MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 29 



one of the pistons is acted upon by steam, as in the ordinary steam- 

 engine. Upon the escape of the steam from the first cylinder in 

 which it so acts upon the piston, it is received in an air-tight case, 

 termed a vaporizer, in which there are a number of small copper tubes 

 hlled with chloroform. Upon the steam coming in contact with the 

 tubes the chloroform becomes vaporized, and works the other cyl- 

 inder, while the steam is condensed and returns into the boiler, as 

 warm water, to regenerate fresh stream, or motive power. In the 

 meantime, the chloroform, after exerting its force upon the second 

 cylinder, is, in its turn, condensed, and, by means of a force-pump, 

 returned to the vaporizer, which is thus kept regularly supplied, the 

 chloroform being alternately vaporized and condensed. In addition to 

 the advantage of giving greater power to engines than by the ordinary 

 steam process, the vapor being nearly as 1 to 1 more powerful than 

 steam, it is stated that a saving of nearly 50 per cent, is effected in 

 fuel. M. du Tremblay originally used ether as his vaporizing agent, 

 but at the suggestion of M. Arago, he has substituted chloroform, 

 which, although it does not vaporize at quite so low a temperature 

 as ether, has the advantage of being perfectly incombustible and in- 

 explosive, thus removing an objection which was made to the in- 

 vention as originally brought out, of the inflammable nature of the 

 liquid used. One of M. du Tremblay's engines, of 35 horse-power, 

 has been constantly at work for 14 hours a day at a glass manufac- 

 tory in Lyons for more than 12 months, during which time the liquid 

 used has been ether, without any accident or disarrangement of the 

 machinery having occurred. 



A NEW MOTIVE POWER. 



WE find in the London Mining Journal a long letter from Count 

 de Wardinsky, who claims to have discovered a new motive power, 

 whose force far surpasses that of steam or any other known power. 

 He says, "If we employ one cubic inch of this new ingredient, we 

 obtain from it a pressure of forty-six tons to the square inch of sur- 

 face. The gases evolved consist chiefly of carbonic oxide and car- 

 bonic acid gas, which are both permanently elastic, so that in passing 

 through cold air or water they do not collapse, but will follow the 

 piston to the utmost limit of its work. In using this ingredient we 

 require neither fire nor water ; it creates neither smoke nor any offen- 

 sive effluvia, and leaves no residuum except a slight moisture. Neither 

 is there any compound in the gases which could corrode metals, as 

 was assumed by Tescheraacher and others, who supposed that there 

 might be compounds of cyanogen in the gases of this ingredient, 

 judging from the color of the flame when such gases are ignited, 

 never once telling us that the greatest portion is carbonic oxide, which 

 is well known to burn with a dark blue flame. The ingredient in 

 question consists, in fact, of all kinds of vegetable fibres, _such as cot- 

 ton, flax, hemp, tow, &c., rendered explosive by being dipped for 15 

 minutes in nitric acid, strengthened by the admixture of an equal 

 quantity of sulphuric acid, after which they arc well washed in pure 



