The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1877-11-15
A MECHANICAL DICTIONARY.

We take great pleasure in accouncing
to our readers the completion of Knights
American Mechanical Dictionary, which
has just been published by the we'll
known Riverside Press.
This work is the result of twenty-five
years application, much Of the time hay
ing been passed by the Author in the
United States Patent Office, where he
was engaged in editing the Patent Office
Report, and classifying patents; and sub
sequently editing the Official Gazette"
and systematizing for examination the
10000 applications for patents which
yearly are presented to the Office. Sit
ting at the very center and focus Of the
mechanical thought Of the country, he
saw the necessity for a compendious De
scription of the Tools, Machines, Pro
cesses, and appliances of the Arts and
Sciences,-in short, Dictionary Of Ne
chanical Terms.
There may be misapprehension as to
the character and scope of this work, oc-
casioned by its name. The Author gives
satisfactory reasons in his Preface for
adopting the form of Dictionary,
and not that of an Encyclopedias" and
yet the title, Mechanical Dictionary"
leads many to expect nothing more than
a description Of machinery, with an oc-
casional dissertation upon cog.wheels,
levers, mechanical movements, and simi-
lar dry and technical information.
Now while all this may indeed be
found in the work, it is by no means its
prominent characteristic. 1t deals with
the mechanical side" of every subject
that can be known or mentioned, and as
almost everything in the universe has a
mechanical side" the work becomes en-
cyclopedical.
A glance ct the articles and indexes to
be found under the heads of Fine Arts,
Astronomy, Music, Surgery, and Domes.
tic Appliances, will suffice to convince
one that many subjects which do not at
first blush seem to come within the scope
Of a Mechanical Dictionary have each
their mechanical side and are therefore
appropriate.
THE SYSTEM OF INDExING.
The value of work Of reference de-
pends largely upon its Index. When
one has a question to ask of an ordinary
Cyclopedia it is frequently very difficult
to determine under which title or head
ing to look.
The Author has invented a system of
Specific Indexes" by the use of which
the inquirer is guided straight to the in.
formation he is in quest of, even though
he be entirely ignorant of the name of a
thing, and have but the most vague and
general notion of its use. This is accom-
plished by grouping under the general
title of each science, art trade, or pro-
iession. list, or specific index, of every
article in the book bearing any relation
to the subject in question. The titles of
these Indexes are in turn grouped at the
beginning of the book, so that by a
glance one may determine which clew to
follow.
Beside the use above mentioned, these
Specific Indexes afford the reader an ex
cellent opportunity for investigating
thoroughly all that pertains directly or
indirectly to any special subject, by using
the Index under the title OF that subject,
as sort of head-center, and following
out its various branches through all their
ramifications
Fifteen thousand words are thus as.
sembled in what may be called these
professional and trade vocabularies.
Another unique and valuable feature
o! the work is
HISTORY or INVENTIONS.
In these days of modern improve
ments, one is very apt to placidly ac-
cept the result Of long ages of patient in
genuity, without stopping to inquire into
the history of the thousand and one ap- !