wise. wing of the fly. The apparatus thus completed, I we were in some mighty workshop, in which steam They are made of less thickness in the centre than wound up the spring, suspended it to the ceiling by power was employed to a vast extent, and particu- at the ends, so that the base has an arched or a fine thread of silk in order to avoid the breaking larly so in the Machinery Department, under the hollow appearance; they have two lugs, wings, or of the wings should it fall to the ground, and also northern gallery, for there we found engines, looms, clips, one on each side, which are bent towards to ascertain its theory. After a long series of stampers, and other kinds of mechanism of a heavy each other to bear upon the top faces of the fins; experiments, I was convinced that it would not fly. nature in full working order, and being operated by this means, the rail is held firmly in the spaces I set studying the fly and the apparatus too, trying by steam generated in a vertical boiler by Messrs. made to receive it. When the spikes or dognails one and then the other; examined them through Marshall, Son, and Co. There are many articles are driven through the web holes into the sleepers, the glass-I could not detect any difference in the of great interest to the general public in the the chairs are held secure, and as the train is passaction of the wings. Though I could not see any building, which we shall take the opportunity ing over the rail, the weight will be borne by the difference, my failures induced me to believe there to bring before the notice of our readers chair in a most substantial manner, and any tendwas a fault somewhere, till one day, in removing from week to week. We carefully strolled over ency the chair may have to become straight or the halteres or balancers of the fly, I discovered the the building noting down the articles of special flat at the base, the wings will be caused to close reason of the failure of the apparatus. (The total interest to ourselves in our book, with a view of in and bite the web with greater force and thus weight was 1 pennyweight 6 grains.) The springs taking the most interesting and the most ingenious hold it firmer than before. The same effect will set the wings in motion for eight seconds, being put of them first. In this order we, therefore, have be obtained should the rail be struck by the flanges in the jeweller's scales and fixed to it, raised its selected a new system of railways, which has been of the wheels laterally. To enable the small wheels own weight, and very much puzzled I was at see- brought from Russia. The model is placed between to pass the points or switches automatically, the horiing it overcome gravity, and not being able to the gates of the courtyard and the passage lead-zontal wheels are made to strike and roll against a obtain a better result in a horizontal direction. ing to Barford-street. The system has been in- lever or levers just in advance of the points to force The balancers of the Diptera are believed by vented by Mr. John Tiranoff, a mechanic, of St. them outwards or inwards to shift the point or some eminent naturalists to be organs of smelling Petersburg, and is intended, first, to prevent switch rails, so that the train can pass from a (olfactus), and by others organs of hearing (audi-engines, carriages, trucks, or other vehicles acci- branch to a main line or vice versa. In one case, tus)-which I doubt very much from the obscure dentally leaving the line of rails upon which they the rail is centred at one end, and the free ends nature of the pipe or duct connecting these may be travelling; secondly, to indicate by signal are connected to an arrangement of levers bent or balancers to the body,-while by others they are automatically to the driver or guard such an event not, which are forced outwards or inwards by the called simply knobs, without explaining what sort as the breaking of a wheel of any of the carriages; train as it travels to take the rail with them to the of knobs. My observations through the microscope thirdly, to enable the carriage to move round proper sides. By another method, the point or oblige me to refute these theories as inaccurate; curves with freedom and without the strain upon switch rail is supported upon a pivot at the centre, but whether organs of hearing or smelling, it is the axle or upon the opposite wheel as is usual; and the horizontal wheels of the first carriage or certain they play a part of the first order in flying, fourthly, to shunt the carriages from one line of engine shift it over, either to form part of the since, having removed them, the insect will fly no rails to another automatically; fifthly, to support main line or part of a branch or siding. The appalonger, but will fall to the ground within a few the meeting ends and other parts of the rails with- ratus may be made to act in either direction, and inches from where you left it at liberty. I