Eitttjnitic 5lrt0 %: Itinitf. 
PATENT OFFICE REPOET. 
Mk. Ewbakk, Comniissioner of Patents, 
in his Report, proposes to set apart One 
Hundred Thousand Dollars of the Patent 
Fund, the interest of which — about ^30,- 
000 — shall, once in four years, (the day 
after the inauguration of the President,) be 
distributed among the beneficient Inventions 
and Discoveries introduced during that 2 )e- 
riod; — to be adjudged by the Heads of 
the Departments, and the Presidents of the 
Mechanic Institutions in the piincipal cities 
of the United States. 
We annex tlie substance of the project. 
One feature of it is startling and novel—the 
substitution of some machine for the Plow, 
in the preparation of the soil for crops: 
Assembling ill Washington a sufficient time be¬ 
fore the day or day.s for distributing the prizes, it 
would be their duty to examine the subjects offered 
for premiums, a.scertain their merits, and determine 
the amounts to be awarded to the author or authors 
of each. 
The reputation of such a body of men would, 
it is believed, be a sufficient guaranty against the 
introduction of favoritism or any unworthy motive 
of action. Above all pensonal and political influ¬ 
ences in making the awards, their decisions could 
hardly be other than .such as the public would ap¬ 
prove. The eyes of thousands and tens of thou¬ 
sands would be oil them; their verdicts would be 
subjected to genera! criticism, and lie applauded 
or condemned by the world. Guided by inflexi¬ 
ble justice, they would be respected and revered 
a.s were the twelve who presided at the great quad¬ 
rennial festival at Elis; and eventually the honor 
of a jirize would be more sought for at their hands 
than the value of the prize itself. 
A genuine inventor cares little for what the 
world calls wealth. Mammon is not the first nor 
the final cause in his philosophy. Ambitious of 
disclosing new facts, let him bring in fresh contri¬ 
butions to the fresh .stock of mechanical discovery, 
and the treasures of India are nothing to him — 
and in reality are nothing in compari.sou with the 
riches he reveals. With him it is an affair of honor 
more than of profit. 
The 5th day of march —the day following each 
Presidential inauguration at the Capitol—it is 
presumed, would be a suitable one for the presen¬ 
tation at tlie Patent Office of the ])remiums to suc- 
ce.ssful compctitor.s. Should the project be sanc¬ 
tioned by Congress, the first presentation might be 
announced by Congress, to take place on the 5th of 
March, at noon, of the year 185-, under the di¬ 
rection of the Secretary of the Interior, to whose 
Department the Patent Office belongs. 
By associating these Scientific Festivals with 
the beginning of each Administration, the occasion 
of awardilig the premiums would be heightened in 
interest, and be witnessed by citizens from ever}' 
section of the Union, and also by strangers from 
abroad. Appropriate addresses by di.stinguished 
citizens might form i)art of the ceremonies. We 
should thus hold a kind of political and scientific 
Olympiad, celebrated with fetes in unisno with the 
age — with competitions between intellectual in¬ 
stead of physical athlcta?. 
Those bearing ofl’ the chief prizes under each 
administration would have their names associated 
with it on the pages of historj-—for hi.story hence¬ 
forth is to be that of beneficient rather than de¬ 
structive achievements — and of some of them, 
also, it perhaps will be said, *• The honors of 
genius are eternal.” 
Should the whole sum at the disposal of the 
Board at each period of distribution not be used, 
from the want of sufficient importance or merit in 
the devices or di.scoverie.s submitted, no inconven¬ 
ience could result, since larger amounts would be 
on hand to meet extraordinary claims on subse¬ 
quent occasions. 
Once established and benoi.cient effects experi¬ 
enced, accessions to the fund would in all proba¬ 
bility lie received in donations and bequests of 
l>atuotic citizens, of whom not a few would find 
it a congenial medium for promoting by their sur¬ 
plus wealth their country’s glory. 
A system of national prizes, thus established, 
would, it is believed, create an epoch in the histo¬ 
ry of American Arts, and would cherish in the 
largest and most laborious class of citizens an am¬ 
bition, with impulses as pure as any that move the 
human bo.som. It would do more, for it is such 
things that contribute to the prosperity and dura¬ 
tion of nations. It is well enough to talk of the 
penetration of prominent statesmen and legi.sla- 
tors of old, but not one of them perceived the true 
means of elevating their people. The producing 
classes they despised, and the industrial arts were 
deemed beneath them. 
