ficulty and labor occur in the last stage of this operation-that is to say, after the fourth moulting-and it is to this stage of the business only that my improvement applies. In the old way of feeding worms upon shelves, or hurdles, at a period when so much food is required as in this last stage, and when it is necessary to be especially careful to keep them well supplied with food, and perfectly clean, in order to insure their remaining in a healthy state, so many difficulties have been encountered as to cause the abandonment of the business by numbers who had engaged in it, and to render it manifest that without some great improvement it could not be carried on in a country where hand labor is attended with the expense incident to our situation in the United States. It must be admitted also, that the more nearly we can allow the worm to operate according to its natural instincts, the more likely we shall be to succeed in deriving profit from its products. Under the guidance of the experience, and of the reasoning above noticed, I have so constructed a part of my cocoonery as to admit of the worms being fed upon whole trees, or upon the large branches of trees, and upon these also they are allowed to spin their cocoons. I feed my worms as formerly upon shelves, until they revive from their fourth moulting, when I remove them to an apartment constructed for the special purpose above indicated."

Claim. "What I claim is the manner of constructing my frames in the cocoon room by suspending them from the rafters, and so that the shelves from the feeding room can be readily attached to, and removed from, their under side, and that the trees, or large branches, which are to supply the last portion of their food, and constitute a lodgment for the cocoons, may be sustained upon strips of wood for the purpose and in the manner set forth; and I claim the so making and using of the structure, or apparatus, for the purpose and in the manner aforesaid."

12. For an improvement in the mode of Bating Hides in the process of Tanning; Simeon Guildford, borough and county of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, November 10.

This improvement consists in using the sulphate of alumine, common alum, in solution with water, for the purpose of extracting the lime and saponaceous matter with which the hides are saturated; the acid of the alum unites with the lime, and the astringent properties of the alum, adds to the cohesion and strength of the hides as they come out of the lime, and at the same time distends and thickens them, and causes them more readily to imbibe the tannin of the bark, of which something less is required in consequence of the use of the alum bating liquor.

Claim. "What I claim as my improvement in the art of tanning is the use of alum in the process of tanning with bark, and for the purpose of bating the hides as specified."

13. For an improvement in the Stop Motion for Power Looms; 0.

M. Stillman, Stonington, New London county, Connecticut, November 10.

A plate is attached to the breast beam under the cloth, and extending towards the reed, in which there is a slide armed at the end. towards the reed with small vertical pins, which are woven into the cloth when the filling does not fail, and by which the slide is held back until the harness changes, at which time it is liberated and forced towards the reed preparatory to another operation. This holding of the slide back by weaving in the pins, holds up a hinged hook, but when the filling fails the slide moves back with the reed, and permits this hook to be caught by another hook on the lay, and the former being in connexion with the shipper, the loom is thrown out of gear, and stopped.

Claim. "What I claim as my invention is the employment of the teeth attached to the slide, for the purpose of stopping the loom when not woven in, as specified.”

14. For an improvement in Bridges; Albert Cottrell, Newport, Rhode Island, November 10.

This improvement consists in supporting the bridge during the process of construction, as well as after completion, by the application of a counter-balancing power, which consists of stone laid upon a part of each end of the bridge, projecting in rear of its abutment, thus preventing a depression, or sag, of the bridge, as is the case with all wooden structures of this kind, and at the same time giving to the bridge the appearance of a very flat segment, or arch.

Claim. "I shall claim projecting a bridge over a river without the aid of centering, staging, or supports, as required by ordinary bridges, by the application of stone, or other suitable counter-balancing material, on the top of a portion of the same, and in rear of the front wall of one abutment, thus supporting and securing the bridge on the abutment, as its parts are progressively combined together, and built over the stream towards the opposite side thereof. Also preventing the bridge from sagging in the centre, and giving a flat curve to the same, by loading both ends thereof with stone, the whole process being substantially as described."

15. For improvements in the Cooking Stove; Almond D. Fisk, assigned to Nelson W. Fisk, New York City, November 10.

Claim. "What I claim is, first, the manner of arranging and combining the lift-out pieces, by which the boiler holes are formed, so as to admit of their being so arranged that a long boiler may be placed in four different situations, by the proper disposition of the said liftout pieces, in the manner and for the purpose set forth. Secondly, I claim the particular manner described of constructing the hinged feeder for the supplying of coals to the fire grate. Thirdly, I claim the particular manner in which I have formed the heated air chamber under the fire chamber, between the back plate of said fire chamber,

and the front plate of the oven, and in part under the oven, into which air chamber the gaseous products of combustion pass through the descending flues, on their way to the centre ascending flue; the respective parts named being combined with each other substantially as described. I do not claim the arranging two descending and one ascending flue in the rear of the oven, as of my invention, such flues having been before used; but I limit my claim to the combination of them with the heated air chamber in the particular manner and for the purpose made known."

16. For an improvement in the construction of Vessels with AirTight Trunks, to prevent them from sinking; Richard McDonald, Harrisburg, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, November 10.

The nature of the alleged improvement is fully expressed in the following

Claim. "What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is enclosing the spaces under the wheel guards of the boat, and filling them with air chambers, in combination with the arrangement of air chambers over the keelson, and under the deck, to prevent them from sinking when snagged, or otherwise injured, as described."

