Action of Ether on Indigo. By M. VOGEL.

I had more than once remarked by chance that when the vapour of æther is passed into a solution of indigo in sulphuric acid largely diluted with water, it was decolorated. This effect is produced more readily when the æther is heated to ebullition in a matrass furnished with a bent tube which is immersed in the solution of indigo; and if the matrass be suddenly cooled, so that the solution of indigo rises in the tube and passes into the matrass by the pressure of the air. When I attempted on another occasion to decolorate indigo by means of æther which had been rectified over potash, I could not so readily effect it, which induced me to believe that the impure æther, which contained sweet oil of wine, or probably aldehyd, was more fit for the decoloration of indigo than pure æther.

To satisfy myself, I added to a solution of indigo in a bottle a few drops of aldehyd, and I remarked that the liquor, at first of an emerald green colour, became of a pale green, and after some days became of a yellowish brown. As the aldehyd which I employed contained alcohol, it not having been rectified, I afterwards made use of pure aldehyd, which was separated from its crystalline combination by ammonia: a few drops of this pure aldehyd were sufficient to destroy the blue colour of indigo in a very short time, the solution becoming of a straw yellow. When the aldehyd was evaporated by heat, the blue colour could not be made to reappear. The addition of potash, and of red oxide of mercury, were not capable of restoring the blue colour. On evaporating the decolorated liquor there remained a brown substance analogous to ulmin. This decoloration of indigo by aldehyd occurs only when the indigo is dissolved in sulphuric acid. Indigo in fine powder, diffused through water, undergoes no change by aldehyd: neither the tincture of litmus, nor the spirituous tinctures of cochineal or turmeric, are decolorated by aldehyd.-Journal de Pharm. Mars 1839.

Progress of Civil Engineering.

The Cockerills of Liege.

Ibid.

William Cockerill was a working black-smith, in England. He was constantly bent upon important mechanical designs, which he longed to have the means and opportunity of putting into execution. As often happens, nevertheless, William Cockerill met with little encouragement in the scene of his early labours, and towards the close of the last century, when he had attained middle life, and surrounded himselt with a family, he migrated to the continent. Along with some other skilful mechanics, he proceeded, by the permission of our government, to St. Petersburgh, with the view of following out certain plans of the Empress Catherine, for establishing manufactures in her dominions. The death of the Empress, and the accession of the madman Paul, ruined his prospects in Russia, and after a time he made his escape to Sweden. Here, under the protection of the British envoy, William Cockerill was employed as engineer on some public works, which no native Swedes could undertake. Engineering, however, did not suit his genius, and hearing of the manufactures of Liege and Verviers, in Belgium, which were flourishing in spite of defective mechanism, he imagined that, if he were in either of these places, he should be certain to succeed as a constructer of machines. He proceeded first, as we are told, to Hamburg, where he disclosed the plan of his proposed operations to Mr. Crawford, the English consul-at the same time stating, "that if he could obtain a small pension from the British Governinent, he would return to England, not wishing to do any injury to his country, by introducing machinery into a foreign one." Mr. Crawford, it appears, approved of the proposal, and communicated it to the Ministry; but no answer being returned at the end of six months, Cockerill proceeded to the Netherlands, there to seek fortune with his own head and hands.

He made offers to some extensive woollen manufacturers of Verviers, a town within the province of Liege, to construct for them new machines of his own invention for the carding and spinning of wool, and for other purposes connected with the production of cloth fabrics. The offers were accepted, and William Cockerill forthwith brought his family from England, and settled with them in Belgium. Cockerill's sons were now growing up, and, with the assistance of their hands and his own, he speedily executed all orders, and founded a thriving establishment. The workshop of the Cockerills at Liege became a famous one, and the quantity of machines made for various manufactures was soon very considerable.

In the year 1813, the elder Cockerill retired from business, with a handsome fortune, leaving his two sons, James and John Cockerill, to follow out his trade. They did so for several succeeding years, and at length James also retired with a competency. John, who was now left alone, and who is said to possess the most enlarged mind of them all, erected, in 1815, the first manufactory for steam-engines which had been seen, on a large scale at least, in Belgium. His machines were soon distributed over the whole continent; but this was done far more extensively afterwards when he erected new iron-works of vast size at the village of Seraing on the Maese, distant a few miles from the city of Liege. The magnitude of this establishment may be conceived from the fact that it keeps in continual motion sixteen steam-engines, of the collective force of 900 horse-power, and employs 3000 workmen. This establishment was organised by John Cockerill between the years 1821 and 1825. Yet, immense as are the operations here conducted, numberless as are the railway projects here perfected, and the steam-engines and machines of all sizes and descriptions here constructed, the establishment of Seraing is but one of the many great concerns which John Cockerill superintends, and of which he is wholly or in part proprietor. He still keeps in action the extensive foundry, originally possessed by his father in Liege; holds large shares in mining and colliery establishments; and possesses large cotton-spinning factories, as well as linenmanufactories, where these stuffs are put into all forms, weaving and printing included. He is also the proprietor of a paper manufactory. All these establishments he in a measure superintends in person, but, at the same time, it is especially remarked of him that he takes care to have the best of servants and overseers, sparing no expense in bringing such persons from all countries of Europe to his various works.

