63 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[Feb. 3, 



The palace at Baden is to be decorated with stained glass, by Dr. Stantz, 

 of Berne, a celebrated artist, and with paintings by Gotzeuberger, illustrative 

 of tlie history of the district. 



Among the engineering works recently published at Naples are the follow- 

 ing :— ■' iMontieelli, Sulla origine delle acque del Sebeto, 1840." " F. Abate, 

 delle acque publiche della citta di Napoli, 1840." " L. Cangiano, sulle a. p. 

 potahile di N. 1843," and also on artesian wells, 1842. It is now determined 

 that a boring sliall take place for an artesian well at Naples. The supply of 

 •water to that city is very bad, but the expense of obtaining it has hitherto 

 prevented any elective measure. 



The Emperor of Austria has determined on erecting anew Imperial Lilirary 

 at Vienna. The new building will also provide fur the imperial collections 

 of natural liistory and antiquities. It is hoped that tliis will give an occasion 

 for tlie employment of Austrian painters in decoration on a large scale. 



A great many new lines of railway have been brought forward during the 

 week, and the be.-t prospects of employment for engineers during the ensuing 

 season are formed. 



A very splendid new hotel has been built on the site of the ancient 

 Ducal Palace of Bragnaza, in the centre of Lislion, and is to be placed under 

 the admirable management of Madame de Bclem, who will immediately re- 

 move to it her entire establishment. 



REGISTER OF NEW PATENTS. 



Under this head we propose to give abstracts of the specilications of all the most im- 

 portant patents as ihey aru enrolled. If any urlditional information be reijuired as to ony 

 patent, the same maybe obtained by applying to flir. LAXTON at tlie Othce of this 

 JOURNAL. 



I.MPROVED WATER CLOSETS. 



Henry Austin, of Ilatlon-garden, Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for " Im- 

 provemenls in the construction of water closets." — Granted July 20, 1843; en- 

 rolled January 20, 1844. 



The first p:irt of these improvements relates to the m;ieliinery or apparatus 

 for the discharge or supply of water ; and, secondly, to the method of work- 

 ing and actuating the machinery ; and, laslly, to a mode ul' forcing water into 

 water closets, when there is little or no fall provided for the supply. The 

 seat of this improved water closet is made to work on pivots, or centres, at 

 the sides, so as to move up and down by the weight of a person using the 

 water closet. Fig. 1 shows a sectional elevation of a water closet, constructed 

 according to the first and second part of these improvements ; a the supply 



pipe, leading from the supply cistern, 

 b a water box, c the discharge pipe, 

 which is made fiat at the lower end, 

 and so as to fit round the pan, d an air 

 pipe, fixed upon the water bos, e the 

 seat, which moves upon centres or pivots 

 fixed at the sides, / a valve, actuated 

 by the lever g, and connecting rod h, 

 one end of which is attached to the 

 end of the lever g, and the other, or 

 lower end, to the back part of the seat. 

 When the water closet is not in use. 

 the connecting rod, lever, and valve 

 are in the position shown in the dia- 

 gram, that is to say, the valve/in such 

 case fits against the end of the supply 



n t- 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



pipe rt, (which may be about one inch in diameter) ; but when the closet is in 

 .use, the weight of ihe person on the seat causes the saiue, by means of the 

 CLinnecting rod, to raise one end of the lever g, and Ioh er the opposile end, 

 so as to bring the valve / upon the end of the pipe c ; in this position the 

 water will begin to flow from ihc supply cistern into the box J, but on 

 the weight being removed from the seat, the valve, by means of the 

 weight of the connecting rod, will ascend to the position shown, and the 

 water contained in the box will rush down the pipe c, and into the pan or 

 vessel. Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of parts for causing a force of water 

 sufficient for the purpose, when there is little or no fp.ll, provided n is the 



seat moving upon centres 4, to the back part of the seat is attached an arm c. 

 which actuates the piston d, by means of the connecting rod e, and lever/, 

 When the seat is depressed, tlic piston d will be partially withdrawn from 

 the box or cylinder. Just above the piston, when in this position, there are 

 two or more small holes through the sides of the box or cylinder, through 

 which the cylinder is filled with water. On the weight being removed from 

 the seat, the piston will begin to ascend in the box by means of a counter- 

 balance weight g, and the water contained in the box will be forced through 

 the pipe h, and into the pan i, with sufficient impetus to remove any deposit; 

 by this arrangeinent a force of water sufficient for the purpose is said to be 

 obtained, when its level is below that of the pan. 



