Part 5

The number of applications for patents was a little less than during the previous year. The Commissioner suggests that Congress should appropriate $50,000 to promote the printing of the old patents; that additional examiners be employed, and more clerks, for the purpose of expediting the business of the office; that the price of the Official Gazette be reduced, also the fee for trade mark registration; that the library fund be increased; that more space be provided for models, and for the transaction of business.

In respect to the Centennial, the value of new improvements, and the service of the Patent Office in stimulating discovery, the Acting Commissioner speaks as follows:

"The display made at the Exposition by the Patent Office was creditable in every respect, and excited general attention. About 5,000 models of inventions, representing the leading branches of the arts and manufactures, were exhibited in suitable cases, and properly labeled, the various publications of the Office were displayed, its practice fully explained to all inquirers, and copies of the Patent Laws and the Office regulations and forms freely distributed. The knowledge of our patent system thus imparted to foreigners and all others unable to visit Washington has more than repaid the small cost attendant upon the representation. The exhibits were sent from and returned to the Office with scarcely any damage being suffered.

"But the array of models, etc., made by the Patent Office at the Exposition was not needed to illustrate the value of our patent practice. The wisdom of that system was demonstrated in the most practical and triumphant manner in nearly every branch of that munificent enterprise. Not only in the grand display of labor-saving machinery, but in the vast collection of manufactured articles, and even in the department of fine arts, were seen the fruits of that provision in our Constitution giving to Congress the power 'to promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.'

"Whatever persons may do in a 'perfect condition of society' in sharing, without price, the fruits of their labors with others, it must be apparent to the dullest observer that the wonderful growth of the useful arts in this country is due, thus far, to the protection given by our Government to property in inventions--a property as sacred as any other class of property, and whose value is determined by the same general law of supply and demand.

"It may be safely said that two thirds of the manufacturing interests of the country are based upon patents, and the welfare of all such interests are intimately connected with the welfare of the patent system. During the past seven years a larger number of applications for patents were filed and patents granted than during the entire seventy-eight preceding years, reaching back to the enactment of the first patent law. The needs of the Office have advanced in proportion to this sudden and vast increase of work, but have been but partly supplied. Nay, in fact, its already scanty force and accommodations have been actually reduced at a time when most required. If these vast interests, and the future promotion of science and the useful arts are to be encouraged, a liberal recognition must be made of the wants of this Office.

"The Examining Corps, the duties in which are most arduous and exacting, comprises gentlemen of legal, as well as scientific, attainments. It should be re-inforced by more of the same character. They should be relieved, by legislation, of continual embarrassment by reason of meager salaries and fears of removal incident to merely political changes. The Office would then be spared the continual loss of its most experienced and efficient men."

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THE IRON TRADE IN ENGLAND.

The British _Mercantile Gazette_ of January 15 states that the situation and prospects of the iron trade have not materially improved in the month of December, but some week or two must elapse yet before trade returns to its regular channels. In the north of England the tone of the market is tolerably cheerful, and prospects, though still vague, are considered encouraging. Makers of pig iron go into the next quarter with a good supply of orders on their books, and merchants and consumers are desirous of buying over the first half of the year. Notwithstanding the great depression which has ruled throughout 1876, there is likely to be a greater production of pig iron by several thousand tons than ever there was before, and the total make must considerably exceed two million tons, which is twice the quantity turned out in Scotland, though in the latter district a greater number of furnaces have been kept in blast. Prices are nominally the same as were quoted last week, but show an upward tendency. The bulk of the mills and forges, foundries, etc., have resumed work, and the finished iron trade is again in full swing. The plate department is well provided with orders, but the rail manufacturers, though rather better off than they were, are still in a poor position. The miscellaneous branches of the iron trade, such as the foundries and tube, wire, and cut-nail manufactories are generally well off for orders, and engineers find plenty to do. The wages agreement in the finished iron trade ends this week, but it is thought that no alteration will be made. In the South Staffordshire iron trade, work has been only partially resumed as yet, and many of the mills and forges will not be started until the quarterly meetings, next week. Orders have rarely been so scarce as they are at this moment, arrears having been pretty generally cleared off before the holidays, and no new ones coming in. Nevertheless, the feeling of the trade is more hopeful than it was a month ago. The number of furnaces in blast in this district is now only 58 out of 153; but should the expected improvement in trade arrive with the quarterly meeting, this number will soon be increased. In the finished iron branch, in which quotations for marked iron contain the basis of $45 for bars, makers of leading brands of sheets and bars are better off than the manufacturers of cheap iron, who suffer much from competition in the north. Some considerable contracts for girders, bridges, gasometers, etc., are under execution at the works devoted to constructive ironwork; but the merchant iron trade, as a whole, is very dull. Unmarked iron is weak and variable, and to this circumstance may be attributed the reduction, announced this week, in various descriptions of common iron hardware.

