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wards of 250,000 coples of this most useful little code of instructions, have been circulated.

MINOR CORRESPONDENCE.

Sir,-In a work published last year in Paris, called L'Art D'Horlogerie enseigné, in 30 Lecons,» there is a short description of a watch escapement, invented by Mudge, which appears to me to be the same as that invented by Mr. Croucher, of Cornbill, called the patent marine time-keeper. Motion is communicated to each, by means of a spring lever raised by the power of the mainspring. Perhaps some of your correspondents could give me a description of Croucher's escapement; and I should likewise be glad to know if it has been found to answer in practice.-1 am, &c. -A. M. K.

P. S. I should be exceedingly obliged by your giving me the names of any works that treat of the practical part of watch and clock making; I mean such as describe the manner of making the different parts, and the instruments employed for that purpose. The only book that I have met with, that treats at all of that part of the subject, is the work I mentioned above: but that says very little of the different instruments.

[We believe our correspondent will find all the information he desires, in a Treatise on clock and watch making published in 1826 by Mr. Thomas Reid, of Edinburgh, who wrote also the excellent article on horology, in the Edinburgh Encyclopædia."-EDIT.]

"Notice to Perpetual Motion Seekers."-The following is a literal copy of a communication which we have received under this head. We publish it for the benefit of all concerned:- Perpetual Motion Seekers! see Coloss. ch. ii. v. 8.- Beware lest any man spoil you, through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world.' Ye are making the words of God of none effect by your traditions, in publishing these things to the world. How can such toys and baubles as there be perpetual? See Malachi, ch iv. v. 1. For behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble.' Here is the end of them. 1 the undersigned have to inform the public, the model for making perpetual motion is to be found in that too much neglected book of models, the Bible. I called upon the Lord, and he showed it to me. I said, Lord, shall I show this unto them? This was the answer to me;- See Isaiah, ch. xli, v. 29Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing. I said, Lord, be pleased to show me some more about it.' Bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.' Isaiah, ch. xli. V. 21. This was the answer;- See Isaiah, ch. xli. v. 14-Fear not, thou worm Jacob ** Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff. See also Jeremiah, ch. viii. V. 9 The wise men are ashamed; they are dismayed, and taken,' &c. See also Jeremiah, ch. ix. v. 12- Who is the wise man that may understand this?' If there is not a wise and learned man who can show this, there is a deaf and unlearned man that will, by the blessing of God, set it forth to you. I am that deaf and unlearned man, George Lovatt-Stafford.

"P. S. Mr. Editor; I have told you what I'was commanded to do. See Ezekiel, ch. iii. v. 4. to the end. Now, see thou forget it not; let those models which come from the Word of God have the first place. Joshua, ch. xxiv. v. 15."

Ballooning.-Sir,-I apprehend that the suggestion of your excellent correspondent, Mr. W.

Baddeley, Jun., in the 262d Number of your interesting Miscellany, for an improvement in balloons, would not be found to answer. lt appears to me that if the rope to which the grappling iron is attached, after passing through the brass ring, was made fast to one end of the car, that end of the car would, by the force of the wind on the balloon, be elevated considerably more than the other end. Or if the aeronaut, instead of fastening the rope to the car, should hold the rope himself, he would either be obliged to relinquish it, or else be drawn out of the car. And in case the rope should be made fast to the centre of the car, the car itself would be drawn up, and the aeronaut thrown out.-I am, &c.-Pit.

INTERIM NOTICES.

The letter of Mr. W., of Leeds, did not reach ns till the day after Mr. W. left town. We should like much to hear from him on the subject, with respect to which he is so well qualified to give an opinion; as also to have a description of the machine mentioned in his postcsript.

We do not perceive the practicability of the philological discussion proposed by H. S.

The correspondent who wrote on the back of a late communication, "If the Editor wishes," &c. cannot write to us oftener than we shall be most glad to hear from him.

Communications received from A. M--k- A purchaser from the beginning-Falmen-Mr. Saul-Mr. Brown-R. C. Jun.-Mr. BayleyF. W. S.-O. C. F.-Taffy-W. D. S.-Mr. Moss-A retired Officer.

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WILKINSON'S FIRE ESCAPE. Dear Sir, I have not been an uninterested observer of what has been recently passing in London on the subject of fire escapes, and was particularly pleased by reading in your valuable work and elsewhere, reports of the progress making by the excellent society founded by Mr. Hudson. On the Monday following the public meeting of that Society, on the 19th of February last, I was favoured with a call by a Mr. Wilkinson, who stated that he was about forwarding to the Society of Arts, in London, a model which he showed me of a fire-escape invented by him, and in the opinion of very good judges, superior to any yet made public. I was much pleased with the model, but the question naturally occurred to me-Why send it to the Society of Arts? Suppose they approve of it and vote some honorary gift to the inventor, a long time must elapse before it can be put into the possession of the public; and in the meanwhile, hundreds of lives which it might be the means of saving, will be sacrificed! I found I was not the first who had made the same objection; for it appeared, Mr. Wilkinson was taking his present course in pursuance of a public recommendation addressed to him by the president of the Kendal Mechanics' Institute, but for which recommendation, that learned gentleman had been thus sharply taken to task in a letter which appeared in the Kendal Chronicle, dated the 12th of January last:-" Having observed," says the writer, "in your paper, an account of the quarterly meeting of the Kendal Mechanics' Institute, I am much surprised at the President's recommending Mr. Wilkinson to send his model of the fire-escape to the Society of Arts, as he considers it far superior to anything of the kind which has either appeared in the 'Mechanics' Magazine,' or in the Society's Transactions.' Perhaps Mr. Wilkinson is not aware, that if he sends his invention to the Society of Arts, and should receive their reward,

