a scientific principle-a scientific principle inapplicable, as they explain in their report, to the actual art of gilding; whilst, in the processes of MM. Elkington and Ruolz, they find all the conditions of a good applicable gilding-a marketable gilding by electricity-a gilding that was impossible before their processes.

M. E. Arago, in support of his assertion, cited several passages from the report of the Academy of Sciences, proving that the liquids described by MM. Elkington and De Ruolz, cover objects to be gilt with a continuous and perfectly adhering layer of gold, without in any way attacking and corroding the objects; whilst M. De la Rive's liquor reacts on the objects, attacks them, and cannot cover them with that adhesive and continuous layer of gold which is alone acceptable in commerce. 'He further added, that if De la Rive and Brugnatelli did produce good gildings, let M. Bertrand adopt their processes, and the patentees would not in any way interfere with his operations. With respect to the anterior possessions, the learned counsel canvassed the

specimens produced by M. Marie, which did not appear to him in any way decisive. With regard to M. Perrot, he appears in exactly the same position as M. Bertrand; but, even supposing he were right, this would have no bearing on M. Bertrand; for if M. Perrot had shown his gildings before the patents, he had never told, had never published how he had obtained them. M. Arago concluded by repelling the demand for a fresh jury.

After a fresh reply from M. Marie, the King's Counsel, Camusat Busseroles, gave his opinion in favour of M. Christofle :

"The Tribunal, &c., as concerns Cloménil,—in-, asmuch as there is no proof that he acted otherwise than as workman to Bertrand, executing the orders of his patron, dismiss him without expenses. As concerns Bertrand,—and first, with respect to the demand for a new jury to report also on the process claimed by Bertrand; inasmuch as Bertrand's process, so far as it constitutes a personal and distinct discovery, is not in question; inasmuch, on the other hand, as there does not appear any legitimate motive for recommencing the investigation that was made, as it is regular, and contains sufficient elements, when joined to the other specimens and documents of the process, to throw light upon the decision that is to be given; and mainly, inasmuch as it follows from the debates, the specimens and the documents produced, that the preparations seized at Bertrand's are conformable to those, for which the prosecutors or their authorities have obtained some of their patents; that Bertrand maintains that these patented preparations have not the character of true inventions; that he also opposes the exception of forfeiture, and in all cases anterior possession.

"But in respect to the question of invention,-inasmuch as, in the matter of discoveries, not only are the principles susceptible of being patented; that their consequences, their divers applications and combinations, may also constitute new ideas and found privative rights; that, if it is true that the cy.

anides of gold were for a long time in science, as well as was the galvanic pile, the efficacious application of these cyanides to gilding and plating metals, in a manner, moreover, such as to endow society with a new and so valuable a branch of industry, assuredly merits the title of invention. In respect to the exception of nullity or forfeiture,-inasmuch as the rule is, that a patent is worth nothing, if the discovery, invention, or application is not new; that is to say, if, anteriorly to the date of the deposit of the demand, it has received in France or abroad a sufficient publicity to be executed; but, in fact, inasmuch as it is true that the chemists Brugnatelli and De la Rive had opened the career, their labours, which were curious and interesting in a scientific point of view, were as yet, to speak truly, but simple trials; that it follows from all the documents of the process, that before Ruolz and Elkington, gilding and plating, by aid of the galvanic pile, had remained in such a state of imperfection that the arts and commerce could not gain any thing from them, and that it was the cyanides of these latter, their preparations and combinations, which raised the discovery from its sterility, in order to extend it by a new discovery into the industrial arts; whence it follows that there is in very truth a novelty in their particular invention. As concerning anterior possession,-inasmuch as, rightfully, this means is purely personal; that we cannot invoke the possession of another; inasmuch as, therefore, Bertrand cannot create a title to the possession of MM. Perrot of Rouen, and Louyet of Brussels, if such exists; and moreover, as nothing proves that these two philosophers were in possession of the means of MM. Ruolz and Elkington before their demand for the delivery of patents; further, that nothing establishes their having spread them abroad, either by printed writings or otherwise, so as to attain the degree of publicity necessary to their being henceforth considered as new; finally, inasmuch as, with respect to Bertrand, he by no means justifies his personal possession; that the productions which he makes with this intent are utterly insufficient. That it follows from all which precedes, that there is truly a patentable invention in the processes of Ruolz and Elkington; a new invention without anterior possession on the part of a third individual, to wit, Bertrand; that thus he has rendered himself guilty of the crime of infringement, provided against and punished by the articles 40 and 49 of the Law of July 5, 1844:

"For these reasons, without delaying or having regard to the demand for a new investigation, nor to the exception of the defence, which are rejected as being badly founded;

"Condemns Bertrand to a fine of 300 fr., pronounces confiscation of the preparations and objects seized; orders that they be handed over to Christofle and Co.;

"And, inasmuch as it has been established, that the latter have suffered prejudice from the deed of the aforesaid Bertrand, that reparation is due to them, and that the Tribunal is prepared to appreciate the value;

"Condemns the aforesaid Bertrand to pay to Christofle and Co. the sum of 3,000 fr. as costs and damages; and

"Condems him to the expenses;

"Fixes to one year the duration of the writ of arrest." From Le Droit, June 7, 1845.

of Dr. Ritterbandt's new process for preventing incrustations in boilers. It is undoubtedly the most scientific and effectual which has been yet devised.

"Dr. Ryan commenced by referring to the importance of any inquiry which would tend to inform the mind of the existence of a great evil, and for which, when known, a remedy could be provided. He then explained the chemical constitution of the deposits from fresh and sea water. The first, we understood him to say, was principally carbonate of lime, formed by the decomposition of the bicarbonate, by heat; and the latter, carbonate of lime, with certain proportions of chloride of sodium, and other saline matter.

"The lecturer then proceeded to illustrate the way in which incrustations injured boilers, and after speaking of its being a cause of increased expenditure of fuel, he proved that as it was a non-conductor of heat, the boiler thus coated would become burnt as if empty, and thus in time be so weakened as to give way under the pressure of the steam. He also quoted authorities to prove, that as most explosions take place after the boiler has been at rest, and after the matter has had time to subside, as on a Monday morning for instance, so in the majority of cases the foulness of the boiler has been the principal cause of the accident.

"In the latter part of the lecture, Dr. Ryan, after referring to the many attempts to prevent this deposition taking place, but hitherto in vain, introduced to his audience a method invented by Dr. Ritterbandt, a scientific foreigner, but who has resided many years in England. This method, to use the professor's words, 'is one based on true philosophical principles, and has therefore been carried out with great success.' We were much pleased with the illustrations Dr. Ryan gave us of the efficacy of the process, which consists merely in converting all the carbonate of lime into chloride of calcium, by the introduction into a boiler of a small quantity of chloride of ammonium. In this way the lime, remaining constantly in solution, the boiler cannot foul, and fuel is saved to a great extent.

Nor is this the case merely with fresh water. Dr. Ritterbandt's experiments prove that when sea water is boiled the first change is the liberation of carbonate of lime, the excess of carbonic acid being driven off by heat, and that the particles of that compound become nuclei for the adhesion of the crystals of common salt, &c. which begin rapidly to form in consequence. He also observed that by preventing the formation of carbonate, by the addition of

chloride of ammonium, he obviated the chemical effects of contact, and that no salt would deposit until the water became almost evaporated. As this will do away with the necessity of blowing off so very frequently, and will supersede the brine pumps, both attended with an excessive loss of heat and waste of fuel, every one must see the vast advantages which Dr. Ritterbandt has conferred on the scientific world by his experiments.

"Nor must we forget the benefit he confers on his fellow-creatures in thus wiping out from the list of the causes of explosion the most common of all. The inventor, we see, has secured his interests by a patent. We know he will reap a rich pecuniary harvest, and he deserves it."

