Inventions, Discoveries in the Arts, Hints, &c. to the weather than common paint.-Take of NEW AND CHEAP PAINT.-More impervious unslacked lime a quantity sufficient to make two gallons of white wash when slackedmix it with a due quantity of water-add to it 23 lbs. of brown sugar, and about 3 oz. of salt. The exact proportion of each will be best ascertained by experiment. This, when applied as a paint, becomes perfectly hard and glossy-by mixing either ivory black or lamp black with the ingredients, a beautiful lead color may be had, or a yellow by mixing simple ingredients-this paint is 12 VOL. I. of the weight to be used-say the shaft of a the jet is continually diminishing. The mine. Taking the one pair of wheels, moving moving power is renewed once in three on the same fixed axis, we find that from the months. This application of the expansive end of a radius or arm in each a chain de-force of air, if achieved, is among the most scends, so as to hang on opposite sides of a remarkable improvements of the age. square passage. To each chain are suspended, at different but regular distances, quadrangular frames, to the upper sides of which strong projecting iron rims, moving on the principle of the hinge, are attached. The boxes, or receptacles, for the weight to be raised, have corresponding edges on each side. When the wheel above is turned, and a single box below is placed in connexion with the lowest frame, it is caught by its rim, and with one revolution of the wheel is sent up as high as the frame on the opposite side to that on which it is borne; here it is again caught and sent up to the apparatus on the opposite side again; and so on by alternate transmissions, it is brought to the top of the shaft. The machine being kept constantly laden below, and its wheel constantly turned above, it follows that at each revolution of the wheel a box is delivered; and thus, in an exceeding short space of time, a vast hody of matter can be carried up through any depth of shaft. [The raising of water is Derformed by means of the same machinery, only buckets with valves in the bottom are ased instead of boxes.] The machine could be most humanely employed, in great mines, in quickly sending the workmen up or down, to save them from their present tedious and tiresome expedients for that purpose. Mining Journal. SHOEING HORSES IN WINTER.-Canada, where the winter is never of less duration than five months, they shoe their horses in the following manner, which serves for the whole winter:-The smith fixes a small piece of steel on the fore part of each shoe, not tempered too hard, which turns up about 1-3 of an inch, in the shape of a horse's lancet; the same to the hind part of the shoe, turned up a little higher than the fore part, tempered in the same manner. In going up a hill, the fore part gives a purchase that assists the horse, and in going down prevents him sliding forwards CLOCKS ON A NEW PRINCIPLE.-An English watchmaker, named Stromber, has succeeded in constructing clocks on a new principle, having atmospheric air for their moving power. In one which he has exhibited, the simplicity of construction is truly astonishing. The air compressed, so as to have the elastic force of six atmospheres, is emitted through three apertures, on as many wheels of different dimensions; and it is so contrived, that the velocity communicated to the wheels is uniform, although the force of now almost altogether used at the south for houses, fences, &c. ON FORMING CUTTING TOOLS OF CAST STEEL AS HARD AND TOUGH AS POSSIBLE.-It is well known that the proper hardening heat for cast steel is exceedingly difficult to be attained, and that a very little excess of heat is sufficient to deprive it of its most valuable properties; hence, in order to obtain the edges or points of steel instruments of the greatest degree of strength for important purposes; such, for instance, as the edges of knives for dividing mathematical instru. ments,-Mr. Stancliffe, an excellent maker of these instruments, and formerly a workman of the late celebrated Mr. Ramsden's, adopted the following most excellent method: by hammering, he carefully heated the After shaping the tool, and condensing it point, and quenched it: he then, with the edge of a file, made trial, by filing along from the soft and unhardened part, to that part of it where it became hard; and formed his cutting part or edge, by grinding and whetting that part to shape. He was thus best that the steel he employed could posassured of the quality of his tool being the sibly produce; nor did it require tempering, as usual. cess, now for the first time published, will It is to be hoped, that this valuable probe adopted, wherever tools, possessing all the advantages, in point of hardness and strength, which steel can give them, are required. have discovered a new plaster or cement, NEW CEMENT.