A SILVERED GLASS TELESCOPE. 21 



machine, except those parts liable to wear by friction, is made of wood. The ends 

 ou' of the horizontal bar r, are defended by brass tubes working in mahogany, and 

 have even now but little shake, though many hundred thousands of reciprocations 

 have been made. 



The foot power consists of an endless band with wooden treads a a', passing at 

 one end of the apparatus over iron wheels A//, which carry the band-wheel c upon 

 their axle. At the other end it goes over the rollers d <T . Two pairs of inter- 

 mediate wheels e <' , serve to sustain the weight of the man or animal working in it, 

 The treads an 1 so arranged that they interlock, and form a platform, which will 

 not yield downwards. Owing to its inclination when a weight is put on the plat- 

 form .', it immediately moves from l> toward d and the band-wheel turns. By a 

 moderate exertion, equivalent to walking up a slight incline at a slow rate, a power 

 more than sufficient to polish a 15^ inch mirror is obtained. This machine, 

 in which very little force is lost in overcoming friction, is frequently employed 

 for dairy use, and is moved commonly in the State of New York by a sheep. I 

 have generally myself walked in the one used by me, and have travelled some days, 

 during five hours, more than ten miles. 



In order to give an idea of the method of using a grinding and polishing machhve, 

 the following extract from the workshop note-book is introduced: 



"A disk of plate glass lf>i inches in diameter, and lj inch thick was pro- 

 cured. It had been polished flat on both sides, so that its internal constitution 

 might be seen. 1 It was fastened upon the table 1> of the machine, by four blocks 

 of wood as at c, Fig. 21. Underneath the glass were three thick folds of blanket, 

 15 inches in diameter, to prevent scratching of the lower face, and avoid risk of 

 fracture. A convex disk of lead weighing 40 pounds having been cast, was laid 

 upon the upper surface of the glass, and then the screw / was depressed so as to 

 catch in a perforated iron plate t, at the back of the lead w, and press downward 

 strongly. 



" Emery as coarse as the head of a pin having been introduced, through a hole 

 in the lead, motion was commenced and continued for half an hour, an occasional 

 supply of emery being given. The machine made 150 eight-inch cross strokes, and 

 the mirror 50 revolutions per minute. The grinder m was occasionally restrained 

 from turning by the hand. At the end of the time the detritus was washed away, 

 and an examination with the gauge made. A spot 11 inches in diameter, and J ; 

 of an inch deep, was found to have been ground out. The same process was con- 

 tinned at intervals for ten hours, measurements with the gauge being frequently 

 made. The concave was then sufficiently dee]). The leaden grinder was kept of 

 the right convexity by beating it on the back when necessary. A finer variety of 

 coarse emery, and after that flour emery were next put on, each for an hour. These 

 left the surface moderately smooth, and nearly of the right focal length. The 

 leaden grinder was then dismissed, and the iron one, Fig. 6, put in its stead. The 



1 The glass that 1 have used lisis generally been such us was intended for dead-lights and sky- 

 lights in ships. 



