in the Cattegat. His brother was, mean while, at the Observatory at Copenhagen; and, although nearly thirty leagues off, and provided only with an ordinary telescope, he discerned them very distinctly, appearing as stars of the first magnitude. This experiment, with others, is taken as an excellent method of executing signals, and very useful for measuring the largest arcs of a circle. On this subject we may be allowed to suggest a caution: on occasion of the peace of 1763, among other tokens of rejoicing, it was proposed to discharge six thousand of the most powerful rockets at the same instant ; and observers were desired in all parts to watch the moment of the explosion, and to transmit their observations. This was done by correspondents, some of them as far off as Wales, who described the bearings, effect, &c. of these powerful luminaries, which, after all, were not discharged. GERMANY. Comets, pellucid Bodies? - M. Encke, Assistant Director of the Observatory at Gotha, has lately accomplished an exact representation of the track of the comet which appeared in the years 1786, 1795, 1805, and 1819. It is by means of an ellipsis of an uncommon form, if not abso lutely unique, that the orbit of this body, (rather to be reckoned among planets than comets) has been traced. That this body was not self-luminous, is now pretty well ascertained; that the tail, or radiance emanating from this comet, and from all comets, was a lucid vapour, through which rays of light passed without interception, admits of no question; and if confidence may be placed in an accidental observation of the face of the sun, at the time when, by calculation, this comet should have been passing over it, the body also of this meteor was diaphanous; otherwise it was so very small as to escape the notice of the observer, who was, indeed, most intent on examining the spots then visible on the surface of the sun. PRUSSIA. Antiquities to be preserved.-The Chancel lor of State has given orders for collecting together into the Museum at Bonn, the Roman and German antiquities, which are now dispersed in various parts of the provinces of Westphalia along the Rhine. Every proprietor of land may undertake whatever diggings or examinations he pleases on his own estate; but he will not be allowed to displace those antiquities which by the station they occupy are historical monuments. This attention is due to the object, and to the intention of past ages. It, therefore, gives us pleasure to announce that a society of men of learning has been formed in Silesia, for the purpose of explaining and publishing the antiquities found in that province; and also another for the same purnose is formed at Naumburgh, in Thuringia. There can be little doubt of this disposition spreading to other provinces; and perhaps it may become general under the patronage of the various governments of Europe. The whole, when properly arranged and digested, will doubtless elucidate many points of history which are now obscure. SWEDEN. Anglo-Saxon Coins discovered. In the course of last summer a number of workmen being engaged in digging in a field in the parish of Dalsund, in Bialstad Socken, discovered a considerable quantity of ancient coins, and other articles, of fine silver: as silver chains, which apparently were used as nine bracelets of four different shapes; also bracelets. Among 242 coins, the inscriptions on which were still legible, 87 were of the Anglo-Saxons, and, except three, were all struck in the reign of King Ethelred ; two are of the reign of his father Edgar; 83 bear date of the year 1005. The remainder, except two Cufic coins, one of the year of the Hegira 286, the other of the year 308, are German, struck under the reigns of the emperors Otho I, and II. and the eminteresting to British collectors whose series press Adelaide. This intelligence may prove of the Anglo-Saxon coins are not complete. We know that a publication on this subject was in forward preparation, and some of the plates engraved, by the late Rev. Mr. Southhis plan was persevered in after the decease gate of the British Museum; but how far of the learned author, we do not know. The Royal Cabinet of Antiquities at Stockholm is in possession of the antiquities thus accidentally obtained. RUSSIA. Provisions rendered incorruptible: Vessel not submergible.-M. de Boucher, a Frenchman by birth, Counsellor of State to his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, has discovered a method of rendering the provisions intended for victualling ships absolutely incorruptible. His discovery has been approved by the Economical Society, and by a committee of physicians. A gold medal has been decreed to him. The same gentleman has also presented to the Economic Society the model of a vessel that cannot sink it has been applauded by a practical ship-builder. Russian Poem honoured in China.