have out the use of fishplates or bolts, so that the train may be fitted singly or in pairs, for both up and removed off the blow-fly, having 33 to 34 milli- can pass without obstruction. down travelling; when a single apparatus is fitted metres in length, the winglets, the legs, the hairsThe improvements are carried out in the follow-be shifted in the other direction by hand or otherto act in one direction only automatically, it can taking away 18 millimetres, leaving only 16 milli- ing manner :-The under side of a carriage or other metres in length; and, leaving the balancers free, vehicle is fitted with a frame for carrying one or it still possesses the power of flying in a horimore sets of small wheels, the axles of which are In some cases the horizontal wheels may be zontal line, or will fall to the ground on an incline free to adjust them to the undulations of the road raised and lowered by hand so that they strike proportional to the size of the wing. If I follow within certain limits. These axles and wheels are against the levers to shift the points when desired. up the experiments with another fly, removing arranged both vertically and horizontally; both The invention contains so many novelties that we only one of the balancers, it flies very well. If I the two horizontal wheels are below the top have had wood blocks made of it, so that it shall remove the winglets and the hairs, it does not surface of the rail and at a slight distance from it, be clearly understood. Fig. 1 is a transverse secseem to affect them much; though it must do so, but the vertical wheel is intended to be bearing tion of the lower frame of a railway carriage or as it affects the Asilidæ, a fly covered with very fine bairs. The structure of the halteres of the upon the rail at all times. The axles are fitted truck, in which the apparatus is fitted for prein bearings enclosed in a box just in front of or venting the vehicle leaving the rails. Two sets of Diptera varies with the different classes of that behind the ordinary wheels, and are guided up and apparatus are shown, one in elevation and one in order, but their common coracters are the same. down in horn plates; the bearings rest against section; a a are frames or boxes fitted to the They are all useful in flying. They are hollow, links or levers, which are in connection with other vehicle in such a manner that they are free to rise something like a spoon or cup, but with different levers, to act against a spring or springs near the and fall within certain limits between guides or forms and contours. [Engravings were shown of middle of the carriage. The levers also lead to horn plates b b which are rigidly bolted to the the different classes of balancers.] I have had occa-signal mechanism, and should one of the travel- sides and transverse frame pieces of the carriage. sion to examine another feature of these cups. ling wheels come off that portion of the carriage The frames or boxes a a are arranged in their Their openings become larger or smaller, and would have a tendency to sink much lower than interior parts with collars, washers, or bearings some shut and open (such are the balancers of the the other portion, but to prevent that, the small c c for the reception of vertical axles or pins blow-fly) according to the will of the insect. wheels descend in the frame to bear the weight; d d of two horizontal wheels e e, which They are connected to the body, not by a pipe as generally admitted, but by half of a pipe, somethis descending causes the spring or springs to push the levers down and release a bar or pin, to thing like a ), varying also with the insects. It which a cord is fastened, and this cord is in conseems also to vibrate with great facility, and if a nection with the whistle or other sound-creating jet of air is directed on the opening of the cup by instrument within reach or hearing of the guard means of a blowpipe having a very small hole, or driver; the cord is kept strained by a catch they will vibrate with great ease and freedom, acting against the bar or pin and an additional however weak the jet may be, but the number and spring. In order to admit of carriages moving size of their vibrations increase with the force of round curves with freedom, the wheels are arranged the jet of air. And further, if these cups are in pairs to a pivoted frame or bogie, which is free made heavier, it diminishes the number of their to turn and adjust itself to the curve by friction vibrations, and also of the wings, made still rollers moving upon a circular plate under the heavier. The insect will fly horizontally, and carriage. The wheels are fitted upon separate will fall on an incline proportional. If at this junc-axles and are kept in place by suitable brasses in ture you remove a little of the wings, it will fly clip bearings, which run nearly across the carriage. better, a little more off still better-till it flies There are spaces