Testimonial Fund, The Cort, 369 Training of Shipwright Officers, The, 353 Trial of Patent Cases, The, 369 Unsinkable Ships, 291, 305 Ventilation of Dwellings, The, 260 Victoria, The New Screw Line-of-Battle Ship, 305 Woolwich Experiments on Cast Iron, The, 162 Man's Poetry by the Poet Laureate, 139 Explosions at Gunpowder, 2 Wreck Chart, The, 69 Of the Royal Charter, The, 289 MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. A. 146 Aridged specifications of patents, 13, 29, 46, 61, 76, 93, experiments on iron-sided ships, 137 Arial navigation, 252, 268 " show, royal, 25 231 B. Balloons for reconnoitring, 28 Balloon trip, American, 61 Bastier's patent pump, 283 Beardmore's "Globe telegraph," 10, 54 Beckford and another v. the Royal Mail Steam Packet Bee's cell, on the angle of dock gates and the roof of the, Bells, Mr. Loseby on, 347 358 should be suspended, how, 264, 283 Boydell's traction engine, 119 Brake apparatus, Hall's patent railway, 91 for railway trains, new, 164 Brakes for railway trains, on experiments to determine the Brass wire, crinoline and, 395 Breakwater at the port of Blyth, 70, 90 Breakwaters, Richardson and Jaffrey's improved, 312 Brick and tile machinery, Clayton's patent, 361 Bridge over the St. Lawrence, the great Victoria, 147 iron, the case of Henry Cort and his inventions in Bullion rooms, the construction of, 316 Bunnett's patent self-supporting fire-proof floors, roofs, and Busk's "Navies of the world," 138, 150, 168 on dockyard 'economy, report on the Admi- Complete specifications, patents applied for with, 16, 32, Condensation, on surface, 261 Condensers for marine engines, Samuel and Nicholson's patent paddle-wheel, 25 Construction, screw propellers and their, 253, 268 Contract, coining by, 314 Converting cast-iron guns into breech-loaders, 187 Copper coinage, the old, 204, 220 or bronze coinage, the intended new, 300 Cornwall Polytechnic Society," "Annual Report of the Correspondents, notices to, 140, 155. 172, 204, 236, 284 Court's patent gas-burners, 185 Air engines, Laubereau's patent, 185 the navigation of the, 202, 220 Allison's improved boring and sinking tools, 199 Ama, wreek of the, 155, 186 Alphabets," Delamotte's "Examples of modern, 342 Amazon, steam navigation on the river, 314 American balloon trip, 61 ship signals, Ward's, 73 submarine war vessel, the, 56 timber, on the weight and strength of, 390 Ancient modes of coining money in England, 244 Animals, protection of, 332 Cable, an extraordinary, 268 Cables, electric telegraph, 92, 106, 204 Cable, the Tasmanian submarine, 394 Cage for miners, on a safety, 234 Canada, opening of the Victoria-bridge, 378 Canals, steam towage on, 300 Cannon for gunboats, Thomas's heavy rifled, 169 rifling large, 59 the manufacture of, 57, 73 Carlingford (Lord) on the Griffith's screw, 27, 76 Carpets, Crossley's patent jacquard machinery for weav ing, 376 Central fire, Dr. Hopkin's theory of a, 202, 220 propeller, Robertson's patent, 281 Chaplin's steering apparatus, 360 "Chart of the Royal Navy of Great Britain," Potter's, 23 Chimney stalk, straightening a, 234 Civil and mechanical engineers' society, 410 engineers, institution of, 39, 316, 324, 342, 373, 411 199, 264 of foremen engineers, 28, 103, 171, 203, 235, Atlantic cable, 93, 151 to the common numerical scale, on the further pheric phenomenon. 171 Ad's apparatus for supplying steam-boilers with water, 360 Coin of mixed metal, 93, 418 Auxiliary steam power in the mercantile marine, on the Azmuth dial, Captain Toovey's, 390 Coining by contract, 314 money in England, ancient modes of, 244 Cole's (Capt.) patent shields for ordnance, 329 Colonies, the, 45 Educated female labour, 348 Education, committee of council on, 28 Electric cables, coiled, 267 telegraph cables, 92, 106, 204 Electro magnetic coil, 76, 107, 140 Elephant, Taylor's patent steam, 233 395, 413 Elongated pointed rifle shot for vertical fire, 168, 381 Harwood and others v. the Great Northern Railway Com- "High speed steam navigation and steam-ship perfection, Hinges, &c., Oxley's patent, 395 Hogg's "Gardeners" year-book," 357 Holyhead and Liverpool telegraph, 25 Hooks, Captain Kynaston's disengaging, 13, 107 Hot-blast iron question, the, 235 used in iron-making, the invention of the, 358 Kunt's "Ure's dictionary of arts, manufactures, and Hydraulic apparatus, Sir William Armstrong's, 235 Indian Medal, 187, 221 I. Institution of Civil Engineers, 39, 316, 324, 342, 373, 411 Intention to proceed with patents, notices of, 16, 32, 48, 64, Inventions in the manufacture of British iron, the case of Fish-tail propellers, 7 Flag signals, 