^78 Transactions of the American Institute. 



needham's pneumatic railwat foe transmitting letters and 



packages. 



A model of this contrivance was exhibited and explained by Dr; 

 Vanderweyde. The model rested on a table about six feet long and 

 two feet wide. At one end was a tight box, into which was inserted 

 the axis of a crank containing a fan or blower. Out of this box 

 issued a glass pipe with cut ofis or brass sections, and which, going 

 around the edge of the table, returned to the box. Small red 

 balls were inserted through a slide into the cut offs, corresponding 

 to stations, and the crank was turned. Immediately the fan pro- 

 duced a blast, and the balls were propelled swiftly forward, or 

 were made to return when the motion of the crank was reversed. 

 If the station gates were open the balls made the entire circuit. 

 The motion is wholly obtained by the fan making the air more or 

 less dense, and in ordinary action the pressure is about twenty 

 pounds to the square foot. The London Pneumatic railway now 

 is in successful operation. A full description of Mr. Needham's 

 plan will be found on page 572 of the Transactions of the Ameri- 

 can Institute for 1864. 



hick's apparatus for hanging HORSE HAY FORKS. 



Mr. Edward Hicks, Hempstead, L. I. — Tliis is to fasten the pully 

 and chain of a hay fork to a rafter in the barn. A pole of the 

 required length has a wrought-iron nail in the end; with this the 

 pulley is raised, and a rod bent into two right angles, and working 

 on a loose joint, easily is inserted under the shingles over the 

 rafter. 



Mr. Solon Robinson. — This needs no explanation; it is one of 

 the best inventions I have seen for some time. 



improved pipe JOINT. 



Mr. A. B. Hurd, Watkins, N. Y., exhibited some tin pipe, which 

 seemed to be put together in the usual manner of uniting leader 

 and stove pipe. The pieces are made as usual to fit each other, as 

 nearly as they can be; then a slot is cut in the end of each piece, 

 about two inches long by one-fourth of an inch. By this means 

 two pieces that cannot be united when made without the slot, can 

 be readily put together and quickly taken apart by turning the 

 two pieces in opposite du'ections. It was approved as an excellent 

 contrivance, of which all can avail themselves by simply making a 

 slot with a cold chisel in the end of the pipe. 



