the bottom thereof, whilst the water The operations of the chains and teeth are escapes by the duct I. A valve J is placed in the effected by simply drawing the carriage over the field tubular rod D, this valve consisting of a disc guided to be dug up in parallel rows. As the teeth have by a cylindrical flange, which on the descent of the all been raised to clear the road, while transporting plunger lifts and allows the water to pass up round the machine from place to place, it is at first ne- it, and through holes into the tube length immedicessary to lower the quadrant frame, in order that ately above. The suction pipe K is made with the lowest teeth may be forced into the ground; two passages, each with a separate foot valve M, this is done by turning the pinion B so as to drive and a sluice door or valve N is arranged in such a down the frame c. The carriage is then drawn way above the valves M that either of them can be along, and the revolution of the chain is caused by shut off from the pump, whilst doors O are prothe action produced by the teeth in the ground, vided for getting at one valve without interfering which thus act upon the former as if it were a rack. with the other. Thus, when a foot valve is out of When the implement arrives at the end of the field, order it can be got at and repaired without stopping or place at which it is intended to turn, the teeth the pump, as the other foot valve can be put in are lifted clear of the ground until the carriage is communication, and the one wanting repairs be shut brought upon the return track, when the teeth are off from it. The action of the pump is as follows: again made to enter as at first. To keep the frame-The plunger C in descending displaces in the e in position, any suitable catch or clutch may be с used. pump barrel a quantity of water equal to its solid escape, passes up the tubular rod D. On the ascent of the rod and plunger a quantity of water measured by the internal cross sectional area of the rod, multiplied by the length of stroke, is lifted and delivered above. The parts are so proportioned that the quantities delivered on the down and up strokes are equal, which result is obtained by making the cross sectional area of the solid part of the plunger C, equal to that of the central hollow space thereof. It will be obvious that so long as a similar proportion is obtained between the effectivo solid or displacing part and the hollow or lifting part of the plunger (or plunger and rod), the plunger may be made of various forms, and the hollow part may consist of one or more passages; whilst by varying the proportions of the cross sectional areas the quantities delivered on the down and up strokes respectively may be made to differ. TELEGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE. MALTA TO ALEXANDRIA.-The first section and the greater part of the second length of this cable have now been laid without the slightest check or accident of any kind. The mileage of the entire route is as follows:-Malta to Tripoli, 230 knots; Tripoli to Benghazi, 450 knots; Benghazi to Alexandria, 550 knots; showing a total length of 1,230 knots. The section between Malta and Tripoli is completed. Three hundred miles-being the whole of the cable coiled on board the Malacca steamer-have been paid out along the second section, in the direction of Benghazi. The end of this portion has for the present been carried into shallow water, near shore, and buoyed to await the junction to it of the remainder. A further length of cable for completing this part of the work, and a portion of the Benghazi to Alexandria section is on its way out on board the Rangoon steamer, which has been heard of as far in the direction of her destination as Malta. The Malacca is daily expected to re-arrive in England, for the purpose of taking in the remainder of the Alexandria length, after which she will join the Rangoon as quickly as possible, in order to splice her cable to the extremity of the length in that ship, and proceed at once to complete at Alexandria the entire communication. It is hoped that the result of this undertaking will be such as to revive to some extent the confidence of the public, which has been so much shaken in these enterprises. Everything, certainly, appears favourable at present. The cable is by far the best that has yet been manufactured. Another circumstance, in particular, is encouraging, namely, the fact that the contractors for the making and laying of it, Messrs. Glass, Elliot, and Co., whose experience and character are very high, have been intrusted by the Government with a further contract, under which they have undertaken to maintain it in working order for a term of seven years. The portions already laid -nearly 600 miles-have boon worked through with perfect facility and at good speed, direct upon a Morse instrument, without any intervening relay, and with no greater battery power than one cell of a Daniell's battery. This is a very convincing practical proof of the advantage of using large conductors, in order to diminish the resistance to conductivity in long lengths of cable. The conductor of the Government cable contains, we believe, at least twice the sectional area of copper as compared with any previous submarine conductor, and its splendid insulation, consisting of eight coverings of gutta percha, and Chatterton's compound, alternately, assists in producing rapidity by reducing the resistance due to induction to the smallest imaginable proportion. On some TOULON AND CORSICA CABLE.