MOOEE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY JOURNAL. 
‘Mb & Itimu. 
IMPOKTANT INTENTION. 
We yesterday witnessed the, operation of 
a small Saw Mill, constnicted ujK)n a new 
and singular principle—that of self-propul¬ 
sion. The inventor is Mr. Amos Jackson, 
of Pottowatimie county, Iowa, who, in com¬ 
pany with several of his brethren in tlie 
Mormon faith, arc noAv in this city. Mr. 
Jackscjn has spent many years of toil, and 
large sums of money in perfecting his inven¬ 
tion, and our impres.sion is that the method 
now presented will entirely supercede the 
mills now in use. 
This mill is built in such a maimer as to 
derive its entire propelling power from the 
weight of the log to be sawed, which he ac¬ 
complishes in the following manner; the or¬ 
dinary ways ujxni which the carriage trav¬ 
els, are fixed upon the bearings that enter 
into the frame; the opposite ends are pro¬ 
vided with large segments of a cog wheel 
working into a series of cog wheels and pin¬ 
ions ; thus, it will be seen, that when the 
log is pushed forward to the saw, its weight 
is brought to act with great force through 
tlie segments, upon a shaft liaving several 
intermediate gearings to increase the-speed 
sufficiently for driving the crank shaft.— 
When we consider that the weight of saw 
logs is commonly from six to eight thousand 
pounds, we may judge of the immense pro¬ 
pelling power thus obtained, indeed, the 
fear is, that means will have to be used to 
check the velocity of the desending mass, 
as the segment describes its area. If the 
principle, when carried out answers anything 
like as well as the one we have witnessed, 
we cannot see what use there can be of 
steam, water, or any other power than that 
used by Mr. Jackson for saw-milling. 
Several years ago, while the invention 
was still incomplete, it was submitted to the 
Hon. II. L. Elsworth, then the Commission¬ 
er of the Patent Office, wdio at once pro¬ 
nounced it the best means ever devised for 
sawing. 
An i{n{)ortant jiart of the invention con¬ 
sists in a new form of saw, wdiereby all set¬ 
ting is dispensed with, 'fhe toothed edge 
of Mr. Jackson’s saw is made thick, and di¬ 
minishing to the back, thus leaving all fric¬ 
tion out of the question, and saving the set¬ 
ting. The price of the.se mills, we are in¬ 
formed, w ill be light, compared with others, 
and they can be attached to wheels for 
traveling the country’. Measures have been 
tiiken to secure a patent The invention 
can be examined to-day at Mr. J. E. Ware’s 
Patent Ofiice Agency, 65 Second street- 
A mill on this principle wall be in operation, 
in this city in a few weeks.— St. Zottis Re- 
jmhlican. 
The project above mentioned must be 
hUlacious, and never can come into use.— 
It must cost just as much power to get the 
log back again after descending, as it has 
exerted in going down, and nothing is gain¬ 
ed. The pow'er to effect this, applied in any 
other way, w'ould perform the same labor. 
—Eu._ 
DAGUERREOTYPES IMPROVED. 
A London artist has discovered a pro¬ 
cess by wdiich daguerreotypes are rendered 
indelible. At present, though the produ¬ 
cers of these photographic likenesses pre¬ 
tend that they will bear to be touched, it 
is v/ell known that they will not, and that 
they must be liennetically sealed against 
the hostile invasion of sulphuretted hydro¬ 
gen which makes the picture invisible under 
a rusty sulphuret of silver. This London 
discovery is such that daguerreotypes can 
be made to bear friction and hydrogen — 
resist every thing, in fact, short of sand-pa¬ 
per. It is also efficacious in the restoration 
of those old portraits which have become 
dimmed wdth rust. This is one of the pleas¬ 
antest discoveries that has been made in the 
fine arts for a long time. We can shortly 
send our indestructible visjiges to Thebes of 
Athens, when we will and where, tlirough 
the Post Office—no friction making them 
afraid. Of course, this discoveiy will very 
soon find its way into Broadway and Wash¬ 
ing-ton streets. — Boston Mvsmm. 