124 Geographical society, royal, 28, 325, 374, 391 Geological society of London, the, 12, 27, 343, 375, 412 Gibson's patent steering apparatus, 24 Girders, experiments on the strength of cast-iron, 358 Glass globes and cylinders, the strength of, 139 "Globe telegraph," Beardmore's, 10, 54 Gloucester corporation drinking fountain filter, the, 201 Goucher e. Midworth, 326 Governor, Jenson's marine engine, 104, 119 Governors, Silver's patent marine and stationary engine, Iron and steel, the strength of wrought, 314 frigates, new, 395 ,, making, the invention of the hot-blast used in, 358 " purifying, 13 ,, shipbuilding, 299 ,, ship's bottoms, compositions for coating, 359 steam ram, the new, 10 ships, 300 the case of Henry Cort and his inventions in the J. Jacia's "Remarks on coinage," 266 List of new books, 10, 53, 139, 169, 183, 231, 266, 301, 309, Manure, Newington's apparatus for distributing reeds Marble, artificial statuary, 171 Marine and stationary engine governors, Silver's patent, 232 engine governor, Jensen's, 104, 119 engines, double cylinder expansion, 330 " light, a new, 136 lights, Silas's, 331 telegraph, ocean, 133 Marker, Hadlow's linen, 394 Mason and Shand's new steam fire-engine, 24, Match, the safety, 199 Maximum thermometer, Scott's, 9 Measures of length, on the nomenclature of metrical, 235 Measuring machines, Whitworth's, 217 Mechanical engineers, institution of, 93, 181, 217, 314 122 engineers' society, civil and, 410 Mediterranean Steam Company, London and, 348 Mercantile marine, on the employment of auxiliary steam- power in the, 341 Jacquard machinery for weaving carpets, Crossley's pa- Mersey's screw, the, 118 tent, 376 Metal, coin of mixed, 93, 418 Metrical measures of length, on the nomenclature of, 235 Midworth, Goucher v. 326 Military engineers," "Our, 357 Milk Company (Limited) v. Fadeuilhe, the desiccated, 107 Mill-bands, improvement in, 152 Millions, utilising the, 12 Miners, on a safety cage for, 234 Mines," Hunt's "Ure's dictionary of arts, manufactures, and, 307, 357 lighting, 380 Mint, money-making at the Royal, 4, 13, 21, 28, 38, 54 note on a, 155 Prizes for reaping machines, French, 72 Robertson's patent chain, 281 screw, 44 Sir Howard Douglas's improvements on the Propeller, steam-rocket, 364 the experimental screw, 7 invention of the screw, 311 Provisional protections, 15, 32, 48, 63, 79, 96, 111, 127, 143, Prussian armament, 107 Q. Quick-action drill-stock, Press's improved, 376 Lord Carlingford on the Griffith's, 27, 76 the invention of the, 311 propellers, 44 and their construction, 253, 268 Sir Howard Donglas's improvements on the, 153, 301 the experimental, 7 ships of war, 201 steamer City of Baltimore, 365 steam ships, the steering of, 137 Sealed patents, list of, 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, 176, 192, 208, 224 240, 256, 272, 288, 304, 320, 336, 352, 368, 384, 400, 416, 424 Seamen, help for, 359 Sea-sickness, 396 Seeds and manure, Newington's apparatus for distributing, Service institution, united, 342 Sewage, London, 364 Sewing machine, the, 7, 22, 37 Shand and Mason's new steam fire engine, 24 Shannon, the old, 171 296 Sharp, Stewart, and Co., the patent traversing drilling Shearing machines, Middleton's punching and, 152 laying-off, or the geometry of, 134, 153, 264 Ships, admiralty experiments on iron-sided, 137 and rafts, unsinkable, 363 chain cables, 331, 365, 380, 396 improved metallic, 199 joints, Wild's patent fishes for, 376 iron steam, 300 light woods and unsinkable, 379 of war, arming, 124 paddle-wheel condensers for marine engines, Samuel Patents, abridged specifications of, 13, 29, 46, 61, 76, 93, list of sealed, 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, notices of intention to proceed with, 16, 32, 48, 64, on which the seventh year's stamp duty has been on which the third year's stamp duty has been report of 1858, the Commissioners of, 90 Patent steering apparatus, Gibson's, 24 trains, new brake for, 164 trains, on experiments to determine the efficiency of Reefing gear, Cunningham's patent, 268, 332 Registered, list of designs for articles of utility, 80, 144, "Remarks on coinage", Jacia's 266 royal Cornwall polytechnic society," 342 Richardson and Jaffrey's improved breakwaters, 312 Rifle-barrel, how to make a, 180 Rifled ball, 75 bolt, Capt. Norton's ordnance, 152 the compasses of iron, 215 trials, the great, 212 Tyssen's apparatus for indicating the speed of, 281 Shot, elongated expanded, 381 39 Silvers, Tuck v., 364 Sinking tools, Allison's improved boring and, 199 Rogers' boat releasing apparatus, Wood and, 105 Silvertown. 