IMPROVED PUMP. 67 



mity of the suction-pipe G, terminates in a nose, pierced with improved 

 a number of small holes, that it may not take up the dirt : this pump for 

 nose is not placed in a line with the pipe, .but curved to one ^ e j )s m ; ne . 

 side of it, so as to describe a circle when turned round 5 by shafts, &c 

 this means the sinkers can always place the nose in the deepest 

 part of the pit, as shewn in fig. 1 ; and when they dig or blast 

 a deeper part, they turn the nose about into it, the sliding tube 

 lengthening down to reach the bottom of it : by this means 

 there is never a necessity to set a shot for blasting so near the 

 pump foot, as 10 put it in any danger of being injured by the 

 explosion, as is the case in the common pump j in which this 

 danger can only be avoided by moving the pump foot to one 

 side of the pit, which necessarily throws the whole column of 

 pumps out of the perpendicular. 



The construction of the clack is explained by figs. 3 and 4, 

 the former being a section, and the latter a plan j LL is a 

 cast-iron ring, fitting into a conical seat in the bottom of the 

 chamber of the pump, as shewn in rig. 2j it has two stems, 

 //, rising from it, to support a second iron ring, M M 5 just 

 beneath this, a bar, m } extends across from one stem to ano- 

 ther, and has two screws tapped through it j these press down 

 a second cross-bar, n, which presses the leather of the valves 

 down upon the cross-bar of the ring L, and this holds it fast, 

 forming the hinge on which the double valves open, without 

 the necessity of making any holes through the leather, as in 

 common -, but the chief advantage is, that, by this means the 

 clack can be repaired, and a new leather put in, in far 

 less time than at present, an object of the greatest importance 5 

 for, in many situations, the water gathers so fast in the pit, 

 that if the clack fails, and cannot be quickly repaired, the 

 water rises above the clack-door, so as to prevent any access to 

 it, and (here is no remedy, in the common pump, but drawing 

 up the whole pile of pumps, which is a most tedious and ex- 

 pensive operation. In Mr. Bruntoa's pump, the clack can at 

 any time be drawn out of the pump, by first drawing out the 

 bucket, and letting down an iron prong, fig. 5, which has hooks 

 on the outsides of its two points j this, when dropped down, 

 will fall into the ring M, and its prongs springing out, will 

 catch the underside, and hold it fast enough to draw it up; 

 another part of Mr. Brunton's improvement consists in the 



F 2 addi- 