Imi’kovement in Gun Casting. —A new 
method has been resorted to at the Cannon 
Foundry, near Pittsburgh, for the produc¬ 
tion of guns. Instead of bringing them from 
the mould solid, and afterwards boring them, 
they are cast with the proper bore; the bore 
being carefully prepared so as to enclose a 
circle of cold water, which it receives and 
discharges in a continuous cm-rent, during 
tlie process of cooling, the object, probably, 
being to chill the inner surface more rapid¬ 
ly tlian the outer, and thereby give to it a 
greater density and strength. The plan is 
the suggestion of Lieut Rodman; and two 
guns—one ca.st on the old and the other on 
the ncAv plan, having been subjected to the 
usual test, the first exploded on the eighty- 
fourth, and the latter on the two hundred 
and fifty-fifth round. This shows a great 
superiority over the common mode of mak¬ 
ing cannon, and if future experiments sub¬ 
stantiate this successful one, Lieut. Rodman’s 
invention will come into general use.—A’ar- 
mer and Mechanic. 
LIST OF PATENTS 
ISSUED FROM THE UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, 
For the week ending January 29, 1850. 
To John Butler, of Buffalo, N. Y., for Improve¬ 
ment in Brick Presses. Patented Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Stephen Crane, Charleston, S. C., for Im¬ 
provement in Wash-mixtures. Patented Jan. 29, 
18.50. 
To Russell Caulkins, Sandusky City, Ohio, for 
Improvement in Utero-Vaginal Supporters. Pat¬ 
ented Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Benjamin Crawford, Alleghany City, Pa., 
Assignor to Ei^lish, Bennett, Frisbee & Crawford 
of Alleghany Cfity, Pa., for Improvement in Steam 
Boiler Furnaces. Patented Jan. 29, 1850 
To Abraham Gesnor, Hali%x, N. S., for Manu¬ 
facture of Illuminating Gas from Bitumen. Pat¬ 
ented Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Robert Hare, Philadelphia, Pa., for Prepa¬ 
ration of Animal and other Manure. Patented 
Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Adrian Janes, New York, N. Y., for Im¬ 
provement in Apparatus for heating air by hot w-a- 
ter. Patented Jan» 29, 1850. 
To Josiah W. Lamb, New London, Inda., for 
Improvement in Self-w-aiting Tables, Patented 
Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Thomas M’Laughlin, New York, N. Y., for 
Expansion gear for Puppet-Valves. Patented Jan. 
29, 1850. 
To Louis de Saulles, New'Orleans, La., ARsign- 
or of Jjouis Henri Frederick Melsons, of Louvein, 
Belgium, for Compo.sition for the Manufacture of 
Sugar. Patented in Belgium, Aug. 15, 1849. In 
the U. S., Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Oliver Pearl, Essex county. Mass., for 
provement in Driving Bobbins upon Spindle.s.— 
Patented Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Edward Phelps, Pittsburg, Pa., for Improve¬ 
ment in Gearing for Sugar Cane Mills. Patented 
Jan. 29, 1850. 
T'o Lawrence Holker Potts, liondon, England, 
for method of Sinking Hollow Piles, &c., by ex- 
hau.sting the air from the interior of the same.— 
Patented Jan. 29, 1850. 
To James Turnbull, jr., and John Turnbull, of 
Simsbur}', Conn., for Improvement in Looms for 
Piled F^abrics. Patented Jan. 29, 1850. 
To Joseph W. Webb, Ledyard, N. Y., Assign¬ 
or to Benjamin Gould, Ledyard, N. Y., for Im¬ 
provement in .Mills for Grinding. Patented Jan. 
29, 18.50. 
To John M. Reed and Wm. B. WillLs, Charles¬ 
town, Va., for Improvements in Flour Bolts. Pat¬ 
ented Jan. 29, 1850. 
M'EABD'RING DI STAN CE BY SOUND. 
A BELL rung under the w'ater returns a 
tone a.s distinct as if rung in the air. 
