the engine had been standing. Seven persons were got from beneath the débris, and, having been removed to the Manchester Royal Infirmary, one of them has since died. The cause of the explosion, as far as can at present be ascertained, is clearly over-pressure of steam. The engine, it seems, was worn out; some of the tubes at the side were quite filled up and useless, and some of the long stays were corroded very much; facts which seem to prove a want of supervision. The force of the concussion was so great, that it blew away every window in the shed, although the frames were cast iron; and it lifted up the floor of the reading room, and threw the men from their seats. 'Three cast-iron pillars, 27 feet long, and about 12 inches in diameter, were thrown down with the roof. We have collected all the evidence upon the inquests that have been held; but, as other and more stringent investigations are in hand, we defer our remarks until their completion. A locomotive boiler has exploded at the Brighton station. At about ten minutes to seven, the engine of the short train which leaves Brighton for Littlehampton daily at 7.15 was standing attached to its train, and ready for departure, when it exploded suddenly, and the various parts of the machinery were driven through the roof of the shed under which it was standing. The driver, the fireman, and a fitter, who were upon the engine at the time, were killed, and their bodies were found at some distance from the engine. Although some of the passengers were seated in the train, they all escaped without the slightest injury. From evidence already obtained, the directors have too much cause to believe that the accident arose from the driver having screwed down the safety valve shortly before the explosion took place. On the inquest, Mr. Chester Craven, locomotive superintendent, said, in answer to the coroner, that he had foremen in different departments to inspect everything; he himself interfered only when his attention was called to serious defects. The exploded engine was built by Messrs. Rennie in 1840, but had been patched and patched, till it had been nearly rebuilt. On the 4th of March, it was inspected by Ardron, inspector of working engines, and pronounced perfect. It had run 95,000 miles; but they expected 300,000 miles from an engine before parting with it. In 1840 boilers were made with 5-16ths plates, but now with 7-16ths. They did not put new boilers into engines. When a boiler had worn out two new boxes and two new sets of tubes, the engine was given up. He believed that this accident arose from over-pressure, arising from the safety valve being unduly pressed down. A fatal steamboat explosion occurred on board the Engineer steamboat, off Tyne bar, on Thursday, the 10th March. One of the joiners, who was scalded, is dead, and a baker, of the name of Elliott, is in a very dangerous condition. The other seven persons scalded, though suffering much from the wounds they sustained, are recovering. It seems the Engineer was a new vessel, and was making her trial trip. She left Mr. Almond's works about five o'clock in the afternoon, with about twenty persons aboard, and had crossed the bar, and got about a mile and a half to sea, when the explosion took place. In a moment, and without any previous warning, what is called the "tubing" of the starboard boiler gave way with a terrible noise, the steam and water washing the coals from the coal-hole into the fore cabin, and bursting open a portion of the deck, some of the planks of which were blown into the sea. The boiler has since been carefully examined, to ascertain the cause of the explosion, and a wooden plug has been found in the boiler that exploded. The presence of the plug, and the origin of the explosion, are accounted for in this way: The boat has two boilers, one on the starboard, and one on the larboard side. They are connected together by a pipe which feeds the engine and communicates with the safety-valve. The pipe is screwed on to the boilers at each end, and, to prevent the escape of steam, is also cemented at the ends. Before screwing the pipe to the boiler, a wooden plug is driven in, to keep it steady, but which is taken out after the screws are fastened. The plug fastening the piping to the starboard boiler, there is every reason to believe, had been forgotten by the workmen, and left in, and, effectually preventing the steam from escaping, had occasioned the explosion. AMERICAN PATENTS. List of American Patents which issued from March 8th to April 5th, 1853, (inclusive,) with Exemplifications by CHARLES M. KELLER, late Chief Examiner of Patents in the U. S. Patent Office. MARCH 8. 9. For an Improvement in Printing Presses; Seth Adams, Boston, Massachusetts. Claim. "Having described my improvements in printing presses, what I claim as my invention is, Ist, The combination of said vibrating platen with the sheet holders, arranged as herein above specified, so as to be kept up a little distance from the platen, when in position to receive the sheet, and moving with said platen to the form, in order to hold the sheets thereon, and draw them from the type, also with the gauges for separating the sheets. 