The Express.
London, England, 1860-04-06 00:00:00

(Stamped ld. Additional.) [T WOPENC E.

SOCIETY OP ARTS.

The annual exhibition of patented inventions
under the auspices of the Society of Arts will be thrown
open to the public on Monday next, and coexisting as it
does of upwards of 400 models, inventions, and drawings,
connected with almost every breach of mechanical science,
and developing more than one novel principle, it will, no
doubt, be of great attraction and utility to the public.
The private view took place yesterday evening, and the
model room was well filled with inventors and their
friends, together with the privileged few who had
this early opportunity of inspecting the wonders of
the modern lepute afforded them. There wen
the noise of many wheels in full rotation, the
click of all sort. of eccentric movements, the rush of WSW'
through every variety of pump, specimens, raw material,
manufactured articles, in short, all things upon which re-
gains inventors had staked their hopes and fortunes, but
many of them unhappily doomed to oblivion so soon as
they have for a few weeks gratified the curiosity of the
public.
There are, nevertheless, • few inventions exhibited WE
year, which will, no doubt, justify the approval of the
society, and ultimately become of useful and general appli.
cation. Amongst these some new trick/ of the young
giant, photography, deserve a foremost place. Mews.
Joubert and Wyard have found • way of fixing photo-
latliss, not tegitlvelp4l4-1111 begffabbirlw era thew
waking the sae a restorer of at least efts of the lost arta of
medieval times. One or .two pictures fixed in this way
were exhibited, and excited general interest ; bat the prose
by which the wonder is effected was not made known to
the visitors. The principle applies also to the opaque
ceramic material, and several porcelain tiles were shown, into
which elaborate designs had been imperishably imprinted
solely by the action of the sun. Next in novelty to thia extraor-
dinary application of photography is the new use that has
been found for indiarabber--once only used to obliterate
pencil marks—in electron-block printing. The object is to
find a rapid and inexpensive means of producing an enlarged
or reduced copy of airy engraving, wood block, or litho-
graphic drawing, and this is done by taking a transfer ire-
premien on a sheet of indiarubber, previously prepared
in the same way as transfer paper, but with • substance
equally elastic as the indiarubber itself. This is
then put into an ingeniously contrived frame, graduated to
tenths of inches, and mathematically stretched to the exact
size required. When the object is redaction, • sheet of
indiarubber of the size required is prepared and stretched
in the frame to the dimensions of the engraving, and when
the impression has been taken the indiarubber is gradually
restored to its original size by the reverse action of the
screw. We must say that we were much struck with the
originality and usefulness of this invention, by which all
the time and five-sixths of the expense now sunk in
obtaining copies of maps and engravings would be avoided.
In the present prominent position of the paper question,
when rags we disputing with rich brocade the foremost
place amongst textile values, Mr. Collyer's method of pre-
paring straw for the paper mill will no doubt excite •
great deal of curiosity. Mr. Collyer takes common wheaten
or other draw, and, placing it in successive layers in a
frame prepared for the purpose, subjects it at the same
moment to an alkaline shower from the top arid • jet of
super-heated steam from the bottom. The result of the
combined action of these two powerful agents is that the
straw is subjected to • boiling heat almost as intense as the
fusing heat of the blow-pipe, and the fibre being completely
cleansed of ell silica and gluten, is in an inconceivably
short space of time prepared for the mill. The in-
ventor claims for his process inexhaustible supply
of material, rapid and complete transmutation of the
fibre, and an immense saving in the cost of manufacture.
Should he be as successful as he is sanguine in all these
points, the intentions of the Emperor of the French with
respect to the export duty on rags will become a matter of
very secondary importance. Justus Liebig calls the process
" a beautiful discovery," and Mr. Cowan and one or two
other eminent paper makers, have also, we were informed,
expressed their belied in its practical utility. The cotton
gin of Mr. Dunlop derives much importance from the fact
that it hes already been adopted by the Manchester Cotton
Supply Association, immense numbers of the " gins" having
bean sent to India, and sold to the natives at 31. each, the
prise being paid in clean cotton. It is simple and portable,
will clean five pounds of cotton in the hour, and can
easily be worked by one man. Another great advantage is,
it does not crush the seed, so that the cotton conies out en'
tirely free from oil. The destructive arts ere not very largely
represented within the peaceful walls of the institution
this year, but our attention was called to • new breech
loading rifle, patented by Means. M'Kenzie and Wentworth.
The principle is a breech chamber which can be tilted up
by means of a spring, which is placed in the stock to receive
the charge, and can then be loaded with the ordinary
service ammunition. It is then driven home after the
manner of the " slut " in the Armstrong gun, and is ready
for firing. The great advantage claimed is the avoidance
of the trouble of muzzle loading, and the inventors tricorn.
mend it strenuously to the rifle volunteers. Experience
will of course be the only test of whether that air-tightness
be secured which is the great desideratum in breech loading
guns. In the naval department Mr. Homersham exhibits
"a floating gridiron" for ships, to keep them upright when
rising in floating docks. Mr. George Glen Brown exhibits
• binnacle which develops • new and beautiful applies.
tion of the great principle of gravity to a purpose of
great practical utility, and Messrs. Wood and Rogers show
a model of • boat-lowering apparatus. We have only left our-
selves space to call attention to Mr. Wood's morning ma
chine, sod • novel apparatus for torsion, which may possibly
permit of the long rope-walk being dispensed with ; and, in
the military department, to Major Rhodes' improvement of
the toile d'abri, in which, by substituting the semicircular
for the angular form, and closing it at one end, he provides
the soldier with a tent hardly any heavier to carry, and
much more comfortable end complete, than that which is in
general use in the French army. We do not profess to have
done more in the foregoing notice than to glance at the
more prominent objects in the exhibition, which is full el
novelties, and will usefully employ more than one day's
sight-seeking. Great credit is due to the Society of Arts
for collecting such an exhibition, and to its officers for its
skilful arrangement and the lucid catalogue in which it.
contents are described.