-The Emperor of China has received the "Ode to the Supreme Being," written in Russian by Gabriel Romanowtcht, a Russian poet: he has caused it to be translated, has had it copied in both languages (the Chinese and the Tartar) written on a piece of rich silk, and suspended in the interior of his palace. This incident will give rise to various observations; few, indeed, are the instances in which the Celestial Empire has condescended to accept ideas, especially on subjects connected with theology, from foreigners, or others not of its own persuasion and sect. Greek City-Lesters from the south of Russia state, that M. Kaptnest, a German proprietor, has discovered an ancient mole and other unquestionable remains of a Greek town, at a village called Koktabel, situated between Kaffa and Sudack, in the Crimea. M. Kaptnest believes them to be the ruins of Theodosia; but a gentleman who has visited the spot, is hardly persuaded to refer them to so considerable a city. REPUBLIC OF HAYTI. Official Journal: President's AddressThe Telegraph is the official journal of the Republic: it is composed in the French language, and well printed. The Number for December 19, 1819, contains an account of an excursion lately made by the President in the arrondissement of Jacinel, and his addresses to the different authorities of that dirision of the island. That which he delivered to the Judicial Order deserves to be recorded: we give it almost entire." The obligations which are laid on you are not confined to your assembling in the hall of the tribunal to pronounce judgment on the cases brought before you. The love of the public good should prompt you, as well as myself, to desire the entire suppression of the spirit of chicane, which seems to threaten to extend itself greatly, to the division and mutual enmity of families.... Experience has proved to me that it depended much and always on the judges to withhold their fellow-citizens from involving themselves in the intrigues of certain deceitful men, whose conduct is influenced by motives of self-interest, in exciting the citizens to engage in proceedings repugnant to good faith. Consider yourselves as fathers of families, when you are called to decide on the differences which occur between your countrymen. Rather be arbiters of their controversies, than inexorable judges; and pity the situation of the innocent who often loses his cause, because the forms of justice, puzzling the facts of the case, entangle the affair in an inextricable maze. The laws, under a form of unrelenting austerity, address themselves only to obedience: they cannot abate this, to converse with men as a good father converses with his children. Those, therefore, who are the organs of the laws, are bound to explain them in the most favourable sense to such as seek their protection. Remember, also, that justice and equity should always preside over your actions. Banish every predilection; never reject the poor from your heart; and never decline any of the fatigues or disagreeable circumstances which accompany the offices you have agreed to hold: you will hereby ensure the esteem of your fellow-citizens, and obtain that internal peace, that satisfaction which announces itself in a much more effectual manner than any thing else in the mind of the upright man!!" USEFUL ARTS. NEW INVENTIONS. On the Force of a Jet of Water.-M. J. Morosi, Member of the Imperial Institute of Milan, has published an account of a new phenomenon in hydrodynamics, which promises to be of considerable utility in the application of that science. In consequence of the establishment of a manufactory at Milan, in which the power of water was to be applied, M. Morosi commenced a course of experiments, to determine the force of a stream or jet of water. They were made by directing a jet of water against a round disc, and estimating the force exerted on it by a balance. In this way, which is the usual method employed, an expression of the force of the water was obtained. But M. Morosi observed, that in the experiments, the water which had passed against the disc was thrown off in a lateral direction all round, with a velocity scarcely inferior to that with which it first moved, so that much of the force possessed by the jet of water was not brought into action on the disc, but was expended in the production of this lateral stream; and he concluded, that if in any way this could be accumulated on the disc, the effect would be much greater. To obtain, in part, this end, a rim of the height of six lines