between the brasses to serve as away (without altering the weight of the cup or oil reservoirs. The central pin, upon which the balancers). If you reverse these experiments bogie frame moves, passes down from the flooring with another fly, making the balancers lighter and of the carriage. The travelling wheels are attached lighter, it will fly better and better till it makes to the axles in the ordinary way, and, instead of a rapid survey of the room or flies away. making the periphery of the tyre of a flat or cone shape tapering from the flange to the edge, they wheel to keep the vertical wheel ƒ upon the rail. are made to taper towards the flange; by this The free end of the pivoted bar m terminates in a means, when the carriage is moving round a rounded claw or projection situated over a catch, curve the wheels on the smaller circle press with which is retained in a locked position by a spring, their flanges against the rail, and the wheels de- fig. 3, while the carriage is in a proper travelling scribing the larger circle run upon their largest condition. This catch is caused to hold a rod q diameters, so that the flanges are clear; thus as and a spring r connected to it in a compressed or the wheels on each side run independently of those contracted order, while the mechanism before on the opposite side, each one adjusts itself as to spoken of is kept intact, but the instant an accispeed. One important advantage to be derived dent happens to the train, such as the breaking from the use of these wheels in turning curves is or the coming off of a wheel, the carriage sinks to being at the edge, the sliding of the whole carriage travel, so to speak, up the horn plates; thus the laterally is prevented, and the sudden crush of tension of the spring p is overcome and the bar the flanges against the inner rail avoided. The m prosses upon the catch s, figs. 2 and 3. By this rails on which the carriages run are preferably means the rod g is freed from the grip of the catch of the flat web kind, and to enable the smalls and its spring r causes it to rebound, so that a wheels to pass the meeting ends of the rails, cord which is fastened to it may be the means of fishplates are dispensed with, so that the wheels a gong being sounded in the guard's compartment, meet with no impediment. The chairs or metal or of the whistle on the engine being opened to supports for the rails are of peculiar construction. I give the alarm. Fig. 4 represents two of the ap Great care should, however, be taken in all these experiments that the balancers always vibrate freely, since, when their vibrations cease, the insect falls to the ground, and probably might lead other investigators into error. THE WORKMEN'S INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. HE display of articles produced and shown by together with the banners and flags, render the building more like a fairy palace than an exhibition in which articles of industry and ingenuity of various nations are gathered together; that at all events was our first impression when we entered the building on Saturday last, on the occasion of the opening by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. On closer inspection, however, our ideas were somewhat expanded almost into a belief that are so arranged that they come below the tread or bearing surfaces of the rails to prevent the carriage leaving the track should the latter, by accident or otherwise, become disabled. The collars or bearings in each box also support the axle of a vertical wheel ƒ which is free to run upon the rail under all conditions of level. The collars or bearings of each box are carried by a block 9, which terminates in a stem h at the upper part and projects through the top of the box, and is fixed to it by a bolt i. This stem is slightly tapered, and rides against two rollers jj on the horn plates, which act as guides to it. The top is pressed upon by a link k which has one end pinned to the side beam or main girder of the carriage frame as shown, while the other end is connected to a hanging link 7 leading from a pivoted link or bar m which is centred upon a pin at n. hanging link 7 has a loop or a transverse pin for a spring p to bear upon to enable a sufficient pressure to be exerted upon the stem and vertical The IMPROVED SYSTEM OF RAILWAYS-INVENTED (EXHIBITED AT THE WORKMEN'S INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.) forming the train to be fitted with this apparatus paratus before spoken of fitted to each side of the Fig. 9 gives a section of the ordinary flat fin rail A. The chair B is formed with overlapping lugs or clips, which only reach over the upper surface of the fins C C of the base. The central part of the chair is made thinner than the sides, so that should there be any tendency to yield under the weight of a passing train the central part should be enabled to bring itself flat upon the sleeper, and at the same time cause the lugs