MADAME TISBBAUD'o. —Au addition has been made
to this interesting exhibition in a figure of William Rufus,
which now occupies • conspicuous place in the department
devoted to royalty. In modelling this figure the artist has
bad the assistance and advice of a celebrated antiquary,
who fills the post of one of the Heralds of England.
Glows WASHINOTOIC—At a sale of autograph
letten by Mara Puttick and Simpson, of 47, Leicester-
square, on Thursday lest, • letter of George Washington,
the President el the United States, written when a
subaltern in the service of the colonial government to the
Governor of V•ugmu, sold for 151. 10s. The substance of
the letter was as follows :—" lam much concerned that
your Honour should seem to charge me with ingratitude
for your generous and myy. undeserved favours, for I amore
you,
beat,
oonrbales.i.
that my
ythm • gado'
moreabhors, Salt=rt :111:1
and detestable one, Ingratitude." He in
his command, adducing as one of his reasons the
of his pay. " I have • Constitution hardy enough to en-
counter and undergo the most severe tryals, and I flatter
myself resolution to face what any man durst as shall be
Reg
tothe..Testr.t;
ifwhhicehc.l
nbeoltiebveeanw.eareed
uPprOvn'dthwehborden it °"n"
off."borders
British pay, to germ as • volunteer ; other offices will not
remain long without an alteration. Institutes comparison
between the pay of the British officers and those of the
American army, 'if we should be fortunate enough to drive
the French from Ohio--as far as your Honour would please
have them sent to—in any short time, our pay will not be
sedtcleat to disaharge our first expenees . . the
motives that lead me here were pure and noble, I had no
view of acquisition but that of Honour, by serving faithfully
myKing and Country." He relates his movements in ace-
tinuatiou of the preceding letter—he has met a body of the
French and had an engagement with them, and taken
amongst other prisoners Mona de Laforce, ' a bold enter-
prising man, and a person of great eubtilty and cunning."
He expects to meet • larger forte of the French, whom he
must withstand if they are 5 to 1, or ho will lose the In-
dians. "-Your Honour airy depend I will not be •urpried
let them come what hour they will, and this is as much as I
can promise—but my best endeavours shall not be wanting
to deserve ahem I EWA not but if yen boar lam biota,
bat you will at the sear [time] bar that n hew dose
our duty in fighting as long [a] there was a posibiaty of
hope."