was raised round the edge of the disc, so as to form it into a kind of dish; and then, without changing any other cir cumstance in the experiment, it was repeated. In the first case, the power exerted on the disc equalled 9 pounds 12 ounces of Milan, now it was increased to 20 pounds. These experiments were made with a reservoir of water, ten feet (French) high, having an aperture in its side near the bottom, four inches square; to this aperture was adapted a pyramidal canal, which, at its external orifice, was an inch in the side, so that the section of the stream of water was a square inch, but the length of the canal, and the size of the disc against which the water struck, are not mentioned. The disc was placed vertically at such a distance from the orifice, as to correspond with the maximum of contraction in the jet of water. Improvement on Scissors.-A very valuable improvement has been made on scissors. It is especially so to those employed for delicate operations in surgery. The objection to the common scissors is, that in the act of cutting, they, to a very considerable extent, compress and bruise the parts. This is owing to the edges being set very strong, and to the particular angle at which they are set; and is sufficient to account for wounds made by scissors refusing to unite by what surgeons call the first intention. To remedy this defect, it was lately suggested to Mr. Stodart by Dr. Wollaston, to give to scissors the same kind of cutting edge that a knife has. This has been done, and the success has fully justified the experiment. The operation of Hare lip has been repeatedly performed with the knifeedged scissors both on the infant and on the adult, with complete success. The operation is in this way performed with facility to the operator, and in less time than with the knife; and consequently a less degree of pain to the patient. This improvement need not be confined to the science of surgery. A variety of delicate fancy-work is performed by scissors, all of which will be much better done by giving them knifeedges. There is a little art in setting the edges, readily acquired by practice; this must be done with a view to the kind of work for which the scissors are intended. This improvement may easily be applied to common scissors, by grinding down the outer sides of the blades. Substitute for a Copying Machine. Write with common writing ink in which lump sugar has been dissolved, in the proportion of four scruples, or a drachm and a half of sugar to one ounce of ink. Moisten copying paper, (a paper which is sold at the stationers at 1s. 10d. per quire for the use of copying machines,) by passing a wet soft brush over it, then press it gently between soft cap paper so as to smoothen it, and absorb the superabundant moisture. Put the paper so moistened upon the writing, and both between cap or other smooth soft paper, placing the whole on the carpet or hearth-rug, one end of which is to be folded over it. By standing and treading upon this, an impression will be taken equal if not superior, to what would have been taken by a copying machine. Tempering of Glass.-The experiments which have been tried in this country for rendering glass less brittle by heating it up to the boiling point, as suggested by a foreign journal, and thence inserted in our preceding Volume, have not been successful. It is confidently affirmed that the mechanical condition of glass, whether annealed or unannealed, is not capable of being altered by the heat of boiling water. New-invented Plough.-A plough has lately been invented by the Rev. Dr. Cartwright, which works merely by human power. With two men to keep it in motion, and a third to regulate its course, it performs its office with as much precision and dispatch as could be done by any common pair of horses and a plough-holder. The utility of the invention will not, it is presumed, be confined to this object only, it being equally applicable to every purpose for which horses can be employed, except conveying a burden on the back. New Metal called Aurum Millium.