46 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



an acre, or at seventy-five per cent, less cost. The saving would conse- 

 quently be about 5,250,000/. per annum. The labor of 50,000 men and 

 100,000 horses required for this one operation would be replaced, and 

 a saving in the consumption of corn effected to at least 1,500,000 

 quarters, which would be thus rendered available for the more direct 

 wants of the community. 



Barker's Hinge Fastener. This invention consists simply in casting 

 a solid square on the top of the round nipple of the hinge, and having 

 a square cap to fit over the same ; its object is to hold open window 

 shutters, and thereby dispense with the use of fastenings. The cap 

 can be put on and taken off from the inside, which is an important 

 thing in stormy weather, as it removes the necessity of thrusting the 

 head and arms out of the window. 



Dickson's Sled-lock. The object of this invention is to prevent the 

 sled or sleigh from crowding against the horses in descending a hill. 

 It is formed by attaching a couple of bars turned downward at the 

 end, firmly to the roller, and connecting the tongue to them at their 

 front ends by a hinge joint, so that when the sled crowds forward, the 

 back end of the tongue will fly up, throwing the dogs downward into 

 the ground. 



Clark's Static Regulator for Steam Boiler Fires is intended to equal- 

 ize the heat of the fire and thus produce a steady pressure of steam. 

 This is accomplished by causing an undue pressure of steam to operate 

 a damper and thus lessen the draft, and consequently the amount of 

 combustion. 



Eastman's Stone Dressing Machine . The cutters of this machine 

 are a series of chisels arranged on a shaft, each one on a small eccen- 

 tric or crank placed a little out of line with its fellow, so that by 

 revolving the shaft, the chisels act upon the stone placed beneath and 

 fed forward to them, with a reciprocating motion identical with the 

 hand method of hewing stone. The whole arrangement of the machine 

 is very simple, and the chisels endure as long as those used by hand, 

 are as easily made, and require no more sharpening. The chisels can 

 be set to dress stone facing, reeding, fluting, and moulding. 



Canvass House. Another curiosity something entirely new, and 

 which has been brought into existence in verification of the adage that 

 necessity is the mother of invention is a canvass house. It is twelve 

 feet square, six feet high at the eaves, and seven and a half feet in the 

 center ; has four windows and a door, all upon hinges, and so cons- 

 structed that it can be folded together upon hinges into a flat bundle, 

 six feet across, carried by two men a mile and set up again in one 

 hour. It also has four frames, canvassed for berths, which also fold up 

 quite out of the way. The canvass is painted waterproof, and the 

 whole appears substantial. 



A fine display of Cotton Cordage, an article of recent manufacture 

 in this country, was made at the Crystal Palace, by the American 

 Cordage Company, of New York. The method of rope-making adopt- 

 ed, is as new as the use of cotton for this purpose. A machine is 

 made to answer all the purposes of a long rope-walk. The advantage 



