314 



THE Cn IL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[Skptkmber, 



Thcexpcrimerits took jilace on Friday the 1 4tli ult., on t\:t' pvcinises of Messrs. 

 Fawcett and Preston, where the gins liad been fitted up. and steam-power 

 applied to them. There were present the directors, deputations from tlje 

 Gla-sgow .ind Manchester Chambers of Commerce, tlie Mayor of Liverpool, 

 and a great number of e.\te:;sive spinners, infiuential merchants and brokers, 

 probably to the extent of 150 persons. 



The Chairman ot tlie directors haWng explained briefly the objects of the 

 Board, the experiments were commenced, under the superintendence of Cap- 

 tain liayles, who was assisted by the four .\merican planters remaining vitli 

 him. .A. quantity of Sural cotton, in the state in whieh it had been gathered, 

 and wliicli had been two years in this country, was first exhibited to the com- 

 pany. It seemed to liave been gathered when wet, and was very dirtv; and 

 the general opinion seemed to be that in its then state it was nearly, 'if not 

 altogetber, worthless. Twenty-one pounds of this cotton were put into each 

 of the three .American gins; No. 1, being the invention of Mr. E. Carver; 

 No. 2, that of Mr. Jones; and No. 3, that of Mr. W. U. Hrooks. Two of the 

 gins have 60 saws ; the other has 40 ; the time occupied in ginning therefore 

 Taricd somewhat. Two, we believe, accomplished their work in about 9i 

 minutes ; the third in about 1 1 1. 



The result of the experiment with the gin No. 3 vras first testeil ; it was as 

 follows r— cotton, 5 lbs. 3 oz. ; seeds, 12 lbs. 8 oz. ; waste, 2 lbs. 11 oz. ; mak- 

 ing within lOoz. of the original quantity of 21 lbs. put into the macliine. 

 The yield of cotton, it will be seen, was one quarter. A sample was sub- 

 mitted to the inspection of the company generally, and they were requested 

 to put upon it a value. Mr. Ilardman Earle, Mr.'.Vshton, and another gen- 

 tleman, were appointed special valuers. They decided that this sample was 

 worth 45d. per lb. 



Gin No. 2.— Cotton, 5 lbs. ; seeds, 14 lbs. 10 oz. ; waste, 12 oz. Value of 

 sample, 4d. 



Gin No. 1. — Cotton, 5 lbs. 5 oz. ; seeds and waste, lolbs. Goz. Value, 

 4. id. 



It is necessary to mention that the machines were not, as may well be 

 imagined, in the best working order. This was especially the case 'with No. 

 2, between the saws of which ulunerous seeds had forced tlieir way, thus in- 

 juring the staple more than would otherwise have been the case. ' The saws 

 having been cleaned, a second experiment was made with this gin, the result 

 of which was the production of a better cotton, valued at 4id. 



An experiment was then made upon the fourth saw-gin. This was .ilso 

 from America, but it was a machine of older date than the foregoing ones. 

 Patterns of it had been made and sent out to each of the Presidencies, and 

 the machines had been tried, but were pronounced to be a failure. They were 

 in India worked with hand-power. Steam-power was employed in tlie pre- 

 sent experiment ; and 21 lbs. of the old Surat cotton was put into the gin. 

 The time occupied in ginning this was 141 minutes; but the comparative in- 

 crease of time may in part be accounted for from the fact of the machine 

 having a less number of saws. The result was — cotton, 4 Ibj. 10 oz. ; seed, 

 15 lbs. ; waste, 10 oz. The cotton was well cleared of the seed and dirt, but 

 the staple was vcrj- much cut. The estimated value was 4d. 



As steam-engines aie at present almost unknown in the interior of India, 

 animal power will probaldy be employed, at least in the first instance, in the 

 working of the gins. The above four are so constructed that either steam or 

 animal power may be applied to them. 