-It having been a great desideratum with watchmakers, plate-workers, &c. &c. to procure new metal resembling gold, and possessing some of its best qualities, Mr. Mill has been induced to apply himself to this partícular object. After long trial and perseverance, he discovered a metal which he calls aurum millium, and which he has no doubt will answer most of the purposes of gold, without being subject to the nume rous imperfections of petit-or, pinchbeck, &c. &c. In colour it resembles 60s. gold, and is nearly as heavy in specific gravity as jewellers' gold. It is malleable, and has the invaluable property of not easily tarnishing, to which the metals just mentioned, and all other imitations of gold are so particularly liable. It is very hard and sonorous, and requires care in the working. The price of it being from 4s. to 4s. 6d. an ounce, will not be an obstacle to its general use, and he has no hesitation in saying, that for beauty there is not any metal that exceeds it, as it is susceptible of an exquisite polish. Rubies. These are the rarest, and have hitherto been the dearest, of all artificial stones. M. Doualt-Wieland, a jeweller of Paris, has discovered a method of making with the greatest ease excellent imitations, by fusing five ounces of strass and one gross of oxid of manganese. Nautical Improvements. A simple mechanical apparatus to impel boats instead of oars has lately been employed on the Thames, and it appears equally eligible for canal conveyance. It consists of the machinery of steam-vessels; but the moving power is the hand applied to a windlass. Boats were first used on this principle with success on Whit-Monday, between London and Greenwich. The labour is much less than that of oars, and the impulse of the boat through the water much increased in swiftness. Though we consider this a very 'judicious mode of employing a rotatory motion, to impel vessels on a small scale, it possesses no merit on the score of novelty, engravings of a similar apparatus being to be found in Leupold's Theatrum Machinarum, and other scientific works of a very early period. Magnetic Attraction. Mr. Barlow's invention for ascertaining the correct" deviation" caused by local attractions in the ship's compass is now undergoing, under the inventor's direction, the ordeal of practical experiment on board his Majesty's ship Severn, which, we understand, the Lords of the Admiralty, actuated by a laudable zeal for the improvement of nautical science, have directed to be fitted out for that pur come a species of coloured pencils, to work by dipping in liquid, and not dry and chalky, like those before known, capable of making perfect transparent or opaque drawings, on paper, or wood, linen, or any other material, by being wetted or moistened with water, oil, varnish, spirit, or any other liquid matter. To make them, take wood, or other grooves, similar to those used for black-lead pencils, and inclose in them all kinds of the best superfine water or oil colours, and fasten or glue them up, of whatsoever material they may be made, and round and finish them, so as to appear like a regular coloured drawing-pencil, fit for the purpose of drawing or painting, on any material, with colours, and japan, or colour, each pencil outside of the same teint it contains within. JOHN SMITH, of Bermondsey, Surrey, Timber Merchant; for Improvements in making Arms or Axletrees for Coaches, and all other Descriptions of Carriages. April 20, 1819. In Mr. S.'s improved carriage, he constructs the axletree in such a manner that the bearing takes place, for a short distance, at each end only, the bearings being both of the same diameter, form a cylindrical fitting within the box. The outer or extreme end of the arm is formed to a convex shape, which bears against the end or bottom of the box in the centre only, to reduce the friction, and prevent the back of the collar on the inner end of the arm from touching the box when the wheel of the carriage drifts endways. A ring or collet of thick leather, or other fit material, is applied to the face of the collar, and secured by a ring of metal, bolted against the end of the nave of the wheel. The leather being firmly pressed round the edge of the box, and in contact with the face of the collar on the axle, prevents the escape of oil with which the axle is supplied. The ring of metal, which secures the leather collet, is fitted truly upon a cylindrical part of the arm, close to the face of the collar, to keep it steady in its place, and by being bolted through the nave of the wheel, prevents the wheel from coming off by the motion of the carriage. JAMES HADDEN the Younger, of Aberdeen, for an Improvement in preparing, roving, and spinning of Wool. November 12, 1818. Various methods have been employed for applying heat to wool during the processes of roving and spinning; that which Mr. H. has adopted has been the introduction of cast-iron heaters into the retaining rollers used in these processes, always using three rollers, and leading the wool over half the circumference of their upper surface, by which means it becomes thoroughly warmed without retarding the working process. NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 78. JOSEPH BARKER, of Cottage Green, Camberwell, for Means of continuing the Motion of Machinery.' February 6, 1816. This