403 Sir John Bowring, 220 Sir William Armstrong, 155 Skid, Poupard's improved wheel, 360 Sleigh's "Essay on hydrographical engineering," 15 Small-arms, breech-loading, 135, 155 factory at Enfield, the, 44, 69 Smithfield club implement show, the, 389 Social science, 235 232 Society, Manchester literary and philosophical, 279, 295, of Arts, 20, 45, 326, 373, 391, 411 316, 357, 375 ,, England, royal agricultural, 12, 27, 39 ,, London, the geological. 12. 27, 343, 375, 412 South Yorkshire collieries, 28 "The journal of Specifications, list of, 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, 160, ,, geographical society, 28, 325, 374, 391 gun factories at Woolwich, 316 ,, institution, 294 Mint, money-making at the, 4, 13, 21, 28, 38, 45, 54 Russian frigate General Admiral, 140 176, 192, 208, 224, 240, 256, 288. 304, 320, of patents, abridged, 13, 39, 46, 61, 76, 93, patents applied for with complete, 16, 32, Speed of ships, Tyssen's apparatus for indicating the, 281 Stamp affixer, Lock's embossing and stamping press, and, 344 Steam at all temperatures, experimental researches to de- Brothers' "Woollen manufactures of Great strength of wrought-iron and, 314 Gibson's patent, 24 of screw steam-ships, the, 137 Stella lamp, the, 300 Stephenson, statute of George, 187, 284 Stewart and Co., the patent traversing drilling machinery St. Lawrence, the great Victoria bridge over the, 147 Stopping railway trains, an improved method of retarding "Stories of inventors and discoverers in science," Timb's, cables, electric, 92, 106, 2014 company, Atlantic, 124 from Egypt to Turkey, 201 from Falmouth to Gibraltar, 93, 204, 253 Telegraphic signals, 88 Telegraphing, Rettie's system of, 365 Telegraphs for targets, 423 , on the rapidity of signalling through long Suffield's engine-room, 420 Temperature and the thickness of its solid crust, on the earth's internal, 183 Temple church, 293 gardens, 301 Tents, Major Rhodes', 123, 155 Testimonial fund, the Cort, 394. Thames and its improvements, the, 236, 347 Theory of a central fire, Dr. Hopkin's, 202, 220 Thomson's (Professor) centrifugal pumps, 408 390 Timbs's "Stories of inventors and discoverers in science," 357 "Manual of naval tactics," 278 "" purposes, arming steamers for, 60 ,, vessels, the American submarine, 56 what is to be done with our sailing ships of, 118 Water, Auld's apparatus for supplying steam-boilers on the supply and purification of, 229 Waterworks, the pumping engine at the Newcastle, 89, 103 galvanizing, 396 Wood and Rogers' boat releasing apparatus, 105 cuttings, sawdust and, 301 Woods and unsinkable ships, light, 379 Wood, the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Rail- "Woollen manufactures of Great Britain," Samuel Brothers', 123 Woolwich, royal gun-factories at, 316 Works of art, 381 World," Busk's "Navies of the, 138, 150, 168 Wreck of the Alma, 155, 185 Schah Jehan, 232 Wrought iron and steel, the strength of, 314 Y. "Ure's dictionary of arts, manufactures, and mines," Yacht for Ismail Pacha, a new, 214 Utilising the millions, 12 Yellow metal sheathing, 76 Yorkshire (South) collieries, 28 THR MECHANICS' MAGAZINE. LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 1, 1859. OUR COPPER COINAGE. possible also to contrive some means of keeping with the cost of existing cables that shareit in equable and healthy circulation, without holders will doubtless receive his offers in this the evils of local plethora and local famine respect with astonishment, while the rapidity being experienced, is a question worthy con- with which his machinery works is so great sideration also. Having opened the agitation that he undertakes to produce no less than 250 on the general improvement of the British or 300 miles of perfect vulcanized cable per coinage, it is our intention not to allow it to be day! The full carrying out of his designs closed until that improvement is effected. The would certainly be an enormous stride in subimportance of the subject does not brook apathy marine telegraphy, for the apparatus required or indifference. It signifies not that Lord Over- in the manufacture of the cable is so very simple stone has put his veto on any and every decimal and compact that he proposes placing it, with a system ventilated before the Commission, whose supply of plain india-rubber, on board ship, and final report" on the whole subject of decimal then making the cable continuously as it is coinage is now printed. There is an admitted payed out. This method of proceeding is at-a generally admitted-necessity for a refor-tended by so little trouble and expense that