The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-07-03
ground on which the Commissioner has devoted his

hfe namely, mechanical science and ingenuity.
The inference will be plain to those who take no
that if he is no mechanic or engineer, as he pre-
tends, he is not fit for his Office, for no pretends
he understands Patent Laws.
The following extract from a familiar review of
his mechanical qualifications has been published,
and has not been answered and leave is asked here
to introduce ID in its original popular FORM without
material alteration; Should the Court not be Ia
miliar with the details Of mechanical subjects-for
few are so--it is submitted whether welltaught
gineers should not be called to decide. The COM
plainant, being merely an amateur mechanic,
would most cheerfully submit to their decision
this branch Of his argument.
REWARD FOR CULTIvAroR.
Mr.. Ewbank proposes to offer a reward, out OF
the Inventors Fund, for cultivator, (and also for
other notions, Of which he gives the outlines for
some one who may be able to fill up,) by which the
plough of the husbandman may be cast aside with
tmder-boxes, in this age OF ready light lie APP
prehends, however, that the generation for the
plough" will cause the rude implement to keep its
place upon the farm, notwithstanding he has given
q suggestion which, if Wrought OUT would make an
infinitely better cultivator. We need not comment
the absurdity Of inventors being taxed in their
patent fees for such as shall carry out the crude
suggestions of the commissioner; for it is plain to
every one that il farmers or planters want better
cutivatOr than the plough it is their duty to offer
the reward, for the first profits will come to them;
and they also being the largest class and wealthiest
the best able to pay IL. But let this pass Sup
nose the PROPOSITIONS Of Mr.. Ewbank were adopted,
as to the plough, the course OF Improvement would
not be absolutely checked by directing the minds,
of some at least to projects as useless as PROPOSE
tiOns for perpetual motion.
intend to show that the very suggestion of such
steam cultivator, as the Commissioner pro poses to
offer a reward for, is Of this nature.
Let us examine the plough, with its polished
SHARE mould board, land. side, coulter and beam,
with its notched clevis, or wheel to regulate the
depth of the furrow.
Here we have all the parts necessary (with the
L.. mad ,ffn Va lraa IN ma
of a polished WEDGE the coulter and share cutting
it with perfect precision, that good ploughman
will not leave spear OF grass visible III meadow
of fifty acres. The sward is Tapped, one edge lying
ON subsoil, the other on the sward last turned, so
that there is small space for air which Is very de-
srable because the more the air can be brought in
contact with the soil, the more OF am nonia and
other fertizing qualities will be extracted. mus
the sward lies until the stubble and roots rot, and
by the time the roots Of the corn, or potatoes or
cotton require mellow soil, the whole is moving
and mellow ash heap.
We appeal to any practical farmer whether all
this is not true in practice.
Now let us see what would be the operation of
revolving steam cutvator, which should slice oil
the soil and not turn it over on the same principle
as the plough does for the learned Commissioner
recommends that the working apparatus shall ope'
rate. not before the machine or behind 1t, as the
Plough does behind cattle, but under the steam ma
chine with knives which shall ''sice' the sward.
He does not say what is to become of it after 1t Is
slice 4, bat he woui " slice up all the roots of any
trees in the way as we'll But what is to become
of the knives, should they hit rock or stone!
He seems to have Woodworth's planning machine
in his minds eye, and thinks, because the shavings
on that machine take of themselves when
thrown from the board, the soil, sand, stones and
roots may do likewise. But the materials opera
ted on are vastly different. IL would not work ut
all excepting certain soils, and even at the best,
what would be the effect! The grass and roots
or three inches UNDER would grow again dire lily;
and not ploughboy in the country but would curse
the protector when hOeing time came. Can any
who has had the least practical experience, fai
to see thsl Grass will not die unless it be turned
ever, or smOtbered so deep that it cannot pierce
through the soil which covers it. Who does not
know this!
But the greatest obstacle to the practical appli-
cation of steam locomotive cultivator the learned
| commissioner has not noticed in any manner, and
| that is the difficulty of making steam locomotive
! run ut all on meadow and fillOw ground, and up
ard down, and on side hills, ndthrough gullies II
| has been found exceedingly difficult to use steam
| locomotives ON the best macadanzed roads, and
after repeated trials they have been abandoned, and
| horses still arc used. 1t would have been as
sonabe ut least as Mother Kitchen was in her cook
ing book, when about TO give receipt for frying
| fish, to say, "you first must catch your fish, First
make a locomotive to run in soft ground up and
| down hill and over stones, and through ruts, and
then talk Of the dust you may raise up by the cu
tivatipg part of the machine. The French say, eft
we would finish at the end, We must begin ut the
! beginning"
/ We hold that inventors know best themselves
what they can make and all we want is n just Pa
! tent law. II any reward is to be offered with the
inventors money. let 1t be for the best patent law
The chief reason why inventors generally do not be-
/ come as rich other citizens is, that after they
have devoted time, labor, and capital, to produce
what is valuable to the community, those who have
never well considered that they have the same
rights in their "castles in the air., rs others have
in their houses the ground, obtained also by
time, labor and capital, make laws by which the
inventor il despoed at the end OF every fourteen
-; nd in m m NIL
by the constitution of the United States, "prvate
property should not be taken for public use with
/ out just compensation.
( STEAM pRoPErLERs.
The next subject for which reward is TO be
offered, is for steam propcllcrs which will make a
vessel three consecutive trips across the ocean
at the rate of twenty miles per hour And here
| again, to use u hunters phrase, the learned com
/ missioner is barking up the wrong tree"
The subject OF propcllers occupies near halt OF
the rcport. In this will be seen most clearly the
character Of the mans mind; and that he has none
! of the attributes of a true eNpcrInentalht
Mr. r.. rays he went first 60 tho market,
to examine particularly how fishes tails were
( made to proIe them through the water. lie
| then procures small boat ON Harlem river,
and fits two wheels on n shaft across her
center, as steamboats, are generally fitted, an on
the arms OF one wheel he places paddle OF the
usual foim, and on the other no tres paddles OF
| every variety Of shape he could think OF, and
amongs. Others pointed paddles, like the obes
Of the tail of the swiitest hsh lie had seen in the
market, that the swiftest ish had the longest aSd
! starrest Iobes. and the swfest birds the longest
ard sharpest wings. and the result was n. he an-
| ticiIatcd. IL turned the boat around against the
ordinary paddle, which struck into the water only
| half MS deep perhaps. II requires no solomon To
! be raised from lis grave to tell us such would be
the effect. Any one might have known without
| going to the market TO see birds wings and h.hes
! tails that such would be the case. because column
Of water one foot high affords only half the resist
apce that one does two feet deep: One who has
published a "great work On hydraulics" cannot
| he more than compiler, not to Know as mucn as
! this I speak bow OF fat surface like paddle,
and not I'll bodies of her forms which there Il
II action behind to compensate more or less f,r the
resistance before thesa, while passing through
/ water.
The learned commis.i~ner concludes, that be-
cause the pointed paddle tlsned the beat against
the square one, the poiDtel enc was fairly demon
srsted to be the best, and On this has the assur-
snce TO lecture inventors; when, If he had only