similar to No. 3, which had been prepared, in a cold state, 12 hours previously. No. 5,-Was placed, without degumming, at 30° Reaumur, in a bath composed of 64 grammes of madder and 125 grammes of dung to 4 quarts of water. No. 6,-Was degummed in water only, at 12° Reaumur, and dyed like No. 3. With Nos. 1, 2, and 6, after being degummed, were beaten, washed, and then dyed separately, in a similar manner to No. 3. the six pieces, the dye-bath was raised in three quarters of an hour to 80° Reaumur, at which temperature it remained during 15 minutes; they were afterwards soaped, then brightened, and soaped a second time. Results.-Nos. 1, and 2, were equal in beauty; in No. 3, the impression was imperfect, and the ground stained; in No. 4, the tint was as uniform as No. 1, but with only half the depth of color: this arose no doubt from the mordant flying off, and combining with the madder, thereby rendering a portion of its coloring matter insoluble. No. 5, tint so feeble as to be scarcely perceptible, caused by the absorption of the coloring matter of the madder by the ligneous part of the dung. No. 6, as fine as No. 1. Let us now examine the processes of degumming most frequently employed. The operation of dunging is ordinarily effected between 30° and 65° Reaumur, in a wooden vat, 6 feet long, and 5 feet in width and depth, well filled with water; in which, for 40 pieces of 50 yards long and wide, about 60 quarts of dung are dissolved, which is at the rate of three pints each piece; they are passed through it for a quarter of an hour, and on being taken out are rinced and beaten; they are then ready to be dyed, or to be again passed through the dung, in order to ensure a successful operation. There is no disadvantage in employing more than 60 quarts of dung for 40 pieces; but a less quantity must not be employed, as, in that case, the mordant, which leaves the fabric, not finding the mucilage necessary to precipitate it, is deposited upon the pieces which are passed through, and stains them. The temperature at which the degumming may be performed is not very important, provided it be not lower than 30° Reaumur ; for, in that case, its action would be very slow, there being no action from 0° up to 10°, as the mordant runs upon the fabric before the thickening matter is softened. When chalk or pipeclay is added, it must be in the proportion of 500 grammes for each piece. The time for the pieces to remain in the degumming-vat is, in general, a quarter of an hour; it must be prolonged in proportion to the coolness of the bath. In roller-vats the pieces only remain two minutes, the action of the bath being so uniform upon the whole piece that the effect is, so to speak, instantaneous. The same observations apply to degumming with bran and with the dunging salt; which process is effected upon forty pieces, with 15 kilog. of bran, or with 250 grammes of salt; care being taken to boil the first, in order to spread its mucilage throughout the bath, and to dissolve the second. With regard to the degumming by cold water, which is the most simple,-it consists in plunging the pieces in running water, keeping them well spread out, and leaving them there until all the thickening matter is removed; they are then carefully washed and beaten before dyeing: but this is neither an economical nor a certain process; for the least crease in the fabric forms a stain, because the excess of mordant not being carried off by the water, becomes deposited upon the fabric, and remains attached thereto. Degumming, by the use of chalk or pipe-clay only, is chiefly employed with iron mordants; it is liable to cloud aluminous mordants, probably because it combines with them in small quantities; that which would induce the belief of this is, that pinks degummed by the use of chalk only, have always a veiny tint, which is far from agreeable. The greater the quantity of mordant employed, the less intimate is its combination, and, in consequence, the more easily detached, which is frequently proved in carrying on the process of dunging too rapidly; in that case, designs with two shades of the same color, one over the other, lose the more intense, which then becomes dull and lighter than the other; it is to avoid this defect that pieces printed with several colors are degummed twice, and even three times, in succession. On coming from the dunging-vat, the pieces are washed several times in running water, beaten for a quarter of an hour, and washed again, in order to remove any particles of mordant or dung which might adhere thereto : they may then be dyed. be con Experience has shewn, that the degumming by dung gives the best results; and this substance being very susceptible of change, according to the kind of food taken by the cows, it may cluded that its action is not always the same. In fact, we are of opinion that a variety of accidents in dyeing, attributed to the maddering, are owing simply to the use of dung, formed from matters which have changed its nature; and as long as this substance is employed for such a purpose, the process will always be liable to very injurious variations. It is therefore necessary to remedy this evil, of which the extent may now be appreciated. Messrs. Kestner, in giving us their phosphates, have furnished us with the means, and we think that in this respect they have made an important improvement in the art of printing calicoes, &c. :by using their salt we have always obtained favorable results. Having now reviewed the means of combining the mordant with the fabric, we will proceed to the