experience of all who have used cotton mattresses in this country. To remedy this difficulty he invented the following method : Cotton batting, well sized upon both sides, is used in successive layers, to the extent of thickness required (after compression) to fill the sacking—the usual mode adopted being to employ a continuous sheet of it, laid back and forth to a height or thickness much above the thickness of the mattress when finished. The pile of batting is submitted to pressure, so as to attain a sufficient degree of spring or elasticity in the cotton, and then enclosed in the sacking. This very simple device produces a mattress possessed of the softness and warmth of a feather bed, if desired, of greater elasticity than hair or moss beds, and entirely free from unpleasant odor. As proof of its extraordinary elasticity, the small mattress presented to the office, which is about six inches thick, has been repeatedly reduced by a hydraulic press to the thickness 6f three-quarters of an inch, and on relieving the pressure it immediately resumed its original size. The sizing upon the separate layers prevents the interlacing of the fibres, and thus preserves the elasticity of the cotton. It has been stated that the manufacture of gun-cotton has been commenced in Pennsylvania upon an extensive scale; and should the introduction of these two inventions be fully established, the cottongrowers may hail them with enthusiasm. In order to present the subject fully, the following extracts are made from the official report for the year 1844: -

Encourage the home market.— Curious calculation, showing how two entire crops of cotton in the United States may be disposed of.

The subjoined letter to one of our fellow-townsmen from a planter in our vicinity is worthy of serious consideration. The greatest evil the cotton planter has to meet now is that arising from the over production of cotton; and just so long as we continue to produce as we have done, without taking care to encourage an increased consumption of the article, this evil will not be remedied. As to the subjoined letter, we think the writer unnecessarily fearful that he may be considered extravagant. We can see nothing impracticable in the scheme, and we look forward with confidence to the time when we shall learn that half the people in the United States are sleeping on cotton mattresses, in preference to any of the various articles now used for bedding. Neither do we think he has enumerated more than half the advantages it possesses. In addition to those mentioned by him, we would name superior cleanliness; vermin will not abide in it; there is no grease in it, as in hair or wool; it does not get stale and acquire an unpleasant odor, as feathers often do, to eradicate which they are sometimes put into an oven and redried; moths do not infest it, as they do wool; it does not pack and become hard, as moss does; nor does it become dry, brittle, and dusty, as do straw, hay, or shucks. Besides its advantages in all these cases, it is in many cases medicinal. For example: it is well known that raw cotton, worn on the parts affected, is one of the best and most effectual cures for rheumatio affections. Sleeping upon it merely with the intervention of cotton ticking and a cotton sheet, would not prevent its medicinal action.

Again: added to the great advantage over every kind of bedding (except

* *

Doc. No. 52. - 35

hay or straw) mentioned by the writer of the subjoined letter, (namely, its cheapness,) it is the best, most easy, and most healthful bed of any. It is certainly superior to all, except feathers; and it possesses over feathers the advantage that it does not cause that lassitude and inertia produced by sleeping upon the latter. If any one doubts that it is one of the easiest

beds he has ever slept upon, let him spend a few nights in one of the

clean, nice, comfortable beds under the careful supervision of the tidy landlady of the “Lindsey House” in this city. They are used generally in that neat and comfortable establishment, and, we believe, altogether. We have known many lodgers in them there who, never having heard of cotton beds, supposed they had been sleeping on feathers, and not only that, but the best feathers too. We were deceived ourselves in the same manner; and the prejudice we are certain we should have entertained against cotton beds, had we suspected we were to be lodged in one, was thus overcome, and much to our surprise, when we found that we had been sleeping upon cotton. We therefore advise every one, especially all those interested in the growing of cotton, to try cotton beds. But cotton is preferable, altogether preferable, not only for the bed itself, but for the covering. To a great extent, we believe, it has already been employed in what are variously called “ comforts” and “ comfortables,” and apt names they are to designate the article. These are nothing more than a thick layer of cotton, carded into what are called at the north “cotton bats,” between envelopes of calico or muslin. Thirty cents for the cotton, and one dollar for the calico, will make one of these “comforts”

sufficient to overspread the largest bed, equal to three woolen blankets worth four dollars and a half, and decidedly lighter and more pleasant in

every respect. To our friends at the north we say, try the cotton bedding. You have an advantage over us in the cheapness of the ticking and calico, and in the labor of making it, which would more than pay for the freight on the cotton, and make them cheaper than we can. You would have an advantage, also, in the quality of the articles thus made, by subjecting the cotton to the operation of your machinery, which we do not possess. You would have an advantage in the cleanliness and buoyancy of the cotton for beds by running it through the machine called a “picker” in your cotton factories; and in carding it for the “comforts” with less trouble and more evenly, by means of the carding machines driven by water or steam power. We are aware that there is a prejudice against such changes as we propose in articles of every day use. We do not believe it would be an easy