2d, I also claim the mode or means herein above described, for keeping the sheet holders up from the platen, when the sheet is to be placed; said means consisting of an arm on each end of the rod, (on which said holders are fixed, and with which they turn,) and stops, against which said arms strike; the arrangement and operation being substantially as herein above set forth. 3d, I also claim the apparatus for delivering or taking off the sheets from the platen, after it is printed, consisting of the moving or sliding tympan cloth, in combination with the turning segment, to which an intermittent and reciprocating rotary motion is imparted by the catch, ratchet, and spiral spring, operating as above specified." 10. For an Improvement in Cane Juice Evaporators; Henry Bessemer, Baxter House, England; patented in England, February 24, 1852. Claim. "Having described the nature of my invention, and the manner of constructing the same, what I claim is, the combination of a hollow and perforated shaft, connected with an air blast apparatus, a series of plates, or a screw plate, placed around and on the shaft, and a reservoir trough or basin, for holding the liquor to be evaporated, all substantially as above specified. 2d, And I also claim the combination of a hot water vessel and its heating apparatus, the cistern for holding the saccharine liquor, and the apparatus for effecting its evaporation, by means of hot air blown on thin or extended surfaces, a screw or plates, as specified." 11. For an Improvement in Filters for Cane Juice; Henry Bessemer, Baxter House, England; patented in England, February 24, 1852. Claim. "Having described my invention, what I claim is, the combination of the receiving vessel, the rotating filtering drum placed within the said vessel, the gutters within the drum, the hollow axle or shaft connected with said gutters, and the scraper applied to the outer surface of the revolving drum; the whole being arranged and made to operate together, substantially in manner and for the purpose as herein before specified." 12. For an Improvement in Machines for Breaking and Dressing Flax; Stillman A. Clemens, Springfield, Massachusetts. Claim.-"What I claim as my invention is, the method of breaking and dressing flax or other fibrous substances, by a beater constructed in the manner described, (vibrating on a central axis,) between the faces of which the flax, &c., passes as described, when this is 17. For an Improvement in Machines for Dressing Shingles; Joel Tiffany, Cleveland, O. Claim.-"What I claim as my improvement is, the combination of parts consisting of the pinions, with the intermediate gears, the levers, and joint levers, and sections, with the connecting rods and cam, for the purpose of operating the arms, as described, viz: turning and removing shingles at the same time, from one side of a reciprocating bed to the other, and then when its second face is dressed, throwing it from the machine in a finished state." combined with one or two pairs of rests placed in close proximity to the edges of the beaters, between which the flax passes, substantially as described. And I also claim, in combination with the beater and rest for breaking and dressing as described, the employment of a pair of rollers, each of which is grooved in the direction of its periphery, and one of which is made to vibrate in the direction of its axis, for the purpose of opening and softening the fibres, substantially as herein described." 13. For an Improved Magnetic Machine for Washing and Separating Gold; Samuel Gardiner, Jr., City of New York. Claim. "I do not claim to have invented a rotary cylinder of magnets, for the purpose of separating magnetic particles from ores or metals; but what I claim as my invention is, separating gold or other metals from earthy or other magnetic particles, by means of a rotary cylinder of magnets, which magnets, at the same time that they collect the magnetic particles, serve as agitators for agitating the water and the metal, and earthy and other foreign matter with which it is mixed, for the purpose of washing away the said earthy and other foreign matter; the said cylinder of magnets being constructed and arranged, in relation to the trough containing the aforesaid mixture, in any way substantially as herein set forth." 14. For an Improvement in Daguerreotype Plates; J. F. Mascher, Philadelphia, Pa. Claim. "I do not claim the invention of the stereoscope, for that has been previously discovered; but what I claim as new is, constructing a daguerreotype case with an adjustable flap or supplementary lid, said flap or lid being within the case, and having two ordinary lenses placed in it, by which, by adjusting the flap or lid as shown, a stereoscope is formed of the case, and the two daguerreotypes, by binocular vision, are apparently formed into a life-like figure.' 15. For an Improvement in Machines for Moulding in Flasks: Lysander A. Orcutt, Albany, New York. Claim. "Having fully described the nature of my invention, what I claim therein as new is, in combination with a flask having a continuous or reciprocating rotary motion, the rammer or rammers, so arranged as to be made at any time during their operation to work in any portion of the flask, whilst at the same time they have an automically adjustment, so as to rise as the flask is filled and rammed, and adjust themselves vertically in regard to the flask; the whole being accomplished substantially in the manner described." 