Peter Fairbairn, of Leeds, York, machine-maker, for certain improvements in the machinery or apparatus for roving, spinning, doubling, and twisting cotton, flax, wool, silk, or other fibrous substances. July 6.

Henry Davies, of Stoke Prior, Worcester, engineer, for certain improved apparatus, or machinery for obtaining mechanical power, also for raising or impelling fluids, and for ascertaining the measure of fluids. July 11.

Edward Davy, of Fordton, near Crediton, Devon, merchant, for certain improvements in saddles and harness. July 11.

Frederick Joseph Burnett, of St. Mary-at-Hill, London, ship insurance agent, and Hippolyte Francois Marquis de Bouffet Montauban, colonel of cavalry, now residing in Sloane-street, Chelsea, Middlesex, in consequence of a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, for certain improvements in the manufacture of soap. July 11.

William Rattray, of Aberdeen, in North Britain, manufacturing chemist, for certain improvements in the manufacture of the preparations called gelatine size and glue. July 12.

Henry Count de Crony, of Picardy, France, now residing at No. 14, Cambridge-street, Edgware Road, Middlesex, for a new and improved method of filtration, communicated partly by a foreigner, and partly invented by himself. July 13.

Francis Pope, of Wolverhampton, Stafford, fancy iron worker, for certain improvements for making or manufacturing pins, bolts, nails and rivets, applicable to various useful purposes. July 13.

Bennet Woodcroft, of Mumps, Oldham, Lancaster, gent., for improvements in the construction of looms for weaving various sorts of cloths, which looms may be set in motion by any adequate power. July 19.

Charles Bourjot, of Coleman-street, London, merchant, in consequence of a communication made to him by a certain toreigner residing abroad, for improvements in the manufacture of iron. July 19. Jean Leandre Clement, of Rochfort, France, but now of Jaunay's Hotel, Leicester-square, Middlesex, gent., for improvements in apparatus for ascertaining and indicating the rate of vessels passing through the water. July 19.

Thomas Nicholas Raper, of Greek-street, Soho, Middlesex, gent., for improvements in rendering fabrics and leather waterproof, July 19.

Luke Hebert, of High-street, Camden Town, Middlesex, in consequence of a communication from a foreigner residing abroad, for a new and improved method or methods of uniting or soldering metallic substances. July 19.

NOTES AND NOTICES.

Cheap Education for the Poor.-The friends to the rising generation of the working classes at Liverpool will be glad to learn that it has been determined to open a preparatory school in connexion with that already existing at the Mechanics' Institution. When the moderate charge for instruction is considered-only six guineas per annum, with a few extras-there cannot be a doubt that the labouring men of the "northern hive" will hasten

to avail themselves of the advantages so completely within their reach, especially when it is remembered that the education so begun may be completed at the easy rate of ten guineas per annum.

Steam Navigation to Russia.-The St. George Steam-Packet Company advertise that their vessel, the Sirius, now absent on the voyage to New York, will, immediately on its return, proceed direct to Saint Petersburgh. This is, it is believed, the first instance of a direct steam voyage the whole way through, between the capitals of England and Russia, the usual route having been from London to Hamburgh per steamer, thence on land across Holstein (36 miles) to Lubeck or Travemendes, and thence by steamer again to Saint Petersburgh. The new route will be "the furthest way round," but will possess all the advantages attendant on single trips. The Sirius will stand a better chance of success in consequence of the comparative absence of competition caused by the recent destruction by fire of the Russian steam-vessel "Nikolay I." which traded regularly between Luebeck and the city of the Czar,

Preventing Incrustations in Steam Boilers. The following method employed by Captain Kennedy, commanding Her Britannic Majesty's steamer Spitfire, to prevent the incrustations or deposits of saline matter on the inside of the boilers of steamengines, has been communicated by him in a letter to M. Gautier, of the French consulate at Malta. Captain Kennedy recommends, after having well cleaned the boilers and tubes, to coat those parts of their interior surface most exposed to the action of the fire with a mixture composed in the proportion of 18 pounds of melted suet and 3 pounds of powdered black lead. He states that the advantages of this application have been so fully tested by experience, that the Lords of the Admiralty have resolved that all the Government steamers shall for the future be provided with a sufficient quantity of the above-mentioned ingredients.-French Paper.

