320 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



I OCTOBEB, 



A Nm Method of Cutting Trenches for Drain Tiles has been invented 

 by Mr. While, of Kenninglon-road ; it is for tlie purpose of sliciiiK-oiit the 

 earth, of just sufficient widih for the admission of the pipes, instead uf 

 the unnecessary and expensive plan at present (from necessity) in use, of 

 digging a trench larRe enoURli for the men to work in, perhaps, 2 feet 

 broad, when it may require only a 4 inch, or, at most, a fi-inch drain. 

 The macliine consists of two large wrooKht-iron wheels, of any required 

 diameter, IJ inch thick at the centre for 12 inches diameter, then tapering 

 to a knife-edge, which is to be hardened steel. 'I'liese are tilled in a 

 frame, immediately behind each other, but sideways, such a distance apart 

 as to suit the diameter of Ihe pipe intended to be employed. They turn, 

 however, rather closer at bottom than at ihe top, in order to render the cut 

 of a tapering form smallest at boHom, for the more ready removal of the 

 earth. Tlie implement is drawn by hoise-power backwards and forwards, 

 in the direction of the cutting, until the necessary depth is required. As 

 these knife-wheels would cut much better, by having a jet of water drip- 

 ping upon the earth to be cut, a cistern is proposed to be carried upon the 

 frame. To give increased— indeed, double— power to the horses, when 

 the friction would be very great, a small anchor is to be fixed in the ground, 

 at any distance, for a single piece of cutting— a rope from which would 

 pass through a pulley on the machine, and the horses pull from that end of 

 the rope ; the earth is afterwards removed by a peculiar plough. Suppos- 

 ing the implement to travel at the rate of 1 J mile per hour, and that it had 

 to pass over the ground three limes to oroduce the required deplh, and that 

 the dislauce beuveen the drains is 30 ft., in 10 hours it would cut 18 acres. 



SmeWuv^ Copj>er.—A. correspondent of the Mining Journal gives the 

 following process as adopted at Toraas, in Norway :— The ore, which is 

 the cumraoa copper pyrites, containing a large proportion of sulphur, 

 when brought from the mine, is spalled to about the size of a walnut. A 

 round kiln, built of dry stones, about 3 feet high, with apertures at short 

 intervals, is constructed ; two cubic fathoms of wood are laid in the bot. 

 torn ; on this the ore is placed; this quautily of wood, in general, is sup- 

 posed to be sufficient for ihe calcination of 100 Ions of ore. When lit, 

 the mass generally burns fur three weeks ; towardslhe close of the opera- 

 tion, smalls are thrown on the pile, to prevent the loo rapid calcination of 

 the ore. As soon as the fire has ceased, the kiln is opened, and the ore is 

 then wheeled to the smelling-works ; if properly calcined, it has a dark 

 red appearance, and is exceedingly friable; great care is required in this 

 operation, as loo much heat will cause Ihe ore to melt, and a regulus will 

 be formed. The ore is, in general, allowed to remain three or four days, 

 previous to ils being forwarded to the ulterior operations. It is then 

 melted in a common blast-furuace, similar to those used in the Hariz, and 

 other parls of Germany ; it requires there about 70 cubic feet of charcoal 

 to smelt 8 cubic feet of copper. The regulus produced from this operation 

 is from 15 to 20 per cent, produce, has a coarse open grain, and, in general, 

 a deep purple appearnnoe. This is subsequently calcined six times; a 

 semicircular kiln, about feet long by 2 feet broad, with an aperture at 

 the end, is built; 4 tins, of wood is in general required to the produce of 

 100 tons of ore; each calcination lakes about 24 hours. After undergo- 

 ing these calcinations, the regulus a^-sumes, when broken, a white ap- 

 pearance, with a close grain, somewhat similar to while metal. From 

 thence it is taken to the copper furnace, and after remaining Ihere 12 

 hours, is tapped out in the form of rose copper (gaim kobber). The pro- 

 duce of this is about 94 per cent. 



Wood Carbonised by High-Pressure Steam.— U. Violette, commissary of 

 the government gunpowder works at Esqueros, has communicated to the 

 Paris Academy of Sciences a process he had adopted for making charcoal 

 suitable to the manufacture of the best kinds of gunpowde . He finds that 

 at a temperature of 200° centigrade = to 392° Fah., wood does not car- 

 bonise; that at 250° centigrade = to 482° Fah., an imperfect charcoal alone 

 is obtained, formerly called bridots, or burnt wood ; that at 300° centigrade 

 = to 572° Fab., the red charcoal is produced ; and that, at 350° centigrade 

 = to 662° Fah., and above, the operation invariably furnishes the black or 

 complete charcoal. The time necessary for carlionization, he found to vary 

 from three hours to half an hour, and the products passed from red charcoal 

 to black progressively. He aUo took account of tlie produce of the char- 

 coal, and found it to diminish in quantity in proportion as the carbonization 

 was carried to a more advanced stage. The quantity of wood usually ope- 

 rated upon by M. Violette was 25 kilog. = \ cwt., and the wood employed, 

 the blackthorn {rhamnus frangula). 



