256 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



[July, 



the supply pipe from the street mains or other source, tlie suction pipe of the 

 cnsine Ix'itig connpcteil with ll:e small compartment ; the engine is then to 

 be set to work, and tluring the time of working the substance in the large 

 compartment is to be kept constantly agitated, by means of a broom or other 

 insi] iiment so as to keep the particles in suspension, and thereby form muddy 

 water, wliicb, the inventor observes, IS well known to be better lor extinguish- 

 ing fires than clean water ; for which he claims the materials above described, 

 and the manner of forming them iuio muddy water of any degree of thick- 

 ness that may be required, for smothering or extinguisliing fires ; also claims 

 the application of the vessel above described, divided into two compartments. 



MACHINERY FOR SAWING WOOD. 



Bknjamin Cukverton, of I'ratt (Street, Camden Town, Sculplor in Ivory, 

 for " Impromnenls in maclibicn/ for culling wood and other materials." — Gtanted 

 Jan. 16, 1S44; Enrolled July ic, 18M. 



This invention is for certain improvements in machinery for sawing, cut- 

 ting, and slicing wood and other materials, and consists, in the first place, in 

 arranging certain parts of the machinery of the saw-mill in such maimer as 

 to avoid the concussion or vibration to which the frame for hidding the saws 

 IS subjected ; and also in getting rid of the oblique strain to which such 

 frames, of the present construction, are liable, in consequence of one end of 

 the connecting rod being attached to the crank and theother.eud immediately 

 to one end of the saw frame. This important improvement is eifected by 

 the application of an intermediate spring connecting rod as follows. Below 

 the frame which contains the saws isfplaccd the crank shaft, and to the crank 

 Ts attached one end of the connecting rod, the other end being fixed to a cross 

 head, the one en<l of the intermediate connecting rod (which consists of two 

 bars of iron slighly bent or curved inward so as to approach each other in the 

 middle,) is tlien connected to the cross-head, and tlie other to the lower end 

 of the saw frame, by means of ball and socket joints, a space being left be- 

 tween the ball and socket of each joint which is filled tightly with some elas- 

 tic material, such, for instance, as the material which Brockedon makes his 

 stoppers lor bottles, thereby cutting off all hard and unyielding metallic con- 

 nection between the crank and the saw frame. 



The second improvement consist in certain arrangements for avoiding the 

 shaking and agitation caused by the unbalanced centrifugal force ot the fly 

 wheel, caused by the present practice of weighting one side of the same to 

 act as a counterpoise to the saw frame. This is said to be efiected by sus- 

 pending the frame through the medium of springs of any description, or 

 through the medium of elastic fluids such as gas or steam ; the same is also 

 shown as being accomplished by placing the cylinder of a working steam 

 engine immediately above the saw frame with a single acting piston, and the 

 lly wheel at the bottom and connected in the manner above described ; but 

 where it is required to have a double acting piston (we presume this means 

 the steam acting on Iwth sides of the piston,) the'dilfercnce of resistance in 

 tlie up and down stroke of the saw frame is equalized by wire-drawing' the 

 steam through the slide valve on one side of the piston. 



The third improvement consists in saw iug or cutting several thicknesses of 

 veneers at the same time, by arranging in one Irame aud parallel to each 

 other a series of saws, at such a distance from each other as to allow of the 

 tlilekness of the "saw rerf" and the intended thickness of the veneers to be 

 cut. 



Another improvement consists in making the teeth of saws described in the 

 specification considerably deeper than hitherto practised, so as to allow of 

 the sawdust constantly to pass away from the bottom of such spaces, and 

 between the saw and veneers as they are separated from the block of wood 

 they are being cut from. 



A CAMERA OBSCURA COPYING MACHINE. 



William EoWARn Newton, of 66, Chancery Lane, London, Civil Engineer, 

 for " Iiiiprovemcytts in nmrhinmj or apparatus for fnritiiaiing and copying of 

 designs, drawings, and etchings of all hinds, cither of the original size or upon an 

 inlargcd or reduced scale." — Granted Jan. 16, 1644 ; Enrolled July 16, 1844. 



This invention is said to consist in a new application of the camera obscura, 

 in the construction of which it will be necessary that the frame containing the 

 camera obscura have a vertical movement, so as to be raised or lowered in 

 order to adjust the focus, ami that the frame containing the design to be 

 copied should have a backward and forward and also a vertical and horizon- 

 tal movement, ami lastly, that part id' the apparatus containing the lens 

 should bi' capable of being raised or lowered : the annexed engraving, which 

 is an elevation of one side of the machine, will suflice to give our readers a 

 clear idea of the invention, a a shows the framework of the machine, wh'ch 

 is about 9 feet high, this frame supports a horizontal frame b, which is sus- 

 pended by cords and weights c c. in such manner as to be capable of being 

 raised and lowered at pleasure ; at d there are two standards, supporting a 

 plate of glass d' placed at an angle, e e is also another rectangular frame sup- 



rting a frame ,/,/, which has a movement in the direction from e to e, this 



ame is made with a feather or projection on the inside, which slides within 



a groove formed in another frame marked g g, which irame moves in an op- 



I'osite direction to the frame// or at right angles to it ; this frame, i?jf, also 

 carries a plate of glass i, U['on which the design to be copied is placed ; the 

 object of these moveable Irames is to bring the various parts of the subject or 

 design immediately below the rays of light which pass through the plate of 

 glass in the manner shown by dotted lines, and also through a double convex 

 lens fixed within a sliding tube supported by the cross frame h h, which frame 

 can .also be raised and lowered by weights attaclied to ropes passing over 

 pullics, or by other mechanical means ; the tube containing the lens is also 

 capable of being adjusted by means of a rack and pinion, for the purpose of 

 regulating the distance with greater nicety. 



It will therefore be seen that the design to be copied must be on var- 

 nished or transparent paper, which on being placed upon the plate of glass ', 

 the image or a portion of the image will be thrown upon the table /, /.-, upon 

 which there is a sheet of p/iper which receives the image of the design to be 

 copied, the part surrounding the table being kept perfectly dark, so as to ex- 

 clude all light but that which passes through the lens. 



This machine may also be employed for copying designs drawn upon ordi- 

 nary paper by making the frames which receive the designs capable of moving 

 in such a manner that the design can be placed in a vertical position opposite 

 a prism, and thereby made to pass through a lens, by which means the design 

 can be altered to any size at pleasure. The specification also ileseribes another 

 machine constructed upon the same principles, the arrangement of some nf 

 the parts being somewhat altered, so as to admit the light at the side, the 

 foregoing machine admits the light at the top. 



OVERLAND COMMUNICATION WITH INDIA. 



(With an Engraving, Plate XII.) 



Ill the February number for tlie present year we directed the atten- 

 tion of our readers to the several plans for a ship canal from the Red 

 Sea to the Meditorranean, when we gave a plan of the proposed 

 routes, and ample details as to the various projects proposed. .Since 

 that period our interest in the communication with India remains un- 

 diminished, and we with pleasure avail ourselves of Mr. Galloway's 

 observations on the line of railway suggested between Suez and Cairo. 

 One thing is evident, we must by all means draw closer the ties 

 between England and India, did no commercial motives actuate us, 

 the fact avowed by Sir Robert Peel, in his celebrated speech on the 

 Budget, of the ultimate connection between the finances of England 

 and India, renders this measure imperative. We have, too, the vast 

 responsibility of the administration of one hundred and fifty millions 