we mation of our inferior metallic currency, and can scarcely doubt it will speedily be resorted that reformation, of which we see in the forth- to in the construction and laying down of many coming bronze halfpenny the beginning, must of those numerous cables which the exigencies soon be made complete and satisfactory. of commerce and war are now daily demanding. NEW SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH MR. BESSEMER AND THE IRON THE Mint, we learn, is engaged at present in the production of copper coin, of which it is said there exists in many parts of the kingdom a complete dearth. The ebbings and flowings of the copper currency have always been, indeed, perplexing to the authorities of the Mint. There appear to be eddies in the tide of its circulation which are not easily understood, or to be accounted for. Sometimes there is a drifting of pence, halfpence, and farthings to Manchester, then to Glasgow, and next perhaps to Birmingham, or London. Then, again, in particular districts of particular towns, there are strange accumulations and scarcities. For example, there is always a natural current of copper coin towards the East-end of the metro- AMONG the many novelties which have lately THREE years ago Mr. Henry Bessemer thought polis. It is more in request-unfortunately for been introduced as improvements in the con- he had accomplished what has very rarely been the dwellers therein-in Bethnal-green than instruction of submarine telegraph cables there is done in the world that is, revolutionized a Belgravia, and the supply inevitably follows one which for its extreme simplicity and cheap-great manufacture by a single discovery-and the demand. A sort of trade wind floats the ness appears to deserve the special notice of the was mistaken. This year he has really effected copper currency through the channels of circu- public. This is the system of construction what has often before been brought aboutlation in this direction, as surely as the literal which was described in the letter of a corre- that is, improved a great manufacture by trade wind wafts commercial argosies across spondent in our last number. In this system laborious and costly experiment. In the paper the ocean. These irregularities cannot be the resort to india-rubber as the insulating which was published in the two preceding avoided, but the Mint is being constantly called agent, which has lately found great favour numbers of this Magazine he has detailed facts upon to correct them, and it can clearly only among scientific men, is again renewed, and which, while important in a commercial sense, do so by adding to the quantity of coin in cir- with it is combined a process of external harden- also afford valuable lessons to inventors and culation. There are also peculiar businesses ing from which very great advantages may be others. which lead to the congregation of copper tokens, anticipated. This process appears to have ori- In adverting to this paper we are struck by and it is a well-known fact that the publicanginated in certain practical experiments made the extraordinary want of candour which Mr. usually pays his brewer's bill with them. It is by the inventor upon a portion of wire like that Bessemer appears to us to display. In the first well to explain these facts perhaps to the public, of the Atlantic telegraph cable. By an inge-place he implies that the paper read by him at in order that the whole question of the metallic nious substitution of a potassium wire for the the British Association in 1856, was but a step currency may be comprehended with a view to copper wire the permeability to water of a cable incidental to his pursuit of an inquiry, rather its ultimate reform. There may be about so constructed was made very apparent; but than an announcement of amazing results then £800,000 worth of the various denominations further experiment showed that this permeabi- already obtained. "The same deep conviction of copper coin in existence in Great Britain, lity was got rid of by the simple expedient of" of the truth on which the new process was and as has been said there is an ever-recurring immersing the coated wire in bisulphuret of "based, and which led Mr. Bessemer to bring it tendency to an unequal and eccentric distribu- carbon and chloride of sulphur. The same "before the British Association in 1856, has effect is produced by this process upon india"since determined him," we are told, "(in spite rubber as well as upon gutta-percha. A further "of the opinions then pronounced against the advantage attending the process is, that