An experiment was now made on a hand-gin, constructed by Messrs. Faw. 

 cett and Preston, under the superintendence of Dr. Jones, who had only 

 commenced the macliine twelve days beforehand. The doctor stated that hi's 

 great object had been to produce a machine which should possess the essen- 

 tial qiiality of standing the climate of India without warping. That, he 

 thouglit, would do so ; and he felt convinced that it would, with the substi- 

 tution of properly finished saws, and the outlay of a little more time, turn out 

 a good working gin. It has twenty-five saws.'and may be worked with horse 

 power. As, how ever, it was scarcely in a finished state, a regular experiment 

 of its capabilities was not made. A small, but unspecified amount of the 

 Surat cotton Iiitherto employed was put into the gin, so as to obtain samples. 

 At first the result seemed unsuccessful. The cotton was said to be more cut 

 than in any other instance ; but, after closer inspection, the staple was allowed 

 to be very fair, and the machine to have done its work well. A samjile was 

 compared with the others, and the cotton was pronounced to be equal to that 

 produced by gins Nos. 2 and i. 



These were the most important experiments of the day, and were generally 

 considered sufficient to prove that cotton of East Indian growth may be well 

 cleaned by the saw-gin, without any very material injur)- to the staple. The 

 establishment of this important fact will thus enable India once more to enter 

 into competition with America as a producer of the raw material, and to oc- 

 cupy the place from which she was driven by the invention and general adop- 

 tion of the saw-gin in America. 



Improvements In obliimi}::; powrr ; patented by Moses Poole. Lincoln's Inn. 

 July ".—The intention cimsisis in obtaining power by means ol an apparatus. 



_..l_l_l_ K_ _ ..„r,«a .^f l..l.,,l.,^ .-,- f iLl-- J. H./ .1 : .-1,1; S? .: - .- 



juiy (.— ine intention cimsisls in otitaining power by ..„....o „. .... ,l,,|.,.,,.ii,^. 

 which has a series of blades or surfaces like fivers fixed in an oblique direction 

 to an axis, which is made to revolve, ami. consequently to carry them round 

 at any velocity required, the atmosphere actinp; as Ihc power of resistance. 



Mi^u. uie aiiiMispiiere aciinx as uie power ul lesistancf 

 wiiereoy a gre ii potter is obtained for propelling boats, carriages. Sec. The 

 inventor proposes to work this apparatus by means of an engine, which, if 

 Vlr.ced in a boat, carriage, or car of a ballou'n. the fivers or blades actin'.' '.n 

 the atmosphere will cause the machine to move in any direction re.juired." 



FROCESDIKGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 



INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS. 

 March 0. — The Prksidext in the Chair. 



The following were balloted for and elected : — Robert Napier and Daniell 

 Mackain, as Members; John Salkeld, Robert Batson, John Gandell, and Sie- 

 gerick Clu-istopher Kreeft, as Giaauates. 



"Description of the ' Aotixnch' Iron Passage Boat phjiny on the Limeriek 

 narit/ntion, between that place and Killaloe." By Charles Wye Williams, 

 Assoc. Inst. C. E. 



The attention of Mr. Williams having been attracted to the successful plan 

 for the conveyance of passengers adopted on the Glasgow and Paisley Canal, 

 where light sheet-iron boats of great length travel at a speed of nine miles 

 an hour, he was induced to attempt the introduction of the same system on 

 tlie Irish canals. .\ great difliculty, however, presented itself, as the locks 

 there would only admit boats 60 feet long, which length was quite inade- 

 quate to the carrying out with advantage the princijile involved in the long 

 light Scotch boat. To overcome this difliculty, he constructed a sheet-iron 

 boat, 80 feet long and 6 feet 6 inches wide at midships, having the stem and 

 stern ends (each 10 feet long) attached by strong hinges to the body, and 

 susceptible of being rajiidly raised to a vertical iiosition by means of winches, 

 thus reducing the length to 60 feet when required to pass through a lock. 