-The French in Algiers made of 2 parts ashes, 3 of clay, and 1 of sand-which being stirred and mixed with oil will resist all weathers better than marble. TO CLEAR IRON FROM RUST.-Pound some glass to a fine powder, and having nailed some strong linen or woollen cloth upon a No. 1. Mud and Air Volcanoes. 13 board, lay upon it a strong coat of gum wa-|| Seive, are mixed with twenty parts of lithter, and sift thereon some of your powdered arge; the whole is then rubbed up by the glass and let it dry; repeat this operation muller with linseed oil so as to form a thick three times, and when the last covering of paint, which may be diluted with Spirit of powdered glass is dry, you may rub off the Turpentine; before it is applied the iron just from iron utensils, with the cloth thus should be well cleaned. prepared. PRESERVATION OF IRON FROM RUST.-. -A mastic or covering for this purpose proposed by M. Zemi and sanctioned by the Societe'd' Encouragement, is as follows: eighty parts of pounded brick, passed through a Silk From an experience of two years, upon locks exposed to the air, and watered daily with salt water, after being covered with two coats of this mastic, the good effects of it have been thoroughly proved. Bull. d'Encour. NATURAL PHENOMENA-No. 1. of hydrogen. The volcano at Macaluba is somewhat different; it is situated on a little hill about fifty feet in height-its small craters discharge bubbles of gas, which break noise like that occasioned by a cork bursting a bottle. A salt spring issues from the hill. In Italy and the equinoctial regions of cones about five feet in depth emit streams America, are exhibited the phenomena of Los Volcancitos or Mud Volcanoes, in which hydrogen gas is the principal agent. The one at Sasuolo, not far from Modena, is visited by all the curious; a piece of wooding the clay that covers them, produce a plunged into that oozy volcano makes the water rise in the form of a jet. Several mud volcanoes similar to those near Modena, Our present illustration is a fine and spirited are situated in the island of Sicily. Among view of the mud volcanoes of Turbacco, near others there is one at Valanghe della Lalom-Carthagena, in South America. They are ba, another at Terra Pilata, and a third at thus described by the celebrated traveler Macaluba. The first is the least important; HUMBOLDT. its movements are wholly checked during very hot weather. The second consists of an eminence in which there are several fissures; from a great many small cones, gas and mud rise to the height of six or seven feet; other "After traversing a space of about fiftythree hundred yards, covered with the decayed trunks of trees, and in which there appeared here and there projections of a lime-stone rock containing petrified corals, we reach an open place of about nine hundred 14 Punctuality-Hints tó Men of Business. VOL. 1. In order to grasp in all the work in the neighborhood, many a mechanic will promise, when he knows it is not in his power to perform. What is such a man but a liar? To say nothing of the vice of lying, than which there is nothing more low and contemptible, the mechanic in the end, gets far less work by false promises, than he would by a strict adherence to the truth. Punctuality in a mechanic is the soul of business, the foundation of prosperity, and the security of a good reputation. Hints to Men of Business. Superintend in person as much of your business as practicable, and observe with a watchful eye, the management of what is necessarily committed to the agency of others. and eight feet square, entirely destitute of|| mechanic who will get our work done by vegetation. The surface was composed the time specified, and we will cherish him of layers of clay, of a dark gray color, as the apple of our eye. But to the mecracked by desiccation into pentagonal and chanic, who makes us call twice, (fire and heptagonal prisms. The volcancitos consist sickness excepted,) we bid farewell-"a of fifteen or twenty small truncated cones long farewell"-he is not the man for our rising in the middle of this area, and having money. The mechanic gains nothing by a height of from nineteen to twenty-five feet.