to clip the rail with greater power and keep it upright. The under face of the rail is tapered from the centre to the edge of the fin, so that the rail rests, so to speak, upon a pivot or knife edge longitudinally formed by the central line of the base. This mode of making the base allows of the chair yielding freely, and prevents a fracture taking place. The chairs are held rigidly to the sleepers by dog nails or spikes being driven through them. The vertical web of the rail is unencumbered by the cheeks of the chairs, or by keys, trenails, or other appliances, nor are there any fish-plates or bolts at the meeting ends of the rail to obstruct the movements of the horizontal wheels as they are carried along by the carriage. Guard or check rails are also dispensed with, as the clip chairs are sufficient to hold the ends perfectly secure, and prevent all "swageing" of the rails, even when the flanges of the wheels are pressing upon the sides in passing round curves, or when one side rail is of a higher level than the other. It is before mentioned that this system of opening points may be entirely under the control of the driver or of the guard, or of both of them, and figs. 10 and 11 illustrate how this is to be accomplished. Take, for instance, that of a train coming along a branch line or siding to get on to a main line, and the points being set for the main line, it would be moving in the direction shown by the arrow at D D. Now, as the first set of horizontal wheels at the front part of the engine came near the points they would come against bars E E and force them outwards, causing the points F F to move with them into the position shown at fig. 11, where they would remain until shifted back to their original position at the main line by the passage of a main line train, which would pass along the metals G G, and in doing so the front set of horizontal wheels of that train would ride against the bars H H to shift the points or fly rails into the proper position, to allow it to pass, that is, as seen at fig. 10. The bars E E and H H are centred or pivoted into shoes or sockets J J J J, which are bolted down to the sleepers, as shown, so that they partake of no movement except that given to them by the passing trains. These two views represent the same line of rails, and are only given to show the two positions the points are moved into by trains on the branch or the main line, and if these rails are considered as being the up rails a duplicate set of bars is fitted for the down rails, only in the reverse direction, so that all up trains can shift their own points, whether it is necessary for them to pass from an up branch or to continue on the main up line. Fig. 12 shows how only one point or fly rail could be used, so that it could be shifted to suit tioned. iron, and always immediately above the hammer bullets from the bursting shrapnel. The mitrailhead, or at the angle of the "bell-crank" formed leur, or machine gun, on the contrary, sends a by the piston rod and point of impact of any side large number of small projectiles independently, blow. One of the hammers at the Middlesborough and with precision, to a considerable distance. works has been in operation for a twelvemonth We may divide arms on the latter principle into without sign of giving way. It is hoped, there- two classes-first, those which discharge their fore, that the change of material has cured this bullets from a single barrel, fed by a many-chamevil. The valves shown are those recently bered breech; and, secondly, those in which each patented by Messrs. Davy Brothers, of Sheffield, cartridge has its corresponding barrel, the chargand are so arranged that before admitting any ing and discharging of which is direct, and more steam to either end of the cylinder the space is or less simple. It is obvious that for rough usage first filled with exhaust steam from the other end. and continuous firing it is better that a large number of rounds should be fired from a considerable number of barrels so placed as to support each other and add strength to the whole machine. The French Mitrailleuse, as well as the Belgian Montigny, belongs to the second class, and the following LONDON ASSOCIATION OF FOREMEN either the branch or the main line traffic. The ON Saturday, the 16th inst., between 70 and IMPROVED SHINGLING HAMMER. brief description is equally applicable to both arms:-The machine-gun consists of a cluster of barrels either bound together or bored out of the solid, and mounted on the same principle as an ordinary field gun. At a few hundred yards, indeed, it would be difficult to distinguish between these weapons as far as outward appearance goes. To the barrel is attached a massive breech action, capable of being opened and closed by a lever. In the Montigny arm the cartridges are carried in number and position to the holes in the barrel. steel plates perforated with holes corresponding in This steel plate, in