DIVING. 
pipes. Concerning the use of copper ma- 
chines in general Mr. Spalding has remark- 
ed, that when a person has breathed in them 
a few minutes, he feels in his month a very 
disagreeable brassy taste, which continues all 
the time he remains in the vessel ; so that, 
on this account, copper seems by no means 
an eligible material. , 
Diving, submarine vessel for. The fol- 
lowing; description of a diving-machine, in- 
vented by Mr. Bushnell, of Connecticut, is 
given in the Transactions of the American 
Philosophical Society. 
The external shape of the submarine ves- 
sel bore some resemblance to two upper tor- 
toise-shells of equal size, joined together ; the 
place of entrance into the vessel being re- 
presented by the opening made by the swell 
of the shells, at the hedd of the animal. The 
inside was capable of containing the operator, 
l and air sufficient to support him thirty mi- 
nutes without receiving fresh air. At the 
bottom, opposite to the entrance, was fixed a 
quantity of lead for ballast. At one edge, 
which was directly before the operator, who 
sat upright, was an oar for rowing forward 
or backward. At the other edge was a rud- 
der for steering. An aperture, at the bot- 
tom, with its valve, was designed to admit 
water, for the purpose of descending ; and 
two brass forcing-pumps served to eject the 
water within, when necessary for ascending. 
At the top there was likewise an oar for as- 
cending or descending, or continuing at any 
particular depth. A water-gauge, or baro- 
meter, determined the depth of descent, a 
compass directed the course, and a venti- 
lator within supplied the vessel with fresh air, 
when on the surface. 
The entrance into the vessel was elliptical, 
and so small as barely to admit a person. 
This entrance was surrounded with a broad 
elliptical iron band, the lower edge of which 
was let into the wood of which the body of 
the vessel was made, in such a manner as to 
give its utmost support to the body of the ves- 
sel against the pressure of the water. Above 
the upper edge of this iron band there was a 
brass crown, or cover, resembling a hat with 
its crown and brim, which shut water-tight 
upon the iron band: the crown was hung to 
the iron band with hinges, so as to turn over 
sideways when opened. To make it perfectly 
secure when shut, it might be screwed down 
upon the band by the operator, or by a per- 
son without. 
There were in the brass crown three round 
doors, one directly in front, and one pn each 
side, large enough to put the hand through. 
When open they admitted fresh air; their 
shutters were ground perfectly tight into their 
places with emery, hung with hinges, and 
secured in their places when shut. There 
were likewise several small glass windows in 
the crown for looking through, and for ad- 
mitting light in the day-time, with covers to 
secure them. There were two air-pipes in 
the crown. A ventilator within drew fresh 
air through one of the air-pipes, and dis- 
charged it into the lower part of the vessel ; 
the fresh air introduced by the 'ventilator ex- 
pelled the impure light air through the other 
air -pipe. Both air-pipes were so construct- 
ed, that they shut themselves whenever the 
water rose near their tops, so that no water 
could enter through them, and opened them- 
selves immediately after they rose above the 
water. 
The vessel was chiefly filled with lead fix- 
ed to its bottom ; when tins was sufficient, a 
quantity was placed within, more or less, ac- 
cording to the weight of the operator ; its 
ballast made it so stiff, that there was no 
danger of oversetting. The vessel with all 
its appendages, and the operator, was suffi- 
cient to settle it very low in the water. 
About two hundred pounds of the lead, at 
the bottom for ballast, would be let down 
forty or fifty feet below the vessel ; this en- 
abled the operator to rise instantly to the sur- 
face of the water, in case of accident. 
When the operator would descend, he 
placed his foot on the top of a brass valve, de- 
pressing it, by which lie opened a large aper- 
ture in the bottom of the vessel, through 
which the water entered at his pleasure ; 
when he had admitted a sufficient quantity, 
he ascended very gradually ; it he admitted 
too much, he ejected as much as was neces- 
sary to obtain an equilibrium by the two brass 
forcing-pumps placed at each hand. When- 
ever the vessel leaked, or he would ascend to 
the surface, he also made use of these forcing- 
pumps. When the skilful operator had ob- 
tained an equilibrium, he could row upward 
or downward, or continue at any particular 
depth, with an oar placed near the top of the 
vessel, formed upon the principle of the screw, 
the axis of the oar entering the vessel; by 
turning the oar one way he raised the vessel, 
by turning it the other way lie depressed 
it. 
A glass tube eighteen inches long, and one 
inch in diameter, standing upright, its upper 
end closed, and its lower end which was open, 
screwed into a brass pipe, through which the 
external water had a passage into the glass 
tube, served as a water-gauge or barometer. 
