216 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



[1853 



On Chromatic Phoio-printiiifl, being a mode of printing lexlile fabrics 

 by the civnmical action of Light, 'Jyilu. R. Smith. — The. author pro- 

 poshes to employ the chemical ageucy of light iu dyeiug or staiuing 

 textile fabrics ; tlic cloth, whether of 'vvool, sillc, flax, or cottony being 

 first steeped in a suitable sohitioii, then dried iu the dark, aud subse- 

 queutly exposed to the action of light, those jjarts which arc to form 

 the pattern being protected by pieces of darkened paper, or some other 

 suitable material, attaclied to a plate of glass. When the desired 

 effect is pi oduced, the time for Hhich faries from two to twenty 

 minutes, according to the nature of the process, the fabric lias to be 

 removed, in order to undergo a fixing operation, whilst a fresh portion 

 of it is exposed to light. This may easily' be eti'ected by the use of 

 very simple mechanical arrangements, so that a uuml-er of photogra- 

 phic printing engines may be placed side by side, and superintended 

 by one person. From the trials which ilr. Smith has made, he be- 

 lieves that even the ditTused light of a cloudy day will have power 

 enough for the operation, thougli of course a longer time "will be re- 

 quired for its perfection than on a bright aud sunny day. In order 

 to obtain a pale blue or white pattern upon a blue ground, Mr. Smith 

 uses solutions of citrate, or tarti'ate of iron, and fen'ocyanide of potas- 

 sium ; steeping the cloth subsequently iu a dilute solution of sulphuric 

 acid. Browns and Viuffs are obtained by using a solution of bichro- 

 mate of potash : the excess of salt iu the parts not acted on by light 

 being afterwards either washed out. leaving those portions white, or 

 decomposed by a salt of lead which forms a yellow chromate of lead. 

 By combining these two processes with the use of madder, log-wood, 

 and other dye stuffs, a great variety of tints may be obtained. 



On ' Fire-arms, by Mr. Wilkixsox. — In order to form some concep- 

 tion of the improvements lately ]3ropos£d, and wholly or partially 

 adopted, Mr. Wilkinson briefly alluded to the earliest fire-arms, which 

 are still in use in India and various parts of the world. Commeucing 

 with the different modes of ignition, Mr. Wilkinson then proceeded to 

 give a rapid sketch of the progressive steps by which fire-arms have 

 an-ived at their present state of comparative perfection. He de.scribed 

 and e.xhibited, first, the matchlock, invented about the beginning of 

 the sixteenth century : previous to which hand -guns were fired b\' a 

 lighted match applied to the touch-hole iu the sariie manner as to 

 cannon. Secona, the pyrites wheel-lock, introduced into this country 

 about the time of Henry the Eighth, and continued to Charles the 

 Second : in which ignition was obtained bj' the rapid revolution of a 

 steel wheel against a pair of iron pyrites. Third, the flint lock, intro- 

 duced about 1692, and generally used up to the close of the last war. 

 Fourth, the percussion lock, invented by the Rev. Mr. Forsyth, and 

 patented by him, April llth, 1807, was generally introduced into our 

 army in 1^40. He then proceeded to explain the nature of the rifle, 

 and the theory of projectiles, which was illustrated by diagrams. Mr. 

 AVilkinson stated, that it has been calculated by French writers tliat 

 with the old flint rausket and spherical bnllel during the last war, the 

 maximum eft'ect was only one in 3,000, citlier to kill or wound ; and 

 one iu 10,000 was the minimum. So that, in some engagements 10,000 

 ball cartridges were expended to kill or wound one man ; and a writer 

 in the Times stated, a short time since, that 60,000 cartiidges had been 

 fired at the Cape, and only twenty-five Kaffirs killed. He observed, 

 liowever, that this would not bo the case iu any future warfiirs ; it will 

 be much more destructive for the time, but of shorter duration. The 

 percussion musket effected very little improvement in the accuracy 

 or range of the buUct, but it produced much greater certainty of fire. 

