UNIVERSAL TOOL FOR CUTTING OUTSIDE SCREWS. ber-work. The cog-wheel c c parallel to the tread-wheel dd, and also fixed through its centre to the shaft a, communicates its motion to such other parts of the machinery as may be required. The wooden spurs k k k k sustain the tread-wheel, above and below, uniting a little above the cog-wheel, and fastened at their ends into the shaft. The rim dd, being that portion of the circumference of the wheel on which the ox treads, is further supported by the timbers b b. "Fig. 3 is a view of the cog-wheel from above, showing its communication with the other parts of the machinery; such as the fly-wheel f, the crank h, &c. The spurs kk, &c., which preserve it steady in its place, are also seen. Fig. 1 is a ground-plan of the whole building in which the tread-wheel stands. It is very high, and the main shaft is sunk in an excavation five feet deep in the ground-floor. The same letters of refer ence which mark the parts of figs. 2 and 3, also apply to this. A bar of boards, l, is fixed to prevent the ox from falling down into the pit below, should he accidentally get loose. The wooden gangway, m, enables him to get up from the stall below to the stage, on which he walks without moving forward. "We have abridged the description from the original, and consequently have left some of the letters of reference unnoticed; but we have doubtless said sufficient to be understood. When much power is wanted, the mill is sometimes supplied with three or four oxen together, in a team. The scale affixed to fig. 1, also applies to figs. 2 and 3. It is one of Vienna fathoms, which are something larger than English, 100 of the former making nearly 104 of the latter."pp. 38-41. It will, doubtless, be in the recollection of our readers, that the Burton alebrewers, moved by what was said of their peculiar modes of practice in the Second Part of this work of Mr. Booth's, applied to the Court of King's Bench for leave to file a criminal information against the publishers of the Useful Knowledge Society; and that, in consequence of Mr. (now Lord Chancellor) Brougham's afterwards stating to the Court, on the part of the Society, that they had, after due inquiry, satisfied themselves that there was no ground for imputing to the plaintiffs the use of any thing, save malt, hops, and water, in the manufacture of their beer, the rule to show cause was discharged. It ap 66 37 pears, however, from the extract which follows, that Mr. Booth himself (incredible as it may seem) was never consulted" with respect to these proceedings; and that had he been consulted, as he ought to have been, the records of the court might possibly have told a very different tale: "On referring to Chapter X., Part II., of the Art of Brewing, which treats of Burton ale, it will be seen, that, in recommending the adoption of certain ingredients, the writer was careful not to impute the use of them to the licensed brewers: he well knew, that, for them, every article, except malt and hops, was illegal, and subjected them to severe penalties. But the question arose, how much was insinuated, and how far such a suspicion might raise a prejudice against their beer-a circumstance directly opposite to the intentions of the author. "One of the affidavits, gratuitously, acknowledged the occasional use of flour and salt, to assist the fermentation of the inferior ale; and the jalap, of which it only was said that some recommend' for the same purpose (and the use of which is doubted at p. 28, Part I.), may as well be left out of the supposed-accusatory list of ingredients. These, then, are reduced to, "With respect to the proceedings in this prosecution, the writer of the alleged libel, though his character was in some degree at stake, was never consulted. It appears, from what followed, that several chemists were employed to analyse the ale, as well as the water of which it was made, and, had he known of their appointment, he would have told those scientific gentlemen, that the honey and rosin (granting that they had even been introduced) would certainly escape their detection; that the salt of steel, not being by weight one part in sixty thousand, would possibly be too minute for discovery; and that the sulphate of lime alone would probably be found. The result would have justified the prediction."-pp. 52, 53. UNIVERSAL TOOL FOR CUTTING OUTSIDE SCREWS. Sir,-Every turner recollects how, when he was a beginner, the chisel would sometimes, when held improperly, be caught by the work, and forced to one side, so as to make a screw-like cut MORTALITY IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES OF EUROPE. a 1. a on the wood. The accident seems to suggest the plan of an universal tool for cutting outside screws on wood, and 1 think on metal too. The above figures represent my idea of such a tool. Fig. 1 is a side view. a and a' are two chisels, like carpenters' chisels; but having their edges ground off to an angle of 450 with the line of their length. b, b' is the cutting tool so formed, that its point may be made to occupy the vertex of the right angle included by the edges of a and a'. cand c' are clamps for keeping the other parts together. d is a block, having at e a groove in it; this block allows the cutting tool to pass through it, and the groove slides on a rest. Fig. 2 is a side view of the block; another circular block works in it, and allows the cutting tool to pass through it, as seen in section at f; this inner block can be fixed in any position, by means of a thumb-screw seen in figure. The chisels and the cutter must be so adjusted, that the point of the latter, being a little in advance of the edges of the former, shall lie in the plane passing through those edges: the inner block is to be