Sto]) one ear with the finger, and press 
the other to the end of a long stick or piece 
of deal wood, and if a watch be held at the 
other end of the wood, ticking will be heard, 
whatever be the length of the wood or stick 
Tie a poker on the middle of a strip of 
flannel two or three feet long, and press 
your thumbs or fingers into your ears, while 
you swing the poker against an iron fender, 
and you will hear a sound like that of a 
heavy church bell. 
These experiments prove that water, wood 
and flannel are good conAictors of sound, 
for the sound of the bell, the watch and the 
fender, pass through the w'ater, and along 
the deal and flannel to the ear. 
It must be observ'ed, that a body in the 
act of .sounding- is in a .state of vibration, 
which it communicates to the surrounding 
air—the undulations of the sound affect the 
ear, and excite in us the sense of sound — 
Sound of all kinds, it is Jiscertained, travels 
at the rate of 15 miles in a minute; the sofL 
est whisper travels as fast as the most tre- 
mendious thunder. The knowledge of this 
fact has been applied to the measurement 
of distances. 
Suppose a ship in distress tires a gun, the 
light of which Is seen on shore, or by an 
other vessel, 20 seconds before a report is 
heard, it is known to be at a distance of 20 
times 1,142 feet, or httle more than four and 
a half miles. 
Again, if we see a vivid flash of lightning 
and in two seconds hear a tremendous clap 
of thunder, we know that the thunder cloud 
is not more than 760 yards from the place 
where w'e are, and we should instantly retire 
from an exposed situation. 
Wool-Sorting Machine. —We clip the 
following from the Scientific American, co¬ 
inciding w ith the remark of the editor of 
that journal, that we do not vouch for its 
truth. We give it, how'ever, as a novelty 
in the present age of inventions:— 
“It is stated, as an illustration of the in¬ 
fluence wliich inventive genius exercises up¬ 
on manufactures, that some gentlemen in 
Boston, a short time since, employed an In 
genious American machinist to devote some 
study to a mode of clearing and separating 
into different qualities the wool from the 
river of Platte. The attempt was success¬ 
ful. The machine was produced. The wool 
was thrown into it and thoroughly cleansed 
and divided into three kinds—good, better 
and best, and is thus turned out, assorted 
and cleansed, and ready for market or man¬ 
ufacture. The wool costs six cents a pound 
and the first sort procured from it is w'orth 
forty cents a pound.” 
Mechanics in Congress.— It is said that 
nearly one-half of the members of Con 
gress were once journeymen mechanics. 
If so, (says the Washington corre-spondent 
of the Charleston New's,) this is an inter 
esting fact, and shows what perseverance 
can accomplish. These men have become 
great, not so much from the facilities for a 
common know'ledge, wliich our systems of 
education afford, as from a self-reliance 
which a sense of independence confers. It 
has been truly said that the moment you 
make a man politically equal with his fel 
low, you g-ive him a consciousness that he 
is so in all respects. 
view of the Ul’l’ER FALLS AT ROCHESTER. 
AGRICULTURAL GEOLOGY. 
Niagara Gkoi-’P — Geodiferous Lime Rock and Cal- 
ciferons Slate, of Eaton. Lockport Limestcnie, 
and Rochester Sluile, of the Annual Reports of the 
Fourth District. 
This group consists of tw'o distinct mem¬ 
bers, a shale and limestone, w'hich, possess¬ 
ing many features in common, arc recoguiz- 
ed as the products of one period; during 
W'hich, how'ever, there w'as an important 
change in the litholiig-ical products, and a 
less one in the organic forms. The shale 
continues a verj' uniform deposit through¬ 
out the whole extent of the district, while 
the limestone, from a thin, diu-k-colored 
concretionary mass, becomes an extensive 
and conspicuoiLS rock constantly increasing- 
in thickness in a w'csterly direction, even far 
beyond the limits of the State. The Cata¬ 
ract of Niagara is produced by the passage 
of the river over this lime stone and shale; 
and from being a well known and extreme¬ 
ly interesting point, as well as exhibiting the 
greatest natural development of these rocks 
within the limits of the State, this name is 
adopted for its designation. 