matter to get the effeminate occupant of “beds of down” and “downy

pillows” to give them up in favor of so cheap a substitute as so common an article as cotton; but, by persons in moderate circumstances, and those who have use for all the activity of which the body is capable, and still like a good comfortable bed, the superior cheapness, and the unimpaired elasticity of the frame arising from the use of cotton beds, we feel confident the proposed change will be considered of and tested. To cotton planters and cotton manufacturers we say, you are particularly called upon to give the cotton beds a trial : to the first, that every thing with them depends upon an increased consumption of the article; to the latter, that we of the cotton-growing region, particularly we of Mis

sissippi, the largest cotton-growing State of the Union, are determined to:

sustain you. You will see, by the calculations in the following letter, how - * o, , very much you may assist us in disposing of the surplus of our crops for several years to come; while, as we confidently belieye, you will be benefitting yourselves, and adding to the comforts of hundreds of thousands.

- - NEAR Jackson, October 11, 1844. DEAR SIR : In a casual conversation with you a few days since upon

the subject of our great staple, cotton, its present and probable continued

depreciation in price, the gloomy prospects of the cotton planter, and other subjects connected therewith, we fully agreed that its over production was the principal cause of its present low price; and that, unless some new source for its consumption could be found, the planter had nothing to expect but its continued ruinous depreciation. The article of cotton, like all other productions of labor, is governed in its price by the general law of commerce, demand and supply. In our conversation I mentioned one source of consumption which is now little used, and which, if believed in and adopted by the American people, will add very much to the consumption of the raw material, and consequently cause an increase in its price—I mean its use for bedding. You wished my views upon the subject in writing, which I now send you. Receive them for what they are worth, and nothing more.

I set out with the proposition that cotton is the cheapest, most comfort

able, and most healthy material for bedding that is known to the civilized

world. In making this broad and bold assertion, I know I subject myself.

to the imputation of extravagance and presumption ; but there is no truer maxim in practical life than the quaint old one, that “the proof of the pudding is in the chewing of the bag.” That it is the cheapest, I submit

the following calculation or statement, for the correctness of which I ap

peal to èvery reasonable and practical man. I will first state, however, that the materials which are generally used by the civilized world for bedding are the following, viz.: hair, wool, feathers, moss, shucks, straw or hay. The most costly is hair; next in value is wool; next, feathers; next, shucks, (when properly prepared;) next, moss; and last, straw or hay. I have not the means of ascertaining with any degree of certainty the relative quantities of the different materials above mentioned that are used in the United States for the purposes of bedding. I hand you a statement of the cost of a bed or mattress made of the

different materials l have mentioned, and also the cost of a good mattress—

the price at which they can be made, and furnish a reasonable profit to the maker. If there is any reason or truth in the calculations I have made, you will readily perceive the immense consumption of the raw material it will lead to. New sources for the consumption of cotton are

being discovered every day. Its peculiar adaptation for uniting with other

fabrics, such as flax, silk, wool, &c., has added much to its consumption for the last few years. o Every avenue should be opened, and every encouragement should be given to new sources that may be opened, to increase its consumption; for in that consists the safety of the southern planter. STATEMENT.-Cost of a hair mattress.-They are generally sold by th pound, and cost from 50 to 75 cents per lb.; 30 to 40 lbs. will cost from $15 to $20. * - - - * * * * * Wool—30 lbs. of wool, at 30 cents per lb., $9; 12 yards ticking, at 12} cents per yard, $1,50; labor, thread, &c., $2,75. Total, $13. 25.9.

