MINT . 353 



forceps Q are opened, and the beam is released more rapidly : thus the balance would 

 be longer in action ; but to utilise the time ready to be saved, he alters also the 

 driving-pulley J, causing the machine to make 30 per cent, more determinations per 

 minute, and that this may bo effected with greater certainty he reduced the depth of 

 the step, shown at v, to just one-half, so that the beam has to travel only half the 

 distance it formerly travelled to determine the position of the light, heavy, or medium 

 piece. He next proceeded to alter the rod N, because he observed that it received a 

 tilting motion, arising from its being lifted by a shoulder, as shown in the woodcut. 

 To overcome this defect he made the rod straight up to a certain point, where he 

 divided it into a kind of loop which passed over the cam o, which, as it revolves, lifts 

 this rod perpendicularly. He still found that the cam, o, had a tendency to push this 

 rod against its bearings, so ho placed a spring of brass between the top of its loop 

 and the cam o, and by this contrivance made the cam to lift the brass, and that in its 

 turn to raise the rod N. There was yet another difficulty, caused by an occasional 

 stoppage of the action of the spring which softens the descent of the bearing of the 

 rod!, K, into its lower socket ; this he removed by cutting a hole in the side of the 

 socket, so that it can be seen at once if the spring be in action. 



Great inconvenience arose from the collection of dust, spangles of bullion, and other 

 foreign matter on parts of the balance. This Mr. Bradshaw overcame by two simple 

 contrivances : first, he pierced the bottom of the grooved trays, so that these sub- 

 stances might in a great measure fall through while the blanks were being arranged 

 in rouleaux, thus separating the largest pieces, which, falling down the shoot, would 

 stop its action ; and, secondly, he placed a glass shelf midway between the table and 

 the beam, that is, beneath the hopper M, where it terminates, and above the beam A, 

 where it is seen near the forceps <j, thus protecting the beam and forceps. These may 

 appear to be trifling alterations : they are, nevertheless, to Cotton's balance what the 

 compound metal balance-wheel is to a watch. Mr. Pilcher was granted an honorarium 

 of 401. for his invention of the file (to be described), but it is hoped that he and 

 Mr. Bradshaw will be rewarded more generously for their improvements in Cotton's 

 balance ; for if, by judicious liberality, encouragements are offered to those in the 

 Civil Service to give to the country the benefit, of their inventions, we may hope 

 that Government institutions will bear comparison with ordinary commercial manu- 

 factories as regards the developement of inventive genius. Nor is this a small 

 matter, for all the working improvements in the Cotton balance have been made 

 by those whose duty it is to attend to their working; yet no acknowledgment, 

 either direct or indirect, has been made to the officers concerned. It is said that 

 their salaries cover all their time and energy. This may bo true, but such a policy 

 is not calculated to aesult in great stops towards perfecting either machines or pro- 

 cesses. 



It is well to state that the beam in Mr. Cotton's balance is 8'90 inches in length, 

 and that its weight is 288-41 troy grains. 



After overlooking, the coins are rung as blanks used to be, and then weighed sepa- 

 rately, all the rejected going to the melting-pot, by which a waste of 50 per cent, is 

 incurred at the extreme end of an elaborate process ; but this unwise course, it is to 

 be hoped, will soon be abandoned when its expensive and perfectly useless extrava- 

 gance is considered. After the various operations of the-weighing-room, the coin is 

 collected and weighed into separate bags, each containing 701 sovereigns ; the exact 

 weight of the contents of each bag is noted ; and the bags, having been placed in a 

 truck, are taken to the Mint Office, where they undergo what is called pyxing, which 

 is simply the selecting from each and every bag a pound weight, from which two coins 

 are taken ; each coin is weighed, and its weight recorded. Of these coins one is 

 placed in the hands of the assayer, to determine its value as to per-centage of gold, 

 and the other is sealed in a packet, which is placed in a yyx for the trial of THE 

 PYX at Westminster an ancient process now useless, because any skilled man can 

 detect by assay a deterioration of the coin. These particulars having been taken, the 

 coin is in due course delivered to the officers of the Bank of England, who conduct it 

 in amounts of about 140,000. to the Bank in a waggon. 



It is to be regretted that the system so long adopted, and founded on the experience 

 of years, has been altered, to the manifest disadvantage of the public ; for it will be 

 observed that under the circumstances which now obtain, there must be an enor- 

 mous waste at the extreme end of a tedious and expensive process. For all coins 

 which exceed the limits of the remedy, on either the light or the heavy side, are 

 obliged to be remelted, because there is no practicable means by which the light 

 pieces can be increased in weight, or the heavy pieces reduced, so as to bring them 

 within the remedy. Thus, therefore, as much as 50 per cent, of finished coin is use- 

 lessly sacrificed. If this loss became one of money value alone it would be hard to 

 bear, but it hao, in addition, the effect of reducing the out-turn of the Mint, and haa 



VOL. HI. A A 