-This cable has been submerged with perfoot facility and success during the past week, by Messrs. Glass, Elliot, and Co., who were the contractors employed in the work by the French Government. portions of this route the water is of great depth. TOULON AND ALGIERS CABLE.-The section of this cable, which was successfully laid between Algiers and Minorca, is still in excellent working condition, having even improved in insulation since it was submerged in the deep water. The question between the contractors and the French Government, as to the completion of this line to Toulon, is still in abeyance. It will be recollected that an accident happened to the latter portion, in consequence of the attendant ship supplied by the French Government to aid in the work, having come into a severe collision with the paying-out ship, whereby the latter was so damaged as to be obliged to cut the cable and run into port. For the loss thereby sustained, a compensation is, of course, demanded; but no satisfactory arrangement has at present been made. Proceedings of Societies. UNITED SERVICE INSTITUTION. THE SAILS AND RIGGING OF LARGE SHIPS. that the number of joints in the upright spars of a screw man-of-war should be reduced; and that instead of having a topmast, and above that a top-gallant mast, he would have one long iron lower mast and one simple topmast-the space between the lower support of the topmast and cap to be very Two lectures of great interest to steam navigation great, so as to form a long masthead. On the heel of Service Institution; one, "On the Sails of Steam- entirely on his principle, and on the topmast above he were delivered on Monday night at the Royal United the topmast he proposes to place a topsail to roll up ships," by Mr. Henry D. P. Cunningham, Royal Navy, proposes to have another similarly fitted. The two the inventor of the "Cunningham System of Reef- sails would contain the area of canvas of the topsail. ing from the Deck," and the other on the " Rig of Top-gallant sail and royal on the old plan; and all Heavy, Steamships," by Captain Horton, of the Royal these sails would be worked entirely from the Navy. deck. Mr. Cunningham considers that most desirMr. Cunningham introduced his lecture by tracing able simplicity in the rig of a screw steamship-ofback the various arrangements for applying the sails war would thus be obtained, a consideration of much to steam-vessels from their earliest commencement. importance with reference to losing a mast in action, He pointed out that it had early presented itself to and speedy clearance of the wreck from alongside, to prevent it being taken up by the screw, &c. Mr. the ideas of the primitive steam navigators that the most suitable rig for a steamship was an arrange-Cunningham then arrived at a very interesting porment of sails on a fore-and-aft principle;-viz., tion of his lecture. After pointing out how inconsisthat there should not be any yards to impede the tent with the requirements of steamships was the vessel when steaming against a head-wind. One present arrangement of yards, what an inconceivable of the earliest Government steamships, the African, resistance to the progress of the ship when steaming was rigged with lateen sails. As the voyages head to wind, what a vast weight they were aloft, of steamships became more lengthened, it would and how seriously that must contribute to the rolling be found that square sails were necessary for inclination of a screw-steamship, he proceeded to running with the wind free. And hence the first describe, by means of a beautiful model of H.M.S. regularly commissioned steamship, the Confiance, was Mersey, a new arrangement of sails for a steamship, rigged as a square topsail schooner. Mr. Cunningham by which not only most powerful square sails are proalluded to the various arrangements adopted on board vided for running off the wind, and without requiring of the Royal Mail and Cunard steamers for getting the usual yards to set them, but, also, a most comtheir lower yards down when steaming against a plete system of trysails is included in the arrangestrong head-wind by the employment of jack-ment; thus providing a rig which is more consistent masts or chain jackstays, to which the lower with the requirement of a steamship, and calculated yards are connected by parralls. So long as the to confer a benefit on that branch of navigation. steamships of the Royal Navy were employed merely In a subsequent number, we hope to be able to give for channel service the sails were not of so much im- a diagram and description of Mr. Cunningham's new portance, but when they were employed on distant rig for steamships. foreign stations the necessity for making more use of their sails, for the purpose of economizing fuel, forced itself on the Admiralty, as they were beginning to have their eyes opened to the costly nature of the new order of things which steam was evidently bringing for working steam expansively came about greater out. And with some beautiful valvular arrangements fulness in the rig of steamships, until they assumed the character aloft of ordinary sailing ships. Mr. Cunningham