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MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER 
AUGUST 1 
gree successful, though others have displayed great 
ingenuity, and in some instances produced beauti¬ 
ful effects, but always by means so complicated, 
and surrounded with such insuperable difficulties, 
that they have never met with general favor. Of 
the two above alluded to as successful, the first 
was called the EolJan Attachment, about 1844.— 
This consisted iu the addition of a complete set of 
reeds, with a bellows, making in effect a combina¬ 
tion of the melodeon with the piano forte. An in¬ 
surmountable objection to this, lies in the fact that, 
as the reeds were necessarily of a metal entirely 
different from that of a piano-string, and the me¬ 
thods of producing the tone totally dissimilar, the 
two parts of the piano were exceedingly liable to 
. disagree, and hence, with great difficulty kept in 
tune. Owing to this and other objections, the 
popularity of this attachment has greatly de¬ 
creased. 
The Dolce Campana (“sweet bells'’) attachment, 
manufactured only by Boardman, Gray A Co., was 
invented in 1848, by Mr. James A. Gray, of this 
firm, and immediately patented, both in this coun¬ 
try und in Europe. This, on account of its sim¬ 
plicity, durability and peculiarly pleasing effects, 
totally unlike any other, together with the fact 
that it cannot in any way affect the instrument, 
excepting at the moment of actual use, has become 
universally popular wherever known, and cannot 
fail to continue a favorite with ail lovers of sweet 
sounds. 
GENERALITIES. 
In oar connected view of the various processes 
of piano forte manufacture, we omitted several 
Hundreds of thousands of feet of lumber, and im¬ 
mense quantities of rosewood for veneering and 
other purposes, are used yearly, the latter of which, 
being of the richest figures, is very expensive. So 
too with the ivory, different kinds of prepared 
cloth, buckskins, eto. The amount of hardware 
used is also enormous, as for instance in the iron 
plates, of which they nse some thirty tuns a year, 
and of “tuning pins' 7 upwards of one and a half 
tuns. Then there are thousands upon thousands 
of hinges, screws, pedal-feet, locks, pins, springs, 
etc., a large assortment of which must he kept 
constantly on hand; the outlay for their steel mu¬ 
sic wire alone, amounts to several thousand dollars 
annually. 
Every portion of the vast building is supplied 
with water from the city water-works, and provid¬ 
ed with hose, sinks and every convenience. 
We notice also two large 
STEAM-ELEVATORS, 
which are ingeniously constructed in such a man¬ 
ner that a person on either floor, or on the platform, 
may send them up or down at pleasure. They are 
sufficiently large to carry a piano with workmen, 
and are eminently entitled to the appellation of 
labor-saving machines. 
THE SCIENCE OF PJAXO FORTE MAKING. 
It is of little avail after all, that the piano forte, 
with all its complicated mechanism, shall be of the 
most faithful workmanship, and of the best possi¬ 
ble materials, unless the scale, which is the starting 
point, be correctly laid down on scientific princi¬ 
ples, with the utmost nicety and mechanical pre¬ 
cision. The length of each string in its proper 
proportion, the best shape of the 
bridges over which it passes, can only 
be determined from numberless careful 
experiments and mathematical calcula- 
^ tions. Messrs. Boardman, Gray & Co., 
use improved circular scales of their 
||||^ own construction, in which they have 
embodied all the improvements which 
have from time to time been discovered. 
MANAGEMENT. 
in the management of this immense 
. / business, the firm avail themselves of 
.. I ■ the advantages arising from a system- 
atic division of labor, and each member 
01 the fi rm kas his own appropriate 
/ sphere, for which he seems preeminent- 
ly qualified, and to which he may de- 
i vote his entire energies. Mr. James 
L' ' f A. Gray gives his personal attention to 
gH, 1 an entire supervision of the manufac- 
| taring department, selecting materials, inspecting 
each instument before it is permitted to leave the 
factory, and watchiag with an artist's eye every 
opportunity for the least improvement. Possessed 
of superior genius, and having made piano forte 
manufacture the study of a lifetime, he is a most 
thorough master of his vocation. 
The department of finance is under the especial 
charge of Mr. Wm. G. Boardman, the senior part¬ 
ner of the firm, while the junior member, Mr. 
Siberia Ott, attends to the sales, accounts, ship¬ 
ping, and the general minuti® of the business. 
Messrs. Boardman, Gray & Co. have, by their 
, shrewd enterprise, superior skill and untarnished 
' integrity, achieved an enviable success, aud while 
they liberally compensate their workmen, upon 
- the Scripture’ principle that “ the laborer is worthy 
i of his hire,’ 7 they reap their reward in the renewed 
I faithfulness of employees, and the increasing con- 
i fidence of the commercial world. 
