LIFE-PKESERVING TRAVELLING APPARATUS. 361 



sometimes in combination with metal, but in most cases alone. 

 These contrivances are as admirably fitted for closing the aper- 

 tures of the different articles, as the fabrics are for rendering 

 the body of them water and air-tight. It is important for many 

 reasons that trunks and boxes which are used for containing 

 clothing, should be tight, for standing in the house, as well as 

 on ship board, and should have water-proof and durable cov- 

 ering, for some dwellings even, especially in new settlements, 

 are not water-tight, and articles are exposed to be damaged 

 in them, unless they are kept in trunks or boxes that are water- 

 proof. 



It is always desirable that both dust and dampness should be 

 kept out of trunks and boxes that contain wearing apparel, be- 

 cause in travelling, the damage to clothing is often very great 

 from dust, as well as from exposure to the damp salt atmosphere, 

 to say nothing of storms by sea and land. This damage is ef- 

 fectually guarded against by the improvements in travelling 

 apparatus. The exclusion of moths, without the use of articles 

 that are offensive in clothing, such as tobacco and camphor, is 

 another important advantage to be gained by the use of trunks, 

 boxes, and bags of this kind. The incompressible bag is an 

 improvement exactly suited to the rapid travelling of modern 

 times. A very portable and flexible article of this kind, answers 

 the purpose instead of heavy trunks, to carry small and light 

 articles, which are exposed to be broken and damaged. It may 

 be used also for a pillow, cushion, or foot-stool, without mate- 

 rially injuring it, or exposing the contents to injury. 



The arrangement of these different articles, when used as life- 

 preservers, may be more easily pointed out, and made more ap- 

 parent in the descriptions of the particular articles. 



They may be considered perfectly safe as life-preservers, and 

 although not so easily secured or bound to the person, they may 

 be easily held on to, and easily attached together, to form rafts, 

 or lashed to boats, so as to form life-boats of any wooden boats, 

 although leaky. In order to impress the reader with the idea 

 of the security of these articles, in comparison with those that 



-ff^mi 