then proceeded to remark on the change which the adoption of the screw-propeller had admitted in the rig of steamships. Shorn of her unsightly and cumbrous paddle-boxes, he remarked, the steamship presented herself to the seaman's affection again, to be dealt with more as a sailing ship. But the proper description of sails still remained a question, as fore-and-aft sails were even more useful to the screw ship than the paddle, as in the latter case the ship could be driven with advantage against the wind, whereas, with the screw, the most advantageous mode of navigating her appeared to be sailing her as near the wind as she could lie, with the help of the steam, thus, as it were, working the ship to windward. Much, however, of the advantages of the screw ship were anticipated in her superior sailing abilities and her greater efficiency for long voyages, which would be greatly interfered with were she not provided with efficient square sails. The fact that all oceangoing screw steamships were rigged with yards, and, indeed, assume in their proportions all the fulness of ordinary sailing ships, evidenced that the use of square sails was considered indispensable to the screw steamship. After alluding to various arrangements of sails adopted in screw steamships, some ships having adopted four masts and some more, with reference to the Great Britain, also referring to the extensive adoption of his system of reeting from the deck in screw steamships, including many of the steam troop-ships of her Majesty's navy, and to the Teat advantage which screw steamships derived from steamships of war, illustrating this part of the subject it, Mr. Cunningham proceeded to consider the rig of with diagrams of a steam frigate of the Mersey class, a dispatch boat and a gunboat. He mentioned, with reference to the last description of vessels, that Capt. Lord John Hay, who commanded the China steamboat flotilla, was most anxious for the gunboats to be fitted with one large topsail to roll up entirely upon his principle, instead of a topsail and top-gallant sail, the two sails requiring a needless amount of gear about them, and from the uneasy motion of these vessels at sea, exposing the men to much danger aloft in working them; whereas, if his lordship's wish had been carried out, the one powerful topsail, which would have included the top-gallant sail, could have been altogether worked from the deck. From observations which he had made on the manner the masts of large steamships of war are affected by the throbbing action of the screw, Mr. Cunningham considered Captain Horton alluded to the circumstance of his having met Mr. Cunningham for the first time that afternoon in the lecture-room; and how struck he was at the identity of views which cach held on the necessity of doing something to provide for the new requirements which the greatly-enlarged scale of gested. Captain Horton was of opinion that we had steam war-ships and altered character of them sugarrived at a limit in the dimensions of spars and sails; that, to provide sufficient sail power for the greatly-enlarged description of ships now being produced, resort must be had to more than three masts, and to a division in the sails, with mechanical assistance for working them. Thus, he proposed in the Mersey to have four masts, and the topsails divided into two, the upper sails to be rolled up on Mr. Cunningham's system, as suggested by Captain Schomberg, in the MECHANICS' MAGAZINE, June 3, 1859, and a plan, which was reported to have been seen on board of a Dutch corvette, at Toulon, in Dec. last, by our correspondent, in Dec., 1851. Captain Horton stated that the arrangement of applying the "Cunningham system" for rolling up the upper topsails was to be adopted in the iron-clad ships lately designed. He was an advocate for iron masts, and as much iron as possible in the arrangements aloft. Captain Horton illustrated his lecture with some fine diagrams of H.M.S. Mersey, Warrior, and Defence, all rigged on his proposed plan. He especially alluded to the difficulty which there existed in getting the boats in and out with the yards so far from each other as in the Warrior; when her yards are braced up to their extreme points, the ends of them plumb the gunwale, so that it will be impossible to get her heavy boats in and out by her yards. Captain Horton considers that the departure from the three masts would not interfere with working the ship. He was certain the turning power would be as efficient on his arrangement as formerly. taken up a subject of very deep interest to steam Both Mr. Cunningham and Captain Horton have navigation; and from the extensive labours on the subject of sail power and experience therein of the former officer, and the zeal and intelligence exhibited by Captain Horton in treating the subject, we may expect much good to arise. Should there be practical objection to the strikingly novel plan proposed by Mr. Cunningham, which there certainly does not appear any prospect of, we may soon see a very important change made in the rig of screw steamships. no THE Photographic Society have positively declined to co-operate with the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1862, by recommending gentlemen for a committee in connection with photographic apparatus and photography. Correspondence. We do