; They are constantly introducing new improve- 
5 inents’ and the demand for their Corrugated 
f Sounding-Board Piano Fortes is so rapidly in- 
1 creasing, that a farther enlargement of their 
- immense manufactory is necessary, for v which 
THTC T^TA-MO FORTE: 
OKIQI N, HISTORY. AND MANUFACTURE 
[Ci.n-Ituled from page 211, lift Number.] 
t fbutaUt 
Tub Annual Commencement Exercises of the 
University of Rochester, and the Rochester The¬ 
ological Seminary, the programme of which 
appeared in the Rubai, of June 27th, were opened 
July 6th with a sermon before the “Judson Socie¬ 
ty of Inquiry,” by Robeut Turnbull, D. IK, of 
Hartford, Conn. The Address before the Robin¬ 
son Rhetorical Society was delivered on the after¬ 
noon of Tuesday by Ur. Bettiunk, of Brooidyo.— 
On the evening o! the 7th, Corinthian Hall was 
crowded to hear the Annual Address, by Prof. A. 
.1. Uuson, of Hamilton College. John N. Wilder, 
Esq., of Albany, read a Poem. 
The Seventh Anniversary of the Theological 
Seminary wa3 celebrated in the First Baptist 
Church on Tuesday morning—the exercises con¬ 
sisting of orations from the Graduating Class, in¬ 
terspersed with music, and an address by the Rev. 
Dr. Robinson. The Graduating Clasa numbered 
thirteen, the following named members of which 
delived able and eloquent orations—the others 
being exused;— C. D. W. Briogman, Hoboken, N. 
J.; I), n. Cooley, Brockport, N. Y.\ P. S. Evans, 
Brooklyn, N. Y.; N. Fox, Jr., Schenectady, N. Y.; 
Wm. C. Pratt, Somerset, N. Y.; A. G. Thomas, 
Dayton, Ohio; Wm. Groom, Jr., Broadalbin, N. Y.; 
G, W. Northup, Watertown, N. Y,; A. Kingman 
S. E. Richardson, 
N'ott, Kennebunkport, Me. 
Sturbridge, Mass. 
On Wednesday morning, July 8th, the usual pro¬ 
cession was formed at the University Buildings, 
and the line of march taken for Corinthian Hall, 
at which place were delivered the orations of those 
composing the Graduating Class of the University. 
The class numbered twenty-one Members, all of 
whom did honor to themselves and their Alma 
Mater. 
The Baccalaureate degree, in course, was con¬ 
ferred upon eighteen young men, as follows:— 
Thbodore E. Baker, Norwalk, 0.; James D. 
Brown, Greece; Flavius J. Gather, Pruntytown, 
Ya.; Augustus P. Took, Whitehall N, Y.; Horace 
II. Allen, Rochester; John W. Curtis, Parma, N. 
Y.; Alexander Barnes, Rochester; Joseph R. 
Bellamy, Newark, N. Y.; Timothy E. Ellsworth, 
East Windsor, Conn.; Cori.is P. Gardner, Roch¬ 
ester; Julius R. Higgins, New York; John R. 
Howard, Brooklyn; Narcisse Duval, Grand 
Eigne, C. E.; Eli H. Hurlburt, Rochester; Lewis 
W. Merritt, Olcott, N. Y.; George Tkuesdale, 
West Greece, N. Y.; Homer M. Williams, El- 
bridge, N. Y.; William C. Wilkinson', Rochester, 
The degree of Bachelor of Sciences was con¬ 
ferred upon David HknrySheldon, Racine, Wis.; 
Isaac Eslkeck Sheldon, New York, and George 
P. Draper, Claremont, N. H. 
The degree of A. M., in coarse, was conferred 
upon the following members of former graduating 
classes:—J. D, Merrill, N. J.; J. M. Baoley, Ill.; 
T. C Barden, Ebkn Nesbitt, New York; W. P. 
Eteritt, Brooklyn; A. J. Barrett, Nunda; Os¬ 
car M. Howes, IU. 
Honorary Degrtes—Jouv F. UiGBLOW, Mid- 
dlehnry. Moss., and Henry L. Nicitols, (lonzales, 
Texas, A. M. John Alsoi- Kino, Governor of this 
State, LL. D. Rev. Bknj. Evans, Scarborough, 
England; Rev, Wm. Crowell, St.Louis,Mo.; Rev. 
E. J. Gillett, President Yellow Springs College, 
Iowa, D. D. 
— Both Institutions—the Theological Seminary 
and University, (one purely Theological and the 
other Literary, though we blend the exercises un¬ 
der the head of University of Rochester for con¬ 
venience,)—are we believe in a highly prosperous 
condition, and eminently merit the confidence and 
support of the friends of Theological, Literary and 
Scientific Education. 
are given to those for the lowest bass strings, 
from which there is a regular gradation to the 
highest treble, which receive less coats, and of the 
thinnest material. 
the finishing-boom 
possesses much of interest, and here we begin to 
realize the vast amount of work in a piano forte. 
