scientific knowledge, which is necessary for all workmen, as giving them a greater knowledge of form and precision of delineation. I think the progress of art is likely to assist mechanical invention. I find that old machines, when they were originally invented, had not any beauty of form: they were of large proportions; but as they were more studied, they became simplified, and have now acquired greater grace of form from that very simplicity. The steam-engine itself is an illustration of that remark. A general use of iron in making machinery has added very much to the beauty of the steam-engine it has relieved it from heavy cumbrous proportions. There is probably no example of a perfect machine which is not at the same time beautiful. There are some branches of manufacture in which geology and mineralogy would be extremely desirable, in order to enable a man to avail himself of the riches of the natural productions of that class. In botany, as connected with construction, in order to give a workman an insight into the nature and properties of vegetable substances, and a more accurate knowledge of their forms when he wishes to delineate or model them; all which may be very much derived from a knowledge of their growth and formation; and I should also recommend, that a general idea of chemistry, as connected with construction, should be given, as it may enable a workman very usefully to apply that knowledge in respect of dry rot, and other similar circumstances, such as the various properties of colours, both mineral and vegetable, and their great or less durability, &c. 1 think it very desirable that experiments on the strength of materials should also be made for the instruction of work men, because that is a casual knowledge acquired generally by the experience of many years; whereas, if they were taught this at an earlier period, they would be enabled to avail themselves of that knowledge, and bring it immediately into operation. Experimental knowledge cannot be acquired without many failures, and some severe lessons of grave importance. I include all sorts of wood, stone, metals, cement, and mortars. It would also be very desirable if there were some models of machines and tools. At the same time, I do not think it is desirable they should be very numerous, because they would tend to confuse the mind of the workman. If the best are selected, they would ingraft on their minds similar principles, which they can carry out into practice afterwards. It would be very desirable if there were formed a school in each county, in which the materials of that district should be collected for reference and the instruction of the workmen. I have no doubt but that publications might be used as a means of more rapidly circulat ing and more extensively encouraging a knowledge of the arts. It is the want of such publications among operatives which has tended to continue the ignorance which already exists. The works of that class in England are very expensive, consequently they have not the means of purchasing them. I have, through the courtesy of Mr. Helder, the Prussian Consul-General, the opportu➡ nity of submitting to the Committee a publication of the Prussian Government, which originated with Mr. Beuth, his Prussian Majesty's Privy Councillor and Director to the Institute of Fabrickers and Artificers, and that gentleman supplied those specimens with introductory explanations developing their object; and its title is "Forbilder fur Fabrikanten und Handwerker, herausgegeben von der Konigh, technischen Deputation fur Gewerbe, Berlin, 1821 bis 1830." The work thus published at the expense of the Government is, consequently, not for sale, and the original number of copies has nearly been distributed. This is a work of art, but there is another work devoted to science, published by the Royal Commission of Art and Manufactures, by order of the Minister of Trade, Manufactures, and Architecture, in 1830. The former of these works is divided into three parts: the first contains thirty-nine plates, all illustrative of external and inter nal architecture as guide for decorations ; the second part contains forty-one plates of vases, tripods, pedestals, cups, and other similar objects; the third part consists of ten plates, for the interior decoration of rooms, including floors, walls, and ceilings. This volume contains the choicest examples of ancient and modern art in their respective classes, not omitting even oriental and mores. que. I have no doubt that if such a work were distributed over England, and easy reference could be had to the separate copies, the taste of our manufactures in regard to form would be materially improved. The second work, which is more especially for the use and benefit of architects, has likewise originated with Mr. Beuth, comprising plans of buildings erected in Prussia, entitled "Bau-aus führungen des Preussischen Staats" (Architectural Illustrations, by the Prussian State), issued for the public use by the Minister of the Interior. This work commences with illustrations of the simplest elements of construction and even machinery, and proceeds to give details of every species of edifice, and plans of docks and quays and other similar works. The series now submitted will shortly be followed by a further publication, comprising works of sea-ports, public warehouses, &c. Two other works for the use of carpenters and bricklayers are published for the Sunday Institutes in the Prussian monarchy, the pupils of which have thus every opportunity offered them to acquire knowledge in