Had premiums been oficred at Olympia foru.se- 
ful discoveries in Science and Art — had they 
there brought out grist and saw-mills, sjiiiiHing 
frames and power looms — their names had come 
down in substantial forms, and been a.ssociated 
with cherished reminiscences throughout all gen¬ 
erations. The history of the past would have 
pre.seuted veiy' different aspects to those we are 
compelled to contemplate. Greece had not fallen 
before Macedoii nor Rome, and the Colonies of 
Attica had probably been at this day as numerous 
and widely spread as those of any other people. 
Had the idea once occurred to the more advan¬ 
ced of the ancients that inanirnated forces are 
the pjtrainount agents of national prosperity and 
strength, that only as they are developed can peo¬ 
ple rise in civilization, that savages are such be¬ 
cause they use no powers but their own, that semi- 
barbarians are indebted for what progress they 
make to the labor of animals, and the more ad¬ 
vanced to currents of wind and water; and that 
when the more efficient but less obvious energies 
of the ga.se-s are employed, agriculture, commerce, 
manufactures and all the great physical transac¬ 
tions of life can be carried on with at ithe of the 
expenditure of human muscle — the world would 
not now be .struggling, as it is, with ignorance and 
misrule. 
If anv should be found to object to the organi¬ 
zation of the proposed institution, it might be re¬ 
minded that it would add a link—a bright and not 
a weak one — to the chain of nationul brotherhood. 
I'kxmium MKu.\r.s.—Another wi.se custom of old 
—wise because founded on a knowledge of the 
human heart, and of the .springs of human action 
—was to strike medals in honor of remarkable 
men: hence the names and features of classical 
conquerors, statesmen, orators, liistorians, jihiloso- 
phers and })oets, that have come down. Similar 
compliments to professional eminece, good or bad, 
liave been conferred by all modern nations. I^et 
it be our part to present characteristic medallions 
to those whose labors tend not to depress and de- 
stroi , but to bless and exalt the race. 
In Europe those that excel in the Fine Arts are 
complimented with casts and medals of Raphael, 
Ruben.s, Canova, &c., and with us, kindred ones 
for similar purposes have been struck. Why not 
adopt the same plan for the promotion of the In¬ 
dustrial and Productive Arts? I respectfully pro¬ 
pose that three sets of dies be prepared for produ¬ 
cing, in bronze or other metals. Medallions of 
Franklin, Fulton, and Whitney, to .serve as 
prizes and accompaniments of prizes, for valuable 
contributions to mechanical science. 
Two, three, or more profiles might, if deemed 
proper, be impressed on each modal; thus Whit- 
temore’s might be associated witii Whitney, and 
Fitch and ()liver Evans with Fulton. Godfrey’s 
might lie added to Franklin, and were it deemed 
proper to introduce profiles of the living, one still 
more appropriate might be named. 
A series of medallions of eminent American 
Inventoi-s or Mechanics, thus commenced would 
be continued, and eventually form a new chapter 
in medallurgy, as instructive and interesting as 
anv of which that science can boast. 
it may be a question with some, whether those 
who patent their inventions should be permitted to 
enter them for premiums. In the opinion of the 
undersigned, no re.strictions of the kind should be 
imposed; the object sought to be accomplished is 
to hasten the advent of discoveries advantageous 
to the general good, not to limit benefits which 
their authors may legally and righteously derive 
from them. 
Premiums — For What Oeekred. — Instead of 
publishing a schedule of prizes and devices, it 
would perhaps be expedient to leave the field en¬ 
tirely open, so that any remarkable invention or 
contribution to the arts, of sufficient importance, 
might receive an appropriate acknowledgement.— 
There can, however, be no impropriety in sug¬ 
gesting a few of the subjects to which the atten¬ 
tion of inventors might with most advantage be 
directed. 
An invention by which land can be worked with 
equal facility without animals as with them, is one. 
In attempting the solution of this^roblem, it might 
be well if inventors would avoid copying too closely 
the action of the plow, and turn their attention to 
equivalent, though not analogous, procession for 
digging into, raising, turning and breaking the 
soil; remembering also (what looks very like a. sine 
qua non in locomotive plowing,) . . to bring 
the points of resistance rather under the power 
than the rear of it, as in cattle plowing, or so far 
in advance of it as some projectors would have 
them. 