Such are the concerns of John Cockerill, and such are the sources of capital and material which lately enabled him to come forward, unassisted and unrivalled, to offer himself as the contracting party with the French Government for the laying down of a railroad between Paris and Brussels; perhaps the most stupendous enterprise of the kind ever undertaken by an individual. This remarkable man, if we may trust to the accounts given of him, is not stimulated in his career of enterprise merely by a desire of personal emolument or aggrandisement, but seemingly regards himself, and acts, as one who has a great mission to execute, that, namely, of peopling the world with machines for the spreading of wealth and comfort among its inhabitants.

There are internal meliorations in the condition of the workmen peculiar to Mr. Cockerill's works, and solely due to his sagacity and genius, at once inventive, bold, and benevolent. Such comforts, for instance, as the robing or clothing-rooms, where the workmen hang up their out-of-door clothes when they come, and their working ones when they go away. Every workman has his place marked by a certain number, and a placard with his name. This is transplanting the habits of the business-office into the workshop. But what is most striking is a large hall in the centre of the works, with a stove in the middle of it, neatly ornamented like most of the Belgian stoves; and upon this stove, morn, noon, and eve, there hangs a kettle filled with warm coffee. It is in this hall that all the workmen meet at certain hours of the day, in the intervals of labour, and take their coffee, men and foremen together, the latter holding a certain moral presidence, which the others willingly acknowledge. They here chat without noise or quarrelling, until the sound of the clock calls every man to his duties again.

Lond. Mech. Mag.

Advantages of Anti-friction Machinery. By MR. COLES.

The lecturer commenced by showing the necessity of all four-wheel carriages being made to move on pivots in the centre of their axles, instead of being fixed and immoveable, as at present constructed. He then showed that the off-wheels of an ordinary railway-carriage, when working round a circle of 23 yards radius, would lose 10 inches and a half every revolution they made, even when working on moveable axles, and they could not make many revolutions upon any curve without running foul of the rails, and thus the engine would have to contend with an enormous amount of friction; one-half of the wheels of each train would press with their flanges against the rails, as also an increase of friction in the bearings of the axles, by the wheels being thrown obliquely in their bearings.

To obviate which he introduced models of a new step-rail, which may be made of cast-iron, thus: an indentation or step is sunk down on the inner edge of the rail of about one-third its width and half an inch deep in the highest, and about three-quarters in the lowest part. The step of the rail for working curves would be so low down as never to come in contact with the rim of the wheel in working straight lines, nor when working the inner curve. The flange, or largest part of the off-wheel, runs entirely on the step of the rail when working a curve of 23 yards radius; but if working a curve of twice that size it would work one-half on the plain part of the rail, and the other half on the step, which would be undulated, having hills and valleys of equal distance, by which the wheels would run parallel to each other, and thus work clear of the rails and cause no side friction; and rails nay thus be formed to suit any curve; the principle of securing the rail to its bearings is both novel and ingenious, and which is particularly described in an "Essay on Locomotive Traveling."

The lecturer then demonstrated more fully his principle of the traversing axles of the four-wheel carriages, from which it appeared manifest that by fixing a stout iron bar to the collars or bearings of the axles, the wheels being outside the frames, such bars would work up and down the grooves with their collars, whilst their axles would revolve in their collars as before VOL XXV. No. 4.-APRIL, 1840.

23

and to these bars two other bars would be attached, something in the shape of a quadrant, which meet each other between the two axles and form a union or knuckle-joint, each part would be operated upon by the rail and thrown diagonally with their axles into right angles with the curve of the rails, room being allowed in the grooves in which the wheels work, to admit of their moving backwards or forwards; the point of resistance is thus transferred from the sides of the carriage-frame to the pivots in the cross-stays on which the axle-bars move; two loops would be attached to the edge of all the axle-bars, about five inches from their collars; the bars being wider than the cross-stays, two bolts would pass through these loops to key them together, and keep them perpendicular over each other, that they shall all move in the same direction.

