AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 4*15 



as to anastomose, fit together, so making pipes from top to bottom of the 

 walls. Such are believed to render walls much drier. 



Mr. Wilmarth. — And stronger too. Some bricks are now made hollow, 

 and are stronger than the solid bricks, three to one! 



Mr. Tillman, from the committee on arts and sciences, stated the ques- 

 tion for next meeting to be " Electrotyping." 



The Club then adjourned. 



H. MEIGS, Secretary, 



March 23, 1859. 

 Present— Messrs. Robert L. Pell, John A. Bunting, Hon, Robert Swift 

 Livingston, Finell Witt, Civil Engineers, Stetson, Haskell, Everitt, Till- 

 man, Messrs. Wilmarth, Garbanati, John .Johnson, Seeley, Godwin, Gove, 

 Judge Scoville, Dr. Deck, Alanson Nash, Veeder, and Prof, Hedrick, 

 with others — forty-seven members, 



Robert L. Pell in the Chair. Henry Meigs, Secretary, 

 The Secretary observed that the scientific articles received by us from 

 Europe, are the results of the labor and talent of neccral himdrcd socie- 

 ties, there, for instance, the London Society of Arts, and the institutions 

 in union with it, publishes weekly a pamphlet containing the new matters 

 gathered up by them, and they are 350 to 400 societies in one. From 

 Paris we receive the gatherings every fortnight, from several hundred 

 societies of all Europe ! We have, also, the Year Book of Facts, of 1859, 

 from London, From the latter we extract for this evening, the following 

 viz, : 



PLANE STOCKS MADE BY MACHINERY. 



Plane Irons are largely made in Sheffield, but it has been necessary to 

 send them to London, Birmingham, &c., tu be fitted with stocks. 



Messrs. Brooks and Sons of the Howard Works, Sheffield, have com- 

 menced extensive operations by machinery, to make them, and do make 

 them better, as well as far more rapidly. There are eight machines in one 

 large room. The first one cuts the block out of plank ; the second, by 

 two circular cutters, planes their sides ; the third takes off" the ends of the 

 blocks. Then comes a curious machine for sinking the mortise. Two 

 chisels, from opposite directions, work to and from a point in succession. 

 The bed on which the block rests, gradually rises, bringing it within the 

 reach of the chisels, which, by successive strokes, cuts out the mortise to 

 the required depth. The fifth is the mouth cutting machine. Another 

 circular cutter of still smaller diameter, cuts a groove with two semicircu- 

 lar ends for the toat. Then conies the abvitment machine. The wedge is 

 cut by a separate machine. The next is the Bedding Machine, which 

 makes also the breast cut and the cut for the toare. 



HYDROBORONATED PLASTER. 



A patent contains common plaster of Paris, or any plaster having sul- 