process of combining it with the coloring matter. [To be continued.] A NEW Modification of the means of communicating tractive power to carriages on railways, worked upon the pneumatic or atmospheric principle, is about to be introduced, by means of which two miles in three of the long series of air tubes will be dispensed with, and a corresponding diminution of the volume, required to be exhausted, will be obtained. No longitudinal opening and valve is required, and consequently no loss from leakage will be experienced. The invention is the production of an amateur, and presents some very plausible features, which (considering the many difficulties connected with the working of atmospheric railways that are now said to have been overcome,) may not be found impracticable. The details, as exhibited to us, are at present rather crude, but in the hands of an experienced engineer may perhaps be considerably improved. There are some fallacies connected with the arrangement, but these may be thrown overboard, without detracting from the main features of the project. We expect shortly that the plan will be adopted as an experiment, when we shall be at liberty to speak more fully of its construction and novel features. PREVENTING THE EFFECTS OF CONCUSSIONS ON RAILWAYS. THE frequent recurrence of accidents on railways by the concussions of carriages coming in contact with each other, several of which have been attended with the most direful consequences, has induced many persons to suggest means by which the effects of such accidental rencounters may be rendered less calamitous. Among these, Mr. Fuller, of Brownlow Street, has recently obtained a patent for the adaptation of a peculiar construction of buffers, of large dimensions, to be applied behind and before all the carriages of a train, so that in the event of a concussion, the great amount of elastic surfaces intervening may neutralize the effects of the sudden blow, and cause the carriages to be forced back again to their proper distances apart. It has been noticed that when the ordinary buffers at the ends of the carriages meet, they have, from their low positions, a tendency to lift the carriages off the rails. This has been the effect in several instances, and, under great pressure from behind the carriages, have been made to run into and crush each other (as was recently the case near Leeds), or to ride over one another, as in the fatal catastrophe which occurred some years ago on the Paris and Versailles railway. Mr. Fuller has, by extending his buffers to the upper parts of the carriages, removed this objection, and enabled the buffers to receive and resist the blow effectually in a horizontal direction, in the event of a collision, by which there will be no tendency in the carriages to rise upon the rails, so as to ride over each other, and the possibility of the buffers protruding through the carriages will be avoided. LIST OF REGISTRATIONS EFFECTED UNDER THE ACT FOR PROTECTING NEW AND ORIGINAL DESIGNS FOR ARTICLES UTILITY. 1845. OF Sept. 29. Andrew Dacey, of No. 5, Red Lion Court, Christchurch Spitalfields, for the "Boethomonochier," or machine for assisting one-handed persons to feed themselves. 29. Thomas Evans & Sons, of Great Sherston, Wiltshire, for a five-furrow drill for manure, turnips, and corn. 29. Charles Powell, of Smith's-buildings, Leadenhallstreet, London, for a form for grooved and seated bar iron. 30. Mc Dougal, Sambourne, & Bell, of St. Paul's Churchyard, for the collar Victorine. Oct. 2. John Keyse, of 27, Crosley-row, Walworth-road, for the Albert swimming apparatus and life preserver. 4. Holker Meggison, of Highfield, near Southampton, for a cartridge case. 4. John Robinson, of Nos. 3, 4, and 5, Nassau-place, Commercial-road, London, for a waistcoat. 4. W. Rodenhurst, of Market Drayton, for an improved straw-cutting engine. 6. James Chadnor White, of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire for a harness tug. 7. William Allen, of Morgan's-place, Liverpool-road, Islington, for a philosophical corn and bunion shield. Oct. 8. Thomas Gibbons, of 18, Upper East Smithfield, for a 8. 9. self-adjusting cot. Charles May, of 8, Curtain-road, Shoreditch, for a screw-cap for bottles, &c. Charles Bray, of 14, Cranbourne-street, Leicestersquare, London, for a culinary vessel. 9. Benjamin Nicoll, of 42, Regent Circus, Piccadilly, 10. George Bassett, of 341, Strand, Westminster, for an 15. Robert Marples, of Carver-street, Sheffield, for a 15. 15. William Jenkins, of 10, London-street, Fitzroy-square, for an expanding and collapsing piano-forte case. Mark Frearson, of 14, Hanway-street, Oxford-street, for a railway carriage disconnector. 16. Jones & Co., of the Light-house, 201, Strand, for the "Fountain coffee pot." 16. John William Edgson, of Etton, Northamptonshire, for a dibbling instrument. 16. William Thomas Yates, of 1, John-street, Cambridge heath, Hackney, for a moveable ash-pan for fireplaces, with parallel bars for separating the cinders from the ashes. 17. W. C. Wilkins & M. S. Kendrick, of Long-acre, for the "Carcel spirit meteor lamp." 18. Henry Holland, of 160, Darwin-street, Birmingham, for a spring for the runner of an umbrella or parasol. 20. J. Dixon & Sons, of Hatton-garden, for a watch pro tector. 20. Stevens & Son, of Darlington Foundry, Southwarkbridge-road, London, for the semaphore signals for railways. 21. Francis Nalder, of 41, Cheapside, London, for a glove. 24. Brookes Hugh Bullock, of No. 2, Chester-street, Grosvenor-place, Middlesex, for a distance measurer, for maps, charts, &c. |