The members of this group are: 1. Ar- 
gilaceous, or (in many localities) argillo-cal- 
careous shale. 2. Limestone, presenting 
several different varieties. 
Niagara Shale .—The lower part of the 
Niagara group exhibits a great development 
of dark, bluish shale, wdiich on exposure 
gradually changes to grey or ashen color, 
and forms a bluish or greyish marly clay. 
In this state, it is undistinguishable from 
the ordinary clays; aud its outcropping ed¬ 
ges, where long w'cathered, are often con¬ 
sidered as claybeds. This character is w ell 
exhibited at Lockport, on the northern slope 
of the terrace w-here the canal and railroad 
have been excavated; and also at numer¬ 
ous localities in Wayne and Monroe coun- 
tie& The depth of tint in the clay differs 
according to degree of exposure, the outer 
portions becoming of the usual yellowish- 
brown color of the ordinary soils. 
When fre.shly excavated, the mass is tough 
and breaks irregularly, some jxirtions only 
exhibiting a slight tendency to slaty struc¬ 
ture. After weathering for a short time, it 
cracks in all directions, and soon falls into 
innumerable angular fragments, w'hen the 
disintegTation goes on till it forms the soft 
clay. This change seems due to the inti¬ 
mate mixture and decomposition of iron py- 
rite in the rock; and its presence is also in¬ 
dicated by the production of sulphate of 
alumina, on decomposition in favorable sit¬ 
uations, and upon calcination. In color, as¬ 
pect, manner of weathering, and other prop¬ 
erties, it closely resembles the shale of the 
upper part of the Hamilton group in the 
Fourth District Neither are micaceous, 
and both are slightly calcareous, probably 
from the great amount of organic matter.— 
The Niagara shale, however, is destitute of 
those spheroidical concretions, which in the 
Hamilton group are more or less common, 
and in many places abundant The only 
approach to a concretionary form seen in 
this shale. Is in the increased thickness of 
some layers of impure limestone; and this 
appears rather due to a greater develop¬ 
ment of corals or other fossils, around which 
the mud accumulat(;d more freely than else¬ 
where. A few such examples may be seen 
in the banks of the Genesee at Rochester. 
The low-er ^art of this shale is mostly 
free from calcareous band.s; while tow'ards 
the middle and in the upper part, we find 
numerous thin, wedge-form or continuous 
layers of impure limestone, mostly compos¬ 
ed of corals and other fossils, and their sur¬ 
faces covered with the same, forming beau¬ 
tiful and interesting specimens for the cab¬ 
inet The perfect similarity of these with 
specimens from Dudley in England, togeth¬ 
er with the identity of many of the organic 
forms, renders the conchtsion unavoidable 
that the two are formations of the same age. 
These layers are from half an inch to tw'o 
inches thick; and from the decomposition 
and sinking down of the shale, they are usi> 
ally found broken into fragments. One of 
the most striking features of this rock, is the 
abundance of its fo.ssils. Scarcely a locali¬ 
ty can be examined where they do not oc¬ 
cur in great perfection. 
The higher beds are well developed in 
the fail at Wplcott Village, and the lower 
part of the formation can be examined by 
following down the ravine for a mile. This 
is the most eastern locality in the district 
where we find the rock exposed. West of 
i this point, throughout the county, it is seen 
in all the small streams that flow into the 
lake. 