Railways.-As an evidence of the great increase of travelling attributable to the formation of railways, at present the number of passengers through Selby, on a moderate calculation, amount to 600 daily, whilst the number at a corresponding period of the year, previous to the Leeds and Selby Railway, did not exceed 50. The regularity of the departure and arrival of the trains, together with the facilities afforded for passengers' luggage, &c., are deservedly raising the management of the undertaking in public esteem, and we are happy to understand the business of the line is considerably and steadily on the increase.-Leeds Intelligencer.

Enterprise.-Mr. Mackintosh, the contractor for the line of the Midland Counties' Railway between this town and Rugby, and who is now supposed to be worth a million of money, was some years ago a gauger, or sub-contractor, in Scotland.-Leicester Herald.

Railway Map of England.-On the first of August will be published the Title, Index, and Contents to vol. 28 of the Mechanics' Magazine, and as a frontispiece to the volume a large map of the Railways in England and Wales, price 6d. The map alone on fine paper, price 6d. Also the volume complete, in half-cloth, price 8s. 6d.

PEACOCK'S METALLIC PISTON. Sir, I have lately made a full-sized drawing of a metallic piston invented by a working engineer, Mr. Alexander Peacock; by his permission I have reduced it to the size of your page, and beg to hand it to you with the accompanying description, with a view of giving the public the benefit of his invention, through the medium of your extensively circulated Mag

azine.

The merit of this piston consists in the simplicity of its construction, having but one spring, which from its form and position cannot fail of acting.

He considers it peculiarly adapted for engines subjected to uneven work, and particularly for horizontal cylinders, and therefore very applicable to locomotives.

Fig. 1 is a plan with the top lid or cover off. Fig. 2 a central section, and Fig. 3 an edge view; the same letters apply to the same parts in all the figures. o, the outer ring, is cut at c, and the tongue t is held in its place by the screw s, from the inner ring i; this inner ring is cut at a, on the opposite side. g is the elliptical, and only spring, put loose between the lower and upper covers; ll are two pairs of levers extending from the sides of the spring to the rings, one pair pressing immediately upon the outer, and the other upon the inner ring; these levers are connected at either end by a plain rule joint.

It will be readily seen that as the outer ring wears, the spring proportionally opens or extends, and pressing on the radial levers, and these against the ring, keeps it up to its work.

As it is material that a piston, particurlarly for a horizontal cylinder, should be always replaced in the same relative position to the cylinder, provision is made to ensure this by the screw b working in a slot cast upon the inner ring,

There is no necessity for occupying your columns by describing the other well-known parts of a piston, Several to whom I have shown it, agree in declaring this to be a good practical invention. I remain, Sir,

Your very obedient servant,
WM. VERE.

Ratcliffe, July, 1838

THE USEFUL ARTS IN CHINA.

The literary labours of Protestant Missionaries have added but little to our

knowledge of the countries in which they

have been stationed, or the manners of their inhabitants. Many of them, indeed, seem to have held it a point of conscience to deprive their journals-such, at least, has been the case with those which have seen the light-as much as possible of all interesting information on mere mundane affairs; so that we have been presented with accounts of a residence in Siberia, or a tour in India, which, for aught of "special matter' contained in them, might as well have been written within the purlieus of Camden Town or Chelsea. There are symptoms abroad, however, of a change in this particular, and our stock of geographical knowledge has been not a little increased during the last few years, by the publications of English and American Missionaries. Another work of this better kind has just been added to the list,* and not at all too soon, if our modern missionaries may be expected to contribute to our acquaintance with China and the Chinese in anything like an equal ratio with their Catholic predecessors, to whom the "barbarian" world is indebted for all the most valuable information it possesses with regard to the Celestial Empire.