their respective callings. A series of questions has been published by the Institute of British Architects, for the direction of correspondents and travellers, and for the purpose of eliciting uniformity of observation and intelligence in their communications to the Institute, comprehending queries in every department of architecture, taken in its largest acceptation, both as an art and as a science. Those have been distributed throughout Europe, and even the United States of America. I conceive such a publication to be useful, not only for the purpose of acquiring information, but in order to instigate a spirit of inquiry, investigation and thoughtfulness in the different classes of persons. The science of construction is most advanced in England. Exterior decorative architecture in France. Interior decoration, I should say, at Milan, of which some beautiful specimens are to be found in the palace of the viceroy, and residences of the Milanese gentry. From the publications which I have seen, my own opinion is, that the finest monuments of modern architecture in Germany exist at Munich and Berlin. I think the school of decoration at Milan is a very good one, having very superior professors. We have no school of a similar class in this country. Aboard a distinct class of well-educated artists, thoroughly versed in the antique, profess this branch; but in England, interior decoration is too generally confided by the employer to the mere housepainter, whose education does not fit him for the occasion. The consequence is, a degraded style of decoration in our interiors, wherever an architect has not been employed. I think that the reason of the superiority of pure taste in French improvements is from its greater appreciation generally by employers, and their yielding to the taste of the architect rather than influencing it. The greater nnmber of our improvements have not that high character of art which they otherwise might have, from employers directing the taste of the architect, and insisting upon his adopting certain styles and forms. In England the inferior intellect directs the superior, and in France the superior the inferior. an illustration of my observation in England, the introduction of the style of Louis XIV. decorations was against the sense of the profession, and has been forced upon them. I know an eminent artist who complained to me that he was obliged to adopt that style in the finest monument, which, within these few years, has been erected in Europe, in spite of his better judgement and his earnest remonstance. In France, under, the empire, there was not any trinket, jewel or piece of furniture that was prepared for the court, that had not been either designed As or approved by Percier and Fontaine. I believe that course is very much pursued now. They were so very jealous. that every thing should be in good taste, that they employed a superior man to design and superintend its execution. Works can be executed much cheaper in France than here. I am the author of a work on door-ways, entitled "Examples of Door-ways, taken from Ancient and Modern Buildings When I first had the intention of publishing this work, I submitted my drawing to four eminent engravers in this country, and requested them to furnish me with an estimate for the execu tion of fifty plates; the cost of them was four guineas a plate. As I had no view of profit in the work, and wished to publish it cheap, I found that if I were to pay this price, I should be unable to publish it, except at a very serious loss, not expecting a very large scale. I sent my drawings to Paris, and had estimates from four French engravers. I put the work into the band of the best of those, a man who is second to none in Europe in his art. I had the plates executed by him. I paid the expense of the carriage of the plates to England, and the duty upon the plates of thirty per cent., incurred various other incidental expenses connected with their being executed in, Paris and transmitted to England, and the whole cost did not exceed two guineas, or the half of what the English engravers required. I attributed this difference in cost to a less diffusion of the knowledge of art, and this less diffusion of the knowledge of art to a want of facilities of instruction. (To be continued.) NOTES AND NOTICES. The Supplement to Vol. XXV., containing Ti tle, Table of Contents, Index, and Plate of Specimens of English Medallic Engraving by Mr. Bate, will be published on the 1st of December next, price 61. British and Foreign Patents taken out with economy and despatch; Specifications, Disclaimers, and Amendments, prepared or revised; Caveats entered; and generally every Branch of Patent Business promptly transacted. A complete list of Patents from the earliest period (15 Car. II. 1675,) to the present time may be examined. Fee 2s. 6.1.; Clients, gratis. Patent Agency Office, Peterborough-court, Fleet-street. LONDON: Published by J. CUNNINGHAM, at the Mechanics' Magazine Office, No. 6, Peterborough-court, between 135 and 136, Fleet-street, Agent for the American Edition, Mr. O. RICH, 12, Red Lion-square. Sold by G. W. M. REYNOLDS, Proprietor of the French, English, and American Library, 55, Rue Neuve, Saint Angustin, Paris. CUNNINGHAM and SALMON, Printers, HUTCHISON'S IRON TALLV-MAN. Sir, I have the pleasure of communicating to you a drawing and description of an ingenious and useful machine-the Numeroatus-matured from the fertile genius of Mr. Hutchison. It is an iron clerk or tally-man, whose business it is to register the amount of coals, &c. that