At Rochester it forms nearly the whole 
height of the upper fall, and the banks on 
either side of the river for more than a mile 
below’. This place offers a fine exhibition 
of the rock, and is one of the best localities 
in the State for a natural exposure. The 
constant undermining of the banks precipi¬ 
tates large masses to the bottom, and their 
fos.sil contents are tlms made accessible.— 
At this locality, its upper and low'cr limits 
are both plainly seen. Above it piisses 
gradually into an impure limestone which 
forms the beds of passage from the shale 
to the limesto,ne above. The fossils mostly 
disappear at this point, and few' are found 
in this part of the mfiss. Below it terminates 
abruptly, resting directly on the calcareous 
beds forming the upper member of the pre¬ 
ceding group. There is never any gradual 
passage from one to the other, and the pe¬ 
culiar fossils of the shale do not appear till 
we ascend some distance abo-ve the lime¬ 
stone. Nevertheless, it is true that two or 
three of tlie common fossils of this shale 
have been found in the limestone below, 
and at the same time the greater number 
marking the Clinton group terminate below 
that rock. It may therefore remain a (ques¬ 
tion, perhaps, whether the.se calcareous beds 
should be included in the Niagara group. | 
Since, however, they bear a close analogy | 
to the lower limestone of the Clinton group, 
and terminate above abruptly without offer¬ 
ing any mark of gradual passage to the 
next higher group, I prefer for the present 
to include them in the lower, thus present¬ 
ing a natural lithological assemblage. The 
presence of a few fossils common to the 
lime.stone and shale above, would apply 
equally to all parts of the jireceding group, 
a few forms being common to all parts of 
both. 
The precise arrangement at Rochester is 
{US follows:—The termin{iting calcareous 
bods of the Clinton group consists of fifteen 
or tw'enty thin courses, each separated by a 
layer of shale sometimes of equal thickness 
to the limestone, tliough generally thinner. 
The she'de separating the lower coui'ses is 
green like that below, but higher it becomes 
of the same color and chq^acter as that 
above. The inteiiaminated slutle is in all 
cases destitute of fossils. The shale is par¬ 
tially exposed in sevend small streams, and 
in the lower escarpment which extends 
westward from Rochester. In the town of 
Sweden, that escarpment has become high¬ 
er, and the shc-ilc is in some places w’ell ex¬ 
hibited, One of the best localities is at 
Mar-shall’s saw-mill, where a small stream 
(a branch of Salmon creek) has excavated 
its channel in this rock. The banks scarce¬ 
ly differ in color and appearance from the 
soil around, .and it is only from fossils that 
the mass is distinguished from ordinary 
chiy. At one point whore there has been 
a fresh exposure, the rock appears in all its 
ch{iracter, and contains {ibundance of fossils. 
— Natural History of New York. 
luninroiia niib Iniusliig. 
STATE OF MATRIMONY. 
“Bob, where is the sbiteof matrimony?” 
“It is one of the tJnited States. It is 
bounded by hugging and kissing on one 
side, and cradles and babies on the other.— 
Its chief products anj population, broom¬ 
sticks, and st{iying out o’ nights. It was 
discovered by Adam and Eve, while tr}’ing 
to find {I northwest pjussjige to Paradise*..— 
The climate! Is nither sultry, till you pass the 
tropics of housekeeping, when squcdly weath¬ 
er usually sets in with sufficient power to 
keep all hands as cool as cucumbers.— 
For the principal roads leading to this in¬ 
teresting state, consult the first petir of blue 
eyes you run ag{iinst” 
-Why are the Jews of old 
Because they killed the 
Conundrums.- 
like bad debts ? 
profits. 
Wliy is the American flag like the ocean ? 
Bec{iuse it never cea.ses to wave. 
Why is a blade of grass like a note of 
hc'md? Bec{Uise it is manured hy falling 
dew, (due.) 
Why is a man with chestnut hair, like 
one in our State Prison ? 
Bec{iu.se he is under Auburn locks. 
A Confident Witness. —A witness 
sjioke several times during his testimony, of 
occurrences {ibout the time of his birth, 
when a surly judge interrupted him— 
“ Do you mccin to .say that you can relate 
occurrences at the time of your birth, from 
your own recollection?” 
'I'he laugh which began ag{unst the wit¬ 
ness turneci upon the judge, as the former 
replied— 
“ Why, sir, I cannot say that I exactly re¬ 
member every particular, but I can {issure 
your honor that I was there!" 
Turnpike Eloquence. — May it please 
your worships! While Europe is convulsed 
with discord, and her empires tremble with 
internal commotion, and while astronomers 
mount the wings of their imaginations, and 
soar through the etherial world, pursuing 
their course from planet to planet, and from 
system to system, until they have explored 
the eterjiity of space — let us direct our 
{ittention to the road more immediately in 
our own neijxhborhood. 