Mr. Beningfield's "Electric Gun."-Some very interesting experiments have been exhibited in a large plot of ground on the south side of King-street, Westminster, with an electric gun, the invention of Mr. Beningfield, of Jersey, which was noticed in our Journal of the 8th March last. The gun, a barrel for discharging bullets or balls five eights of an inch in diameter, is placed over the body of the machine by which the propelling power is generated, and the whole runs upon a carriage with a pair of wheels, weighing altogether half a ton, and calculated to be drawn by one horse at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour: when in position, a third wheel is attached, by which it traverses with ease and steadiness. The engineer is enabled to take a true aim the barrel having a sight similar to a rifle. The barrel is supplied with balls by two chambers, one fixed and the other moveable: This last may be made large enough to contain an immense number of balls. It is calculated that 1,000 balls or more can be discharged a minute, the volleys being shot off in almost continuous or constant succession, the stationary chamber supplying the barrel. The experiments fully carried out all that the inventor professed to do. The bullets were driven through a thick plank, and afterwards completely flattened on an iron target. Those directed against the target without the intervention of the planking were literally beaten to atoms, and in a manner plastered upon boards placed on the sides of the target, which received the fragments as they flew off at angles from the iron. The force far exceeded what can be produced by any military engine of equal calibre in which gunpowder is employed as the propelling power. A three-inch board, at 20 yards distance, was completely shattered through with the bullets, as if the centrebit and drill of a carpenter had been employed; and the rapidity and precision of aim were extraordinary. For clearing a breach or sweeping a force such an engine must be most tremendously destructive. The cost of keeping this gun in repair, and of using it, is stated to be very much beneath the cost which must be employed to bring into operation any other equally efficacious mode of discharging thousands of balls. The invention is not secured by patent, and therefore the inventor did not communicate the secret of the construction of his instrument, or the nature of the power employed. It was avowed, however, that the propelling power is produced, not by steam, but by the application of gases exploded by galvanic electricity.

INTENDING PATENTEES may be supplied gratis with Instructions, by application (post paid) to Messrs. Robertson and Co.

HOWEVER fire-places may vary in construction, or however superior one sort may be to another, there is none so perfect but that it may be the better of a little help at the outset, towards the kindling of the fire, or the creation of the required draught in the chimney. From time immemorial the hand bellows and drop-plate have been in common use for this purpose; and having survived such an infinity of changes in stovemongery as they have done, it is not on slight grounds that we would venture to hint that their days may possibly be at last numbered. Certainly, however, we have now before us a contrivance which is better than either; equally portable; much more convenient and efficient; and but little, if at all, more expensive (taking durability into account).

Fig. 1 represents this new apparatus as applied to a register stove of one of Mr. Rickets' most approved forms. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are detached views of it; fig. 2, being a front elevation, fig. 3, a side elevation, and fig. 4, a vertical section.

The upright hollow piece A is passed up the chimney, through the back of the stove, when it is of the register kind; and when it is not of the register kind, through an iron plate made to close the throat of the chimney. At bottom it rests, by the return ends a a, on the top front bar of the stove; or, where there are hobs, partly on the hobs, and partly on the top front bar. B is a sliding plate, by means of which the apertures into the chimney can be diminished or increased to any degree required.

The apparatus may be either applied occasionally only, or allowed to remain as a permanent appendage to the stove.

THE ARTS OF WAR, ARTS OF PEACECASE OF CAPTAIN WARNER.

Sir,-In the letter of Captain Warner in the Times of August, 1844, copied in No. 1102 of your Magazine, he offers to destroy a ship of the line at five miles distance, by employing a projectile, and is willing to take on board with him four witnesses who may bear testimony that he does employ such projectile. Now as this is offered to be done without putting