not hold ourselves responsible for the statements of our SUBMARINE CABLES. (To the Editor of the MECHANICS' MAGAZINE.) sea lines have failed. Had the conductors and the THE CHEMISTRY OF STEEL. SIR,-I have read with considerable interest in your magazine your weekly papers on the "Progress of Deep-Sea Telegraphy," and I see nothing to affect the opinion I formed three years since, and which was generally entertained by practical men, namely, that the incessant failures of long lengths of deep-sea cable would be owing to the imperfections of the Now, this alleged discovery of M. Fremy is not covering of the conducting wire, which I stated was a new discovery. It is but a re-discovery and a conpermeable to moisture, and that the outer coverings firmation of what has been some time past well known of tarred yarn and wire would be destroyed by oxyda- in England. This so-called new discovery was comtion and marine insects. I beg to say that my sub-pletely anticipated by an English chemist so far back marine cables have the property of remedying these as 1857. defects, as will be seen by the methods I adopt, as follows:-In the first instance I coat the conducting wire with a compound preparation of collodion, which renders it thoroughly impervious to moisture, after which I coat or cover it again with india rubber or gutta percha, either of which I use in an anhydrous state. These bodies I put on in thin coats until I obtain the desired thickness, that should there be any hole or defection in one coat the next fills up the fissure. As india rubber and gutta percha will absorb a large quantity of moisture-according to Dr. Ure from 16 to 20 per cent. I have to remedy this defect. I therefore apply another coating of my prepared collodion, which protects the india rubber in the same way as it protects the wire. After this I lay around the whole a coating composed of carbon and india rubber; and upon that lay by machinery a longitudinal layer of fibres or metallic strands, to relieve the strain upon the conductor, and surround the whole with strong wire, which prevents any alteration of form, protected by a thick covering of carbon compound, producing a round flexible rope. This last compound is cold vulcanized, which causes it to shrink, and become more elastic and durable; not at all to be affected by tropical heats, or decomposition. Also its elasticity is such as should any small hole be accidently made, it closes immediately. This is of great value, as one hole such as might be made by a pin would render a cable useless. The value of this carbon compound does not end here; for instance, it protects the wires from any decomposing influence from voltaic causes, which may arise from the cable coming into contact with any metallic deposits, that may be in the rocks composing the bed of the ocean (and is seen by the effects on cables already rendered useless), or from the destructive powers of any marine insects. It has been stated that vulcanized cables cannot be joined or repaired at sea; it is so with the old method of vulcanizing by heat, but in my process of cold vulcanization this does not apply-indeed, the ordinary process of vulcanizing with crude sulphur causes the india rubbia to be full of porosities, and, therefore, unfit for the purpose. It has been stated that vulcanized cables cannot be well joined or repaired at sea; it is so with the old method of vulcanizing by heat, but in my process of cold vulcanization this does not apply-indeed, the ordinary process of vulcanizing with crude sulphur causes the india rubber to be full of porosities. It is to be hoped that telegraph companies will no longer use tar, or such-like perishable materials, as an outside protection for their cables. I may add that Professor Wheatstone thinks favourably of my system, which will enable telegraph companies to supply the public with more suitable cables. It will be seen by my mode that no insulators are requisite on the poles or supports to carry air lines. I am glad to find that your magazine has become an organ for telegraphists in England and other countries.Yours, &c., J. MACINTOSH. June 11, 1861. The pre-discovery was the work of Mr. Christopher The title of Mr. Binks's elaborate paper is, "On some It was the work of this experimentalist, from a Amongst other deductions in this paper of Mr. Binks's, it was shown that we must distinguish between real steel-that is, "steel proper," as he calls it—and mere alloys of steel and iron, which latter constitute the bulk of what we meet with; that in no case whatever can steel be produced from iron without the conjunct agency of both carbon and nitrogen; and that "steel proper" is not (as it had ever previously been thought to be) iron plus carbon only, but is in reality iron plus carbon and nitrogen; but that the precise character of the functions of the carbon and nitrogen in subserving this act of conversion, and the actual form in which they enter into combination with the iron have yet (as the author of the paper said) to be determined, for "those points belong to a class of most recondite phenomena and effects, that chemistry, or physics, to whichsoever they may prove ultimately properly to belong, has, as yet, scarcely touched upon, much less mastered." To no greater results than these, thus specifically stated by the English chemist