There was a piece of cork, with phosphorus on 
it, put into the water-gauge. When the vessel 
descended the water rose in the water-gauge, 
condensing the air within, and bearing the 
cork, with its phosphorus, on its surface. 
By the light of the phosphorus the ascent of 
the water in the gauge was rendered visible, 
and the depth of the vessel under water as- 
certained by a graduated line. 
An oar, formed upon the principle ot the 
screw, was fixed in the fore part of the vessel ; 
its axis entered the vessel, and being turned 
one way, rowed the vessel forward, but being 
turned the other way rowed it backward ; 
it was made to be turned by the hand or 
foot. 
A rudder, hung to the hinder part of the 
vessel, commanded it with the greatest ease. 
The rudder was made very elastic, and might 
be used for rowing forward. Us tiller was 
within the vessel, at the operator’s right-hand, 
fixed at a right-angle, on an iron rod which 
passed through the side of the vessel ; the rod 
had a crank on its outside end, which com- 
manded the rudder, by means of a rod ex- 
tending from the end of the crank to a kind 
of tiller, fixed upon the left-hand of the rud- 
der. liaising and depressing the first-men- 
tioned tiller, turned the rudder as the case re- 
quired. 
A compass marked with phosphorus di- 
rected the course, above and under the water; 
and aline and lead sounded the depth when 
541 
possible section of it, verged towards an ellipsis, 
as near as the design would allow; but every 
horizontal section, although elliptical, yet was 
as near to a circle as could be admitted. 
The body of the vessel was made exceedingly 
strong; and to strengthen it as much as pos- 
sible a . firm piece of wood was framed, pa- 
rallel to the conjugate diameter, to prevent 
the sides from yielding to the great pressure 
of the incumbent water in a deep immersion. 
This piece of wood was also a seat for the 
operator. 
Every opening was well secured. The 
pumps had two sets of valves. The aperture 
at the bottom, for admitting water, was co- 
vered with a plate, perforated full of holes to 
receive the water, and prevent any thing from 
choking the passage, or stopping the valve 
from shutting. 'The brass valve might likewise 
be forced into its place with a screw, if neces- 
sary. Theair-pipeshad akindof hollow sphere, 
fixed round the top of each, to secure the air- 
pipe valves from injury : these hollow’ spheres 
were perforated full of holes, for the passage 
of the air through the pipes: within the air- 
pipes were shutters to secure them, should 
any accident happen to the pipes or the 
valves on their tops. 
Wherever the external apparatus passed 
through the body of the vessel, the joints 
were round, and formed by brass pipes, 
which were driven into the wood of the ves- 
sel; the holes through the pipes were exactly 
made, and the iron rods, which passed through 
them, were turned in a lathe to fit them ; 
the joints were also kept full of oil, to prevent 
rust and leaking. Particular attention was 
given to bring every part, necessary for per- 
forming the operations, both within and with- 
out the vessel, before the operator, and as 
conveniently as could be devised ; so that 
•every thing might be found in the dark, ex- 
ceptthe water-gauge and the compass, which 
were visible by the light of the phosphorus ; 
and nothing required the operator to turn 
to the right hand, or to the left, to perform any 
thing necessary. 
The inventor next pursues the subject un- 
der the following heads; 
1 . Description of a magazine, and its ap- 
pendages, designed to be conveyed by the 
submarine vessel to the bottom of a ship, 
bn the fore part of the brim of the crown of 
the submarine vessel were a socket, and an 
iron* tube passing through the socket: the 
necessary. 
Tue internal shape of the vessel, in every 
iron tube stood upright, and could slide up 
and down in the socket six inches: at the top 
of the tube was a wood screw, fixed by 
means of a rod, which passed through the 
tube, and screwed the wood screw fast upon 
the top of the tube : by pushing the wood 
screw up against the bottom of a ship, and 
turning it at the same time, it would enter 
the planks ; driving would aho answer the 
same purpose: when the wood screw was 
firmly fixed it could be cast off by unscrew- 
ing the rod, which fastened it upon the top of 
the tube. 
Behind the submarine vessel was a place, 
above the rudder, for carrying a large pow- 
der-magazine ; this was made of two pieces 
of oak timber, large enough, when hollowed 
out, to contain 150 pounds of powder, with 
the apparatus used in firing it, and was secured 
in its place by a screw, turned by the opera- 
tor. A strong piece of rope extended from 
the magazine to the wood screw above-men- 