fact, forms the "vent piece of the system. The central-fire cartridges being dropped into the holes in the steel plate, stand out at right angles from it, and the plates, thus ready charged, are so carried in limber and axletree boxes specially fitted for their reception. When the mechanical and other arrangements of the two the gun comes into action the breech is drawn establishments. Innumerable questions were put back, a steel plate full of cartridges is dropped to the courteous guides, who initiated the mem-into its corresponding slot, and the breech block bers into the modes adopted for obtaining water thrust forward and secured. The gun is now on from the river, purifying it, and for distributing full cock, and contains from thirty to forty cartit among the inhabitants of the vast city for whose ridges, which are fired by a "barrel organ benefit the works exist. Some three hours were handle, either one by one as the handle works spent in the most instructive and agreeable way, round click-click, or in a volley by a rapid When the gun is empty and the resident engineers, Messrs. Buckingham turn of the wrist. and Carruthers, by their practical explanations the breech block is again withdrawn: the steel plate and readily imparted information, contributed carrying the empty cartridge cases lifted out, and much to the success and pleasure of the visit. It a fresh plate dropped in, if necessary. is scarcely necessary for us to describe the diffe- vantage possessed by the machine gun over inrent engines which are all on the compound fantry fire is that it is never in a funk. Bullets principle of construction, and were made by may rain around, bursting shells may fill the air, Messrs. Simpson, of Pimlico-or to give the di- still the 37 barrels of the Mitrailleuse shoot like mensions of the great filtering reservoirs, &c., one man, and at 800 or 1,000 yards will pour because it is understood that a member of the volley after volley of deadly concentrated fire into a circle of from 10ft. to 12ft. in diameter. No association (Mr. J. Irvine) will read a paper on the whole, illustrated with diagrams, at the next monthly meeting of the institution on August 6, and when more ample justice will necessarily be done to the two establishments. The ad The boring or fixing of fuses is required, and the whole operation is performed so rapidly that two steady cool men could maintain a fire of ten discharges per minute. On the other hand, the Mitrailleuse Having concluded the inspection the whole of could not well compete with the field gun, and it party proceeded along the bank of the river to the is with this weapon it will assuredly be met. Its "Griffin Hotel, Kingston-on-Thames, where a bullets would have comparatively slight effect cold collation was served. This incidental but at the ranges at which field artillery projectiles necessary and enjoyable episode was taken advan-are perhaps most effective, while its size would tage of by Mr. J. Newton, of the Mint, president, for offer a very fair mark to the gunner. the purpose of thanking the gentlemen who had foreign press are welcome to write fanfaronnades so willingly accorded permission to survey the about the sudden death of wretched horses water stations, and who had assisted so materially at incredible distances. in making all the appliances and accessories connected with them well understood. In concluding his remarks Mr. Newton proposed as a toast Prosperity to the Chelsea and the Lambeth Water Companies." This was responded to by Messrs. Carruthers and Buckingham, and Mr. Styles followed by giving "Success to the London Association of Foremen Engineers." acknowledged by its president. Other toasts followed, and these, being interspersed with song and recitation, brought the evening's proceedings to a satisfactory termination. Among the gentlemen who shared in the proposal and acknowledgments of toasts were Messrs. S. Worssam, G. Russell (of Sydney, Australia), J. Irvine, and others. THIS This was THE FRENCH "MITRAILLEUSE.” The This is peace practice. The horses came from the knacker's yard, not from the banks of the Elbe, and there were no Uhlans sitting on them. We are also tempted on such occasions to take the square root of the reported distance as the actual range. future of the Mitrailleuse, however, depends on coming facts. The day's experiments are over; there are hundreds of machine-guns trundling towards the Rhine. The drum-like roll of their volleys may ere long be heard in the vineyard of Rudesheim or on the edge of the Black Forest; and the "thud" of the bullet may come from something softer than a wooden target. Yes, the machine-gun is en route for the Rhine; the experiments will now be on a gigantic scale; and Mr. Cardwell may adjourn his special committee until after Christmas, at any rate. By that time the voice of war will have given the verdict; by that time the Chassepôt, the Zundnadelgewehr the shrapnel, and