The

He next elucidated the foregoing principle of the traversing axles, by exhibiting to the audience a four-wheeled locomotive, with the axles placed into the frame diagonally to such an angle as was required to work round a circular iron railway thirty-four feet six inches in circumference, the offwheels being seven-eighths of an inch larger in the periphery of the wheels than the inner wheels, which is precisely the same thing as if the periphery of the wheels had been turned both of a size and the flange left on. rail and carriages being made on a scale of one inch to the foot. A two-wheel carriage laden very heavy was attached to the locomotive, and when set in motion they traversed round the circle in five seconds, or at the comparative rate of fifty miles in an hour. He next explained the nature of working them by manual labour, and showed that by fixing a handle to a spoke of the large anti-friction or driving wheel, they may be propelled with immense velocity, the friction being transferred from the ground wheels, which revolve seventy-five times, to the upper wheels, which only revolve once, thereby proving that there would be scarcely any wear in the working wheels. He next exhibited a four-wheel carriage, on which a man propelled himself by turning the wheels as he sat upon it. Mr. Coles then placed 168 lbs. weight upon the carriage, and placed it upon a level iron plane, and attached a six ounce weight and brought it over a pulley which propelled it, the weight was then taken off and the common wheels were employed, and the aforesaid load of 168 lbs. placed upon it, and it required eight times greater power, viz. forty-eight ounces to propel it; thus clearly demonstrating that one pound power is equal to eight pounds now on railways, or sixty-four lbs. on the common roads, the advantages are of a like proportion if employed on the common roads, and this increase of power is gained by the reduction of friction in the axles alone, leaving for future experiments to show what friction remains to be got rid of between the flanges of the wheels and the rails, which is easily accomplished by the use of a step-rail and traversing axles.

The lecturer further showed that his patent anti-friction machinery is about to be applied to vessels and other machinery, for which he has also a more recent patent, when the combined force of manual labour and steam may be employed with considerable advantage. The steam power to drive one pair of paddle-wheels, and manual labour the other pair, by which two thirds of the fuel may be saved, the motion of the friction wheels being nearly ten times slower than the slowest motion of the carriage wheels, which we need not repeat. Railway Mag.

Anthracite Iron.

We have again, in our past two Numbers, observed on the increased application of anthracite, or stone coal, which more particularly abounds in South Wales, Ireland, and America. Looking to those districts at home where this description of fuel is most plentiful, it is a matter of surprise that works have not been erected upon an extensive scale for carrying out Mr. Crane's patent for making iron by the use of hot-blast with anthracite. Having had an opportunity some months since, of visiting the Yniscedwyn works, we there saw three furnaces in active operation, the one producing iron from anthracite alone-another having two-thirds of that material, the remaining third being coal of a bituminous nature-and the latter, worked solely with bituminous coal, yielding a weekly "make" of 140 to 150 tons.

The result of our inquiries made on that occasion from the proprietor, whose courtesy it affords us pleasure here to acknowledge, was, that the iron produced from the stone coal was most in esteem, as possessing tenacity and strength, and that the only cause then assignable of any other description of coal being used, was the inability, at that time, of obtaining a sufficient supply of anthracite, which, however, we have reason to believe, has since been removed, and to which our attention has been directed by Mr. J. Johnson, of Liverpool, a gentleman to whom we are indebted, on a former occasion, for an interesting paper "On the Iron Trade." Works were then in course of erection (the Ystal-y-fera) within some six or seven miles of the Yniscedwyn works, which were being carried on by a Liverpool Company, projected, we believe, by Mr. Manby, the (late) engineer, Mr. Budd, of Liverpool, and Mr. Bevan, of Swansea, the latter being the present manager or superintendent, and whom we had the pleasure of meeting on the spot. These works promise to be of an extensive character, and a railway is laid down from the collieries to supply the furnaces, which we were given to understand were to be worked with stone coal, on the principle patented by Mr. Crane. Only one furnace, we believe, is at present in action, and that with a limited proportion of stone coal, in the manufacture of pig-iron or castings. We have not accurately learned the reason, but believe it is attributable to want of supply, and thus not affecting the question of the applicability of stone coal to the manufacture of iron-a fact, indeed, incontestibly proved by Mr. Crane's patent, which has been so successfully carried out at the Yniscedwyn works.

We have not space this week to enter so fully, as is our wish, into detail, but cannot leave the subject without adverting to a matter which, to us, would appear to reflect discredit on the capitalists and iron masters of South Wales generally. We refer more immediately to those connected with the anthracite coal-field. With facts before them, such as must remove the doubts of the most sceptical, strange is it that we do not find the possessors of the mineral or the capitalist disposed to avail himself of the advantages which are so self apparent to arise from a judicious outlay of capital in an immense coal-field, with abundance of ironstone, and possessing the advantage of water communication. How is this to be accounted for?--is the natural question which arises in the mind of every one who gives the matter one moment's consideration; and to this we can only offer one reply, and that so impotent, that we are at a loss to afford those satisfactory reasons which might be expected from us, accompanied by a remedial measure. The only