invention is, for the purpose of continuing a regular and constant motion and force to any machinery, even though the prime mover or actuating force is not continuous or regular in its action. The means of effecting this is, by applying the prime mover of the machine, which may be the strength of men or animals, wind, water, or steam, to raise up certain detached weights into an elevated trough or receptacle, regularly and continually delivered out to certain other machinery, of which the motion will be continued in a regular manner by the descent of the said weights; a receptacle being made large enough to contain a sufficient number of the said weights, they will act constantly upon the machinery, and continue the motion thereof even though the action of the prime mover in raising the weights into the receptacle should decrease, or even cease altogether for a short time. PATENTS LATELY GRANTED. WILLIAM HALL and WILLIAM ROSTILL, of Birmingham, Warwickshire, Tortoiseshell-box-makers; for a certain improvement in the manufacture of hafts, handles, or hilts, for knives, forks, swords, or any other instruments to which they are necessary, and can be applied, whether made of turtle or tortoiseshell, or other suitable material. April 11, 1820. EDWARD COLEMAN, Professor of the Veterinary College, St. Pancras, Middlesex; for a new and improved form of construction of shoes for horses. April 15, 1820. MAJOR ROHDE, of Leman-street, Goodman's-fields, Middlesex, Sugar Refiner; for a method of separating or extracting the molasses or syrup from Muscovado or other sugar. Communicated to him by a certain foreigner residing abroad. April 15, 1820. WILLIAM BRUNTON, of Birmingham, Warwickshire, Engineer; for certain imApril 19, 1820. provements on, and additions to, fire-grates. GEORGE LILLEY, of Brigg, and JAMES BRISTOW FRASER, of Blackburn-house, Linlithgow, Scotland; for certain improvements in the application of machinery for propelling boats or other vessels, and for attaining other useful purposes, by means of an hydropneumatic apparatus, acted upon by a steam-engine, or other adequate power. April 19, 1820. THOMAS HANCOCK, of Little Pulteneystreet, Golden-square, Middlesex, Coachmaker; for the application of a certain material to various articles of dress, and other articles, by which the same may be rendered more elastic. April 29, 1820. THOMAS COOK, of Brighton, Sussex, Engineer; for an improved apparatus for the purpose of cooking, which he designates, A Philosophical Cookery. April 29, 1820. VOL. XIV. N JOHN HAGUE, of Great Pearl-street, Spitalfields, Middlesex, Engineer; for certain improvements in the method of heating hothouses, manufactories, and other buildings; and of boiling liquids. May 9, 1820. JOHN AMBROSE TICKELL, of West Bromwich, Staffordshire, Gentleman; for a cement to be used in aquatic and other buildings, and stucco-work, which is produced by the use and application of a mineral substance, never before employed in the manufacture thereof. May 9, 1820. JOSIAH PARKES, of Warwick, Worstedmanufacturer; for a new and improved method of lessening the consumption of fuel in steam-engines, and furnaces in general, and for consuming smoke. May 9, 1820. JAMES JACKS, of Camberwell, Surrey, Gentleman, and ARTHUR AIKIN, of the Adelphi, Westminster, Gentleman; for a new or improved method or methods of preventing mildew in sail-cloth and other canvass, and in other manufactures made of vegetable fibre. May 11, 1820. JAMES SCOTT, of Grafton-street, Dublin, Watch-maker; for a new method of combining, adjusting, and applying, by machinery, certain of the well-known mechanic BIOGRAPHY. MONTHLY REGISTER. Opera et Studio J. R. Major, A. B. editum. Royal 4to. 51. 5s. DRAMATIC. Abdallah, or the Arabian Martyr; a Christian Drama, in 3 acts. 1s. 6d. James Sheridan Knowles, Esq. 3s. 6d. Virginius; a New Historical Tragedy. By Retsch's Series of Twenty-six Outlines to Goethe's Tragedy of Faust, engraved from the Originals. By Henry Moses. Demy 4to. 14s. proofs 21s. FINE ARTS. Lectures on Painting, delivered at the Royal Academy, with additional Observations and Notes. By Henry Fuseli. With Portrait. 4to. 11. 16s. Roman Costumes, drawn from Nature by Pinelli, and on Stone by C. Hullmandel. To consist of four numbers, each number containing six Plates. Super-royal folio. 6s. each, and 12s. coloured. Views illustrating the Route of the Simplon. Drawn from Nature by Major Cockburn, and on Stone by J. Hardinge. To consist of 12 Nos. each No. containing five ber will be published every other month. Plates, super-royal folio, ss. each. A num Cenis. from Nature, and on Stone, by C. HullTwenty-four Views of Italy. Drawn mandel. Medium folio, 30s. |