the volley-gun will each be credited with a ghastly account, and we shall know which engine destroys human life in the shortest time, the easiest manner, and at the least possible expense." Globe." Col. H. Clerk, Royal Artillery, F.R.S., superintendent THE new iron hydraulic gun carriage invented by of the Royal Carriage Department, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, has been completed and fitted up in the Government marshes at Woolwich for experimental purposes. This gun is specially designed for use in the Royal Navy. EMBANKMENT. POLLACK, SCHMIDT, AND CO.'S IMPROVED THE SELECTED LAMP FOR THE THAMES be well to notice now. In the first place, whilst SEWING MACHINE. utilising the ordinary bullock power of the country, it can be put in operation on any N our number for 27th May last we gave illus-ordinarily good road in the Presidency without trations of the three competitive designs interrupting in any way the local traffic upon that which had been sent in to the Metropolitan Board road; in the next place, its introduction is only of Works by different designers for surmounting the work of a few months; thirdly, it costs little, the palisading of the Thames Embankment, and both in construction and maintenance; and, lastly, we noted at the time that they were placed upon its adoption results in an immense saving of labour, pedestals between the Temple and Somerset time, and consequently money. The first thing to House, so that the members of the Board could be done-next, of course to raising the needful visit them from time to time before they gave an funds-is to lay the rail. In the absence of rails opinion upon them and made their choice. Now specially made for the purpose, ordinary rails will that the matter has been settled, we reproduce the answer; and this line of rail being laid on one selected one to enable our readers to judge of the side of the road only, three feet from the kerbstone, leaves the other side quite free for the ordinary hackery of the period. Next, the cart must be procured. And here we must venture upon some description. Let the reader suppose a cart of the ordinary two-wheeled Maltese build, but considerably longer, stronger, and warranted to carry twice as much. To this cart, in a line with the pole, are attached two wheels-one behind and one before, which rest upon the rail, and almost, if not altogether, support the weight of the load. It is between these two wheels, therefore, and the line of rail that the friction to be overcome by the bullocks is excited, for the ordinary wheels, though of course they revolve as on any other occasion when the cart is in motion, are virtually of use only to balance the cart. The pole is attached to the cart by a swivel, so that any slight deviation on the part of the bullocks, who walk one on either side of the rail, does not interfere with the progress of the waggon. Moreover, the fore and aft wheels are so attached to the cart by something of the nature of a ball and socket joint, rendering the turning of tolerably sharp corners a matter of no difficulty. EWING machines are very numerous in this different kinds now before the public, varying in their capabilities from the renowned WheelerWilson treadle to the Little Wanzer hand machine. These two machines are very complete in their way, particularly the Little Wanzer, which is made for general work. Its simplicity of action and freedom from going wrong in the stitching is the main feature in it, but in this, as in most other machines, the very tedious and the most unsatisfactory way of regulating the length of stitch is a source of great annoyance; otherwise it is the best machine we have ever seen or worked. In saying this much, we do not intend to prejudice the public against the machine, which has just been introduced into England by a Hamburg House, Messrs. Pollack, Schmidt, and Co., in which there are many interesting points of novelty, likely, as soon as they become more known, to create a fresh demand. The principal improvement they have made is fitting a spring plate with a small knob on its end, so that it can be shifted with facility along the under side of the work plate, and take into one or other of a series of notches cut in the turneddown edge. These notches are numbered, and they determine the length of stitch to be made; they run up from No. 1 to No. 10, and correspond with a fixed set of stitches, which Messrs. Pollack, Schmidt, and Co. have decided upon, and which vary from very fine to very coarse. The spring plate is centred upon a pin on the under side of the work plate, and the movement of one end causes the other end to shift the feed foot to a greater or less distance to govern the length of feed, and, consequently, the length of stitch. This improvement is very important, as an operator can fix upon the stitch desired without any trouble. The next improvement is in the hook or the socket, which holds the bobbin reel