N.B. All the above calculations are made to Mean or Clock Time. METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL, 1822. 56 LITERARY NOTICES, &c. Literary notices of works in hand should reach us by the twenty-second of the month at latest. A NEW Part of the Transactions of the Geological Society is in the press and is expected to appear in a few weeks. The price of the Geological Transactions will in future be considerably reduced, the Society having recently taken upon itself the expense and risk of the publication, and consulted economy by the adoption of a fuller page and the substitution of lithographic plates for engravings on copper. We trust, however, that the lithographic substitutes will do more credit to the arts than some which have latterly come under our notice. Mr. JAMES PATERSON, road-surveyor, Montrose, is about to publish a supplement to his Treatise on Roads, consisting of a series of letters and communications addressed to the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Highways of the Kingdom; and containing an enquiry into the nature and excellencies of what is called Mr. M'Adam's system of roadmaking;-how far he is entitled to the merit that he arrogates to himself, and, which is generally attributed to him in regard to it, bis errors and defects pointed out, as also to what merit he is really entitled. The third part of Mr. RHODES's Peak Scenery, or Excursions in Derbyshire, is, we understand, on the eve of publication. These Excursions are illustrated with a series of beautiful engravings by Mr. COOKE, from drawings recently made by Mr. CHANTREY, R. A. Canova, the celebrated Italian Sculptor has, it is said, just finished an admirable group, of Mars and Venus, which is designed for his Majesty George the Fourth. It being at length decided that London Bridge shall be taken down, it is proposed that the new bridge be erected as near as possible to, and not exceeding 170 feet from the west side of the present bridge, and to afford a clear water way of not less than 690 feet. It is to be faced with granite and to consist of five arches; the central arch to rise 23 feet above high water mark at an average spring tide. The acclivity of the roadway to and over the bridge is not to be steeper than one foot in 26 feet. It is designed that this bridge shall be worthy of the Metropolis and the present cultivated state of science; due regard being had at the same time to economy and convenience. As little sacrifice of property as possible at both ends of the bridge for the formation of the necessary approaches, will be made consist ent with the character of so important an entrance to the city of London. Inland Navigation.-It is said that above 30,000 men are now employed upon the grand canal from the Texel through North Holland to Amsterdam. The marshy soil under the water is removed by means of nets, and above 1000 small vessels are daily employed in carrying it away. The depth of the canal is fixed at twenty-five feet, that the largest East and West Indiamen may be able to reach Amsterdam without unloading any part of their cargo in the Texel. This canal will be above fifty miles in length; and will probably cost 100 millions of Dutch florins. An engraving by C. Heath, from West's painting of Christ Healing the sick, is just finished. The reports of connoisseurs inform us that it is a credit to the arts. The Horticultural Society geld its anniversary dinner on the 4th of June, at the Freemasons' Tavern, before which nearly 1000 persons were admitted to view the dessert, which was arranged in a separate room, and was of the most splendid description. Among the delicacies, the strawberries raised by Mr. KEEN of Isleworth, called the Charlotte and the New-Seedling were greatly noticed for their size and beauty. The flavour of these are also, it is said, truly delicious. New Compass.-MR. WILLIAM CLARK of Chatham, has invented a compass on an entirely new principle. The needle consists of four arms or poles placed at right angles and uniting in one common centre. Two northern poles are secured to the N. W. and N. E., and the two southern poles to the S. E. and S. W. points of the card, which places the four cardinal points right between the angles of the needle, and allows the card to point north and south as heretofore, the cards now in use answering the purpose. This compass has, it is said, been tried under different circumstances, and as far as can be ascertained by the experiments already made, is allowed to possess the principles of polarity and stability beyond those of any compass now in use. We learn from Naples, that M. PEPE, has discovered a method of preserving metals, such as iron, copper, &c. from the effects of both air and water, by covering them with