344 
New Patents and Mechanical Indentions. [Nov, Ij 
the top of the moulding, hut also to 
weave a piece of cloth between the 
strings. 
The second improvement, which the 
patentee calls the harmonic swell, sub¬ 
stitutes a novel action for those portions 
of the string which lie between the two 
bridges, yielding most sweet and me¬ 
lodious tones. The performer, by lift¬ 
ing a valve, is enabled to elicit those 
harmonious sounds through a well- 
known symphathetic relation between 
accordant strings, without touching 
those portions of the strings which 
produce them. The augmentation of 
sound caused by this means, resembles 
in some measure the effect of lifting 
the dampers, but without producing 
the same confusion, since every note 
on the body of the instrument is regu¬ 
larly damped as the performer lifts bis 
finger. By this apparatus a threefold 
power of augmenting the sound is ac¬ 
quired; whereas instruments of the 
common construction have but the one 
caused by lifting the dampers. 
The first augmentation of power is 
by lifting the harmonic swell. 
The second—by dropping the har¬ 
monic swell and raising the dampers. 
The third—by raising the harmonic 
swell and the dampers together. By 
the last means the performer adds all 
the tones which are sympathetically 
elicited from the strings between the 
original bridge and bridge of reverbe¬ 
ration, over and above ail that can be 
produced on instruments of the common 
construction, and the effect is accord¬ 
ingly of extraordinary richness and 
power. 
These inventions are alike applicable 
to upright, cabinet, and square piano¬ 
fortes ; the latter of which acquire by 
this new mode of construction, much of 
the richness and depth of tone peculiar 
to grand instruments. 
The improvements, as simple in 
themselves as their effects are striking, 
enable the player greatly to extend the 
variety of bis performance, and are ac¬ 
knowledged by the first professional 
judges to have given a new character 
to the instrument of the most effective 
kind. That which we heard appeared 
to us to produce the kind of prolonged 
tone which arises in a room of fine re¬ 
sonance, and the power was certainly 
vastly augmented. Upon the whole, 
the inventor seems to have accomplished 
far more than could have been expected, 
after the very high state of improve¬ 
ment the piano-forte had already at¬ 
tained. 
To James Fergussox, of Ne wman - 
street , Printer,Oxford-street, London , 
for the invention of applymg Elastic 
Substances in Stereotype Printing. 
In the process of printing from stereo¬ 
type plates, the plates are put upon, 
and fastened to certain materials or 
apparatus, called by different names, 
such as blocks, matrix-plates, risers, 
&c. which are made either of iron, brass, 
type-metal, bell-metal, Roman cement, 
gypsum, wood of various kinds, or 
some other suitable substance; or, 
without using any such materials or 
apparatus, the plates are, or may be, 
put upon, and fastened to the coffins or 
tables of such printing presses as aie 
in general use, or upon cylindrical or 
any other sort of printing machines. 
In all cases, however, of printing from 
stereotype plates, it is necessary to ap¬ 
ply some remedy to the unequal thick¬ 
ness of the plates ; and the operation 
usually adopted is that of putting layers 
or pieces of paper, or other material, 
under and over the thinner places of 
the plates; which operation is techni¬ 
cally termed underlaying and overlaying. 
The nature or object of this invention 
is that of saving the time and expence 
unavoidably sacrificed in the operation 
of underlaying and overlaying; and 
this object is accomplished by putting 
elastic substances under the stereotype 
plates, whereby the printed impressions 
from them are immediately equalized ; 
for the elastic substances yield to the 
pressure upon tile thicker parts of the 
plates, and at the same time afford the 
necessary resistance for obtaining suffi¬ 
cient strength of impressions from the 
thinner parts. It must be evident that 
the elastic substances are to be inter¬ 
posed between the stereotype plates and 
whatever solid or firm substance may 
be made use of, whether .blocks, matrix- 
plates, risers,cylinders, printing presses, 
printing machines, or any other appa¬ 
ratus whatsoever. So far as experi¬ 
ments and trials of different elastic 
substances have been made, cork is 
found to be the best calculated for the 
purposes of the invention; but the 
patentee claims the exclusive right and 
privilege of applying cork, and any 
other elastic substance, io all kinds of 
printing apparatus and machines, with 
the view of remedying the inequalities 
in the thickness of stereotype plates ; 
and also claims the sole right and pri¬ 
vilege of manufacturing the elastic ar¬ 
ticles requisite for the attainment of 
this object, of vending such articles, 
and of granting licences for its use. 
VARIETIES. 
