116 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



IMPROVEMENT IN ADJUSTING BLINDS. 



In an improved method of hanging and adjusting blinds, patented by Messrs. 

 Sanger and Parker of Boston, the blinds, instead of being hung on hinges and 

 made to open and close in the ordinary manner, are divided into two parts 

 and caused to slide up and down in the window-frames, like the common 

 window-sashes. By means of a simple application of cords and pullies, the 

 blinds thus arranged are moved from within the apartment, thereby obviating 

 the inconvenience of opening the window for that purpose. The blinds can 

 be made to disappear in the casement when not wanted for use. 



New Mode of Hanging Window-sash. The following new method of hanging 

 window-sash has been patented by D. A. Dunzaek, of Salem, Mass. The 

 window-frame or casing is constructed in the usual manner for balanced 

 sashes, viz., having boxes on each side of the frame. Within each box there 

 is placed one weight, which has a pulley attached to one of its ends, around 

 which passes a cord, which also passes over two other pulleys attached to 

 each side of the frame at the center. One end of a cord is attached to the 

 lower side of the lower sash, and the other end of it to the bottom of the 

 upper sash. It is thus that both sashes are connected together by one cord 

 and one weight on each side. The weights move without any jarring or 

 noise. By the common method of hanging sash, a window requiring weights 

 of 18 Ibs. can be operated by the new method with weights of 8 Ibs., thus 

 saving 10 Ibs. of iron. This improvement deserves the attention of all house 

 builders. 



IMPROVED FLOORING. 



A patent has been recently granted to Mr. Groebl, of Philadelphia, for a 

 new kind of wood flooring or marquetry. Mr. Groebl's floors are composed 

 of small pieces of wood which fit together like mosaic, and are firmly con- 

 nected with each other by means of tongues and grooves extending all around 

 the single pieces. The pieces can be cut on Mr. Groebl's machine of any 

 shape, either straight -lined or curved, so as to form any variety of patterns 

 from the simplest figures of squares or diamonds to the richest designs with 

 borders and corner-pieces. The single pieces being made of wood of different 

 texture and color, a great variety in the general coloring of the floor can be 

 attained. They require to be waxed once or twice a month like similar floors 

 in use all over France and Germany; they are always clean and have a 

 beautiful and graceful appearance, and are superior to carpets in many re- 

 spects ; they are excellent for the warm season and are the best floor for 

 dancing. The price is about the same as oil-cloth or carpeting, and if manu- 

 factured on a large scale they could probably be got up still cheaper. 



MACHINE FOR PEELING THE BASKET-WILLOW. 



The cultivation of willows is a subject which has excited a good deal of 

 attention in this country for a number of years, and many farmers have tried 



