New-York daily tribune., 1856-06-04
THR MECHANICS, GLIB.

ing last, at the rooms Of the American Institu.e No
35l Broadway, large working model OF Pb,ips',
Patent Vino Engine was exhibited and q. olsined by
Mr. w b. LEoSARD, the inventor being oo. Of the city
The machine 10 windmill in general appe srance IKE
those usually employed, but appears 70 be moro ner
fecy self.reguating than any before ntrodoced In
a.fpuch the provision, not only against gales Of
wind, but sudden gusts, i. practically perfect. The
vsnes are made capable Of feat1ering" or tuning
edge TO the wind, and two agencies employed for
this purpose frst the vanes are hung 30 that when
tie centrifugal force generated by their revolution IL
euficient to overcome stiff spriog, tha. force alone
throws them more or less into q feashering position;
and second perpendicular board is prssested Ast-
WISE in such manner that when acted on oy sudden
gust ii will at yield, and commence feathering
motion BY means Of suitable connections TO ell the
yaDes. -, >,
Mr.. W. B. DAVIS exhibited model, and explained
the nature of his te-raf. II is obcng ng OF buoy
ant material. with stout network stretched across,
Transforming it into an extremely leaky boat; Any
water thrown on board would escape at once through
this bottom. and il overturned in surf, the crew
could scramble at once upon the other side, snd De
"this side pp." The chief novelty Of this invention,
however, consists in the material of the buoyant nng
aforesaid which is made by binding together with cop
per wires sic n6er strips of rattan white oak and Gov
erpe the whole with prepared Goth. The ring, as We
bsve termed il, is slightly pointed at each end ana
made TO row like an ordinary boat. Iae INTERIOR oi
the ring was asserted TO be- or might be divided into
eight tight compartments, 30 that accident 20 several
portions Of the covering would not destroy It's useiu-
ness The first ulsized structure under this patent
now being built for the Gloucester Ferry Company az
Pbade phis II is eighteen feet long by seven wiie.
is to support 5000 pounds, and to weigh only 200
pounds ~ .,
MIR. WM KIysIEY exhibited model Of an improved
sounding board for piano fortes the same oengswshed
in A peculiar manner and diminished 10 Thickness nn-
der the base strings, according to certain law. ine
end at.antd is sweetness and not depth OF tone tie
illustrated bis position by referring to the construction
of a violin, which il IS well known makes louder
4 -, e. aat h.t a ~ M haA
erably.
A Mr. RowLEY decaimed a few minutes on the
mt rits of medicine for removing scaes and sediment
from boiler Thenature he kept secret, but the effect
was undeniable. 1t would appear that Is operates a.
n purgatiye One barrel would cure moderately bad
boiler, one pint would cure tea-kettle, &c.
The subject Of Steam Fire Engines was then taken
no and discussed with some spirit Much light was
elected on this interesting topic, involving the expedi
ency Of large or small engines, pad or volunteer
fire department. horse or man power for conveying
engines to fires the best form Of nozzies for eectng
smooth streams relative power required for throw
ing different distances, &C., and many facts were
cited by the members in support of their
various provisions. Mr.. j. G. Z. LARSED, one OF the
propretors of the large and very successful engine
which has operated much in the Park reviewed his
paper read at the previous meeting, aud Mr.. j. ).
BURNHAK, a practical fre.engine builder, who sx.
hbited large machine AZ the late prize trial OF
steam ERE engines also read brief paper on the sob
ject remarking that his place was before work bench,
and not audience; the lattex Yss conservative the
fomefprogressve in the hgheA d&ree. Mr.. l.. con-
ceived that the obstacle which had prevented the
uniyersal employment of steam fge-engines, yeans
ago wasthe absence of such aght, safe, aud efficient
boiler he had now produced, while Mr. b. considered
that the great obstacle to success in this Is in many
other projects, was tendency to run after novelties
and place too much faith in new and untred inven.
tiops. Mr.. Burbhams engine was cheap and durable;
il weighed but 1000 lbs cost but l,O00 while some
of the rival styles cost &c 900 $1,000, and though
moderate in power, would throy more water
=. Lolt Lo,
had been yet produced for sl,7Oo. All its psrts
were Of od.fasbioned and approved design, and the
carriage could carry wood enough to last an hour. he
urged this last point with much justice az the necessity
for an atte ndant carriage with wood must be great
inconvenience in crowd at fire. Mr.. Larned, IN bic
paper reviewed the whole history Of steam fre-en-
gines from the second clumsy affair in England, by
Braithwai'. in 1890, which was horse'powef, ana
weighed 5000 pounds down to the styles now success
fully in operation in Cincinnati and finally TO the ma
chine lately constructed by himself and Mr. Lee whch
machine complete, weighs q 500 pounds, and works
volved in applying steam for this purpose differed
fnm all ordinary steam engineering. Economy Of
fuel was trife, but non liability TO sudden falure
ability 10 get up steam rapidly and throw water very
powerfully, while the whole structure light enough
10 be readily managed these the great conditions
TO he fulfilled, aud which his engine referred 70 bad
ulflled most completely Messrs. Shawk and Lasu,
of Cincinnati, deserved credit, he affirmed for first
raising the steam fire. engine from the position Of
an auxiliary to that Of a promptly ready power.
A very few minutes was of great i'm oortsnce
at the beginning OF many fires, and unless engine
could be promptly ready would never fulfil the Coz
ditiOns. In direct competition with hand engines in
the ordinary practice in Cincinnati, Shawk Lsttss
engines bad fairly beaten, and the principal force Of
the Fire Department in that city proper now consisted
of seven steam FIRE engines. The hand engines had
been driven TO the suburbs and the entire departmental
the city had been recognized, the employed being
now paid members. But the boiler now broaght out,
of his construction and exhibited in model 70 the au-
dieLce, far more efficient in proportion 10 its
weight. The boiler mostly made up OF double
tubes or small tubes within larger ones, with fame
both on the inside and outside of the thin stratum OF
water thus encoeed He believed the rotary pump,
though in the long run subject TO wear, was less
liable to sudden breakdowns than the reclprOcatlng
pump. A first class hand engine, we'll msnned was
capable of exertDg for few minutes power equal 70
about 3O-horse power end he knew il was practicable
to play the same by steam, and make the labor
constant without involving any e1trayagsnt weight
The engine now before the Common Council had
proved il by the best Of all pro0fs-it had actually
COne il for hours and almost for days together.
Mr. LARsED's effort seemed very cOnclusyeyn
show the superiority Of his invsntion over oil other
styles of boiler for this particular purpose. He o.,
serves credit not only for maturing very SUCCESSFUL
and novel machine and taking long stride in sd-
vance of previous efforts in this direction but a0 for
the evidently fair and courteous manner in which be
treated previous and cotempOraneous inyentors.
The subject for the next meeting the second
Wednesday in June is that Of Locks for Banks, street
DOOR, &c and Locks in general.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE FARMERS CLUB. ?
TUESDAY, June 3-RoBERr L. PELL, President Of
he Institute, in the chair. Considering the season
md the oppressive heat of the day, the s,en lance