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IMPROVED LATHE CHUCK.

The annexed engravings represent a new lathe chuck, which may be constructed of any size, which holds tools with great firmness, and which is provided with an improved device for taking up wear and for the separate adjustment of the jaws. The implement is made of the best steel, by special machinery, so that its parts are interchangeable.

Figs. 1 and 2 represent the chuck taken apart so as to exhibit the interior. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views. A is a collar which encircles the spindle, and has formed on its outer face a bevel gear wheel, B. C, Fig. 3, is the rear portion of the shell of the chuck inclosing the forward part of the collar, A. Also on said collar, A, is a washer, D, which rests against the shell, C, and a nut, E, which travels on a thread formed on the collar. As it is necessary, as will be explained further on, to turn the entire shell in order to move the jaws, the use of the nut just described is to jam the part, C, and the enlarged portion of the collar, A, tightly together, and so rigidly hold the jaws in any position in which they may be adjusted. Fig. 1 represents the outer face of the chuck with the jaws and their working mechanism. Within the chuck, each jaw has attached to it a screw, E. This enters a bevel wheel, F. As the jaws are incapable of any but radial motion, it follows that, when the chuck is rotated bodily and the bevel wheels engage on the motionless gear wheel, B, the effect of the rotation of said bevel wheels is to cause the jaws to travel toward or from the center of the chuck face. And it will be further clear that this motion must be simultaneous in all the jaws. As the outer portion of the chuck is rigidly secured to the shell, C, by screws, of course when that shell is jammed, as already stated, by the nut, E, it becomes impossible to turn the chuck bodily; and hence the bevel wheels cannot be rotated around the main gear wheel, and consequently the position of the jaws cannot be altered. The above comprises the mechanism proper of the device, that is to say, all that is necessary for moving or clamping the jaws.

There is, however, another feature of considerable importance yet to be described, and that is the device for taking up any play of the jaws due to wear, and which enables each to be adjusted so that the motion of all may be uniform. By referring to Fig. 4, it will be seen that, above the bevel wheel, there is a projection, into the threaded interior of which, as already explained, the jaw screw enters. Surrounding this projection is a sleeve, G, the outer surface of which is threaded to fit a similarly threaded aperture, cut partly in the shell and partly in the face plate. The upper portion of the sleeve is notched to receive a wrench or driver; and beneath the sleeve an armed washer, H, is slipped over the projection. The arms of this washer enter recesses in the face plate. It will be evident that, by turning the sleeve, F, so that the screw works inward, the jaw and all its appendages will be moved bodily in corresponding direction. But its movement is limited by the arms of the washer, G, which, through the narrowness of the recesses, are allowed only just enough play to compensate for slight changes in the jaw. As the above device is applied to every jaw, it follows that any one of them may be nicely adjusted from the outside, so that all are caused to grasp the tool accurately. The spindle, instead of being solid as represented, may be made hollow. Patented to J.H. Vinton, August 18, 1874. For further information, address the manufacturer, Mr. F. Armstrong, Bridgeport, Conn.

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SCREW-CUTTING LATHES.