The greater portion of Mr. Medhurst's volume is occupied with the details of his proceedings in his mission, and especially of the celebrated voyage to the north of China, in the course of which Mr. M. persisted in repeatedly landing, in defiance of the constituted authorities, and distributing to the astonished natives a plentiful assortment of religious tracts, in their own language. What good purpose was likely to be served by this irregular proceeding does not very plainly appear; certain it is, that, as might be expected, it effectually roused the attention of the Chinese government; and, it is equally certain, that not a single step to

wards a freer intercourse has ever been gained by any of the numerous attempts

*China, its State and Prospects, with special reference to the Spread of the Gospel; containing Allusions to the Antiquity, Extent, Population, Civilization, Situation, and Religion of the Chinese. By W. H. Medhurst, of the London Missionary Society. Illustrated with Engravings on Wood by George Baxter. London, 1838. Snow. 8vo., pp. 598.

which have been made from time to time to carry matters with a high hand, and, in a manner, coerce the Chinese into li berality. On the occasion in question, the government was evidently taken by surprise, as it well might be,-but we question whether, now that its vigilance has been roused, a similar voyage, with similar proceedings on landing, would be at all practicable. Wonderful progress has often been made, for a short time, in forcing an intercourse in opposition to the Chinese authorities, but it has uniformly happened that, in the end, those authorities have carried every contested point, and placed the assailing party in its former, if not even in a retrograde position. There is little reason to doubt that such would also be the result of any attempt to renew the strange transactions commemorated in Mr. Medhurst's work. The experiment will, most probably, be soon tried, and then nous verrons!

The narrative portion is preceded by several chapters devoted to the other subjects mentioned in the title-page, and among the rest, when "civilization" comes to be considered, to the state of the arts and manufactures-the truest touchstone of a nation's real position in the social scale. The whole of this part of the volume abounds in interest, and a few pages, extracted at random, would be almost certain to give a favourable opinion of our author's labours. Although, we are afraid, no inventions of equal importance to those of printing and gunpowder remain in the exclusive possession of the Chinese, some advantages might, nevertheless, accrue to the useful arts from a closer investigation than has ever hitherto been made into the processes which resemble in the main those of our western world, but which, from their having been necessarily perfected without any acquaintance with our corresponding methods, may very possibly present points of difference well worthy of notice and imitation, and at the same time not likely to be hit upon amongst those who have long looked on their own way as the way, and have, perhaps, from inveterate habit, never dreamt of the possibility of the existence of any other. In this manner the study of the longestablished industrial processes of the Chinese may be turned to account; but there can be no question that, if a “re

ciprocity system" were established tomorrow, the Chinese would have a thousand times more to borrow of the outer barbarians than the outer barbarians of the Chinese. The steam-engine alone would be a contribution from this side of the world which our tea-growing friends would find it rather difficult to balance, to say nothing of its endless applications to purposes of utility,-the printing-machine, for instance. This brings us to an interesting point. Notwithstanding all he has to say in its favour, the Chinese process of printing, as described by Mr. Medhurst, presents a striking contrast to the speedier operations with which the use of moveable types, combined with the indefatigable labours of the steam-press, have made us familiar. We quote Mr. Medhurst's description, as well for this reason, as from its being a fair specimen of his style of handling the subject.

"The mode of printing adopted by the Chinese is of the simplest character. Without expensive machinery, or a complicated process, they manage to throw off clear impressions of their books, in an expeditious manner. Stereotype, or block printing, seems to have taken the precedence of moveable types in all countries, and in China they have scarcely yet got beyond the original method.

"The use of wooden blocks has not been without its advantages; among which we may enumerate speed and cheapness. The first part of the process is, to get the page written out in the square or printed form of the character. This having been examined and corrected, is transferred to the wood in the following manner :-The block, after having been smoothly planed, is spread over with a glutinous paste; when the paper is applied and frequently rubbed, till it becomes dry. The paper is then removed, (as much of it as can be got away,) and the writing is found adhering to the board, in an inverted form. The whole is now covered with oil, to make the letters appear more vivid and striking, and the engraver proceeds to his business. The first operation is, to cut straight down by the sides of the letters, from top to bottom, removing the vacant spaces between the lines, with the exception of the stops. The workman then engraves all the lines which run horizontally; then, the oblique ; and, afterwards, the perpendicular ones, throughout the whole page which saves the trouble of turning the block round for every letter. Having cut round

