4SO 



EXHIBITION, BEITISH INDUSTRIAL. 



8 feet, and it spins a 12-strand rope quite as stout 

 and in much less time than it could be done by 

 hand. Close by the rope spinner was a Ma- 

 chine for Shifting and Securing Machinery 

 Belts, by which, no doubt, many accidents may 

 be prevented. By pulling a cord the belt is 

 moved either on or off the drums; and as the 

 guides move they are secured in their place by 

 a self-acting lock, so that the belt cannot slip 

 either one way or the other. Eckell, of New 

 York, sent one of his new Presses, by which 

 1,000 Ibs. of cotton may be pressed into 18 cubic 

 feet, or 800 Ibs. of hay into a truss of 5 feet by 

 2 feet, with a height of 32 inches, in a space of 

 four minutes, and with a less expenditure of la- 

 bor than by any other press yet invented. They 

 are capable of exerting from 100 to 1,000 tons 

 pressure, and one man working alone can bring 

 100 tons to bear. The machinery is very sim- 

 ple, and may be applied with equal advantage 

 to presses for extracting oils. Hansbrow's 

 California Pump was chiefly distinguished for 

 the ingenious adaptation of the leverage, so 

 that a child might work it. The stream rises 

 on the slightest movement of the handle, and 

 when full power is put on, it will throw a stream 

 from a depth of 30 feet to a height of 85 feet 

 through 50 feet of hose. 



Among the most important machinery was a 

 power loom for weaving tufted carpets. In a 

 practical point of view it was perhaps one of 

 the valuable novelties in the department. By a 

 single throw of the shuttle, it will insert, weave 

 in, cut off, and complete one whole range 

 of figuring tufts across the width of the fabric 

 in less time than is required for the making of 

 a single tuft by the hand loom. Any medallion 

 design can be woven in parts, which may easily 

 be united so as to have the appearance of being 

 woven in one piece, as the selvage produced is 

 such that when sewed the seams are not visible. 

 The strain on the material is so slight that com- 

 mon worsted or woollen yarns of any quality may 

 be used, so that the cheapest kinds of carpets 

 may be produced in it. The Earl Granville 

 has publicly stated that it is destined to achieve 

 greater results than any other machine in the 

 building. 



^Besides these there were various other con- 

 trivances of minor importance, but all display- 

 ing wonderful ingenuity. 



The Pianofortes were highly praised by ex- 

 perts. 



Mr. L. A. Bigelow, Boston, Mass., exhibited 

 several machines connected with bootmaking. 

 First was a machine for splitting the leather, 

 or rather, as we would describe it, for paring 

 the leather intended for soles to a uniform or 

 required thickness. This is effected by passing 

 the leather between two rollers, one grooved 

 and the other smooth, behind which is a knife 

 that may be adjusted in relation to the frame 

 according to the thickness of the leather re- 

 quired. The cutting is accomplished rapidly, 

 and with more precision than can be done by 

 the hand and knife. Then we had a machine 



for cutting up the leather into soles, which it 

 does at the rate of twenty pair a minute, all 

 fitted exactly to the last, without the use of a 

 hand knife, and the edges sufficiently smooth 

 to finish. Further, there was a "Heel Trimmer," 

 that is, a machine which, carrying the boot or 

 shoe on a pivot, subjects it under a circular mo- 

 tion to the action of a cutter, which in a minute 

 pares the rough edges to the form of heel, what- 

 ever the thickness may be. At last came the Sole 

 Sewing Machine, much on the same principle as 

 the sewing machines for lighter material, with 

 which the public are now familiar. Of course 

 it is more ponderous and powerful, having a 

 force to penetrate the thickest leather, or even 

 a board half an inch thick. It uses a heavy 

 waxed thread, drawing the thread more tightly 

 than can be done by hand, and making the 

 work both strong and solid. This machine will 

 sew on the soles of one hundred and fifty pairs 

 of boots or shoes per day. 



Another very simple contrivance of great use 

 was a machine for addressing newspapers, ex- 

 hibited by Mr. Sweet, of New York. A wooden 

 disc, from the edge of which project all the 

 letters of the alphabet, is made to revolve by a 

 treddle ; a small wooden block is pressed 

 against the letter required, till the address is 

 cut out on the face of the block. It is then placed 

 along with hundreds of othoe similarly cut 

 upon an endless band, and having been inked, 

 the band carries them round ; and as one by 

 one they descend on a small table, the news- 

 paper, or whatever is to be addressed, is press- 

 ed against them by a pressure of the foot, and a 

 thousand addresses are copied in a few minutes. 



Scholl's Life Boat was constructed on a novel 

 principle. It looks like a great green porpoise, 

 with a lid opening into his back. Look into 

 the interior, however, through the lid, and you 

 discover the arrangements for the accommoda- 

 tion of a crew and passengers for the saved 

 and the rescuers, as the case may be. The ob- 

 ject of the boat is to pass through a heavy surf 

 with safety. The internal fittings of the boat 

 are below the centre of gravity and of flotation. 

 They are hung in the manner of a binnacle 

 compass, that is, be the motion of the external 

 shell or hull of the boat what it may, the per- 

 sons within are always maintained in a horizon- 

 tal position. Indeed, let the boat turn round 

 and round like a spindle, which is hardly pos- 

 sible, its passengers are nevertheless unmoved. 

 The steering apparatus is within, and so are all 

 the arrangements for a screw propeller. 



Some ingenious small hand-labor saving ma- 

 chines were the most looked after. One of the 

 most curious of these was the machine for 

 milking the four teats of a cow at the same 

 time, and in a manner precisely similar to the 

 action of the calf's mouth upon the teat. 

 Also a very ingenious machine for making 

 paper bags, which turns them out folded, 

 packed, dried, and finished, at the rate of 46 a 

 minute. 



A "Wringing Machine, of great efficiency and 