Fossil Tree. — A few days since, the workmen employed in the railway- 

 cutting near the Coalbourn Brook, Slatrordshire, discovered a fossil tree, 

 in a perpendicular position, in Ihe lime and iron-slone formation called 

 clunvli. It was 20 inches in diameter, and the lop as tiat as if regularly 

 sawn ofl', while, iu weight and hardness, it resembled iron-slone. A piece, 

 of 4 feel in length, has been sent to Envillehall, to enrich the Earl of 

 Stamford's museum; ihe lower part still remains, but its length has not 

 yet ben ascertained. 



A Coal Bed on Fire. — Under (he village of Lower Haugh, near Rother- 

 ham, Yorkshire, an extensive bed of coal has been burning for twenty years, 

 and threatens to destroy the village by undermining the foundations of the 

 houses. The heat is very sensihly perceptible at the surface, and the in- 

 habitants take advantage of it as a natural hot-bed for raising early vege- 

 tables. The sulphurous smell and smoke, however, form a great drawback 

 to this privilege, and indeed render some of the houses scarcely habitable. 

 The coal was ignited at a part where it " bassets out," by making a large 

 fire there for the purpose of burning stones intended for road materials. 



The " Great Britain" Sleam-Ship.—Thta celebrated vessel, with her ma- 

 chinery, sails, nncbors. cables, &c , was put up for sale by auction, at Liverpool, on Mod. 

 flay, the 18th ult., at which port she has been since September last. The " Great Hritaiti" 

 was built at Bristol, iu IK4-1, by the Great Western Steam-Ship Company tor the New 

 liork trade; she was 3,-H2 tons, registereil old measurement; her length of keel and 

 tote-rake, 2MB feet ; ditto overall, 31<ltt.3in.i beam, 60 ft.4in.i depth 32 feet She 

 was propelled by eiiKines of nearly l.OnO horses'-poivet, and fitted with Woo. -croft's 

 patent screw propeller; and has accomniudalion for 260 cabin passengers, with stowage 

 room for 800 tons carpo (measurement), and l.i'UO tons ccal. Her great streuKth enabled 

 her to withstand the shocks of the heaviest seas, while stranded in Dundrum Bay, on the 

 northern coast of Ireland, throughout a whole winter, without in the slruhtest degree 

 altering her lines. The damage done lo the engines and ship's bottom has been carefully 

 estimated, after surveys by competent engineers and ship-builders, and, for a moderate 

 sum, Ihe whole ship and machinery might, it is stated, be restored to the original condi- 

 tion. V\ ith a smaller pair of euKines, capalile of propelling her at a slightly reduced 

 speer , by which her coal stowage would be reduced one half, she would accommodate 

 over 1,000 emigrants for a distant voyage. 'Ihe spacious sale-rooms of Bleasrs. Tongue 

 and turry, were densely crowded with merchants from all parls of the kingdom— there 

 being al least 300 gentlemen present. Sir. Curry said, he was instructed to put the vessel 

 up at a certain price, for the parties by whom he was employed, but he should prefer an 

 Oder from the company present. Some time having elapsed, the auctioneer informed the 

 company that 20,000/. were offered lor her. Another pause then ensued, when he said he 

 should take her in, on account of the owners, at 40,000/. During the progress of the 

 sale. It was stated in the room, that if from 30.000/. to 36,000/. had been bid for the vessel 

 she would have been sold. She originally cost J25,000}. 



The Neio Park at Battersea.—l\\e. new park at Battersea, which has been 

 for some time in abeyance, will be commenced without delay, notices having been con- 

 veyed on the 16th ult. to all the residents on the spot, that they must quit possession, the 

 intention being at once to remove the houses. The w«ter works will remain. The park 

 will extend the whole distance between Battersea Bridee and Nine Elms, and from the 

 bank of the river to the public road across Battersea l^ields, making the length of the 

 park about two miles and a quarter, and its width a little more than a mile. A carriage- 

 drive forty feet in breadth will be formed along the bank of the Thames, and a suspen- 

 sion-bridge will be thrown across the river to the spot where the Bed House now stands. 