the government to any expense, and I have been verbally informed the Captain has even been so liberal as to leave the amount of reward to the discretion of Sir Robert Peel, it does seem rather strange that the experiment has not been tried ere this; it has not even been mentioned in parliament during the present session that I am aware of. Is there a disinclination to afford the means of testing an alleged power which might render our present expensive naval and military establishments unnecessary? Or is there a mistaken horror of the employment of means, which from their enormous destructive power would render wars of so short duration? If the latter be the cause, we should do well to remember, that every improvement in the science of warfare has rendered it less cruel, and perhaps it is not too much to anticipate that the demonstration of such a power as Captain Warner boasts, would put an end to, or rather prevent the commencement of wars entirely. If so, perhaps Mr. Hume, who has already moved and unanimously carried a deserved pension to one pacificator (Pottinger) might be "economically" employed in proposing another pension to Captain Warner, and in support of his motion might calculate the entire annual saving in the army and navy estimates, which the adoption of the Captain's inventions would effect. Nay, we might afford to do more than this, and create a new title of honour for him, say, "Universal Constable or Keeper of Peace to all Nations," a title which may one day be estimated as highly as that of Warrior," when value in use becomes the measure of value in exchange, as Adam Smith would say. Seriously, there is a great want of facilities for introducing inventions and improvements into the public service. The case of Captain Warner is only the case of hundreds, some of whom have lived to see their own inventions adopted by Government, with other names associated with them, many years after the inventors' applications have been rejected. One would think that the people and Government were determined to discourage inventors. They certainly take the most effectual means to do so, namely, pecuniary obstacles and neglect. In witness, I may

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With regard to the long range which the unreflecting have associated with the long bow, there is nothing very difficult to effect, except to hit the mark. To send a cannon ball or shell far enough only requires powder enough, and a gun strong enough. Even if the atmospheric resistance increases at high velocities, so much as to prevent the practical employment of shells for great distances, we have only to put a tail to our shell, or in other words, convert it into a rocket. If it were inconvenient to make a rocket long enough to carry itself the whole distance required, it might be projected from a gun which would send it two or three miles towards its destination, and it would carry itself the remainder of its range. Perhaps it would not be very difficult to send it the first part of its journey without igniting its own propelling charge; could we do so it might be made yet shorter. A fuse might be attached which would ignite it when it had travelled the two or three miles which the gun forwards it; and if one fuse failed, two or three might be used to insure the ignition of the propelling charge; but this would hardly be needful, as our mortar practice shows that shells with only one fuse rarely fail to burst.

I think I have shown pretty clearly, that a "long range" is a matter of no great difficulty. Indeed a five miles' range is hardly deserving that term; it sinks into insignificance compared with the really long range of Perkins' steam rocket, which was to carry the mail from Dover to Calais twenty years ago, thereby rendering less needful Mr. Fairburn's more modern proposal of an embankment and railway across Dover Straits; or the yet more modern plan of a sub-marine railway and tunnel between France and England, the latter due, I believe, to some of the “Bubble Family." Thus do the arts of peace exceed those of war, for

"Great things have been, and are, and greater still Want little of mere mortals but the will"

although the engineering difficulties of the last two projects may be estimated as "pretty considerable."

I remain, Mr. Editor, yours most respectfully,

ALFRED SAVAGE,

Steeled Mill-maker and Machinist. 43, Eastcheap, July 5, 1845.

P. S. Since the above was written, I pereive, by yours of this day (July 5), that your old correspondent, Mr. Beningfield, has been discharging a thousand balls per minute by electricity, instead of steam, as Perkins did. I hope he will be able to render it easy of application, and I may venture to predict, that if war ceases not from the pressure (of opinion) from without, it soon will from the pressure of destructiveness within. All such inventors are practically most active Members of the Society for Promoting Universal Peace.

If the circular plane A B C, fig. 17, instead of revolving about a tangent to the diameter in the point A, be made to revolve about the straight line E F, which is parallel to the tangent, and in the same plane with it; the circle will, by its revolution about E F, which remains fixed, and at the distance of A K from it, generate a solid cylindrical ring, of which the transverse section through the centre and through its two branches are indicated by the dark-shaded circles, while the horizontal section through the axis of the ring is indicated by the annulus of a lighter shade, contained between the circular boundaries CEF and A H I.

Fig.17.

M

H