20 NOTES BY THE EDITOR 



by any new discovery, and attracts little attention ; the application is, 

 however, at last made in the right way, and now that which was a symbol, 

 becomes an element, or an instrument of power. 



The improvements recently made in the application and use of the 

 screw propeller, are opening a new era in the naval and mercantile marine. 

 As an indication of this, the management and evolutions of the great naval 

 review of England during the last summer, may be quoted as an example. 

 "We are now," says Mr. Fairbairn, "in a state of transition between 

 the paddle and the screw, with nearly all progress in favor of the latter. 



The most powerful locomotive hitherto constructed, has been built during 

 the past year for the North Western Railroad, of England. The peculiarity 

 of construction consists in the great length given to the fire-box, in which 

 the greatest amount of steam is always generated, and in the comparative 

 shortness of the tubes, which were only half the usual length. The steam 

 generated by this boiler was sufficient for any engine of 700 horse power. 

 This engine was intended for an express, to run on the London and Bir- 

 mingham road. 



In manufacturing machinery and processes, both in England and the 

 United States, and as a gratifying feature of progress, the almost uni- 

 versal prosperity of the working classes should be noticed. 



A new combing machine, of French invention, has recently excited 

 some attention in England. It is applicable alike to cotton, flax, and 

 wool, and combs the fiber instead of carding it, by means of a series of 

 small combs applied in succession to the cotton or flax, by which means a 

 much finer yarn can be produced from the same material, than is possible 

 by former processes. 



A great improvement in looms, known as " Eccle's Patent" for weaving 

 checks, was exhibited at the New York Crystal Palace during the past 

 summer. Among the other contributions exhibiting great mechanical 

 ingenuity, made to this exhibition, was a machine for pegging boots and 

 shoes. It is made almost entirely of iron, costs $'150 to $200, and will 

 probably weigh some two or three hundred pounds. It works very quietly 

 and rapidly, and will peg a shoe or boot, two rows on each side (leaving a 

 small space at the heel and toe) in three minutes, cutting its own pegs. 

 One man only is required to operate it, without auxiliary power. A good 

 workman will peg a shoe by hand in fifteen minutes. 



A machine for making cots, or little leathern rolls used in spinning, 

 and of which 20,000 per day, hitherto made by hands, are worn out in 

 Massachusetts alone, was one of the most ingenious contributions of Con- 

 necticut to the Fair. The leather is drawn into the machine in the shape 

 of a strap or belt, is cut off" at the proper length diagonally, so as to form 

 the best edges for gumming, is then rolled or doubled over so that the two 