 1 owards the construction of this bridge the Marquis of Westminster has contribuled the 

 sum of fiO.OOO/. At the south-western boundary of the jiark an elegant church has been 

 erected, and ivill be ready for consecration in the course of the present autumn. 



IiIST OP NE^V PATENTS. 



GRANTED IN ENGLAND FROM AOGUST 22, TO SEPTEMBER 21, 1848. 



Six Months allowed for Enrolment, unless otherwise expressed. 



Hugh Lee Pattinson, of Washington-house, Gateshead, Durham, chemical manufac- 

 turer, lor "Improvements in manufacturing a certain compound or certain compounds 

 ot lead, and the application of this and certain other compounds of lead to various 

 useful purposes."— Sealed August 22. 



Alfred Vincent Newton, of Chancery-lane, Middlesex, mechanical draughtsman, for 



certain Improvements in dressing or cleaning grain, and in separating extraneous matter 

 therefrom." (A communication.)— August 22. 



Edward Deuch, of Hurstperpoint, Sussex, hot-house builder, for "Improvements in 

 the roofing conservatories, hot-houses, and other like structures."- August 2(1. 



William Young, plumber, and Henry Burgess Young, engineer, both of Barnstaple, 

 Devon, for *' Improvements in smelting and refining lead ores."— August 28. 

 ^ Charles Rowley, of Birmingham, Warwick, button-manufacturer, for " Improvements 

 in the manufacture of buttons.'' — August 28 



Elizabeth Chrees, of Homerton. Castle, Homerton, Middlesex, for " Improvements in 

 the manufacture of sealing wax."— August 2y. 



Peter Wright, of Dudley, Worcester, vice and anvil manufacturer, for " certain Im- 

 provements in the manufacture of vice-boxes, and in the machinery for effecting the 

 same." — August 31. i 



George Nasmyth, of Ebury-street. Pimlico, Middlesex, civil engineer, for " certain Im- 

 provements in the construction of fire-proof flooring and roofing, which improvements are 

 also applicable to the construction of viaducts, aqueducts, and culverts."— September 4. 



William Wheldoo, engineer to Messrs, John Warner and Sons, of Jewin'crescent, 

 London, brass-founders and engineers, for " Improvements in pumps or machinery for 

 raising or forcing fluids." — September 4 



John Lewis Bicardo, of Lowndes-square, Middlesex, Esq., M.P., for " Improveme:ltB 

 in eleciric telegraphs, and in apparatus connected therewith."— September 4. 



William Edward Hollands, of 73, Regent-quadrant, Middlesex, dentist, and Nicholas 

 Whitaker Green,of 16, Wallon-place, Chelsea, gentleman, for " a new manufacture of 

 artificial fuel in blocks or lumps."— September 4 ; four months. 



William Losh, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for " Improvements in steam-engines."— 

 September 4. 



Henry Smith, of Vulcan-works, West Bromwich, for " Improvements in the manu- 

 facture of railway wheels." — September 6. 



William Dickinson, of Blackburn, Lancaster, machine-maker, for " certain Improve- 

 ments in, and applicable to, looms for weaving,"— September li. 



Robert Walter Winfield, of Birmingham, merchant and manufacturer.and John Ward, 

 of Birmingham, aforesaid, a workman in the employ of the said Robert Walter Winfield, 

 for " certain Improvements in the manufacture of tubes and in the manufacture of cer- 

 tain articles made in part of tubes."— September 14. 



William Sager, of Rochdale, Lancaster, wool- dealer, for "certain improved means and 

 apparatus for effecting the transit or conveyance of goods, nassengers, and correspondence, 

 by land or water, and for other such purposes, part or parts of which means and apparatus 

 constitute a new and improved method of generating steam, ivhich improvement is ap- 

 plicable to other purposes to which steam is generally applied as a motive power."— Sep- 

 tember 15. 



William Brown Roof, of Stanhope-street, Regent's- park, chemist, for " certain Im- 

 provements in the construction of respirators " — September 21. 



Henry Wilson, foreman to Messrs. William Greaves and Son, of the Sheaf-works, 

 Sheffield, for "Improvements in the manufacture of chisels and gouges."— September 21. 



Joseph Lillie, of Manchester, engineer, for " certain machinery or apparatus applicable 

 for purifying and cooling liquids, and for purifying, condensing, and cooling gases."- 

 September 21. 



John Frearson, of Birmingham, machinist, for " Improvements in bending or shaping 

 iron or steel, and other metals."— September 21. 



