success. Mr. A. sold out a portion of his business to a large company, and they removed their work from Brooklyn to Raritan, New-Jersey; but questions arose as to the company's title to the lands and water-power, and the company stopped their work. Since which time Mr. S. C. Bishop has taken hold of the business, and is now manufacturing telegraph wires, water pipes, &c. &c., of gutta-percha. Samples of which can always be seen at his warehouse, 181 Broadway, N. Y., and he is also prepared to furnish submarine telegraph cables, and to warrant them equal in quality and beauty to any in the world.

m

MORSE'S INVENTION OF THE TELEGRAPH.

BY JAMES B. MARSHALL.

"Well, Captain, should you hear of the telegraph one of these days, as the wonder of the world, remember the discovery was made on board the good ship Sully.”—Professor Morse to Capt. Pell, October, 1832, on parting after the voyage.

'Twas in the good ship Sully,

That sail'd in '32,

With Captain Pell for master,

And to Havre bade adieu;
With others, much more noted,
An humble artist came-

His easel and his palette

His means of bread and fame.
For years his Art had lured him,
A patient student, where
The works of the old masters
Repaid his toil and care.
Nor dream'd he, when o'er Rubens,
Or Raphael he bent-

Or Titian's brilliant colors

With Michael's genius blent,
That not from painter's palette
Should spring eternal fame,
Which in the coming future,;
Would gild his humble name.

But, in that good ship Sully
This artist had a dream,
That storms nor night could banish,

Nor mid-day's brilliant beam.
It haunted him while sleeping-

Pursued him when awake

And in upon his musings,

Or converse, even, would break,

And when the glittering sun-ray

Reach'd far across the sea,
Bearing its bright despatches

To bid the darkness flee-
And when the lightning's flashes
Burst fiercely through the cloud,
Illumining what darkness
Did only now enshroud-
He solv'd the haunting vision
That held in spell his brain,
And o'er and o'er revolv'd it,
Till the mystic form was plain.
Upon his mental tablet,

The magic word was writ,
And cheerily and hourly
He proudly cherish'd it.

'Twas in the good ship Sully,
Her master Captain Pell—
Our artist solv'd the problem

That since has work'd so well.
Though winds may fill the canvas
That speeds across the sea,
And steam with locomotives,
More rapidly may flee-

Yet Commerce deem'd them tardy,
And Love, with its desires-
But are content since Morse, now,
Beats Time upon his wires!

Then here's a health to Franklin,
Who drew the lighting-fires,
And made them harmless, and to Morse,
Who sends them, on his wires,

To distant friends with letters

All glowing with their flames, And be forever honored

Their Time enduring names, But while we hail the triumph Of the art that works so well, Let's not forget the Sully,

And her gallant Captain Pell!

PREAMBLE TO MORSE'S PATENT:

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION.-The original and final object of all telegraphing is, the communication of intelligence at a distance, by signs or signals.

Various modes of telegraphing, or making signs or signals at a distance, have for ages been in use. The signs employed heretofore have had one quality in common. They are evanescent, shown or heard a moment, and leaving no trace of their having existed. The various modes of these evanescent signs have been by beacon-fires of different characters; by flags; by balls; by reports of fire-arms; by bells heard from a distant position; by movable arms from posts, &c. I do not, therefore, claim to be the inventor of telegraphs generally.

The Electric Telegraph is a more recent kind of telegraph, proposed within the last century, but no practical plan was devised until about sixteen years ago. Its distinguishing feature is the employment of electricity, to effect the same general result of communicating intelligence at a distance, by sigus or signals. The various modes of accomplishing this end by electricity, have been the employment of common or machine electricity, as early as 1787, to show an evanescent sign by the divergence of pith balls.

The employment of common or machine electricity in 1794, to show an evanescent sign by the electric spark.

The employment of Voltaic electricity in 1809, to show an evanescent sign by the evolution of gas bubbles, decomposed from a solution in a vessel of transparent gas.

The employment of Voltaic electricity, in the production of temporary magnetism in 1820, to show an evanescent sign, by deflecting a magnet, or compass needle. The result contemplated from all these Electric Telegraphs, was the production of evanescent signs or signals only.

I do not, therefore, claim to have first applied electricity to telegraphing, for the purpose of showing evanescent signs or signals.

The original and final object of my telegraph is, to imprint characters at any distance, as signals for intelligence, its object is to mark or impress them in a permanent manner.

To attain this end, I have applied electricity in two distinct ways.

First. I have applied by a novel process, the motive power of electro-magnetism, or magnetism produced by electricity to operate machinery, for printing signals at any distance.

Second. I have applied the chemical effects of electricity to print signals at any distance.

(A) Insulated wood piece, (B) Brass clamps, (Z) Zinc plates, (P) Platinized plates, (T) Tumblers, in Battery Fig. 1, the wooden pieces rest upon the glasses. In Battery Fig. 2, they rest on iron brackets secured against supports.

Art. VII.-IMPROVED GALVANIC BATTERY.

THE Battery represented above, patented to Charles T. Chester, May 15, 1855, was first called into public notice in the pages of this Magazine, in April, 1854. It had then been in use a few months on two telegraph lines leading from NewYork. It is designed especially for a Main Battery, and its very general adoption has confirmed the truth of the principles upon which it is constructed, while it has allowed of extensive study of its operations under every variety of test. A comparison was made in the article referred to, of the operations of different batteries. The most important practical deduction from which was, that all diaphragm or porous cell batteries owe their loss of power more to the mutual action of the metals and fluids, than to the decomposition resulting from use in producing the electric current. It was at that time proposed, that if a reasonably intense battery using no porous

cup and only one acid, which when diluted should not corrode pure amalgamated zinc-except when the battery might be called into action for the supply of electrical power-that the following results would be observed, when a battery of this kind was used to supply the current of an insulated telegraph line.

1st. That very little zinc would be consumed; 2nd, that a small supply of acid would suffice: 3d, that the battery would continue in action for a long time without renewal; 4th, that if renewed as it was required, and the zincs protected by proper amalgamation, its power would remain very uniform. These ideas have been sustained by the practical operation of several thousand cups, during the last two years. 1st, in ordinary use, new zincs have been furnished, averaging once in sixteen months; 2nd, acid supplied, liberally amounts to three pounds a year to each cup, at a cost of eight cents. These are the results with ordinary care. Some zincs are now entering their third year of usefulness, a degree of longevity hitherto unattained in other batteries. Their weight is about one third that of the zincs formerly employed, and which have been used up in three or four months. The advantages belonging to a battery dispensing with poisonous fumes have, also, in practice, been fully realized. These batteries are generally placed in the operating rooms, no inconvenience arising from their use, and any change in power, or direction of currents, are easily effected, and any trouble can be detected by the attentive manager, thus bringing the important generator of the very life's blood of this line, under an intelligent supervi

sion.

We add a few words in relation to the principle of its adaptation to the purposes of a main battery, with a view to show where it is most useful, and how it is best kept in good working condition. It furnishes for a great length of time a current of very small quantity, but of any required intensity, and that is precisely the current required on a well insulated line of telegraph.

In this battery, we have the means of ascertaining the amount of power going from it, and the amount of material consuming. Closely watching the negative plates, small bubbles of gas will be noticed occasionally detaching themselves. On a fine winter day and a well insulated line, the escape of gas is so trifling as to be almost imperceptible; but, form a ground connection at one half the length of the line, and an immediate increase will take place in the escape. Should a ground connection be made ten miles from the battery, its discharge of gas would be very greatly increased, and a very