some four years ago, have the French associates of the Academy of Sciences yet arrived. All that the French savants have yet attained was already reached and explicitly recorded in Mr. Binks's paper of 1857. (14.) (15.) Fe + C 95 5+NHs (ammonia) Fe + C 95 5 +NH3 (sal ammoniac). Gives steel. "Now, out of a consideration of these preliminary and merely guiding trials, besides the other deductions they lead to, as those have been already stated, there is made apparent one significant fact, namely, the invariable co-operation, so far as these trials extend, of both nitrogen and of carbon in the production of steel; but these co-operating in some manner yet to be defined and ascertained. It still remains to be determined if this co-operation of nitrogen be a necessity in steel-making; or if the apparent invariableness of its presence and co-operation will, on a more extended examination, be borne out by the evidence of every other process; and if so, whether the nitrogen, conjointly with the carbon, form some combination with the iron, and remains there; or that the nitrogen acts merely as an intermediate agent, and that it still remains a chemical fact that steel is merely iron combined with carbon only, though nibination." trogen plays an essential part in effecting that com Under the head of "Deductive inferences and theories," Mr. Binks gives the following brief summary of his deduction: "The conclusions that to the writer appear to be warranted by the previous evidence are: "That the substances, whose application to pure iron convert it into steel, all contain nitrogen and carbon, or nitrogen has access to the iron during the operation. "That carbon alone added or applied to pure iron does not convert it into steel. "That nitrogen alone so added or applied does not produce steel; but that "It is essential that both nitrogen and carbon should be present, and that no case can be adduced of conversion in which both these elements are not present and in contact with the iron. "That nitrogen as well as carbon exists substantially in steel after its conversion; and such presence is the real cause of the distinctive physical properties of steel and of iron, in which latter these elements do not exist. "That presumptively, but not yet demonstratively, the form of combination is not that of cyanogen (though that compound plays so important a part in conversion), but is that of a triple alloy of iron, carbon, and nitrogen. The following brief extracts will fully illustrate the unquestionable priority of the English discovery. In your previous analysis of one of M. Fremy's papers, you say, "M. Fremy instances a fact, he some time since made known, that steel dissolved in acids leaves a residuum entirely different from pure carbon, but which, by its properties and composition, approaches very nearly cyanogen productions." Mr. Binks, in 1857, under the head of "Some evidences of analysis as to the real composition of steel," describes, in minute experimental detail, his method of examining steel to detect in it the nitrogen. Among many other operations, he dissolves the steel in acid, collects and analyses the residual matter, and then SIR,-I sent you a letter on the 11th of June, and says, "It is obvious that the residue is an azotized from press of matter, I presume, you could not give carbon, out of which fact arises some important conit insertion. Since that time I have read the Report siderations;" those considerations ending in proving of the Government Committee on the construction of that nitrogen, in some form analogous to cyanogen, deep-sea cables, and the conclusion arrived at on the existed in steel. Again, you attribute to M. Fremy-tions arrived at in his paper, Mr. Binks points to the most vital part, by Mr. Fairbairn, F.R.S., is as fol- or M. Fremy attributes to himself-the first recognilows:-"The foregoing experiments are satisfactory, tion of the real action that takes place in the ordinary so far as they show approximately the relative porosity process of cementation. Mr. Binks examines this of various materials; but they do not point out how question also, and shows that it is through the interwe are to obtain an insulator impermeable to water." play of the nitrogen of the atmosphere permeating These few words put an end to all cables at present the charcoal of the boxes, and giving rise to a mixture that have gone through the ordeal which is pointed of carbonic oxide and nitrogen, that the steelifying out, and which they might be likely to undergo when action on the iron is solely due. M. Fremy, therefore, laid on the bed of the ocean, and that all long deep-was not the first to detect the presence of nitrogen in "But that experimental research is yet required to determine the relative proportion of elements when their union gives pure steel." Among the most conspicuous of the practical deducsuperior applicability of cyanogen compounds for producing masses of steel, as well as for case-hardening, according to the ancient usage. There is nothing new in the application of cyanogen in steel-making. It has been used, directly or indirectly, for ages. It was used, but unconsciously so, by the late Mr. Heath; also by Mr. McIntosh, in his steel-making by coalgas; for ammonia was present then, and this ammonia plus the carbon, under the high temperature, gave |