If the thru.sting action had not been so completely 
identified in idea with the plow, it had long ago 
been modified, at least for .some kinds of earth. — 
But the implement has become so sanctioned by 
time, is rendered .so venerable by antiquity and re¬ 
vered as a symbol of the first and last of arts, that 
reforming spirits have kept away from it, hesitating 
to projwse any radical change in so universally 
cherished a favorite. The fact may be assumed 
that in its stereotyped forxis and features, the plow 
belongs exclusively to the cycle of animal motors. 
It cannot go beyond them without undergoing 
more or less of a metamoiqihose. When inorganic 
prime-movers take it in hand the rectilinear will 
most likely give place to a rotar}' and paring or ! 
semi-paring action. 
There is no difficulty in combining the effect of 
the plow, harrow, pulverizer, or clod-breaker in 
the same machine, for soils the most tenacious. A 
single or a series of cutters or prongs at the ends 
of vertical revolving shafts, (on the jirinciple of 
oblong boring machines or such as arc u.sed for 
removing the blank .surface of engraved bloclis of 
I wood,) might be carried over a field with very little 
! resistance to its progress, while each cutter, equiv¬ 
alent to a plow, would work away the most adhe¬ 
sive soil — paring it off in shavings of any deter¬ 
mined thickness in front, and leaving them well 
broken and commingled behind—cutting away 
roots in its path by piecemeal and opening the soil 
thorough'for the air’s percolation, (a most essential 
part of an intelligent plowman’s treatment of his 
land,) instead of succe.ssive rows of solid slab, 
which the present implement, by its wedge-like 
operation, compresses and turns up. 
Bv obvious devices, implements of this kind 
could readily be made adju.stable to surface or to 
the deepest subsoil plowing; while the power re¬ 
quired, even in the latter operations, would hardly 
ever equal that consumed in ordinary applications 
of current plows. 
The earth hitherto tortured by ignorance and 
then denounced for barrenness, is about to receive 
better usage. A new epoch in Agriculture is 
clearly at hand; brought near by the labors of 
chemists and inventors, to whom the glories of a 
conquest extending over the planet and replete with 
unalloyed blessings to the entire human race will 
belong. Husbandmen acquiring a knowledge of 
chemical and mechanical laws will cea.se to vio¬ 
late them, and with a tithe of their present toil reap 
abundant and certain harvests — certain because 
blight, mildew and ever}' other disease incident to 
plants will become eradicated and famine be un¬ 
known. It will not be long ere this and other ter¬ 
rible natural scourges will he acknowledged as the 
unavoidable penalties of neglecting to employ the 
powers given us to ascertain and remove the causes 
of them. 
A premium of $10,000 for an economical Lo¬ 
comotive Plow,' or even a higher sum, would in 
a national view be money well laid out. 
• If the device be not realized by steam, it will be 
an earlv corollan,' of the next motor. 
Increasing the Speed of Ocean Steamers is 
another desideratum. These vessels constitute a 
marked feature in modern navigation, but rapid as 
naval traveling has come to be by them, it will 
unquestionably be carried to a much higher stand¬ 
ard. The finst locomotives did not average five 
miles an hour — in 1825 a European writer placed 
the maximum velocity at six, and ridiculed the pro- 
mul<ration of “such nonsense as that we shall see 
locomotive engines travelling at the rate of 12, 16, 
18, and 20 miles an hour.” In 1829, 15 miles was 
attained — soon after, that speed was on one occa¬ 
sion noarlv doubled. Within the last seven years 
20 miles was deemed the highest consistent with 
safety; subsequently 30 was reached—then 35 
was supposed to be flie extreme limit, but recently 
a mile a minute has been attained, and is kept up 
in some English express trains. Even 70 miles 
an hour has been reached. The average speed of 
Railroad traveling wtII certainly come up to 60.— 
So with oceanic locomotives—they have been grad¬ 
ually growing faster, and, admitting in their case, 
to a greater extent than air opposes to Locomotives, 
an increasing resistance with increased speed, there 
is no reason to .suppo.se anything like the limits has 
been attained. I’hey have run up from 4 to 6, 8, 
10, 12 to about 15, their present average, and must 
continue to run up. 