the letters, he proceeds to the central parts; and, after a while, the page is completed. A workman generally gets through one hundred characters a day, for which he will get sixpence. A page generally contains five hundred characters. When the engraver has completed his work, it is passed into the hands of the printer, who places it in the middle of a table; on one side is a pot of liquid ink, with a brush; and on the other a pile of paper: while, in front, there is a piece of wood, bound round with the fibrous parts of a species of palm, which is to serve for a rubber. The workman then inks his block with the brush: and taking a sheet of dry paper, with his left hand, he places it neatly on the block; and seizing the rubber with his right hand, he passes it once or twice quickly over the back of the paper, when the impression is produced, the printed sheet hastily removed, and the workman proceeds with the next impression, till the whole number is worked off; and thus, without screw, lever, wheel, or wedge, a Chinese printer will manage to throw off 3000 impression in a day. After the copies are struck off, the next business is to fold the pages exactly in the middle; to collate, adjust, stitch, cut, and sew them; for all of which work, including the printing, the labourer does not receive more than ninepence a thousand. The whole apparatus of a printer, in that country, consists of his graves, blocks, and brushes; these he may shoulder and travel with, from place to place, purchasing paper and lamp-black as he needs them; and, borrowing a table anywhere, he may throw off his editions by the hundred or the score, as he is able to dispose of them. Their paper is thin, but cheap; ten sheets of demy size, costing only one halfpenny. This, connected with the low price of labour, enables the Chinese to furnish books to each other for next to nothing. The works of Confucius, with the commentary of Choo-foo-tsze, comprising six volumes, and amounting to four hundred leaves, octavo, can be purchased for nine-pence; and the historical novel of the three kingdoms, amounting to 1500 leaves, in twenty volumes, can be had for half-a-crown. course, all these prices are what the natives charge to each other; for all which Europeans must expect to pay double.

Of

"Thus books are multiplied, at a cheap rate, to an almost indefinite extent; and every peasant and pedlar has the common depositories of knowledge within his reach. It would not be hazarding too much to say, that in China there are more books, and more people to read them, than in any other country of the world."-p. 103.

Many of the praises here bestowed by Mr. Medhurst on the Chinese practice, must be taken with a very considerable allowance. We cannot very well see why the attribute of "speed" as well as cheapness" is to be ascribed to it. From his statement it would appear that a workman is occupied five days in producing a block for a single page of a common size. What sort of "speed" is this, compared to that attained by the use of single types? And by what miracle would the Chinese, with their "speedy" method, manage to get out such a sheet as the double Times, in the course of a few hours? The thing is clearly impossible; and Mr. Medhurst would therefore have done better to adduce rapidity as one recommendation of a process, which in its very nature must be slow. The "cheapness" is also rather problematical. True, the expense of engraving a page does not strike the English reader as any way alarming; but engravers are not to be had everywhere for sixpence a day. The process is only comparatively, not positively cheap,cheap not from its inherent simplicity, but merely on account of the cheapness of labour in China, from the overstocked state of the labour-market. Did the Chinese language admit of the introduction of moveable types, (which a former Emperor once attempted,) and were the Chinese acquainted with the art of typefounding, our system would be far cheaper than their own, it being recollected that where wood-engravers are to be had for sixpence a day, type-founders must be procurable at a proportionate

sum.

To make the matter clear, let us only imagine the reverse to take place,― the introduction of the Chinese method into England. Supposing our artist to be as expert as his Eastern prototype, and to be satisfied with six shillings a day, (no very extravagant wages, it will be owned,) here are at once thirty shil lings for the labour alone of "setting up" a single page-and that, too, a page only of the extent of one of our columns, reckoning every "character" to represent a word. This, indeed, is allowing nothing for the casting of the types, but this may be set against the value of the Chinaman's block, which, it should be borne in mind, will serve for only one page, while the more expensive type may