|| false promises, except a bad name. The most elevated were on the southern sides, and their circumference at the base was from seventy-eight to eighty-five yards. On climbing to the top of these mud volcanoes, we found them terminated by an aperture, from sixteen to thirty inches in diameter, filled with water, through which air-bubbles obtained a passage, about five explosions usually taking place in two minutes. The force with which the air rises would lead to the supposition of its being subjected to considerable pressure, and a rather loud noise was heard at intervals, preceding the disengagement of it fifteen or eighteen seconds. Each of the bubbles contained from twelve to fourteen and a half cubic inches of elastic fluid, and their power of expansion was often so great that the water was projected beyond the crater or flowed over its brim. Some of the openings by which air escaped were situated in the plain without being surrounded by any prominence of the ground. It was observed that when the apertures, which are not placed at the summit of the cones, and are enclosed by a little mud wall from ten to fifteen inches high, are nearly contiguous, the explosions did not take place at the same time. It would appear that each crater receives the gas by distinct canals, or that these terminating in the same reservoir of compressed air, opposes greater or less impediments to the passage of the æriform fluids. The cones have no doubt been raised by these fluids, and the dull sound that precedes the disengagement of them, indicates that the ground is hollow. The natives asserted that there had been no observable change in the form and number of the cones for twenty years, and that the little cavities are filled with water even in the driest seasons. The temperature of this liquid was not higher than that of the atmosphere. A stick could easily be pushed into the apertures to the depth of six or seven feet, and the dark colored clay or mud was exceedingly soft. An ignited body was immediately extinguished on being immersed In the gas collected from the bubbles, which was found to be pure azote. MISCELLANEOUS. Punctuality. Never lose sight of the powerful influence of example, and be careful in the management of your concerns to recommend by your own personal practice uniform habits of active, interested and persevering diligence to those in your employ. Be prompt and explicit in your instructions to your agents, and let it be understood by them, that you expect they will execute the same in strict conformity thereto. Let no common amusements interfere or mingle with your business; make them entirely distinct employments. Dispatch at once, if possible, whatever you take in hand; if interrupted by unavoidable interference, resume and finish it as soon as the obstruction is removed. Beware of self-indulgence; no business can possibly thrive under the shade of its influence. Do not assume to yourself more credit for what you do, than you are entitled to; rather be content with a little less; the public mind will always discover where merit is due. Familiarize yourself with your books, keep them accurately, and frequently investigate and adjust their contents. This is an important item. Cultivate domestic habits; for this your family, if you have one, has a strong and undeniable claim; besides, your customers will always be best pleased when they find you at home. or at the place of your busi Punctuality among mechanics is a great desideratum. Show us, says Dr. Green, allness. No. 1. American Ingenuity-Mechanics 'Ode. 15 Never let hurry or confusion distract your || Remember that Adam, your father and head, mind, or dispossess you of self-command. Tho' lord of the world, was a tailor by trade. Under the influence of such habits as Ye masons, who work in stone, mortar, and these, with a suitable dependance on Providence for a blessing on the labor of your brick, hands, you will have a good foundation to rest your hope upon, for success, in whatever business you may be employed. American Ingenuity. And lay the foundation deep, solid, and thick ; Ye smiths, who forge tools for all trades here You have nothing to fear while you smite All things you may conquer, so happy your lot hot. Ye shoemakers nobly from ages long past, And cobblers all merry, not only stop holes, soles. The whole world must, ere long, acknowledge the superiority of American ingenuity, and already many portions of it have tacitly made the admission, by the employment of American mechanics in the superintendence of various kinds of mechanical business. A Poughkeepsie paper says, that Gen. Tallmadge, in a letter from St. Petersburgh, remarks that the foreman of the principal machine factory at Manchester, (Eng.) is an American from Providence; and that the principal manufacturer employed by the King of Prussia, is a native of Baltimore. Henry Eckford was for a long time the master ship-builder for the Sultan of Turkey, and we saw stated a few days since, that several elegant buggies have|| been exported per order to England from Newark, N. J. Two inventions which are considered by the English as the greatest improvements of the age, are the fruits of Ye hatters, who oft, with hands not very fair, Yankee ingenuity-the machine for making Fix hats on a block for a blockhead to wear, the weaver's reed, invented by J. A. Wilkin-Tho' charity covers a sin now and then, son, of