3S4 Capt. Seely's Account of Eiora. 



immense insulalcd liemisphcrical mass 

 of rock, as an altar. In front of it are 

 figures, as seen in tlic accompanyiiis 

 plate, which gives a correct view of the 

 interior of tlie temple. 



This temple, or vaulted chapel, is 

 named Visvacarma, from the architect 

 who excavated tiie whole of these 

 works, under tlic patronage of Vishnu 

 and the Pandoos. Tlie length to the 

 wall in the rear of the altar is eighty 

 feet : from tlic door to the centre of the 

 arch, thirty-five feet six inclies: hrcadth 

 from eacli boundary-wall, forty-four 

 feet. 'I'iie figure, in front of t!ie great 

 altar, has a kind of canopy spread over 

 him, with his hands raised a little, the 

 palms and fingers being closed up, as if 

 in the act of meditation or prayer. He 

 is supported on his right and left by two 

 figures of Bhecma and Ranga, and, by 

 way of eminence, Sri Ranga (another 

 name for Siva or Mhah Deo). The 

 small figures represented over the enta- 

 blature of the pillars were the favourite 

 servants of Visvacarma, whom he thus 

 honoured by giving them a station from 

 which they might view the place they 

 themselves had assisted in forming. 

 From the sides of the roof project small 

 beams of rock, or rafters, arched, and 

 extending over the whole of the orbicu- 

 lar roof. 'I'hey arc aliont seven inches 

 thick ; and the entire breadth is ribbed 

 in this way. 



To the Editor of the Mnnthlij Magazine. 



SIR, 



IN consequence of a statement in the 

 Monthly Magazine of April last, in 

 which allusion is made by Mr. Cowdry 

 to the patent apparatus of Messrs. 

 Dcurbroucq and Nichols, we feel called 

 upon to make a few observations on the 

 subject. 



Our object is to oppose the delnsive 

 l)rospects advanced by that gentleman 

 in his explanation to the practical 

 brewer of the delicate operation of the 

 process of fermentation by a modified 

 use of tlie original apparatus, applied in 

 such a form, as, in the firsi place, to sub- 

 ject them to a penalty from information 

 of the officers of Excise, for distilling 

 spirit contrary to the present regula- 

 tions; in the second place, for an in- 

 fringement of Messrs. Derbroucq and 

 JSichols's patent; and, in the tliird 

 place, from incurring an expcnce that 

 can afford them no satisfactory results. 



"We are far from wisiiing to be at issue 

 with Mr. Cowdry, but cannot fail no- 



[June 1, 



ticing how obligingly he professes him- 

 self an advocate for remunerating the 

 patentees for their trouble and expencc 

 in establishing an :i;)|)aratus which is 

 about to produce a new era in fermenta- 

 tion, and then with how little compunc- 

 tion he recommends the infringement of 

 their patent right, because a subject of 

 such great importance should not be 

 confined and shackled by patent regula- 

 tions: the same objection might have 

 born made to Messrs. Bolton and 

 Waft's discovery of the steam-engine, 

 and all other inventions of equal im- 

 portance to the country, had the public 

 been guided by the same illiherality that 

 Mr. Cowdry entertains towards the 

 promoters of this. With the same indif- 

 ference, Mr. Cowdry appears to have 

 copied whatever suited his convenience 

 from their |)amphlct, explanatory of the 

 original process. The futility of his 

 plan is sufficiently obvious to the practi- 

 cal brewer, who knows the difficulty of 

 producing good beer when the atmos- 

 pheric temperature in summer is as 

 high as 70°; but the public generally 

 are as little aware as Mr. Cowdry ap- 

 pears to be himself, of the state of a 

 gyle of beer in a close tun, with the 

 bulk and temperature increasing from 

 70° to 80® or higher, enclosed in a non- 

 conducting vessel without a condensing 

 power over the surface of the beer, the 

 gvle dissipating in a proportionate de- 

 gree its flavour, and in a violent state of 

 ebullition; neither does Mr. Cowdry in- 

 form us of any tangible mode of rein- 

 stating the aroma and spirit in the 

 beer, even if it were to be permitted by 

 the Excise. IVFr. Cowdry does not 

 seem to be acquainted witli the various 

 unsuccessfnl attempts that have been 

 made, both in France and other places, 

 to supersede the invention, and deprive 

 the inventress, Madame Gervais, of the 

 honour and profit of her discovery. 

 Some of her antagonists have pretended 

 her system was not new, and that the 

 principle of close fermentation was 

 known long ago; but what has that to 

 do with the new system, which does not 

 merely consist in fermenting in close 

 vessels, but also in condensing the spirit 

 and aroma evolved during the process 

 by means of a cool medium connected 

 mediately or immediately with the fer- 

 menting vat, in order to restore the 

 spirit and aroma to the gyle in con- 

 formity with the present Excise Laws ; 

 and, at the same time, to preserve that 

 certain internal temperature which is 



must 



