34 



Manufactory of Horse-shoes by Machinery. Vol. VII. 



stitution might be substituted for the present 

 one. Mr. Walker concurred in such a com- 

 promise, adding that the Smithsonian ob- 

 servatory, recommended by Mr. Adams, 

 might form a part of the Institution under 

 the more comprehensive title; in the sup- 

 port of which, not only might congress co- 

 operate, but individual contributors, far and 

 wide. The Secretary of the Navy cordially 

 espoused the cause, and expressed his desire 

 to aid the Institution by whatever the col- 

 lections of the Exploring Expedition should 

 yet yield, and promised his exertions with 

 the other Secretaries. 



A committee of five was appointed to con- 

 fer with the Smithsonian Fund Committee, 

 and with that of the Senate on the Institu- 

 tion, to ascertain whether their now con- 

 flicting views regarding the Smithsonian 

 bequest, might not be reconciled advan- 

 tageously for the Institution. 



The meeting on monday evening last, to 

 which the one on the friday previous, was 

 preparatory, proved peculiarly brilliant. Not- 

 withstanding the extreme inclemency of the 

 evening, upwards of two hundred persons 

 were present, and among them the Presi- 

 dent of the United States, the members of 

 the Cabinet, many members of the two 

 Houses of Congress, and a throng of distin- 

 guished persons. 



Mr. Preston, in a burst of unsurpassed 

 eloquence, dilated on the achievements of 

 the Institution and its glorious prospects. 

 Mr. Adams, it is said, has generously con- 

 curred in the general plan proposed. The 

 Secretary of VV ar put the seal to the move- 

 ment by offering a resolution that a powerful 

 effort should be made throughout the United 

 States, to aid the great object by an appeal 

 exhibiting the progress already effected, and 

 that which seems now certain; for the fur- 

 therance of which, contributions, either in 

 money or in materials, were to be invited 

 from every quarter in our country, and to 

 be associated with the invaluable collections 

 of Mr. Smithson and of the Exploring Ex- 

 pedition. A committee has been appointed 

 to carry out this excellent suggestion. 



We note these matters, for want of time 

 and space, but briefly; but we note them 

 with more satisfaction than we can ex- 

 press. The subject is one of universal im- 

 port ; for this noble society, truly catholic in 

 its spirit, is open equally to all, and there 

 are very few of those for whom it possesses 

 any interest, who have it not in their power 

 to receive much from it and to bestow some- 

 thing in return. It needs no eloquence to 

 prove that a national depository, to which 

 illustrations and curiosities of science, the 

 arts and literature, may be safely entrusted, 



either for a time or permanently, must prove, 

 especially with the various inestimable ad- 

 juncts which enrich this, a national bless- 

 ing ; and as such, we invoke for it the na- 

 tional praise and patronage. — National In- 

 telligencer. 



Manufactory of Horse-shoes by Ma- 

 chinery. 



Mr. Henry Burden of this city invented 

 a machine for the manufactory of horse- 

 shoes, and manufactured soon after its com- 

 pletion about 200 tons of the article. Not 

 having, however, at that time sufficient room 

 in his establishment to carry on this branch 

 of manufacture conveniently, without detri- 

 ment to his other business, he suspended it 

 until this summer; having in the meantime 

 made an essential and important improve- 

 ment in his machinery, by which the horse- 

 shoes now constructed are far superior to 

 those made by the original machine. His 

 new machines went into operation a few 

 days since. Square, straight bars of iron 

 are transformed into horse-shoes, grooved 

 and punched at the rate of 15 per minute. 



The machines are three in number. The 

 iron being heated to a sufficient degree, is 

 placed in the first, which cuts it off to the 

 required length, flattens it, grooves it, and 

 perforates it lor the purpose of receiving the 

 nails by which it is to be fastened to the 

 horse's foot. It is next passed through the 

 second machine, which bends it to the re- 

 quired shape; and finally to the third, which 

 turns up the end of the shoe, to form the 

 heel. Steel corks, made also by a machine, 

 are afterwards welded on the shoe by a very 

 rapid process, which completes the whole 

 work. The shoes thus made, require no 

 hammering or any attention whatever, but 

 may be immediately applied to the use for 

 which they are intended. The present cost 

 of shoeing a horse by the old method, is one 

 dollar and twenty-five cents. By the use of 

 Burden's patent shoes, allowing the cost of 

 nailing them on to be twenty-five cents per 

 set, the cost of shoeing a horse will be re- 

 duced to fifty or sixty cents — or about one 

 half the present cost. They are furnished 

 of five different sizes, so that there will be 

 no difficulty experienced in fitting horses' 

 feet. Mr. Burden uses the best of Sweedes 

 iron. 



According to the last census, there are 

 4,000,000 horses in the United States. Al- 

 lowing half of the number to require shoes, 

 it is estimated that at least 25,000 tons of 

 iron will be required to shoe them every 

 year. — Troy Whig. 