 It is evident that by this means there would be gained not merely the ap- 

 parent additional buoyancy of 10 feet at each end of the boat, which, from 

 the form, would not be vep.' effective, but in reality the buoyancy due to an 

 addition of 20 feet of the midship section. The boat thus constructed has 

 been found to answer jierfectly ; the buoyancy is erpial to that of the Scotch 

 boats of similar dimensions ; no craiikness or unsteadiness accnies wiicn the 

 ends are raised ; it is capable of carrying 60 passengers, travelling at a speed 

 of 9 miles per hour, with the same power that was required to draw a CO 

 feet tioat with a less load, and there is a much less action on the canal hank, 

 in consequence of the increased length, which at the same time imparts stiff- 

 ness, and enables passengers to enter and leave the boat with safety. Con- 

 siderable time is saved in passing the locks, by the opposition of the square 

 end when the bow is raised ; the boat may thus be run almost at full speed 

 into the lock, and both ends being raised simultaneously, it is stopped much 

 more easily than if the tapered ends were down. No provision is necessary 

 for keeping the ends down, as the weight of the bow and steersman answers 

 the purpose. 



This boat has been working without intermission for three years between 

 Limerick and Killaloe, traversing twice daily a distance of 15 miles, on a 

 navigation of considerable intricacy, and passing 11 locks, without any acci- 

 dent haying hitherto occurred. 



Mr. Parkcs observed that, independent of the advantages of carrying more 

 passengers, by continuing the midship section to the length of 60 feet, con- 

 siderable speed was gained by the 80 feet boat, in consequence of its fine 

 entrance and run. Mr. Millianis informed him that the velocity was found 

 to dejiend on tlie position of the boat on the wave ; that the rider of the 

 horses employed in towing the boat knew exactly the proper position of the 

 wave with respect to the boat, and regulated the exertion of the liorses ac- 

 cordingly — the velocity of the boat and the tractive force depending on the 

 relative position of the boat and wave. 



Mr. Field, in reply to some remarks respecting the effect of these rising 

 ends on the buoyancy of the boat, stated that he did not understand it to be 

 Mr. Williams's design to obtain additional buoyancy thereby. The ends only 

 press on the water as much as is due to their own weight, and are principally 

 useful ill giving a fine entrance and run to the boat ; thus having the whole 

 space between the rising ends for the accommodation of passengers, and ob- 

 taining an absolute gain of the whole space that is hfted at each end, as in a 

 boat of the ordinary length there must he the same tapering of the bow and 

 stern ends. So great is the facility in managing the ends, that on quitting 

 a lock the bow end is lowered as the gates arc opening; the boat is set in 

 motion at the same time, and as it moves on the stern end is let down, and 

 the usual speed is obtained very soon after it clears the lock. When a lock 

 is to be entered, the boat is suffered nearly to reacli the gate at full speed, 

 when the bow end being raised, the additional resistance caused by the square 

 section being suddenly opposed to the water stops the boat almost imme- 

 diately. The weight of one man at each end is amjily sufficient to keep down 

 the ends wlien the boat is in motion. 



" On the experiments and results nf Mr. TV. J. Ilenwood, as to the power 

 of the IIucl Toiran Eiujine." Jiy George Woods. 



In this communication, the author refers to the experiments of Mr. 

 Henwood, published in the second volume of the Transactions, and to the 

 result there stated, that the curve traced by the pencil of the indicator 

 during the expansion of the steam deviates from a true parabola, according 

 to the temperature of the medium contained in tlie jacket. Mr. Woods 

 coiaes to the conclusion that, the temperature rcm.ainiiig constant, the curve 

 will de\iate very considerably from a true parabola. The results obtained 

 by the author as to the relative powers of the engine before and after the 

 steain is cut oflT, and the mean pressure, as given by tlie indicator diagram, 

 do not diflfer materiallv from those given by Mr. Henwood. But Mr. Woods 