16. For Improvements in Moulding for Cast Iron Plates with Dovetailed Recesses; Thaddeus A. Smith, Albany, New York. Claim. "I claim the process of moulding the recesses in the tops of stove plates, intended for the reception of the lifters by which such plates are handled, (which recesses are required to be dovetailed,) by employing pattern cups shaped to form such recesses, divided by a vertical cut into two parts. so that the said cups can be removed from the core formed by them, by moving each division of it horizontally from the core before raising it off the sand, and by fitting the cup pattern into the pattern of the stove plate, so that the plate pattern can be lifted from the sand, leaving the cup behind it, substantially as the same is set forth in the above specification." 18. For an Improved Cannon Sight; John J. Wagener, Charleston, South Carolina. "The nature of my invention consists of an easy and correct mode of determining the highest point of the surface of a cannon, regardless of any position which the wheels on account of any uneven surface may occupy, and of affording the gunner at the same time, a perfect sight to direct and elevate the piece by, capable of regulation for any distance less than point blank, as well as to extreme range, according to degrees." Claim "What I claim as my invention is, the sighting apparatus, consisting of the corresponding pendulum, as described, hung between the graduated side pieces, or uprights, in connexion with the protecting and regulating slide, with its rifle sights; said pendula having free sway, by means of the rotary mounting of the uprights and upper part of the apparatus on the screws and pivots, and the whole being attached and shifted into horizontal position on the cannon, by means of the movable spring clasps, all constructed and combined substantially as set forth." MARCH 15. 19. For an Improvement in Turning Lathes; Warren Aldrich, Lowell, Massachusetts. Claim. "Having described my improvements in turning lathes, what I claim as my invention is, 1st, the improvement herein above described, which consists in giving an automatic motion to the upper slide or tool rest, when set at any angle to the bed piece of the lathe, instead of moving it by hand, so as to turn with ease and accuracy, solid or hollow cones, as above set forth, by means substantially of the screw, revolving worm shaft, and revolving plate, as above set forth." 20. For an Improvement in Machines for Expressing Sugar Cane Juice; Henry Bessemer, Baxter House, England; patented in England, February 24, 1853. Claim. "Having described my invention, what I claim is, the improvement of constructing each of the cane pressing tubes, substantially as specified, viz: with sides made parallel some distance, (for the working of the piston against,) and to approach one another towards the mouth of discharge of the pressed cane, whereby advantages as above mentioned are obtained. I also claim the combination and arrangement of two compresses, or pressing tubes, and two conjoined pistons, with one revolving actuating shaft, and its mechanism, to give to their plungers or pistons a simultaneous reciprocating rectilinear motion, all as represented." 21. For an Improvement in Heaters for Sugar Syrup; Henry Bessemer, Baxter House, England; patented in England, February 24, 1852. "I am aware that in locomotive engines, water has been heated by standing in tubes exposed to the flame or direct heat of a furnace; now such a mode of heating will not answer for the treatment of the saccharine syrup, as the heat of a furnace is not susceptible of regulation as is that from steam, the latter not burning the syrup or injuriously heating it, as would the former. I have discovered that the heat of steam applied to syrups in manner described, in connexion with the action of gravity, produces advantages in rapidly heating the syrup, unattainable by any process where the syrup is passed through pipes, heated by direct heat or the flame of a furnace. It is, therefore, that I expressly disclaim the mode of heating water by allowing it to flow through, or stand in tubes heated by the direct heat of a furnace, but base my invention on the above described method of treating saccharine syrup by means of the apparatus represented, as there arranged and constructed, to operate for the purpose set forth, by the power of gravity and steam; the same consisting of a combination of the receiving vessel, the series of tubes, the chamber and its pipe, and the steam chamber, having induction and eduction pipes, as specified." 22. For Improvements in Supporting the Topping Lift and Peak Halyard Block of Sail Vessels; William and S. G. Coleman, Providence, Rhode Island. Claim.-"What we claim as our invention is, the supporting the topping lift by means of a crane of such form and construction, that when the topping lift sags when the sail is hoisted, it shall not foul or chafe against the peak halyard block. We also claim the so arranging and constructing such crane that it may also support the peak halyard block, substantially as specified." 