An English lathe, now in use at the Rogers Locomotive Works, Paterson, N.J., contains several novel features. The ways are flat on the faces, instead of having raised Vs; and this is a feature of all English lathes, and of those known in this country as the Freeland lathes. A great deal of discussion has at various times taken place as to the relative qualification or merits of these two forms of lathe bed. The advocates of the flat way, with Vs at the edges of the way, claim superiority on the score of steadiness, increased wearing surface, and strength; while, on behalf of the raised Vs, it is urged that, the Vs being true, the saddle is bound to travel true, because there can be no lost motion on the slides; whereas any lost motion, from want of adjustment of the slides in flat ways, is liable to be reproduced twofold in the work, for the reason that 1/100 of an inch lateral movement of the slide carriage becomes 1/50 of an inch in the diameter of the work. Then, again, the most of the wear upon a lathe bed takes place at the part at and near the running center of the lathe, because the saddle is, on account of short jobs, more used in that part than on any other. As a result, when wear has taken place, the saddle, if adjusted to suit the worn part, becomes too tight to travel over the unworn part of the bed; and hence, after the wear has taken place, a proper adjustment of the lathe saddle becomes impossible if the job is a long one. In the case of raised Vs, however, the wear simply causes the saddle to fall vertically, so that an amount of wear equal to 1/100 of an inch would have the same effect as lowering the tool 1/100 inch, its effect upon the work being almost imperceptible by ordinary measurement. On the other hand, however, V lathes are usually made with either a weight or a spring to keep the saddle down; and as a result, when the cutting tool stands far out from the tool post, the saddle is apt to tip, especially in the case of boring with a lathe tool. In some cases, the raised Vs are accompanied with gibs to secure the saddle; but in many instances the gibs are given too little wearing surface. In the lathe above referred to, there are three ways in one casting, with the slide angles on the outer edges. There are also three separate and independent tail stocks fitting into the two openings between the ways. The running head has one cone pulley connected by suitable gearing to three face plates. The three centers at the running head are stationary. The slide rest saddle spans the three ways, having a V slide which contains three separate slide rests, all connected by a nut to the feed screw, so that all three are operated by the one screw. In addition to this, the two back slide rests have the nuts so attached that they can be moved by means of a separate screw, the object being to facilitate setting the cuts, since it would be a tedious matter to set all three tools to an equal cut, or to their desired respective cuts, without means of operating two of them independently. To set the cut during screw-cutting operations, the ingenious device shown in our engraving is provided. A represents the cross-feed or slide rest screw, which operates the three slide rests. It is fast to the notched wheel, B, and is operated by it in the usual way. C is a short screw which provides journal bearing for the screw, A, by a plain hole. It is screwed on the outside, and the plate in which it fits acts as its nut. It is fast to the handle, D, and is in fact operated by it. The handle or lever is provided with a catch, E, pivoted in the enclosed box, F, which also contains a means of detaining the catch in the notches of the wheel, or of holding it free from the same when it is placed clear. If, then, the lever, D, be moved back and forth the feed screw, A, and hence the three slide rests, will be operated; while, if the catch be placed in one of the notches on the wheel, B, both the screws, A and C, will act to operate the rests. When, therefore, the operator is cutting screws, he sets the catch, E, into one of the notches so soon as the tools are properly adjusted to the work; and then lifting the catch, E, he turns the wheel, B, so that the catch falls into the next notch, and this puts the cut on. When the tool has taken that cut, and while the latter saddle is traveling back, the catch is placed in the next notch, and so on, the cut for the forward travel always being put on as above while the saddle is traveling back. Thus is insured an exactly equable amount of cut on the whole three rests. When the lever, D, is not in use, the catch is removed from the wheel, B, and is allowed to rest against the pins, G or A, provided for that purpose. For piston rods, or for work such as cutting jack screws, this lathe is very useful. It is obviously, however, a special tool.

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NATURAL ORNAMENTS IN WINTER.

Now that the hedges are no longer green, and the trees stand black and bare on the landscape, is the time to seek for endless variety and beauty waiting to be admired in its turn. What miniature fairy glens and grottoes are distributed over the hedge banks of our country lanes! Mosses, delicate and beautiful, may be found in the interstices of any old wall, or at the foot of almost any tree or shrub. In the winter time mosses and lichens are found in fruit, and are beautiful objects. A pocket microscope lens is essential for their proper observation; and though the delicate carmine cups of the species known as the cup moss, and the familiar gray and yellow mosaic appearance we see on twigs and branches on our way, are easily recognized, the study of this form of winter vegetation is an inexhaustible one, and is an occupation for a lifetime, if earnestly pursued. We do not however, suggest that every one who endeavors to recognize the different species of moss, lichens, or fungi should necessarily do so through the medium of the microscope; but it will greatly add to the pleasure of making a collection out of doors if there be a good microscope at home, so that when the contents of the basket be turned out, after the winter's walk, there should be interest even in the fragments left, after a little pile of varied bits has been constructed, rivalling the choicest summer bouquet in beauty of form and color. We have seen such a collection formed into a beautiful object by raising a little mound of rough bits of bark in a plate or saucer, and placing on it varieties of fungus of every shade of red, brown, yellow, and gray. They seem to spring forth from a bed of sphagnum or bog moss of brightest emerald green; while a clump of the screw wall moss in fruit, with its curious little box-like capsules, supports a gray or yellow lichen, which has been gently removed from some old wall or tree. A bit of stick or a twig, incrusted with a bright orange-colored lichen, supports a trailing branch of delicate green ivy, the most beautiful and adaptable of all winter foliage. Over this little arrangement is placed a bell glass, to preserve it from dust and the effect of a dry atmosphere; and we know how pleasing to the eye is its varied beauty of form and color, lasting thus, a constant source of pleasure, for many a day without renewal.--_Chambers' Journal_.

