THE

LONDON JOURNAL,

AND

REPERTORY

OF

Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures.

CONJOINED SERIES.

No. CCLXII.

RECENT PATENTS.

TO JOHN ROBERTS, of Upnor, in the county of Kent, potter, for improvements in apparatus for preserving animal and vegetable matters, and for cooling wines and other liquids. [Sealed 22nd December, 1852.]

THE object of this invention is to retain liquid and solid edible substances at a low equable temperature, and, at the same time, to preserve such substances from the attacks of flies and other insects. In carrying out this invention the patentee constructs, for the reception of the viands or other matters, a chamber, in which a circulation of air is kept up, by permitting free access of air to the interior thereof, through perforations made in the sides or bottom of the parts constituting the chamber. This chamber is constructed either wholly or in part of some absorbent material, which will take up or absorb water by capillary attraction or suction, and will, by the action of the ascending currents of air in the chamber, and also by that of the surrounding atmosphere, give off the water so absorbed in the form of vapour; and thus continuously absorb water and yield it up as vapour so long as any water is contained in a supply vessel, with which the chamber is provided.

In Plate VIII., fig. 1, shews, in sectional elevation, a small cooler, constructed according to this invention, and intended for domestic purposes. It consists of a circular earthenware dish a, provided with a flange, in the upper face of which a half-round annular groove b, is formed. In this groove a dome-shaped cover c, is set, and water is poured in the groove, when the cooler is in use, to make a water-tight joint, and

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prevent the passage of insects between the joint to the interior. Through the sides, and through the flange of the dish a, minute perforations are made for the admission of air; and the cover c, is perforated in like manner, to assist in maintaining a perfect ventilation in the chamber. d, is a pierced tray, which rests on a ledge on the dish, and is intended to carry the matters that are put into the cooler. In this arrangement the several parts are composed of porous clay. The cover c, is made hollow at its upper part, to receive a supply of water, which, owing to the porous nature of the material containing it, will be absorbed or taken up by the clay, as evaporation from the exterior surface of the cover proceeds; and in proportion to this evaporation so will be the abstraction of heat from the chamber.

When larger sizes of coolers are required, for domestic use, the patentee embodies the principle of his invention in the form shewn in sectional elevation at fig. 2. In this instance, instead of constructing the cover c, of clay, which would render it very inconvenient to remove and replace, it is formed of perforated zinc; and in the upper part a well e, (which must be of solid metal) is sunk, for the reception of water. Over this metal cover a canvas casing is placed, and its upper part is immersed in the water contained in the well e. By this means the required evaporating surface is obtained, which will absorb the water by capillary attraction, in proportion as it yields it up in the state of vapour, produced by the combined action of the streams of air passing through the cover and the surrounding atmosphere.

Fig. 3, represents, in longitudinal vertical section, and fig. 4, in cross section, an arrangement of stationary coolers, suitable for the preservation of meat in large quantities. In this instance, in constructing the chamber, a frame of angleiron f, f, is used, and the panels are filled in with wire netting or perforated zinc g, g. The roof is composed of plates of zinc, set at an angle to form a trough or cistern h, for holding water, and the ends are closed with vertical plates. This chamber is covered with canvas, both at its top, sides, and ends, so that the canvas may, by capillary attraction, gradually exhaust the water from the trough or cistern, and remain, so long as the cistern contains water, in a state of saturation. The framing f, is set up in a gutter i, which is made in the floor of the chamber, and is intended to receive water to form a water-tight joint, and also to supply water to the evaporating surfaces when the trough h, is empty. The floor is pierced with holes for the admission of streams of air, which circulate

in and pass through the sides of the chamber. gained to this chamber by means of a door k.

Access is

The patentee claims constructing chambers-in which a free circulation of air is kept up, while the entrance of flies or other like insects is prevented-with surfaces capable of absorbing water, by suction, from an adjoining vessel or reservoir, and of giving off the water in the form of vapour, when such evaporation is assisted by streams of air passing from the interior to the exterior of such chambers.

TO JOSEPH MAJOR, of Elizabeth-place, Balls Pond Road, for removing spavins, ring-bones, curbs, splents, and other unnatural ossifications and humours from horses.-[Sealed 14th October, 1852.]

THIS invention consists in combining the ingredients mentioned below, and, by preference, in the following proportions:-14 parts, by weight, of Seneca oil, which is an oil well known and sold by chemists in America; 4 parts, by weight, of Barbadoes tar; 5 parts, by weight, of oil of rosemary; 3 parts of oil of lavender; 6 parts of spirits of turpentine; and 3 parts of Venice turpentine. These matters or ingredients are to be intimately mixed together and placed in an earthenware vessel, and then 16 parts, by weight, of sulphuric acid are to be stirred in gradually; and when the effervescence has subsided, the preparation is complete. In applying this remedy, the hair is to be cut from the part affected, and care must be taken to keep the part dry during, at least, ten days, as wet injures the effect of the medicine: the animal should also be kept at rest for two or three weeks. The patentee claims the combination herein described.

TO WILLIAM STEVENSON, of Preston, Lancashire, for improvements in weft-forks for power-looms.-[Sealed 15th October, 1852.]

THE patentee commences his specification by stating, that the ordinary weft-fork, as commonly used for stopping the action of power-looms when the weft-thread breaks, is subject to be broken by the shuttle accidentally catching against it. Now this invention consists in so forming weft-forks, that when there is any danger of the fork breaking, that portion which is most liable to be fractured may give way.

This is effected by hinging or jointing the vertical portion of the fork (or that part whereon the weft-thread acts) to the body thereof; when, therefore, the shuttle is stopped in its passage across the loom, the jointed part of the fork will be capable of rising upon its hinge, and thus it will be prevented from breaking. When the pressure is released, the hinged piece will again fall down to its proper working position; and as its joint is made with a stop-piece it will be prevented from moving in an opposite direction: the action of the forks, therefore, in connection with the working on the weft, remains unimpaired.

In Plate VIII., fig. 1, is a side elevation of the improved weft-fork or protector, shewing the back-stop or detent-lever which actuates the stop-rod of the loom whenever the weft breaks; and fig. 2, is a plan view of the same. The fixed stud a, of the fork is cast, or otherwise formed, with a wide double eye b, for the reception of the flat expanded end of the detent-lever c, which is retained in its position by a jointpin passing through the lugs b, b, of the double eye and through the lever, the expanded portion of which affords space for receiving the hinged prongs d, d, which are, as usual, three in number, and are loosely held therein by the joint-pin already referred to. The bottom of each of the recesses or slots in the lever c, is angularly sloped, whilst the inserted end of each of the prongs is correspondingly angled or inclined to fit it. It will therefore be obvious, that so long as the fork works without meeting with any obstruction, the prongs will hold the position shewn at figs. 1, and 2; and the passing weft-thread will act upon the vertical portion of the prongs, so as to raise the catch e, of the detent-lever clear of the stop-movement at each passage of the weft, in the same manner as the ordinary fork,-because the incline upon the prongs acts upon the inclined bottom of its recess exactly in the same way as if the fork were a solid one; but if an intercepted shuttle chances to be in the way, it will simply act upon the inside edges of the prongs d, d, and raise them to the position shewn by dotted lines in fig. 1,thereby preventing the fracture which would be inevitable with the common solid fork. Then, so soon as the obstacle is removed, the prongs fall to their accustomed position, and their regular action goes on. A similar effect is also obtained by constructing the prong portion of the fork of some elastic material which yields when struck against by the shuttle, but is stiff or rigid enough for the weft action.

The patentee claims, First, the systems or modes of con