MISCELLANEOUS.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 226, 4 July 1846, Page 72

MISCELLANEOUS.

Metallization op Wood. —Of the several patented processes for rendering wood thoroughly impervious to rot, the ravages of insects, and the action of fire, that of Mr. Payne is considered by competent judges as one of the most effectual. The merit of the invention — according to the Polytechnic Magazine, from which we take the substance of our notice — consists in the circumstance, that it does not merely impregnate timber with metallic preparations, but by means of chemical decomposition actually fossilizes, so to speak, the substance acted upon ; and by a combination of agencies, all of them quite inconsiderable in point of cost, creates of the wood an entirely new insoluble, durable, and uninflammable matter. If these results can be obtained at a small expense and in a short period, and the metallized wood be rendered elastic or non-elastic as required, and be so granulated externally and internally as to adapt it with perfect safety for pavements and other purposes, a complete revolution may be reasonably anticipated in some of the most important branches of industry. For instance, it would be of immense utility in countries where houses are built of wood ; it would greatly diminish casualties by fire,increase the value of timber-forests in the vicinity of railways and other similar undertakings, and indeed affect the modus operandi of every profession connected with engineering, shipbuilding, and carpentry. The process consists in placing the timber to be operated upon first in a vacuum in a solution of sulphate of iron, which is made thoroughly to saturate it by exhaustion and pressure. A similar mode is then followed with a solution of the muriate of lime, and within the pores of the wood there is thus created, by decomposition, an insoluble sulphate of lime. It therefore appears that the principle acted upon by the inventor was, that the source of decay exists in the very nature and properties of the wood itself, and that a complete change must be effected in its structure by the permeation of a substance capable of resisting external influences and arresting internal decay. By previously-discovered processes, various metallic oxides (the expensive ones of mercury and copper) and alkalies had been, by means of exhaustion and pressure, introduced into the cells of the wood ; but it was reserved for Mr. Payne to overcome an objection common to all these processes ; namely, the liability to a disunion of the solutions. This difficulty is met by the introduction of certain saline substances which prevent any such disunion taking place ; and herein consists much of the merit of the patent. The most porous, the softest, and consequently the cheapest woods, continues our authority, under this process, are rendered equal, in point of usefulness, durability, and strength, to the hardest and best descriptions of timber. Not only is the beech rendered equal to the oak, but made to partake of metallic qualities even more lasting than timber which at present is threefold its price. Wood so prepared — even deal — becomes susceptible of the finest polish ; and moreover, by the use of certain solutions, can be stained throughout with any variety of colour. In ship-building and in house-building it would come into advantageous use, with the peculiar recommendation that the inferior woods of home and colonial growth would become at once more valuable in the market. Perhaps the most important fact connected with Paynized timber is its applicability not only for railway sleepers, but actually as a substitute for iron rails, for which purpose it is now being tested on several lines, and so far as experiment goes, promises to be preferable to iron, offering nearly as little friction, and presenting a better bite to the wheels, which enables the engiDes to mount inclinations impossible on an iron railway. The discovery has also attracted the attention of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, under whose direction a set of experiments are now being made, with a view to the adoption of metallized timber in the various works executed under Government. — Chambers's Edinburgh Journal.

The Pickling of Meat. — Professor Itefiensque denounces the use of saltpetre in brine, intended for the preservation of flesh to be kept for food. That part of the saltpetre which is absorbed by the meat, he says, is nitric acid or aquafortis — a deadly poison. Animal flesh, previous to the addition of pickle, consists of gelatinous andfibrous substances, the former only possessing a nutritious virtue ; this gelatine is destroyed by the chemical action of salt and saltpetre, and, as the professor remarks, the meat becomes as different a substance from what it should be as leather is to the raw hide before it is subjected to the process of tanning. He ascribes to the pernicious effects of this chemical change all the diseases which are common to mariners and others who subsist principally upon salted meat, such as scurvy, sore gums, decayed teeth, ulcers, &c, and advises a total abandonment of the use of saltpetre in the making of pickle for beef, pork, &c. The best substitute for it is, he says, sugar, a small quantity rendering the meat sweeter, more wholesome, and equally as durable.

Progress of Manufactures in Spain. — It is a singular circumstance that the consumption of linen in Spain still continnes to be much greater than in England, France, and Belgium put together, and that, notwithstanding the consumption is so great, there were, until lately, only two manufactories in Spain where a coarse kind of linen cloth was made. An enterprising lady, Madame Laurens by name, a native of Spain, but educated in a manufacturing town in France, determined on attempting to improve the manufacture of linen, and accordingly established some time ago a linen factory at Aviles, a small seaport town on the northern coast. There, notwithstanding the very discouraging difficulties she encountered, she succeeded; and at the exhibition of National Industry, held last summer at Madrid, presented several specimens of linen of Spanish manufacture, for which the first prizes were awarded to her. The Spanish Government, desirous of encouraging heriu her efforts, have given to herself and heirs in perpetuity a building (formerly a monastery), with the adjacent grounds, close to Aviles, with permission to convert it into a linen factory. Madame Laurens immediately afterwards visited the manufacturing districts in Belgium and England, for the purpose of inspecting and importing into Spain all the improvements recently made in the linen manufacture ; and it is i very much to the credit of our manufacturers that,

in every instance, they have afforded her, without demur, all the information she desired to obtain. — Colonial Gazette.