I propose that a premium of $20,000 be offered 
for improvements by which a ve.ssci .shall make 
three consecutive trips across the Atlantic at an 
average speed of 20 miles an hour; and another 
of $20,000 for those by which 25 miles shall be 
done. Such premiums will tend to put the enter¬ 
prise and ingenuity of our citizens still more on the 
stretch, and urge them to shoot aliead of the pres¬ 
ent craft, either by decided improvements in pro¬ 
pelling apparatus' or by the introduction of new 
principles of propulsio'u. 
Prize for a New Motor. — Steam, the only 
force artificially evolved, it is admitted, has sur¬ 
passed the brightc.st foreshadowings. The heart 
modern socictv it has quickened, and animates j ^ 
e most distant members. In political and moral ° 
Rkll metal ; an alloy of 22 jiartsof tin 
renovations its pulsations arc not less perceptible 
than in scientific and mechanical. 
But steam is ordained to be superceded to some 
Tam-'J’am oi he Chinese, from which the 
(jonejs, used in the large hotels of our cities. 
extent by, or at least as.sociatcd with, other prime are manufact trod, consists of 80 parts of 
movers. To stimulate the inventive gcniu.sot our copper and 2t if tin. We haic no certain 
countrymen, and endeavor to secure to the Repub- t r .... 
lie the' imperishable honor of giving a new mo- knowledge th . this is the exact proportion 
chanical power to the world, it is rcs]^ctfully pro- by the “ . isido barbarians,” but agree- 
posed to Congress to authorize the otter ot a pre- - , . . ° 
mium of One Hundred Thousand Dollars, to able to the ana.ysis oi iiicnard, tllC aboyc 
be drawn from the Treasury or from future accu- i-cpi-cf;cnts abc t the (luantiti' of such metal, 
inulations of the Patent Fund, to him who within i , r , .,1 r i 
the next-years shall render Electricity in any Iifonzc IS CO npo.scd ot 100 ot copjicr and 
of its forms an economical, efficient and general tin. I' is much cmiilovcd in the 
Or who within the same period .shall discover casting of stat’tes. ihlS alloy IS ot a grcy- 
and make known the means by which atmospheric jg]^ ycllow, qi ' .e fusible and malleable; 
;;res5Mre can be profitably employed in the propul- “ ^ c n , c 
sion of sea-going vessels, and land locomotives, bpcculum metal consists ot _ jiarts Ox 
or as a generally impeller of fi.xed machiner}-; by copper tO 1 of tin, and is used in the man- 
some rapid mode of expelling air from a cylinder r i a T,ii 
or of annihilating it under a pistol: ufacturc of mirrors for telcscopcs. A little 
ufacturc of mirrors for telcscopcs. A little 
Or, who developes an explosive, or other jirirne arsenic improves its Avhitencss. 
mover, applicable, energetic, and economical as 
the vapor of water, and whose exciting and trans- 
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, ■ 
mitting mechanism is less massive and costly than fcom 12 to 25 per cent, of the latter. The 
[ It is cargoes of fuel, tanks of water and huge proportions employed, however, by diffeicnt 
boiling cauldrons, with their heave and dangerous manufacturers vary greatly. A discription 
adiucts, in steamers and locomotives, that are .. 
winted to be got rid of.] of ds sensible properties IS quite unnecessary. 
Were the amount offered a million of dollars, it Tombac, Dutch gold. Prince Rupert’s 
would be none too much, and were it drawn from , . i i i.'' 
the public coffers, no very strong objection could nictal, Or J^ttichback, are allo} S O coppei 
be brought against it, since the community would ^nd zinc. Copper and zinc, it may not be 
sLd" fold"^^ consideration a thou- j Yierc to mention, readily unite by 
It is not probable that this premium would be fu.sing them togetlMir. 
claimed under .several years, so that no inconve- ^ r (.r, . a 
nience from an early withdrawal from the Patent Cl-mplU, an alloy Ot iUU paits Ot COppei 
Fund, if from that source Congress determine to and 50 tO 55 of zinc, resembles gold in 
offer it, of so large a sum, need be anticipated; nnrticnlorR 
but were it to be awarded to-morrow, so much the P^tn^CU ai . 
better for us and our race. Packfong Of wllitc copper of the Chinese, 
according to the analysis of Dr. Fyfe, is 
LIST OF PATENTS composed of 40.4 parts of copper 31.6 of 
ISSUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, ^ ^ r ■ a 
„ , , r ■ nickel, 25.4 of zme, and 2.6 of iron. An 
ror the week ending January 15, 18o0. _ , , 
rr, rr A J o • • Til diftciTng but little from the above is 
To Homer Adkin.s, Round rrairie, III, for lui- • ° 
provement in Mowing-machines. Patented Jan. known by the name of German silver, 
15^^1850. , m ■ r T which much of our cheap plate is 
lo Jesse Bailey, Leatherwood, Ohio, for Im- r i 
provement in Gates for Fences. Patented Jan. manufactured. 
