634 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



with the knife or arms, and it is generally larger than either of 

 them. 



We have no knowledge that locks with moveable obstacles were 

 known in Europe more than about 200 years ago. Moveable 

 obstacles were first used in the shape of tumblers in the wards 

 and lock as an auxiliary; but there is no doubt that the lock with 

 fixed obstacles or wards has been in use since the Christian era. 

 Some of the keys that were turned on the Apostles, it is said, are 

 kept in churches in Europe, and we find in old books illustra- 

 tions of the warded keys with all their intricate cuts and notches. 

 There was great ingenuity and skill displayed in making the keys 

 in all imaginable shapes and the lock to match with the wards^ 

 These locks have long been rejected, except for common purposes y 

 as it is not necessary to have the key cut in the shape of the 

 wards, but formed so that it clears them and reaches the bolt, 

 which is called a skeleton key. 



The first improvement on the simple tumbler was made by 

 Barron, and by him patented in England in ITT 8. This con- 

 sisted in arranging one tumbler or more so that th«y had to be 

 raised to an exact height, neither more or less, to allow the bolt to 

 pass. This of course required the key to be graded to the length 

 to effect it, and could also be used with the wards. This certainly 

 was a great improvement, as it not only increased the security 

 when one tumbler was used, but admitted the use of any num- 

 ber of tumblers. This improvement in the tumbler seems to 

 have given a new start to lock making. 



Some six or eight years after Barron's patent, Bramah's lock 

 was introduced, which also might be classed as a box of move- 

 able obstacles, and with that exception it was an entirely new 

 idea, as in this case the ends of the tumblers were acted upon by 

 the key and puslied w, instead of being pushed up. It was this 

 kind of lock that Mr. Hobbs picked in England in 1851. The 

 lock had sixteen moveable bits, and it reijiiired a pressure of 

 thirty pounds to push in the key. Thirty days were allowed to 

 pick it, and Mr. Hobbs accomplished it in sixteen days, being in 

 the room about one-third of the time with the lock. Tliis test 

 certainly proves the principle to be a good one, for we must con- 