Buttons from Clay. — The principle of forming Mosaic tesserre by the pressure of dry powder has been applied to the manufacture of various kinds of buttons. They are called agate buttons, and are made of Kaolin, or China-clay, brought from the neighbourhood of St. Austell, in Cornwall. This kaolin is the same as the celebrated pottery-clay of the Chinese, which is obtained from disintegrated granite. The buttons are pretty and clear in appearance, and very hard. They are manufactured in all shapes and sizes, plain and ornamented ; and, as compared with the cost of mother-of-pearl, are said to be about one-third the price. — Chambers' s Journal.

The Great Britain Steamer. — The following is an account of the voyage of this vessel, and is drawn up by a passenger on board, who had also access to the ship-log, and will be read with interest :—": — " The ship started in good trim, and was going on very well until eleven, p.m., on the 30th, when something was found wrong with the propeller, which was striking the stern-post very hard. The engines were reversed, and after two or three good thumps, the arm broke off. The ship then continued with very low steam, and was steered by the sails, the wind north-easterly, and the vessel making very good way, seven to nine knots, until the Ist instant, about three, p.m., when another of the arms of the propeller broke, leaving only one (though the repaired one) and the arm of another, with a small plate which had been placed on the end of it. The most was then made of the sails, and the propeller was just kept from dragging, the vessel going at times ten knots, though when the breeze was from the eastward she only made three knots and a-half. The vessel felt the sails directly, and was considered to possess very superior sailing qualifications, and very good way was made under the circumstances. The distance run on the 28th ultimo was 157 knots by the log; on the Ist instant, 164; on the 2d, 214 ; on the 3d, 184 ; on the sth, 90. The propeller, or what was left of it, did wonders at times, making four knots, against a moderate easterly wind. On the 6th the ship made eight knots and a-half, close as she could lay with fore and aft sails, reefed topsail and mainsail, which is noted as ' good decidedly.' About a quarter past five the remaining arm of the propeller broke, leaving only the half arm and the small piece of another about two feet from the centre. The steam was cut down as low as possible. At twenty minutes past one on the Bth the engines were stopped, and all sail set they could carry. The wind freshened gradually into a breeze, and the ship scudded and steered beautifully, taking a spray on the larboard quarter and beam occasionally, but as easy or easier than any ship which the crew ever witnessed. On the 11th two ships were seen ahead, which were come up to at the rate of two miles an hour, close hauled. * This,' says our log, 'is wonderful, with our little spread of canvas, and more than was expected.' The weather continued variable, though inclined to be squally, thick, and dirty, until the 16th, when daylight cleared off, and they were favoured with a fine breeze, running all day ten and eleven knots. At half-past one, a.m., on the 17th, the ship passed the Tusker, at eleven was off Holyhead, at one, p.m., was off Point Lynas, and at eight, p.m., a pilot and two steam-tugs were obtained off the north-west light ship, which, after waiting some time for water, brought the leviathan safely into dock." — Colonial Gazette, Nov. 22.

Persecution op new Ideas. — Harvey, who first discovered the circulation of the blood, was styled " vagabond or quack," and persecuted through life. Ambrose Pare, in the time of Francis 1., introduced the ligature as a substitute for the painful mode of stanching the blood after the amputation of a limb, namely, by applying boiling pitch, to the surface of the stump. He was, in consequence, persecuted with the most remorseless rancour by the Faculty of Physic, who ridiculed the idea of putting the life of a man upon a thread, when boiling pitch had stood the test for centuries ! Paracelsus introduced antimony as a valuable medicine; he was persecuted for the innovation, and the French Parliament passed an act, making it penal to prescribe it ; whereas it is now one of the most important medicines in doily use. The Jesuits of Peru introduced to Protestant England the Peruvian bark (invaluable as a medicine), but, being a remedy used by the Jesuits, the Protestant English at once rejected the drug as the invention of the devil. In 1 693 Dr. Groenvelt discovered the curative power of cantharides in dropsy. As soon as his cures began to be noised abroad he was committed to Newgate by warrant of the President of the College of Physicians, for prescribing cantharides internally. Lady Mary Montague first introduced into England small-pox inoculation, having seen its success in Turkey in greatly mitigating that terrible disease. The Faculty all rose in arms against its introduction, foretelling the most disastrous consequences; yet it was in a few years generally adopted by the most eminent members of the profession. Jenner, who introduced the still greater discovery of vaccination, was treated with ridicule and contempt, persecuted and oppressed by the Royal College of Physicians ; yet he subsequently received large pecuniary grants from Government for the benefit he had conferred on his country, by making known his valuable discovery ; and at the present time its observance is very properly enjoined by the whole medical profession and the legislature. — From a Private Pamphlet.

Filial Love. — A strange suit was lately brought before the Civil Tribunal, in Paris. Some time ago a negro, employed at the Hippodrome, perceiving amongst the spectators a young mulatto, a native, like himself, of Guadeloupe, accosted him. From what they mutually narrated, it became evident that they stood in the relative positions of father and son, and the mulatto threw himself into the negro's arms, acknowledging him as his father. They then began to talk of their respective conditions in life, and it came out that, though the father was but precariously situated, the son was well off. The father then implored the generosity of the son, but the latter all at once evinced great coolness towards his newly-dis-covered parent. The upshot of the matter was, that the father brought an action against him for the means of support. When before the court,

the son attempted to deny the relationship, b\ it the other party produced documents which foil y proved it, and the court condemned the mulati o to allow the negro a pension sufficient for h is support. — Examiner.

MARRIED. On the 3d instant, by the Rev. P. Butt, Mr. J. T. Thomi « son, to Sarah, eldest daughter of Mr. 3. Hargreave*.