15, 1850. Common pewter consists of 80 parts of 
To John Binder, Chelsea, Mass., for Improve- . r i j tti -l . c i 
ment in folding Bedsteads. Patented Jan. 15, 1850. to 20 of lead. 1 lumbers, OI 1 OI the 
To Frederick Bleir, Pittsburgh, Pa., for Im- former to 2 of the latter. Pot metal of 
provement in Dampers for cleaning Stove Pipes /- •, • i. r i i 
and regulating the draft in the same. Patented j copper, with one-fourth its u eight of lead. 
Jan. 15, 1850. I Standard gold and silver is alloyed 
To Charles W. Brown, Bo.ston, Mas.s., for Im- ! . , ,,,/ , i j i i 
provement in Mills for Grinding. Patented Jan. 1 ''Ah copper. The stciling 01 standard gold 
15, 1850. ^ I of Great Britain, consists of gold alloyed 
To Charles Carnell, Kensington Pa., for Im- , ir.i i a v nu 
provement in Brick Presses. Patented Jan. 15, "hh one-twelfth its eight of COppei. ihe 
1850. . standard gold of the United States differs 
provement in Files for keeping Papers. Patented j little fiom the Enghsh. The gold of 
Jan. 15, 1850. j France consists of 9 parts of gold and 1 of 
To William W. Finch, Jacob Blai.sdell, and i 
Leauder Babbitt, all of Essex county, N. Y., for I COppei. 
Improvement in Obstertical Supporters. Patented ^ The standard silver of the United States 
'^^ToVolmK Heath, Warren, Ohio, for Improve- I consists of 1485 of fine Sliver, and l79 of 
ment in Harvesting Machines. Patented Jan. 15, copper ; 13 Trov ounces are coined into 
Common pewter consists of 80 parts of 
Patented j copper, with one-fourth its weight of lead. 
j All standard gold and silver is alloyed 
iited*^ Jam ! copper. The sterling or standard gold 
i of Great Britain, consists of gold alloyed 
’ J.JJJ with one-twelfth its weight of copper. The 
standard gold of the United States differs 
The standard silver of the United States 
consists of 1485 of fine silver, and 179 of 
To John Howell, and William D. Howell, and 
French silver,—9 of silver and 1 of 
Joseph Sijie, all of Clark county, Ohio, for Sub- | c02)per. Standard ditto of Great Britain, 
stitute for the Clevis. Patento_d'Jan. 15, 1850. 1 ... . ,, t rni . 
To San.uel Jackson, Hamilton, Ohi.o, to Jm- I "'PPer ”><1 ' 110 ot silver. The silver 
provement in Cider Mills. Patented Jan. 15,1850. | of commerce consists of 37 parts of fine 
To William Kennish, now resident at Paterson, ! ^ 3 
N. J., Assignee to Cornelius S. van Wagoner, i . . 
Paterson, N. J., for Improved arrangement of the ' l.'he alloy which antimony f( 
vaRes of hydraulic Engines. Patented Jan. 15, j ^Im important 
Paterson, N. J., for Improved arrangement of the ' The alloy which antimony forms with lead 
vaRes of hydraulic Engines. Patented Jan. 15, j ^Im important and useful in 
To Robert Kittle, Dansville, N. Y., for Im- j the arts. It is this alloy which constitutes 
provemeM^nMachiuc^^^^^ proportion of the two 
To George B. Kelsey, Middletown, Conn., for i mctals vary. Mr. Dalton' says the smallest 
Improvementin Buckles Patented Jan. 15 1850. | type are composed of nearly one atom 
To William Maguire, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Im- | ^ i i i •in 
proved Door Locks. Patented Jan. 15, 1850. j of antimony to onc of lead; the middle 
To Nicholas G. Norcross, Lowcjk Maas., for j sized. One atom totwoof lead; and thelarg- 
Improvement in Circular Saw Mills. Patented i . _ . r ■, r 
Jan. 15, 1850. ! est Sized tjqic ot one atom ot the tormer 
Jo,shua G. Reed, Paterson, N. J., for Improve- , three of the latter. ‘ 
ment in Spindles and Bobbins for Spindles. Pat- | _ 
ented Jan. 15, 1850. i 
To Abraham Straub, Milton, Pa., for Improve- ; THE SUN’S DISTA NCE FR OM THE EARTH. 