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IMPROVED HARNESS COCKEYE.

We illustrate herewith a very simple little device for attaching traces to the single tree. It forms a secure fastening which may be instantly attached, and which, by its construction, is prevented from wearing out rapidly.

Fig. 1 shows the cockeye attached to the single tree, and Fig. 2 exhibits parts in section, displaying the construction very clearly. The yoke is of the usual pattern. Swiveled to it is a long loop, which is chambered out to receive a spiral spring which acts upon a plunger. The latter is provided with a follower having a semicircular notch, which corresponds in form to the inside of the end of the loop. The follower also has guiding lips which extend over the sides of the loop. Through the yielding of the spring, the space between the follower and loop adjusts itself to studs or hooks of any size. Patented December 12, 1876, through the Scientific American Patent Agency. For further particulars, address the inventors, Messrs. F.W. Knapp and C. Schallhorn, Fiddletown, Amador county, Cal.

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PROPOSED CREMATION TEMPLE.

Cremation, in this country at least, is not popular. For a time, it occupied here some public attention, but only in a sensational way; and the sober discussion of the subject, which followed after its novelty had worn off, led to the general opinion that, while every one might be quite willing to see his dead neighbors cremated, no one would acquiesce in the disposal of his friends and relatives in so abnormal a manner. Hence, with the single exception of the late revolting exhibition in Pennsylvania, which we alluded to at the time, the dead in this country have continued to be deposited in their hallowed resting places, and have not been packed away, in an incinerated state, in labeled urns. In Europe, however, cremation still finds many warm adherents; and during last summer a congress of the "Friends of Cremation" (a society which, we are informed by _Engineering_, whence we take the annexed engravings, has branches in various parts of the world), was held in Dresden. Before this meeting, a large number of designs for cremation and mortuary buildings were brought in competition, and finally the prize was awarded to Mr. G. Lilienthal, a Berlin architect, for the imposing structure illustrated herewith.

This will be the grand temple of cremation when it is erected--a proceeding to take place in the dim future: when or where not stated. On each side of a central chapel there is a circular memorial hall; and extending so as to inclose the garden of the establishment, on the sides of the halls are wings containing a large number of niches for the reception of funeral urns.

The cremation ceremony is proposed to be as follows: The body, having been brought into the hall, is subjected to the usual medical examination; or when an inquest is necessary, it is removed to offices in another part of the building, where the required investigation can be held. When all is ready, the body, placed on the platform, B, Fig. 2, is raised by a lift into the hall, A, where visitors are gathered, and here the result of the medical examination is declared, and whatever preliminary religious ceremonies that are desired are performed. The body is then transported to the chapel, E, in front of the pulpit, F, where the burial service is performed. The bier is afterward lowered mechanically, and brought to the furnaces, which are arranged in a semicircle and partitioned for the reception of several biers. The ashes are subsequently placed in an urn, on which the name, etc., of the deceased are recorded, and which is set up in a suitable niche.

The building, which we illustrate both in elevation, Fig. 1, and in plan, Fig. 2, is designed to contain 100,000 urns, and is adapted for a town of 200,000 inhabitants. The architect has certainly exhibited much taste in his design for the building, and has provided every convenience in the internal arrangement for carrying on a large business in the cremation line.

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HOW TO REJUVENATE AN OLD ROSE BUSH.

Never give up a decaying rose bush till you have tried watering it two or three times a week with soot tea. Make the concoction with boiling water, from soot taken from the chimney or stove in which wood is burned. When cold, water the bush with it. When it is used up, pour boiling hot water on the soot a second time. Rose bushes treated in this way will often send out thrifty shoots, the leaves will become large and thick, the blossoms will greatly improve in size and be more richly tinted than before.--D.H. Jacques.

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A CLOCK COLLECTOR.