374 
Yome who had obtained footing, were pufhed 
down. ‘On this a few arrows were fired into 
the Arthur, in different dire€tions, and 
thortly a general difcharge from every canoe 
- tock place. Captain Barber immediately cut 
Ris cable, but-found it neceflary to fire upon 
them, from two.or three fwivels, and a few 
Moulguets, by which forse of them muft have 
been killed, as the canoes were very near the 
thip. The report of the guns, and the effect 
they produced, occafioned the greateft con- 
fternation among the favages, who in an in- 
fiant difappeared.. Two of the crew were 
wounded by their arrows. There being a fine 
breeze atthe time, the Arthur foon got clear 
of them. ‘Their canoes appeared to, be about 
thirty feet in length, but fcarcely three feet 
broad. They had a ftage ere€ted inthe mid- 
dle of each, apparently for the purpofe of 
fanding on to heave their {pears; and there 
were from eight to 14 men in each cance. 

NEW 
PATENTS, 
Patents in April and May. 
They are avery ftout race of people, nota 
man amongft thofe that were feen appeared to 
be lefsthan fix feet high; they are of a cop- 
per colour, with woolly heads. They faw 
nowomen. ‘Thefe iflands require very great 
caution in approaching them from the weft- 
ward, being almoft furrounded with reefs, and 
inter{perfed with funken rocks and theals, in 
every direCtion. The 18th of May, on his 
paflage towards the northward, in the lat. 3. 
45.fouth, Captain Barber difcovered a {mall 
fandy ifland, to which he gave the name of 
Drummond’s ifland, which appeared to have 
no other inhabitants than birds. This ifland 
is very low, and cannot be feen from the 
deck of a vefiel more than five or fix miles. 
It lies in lat. 5. 40. fouth, and nearly in the 
longitude of 176. 51. weft of Greenwichew 
variation 9; eait, \ 

Enrolled in April and May, 1798. 
a nS IE itp 
Mr. WELDON’s, FOR A MILL FOR 
BREAKING BARK FOR TANNING, &c. 
Patent was granted in Dec. 1797, to 
James Wetpon, of Litchfield, 
for amachine, or mill, for breaking or 
pulverizing hatched or chopped bark for 
tanning ; or other woods or hard fubftan- 
ces. 
"This invention confifts in confiructing 
a cylindrical wooden cafe, in which is to 
he fitted a caft iron cone, either folid or 
hollow, which, by common mill machi- 
yiery, is made to turn rapidly round in its 
cafe. The fide of the cone is to be armed 
with long triangular cutting teeth, ap- 
plied lengthwife, with confiderable inter- 
vals, to the cone: between thefe longer 
teeth, at the bafe of the cone, is to be 
fixed, in like manner, a very ciofe row of 
fhorter cones. “The bark, or other fub. 
ftance to be ground, being then thrown 
lbshily into the cylinder, is coarfely broken 
. down by the longer teeth, and afterwards 
reduced to finer powder by the fhorter 
ones. 
-Mr, CARTWRIGHT’s, FOR AN 
» STPROVED* STEAM ENGINE. 
The? Revs Evmunn CARTWRIGHT 
has juft taken out a patent for an improv- 
~ ed fteam engine: It 1s needlefs to obierve, 
thatthe eam engine, though a very pow- 
erfiil, has hitherto been not only an ex- 
penfive;:-but. a very imperfect machine. 
Its ininerfeftions. have -arifen from the 
complexity-af- its. parts, from the load of 
IM- 
friction, and frem the,defectivenefs ofthe | 
vacuum, in confequence of the admiffion 
of elaftic vapour. Mr. CartTwWRIGHT 
condenfes, by means of a fimple appara- 
tus, peculiarly adapted to the purpofe, 
without the injection of cold water; and 
by means of another apparatus, equally 
fimple, the engine is cleared of fuch elaf- 
tic vapour as may feparate from the wa- 
ter in the boiler. It 1s further contrived, 
that the condenfation is at all times going 
forwards ; fo that there is a complete va- 
cuum, or at feaft as near an approxima- 
tion to it as may be, whenever the pifton 
is ready to make its ftroke. ‘The friction 
is in a great meafure removed, by making 
the pifton folely of metal, and fo as ta 
accommodate itfelf to the cylinder, with 
the leaft poflible preffure againft its fides, 
‘The complexity which has hitherto been 
complained of, as the great obftacle to the 
application of the fltam engine to any 
purpofes, except thofe of great magnitude, 
is in Mr. CARTWRIGHT’S improvement 
doneaway. The conftruétion of this ma- 
chine is nearly as fimple as a common 
pump, it having only two valves, and 
thofe as it were felf-aéting. 
Mr. Douciass’s FOR A MACHINE 
FOR SHEARING WOOLLEN CLOTH. 
A. patent was granted to J. DouGLas, 
of Chrift church, Surrey, in March, for 
a machine for fhearing or cropping 
woollen cloth. The invention confifts 
in fixing a number of fhears in a frame, 
“which are worked by various mechanical 
powers ; but the particular mode of ap- 
plieation 