 It is wholly to the introduction of rifles and elongated projectiles that 

 the recent improvements are due. We are told by Robins a century 

 ago that this would be the case, but it general^ requires a hundred 

 years to convince any government. Mr. Wilkinson then gave a brief 

 history of the changes in the form of the bullet introduced more than 

 twenty years ago, liy M. Delvigne, though suggested nearly a century 

 since oy Uobins, who pointed out that the spherical form was not that 

 best suited for projectiles. Lately tin' cyliiiflric-al-sliaped bullet has 

 attracted gre.at attention from Ihr iiiL^cniuiis im diliration of it invented 

 by Capt. Minie, who added n small ii.m iMpMili' tn the lower end of 

 the bullet. Lastly, Mr. Wilkiii>..ii <K mi ihcd lii., „wu imjiroved bullet, 

 the form of whicli is cy/jn/io-ov'ni/f liaving two deep grooves round 

 the base ; and tlic novelty of which cmisists in the bullet being ex- 

 panded in the act of discharging the rifle, although the bullet is per- 

 fectly solid. At the close of his paper, the author explained the 

 electro magnetic chronoscope a mode of nie.asuring the flight of pro- 

 jectiles invented by Prof Wheatstone. The principle on which was 

 effected, consisted in the interruption of an electric current, by the 

 breaking of a fine wire, when the gun was fired, the circuit "being 

 again completed by another arrangement when the target was struck ; 

 whilst a clock, witli suitable stop-liauds, w.ns employed to indicate the 

 interval of time between the discharge and the blow on the target. — 

 Mr. Varley.jnn. inquired if Jlr. Wilkinson's bullets were intended to 

 be flred with any covering. He had found the Minie bullet more 

 effectual with a covering than without. Mr. Wilkinson .said, he pre- 

 feiTed to use nothing but the naked powder and ball : the latter being 

 rubbed with Russia tallow, or other grease, to fill the grooves. The 



pressure on the grooves squeezed out the gi'ease, which lubricated the 

 wliole extent of the bore, and dimished friction ; so that 100 rounds 

 could be fired as easily as one. In reply to an objection to the use of 

 grease in hot countries, Mr. _W. stated tliat, with the thermometer at 

 130°, 100 rounds had been fired in thirty-six minutes ; the barrel aud 

 other iron work being so hot that it could not be handled. The grea.se 

 in that case was still used, but with the addition of about one-eighth 

 of bees'-wax, which overcame the difliculty. 



Improvanent in Boring Operations. — From the Miners' Journal, pub- 

 lished at Pottsville, Pennsylvania, we learn that an improved boring 

 ajjparatus, patented by Mi\ Knight, has been severelv tested, bv boring 

 into the face of a granite rock 18 feet depth, and 24 feet in diameter, 

 at the rate of 18 iu. per hour. The framework of the machinery could 

 not be properly fixed at first commencing the cutting, but when the 

 excavating has eutered about 50 feet, it wiU be connected by sleepers 

 and braces, as firm as the rock which it is cutting out. The pateuted 

 apparatus has been adopted by the Worth Ameiican Coal Company 

 who are now emploving it to be bore to a seam of bituminous coaJ, 

 called the " Big Wliite Ash Vein," which they expect to win at a, 

 depth of about SOU' fms. The hole is 41.,' in. diameter, which is 

 drill, d at the rate oi' 1 1 feet in five hours. The machine is so arrang- 

 ed that 10 drills can be worked in a certain space at one time by any 

 motive power, .and the debris is washed up by a curent of water from 

 a pump worked bv the same engine. Mr. T. S. Ridgwav, mining 

 engiueer, of MinersViUe, states that during the winter of ' 1848 and 

 spring of 1849 he had employed this machine in boring the Artesian 

 well at East Boston for the Land Company, wliich worked well to a 

 depth of 335 feet, but where not sufficient water was found, the 

 stratum being a hard clay-shate, overlaying the primitive rock. The 

 patentee is prepared, we understand to sink shafts to any depth, and 

 in any strata, in half the usual time of those performed by hand 

 labor, and at about ..ne-third the expense. The operation of drilling 

 through hard rock is one of considerable importance, and if this 

 apparatus effects all the adv.antages which are claimed for it, the 

 invention will prove of considerable value to the mining world. 



History and Astronomy — In a paper r/?ad before the Rnyal Institu- 

 tion, by G. B Airy, Esq., Royal Aslroiomer, 'on the results of 

 recent calcnlntioi.s on the Eclipse of Thnles and Eclipses con- 

 nected with it.' The Lecturer stated, that the conclusion as to the 

 general fitness of the ec'ipse ff b. c. 585 for represenling the circnm- 

 stances of the eclipse of Thnles, by inference from modern elements 

 of calculation, was first published bv Mr. Hind iu the Athenw>:m ; and 

 he said, that he had examined in greater or less detail every eclipse 

 from B. c. G30 to b. c. 580. aiul that no other eclip=e could pass over 

 Asia Minor, — and gave it as his np^niiju that the date b. c 585 was now 

 established for the eclipse of Thales beyond the possibility of a doubt. 



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