A NEW MASTIC OR CEMENT. 



Chaki.es Bertram, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for ■' An improved mastic or cement 

 whicli vtatj also lie emploifid as an artificial stone, and for coating stone and other 

 .sHManccs."— Granted July 20, 1843 ; enrolled January 20, 1844. 



Tins improved mastic or cement is made as follows: — About TO parts ot 

 turf or peat, as it comes from the field, is subjected to pressure or heat, in 

 order to free it from the greater portion of water which it contains, after 

 which the turf is mixed with about 30 parts of pitch or tar from the gas- 

 works (preferring llie latter) ; this compound, after being allowed to rest for 

 some hours, is put in a vessel and keiit at a boiling heat for three hours ; the 

 product, after being well incorpor.ated. is a mastic or cement, called by the 

 inventor " Scrcollanc," and is of a very tenacious and adhesive quality. When 

 this mastic or cement is to be employed lor coating ships, the inventor em- 

 ploys to each 100 parts of peat or turf, two parts of yellow soap, and 10 parts 

 of o.\ide of iron, or other like poisonoi;s matter, the object of whicli is to 

 prevent barnacles, sea-weed, and other matter, adhering to the sides and 

 bottom of the vessel. M'hen this cement is to be used as an artificial stone, 

 the inventor mixes about 35 parts of peat or turf, and 30 parts of mud taken 

 from the bottom of rivers, ponds, canals, or marshes, intermixed with dry 

 sand or fine gravel ; this mixture is treated in the same way precisely as 

 above described, and then moidded into blocks or slabs, of the form required 

 for paving or flagging. The above composition is the same in every respect 

 as that for which a patent was obtained by Mr. William .Mylam in June last, 

 the inventor, therefore, only claims the application of the aforesaid cement 

 to the purposes above described. 



ROLLING IRON INTO SHEETS. 



William Daniell, of Aberc.am, near Newport. Monmouthshire, Tin-plate 

 Manufacturer, for " Improvements in rolling iron into plates or sheefs.'' — Granted 

 July 22, 1843 ; enrolled January 22, 1844. 



The object of these improvements is to avoid the repealed processes hitherto 

 necessary, in the manufacture of thin plates or sheets of iron, of piling and 

 reheating, whereby a saving of fuel and iron is etrected,and the repeated pro- 

 cesses of piling, heating, hammering, and rolling is avoided. The process is 

 as follows : — A ball of iron is taken from a puddling furnace or refinery, and 

 submitted to the process of hammering, after which it is to be rolled 

 into a bloom of about Gin. wide, and oin.deeij; this bloom is then cut 

 by a saw, or other instrument, into lengths of from 4to Gin.; after which 

 the pieces are to be immediately rolled between rollers, taking care that the 

 grain of such pieces is in a vertical direction, by which means the upper and 

 under sides of the bars produced will be the clean cut surfaces; these pieces, 

 if care be taken, can be rolled, without reheating, into bars of about Sin. 

 wide, and kin. thick. The process s i far is stated to have been the subject of 

 a patent granted to Mr. Daniell in April, 1822 ; but, instead of proceeding as 

 therein described, the patentee commences at once to roll the pieces in a 

 transverse or opposite direction, so that the bars, in place of being piled and 

 hammered, are finished into thin plates or sheets, by rolling the pieces in the 

 reverse direction to that in which the bars were rolled. The bars arc then 

 cut into lengths, according to the size of the plates to be made ; these pieces 

 are then heated in a suitable furnace, and rolled in grooved rollers, the grooves 

 of which are the same length as the pieces of iron to be rolled, the rolling 

 being effected at right angles to the previous rolling ; the lolling is thus con- 

 tinued until the piece is about a quarter of an inch thick, after which it is to 

 be rolled in plain rollers until such piece is reduced to one-eighth of an inch 

 in thickness ; in this slate the piece of iron is technically called a " mould- 

 ing." and is to be completed in a tin-plate mill. The patentee claims the 

 mode of rolling iron into ihiii plalesfur the manufacture o. tinned sheets, &c., 

 by causing jneces of iron to be rolled out into sheets or i>lates, by rolling 

 them at right angles to the direction to which ihey have been produced, 

 when such pieces have been obtained by rolling cut iron with the grain in a 

 vertical direction, the upper and under surfaces being the cut suilaces. 