The Minerals of Pennsylvania.— In 
sinking a shaft on Barclay’s Mountain, West¬ 
moreland county, on the route of Pennsyl- 
vani{i Railroad, there was discovered two 
veins excellent bituminous coal, lying with¬ 
in a foot or eighteen inches of each other, 
one five feet thick, and the other eight feet. 
There is a vein of coal on Mr. Storey’s farm, 
through which the road will pa.ss, of more 
^an 100 acres in extent, and about eight 
rcet in thickness. The bed of coal, hereto¬ 
fore considered of but little value to its own¬ 
er, w'ill now, when the road is opened, be 
converted into a mine of wealth, and m{iy be 
transported at a moderate expense to Cin¬ 
cinnati, St Louis, or even to New Orleans. 
—Philadelphia Ledger. 
Discovery in Tanning. —We are inform¬ 
ed by {I correspondent from New Oxford, 
P{L, that Mr. Wm. II. Rosensteel, of that 
place, has discovered a new and valued im¬ 
provement in the mode of Tanning Leather, 
which has been tried for nine months, and 
which, it is said, will save “ one-fourth of 
the bark and make the stock weigh at least 
three lbs. more per hide, tanning in one- 
third of the usual tinu!, and making a bet¬ 
ter looking article.” These are veiy im- 
portent improvements, especially as only 
one-fourth of the customary number of vats 
are employed, consequently no less than 
one half of the usual labor is saved. We 
are not able to describe the process, but our 
correspondent is one on whom we place ev¬ 
ery confidence in what he as.scrts. — Sci. 
American. 
Peculiar Sensation. — Deacon Pequirk, 
a staunch temperance man, accidentally 
swallowing a rousing tumbler of gin the 
other day, was asked how he felt af¬ 
ter it “ How did I feel ?” said he; “ why I 
felt as if I were sitting on the roof of our 
meeting-house, and every shingle was a 
jewsharp.” 
An Irish boy, who was trying to get a 
place, denied that he was an Irish boy. “ I 
don’t know what you mean by not being an 
Irishman,” said the gentleman, who was 
.about hiring him; “but this I know, you 
w^ere born in Ireland.” “ Och, your honor, 
that’s all,” said the boy, “small blame to 
that Suppose I had been born in a stable, 
Avould I have been a horse ?” 
Into Him. — A conceited colonel of the 
cavahy, lately complained that from the ig¬ 
norance of his officers, he was obliged to do 
the whole duty of the regiment “ I am,” 
said he, “ my own captain, my own cornet” 
“And your own trumpeter ! " said a witty 
lady. ___ 
There was a legal trial in Wisconsin, in 
which the subject of controversy was a 
demijohn of whiskey, which was ordered to 
be brought into court. The defendent was 
tried, and so was the whiskey—in other 
words, the Avhiskey was drunk, and so w'as 
the jury. _ 
The following reply to that everlasting 
inquiry, “How do you do?” was made by 
an origin.al the other day: “Rather slim, 
thank’e, I’ve got the rlieumatism in one leg, 
and a white sw'ellin’ on t’other knee, be¬ 
sides having a leetle touch of the dysenter}’-, 
and I ain’t very w’ell myself neither.” 
“ Father, ain’t you opposed to monopoly ? 
“Yes, my boy.” 
“Then give me a drink, too.” 
The father broke tlie bottle on the floor, 
and since then luis not tasted liquor. 
Cut Into. — By a typographical error in 
one of our excluinges, we learn that two 
cows were cut into calves by the railroad 
train. 
A COFFIN maker ha\in^ apartments to 
let, postiid his bills announcing the same up¬ 
on the coffins in his window, “Lodgings for 
single gentlemen.” 
An unmarried lady on the wintry side of 
fifty, heiiring of the marriage of a' young 
lady, her friend, observed with a deep and 
sentimentel sigh, “well, I suppose it is what 
we all must come to.” 
Young men who would succeed in love 
should woo gently. It is not fiushionable 
for young ladies to take ardent spirits. 
