OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE OF THE State of Pennsylvania; DEVOTED TO THE MECHANIC ARTS, MANUFACTURES, GENERAL SCIENCE, AND THE RECORDING OF AMERICAN AND OTHER PATENTED INVENTIONS. EDITED BY THOMAS P. JONES, M. D. SUPERINTENDENT OF THE PATENT OFFICE AT WASHINGTON, PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY VOL. I. NEW SERIES. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE, AT THEIR HALL; J. HARDING, PRINTER. 1828 Trave for to: Erger. Lib 4-2-63 PROSPECTUS OF THE JOURNAL OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE OF THE State of Pennsylvania, DEVOTED TO THE MECHANIC Arts, MANUFACTURES, GENERAL SCIENCE, AND THE RECORDING OF AMERICAN AND OTHER PATENTED INVENTIONS. EDITED BY THOMAS P. JONES, M. D. Professor of Chemistry in the Medical Department of the Columbian College, and late Professor of Mechanics in the Franklin Institute, and Superintendent of the Patent Office at Washington THE above work has now been for upwards of four years before the public, and has been the means of diffusing much valuable information amongst that class of our fellow citizens, for whose immediate benefit the Franklin Institute was established, and the Journal commenced. During the first two years, the funds by which it was sustained were supplied by the Editor, since that period its fiscal concerns have been in the hands of the Institute. When it was assumed by the Institute, the Editor, in addition to his labour, had made large advances of money from his own purse, and since that period a portion of those funds which should have been devoted to other objects, has been necessarily applied to its support. This is a state of things which ought not to exist; the Journal, like the Institute, was not established for personal emolument, but for the benefit of the Mechanic and Manufacturer, and to aid in sustaining an important part of the fabric of our independence. There is no intention on the part of the Institute, or of the Editor, to abandon the publication, but its intrinsic value, and its consequent utility, must depend in a great degree upon the manner in which it is encouraged by the public. Under the circumstances stated, a confident hope is entertained on the part of the institute, that the friends of manufactures, and of the general diffusion of knowledge in the useful arts, will exert themselves to enlarge the subscription list, and that subscribers will be punctual in their payments, and thus give permanence to a work which has already established and sustained a high degree of reputation both at home and abroad. That the Journal has been conducted with talent, is proved by the copious extracts that are constantly made from it, both in domestic and foreign publications-and that the work has proved eminently useful, no one it is believed, has ever doubted. The original department of the Journal has been extended, and every exertion will be made to render it still more interesting. Mechanics, and those interested in the mechanic arts, are respectfully solicited to communicate notices of their discoveries and inventions. Since the Editor has resided in the city of Washington, that portion of the original department devoted to an account of the patents issued in the United States, has been much enlarged, and will be still further extended. A species of information is thus afforded, which was before unattainable, and the want of which has been severely felt. Whenever the subscription to the Journal shall warrant it, a greater number of specifica tions and copper-plates, or other engravings, will be given. Patentees who wish to make their inventions known, may, by bearing a portion of the expense attending the engraving and printing of copper-plates, have them extensively diffused. Many of the plates given in the late volumes, have been thus fur |