Examining one of Messrs. Boardman, Gray A Co. a 
seven octave instruments, we find that each key 
with its action, comprises some sixty-five to seventy 
distinct pieces, and as there are eighty-five keys, 
we have a sum total of nearly six thousand pieces 
in the keys and action alone! each of which must 
he made ot the choicest material, and fitted with 
the closest exactness. The “ finishing,” or so com¬ 
bining all the various parts of the musical machi¬ 
nery as to form one harmonious whole, will readily 
be seen to require great skiU, long experience and 
thorough workmanship. We notice here another 
of the excellent improvements of Boardman, Gray 
& Co., the Metallic Ocer Damper Register and 
Cover , which is not only valuable as an improve¬ 
ment, but also highly ornamental The damper is 
sustained by a wire which passes through the re¬ 
gister, between the strings, to its connection with 
the key and pedal below. In the old method, the 
register is made of wood, aud placed under the 
strings, leaving the damper exposed above, and 
liable to disarrangement from accidental bending 
of the wires, or the warping of the register, either 
of which would cause an unpleasant jingling of 
the strings against these wires. This cannot oc¬ 
cur in the use of the one before us, as the iron 
I cannot be thrown out of place by change of atmos¬ 
phere, and being placed above the strings, it pro¬ 
tects the dimpels from all injury. 
upon the steel wire. This is done with the curious- 
looking Spinning Machine, a view of which is 
given in the above engraving, and which, in ap- ; 
pearanee, is not wholly unlike the "spinning- 
jenny” of a cotton manufactory. In the string, as 
in every other branch of this well-ordered estab¬ 
lishment, each man follows his own particular 
vocation exclusively, so that the greatest perfec¬ 
tion maybe attained in each part. 
key-makers’ department. 
The proper manufacture of the “key-hoard” re¬ 
quires great care and skill, as, if the keys do not 
work properly, the good qualities of the instru¬ 
ment canuot he developed. To make this, a large 
board of prepared basswood, or soft, straight¬ 
grained white pine, i3 cut to the requisite form, 
upon which the keys are marked out. The ivory 
13 then applied and secured, after which the keys 
are sawed apart, and the ivory polished. The 
workman now puts on and polishes the ebony keys, 
and the key-hoard is complete. The ivory used 
by Boardman, Gray & Co., i3 of the finest quality. 
This and the beautiful variegated “mother-of- 
peaTl,” used in their ornamental instruments, are 
among the most expensive articles in piano forte 
manufacture. 
Ye come now to 
action making, 
which is of the utmost importance in the construc¬ 
tion of a good piano forte, for however perfect (he 
instrument nmy be in every other respect, if the 
action is at all defective in its working principle, 
materials, or mechanism, all the good qualities of 
the instrument are sacrificed to this imperfection, 
and it very soon makes inoie noise than music. 
Messrs. Boardman, Gray & Co., use the principle 
which is known as the “French Grand Action,” 
with many improvements made by themselves. 
This, being more powerfal than the “Boston” 
action, possessing more elasticity of touch than 
any other, with the power of repeating more rapid¬ 
ly and with greater precision, is almost universally 
preferred by the profession; and years of severe 
tests have proved its durability. The action, 
technically speaking, is the mechanism attached 
Eds. Rural:—I have been disposed to ask your 
mighty influence in aid of the schoolmaster. His 
long established and correct rules are trampled 
upon. Shall this be done with impunity? Look 
at the outrage committed in this one violation al¬ 
luded to. It is the separation of those who have 
always been united, and had formed an inviolable 
union. It is anti-grammatlcal licentiousness. This 
is done too by absolute force, and by meaus of 
a very insignificant agency, even of an adverb. 
What is the form of the Infinitive mode? The 
achoolmaBter answers, to write, to speak, to print, 
to have loved, and the grammarian echoes this has 
been correct ever since a Saxon breathed, and 
must he correct so long as an Anglo-Saxon shall 
speak. To write is the present infinitive, aud 
nothing more or less. 
Who dares to maintain or to act otherwise, 
thunders out Johnson, and Walker, and Web¬ 
ster. 1 tell you, many who have no regard to 
either or all of this trio of grammatical power, 
are the violators of the role, and are turning the 
Infinitive mode "upside down.” They say, to 
beautifully write, instead of to write beautiful^ 
to eloquently speak instead of to 6peakeloquently, 
to rapidly print instead of to print rapidly, or 
rapidly to print, and to have tenderly loved instead 
of to have loved tenderly. These are specimens 
of this forceful and abominable separation. 0, 
shades of Anglo-Saxon beauty and propriety, dis¬ 
own aa brethren or children the lawless violators! 