the "process) to pursue one undeviating course "cold vulcanizing," as it is called, at the same "until the present time, and to remain silent time renders the india-rubber or gutta-percha "for years, under the expressed doubts of those capable of sustaining a heat of no less than "who predicted its failure, rather than again 250 Farenheit without suffering any injury "bring forward the invention until it had been whatever. "practically and commercially worked, and "there had been produced by it both iron and tion of it. The history of the farthing especially is strange and obscure. It disappears in larger quantities than its bigger brethren and sooner. Yet it has a less active life. It is not popular with a large class of tradesmen. It is beneath their notice, not convenient and unprofitable; hence it is banished from their society. It is an outcast coin only used by pawnbrokers and their victims-we mean customers-chandler's, shopkeepers, and costermongers. In the lowest class of shops in the lowest neighbourhoods, and among the lowliest people only, does the farthing enjoy a brisk circulation. Children hoard farthings, and misers take care of them, but the public generally eschew them. It is with difficulty that the poor farthing, therefore, maintains its ground at all. Possibly, if the sun of England's greatness has not yet reached its zenith, the farthing may some day be swept away in the flood-tide of national prosperity and disappear entirely. At any rate, there is not much prospect of a resuscitation of the half-farthing. This, and the quarter-farthing, and the oboli, or tenth of a penny, may be, and are, of use in Ceylon and the Ionian Islands, but they are too small for the notice of the inhabitants of Great Britain, and we trust may ever remain so. It will be permitted us again to express a hope that in the meditated new bronze coinage we may find an artistically and scientifically perfect substitute for the copper coinage now under doom, and which has been the fruitful source of so much justly severe criticism, and so much practical inconvenience. Whether it may be The method of manufacturing the cables upon the improved system is very simple. Successive coatings of india-rubber in a softened state are rolled directly upon the conducting wire by means of powerful pairs of rollers, the pressure of which is sufficient to render the coating substance close and homogeneous. When a sufficient thickness has been laid on in this manner, the cable is passed through the chemical materials before-named, and its surface is thus rendered hard and perfectly non-porous. After this coverings of hemp, wire, gutta-percha, or any other suitable substance may be added if desired to increase the protection of the wire. For many purposes, however, the inventor considers it amply sufficient to incorporate longitudinal fibres of hemp or flax in the outer coating of the india-rubber in order to prevent strain coming upon the conductor, and then to finish the cable with the cold vulcanization. The inventor of the simple and inexpensive cable is Mr. John Macintosh, of North Bank, Regent's Park, who has had several patents for improvements in submarine cables granted him, and who for twenty years past has had constant experience in the manufacture of india-rubber fabrics. The cost at which he proposes to produce the improved cable is so low in comparison 66 steel, of a quality which could not be sur"passed by any iron or steel made by the "tedious and expensive processes now in general "use." This representation is not borne out by facts. Every one will remember that Mr. Bessember spoke at Cheltenham, not of anticipated productions of iron, but of iron which, as was alleged, had actually been manufactured by his new process. In the last paragraph of his paper he distinctly stated this. "In conclusion, "allow me to observe," said he, "that the facts "which I have had the honour of bringing be'fore the meeting have not been elicited from mere laboratory experiments, but have been "the result of working on a scale nearly twice as great as is pursued in our largest ironworks, "the experimental apparatus doing 7 cwt. in 30 minutes while the ordinary puddling furnace makes only 4 cwt. in two hours." It may suit Mr. Bessemer's present purpose to sink the pretensions which he put forth in 1856; but we cannot forget that the world was then made to believe in a discovery by aid of which iron and steel could at once be produced, without fuel, for the market. Next we have to expose a further, and equally extraordinary, want of candour manifested in |