52 DONKIN. 



although still far from perfect. A second one, in which still further 

 improvements were introduced, was consequently made the follow- 

 ing year and erected at Two-waters; and in 1810 eighteen more of 

 these complex machines were erected at various mills, some oj 

 which are even now at work. The practical difficulties having been 

 at length overcome, these machines soon superseded, both at home 

 and abroad, the ordinary method of making paper by hand ; and 

 although the original idea was not Mr. Donkin's, still to him the 

 credit is due of having developed, and practically introduced into 

 general use, these most useful and complete mechanical contrivances, 

 by means of which the process of making paper is carried on unin- 

 terruptedly from the liquid pulp to the perfect sheet ready for 

 writing or printing. 



About the year 1812 Donkin's attention was turned to the subject 

 of the preservation of meat and vegetables in air-tight cases, and 

 he erected a considerable manufactory for this purpose at Ber- 

 mondsey. Mr. Donkin was also one of the first to introduce im- 

 provements into printing machinery. In 1813 he, in conjunction 

 with Mr. Bacon, secured a patent for a Polygonal printing machine, 

 and in the same year invented and brought into use composition 

 rollers, by which some of the greatest difficulties experienced at 

 that time in printing by machinery were overcome. Among other 

 inventions and mechanical contrivances of Donkin's are a very 

 beautiful screw-cutting and dividing machine ; an instrument to 

 measure the velocity of the rotation of machinery ; and a counting 

 engine : for the two last gold medals were awarded by the Society 

 of Arts. In 1820 Mr. Donkin was much engaged with Sir William 

 Congreve in contriving a method of printing stamps in two colours, 

 with compound plates, for the prevention of forgery ; and with the 

 aid of Mr. Wilks, who was at that time his partner, he produced the 

 beautiful machine now used at the Excise and Stamp Offices, and 

 by the East India Company.at Calcutta. 



Mr. Donkin was an early member of the Society of Arts, and 

 became one of the vice-presidents. From this society he received 

 two medals, one for his invention of an instrument to measure the 

 velocity of the rotation of machinery, and another for his counting- 

 engine. 



During the last forty years of his life he was greatly occupied as 

 a civil engineer, arid was one of the originators and a vice-president 

 of the Institution of Civil Engineers, which was founded by one of 

 his pupils, Mr. Henry Palmer, and a few other gentlemen, the 

 Royal Charter being obtained by Mr. Telford and himself. He died 

 in his eighty-seventh year, having passed a long life in an almost 

 uninterrupted course of usefulness and good purpose. From the 

 Proceedings of the Royal Society, Nov. 30, 1855. 