23. For an Improvement in Rocking Chairs; Peter Ten Eyck, City of New York. "The nature of my invention consists in combining with a chair, so arranged as that the top of the seat shall rock upon the bottom part, whilst the legs remain stationary, a safety guard, to prevent the chair from going back too far, and also to prevent it from going suddenly backward, when the person seats himself in it." Claim. "Having fully described the nature of my invention, what I claim therein as new is, in combination with a sitting chair, so arranged as that the seat may rock upon the legs or support, the safety piece or guard, hung eccentrically to the pivot of the bar on which it rests, and the spring for preventing the top part of the chair from rocking too far or too suddenly, substantially as herein described." 24. For an Improvement in Knitting Machines; Moses Marshall, Assignor to M. Marshall, W. Aldrich, and L. B. Tyng, Lowell, Massachusetts. Claim. "Having described my improvements in knitting looms, what I claim as my invention is, 1st, Constructing the rotary depresser and the feeder which carries the thread, with the arm which connects the reciprocating cam bores, substantially as above described. 2d, Dividing the plates which support the needles and cast the stitches at the angle of intersection of the two sets of needles, so that the fabric knit will or may pass between them. 3d, I claim forming the stitches alternately on each side of the needle rests, by two sets of needles placed at an angle to each other, and operating one needle at a time, substantially as above set forth." MARCH 22. 25. For an Improvement in Hydraulic Steam Pumps; Horatio N. Black, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Claim. "I do not claim a double cylinder pump or water engine; nor do I claim opening a valve at the end of the stroke of a steam piston, and injecting water into a steam cylinder, for producing a partial vacuum; but what I claim as my invention is, the combination of the double slotted water and steam cylinder, double pistons, and slotted piston rod, arranged and operating in the manner and for the purpose set forth in the foregoing specification." 26. For an Improvement in Separating Paper by Single Sheets; John P. Comly, Dayton, Ohio. "My invention consists in a method of feeding or supplying paper, sheet by sheet, from a heap, through the agency of atmospheric pressure, and having reference especially to the instances in which the sheet has to be raised and drawn forward by one edge, as in the case of printing, and is intended to supersede the services of the attendant now found necessary to feed the machine." Claim. "What I claim herein as new is, Ist, A table or range of tubes, connecting with an exhaust pump or vacuum, for separating the edge of a sheet from a heap of paper by atmospheric pressure, in combination with a roller or its equivalent, traversing to and fro on the upper sheet, for the several purposes of lowering and admitting air between the leaves, presenting the edge of the top sheet to the tubes, and (on its backward stroke) serving to straighten the pile. 2d, The tube or tubes aforesaid, in combination with the vibrating supporting bar, for upholding the forward edge of the sheet, when dropped by the tubes, presenting it properly to the fingers, and supporting it from the heap, while being drawn away." 27. For an Improvement in Tanning; Roswell Enos and Bela T. Hunt, St. Charles, Illinois. Claim.-"What we claim is, the process of tanning, with the use of lime, salt, bran, sumac, and cutch, or any other tanning in room of cutch, substantially in the manner above described, whereby we cominence tanning at the same time that we commence reducing; as the salt and bran overpowers the lime, the tan takes the place of the lime and converts the hide into more perfect leather, and in less time than can be made in any other way. Hides are not liable to get damaged by our process, as we do not use an article that is injurious to leather. It is not on the materials used that we claim letters patent, but on the manner of applying them to the hide, as set forth in the schedule." 28. For an Improvement in Cheese Presses; Mills A. Hackley, Belleville, New York. Claim.-"What I claim as my invention is, the turning table, or its equivalent, in combination with the roller, in such manner that whenever the table is adjusted for turning the cheese, there will be a corresponding adjustment of the roller, for facilitating the process of turning the same." 29. For an Improvement in Knitting Machines; Wm. Mansfield, Dracut, Mass. Claim.-"What therefore I claim as my invention is, the above described improvement in forming the loops in knitting ribbed fabrics, viz: by the combination of two sets of needles made to operate together, substantially as herein before set forth; the same enabling me to gain important advantages in the construction and operation of the loom." 30. For an Improvement in Processes for Distilling Rosin Oil; James Riley and Wm. Allen, Southfield, New York. Claim. "Having fully described the nature of our invention or discovery, and shown one of the methods of reducing it to practice, what we claim therein as new is, the process by which we manufacture oil from rosin, by passing it from an alembick through expanding |