348 MACHINE r«R SPLlTtlNa SKINS. 



Constituent 5. That the constituent parts of acetic acid are demon* 



strated to be oxigen, carbone, and hidrogen. 



Acetic ether. 6. That the ethereous fluid is similar to others in its ge- 



neral properties. The author considers it as a medium be* 



Acetic acid con- twcen alcohol and ether. That as acetic acid is changed in 



vertibic into . , , i . , 



•xallc. part into ether, and this, when treated by nitric acid, is- 



transformed into oxalic acid ; the conversion of acetic acid 



into oxalic is demonstrated, though it is true indirectly. 



And lastly, that it is probable Mr. Proust did not employ 



pure acetates in his experiments ; or else the ethereous and 



Tery penetrating smell led him to believe, that ammonia was 



present. 



Account of an En<rine for splitting Sheep Skin:<i : by Mr, 

 Bexjamin Stott, of Bermondset/ Street*, 



Advantages of 1 HAVE invented an engine for the purpose of splitting 

 splitting skins. ^^®^P skins, that is, of making two good skins out of one. 

 The former and common mode of dressing skins is, to shave 

 one side off, reserving the shavings for glue pieces ; whereas 

 by my method, these shavings are all taken off in one piece, 

 forming a good skin of leather; and thus, independently 

 of the advantage arising to the proprietor, an additional re- 

 venue will be caused to the nation, in proportion to the 

 increase of leather made. 

 Description of Pi. IX, Fig. 1. A, the barrel of cast iron (having wooden 

 t e engine. ends) round which barrel the skin is wrapped, and kept close 

 by means of pins run through the edges into the wood, as 

 at ^, e, Fig. 2. B, (Fig. 1) an iron running in a groove 

 along the barrel, catching in a hole at c, and fastened dowr^ 

 at the other end by a hook fixed in the end of the barrel, the 

 bar having points in it (as shown at B, Fig. 3,) under 

 which the edges of the skin are fastened (as seen at D, 

 Fig. 2). F, F, (Fig. 1 and 2) bars fixed across each end of 

 the strong wooden frame G, G, G, G, over which the barrel 

 is supported on friction-rollers, as at /i, A, (Fig. 2) which 



♦Transactions of the Society of Arts, vol. xxiv, p. 133. The 

 St^iety voted Mr. Stott twenty guineas for this invention. 



