New-York daily tribune., 1845-04-22
il equallysappicsbIe TO the floors of cellars, and

end Of the yards They are hung 10 the upper
yards by rings that slide on rod called jack
yard attached to the middle and end 4 the yard,
and are set and urled by means Of ou,-aDd-in haul
ers. BY this arrangement IL IS alleged that YES
sci can be worked with greater ease, and Will sail
nearer the wind, than by the mode nov practlsed."
When the Boston people next have occasion &c
Gu; a steamer out Of their ice-bound harbor, they
may profit by the following Improvement on the
usual mode of adapting saws and hammers 10 the
bow of boat propelled by steam, by means of
which the ice is 10 be cut into strips, and then
broken into small blocks, and these blocks pushed
to each side of the boat by guards placed at the
bow, and back Of the breakers. ga patent has
been granted for so modifying the form and az
rangement of ih.se guards 10 deprsss tAe block.
OF ice below The surface, and push them under
the surrounding ice, and thus leave the channel
clear, by combination Of inclined planes"
"Various devices have been resored TO, 10 i'm
| prove the harpOon used by whalers; and, among
others IL was proposed some years ago, 10 enclose
within the harpoOn vessel containing pruSslc ACID
which, on striking, would be ditfused, and thus kl
| The whale. As an Improvement on this patent
| has been granted for putting bottle Of EXPLOSIVE
mixture within the ttuke OF the haFpoon, Whicn Is
Joined 10 the handle 50 that the pull OF he
whale will open the fuke and explode the mixture"
In HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING, the chief lnven-
tons have been floating platforms for bridges, &c,
hollow iron piles sunk by exhausting the air from
their interior; iron lighthouses on iron piles;
screw r,oorings; and NJ. Thenard's Barages mo-
bies or dams for shallow rivers, which can be re-
moved at will and which a scientific friend who
examined the system in Paris thinks OF great value
to the Improvement of cur many rivers which are
| too shallow for navigation during some months OF
the year.
"The serious accidents that have occurred on
RAILROADS., by the use OF switches 10 guide the
cars from one track 10 another, has, from the CON-
mencement, occupied the serious attention OF rngi
neers and others, without any decided benehclai
result. All the plans heretofores suggested Were
either impractcable, or would not prevent accidents
if not properly shifted by the attendant. But an
Improvement which presents decided advantages.
has been patented and fully tested on the Reading
railroad II consists IN The employment OF TWO par
alle bars attached 10, and moving with the switch;
so that, when The switch has been shifted and pn
in connection with the turnout rails, they are III
Inc with the rails of the main track and, in the
event Of neg gect the part OF the attendant 10
place The switch, Car from the main track will
run on TO these parallel bars which are, at their
fixed end, connected with the main track by means
of inclined planes and guides, so arranged as 10
elevate The hanch oil the wheels (Which are outside
the rack) over the rai!, and guide the whole oi
them TO the line OF the track, and thus prevent the
cars from running oil
"As means OF preventing accidents from
"snake heads" or the ends of rails thrown up oul
of the proper line, patent has been granted foT
attaching curved and inclined guides 10 The car III
front Of The wheels, and between the front and
back wheels which strike the snake heads, aud
force them down 10 their proper position until The
whce pass over them"
Metal roofs and fire. proof ceilings have also been
improved and patented.
GAS a means of dispensing with the weight Of
the saw-gate IN MILLS, which Is considered OBJ
jectionable, the saw has been attached to sliding
block AT top and bottom, and therefore depending
upon its Stiffness instead oil the tension gwen To II
by screws when applied IN gate 10 combine
the advantages of both methods, patent has been
granted for slralnlng" The saw, (as II is termed III
technical anguage,) without the use OF II gate, by
attaching piston TO each slide the two plstons
working in appropriate cylinders connected te-
eether by steam pipe rs TO use the elastic force
of steam 10 strain The saw. The elastic force OF
the steam does not impede the mouon, as II equal
on both pistors and therefore balanced
"Several patents have been granted tor various
modes of arranging the head aud tail blocks oi
sawmills, to render them selt-sett'ng. The greai
variety of devices fer this purpose, which have oeep
patented and are IN pubic usc, Is matter OF aston;
lshment and Is evidence OF the great resources oi
mechanical ingenuity"
Our Corporation might proiitably turn their at
,ention 10 new s,reet-sweepng machine, patented
during the present year and seemingly OF much
merit. i, consists of set Of curved brooms, that
are moved around shaft horizontally and carry
the dirt to one side of the street, and then rise up
10 deposit il in windrews. The mechanism OF the
movngpars is ingenious and simple, and not liable
TO be deranged.
In PLows, several important Improvements have
been made during the year: but they are chiefi,
for modes of fastening and so fitting the points and
shares that in of wear or injury, they can be
easily replaced by the farmer himself. lis ques-
ton, perhaps, vet 20 be decided, whether cast-lron
! plows are more economical 10 the farmer than the
nlows with cast-iron mould boards and wrought
shares and points.
"a promising Improvement, has been made in the
grain cradle, by making the teeth ot hollow metal,
| filing them up with wood sufficiently Tar to insure
strength The tech glide very easily through the
gram, and are not liable 10 the objection OF warp
| ing and sticking where the grain s wet, as Is the
case with wooden teeth.
In CHEMISTRY one of the most interesting patents
consists in the substitution OF coating ct silver
for an ama,sam of tin and mercury in the prepara-
ton o. looking glasses.
'sln the old process for silvering, or rather coat
inc mirrors, AN ama|sam Of TIN md mercury Is lald
! upoa the surface OF clear plate glass; ana this
amagaH,, when freed from The mercury by pres
| sure constitutes the ref!ecurg surface The eN-
tenslve use OF mercury this operation, renders II
extremely unhealthy: and the coating thus formed
is liable 10 be detaced by chemical changes, as Is
| frequently witnessed IN the spots occurring upon
the backs Of mirrors It's contended tha: the new
! invention obviaies these difficulties. The process
for coating the glass with silver, is substantially as
! follows: The glass Is carefully cleaned LAID upon
| Il table and rim oi WAX, some sultsbie sub-
stance, raised around lis borders a seu'iou o.
silver Is then poured upon the glass, {, litte sn
monia added, and from lime 10 time little oil OF
cass,a and alcohol; after which oil OF cloves is
added, when precipitation commences, and pure
and finn coating OF silver Is oned upon the glass
which is afterwards carefully dried and proietire
IypIa.RuRxEa F.Bsics-" The great value Of
caouchouc in the arts has led 10 gres, variety OF
devices 10 overcome those difficulties experienced
on lis frst introduction, VIZ speedy nooe OF ois
solving, ana speedy msSe of DRYING the solution
No solyen, has ever been oS,ained better than The
| caoucSoucine liquor prepared BY the destructive