178 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[June, 



REGISTER OF NEW PATENTS. 



PRESERVATION OF ORGANIC SUBSTANCES. 

 John Ryan, of the Royal Polytechnic Institution, doctor of medi- 

 cine, and professor of chemistry, for " Impwvcmenls in the preseri-a- 

 tion of organic arid other sitbsl'inces." — Granted Oct. 17, ]81G ; En- 

 rolled April 17, 18-47. 



These improvements relate, firstly, to preserving orijanic and other 

 substances, by supplying thereto a mixture of gases and vapours which 

 are opposed to comlnistion and decomposition, applied either in com- 

 bination with air or instead of air. The gases preferred are either a 

 mixture of carbonic and chloro-hydric acids, or a mixture of carbonic 

 and acetic, or pyroligneous acids. 



For preserving animal matters, a mixture of carbonic and pyrolig- 

 neous acids in a gaseous form, is preferred, because of the presence 

 of a small quantity of kreasote; sometimes a little kreasote is added 

 and allowed to pass over with the gases into the vessel containing the 

 substance to be preserved. These gases are obtained from any suitable 

 carbonates, but carbonate of lime in the form of marble is preferreil, 

 to which IS sometimes added common cliloro-hydric acid, diluted with 

 half its bulk of water; by which a mixture of carbonic and chloro- 

 hydric acid gases is procured. If it be necessary to render the mode 

 of preservation more complete, there is added a small quantity of 

 kreasote, in the proportion of half-a-drachm to two quarts of the 

 liquid. In this case, the mixed acids carry off' with them a portion 

 of the kreasote vapour. In other cases, to obtain the carbonic acid of 

 the marble, rough or unpurified pyroligneous acid, containing small 

 quantities of kreasote, is used ; by which a mixure of carbonic pyro- 

 ligneous acid and the vapour of kreasote is obtained. If coarse py- 

 roligneous acid cannot be obtained, either acetic acid and a small 

 quantity of kreasote, in the proportions of half-a-drachm to two 

 quarts of the acid, or common vinegar with the same quantity of 

 kreasote, may be used. When organic matters, such as meat, are to 

 be preserved, they are to be deposited in suitable air-tight boxes. 



For preserving vegetable substances, or fermented liquids, the vapour 

 of kreasote is not to be used, but carbonic acid alone, obtained by the 

 action of the chloro-hydric, or other suitable acid containing no krea- 

 sote. 



For preserving fermented liquids, it is necessary to wash the car- 

 bonic acid by passing it through a small vessel containing clean water, 

 to remove anv of the chloro-hydric or acetic acids. 



The second part of the improvements relates to the constructing a 

 self-acting apparatus for generating the gases, and its application to 

 supplying the vessel containing the articles to be preserved. The 

 annexed figure is a section of the apparatus, which may be made of 



glass, earthenware, iron glazed in- 

 side, or pure lead, of a sufficient 

 strength, a is a vessel or chamber 

 for holding the acid, and b an inter- 

 nal chamber, with a perforated false 

 bottom, for holding broken pieces of 

 marble ; e is a capping, secured by 

 screw bolts ; d a bent tube with stop- 

 cock, to which is attached a flexible 

 tube e, communicating with an air- 

 tight box or safe, containing the arti- 

 cles to be preserved ; J is an aperture 

 furnishi'd with a plug, for filling the 

 vessel with aciil when requir-'d ; to 

 fill the interior vessel, it is necessary 

 to remove the capping. 



The action of the apparatus is as 

 follows : — when the door of the box 

 or safe containing the article to be 

 preserved is open, the pressure of 

 the air on the acid in the outer cham- 

 ber a, ca\ises the acivl to rise among 

 the broken maible in the chamber b, 

 when gas is generated and is carried 

 off by tlie tube d, to the preserving box or safe; when the door of the 

 latter safe is closed air-tight, the vessil is filled with the gases, mixed 

 with air, and when fully charged, the pressure of the gas on the acid 

 in the inner vess(d, b, will force the acid out iiito the outer chamber a, 

 leaving the marble dry ; consequently, the action of generating the 

 gases will cease until the door of the preserving box is opened 

 again. 



SHIPS AND PROPELLERS. 

 John Bi-chaxaN, of Queen-square, Westminster, gentleman, for 

 " Jmprovtmenls in ships or vessels, and in the propelling thereof and 

 in securing the same from Jlsatal damage, cerium parts of which 

 machinery may be used for motion on land." Granted August 15, 

 ISlii ; Enrolled February 4, 1817. 



The improvement consists, first, in the formation or construction of 

 ships or vessels, by mi'ans of lines, as hereinafter described; and, 

 secondly, to the a[)plication of a blade or blades for the propelling of 

 ships or vessels, so constructed is to yield to the adverse pressure of 

 the water when required. 



The patentee states that the object of the first part of his in- 

 vention is to enable the lines of a ship or vessel to be drafted 

 so that all the lines will correctly nm int.) each other, and that 

 they will not require adjustment by shifting the transverse sections. 

 The work is done according to true geometrical bases throughout, 

 beginning with the main frame, and in lieu of water lines, ribband 

 lines, and buttock lines, with their necessary accompanving balance 

 and adjusting frames, the patentee only makes use of the midship 

 section, an upper extreme height-of-breadth-line, and one main dia- 

 gonal on each side of the hull, imiting or fitting in all the transverse 

 sections from the upp-r height of breadth to the main diagonal, and 

 thence down to the keel, in the same manner as if followed in con- 

 structing the main frame, viz., bisecting, or halving the angles con- 

 tained within the several perpendiculars, (or straight lines approach- 

 ing more or less to the perpendicular,) and also all the angles within 

 the straight lines crossing these perfiendiculars and the diagonals at 

 the points where the transverse sections respectively cross the main 

 diagonals. Lines traced through these bisections of the angles form 

 the outside of the frame of the ship. The longitudinal curves being 

 formed nearly in the same manner, viz., halving the angles contained 

 within the perpendiculars or lines bounding the ends of the oblon" 

 figures and sides or bottom of the said figures, wnether vertical, hori- 

 zontal, or diagonal, and lines connecting the extreme points or base 

 lines of these triangles, such being a pure trigonometrical and geo- 

 metrical formula for determining the transverse and longitudinal lines 

 of a ship or vessel, according to this invention, regulating her form 

 from the straight lines of the stem, stern post, and keel, to the greatest 

 extent of breadth and depth, beautifully proportioning all her lines, 

 and each line relatively partaking of each other's qu dities upon the 

 principle of the two sides and base of a cone regulating all the lesser 

 diameters thereof iu due proportion. 



The second part of the invention is for improvements in propelling 

 vessels, as shown in the annexed engraving : — 



Fig. 1. 



Fig. 2. 



Fig. 1 is a section showing the internal construction, and a plan (as 

 it would appear from beneatli) of the stern end of a vessel, to which 

 one modification of this part of the invention is applied. 



A, represents the revolving shaft driven by the steam-engine, or 

 other power. The bearings are supjiorted on elastic springs, B, so 

 that any bending of the vessel does not bind the journals of such 

 shaft, which are allowed to arrange themselves in a line by the com- 