Rhode Island, and the "self-regula-You cover the heads and the sins of all men. tor" to the power-loom, invented by A. Stone, Ye cabinet makers, brave workers in wood, As you work for the ladies, your work must be good; And joiners and carpenters, far off and near, Stick close to your trades, and you've nothing to fear. of the same State. But in point of inge-Ye coach makers must not by tax be controll'd, nuity, we believe nothing can exceed the But ship off your coaches, and bring us home stock machine invented by Gen. Harvey, gold; And take the advice of poor Richard, your friend, of this village, and now in successful opera-The roll of your coach made Copernicus reel, tion in the manufacture of stock frames. And fancy the world to turn round on a wheel. Added to this, his machine for manufacturing Ye carders, and spinners, and weavers, attend, screws; his brick machine; his coining apparatus, and various others, of minor importance, exhibit mechanical skill of the highest order. Wherever our ingenuity and enterprise extend into foreign countries, an evidence and conviction of our greatness goes with them; and the non-recoiling rifle of young Cochran made Mahmoud of Turkey exclaim, "If American boys can do thus, what can their men do!" The Mechanics' Ode. Ye merry mechanics, come join in my song, Yet all are contented and happy and free. Stick close to your looms, and your wheels, and your card, And you need have no fear of the times being hard. Ye printers, who give us our learning and news, And impartially print for Turks, Christians, and Jews, Let your favorite toast ever sound in the time our columns will be enriched by articles of utility and merit, condensed with care from American and English works of deserved and acknowledged reputation. We have now very briefly stated the primary object of the "Register." Of the manner in which we shall fulfil the great design of its establishment, we of course leave to the decision of our readers. All we pledge is to The Mechanics' Register, The first number of which is now given to the public, will contain, among other in-bring to the task we have assumed, the industry and talent, (however humble,) with which we are endowed-determined to make every effort to elevate the character and promote the welfare of that great and important class of our fellow citizens for whose benefit this work has been projected and to whose fostering care it is now committed. teresting matters, a series of valuable papers on the following subjects. Mechanics, in its various branches-Architecture, both ancient and modern-Hydrostatics and Hydraulics--new and useful Discoveries and Inventions-the past and present condition of the useful Trades in the United States Manufactures will also receive a due share of attention. Every subject of general interest and permanent advantage to the mechanical and manufacturing classes, will engage the attention of the association of gentlemen under whose auspices the work is now brought out and the editor will spare no pains to render it beneficial to that large and respectable class, who, with the agricultural community, constitute the very "bone and sinew" of the land. PHILADELPHIA: Twenty-four numbers will form a volume As we have commenced the Register of the Register-and will always be conwithout the preceding formality of a pro-sidered equivalent to one year's subscription. spectus a practice which has received the We shall endeavor to complete the current sanction of centuries-we would simply say volume in the course of the present year, in that we have been led to the undertaking from order to commence the second volume with a settled conviction that a work of the kind the beginning of the ensuing year. was much needed-not that we have no scientific or mechanical works published in this country-on the contrary we have several of exalted reputation-but they are mostly designed for men of leisure as well as science, and are published at prices so high as to prevent their general circulation. We therefore propose giving in a convenient form, suitable for preservation and binding, and at a price so low as to place within the reach of all who wish to possess it, a work embracing the substance of all new and important discoveries in the arts, &c. For this purpose we shall avail ourselves of the best publications-and from time to The Mechanics' Register will appear on or about the eighth and twenty-second of each month. Each number will contain sixteen octavo pages on good paper and fair type. The subjects will be illustrated by engravings on wood whenever they can be appropriately introduced. TERMS.-One Dollar per year, payable in advance. Any person remitting us Five Dollars, will be entitled to six copies of the work for one year. The Register is subject only to newspaper postage. |