17. For a Corn Sheller; Joseph H. Derby, Leominster, Worcester county, Massachusetts, November 10.

The corn in this machine is shelled by being forced through a sheller by means of a piston worked up and down by a treadle; the sheller is made of several flat pieces of steel brought to a point at one end, and set in a circle with the pointed ends up, a little inclining to the centre, around a hole made in a thick piece of board, left thicker where the hole is, and thinner round the edges. The sheath is placed between the sheller and the piston when up, and is for the purpose of receiving the ears of corn one at a time, and guiding them whilst under the action of the piston, which forces the cob through the sheller, the points of which strip the grains that fall into a box surrounding the sheller.

Claim. "I claim as my invention the combination of the piston with the sheath and sheller, constructed and arranged in the manner set forth."

18. For improvements in the Air-Pump; Joseph Milnor Wightman, Boston, Massachusetts, November 10.

The piston of this air-pump is connected with the plate by means of a hollow stem, or piston rod, and the upper end of the movable cylinder is provided with an air-tight cap, or cover, and stuffing-box, the cover, or cap, being provided with a valve opening upwards. Instead of attaching the piston rod, or stem, directly to the pump plate, a reservoir, called a "safety box," is placed between the two to receive and hold water, or any other substance, which may run

down from the receiver. The upper end of the stem is covered with an inverted cup, and the holes for the passage of the air into the hollow stem are made directly under this cup.

Claim. "I disclaim all right, or title, to the combination of a simple lever, movable barrel, fixed piston, &c., constituting a single barrel table air-pump, provided the barrel is open, and the top of the piston exposed to the open air. I also disclaim all right, or title, to the tight cover, packing box and piston, as described, if applied to, or combined. with, fixed barrels and movable piston, whether operated by means of a simple lever, or otherwise; But what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is, first, the combination of a tight cover, packing box, valve and piston, as described, with the top of the barrels of all air-pumps, so constructed that the barrel is moved upon a fixed piston combined by a hollow rod with a receiver, and by means of a simple lever, or other convenient power, and in which the operation is such that the act of exhausting the receiver presses the pump down upon the table, stand, or floor, upon which it is placed without regard to the particular form, or size, of the pump. Second, for the application of a safety box, as described, placed between the pump plate and the barrel of all air pumps with either fixed, or movable barrels."

19. For an improvement in Platform Balances; Thomas Y. Jennings, Geneva, Ashtabula county, Ohio, November 10.

Claim. "What I claim as my invention is the method of combining the two levers so as to lessen the friction at the points where they come in contact, by employing a roller in a cup, or concavity, on the surface of the long lever, upon which the lip, or extremity, of the short lever closes in such a inanner as to work easily upon it, at the same time preventing, by the peculiarity of its construction, the escape of the roller, all as set forth."

20. For a machine for Slitting Timber, in making laths, splints for baskets, chair bottoms, &c.; Benjamin Beach, Clarksville, Clinton county, Ohio, November 10.

The timber to be slitted is put upon an appropriate horizontal frame, on which slides a carriage adapted to the reception of two, or more gates, or frames, containing the knives, to one of which is attached a number of lancet formed cutters, placed at distances apart equal to the width of the splints to be cut, and to the other the knife for separating these from the block, which last mentioned knife is attached to a rocking shaft that it may adapt itself to the direction of the grain of the wood; the dividing knives, of course, precede the separating knife.

Claim. "What I claim is the attaching of the knife, or knives, by which the stuff is to be cut into splints, laths, or slabs, of greater width, for various purposes, upon a vibrating, or rotating, stock, crossing a frame which slides vertically, so that said knife shall adapt itself unobstructedly to the varying direction of the grain of the tim

ber in the manner described; I claim also, in combination therewith, the manner of employing the additional gate, or gates, furnished with cutting gauges, or knives, by which the splints, or strips, may be reduced to a determinate and regular width, as set forth."

21. For an improvement in the Graduator for Measuring and Drafting Garments; Lewis Flenner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 10.

The following claim will be sufficient to enable those who are acquainted with the art of drafting coats, to understand fully the improvement, viz :—

Claim. "What I claim is constructing one arm of the graduator with a diagonal edge on its inner side, diagonal divisions on said leg, the other arm, or leg, being graduated in the manner set forth; also the employment of said graduator, so constructed, in combination with the shoulder and centre measures, for drafting garments, the same being applied and operating in the manner described."

The graduator to which this improvement is applied, is a graduated square well known to the craft.

22. For an improvement in the Molasses Gate; Levi Lincoln, Hartford, Connecticut, November 10.

The gate, or valve, instead of sliding, as heretofore, turns on a pin on an arm projecting from the side of the screw tube, and the handle by which it is moved, slides between two plates-the outer plate and the pin on which the gate turns being provided with set screws to keep the gate tight against the end of the screw tube, and thus prevent leakage.

Claim.--"What I claim as my invention is the combination of the lever (the gate) with the segment (the two plates between which the handle of the gate slides,) adjustable by the screws, as set forth.”

23. For an improvement in the Churn; Thomas Pierce, Hartwick, Otsego county, New York, November 10.

The bottom of the box of this churn is semi-cylindrical, and the upper part square; and the beater, or dasher, is composed of four arms projecting from each end of a shaft, with their faces at an angle of about 45 degrees with the line of the shaft, the inclination at each end being reversed for the purpose of throwing the cream towards the middle of the churn. These arms are connected by means of staves in eccentric curves to direct the cream towards the shaft.

Claim. "What I claim is the bevel of the arms in combination with the barrel form of the buckets to give the centripetal operation upon the cream.

To be Continued.