are landed, from time to time, on the wharf belonging to the London Gas Company at Vauxhall, and for which service they used on previous occasions to employ two clerks. The following is a description of the engraving which, no doubt, will be read with interest by your numerous subscribers : The object of this machine, as before stated, is to register the number of waggons which are raised in a day by the coal-hoisting apparatus, and which it registers on the dial A, fig. 1, to any number not exceeding 200. This is effected by the waggons giving motion, in their passage from the barges to the platform, to one of the two levers a b, which they perform just as they arrive at the surface of the stage. As the machine is represented in the drawing, a, fig. 2, will be the lever first acted on. The waggon as it arrives at the surface of the platform comes in contact with the lever which it will raise, and cause the tooth-segment c, lever b, and weight d, to revolve in the same direction until the weight d gets a little past the centre of the spindles, when the waggon begins to descend, leaving the weight to continue the motion in the same direction, until it has exactly passed through the tenth of a revolution, when the end of the lever b will be depressed to the level from which the lever a was raised, and in which position it remains until the next waggon is brought up, when it puts in action the weight, tooth-segment, and lever a, in the manner before described. The tooth-segment e puts in motion another tooth-segment e, which is fixed to the spindle f; this spindle is continued through the bevel-wheels gh (which are not fixed to it), loose collar i, and ratchet-wheels kl; these ratchetwheels are fixed to the spindle f, and turn with it. On the back of each of the bevel-wheels g h is fixed a catch m, which is kept into the teeth of the ratchet-wheel by the spring n; when the lever a is raised, the ratchet k carries forward the wheel g the tenth of a revolution, the wheel g acts on the wheel o, which is in gear with the wheel h, and causes it to revolve in the opposite direction to g, which it is enabled to do in consequence of its not being fixed to the spindle, and the teeth of the ratchets being cut in opposite directions; on the contrary, when the lever b is raised, the ratchet / moves the wheel h, which causes the wheel o to revolve in the same direction as when the lever a acted on the wheel g, and which will now be driven in the opposite direction to the wheel h by the wheel o; the wheel o is, therefore, caused to revolve the tenth of a revolution every time either of the levers a or b are acted on by the waggons, and is fixed on the spindle p, which passes through the hollow spindle q, on which is fixed the hand r; the hand s is fixed on the spindle p, and is carried on, the tenth of a revolution every time a waggon is landed on the platform, as before described. The dial A, fig. 1, it will be seen by the engraving, is divided on the outer circle into ten divisions; and as the hands, fig. 2, is carried forward the tenth of a circle, or one of these divisions, on the landing of every waggon, ten waggons will cause the hand s to complete one revolution, and any number less than ten will be registered by it, and all above that number by the hand r, which is acted on in the following manner:-On the spindle p is a pinion t, which acts on the wheel u, fixed on a spindle v, on the other end of which is a pinion w, acting on a tooth-wheel x, fixed on the hollow spindle q; the teeth of these wheels and pinions are so arranged, that the hollow spindle q, with its hand r, make exactly one revolution, while the hand s makes twenty; the hand r is shorter than the hand s, and points to an inner circle on the dial, which is divided into twenty parts. The hand r passes through one of these divisions for every ten waggons raised, two for twenty, and so on to 200. B, fig. 2 is a circular iron box to contain the wheels, and to protect thein from injury. C is a stay to support the bearings. DD, fig. 3, two steel stops, which prevent the levers a and b, in conjunction with the weight d, from causing the lever E and spindle f, fig. 2, to revolve Sir,-It is painful to reflect upon the injurious consequences to the health of a numerous class of society resulting from the contracted position in which a tailor perform his work; and when it is considered that it is not one of those insurmountable evils attendant on some callings, but is the result of indifference, it becomes, I think, a duty we owe to our species to endeavour to remove or alleviate the evil. I have been induced (from a trial made for some years whether the work could be executed in all points by any other me thod than sitting cross-legged, as it is termed) to construct the work-table a drawing of which accompanies this article, the design of which is, to the best of my knowledge, perfectly new. This work-table is designed for a person to sit to, it being but two feet from the ground to the under side of the board. Description. a aa a, is a firm-made frame of wood, two inches thick, to hold the revolvingboard b, which is for the purpose of suiting any light; it is of wood, one inch thick, and revolves with ease and firmness on an inch projection of the outer frame c; the opening where the workman sits is in the model eighteen inches wide, but may be made any size without affecting the principle. d, the board, which exactly fits the opening. ee, the blocks, holding the cushions, which are wide and flat, for the purpose, when extended along |