L I F E-P RESERVER. 
hut it is hers aiTumed only as i to 2 ; fo that any human 
body may be fupported in fea-water by half the volume 
of confined air neceffary to fupport it in frefii water, the 
head in both cafes being above the furface. 
Mr. Cleghorn proceeds to defcribe the different forms 
in which his life-buoys might be made, and how to be 
applied. The matter is very interefting ; but we mull 
refer our readers to the book itfelf, from which we have 
already copied fo much ; while we proceed to defcribe 
the life-preferver conltructed by John Bentley, efq. about 
the year 1797. It is however remarkable, that, although 
he exhibited it in public feveral times, fome very import¬ 
ant parts of it feem to have efcaped notice. One mate¬ 
rial point is to enable a perfon who cannot fwim not only 
to float, but to make progrefs through the water. The 
hands and feet are too narrow to accomplilh this without 
a knowledge of the art of fwimming, therefore the fingers 
and feet muft be artificially webbed. Thus the whole ap¬ 
paratus, which he calls a nautilus, confifts of three dif- 
tinfl parts, and are to be thus conftrueled. The buoyant 
is made of copper, in the form of a tube, to fit the round 
of the body, about fix inches diameter, the feam brazed 
with hard folder. It (hould be made in three lengths, 
the ends quite flat, to fit each other exactly, fo that, when 
put together, they form a ring or belt. This is in cafe 
of accident happening to one part by leaking, that it may 
not extend to the other two, which will be fufficient to 
prevent finking. Each, of thefe parts is fewed up in 
baize, with three ftrong tapes near the end of each piece, 
by which all of them are fecurely tied together. A flexi¬ 
ble pipe, of the thicknefs of a quill, is inferted in each 
piece, from the upper fide to the bottom ; fo that, if any 
leakage happens, the water is readily drawn out by the 
mouth and difcbarged. The buoyant, thus prepared, 
muft be fecurely tied with ftrong tapes, crofted round and 
over the fhoulders, to prevent it getting down ; it cannot 
get over the arms. When it is thus fixed, the body will, 
by its own gravity, be eredt in the water, with the feet 
downwards, and will always retain this polition, unlefs 
force is applied to alter it, and which it will again reco¬ 
ver when the force ceafes to adl. The fecond part, which 
is for the hands, is a pair of oiled filk gloves, which, af* 
ter being made in the ufual way, the fingers are opened 
to their full extent breadthways, and a piece of the fame 
material fewed over them on the under fide. Tapes are 
fewed at the top to tie them round the wrilt. The third 
part, being for the feet, is made thus : Take a piece of 
half-inch wainfcot or mahogany, 11 inches long, and 10 
inches wide. Cut it longitudinally into three pieces, two 
of them 3! inches broad, and the other inches. Fallen 
them well together with two pair of brafs hinges, and 
rule-joints to fall and rife like a two-leaved table, the nar¬ 
row piece being in the middle. On the under fide of the 
middle-piece, in the centre, a wooden turn-buckle muft 
be fcrewed, to prevent the fide-pieces from falling down, 
when walking to or from the water. Two wooden Hops 
are fo fixed upon this piece as to prevent the fides, when 
down, coming to a right angle with the middle-piece, that 
the riling and falling may be duly performed with the ac¬ 
tion of the feet. To the upper fide of the middie-piece 
a common leather Ihoe (to fit the perfon) muft be faftened 
on with two fcrews through the lble ; and near each end 
of this middle-piece two Imall holes are made with a cen¬ 
tre-bit, through which good tapes are palled, to tie round 
the inftep and over the foot. A pair of thefe muft of 
courle be provided ; and a perfon thus equipped, being 
perfectly buoyant in water, and web-focted and web-fin¬ 
gered, will be able to outfwim any other perfon, and may 
exift in the water as long as cold and hunger will permit. 
By increafing the dimenfions of the buoyant, a propor¬ 
tionate quantity of provisions, or any other article, may 
be carried. The inventor has written a letter, and other- 
wife amufed himfelf, on the fea, with this apparatus; and 
believes he could crofs from Dover to Calais in perfect 
fafety. It is very convenient for crofting deep rivers, 
66? 
where there are neither boats nor bridges. It is pro¬ 
cured at little expenfe, very portable, and put on (the 
inventor fays) in one minute. 