iT^ViO I’atented Jam j pg recollected that Congress, at 
To Timothy Taylor, Purcell’s Store, Loudoun | the last session, ajjjiroj)! iatcd a sum of money 
county, Va., Assignee to Mortimer Taylor, near j to send a scientific expedition tO the W est 
Govahstown, Md., for Improvement in fasteniugs j coast of South America, for the purpose of 
for Harness Hames, I^tented Jan. 15, 1850. , astronomical observations to deter- 
Andrew Weikhart, Greenford, Ohio, for Im- . o, , v a r ai 
provement in Boring Machines. Patented Jan. ! nilllC, if possible, tllC SUU S distance from the 
15, 1850. _ _ I earth with greater accuracy than has here- 
aiRONAUTATION BY BALLOONS. toforc been done. This ^stance is general- 
_ ly believed to be about mnety-nve millions 
Tiik editor of the Scientific Journal in of miles; though some observations have 
Washino'ton has attacked the persons now it not more than ninety millions. 
at the scat of Government asking for aid to ^ determining, by the 
maturing their plan of feronautation by bal- motion, the mean distance at which 
loons, on the following grounds, viz: gravitating bodies shall revolve around each 
“ Kothing can float in the air unless it be other, has made the calculation upon his 
eight hundred times lighter than water; principles, and finds the distance from the 
such a body therefore must, of course, carr}' centre of the earth to the cftitre of tlie sun 
800 times less power than might be used in to be 92,285,568 miles, (ninety-two millions, 
a steamboat. But the utmost power that two hundred and eighty-five thousand, five 
a steamboat can carry, will not enable it to hundred and sixty-eight miles.) In this 
make the least headway against wind blow- calculation, which requires but a few min¬ 
ing 200 miles an hour. How then is it; utes’ labor, he takes the diameter of the 
possible for a body of 800 times less jvower earth at the most commonly received meas- 
to make any headway, against even a gentle urement 7,912 mile.s. The gentleman from 
wind blowing three miles an hour. whom we derive the above jiarticulars has 
In navigating the air, we can obtain no examined the calculations alluded to, and 
fulcrum but the air itselfi and that is yield- j discovci-s no mistake in Biem. He says:— 
ing, and but a small portion of even the , “ The fact that his [the inventor’s] method, 
wower which can be carried would prove j which is entirely independent of all astrono- 
eflcctii e. mical observations and calculations, comes 
If a body, so comparatively solid as water, j to a result which is nearly a medium of the 
causes a loss of power, the loss must be i distances heretofore found by observations, 
vastly greater in a body 800 times lighter, ! is in itself almo.st a demonstration tliat his 
and exceedingly elastic. When to all this | jirinciples arc correct; and if correct, he has 
we add 800 times less power than a steam- j certainly made a most wonderful and im- 
boat, and at the same time bear in mind the j j^ortant discoveiy'. W e trust the scientific 
further fact, that a steamboat cannot make j world will ere long receive more liglit on the 
the least headway against wind blovring ! subject.— Journal of Commerce. 
206 miles an liour, the fallacy must be ' - - -- 
apparent” ^ Rkjoice not when thine enemy fiilleth. 
It has been discovered in England, that 
tlie golden suljihuret of Antimony mixed 
with Indian Rubber, and submitted to tlie 
action of lie;.t at 280 degrees, in a boiler, 
under jircssure, from four to six hours, will 
produce what is known as IMetalic Rubber, 
after which tlic goods will resist the action > 
of extremes of heat or cold, yet retain for t 
an indefinite time, a much greater degree 
of elasticity than those produced by the / 
melting of sulpluir with lead mixed witli ; 
rubber. Fabrics prepared according to this ' 
invention, can be made to take all the most 
delicate tints of color, quite free from the 
odor of siiljfinir, so objectionable in other ■. 
modes of vulcanizing. Mixed Avith Gutta ? 