Messrs. Eds., I was about to appeal to you to 
como to the rescue. I will do it now, even though 
the garments of the Rural are epotted with the 
corruption. Hook into the Rural of 11th July. 
Prof. Maury’s article is wholly free from any such 
abuse of our language; he loves the trno Anglo- 
Saxon too well to adopt a corruption. Look at 
the next article, half-editorial I fear, and there you 
read “to thoroughly cultivate,” "to effectually 
pulverize,” iu the very next tine. These are 
enough—far too many for the correct and tasteful 
Rural. 
The public prints often violate the rule. The 
fault is increasing. It should be stopped to day, 
11 once, aud forever, c. d. 
Rochester, July, 1857 . 
ACTION MAKERS. 
The Action-Regulator levels the keys, regulates 
the depth of the touch, adjusts the drop of the 
hammer, and completes the action in all its parts. 
The instrument now seems to he finished, but in 
Messrs. Boardman, Gray A Co.’s factory, it must, 
after standing for a few weeks, pass another severe 
ordeal at the hands of another “regulator.” 
The “hammer finisher” then so adjusts the cov- 
pymg six large rooms, are by no me3cs aevoia ot 
interest. In this establishment from 250 to 300 
piano fortes are constantly in process of manufac¬ 
ture, aud a3 each receives many coatingsof varnish, 
we may at any time find from 200 to 250 cases in 
these rooms, besides hundreds of lyres, legs, tops, 
desks, etc,, etc. In the varnishing, as well as in 
every other part, no pains are spared to arrive as 
near perfection as possible, and each case receives 
many coats of varnish, which are nibbed down 
with ground pumice-stone and water until a fine 
polish is obtained. A large machine driven by 
the engine, is used for rubbing the tops and other 
large surfaces. It now receives the last coat, 
oalied “jhncingf which, after becoming perfectly 
hardened, is polished with fine rotten stone, and 
then rubbed with the hand until it is like a perfect 
mirror. 
We are particular!}' struck with the perfection 
of systematic arrangement in the large establish¬ 
ment of Messrs. Boardman, Gray & Co. As they 
arrange the details of manufacturing, there are 
twenty four or more distinct trades, and with this 
system and division of labor, each workman is 
enabled to bring his own part to greater perfection 
than would otherwise be possible. The good result 
is seen in their superior and splendid instruments. 
grand piano forte. 
and acknowledged merit, in the moat flattering 
terms. 
THE OFFICE AND SALES ROOMS 
of Messrs. Boardman, Gray 4* Co. are at the cor¬ 
ner of State and North Pearl Streets, Albany, N. Y., 
where one or more of the courteous proprietors 
may always be found, ready to attend to any one 
who may favor them with a visit, whether for the 
purpose of purchasing, or only to gratify refined 
taste and a love of the beautiful, by examining or 
listening to any of their superb and world-renowned 
Piano Fortes.— Graham's Magazine. 
Tub Arctic Firmament.— The intense beauty 
of the arctic firmament can hardly be imagined. 
It looked close above our heads, with its stars mag¬ 
nified in glory, and the very planets twinkling so 
much as to baffle the observations of the astrono¬ 
mer. I have trodden the deck when the life of 
earth seemed suspended — its movements, its 
sounds, its coloring, its companionships; and as I 
looked on the radiant hemisphere circling above 
me, as if rendering worship to the unseen ( entre 
of tight, I have ejaculated, in humility of spirit, 
“Lord, what is man, that thou art mind fill of 
him?” And then I have thought of the kindly 
world we had left, with its revolving sunlight and 
shadow, and the other stars fhat gladden it in 
their changes, and the hearts that warmed to us 
there, till I lost myself in memories of those who 
arc not, and they bore me back to the stars again. 
— Dr. Kane. 
FINISHING 
to the end of the key or lever, to act upon the ham -1 ei 
mer, and consists of eight or ten pieces of wood, u 
all of which must be formed and adjusted with as ii 
much precision as the work of a watch. a 
The aetton-makor carefully covers, with line 1 
buckskin and doth of various kinds, all parts liable 8 
to friction and noise, bushing the holes for pins P 
with cloth, and having as nearly as possible 
perfected every part, passes it over to the "fin- 
is her,” who attaches it to the keys, and fits the P 
whole into the ease. c 
Another essential part of action manufacture is 
HAMMER MAKING. a 
Asido from the uature of the sounding-board, h 
nothing has so much to do with the quality of t 
tone as the peculiar structure of the hammer- c 
No preacher is listened to but Time, which 
gives us the same train and turn of thought that 
elder people have tried in vain to put into our 
heads before. 