a metallic coating, which cannot be removed without the file, and which, when polished, becomes as white and as brilliant as silver. M. Pepe is printing a tract on this important discovery. THE London JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. No. XX. Recent Patents. To AUGUSTUS APPLEGATH, of Duke Street, Lett's Town, Lambeth, Surrey, for certain Improvements in Printing Machines. UNDER this patent there are two improvements; the first of which consists in supplying the printing ink to the form of types, stereotype plates, or blocks, by two sets of inking rollers, acting partly on one side of the pressing cylinder, and partly on the other; by which means, as the form passes to and fro, it receives its supply of ink without being carried out to a considerable distance, as is the case in other printing machines, where the form is inked entirely on one side of the pressing cylinder, and where it must be made to travel with considerable speed in order to pass entirely under the inking rollers. By this improvement, the form traverses a shorter distance than usual, and, hence, the number of impressions, produced in any given time, may be increased in the same ratio as the traversing distance of the form is diminished, by which a saving of time will be effected in the operation of printing. The second improvement consists in the adapting and combining two paper-feeders with a printing cylinder, which revolves and prints in one direction only. This contrivance will be seen by reference to the diagram Plate IV. fig. 1. A, is the pressing cylinder which gives the impression; B, is the form of types passing to and fro under it; a, and b, are two light cylinders or drums, which are only half the diameter of the pressing cylinder; b, is connected, by means of toothed wheels and pinions, to the pressing cylinder; and a has also a toothed wheel upon its axle, which connects it with b. On the spindle of b, is a pinion, c, one-fourth the diameter of the drum, b. The toothed wheel, d, is loose upon its axis, and is driven by the pinion c, by which means it makes one revolution while the printing cylinder makes two: e, is a small stud or pin on the edge of the wheel, d, which is intended to strike alternately upon the arms, ƒ and g, of two brass pulleys, h, h, so as to turn them partly round. These pulleys, h, h, are connected by bands to the web rollers i, i, to which the endless feeding tapes, k, k, are fastened; t, t, being check straps to limit the action of i, i. By means of the stud or pin, e, the pulleys, h, h, are alternately moved, and the sheets of paper, P, P, laid upon the feeding tapes from the heaps, s, s, are thus brought forward towards the drums, a, or b, and enter at %, so as to be conveyed by the tapes down to the pressing cylinder, A, round the periphery of which they move, and become printed by passing over, B, the form of types below, and, thence proceeding on the tape over the roller, g, are discharged at r. When the Applegath's, for Improvements in Printing Machines. 59 stud or pin, e, leaves the arm, f, or g, its pulley, h, and web roller, i, are carried back to their former position by the gravity of the weight, w. 1, 1, are two small web rollers, over which the feeding tapes, k, k, pass. At %, %, are placed several small thin bars of steel fixed to the web-boards between the intervals of the feeding tapes, and which extend to the drums. These bars are intended to support the sheets of paper in their progress between the feeders and the drums. m, is an angular guide bar of metal or wood, placed so as to guide the paper down between the drums when the upper or short sets of endless tapes, n, n, leave it. The small rollers, o, o, which guide the tapes, n, n, upward, are grooved in the intervals between the tapes to allow room for thin metal hoops to be bent round the rollers, o, and guidebar, m, to prevent the sheets of paper from catching against the edges of the bar. "By this second invention, the printing cylinder can be supplied with more sheets of paper in any given time, than when one feeder only is used; and thus advantage may be taken of the increased rate of printing, which is obtained by means of my first improvement." To avoid confusion the whole of the printing machine is not shown in the figure, but only such parts as are necessary to elucidate this invention; and it is not meant to claim under this patent any of the various parts of those machines already known or in use; "but I do hereby claim as my invention the inking the form of types, plates, or blocks, partly on one side and partly on the other side of the pressing or printing cylinder; and the combination of two paper feeders with a printing eylinder which prints in one direction only. Inrolled, May, 1822. |