... Doc. No. 52. . . . . . . 37 Feathers—40 lbs. of feathers, at 30 cents per lb., $12; 15 yards of ticking, at 12} cents per yard, $1874; labor, &c., $275. Total, $16,62}. * Moss mattress, ready made, $12; shuck do., $12. The labor of properly preparing the shucks constitutes its main cost, and which cannot be done for less than the above price, and all materials furnished. Cotton.—30 lbs. of cotton, at 8 cents per lb., $240; 12 yards of ticking, at 12% cents per yard, $1.50; labor, thread, &c., $275. Total, $665. I say nothing of straw or hay, as they are but little used. You thus see at a glance the relative cost of a bed, or mattress, made of the different materials. In point of cheapness, the cotton is far preferable; in durability it is equal, if not superior, to any of them. Six years use of them convinces me of the fact. As to the next branch of my bold assertion, their comfort and healthiness, I am, you know, as fond of a comfortable bed as any one. Myself , and family have used them for the last six years, and we prefer them to either hair or wool for both winter and summer. Many of our acquaintances about Jackson have used them for several years, and to them I appeal for the correctness of my assertion. Before I close my letter, permit me to indulge in a speculation of the probable effect the universal use of raw cotton for bedding, if adopted by the people of the United States, would have upon its production. The United States, at this time, is supposed to have 20,000,000 of inhabitants. It is fair to presume that, upon an average, it requires a bed for every three persons. This, then, would give, (say) in round numbers, -7,000,000 beds or mattresses. To make that number, then, at 30 lbs. to the mattress, it will take 210,000,000 lbs. of cotton, which, at 400 lbs. to the bale, gives 5,200,000—more than two of the largest crops of cotton ever raised in the United States. * * * ** But it is not by any means to be expected that the people of the United States would at once dispense with the beds which they have at present in use. "I am not fully informed at what periods or length of n time bedding made of hair, wool, and other materials mentioned, have to (belaid aside, and their places supplied by the same, or materials of a different sort. Some persons think — years, according to the value and durability of the materials of which they are made. I have not the means of ascertaining; but, if the cotton-grower can succeed in convincing the people at large of the correctness of these views, it must inevitably lead to a gradual substitution of raw cotton, to the exclusion, in a great degree, of other materials for bedding. The annual amount consumed will depend. upon the confidence in the cheapness, comfort, and healthiness of the article. . . . . While I am speculating on this subject, indulge me in another. Suppose Europe, which now consumes four-fifths of our raw cotton, should embrace these views, and substitute it as an article of bedding; imagination could hardly conceive, and arithmetic could hardly calculate, the amount it would take to supply the demand. But I tire your patience: I will close. It is an interesting subject to the planter. I could write a homily upon it (and a sensible one, too, I think) as long as a modern political dissertation upon the tariff. I claim no merit for the originality of these views or suggestions. Public attention was called to this subject several years since in a series of num

bers published in the “Clinton Gazette,” and attributed to the pen of our worthy countryman, Dr. W. W. New—if correctly, I know not. Yours, respectfully, & P.”

FINE ARTS.

Number of applications, 26.-Number of patents granted, 19. Music.—Since the first successful combination of the accordion or me

tallic reeds with the piano forte, a great degree of emulation has been

manifested among inventors to improve the instrument. The metallic reeds do not require tuming so often as piano forte strings, but if they should get out of tune, are much more difficult to regulate. It might also be necessary at times to reduce the tone of all the reeds to accord with the piano. Several devices have been patented for tuning the reeds, one general principle running through the whole, viz: to shorten or lengthen them as occasion requires. This has been effected by sliding back and forth clamps, or something similar, upon the fixed ends of the reeds, or causing

the reed, with the frame holding it, to slide between the clamps.

Bellows for musical instruments.—An ingenious arrangement of bellows for operating the metallic reed instruments has been patented, in which the blast of air is rendered very uniform, by making the bellows to exhaust

the air, and not to force it through the instrument; as usual.

Ever-pointed pencils.—Several patents have been granted for improvements in this article. One is for a self-feeding pencil, in which the leads are placed in a receptacle, in such manner that, by turning the top of the case, they are forced in a continuous supply to the point, and save the necessity of removing the parts for the insertion of the leads, as in the common pencil. Two others, in which the gold pen and pencil-case are combined in such a way that the whole is not longer, and in one much shorter, than the ordinary pencil-case.

Substitute for type metal.—A very novel invention has been patented for making stereotype blocks for all kinds of printing. The inventor takes clear and tough clay, mixed with silex, reduced to an impalpable powder in sufficient quantity to prevent cracking, and this mixture is worked into a strong putty, in order to form the matrix or mould. The composition used for the type metal is made of a mixture of shellac, tar, and sand. The type metal presented to the office, together with a great variety of blocks for printing, and specimens of printing and engraving, bore full

testimony to the genuineness of the invention. The material, when pre

pared, is very hard, without brittleness, and is not liable to soften in warm

weather. The great cheapness and facility of working the material are

eminently in its favor.
- SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS, &c.

Number of applications, 56.—Number of patents granted, 18.

Spring lancet.—A patent has been granted for an improved spring lancet, which is in a convenient form, being about the size and shape of a common pencil-case. The blade is driven by the force of a helical spring placed within the case, and the depth of the incision is easily regulated by means of a screw operating upon the spring to increase or diminish its motion.