he would not be allowed to publish this invention, but it must there remain, till the next annual volume is published, which might be in 1830, and then, perhaps, the expense of this volume will, I may say, be like putting it into a sealed book; and as I have always considered Mechanics' Institutions to be for the very purposes of making more useful, inventions and discoveries, and not for the purpose of putting them in a sealed book, I am at a loss to know the reason of the President recommending this. Why not send a drawing, at once, to the 'Mechanics' Magazine,' and the model to the National Repository, where it would be made known at once, and might be the means of saving some of our fellow-creatures from the devouring flames, which I think would be a greater reward than a society's medal?" Agreeing perfectly with the writer of this letter, that publicity cannot be too speedily given to so useful an invention, and through no medium so speedily as the "Mechanics' Magazine," I now send you a drawing of it, which Mr. Wilkinson kindly permitted me to take, with some descriptive particulars. Ingenious as the inventions are of Messrs. Doyle, Davis, Gregory, &c., I do think, that for simplicity and efficiency, this will be found to excel them all.

A in the prefixed figure, represents the lower part of Mr. Wilkinson's fire-escape, which is made of oneinch deal, in the same way as a water trunk, or what is called by some a downspout. It is about 20 feet in height, and six inches diameter inside, and is bound at each end by a strong iron hoop. At I there is a roller fixed in the frame work, over which passes a rope E, which rope is attached to the bottom of an inner trunk B, as shown by the dotted lines. Within the inner trunk B again, there is a lesser trunk C, to the bottom of which last there is in like manner attached a rope that turns over a roller 2, in the framework of B, and is fastened at 3 on the outside of A. At the top of C there is a crowbar S S, which moves on an universal joint,

d has a hook at one end, for the purpose of laying hold of any convenient part of a building on fire, so that the bar may be made steady for subsequent operations. DDD are stays or supports to the appa ratus, when in action. The mode of operation will be now immedi ately apparent. On the rope E being pulled, it raises the inner trunk D, and that again raises C, so that in an instant a height of sixty or seventy feet (or more ac cording to the size of which the apparatus is made) is attained. At F on the rope E, there is a cross bar or handle, which may be secured by any two of the loops a a a a; so that the apparatus may be either raised to its full extent, or less, according as circumstances may require. At ii on the top cross-bar, are two double blocks with ropes and canvas bags I I, suspended from them, by means of which when worked by persons below, persons may be lowered from the windows of a house on fire, or persons raised to assist the inmates in escaping. K K are ropes attached to the bags, for the purpose of drawing them when necessary out of the volume of smoke or flame. L is a guide rope, which serves to turn the top cross bar in any desired direction.

The apparatus might be managed with ease by a couple of men ; but the preferable way to employ it, would be to have one attached to every fire engine, or one mounted on wheels, in the possession of every parish.

I am, Dear Sir, Yours &c.

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thereof, may be accounted for on the principle of the little resistance which is given to the funicular power acting on the ropes by the descending body or weight, arising from the great obtuseness of the angles formed by the directions of the ropes from the point acted on by the copper eyes. Might not this be remedied in the manner following, which would probably produce a more uniform motion to the descending weight, by making the angle more acute at the beginning, and less so at the end, or termination of the descent?

As the funicular power is not generally treated of in books on Mechanics, and may possibly have escaped the notice of Mr. D., he may find it mentioned in Mr. Smea tou's appendix to his new edition of "Emmerson's Mechanics;" I mean no offence to Mr. D.'s erudition, simply supposing my own case might be his, as I never saw or heard of the subject till I saw it in that work; and though Emmerson is now rather of the old school, and quaint withal, I would strongly recommend him to the notice of those who, like myself, love to dabble in mechanical pursuits.

The manner of effecting the above-suggested improvement may be this: Instead of the ring proposed by Mr. D. to receive the end of the double rope, attach two rings to, or near the ends of, a bar of snfticient length to go across the window. The farther those two rings are from one another, the more effective; but if the bar be of a length to fit into the window, and to hold by the frame, the bar being prevented from moving endways by the lining or wall, it will be more secure. Attach one of the ropes to each ring; by this means, when the eyes are drawn up to the bar, the direction of the ropes will be nearly at right angles, but when weighted, the weight will quickly move a short distance only; for when the direction of the ropes above and below the eye forms equal angles with the horizontal line, then, if I mistake not, by letting the lines approach below so as to maintain that equality, the descent will be uniform, and the