ignited, which sometimes partially fails when the ignition takes place at the back part of the charge.

To accomplish this object, the priming is placed in a small detonating pellet attached to the back part of the disc of felt wadding, and the ignition of the pellet is effected by the point of a sliding pin passing through the charge of powder; which pin is projected into the detonating pellet in the wadding with considerable force, by means of a spiral spring let off by the trigger.

The mechanical construction of the lock appears to be considerably complicated; there is no cock or hammer, but the sliding pin, which moves in a guide tube. When the trigger lets go its hold, the force of the spiral spring shoots the pin forward, and after firing the piece, is brought back, and the spring put into tension by a lever near the guard.-[Inrolled in the Inrolment Office, January, 1832.]

To WILLIAM NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, Chancery-lane, in the county of Middlesex, for improvements in the means of producing instantaneous ignition, being a communication from a foreigner residing abroad. -[Sealed 11th August, 1836.]

THESE improvements, in the means of producing instantaneous ignition, consist in the peculiar construction of receptacles in which matches are to be placed, in order that on drawing out each match, it may become instantly ignited by the friction produced in its passage from the interior of the receptacle.

The principal feature of this improvement, is the manner in which two rough surfaces are placed nearly in contact, in connexion with the receptacle of the

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Fig.1

CONJOINED SERIES

PLATE VIII

Adams Wheel.

Fig.10

a

Saxton's Printing Refs

W Newton Delt

1. December 1837

Fig. 8

b

matches. By this contrivance, the explosive end of a match, when the match is withdrawn from the receptacle, is caused to pass between the two rough surfaces, and, by means of the friction so produced, to become immediately ignited.

The match may be made of wood, paper, wax taper, or any other suitable material of which matches have usually or may be made; and they may be primed at the end with any of the known inflammable mixtures which become ignited by friction. I make no claim to any novelty in the production of matches.

The form of the receptacle for containing the matches may be varied according to taste; but the essential features of novelty in its construction, and that which constitutes the invention, claimed by me under the above recited Letters Patent, are as follows:

I construct a box or receptacle having series of small tubes or compartments, each of which compartment is intended for the reception of one of the matches; and above these compartments I place strips of card, or other suitable substance, coated on their faces with sand paper, or other similar rough material.

The matches, having been properly primed, are severally placed in the compartments, their primed ends downwards, and the stems of the matches extending upwards between the rough surfaces of the strips of card, sufficiently far to allow of their ends being conveniently taken hold of by the finger and thumb for the purpose of being drawn out. The strips of card at top of the receptacle are then slightly pressed together and confined, in order that the primed ends of the matches, as they are severally drawn upwards out of the receptacle may, by passing between the rough surfaces, be sufficiently subjected to friction, to produce ignition by

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the pressure of the rough sides of the cards acting upon the explosive priming.

The principles of the invention having been thus described, I will proceed to show a convenient mode of carrying them into execution.

In the accompanying drawings, Plate VIII., fig. 1, represents a series of tubes or receptacles for the matches, which receptacles are constructed of card. I first provide two flat pieces of card of a rectangular form; I then take another piece of card, crimped or corrugated or formed into flutes or tubes a, a, a, and attach it between the two former by glue or otherwise, as shown in the horizontal section fig. 2, and in the vertical section fig. 3; I then attach to the cards above the tubes strips of sand paper b, b, for the purpose of producing the required friction. I then introduce into each of the tubes á primed match, and after that has been done, bring the flaps, with the surfaces of the sand paper b, b, close to the stems of the matches, by binding thread round the flaps, or by any other convenient means, so as to confine them. When this is done, the matches being severally drawn out, the priming will by the friction, in passing between the sand paper surfaces b, b, become exploded and instantly ignite.

These receptacles for the matches may be made in various ways, and combined in various forms, without, in any degree, deviating from the principle of the improvement set out above. For instance, several of these series of receptacles with primed matches may be combined and enclosed within a small pocket-book, which will require merely to be opened and a match drawn out smartly, when the priming will instantly explode and the match become ignited. Such a small pocket-book, about two inches long, three-eighths of an inch thick, and two