■Percha, images, tlie entire features of the 
face, which arc capable of being distorted 
into innumerable and grotesque forms, hai'C . 
been produced. Overcoats have been made ? 
by this process, to weigh but twenty-two ) 
ounces, and capable of being crammed into ) 
the pocket. A single thread of the clastic ' 
fabric, no larger than a knitting needle, sils- 
pended the iveight of fifteen pounds after ^ 
being stretched nine times its quiescent ' 
length, so strong is the substance after be- ' 
ing submitted to the process. It is said to ' 
be the most valuable discovery yet made in ) 
connection with India Rubber. ■ 
Wonders of Geology. —More than nine ii 
thousand different kinds of animals have 
been changed into stone. The races or ^ 
genera of more than half of these are now i 
extinct, not being at present known in a liv- ' 
ing state upon the earth. From the re- ; 
mains of some of these animals, they must ^ 
have been larger tlian any living animals ' 
now known upon the earth. The Megthe- < 
rium, (large boast,) says Buckland, from a J 
skeleton nearly completed in the museum J 
in Madrid, was pcrfectlv colo.ssal. With a < 
head and neck like a Sloth, its legs and feet < 
exhibit the character of the Armadillo and J 
Ant-eater. Its fore feet were a yard in J 
length, and more than twelve inches wide, < 
terminating by gigantic claws. Its thigh \ 
bone was nearly three times as thick as | 
that of the elephant; and its tail, nearest | 
the body, was six feet in circumference.— i 
Its tusks were admirably adapted to cutting 
vegetable substances, and its structure and 
streng-th were intended to fit it for digging- 
in the ground for roots, on which it princi¬ 
pally fed. 
Farmers AND Mechanics. — Their Men¬ 
tal Culture, Refinement, and Social Eleva¬ 
tion. — It is a perverted public sentiment 
that esteems the industrial pursuits more 
humble than clerkship and trade, and as¬ 
signs to the producing classes a lower grade 
in social life than is awarded to the mer¬ 
cantile portion of tlie community. The ad¬ 
age of Pope, “ Act well your part, there 
all the honor lies,” is a sublime truth. It 
should nen'c the souls of our farmem and 
mechanics, to assert the dignity of tlieir* 
calling-s, as the true and only sources of the 
public wealth, and to maintain their claim 
to jiersonal respectability. But to do this 
successfully, they must cultivate their minds 
and manners, and see to it, that in science 
and general knowledge, and in true refine¬ 
ment, the}' arc not behind those whose del¬ 
icate jmrsuits have generally secured the 
pre-eminece in personal adornment and so¬ 
cial elevation. Let them take the illastrious 
Franklin for their model, and emulate other 
mechanics ivho hai'C risen to wealth and 
high public respect, and they will never 
have occasion to be ashamed of their busi¬ 
ness or condition in life. 
HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION. 
; The following arguments in favor of ex¬ 
empting a man’s homestead from liability, 
; we find in one of our Western exchanges: 
“There are two leading reasons w'hich 
• ought to have great weight. The fimt is, 
' that the direct tendency of exempting the 
• homestead from debt, is to presen'C the in¬ 
tegrity of the family, botli in society and 
• property. It will keep the family together 
‘ by keeping tliem at home — safe from all 
the storms of adversity. Now, the State 
^ which legislates has a deep interest in main- 
i taining the unity and prosperity of the fam- 
i ily. The whole is made uj) of its parts.— 
^ Societ}' is founded in the family. If no 
I family is driven out to seek a precarious 
support — the State Avill have no paupers 
to maintain. In evei*}' state of society, no 
matter what the laws, the solvent must 
maintain the insolvent. In both the natural 
and Christian state of society it is the duty 
of the members of a family to do this to 
one another. If, then, the family can be 
kept united, and have a home to rely upon, 
it is almost certain they will be able to do it. 
There is another reason almost equally 
strong, and which concerns the political 
health. There is no independence, strictly 
speaking, to be relied upon among people 
wlio have neither a homestead nor the 
means of getting one. Many of our laborers 
do get homesteads, saved from the profits 
of their labor, ’riiis should be encouraged 
—the whole community should be made 
independent, if possible.” 
Man overlooks the most instructive book 
ill his studv, if he reads not himself. 