of the under thread. Here the tail of the hook is deeper in the face than in other machines, so that the needle is held and guided by it from the time it passes through the fabric downwards until it returns to the latter in its up stroke. By this means the needle is prevented getting out of the straight and striking against the edge of the bobbin as is usual. This improvement is also important, as it saves the points of the needle from being turned. There are other improvements of equal value in the machines, and also in the accessories, such as the hemmer, braid spreader, and trimmings holder. Altogether, Messrs. Pollack, Schmidt, and Co. have brought into the English market a very good general sewing machine, and with an amount of spirit which is very creditable to them. They have recently opened an establishment at 210, Regent-street, and we wish them success in their undertaking-they certainly deserve a certain amount of patronage, and we doubt not but they will obtain the reward of their labours and ingenuity from the British public. WE 1870 design. We think the Board has made a good choice, the design being in keeping with the general appearance of the embankment, particularly from the river front. We understand that the lamps are in progress, and will be erected as they are made. The contract for supplying them has been undertaken by Messrs. Holbrook and Co., of A SELF-FEEDING TURNING LATHE. Manor-street, Chelsea. The design was by Mr. JE have seen a remarkable lathe for turning Vulliamy, of the Haymarket, London. The lamp banister or wainscot rails, whip handles, has a graceful and well-proportioned base, its chair rounds, or any article of a round shape, on centre ornamented with a mask and wreath, with which undulations of an ornamental character are side medallions of the trident and caduceus, and required. The blanks of a square sectional form its ends bearing the City arms, from which springs are put in at one end of the apparatus, and they a graceful and exquisitely proportioned shaft, pass out at the other end in a finished state, taking whose lower portion is formed by two dolphins, as they go the shape of a pattern plate fixed to a realistic enough in form for a pre-raphaelite, and slow revolving wheel at the side. The machine yet subordinated to the design with perfect adaptworks very fast, the cutters running at an amaz-ability. ing velocity to act upon the blanks. There is no limit to the number of articles it can turn out. Anything of a plain, tapered, or of irregular shape can be made by it. All that is necessary is to ad just a pattern of the work wanted, which guides the chisels; then put in the length of square timber at one end, and it will speedily appear at the other smoothly finished. The finished work is turned out about ten times faster than can be produced by hand. The invention has been brought to this country by Mr. G. Sconcia, of New Coventry-street, Leicester-square. A large sum of money has been offered for the invention, but Mr. Sconcia, who is backed up by several wealthy men of note, proposes to start a limited company, so that it can be worked under their superintendence; thus the whole of the decorative carpenters, upholsterers, and others of this country can be supplied with any quantity of rails, &c., in a short time and at far less cost than they can have them turned at home. ADDIS'S SINGLE-LINE TRAMWAY. T India as a means of facilitating traffic, and ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF HIS year the committee of the Royal Agricul- annual meeting at the town of Oxford. Accord- We are scarcely able to do justice to the show in our pages, as from the number of entries, and the length of the description which the majority of the articles require to describe them as they ought to be described, would occupy more space than we can afford to spare to them. We must, therefore, only refer to a few of those which we consider of great importance. E. R. J. and F. Turner, Ipswich.-At the stand in the implement sheds this firm was very strong in its well-known crushing mills. The numerous varieties of these machines shown enables every one, however large or small his requirements, to avail himself of the great advantage accruing from the use of crushed, in preference to whole corn for feeding purposes. The construction of these machines is all that can be desired, and they work with remarkable ease and regularity. Oil cake breakers for hand or power, and suitable for reducing cake to any size, are also exhibited. A small grinding mill with French burr stones 2ft. diameter also deserves attention. It is a strong and well constructed machine, and useful on small occupations and for export. The machinery for grinding is quite a speciality of this firm, and we understand that they have erected the plant in most of the more celebrated manufactories of artificial manures in the kingdom. for a variety of reasons, differing of course in |