Daniel's life-preferver, being made entirely of leather, 
appears to be in fome refpects preferable to the above. 
It was honoured with the gold medal of the Society of 
Arts in May 1807, in confequence of the testimonies in 
its favour, and which are printed in the 25th volume of 
their Tranfactions. Mr. Daniel declares that he funk near 
1500I. to prevent other people from finking. At fig. 4. of 
our Plate, A reprefents the body of the machine, which 
is double .throughout, made of pliable water-proof lea¬ 
ther, large enough to admit its encircling the body of the 
wearer, whofe head is to pafs between the two fixed ftraps, 
B B, which reft upon the fhoulders; the arms of the 
wearer pafs through the fpaces on the outfide of the (traps, 
one on each fide, admitting the machine under them to 
encircle the body like a large hollow belt ; the ftrap, C, 
on the lower part of the machine, is attached to the back 
of it, and, by palling betwdxt the thighs of the wearer^, 
and buckling at D, holds the machine fufficlently firm to 
the body, without too much preflure under the arms. 
The machine, being thus fixed, is inflated with air by the 
wearer blowing in from his lungs through the cock, E, a. 
fufficient quantity of air to fill the machine, which air is 
retained by turning the ftop-cock. The machine, when 
filled with aii-, will difplace a fufficient quantity of water 
to prevent four perfons from finking under water. Mr. 
Daniel recommends his life-prefervers to be prepared as 
follows : viz. To feleft found German horle-hides, and 
to cut a piece fix feet long, and two feet fix inches wide, 
free from blemiffi or ftiell ; if is firft to be curried, and 
then rendered water-proof by Mollerllein’s patent varniffi, 
which preferves the leather more fupple, and admits it to 
be eafier inflated, than any other water-proof leather. 
The machine, when properly made according to the 
drawing and defcription, refembles a broad belt, or cir¬ 
cular girdle, compoied of two folds of pliable leather at¬ 
tached together, and perfectly impervious to water. 
A Briftol correfpondent in the Monthly Magazine, vol. 
xxxiv. propolesto make every Tailor’s drefs a life-preferver: 
“ Suppofe there was quilted in the jackets of Tailors, about 
the collar and neck, between the outfide and the lining, 
a quantity of cork-fhavings or chippings, (fuch as may¬ 
be had at the cork-cutters,) or as a belr, a confiderable 
breadth acrofs the back and flioulders, then principally 
omitted under the arms, and refumed over the cheft and 
flomach, yet not fo much as to create inconvenience. It 
appears to me that fufficient might be inferted to give a 
man time to exert himfelf, or io far aflift as to prevent 
drowning. The large quantity of cloth now quilted 
about the neck and flioulders of coats, (hows that much 
could be worn without inconvenience. The flings, or 
braces as they are improperly called, might alfo afford a 
place fcr a (mall portion to affift, and probably the waift- 
band of the trowfers. What I would infer is,-that every 
part of the ufual drefs of the Tailor lhould be made with 
a view of preferving his life, in cafe of accident; for, ex¬ 
clusive of thofe who, in confequence of engagements, 
with the enemy, are placed in great danger, numbers are 
frequently precipitated into the water, by the hidden 
heeling of the (hip, the breaking of yards and mads, and 
a variety of other accidents; and, if fo much cork could 
be commodioudy worked into the ordinary drefs as would . 
give them an opportunity of recovering themfelves, and 
ufing their own exertions, it would certainly preferve 
many valuable lives.” 
The admiralty, we are informed, (ftrange as it may ap¬ 
pear,) have declined furniffiing the navy with life-pre¬ 
fervers, left facility (hould be given to defertion. 
While we are upon the fubject, we cannot omit to no¬ 
tice fome other methods of preferving the lives of perfons . 
(hipwrecked near the coaft. It Teems firft to have occurred 
to a Frenchman, (who writes however anonymoufly,) 
that to a bomb or cannon-ball might be faftened the end of' 
a rope,. 
