--> STONE, CLAY, AND GLAss MANUFACTUREs, &c.

Number of applications, 17–Number of patents granted,9.

But few applications have been patented under this class, most of them #. for want of novelty. Those of the patented which Have the highest claims to importance are for the melting and working of glass. One of them, for melting glass, is for an improved mode of setting the glass pot or crucible, by which the fire has access to much more of its surface than before.

LEATHER, TANNING, &c.

Number of applications, 29.-Number of patents granted, 15. Travelling trunks.-An improved mode of making travelling trunks has been patented, which may be the means of protecting the property of travellers from the many injuries caused by the merciless handlings of their baggage. The usual mode of making strong trunks is to fasten the covering to a firm frame work, usually of iron, making the article very heavy, and a bruise or blow upon them generally leaves a permanent indentation. The inventor makes the skeleton or frame work of his trunk of whalebone, cane, or other elastic material, and so secures the ends of the ribs that they do not require any riveting. The trunk is thus made light and elastic to a sufficient extent to prevent permanent injury from a blow. - - * * Mail bags.-A patent has been granted for an improvement in mail bags, in which the principal feature is, that letters may be put into the bags on the way without unlocking them, and at the same time the letters within cannot drop out or be extracted without cutting or unlocking the bags. - Breaking hides and tanning.—Several modes of working hides have been patented. That which appears most deserving of notice is a foreign invention, the novelty of which, though slight, is nevertheless decided. A patent was granted many years since for working hides by sewing them together to form an endless belt, which was made to run upon two rollers or drums; one of them being in the vat of tan liquor, and the other out of it. By revolving the upper roller the hides were carried in and out of the liquor, and on passing over the upper roller a considerable portion of the absorbed liquor was squeezed out to make room for a fresh absorption. The improvement consists in using a series of rollers and a long endless’ belt of hides, one-half the number of rollers being placed in, and the other half out of the vat. At first sight this would appear as merely a multiplication of the rollers to suit an extension of the belt of hides, but it will be seen that a new effect is here produced. . Upon the first mentioned plan, the same side of the hide must always be in contact with the surface of the rollers; and as the hide is revolving, the side opposite to that in contact with the rollers is more in contact with the liquor, and has its pores or grain more expanded. The result of this. would be an unequal tanning of the leather. Where the rollers are multiplied, as in the invention before us, it is evident that as any portion of the endless belt passes from one system of rollers to the other, that side. of the hide in contact with the surface of one roller becomes on the next

outside or opposite to that in contact with the roller, and thus an equalizing operation is obtained. - , , , , Horse hames.—Several patents have been granted for improvements in horse hames, and this part of harness seems all at once to have become the subject of improvement. The clumsy contrivances hitherto used in this and many other parts of horse trappings, the frequent galling of the animals, have at last become objects of attention, and within the two past years more improvements have been made in harness than perhaps in the twenty years previous. The improvement in the hames is one by which the tugs or traces are kept from the flanks of the horse, while the strain of the collar and hames is so distributed as to prevent o Stretching leather bands.—Much difficulty has hitherto been experienced in the use of large leather bands for machinery, from stretching of " the leather, and it has been found expedient to prepare the leather for this purpose by submitting it to great tension. The leather is wetted, and stretched by means of screws and clamps, and retained in a state of tension until thoroughly dry. o Safety stirrup—A number of contrivances have hitherto been essayed to prevent the catching of the rider's feet in the stirrup in case of a fall, but they have been usually at the expense of the strength of the stirrup. A patent has been granted for an improvement in the safety stirrup, consisting in a method of securing one of its sides by means of a catch and spring, so that the stirrup readily opens by a fall upon that side.

- - HouseHOLD FURNITURE.

Number of applications, 52–Number of patents granted, 24. Sofa beds.-A patent has been granted for an improvement in sofa bedsteads, which combines a complete arrangement for a bed of sufficient size for two persons, with a neat looking sofa, in such manner that its double purpose could not be suspected from its general appearance. Very many devices have been hitherto made for sofa beds, but in most cases, where they were made to serve as a double bed, the beauty and strength of the sofa have been sacrificed. Another advantage possessed by the improvement is, that the whole of the fixture, when prepared for the bed, is provided with entire head and foot boards, while in most others these * extend only one-half, or at most two-thirds, of the width of the - - o Cotton mattresses.—In the last report of your predecessor in office mention is made of the importance to the cotton-growers of the discovery of some new mode of consuming the excess of the produce of this staple. Suggestion is made of the advantage of making beds or mattresses of cotton, and much is said of the comfort, cleanliness and cheapness of such an article. A patent has recently been granted for an improvement in the cotton mattress, which so clearly recommends itself at first sight that it seems deserving of your special notice. The inventor, an American citizen residing abroad, states that he met with the Patent Office report in Europe, containing the suggestions which induced him to investigate the subject. Being concerned in cotton manufactures, he had an opportunity of judging of the fitness of cotton for mattresses, and soon found that in its ordinary condition of cotton-wool, whether carded or not, it could hot answer the purpose, as by repeated pressure the cotton would mat and gather in o from the interlocking of its fibres. This has been the

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:

COTTON BEDS.

From the Jackson (Mississippi) Southron.

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 (exeept

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 * of * 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 J Ackson, 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 appeal to every 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 I 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. 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 the pound, § cost from 50 to 75 cents per lb.; 30 to 40 lbs. will cost from $15 to $20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ** i = i 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.