No. 4.

Statement of the number of Passengers conveyed upon the Railroad between Charleston, Hamburg, and Columbia, with the amount received for Freight and Passage, &c., during the year 1847.

PASSAGE.

UP.

NO.

UP AND DOWN.

UP.

DOWN.

AMOUNT.

AMOUNT.

AMOUNT.

Freight.

Freight.

Freight.

14,922-84

30,731-19

45,654-03

15,046-32

24.941-20

39,987-52

57,152.17

Income from Freight and Passage as above,

Through Tickets sold by Georgia Railroad Company,

$596,239-31

13,543.62

VOL. XV,-3RD SERIES.-No. 5.-MAY, 1848.

30

Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge.

The suspension bridge companies have decided on the construction of the bridge for the passage of railroad trains. The strength of the supporting cables is to be not less than 65,000 tons. The cost is not

to exceed $190,000; and the work to be completed by the 1st of May, 1849. Charles Ellet, Jr., Esq., of Philadelphia, has been appointed the engineer. The bridge will be in sight both of the cataract and the whirlpool, and span the gorge by an arch of 800 feet, suspended 230 feet above the surface of the Niagara river. Hunt's Merch. Mag.

Large Railway Girders.

Within the last few days some interest has been excited at Witham by the arrival of some very large-sized cast-iron girders, for two of the bridges on the line. These girders, which were cast at Derby, are said to be the largest single girders which have ever been cast, with one exception; they are fifty-three feet four inches and a half in length, and weigh about thirteen tons each.

Cost of Locomotives in France.

London Artizan.

In 1839, the price of locomotives in France was 300 francs the 2 cwt.; the price in 1847 is 225 francs. In 1839 the French workshops produced only twenty to twenty-five locomotives per annum; in 1847 the railways can obtain 300 to 400 locomotives from the workshops of Paris, Rouen, Creuzot, Mulhausen, and Arras. Ibid.

AMERICAN PATENTS.

List of American Patents which issued in the month of February, 1847, with Exemplifications, by CHARLES M. KELLER, late Chief Examiner of Patents, in the U. S. Patent Office.

1. For an Improvement in Closing Doors; Daniel Ball, Albany, Albany county, New York, February 1.

The patentee says,- -"The nature of my invention consists in applying the compound lever, or knee joint, to doors, so as to close them by a weight, without the interposition of a spring or chain, which are so liable to be deranged."

Claim. "What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the combination of the compound lever and weight, with a door, for closing the same, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth, without interposing a chain or other flexible fixture."

2. For an Improvement in Attachments to Piano Fortes; Moses Coburn, Savannah, Chatham county, Georgia, February 1.

This is for an invention similar to what is known as Coleman's Eolian attachment, the patentee having, on a hearing, proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Patents, that he had made his invention prior to Coleman.

The patentee says, "The nature of my invention consists in combining with a piano forte of any known construction, a set of metallic reeds, similar to those used in accordeons, and other instruments of a like character, said reeds being tuned to the strings of the piano forte, and being played by the same keys, so as to produce the combined effect of a wind and stringed instrument."

Claim." What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the employment of a series of metallic reeds, tuned to the strings of a piano forte, in combination with said strings, so as to be played upon by the same keys that act on the strings of the piano, and at the same time; the whole being constructed as above set forth, or in any other manner substantially the same."

3. For an Improvement in Shower Baths; H. H. King, city of New York, February 1.

The patentee says, "The nature of my invention consists in constructing a shower bath, with hollow standards pierced with holes, so as to produce a jet of water on all sides, as well as the usual shower from above, which can be used separately, or in conjunction. with the said shower, at will."

Claim."What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is constructing a shower bath with lateral jets, formed by the vertical standard, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described."

4. For an Improvement in Stoves; Charles W. Grannis, Collins, Erie county, New York, February 1.

"The nature of my invention," says the patentee, "consists in the manner of heating air and conveying it to the oven of an elevated oven stove, it being applicable at the same time to all the different forms of stoves with elevated ovens."

Claim. "What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the combination of the air-heating apparatus with the stove and elevated oven, substantially in the manner described.”

5. For an Improvement in hardening Hat Bodies; Samuel Lyon, Roxbury, Norfolk county, Massachusetts, February 5.

Claim." What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the improvement by which I effect the hardening of a hat body, viz: by means of a conic frustrum or block, upon which the body is placed or formed, and a damp cloth applied to the fibrous

matter upon the block, in combination with a hollow vessel surrounding the whole-the block having a short reciprocating motion upon its axis, imparted to it when placed within the vessel, and the whole being made to operate together, as specified.

6. For an Improvement in the self-adjusting Truss; A. W. Patterson, Pittsburg, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, February 5. We make the following extract from the specification:

"The peculiar nature of this invention consists in furnishing the block the desirable property of always preserving a common centre, when any part of it is acted upon, thereby enabling it to adapt itself to any movement made by the patient, and to remain firmly fixed to the parts, whatever attitude they may take; consequently avoiding all liability to permit a rupture to escape from underneath it, either by displacement, or a portion of it raising from the parts to which it is applied, while its fine susceptibility to yield to any movement happily obviates the necessity complained of in wearing other trusses with wood blocks-these it accomplishes:

"1st. By a central principle of motion, which it executes by yielding centrewise, when acted upon too severely by the body spring, or other agents.

"2d. By a circular principle of motion which it performs around a common centre, when pressed laterally, to produce the same. "3d. By a rocking principle of motion which it is enabled to perform in any direction, as exigency may require."

Claim."What I claim as new, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the mode or manner of producing this universal self-adjusting property of the block, combined by the three principles above explained and developed-that is to say, I claim the before described peculiar combination and arrangement of the half elliptic springs, crossed at right angles, centre pin and plate, arranged and operating in the manner and for the purpose above set forth, or any other combination and arrangement analogous thereto, producing like results."

7. For an Improvement in the manufacture of Tree-nails; E. Weber and Nathan O. Mitchell, Gardiner, Kennebec county, Maine, February 5.

Claim. What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the combination of the revolving pinion socket, the stationary double trumpet-mouthed socket, and gouge shaped cutter, with the sliding socket and bevelled cutter, constructed, arranged, and operated in the manner and for the purpose described."

S. For an Improvement in Floating Sectional Docks; Samuel Loveland, Oswego, Oswego county, New York, February 5.

Claim." What I claim as new, and desire to secure by letters patent, is the combination of the air tight chambers with the large buoy