adjusted, so as to cause the cutting tool to make any desired angle with the work, and the whole is ready for use. This tool seems to be universal, because the shape and size of the cutter determine the depth and form of the thread, and the angle, at which the tool is fixed by the inner block, determines the rapidity of the screw. Φ. με There annually dies 1 inhabitant in 28 in the Roman state and the ancient Venetian provinces; 1 in 30 in Italy in general, Greece, and Turkey; 1 in 39 in the Netherlands, France, and Prussia; 1 in 40 in Switzerland, the Austrian em pire, Portugal, and Spain; 1 in 44 in European Russia and Poland; 1 in 45 in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden; 1 in 48 in Norway; 1 in 53 in Iceland; 1 in 58 in England; 1 in 59 in Scotland and Ireland. These numbers present the following results: The smallest chances of life, and its shortest duration, are not, as one might believe, amongst the effects of the rigorous climate of Norway, or the marshy soil of Ireland; it is in the beautiful climate of Italy that life is reduced to its minimum extent. On the contrary, it is among the icy rocks of Iceland, in the midst of the eternal mists of Scotland, where man attains his greatest age. Two great causes predominate over all others, determining the ratio of mortality to the population; or, in other words, regulating the number of the chances of human life: these are the influence of climate and civilisation. The smallest mortality in Europe occurs in maritime countries which are in the vicinity of the polar circle. Countries where the heat is moderate, are not, as might be supposed, among those which possess the advantage of a small mortality; to obtain it, they must acquire the benefits of a high state of social order. The southern countries, the mild climate of which seems to be so favourable to the human race, are, on the contrary, regions where life is exposed to the greatest dangers. In the smiling plains of Italy the chances of dying are one-half greater than those of cold and misty Scotland; and under the beautifully serene skies of Greece the certainty of life is one-half less than among the glaciers of Iceland. The ameliorations consequent on progressive civilisation may be appreciated in a convincing manner, by inquiring what has been their influence on mor EFFECTS OF IMPROVEMENTS OF MACHINERY ON WAGES. tality, during the last century, in the three European countries where their progress has been most obvious. If we collect England, Germany, and France, in one group, we find that the average term of mortality which, in that great and populous region, was formerly 1 in. 30 people annually, is not, at present, more than 1 in 38. This difference reduces the number of deaths throughout these countries from 1,900,000 to less than 1,200,000 persons; and 700,000 lives, or 1 in 83, owe their preservation to the social ameliorations effected in the three countries of western Europe, whose efforts to obtain this object have been attended with the greatest success. The life of man is thus not only em. bellished in its course by the advancement of civilisation, but is even extended by it, and rendered less doubtful. The effects of the amelioration of the social condition are to restrain and diminish, in proportion to the population, the annual number of births, and in a still greater degree that of deaths; on the contrary, a great number of births, equalled or even exceeded by that of deaths, is a characteristic sign of a state of barbarism. In the former case, as men in a mass reach the plenitude of their physical and social development, the population is strong, intelligent, and manly; whilst it remains in perpetual infancy where generations are swept off without being able to profit by the past, to bring social economy to perfection.* April 2. Δ. EFFECTS OF IMPROVEMENTS OF MA- (Concluded from page 31.) To display the effects which improvements in machinery actually produce on the price of labour, both adult and juvenile, and and how they produce them, I will exhibit the analysis of the personel of three mills, in the shape necessary for the purpose. The mills in question are all "fine-spinning" mills in Manchester, spinning yarn of the quality of 110 up to 210 hanks to the pound. The number of operatives which * From a paper in Jameson's Edinburgh Philosophical Journal. 39 they employed in May 1833 is shown, and is divided into adults and non-adults of the two sexes. The productive power of the spinning-machines (mules) was respectively 336, 324, and 312, and each mill was then preparing to double the mules, i. e. to double their productive power. It is to be borne in mind that the spinner always manages two mules. The deductions of adult hands and the additions of juvenile ones are based upon the following calculations. I instance them only from the mill (A), the process being the same with respect to mills (B) and (C). In mill (A) twenty-five men work twentyfive pair of mules of 336 spindles each mule; this makes the total number of spindles 16,800, and the men are assisted by eightyeight boys and twenty-four girls as piecers of the threads. Now the spinner himself, spinning the quality of work executed in these three mills, can only attend, upon an average, to the piecing up 48 threads on each of his mules, which gives 96 threads as his share for the pair of mules, and this, for twenty-five spinners, gives a total of 2,400 threads out of the 16,800 to which the spinners can attend. This leaves 14,400 threads to be attended to by 112 piecers (boys and girls), which gives 128 as the average number of threads attended to by each piecer in mill (A). Now the spinner, having to attend to the entire guidance of the mule, cannot look after more threads on a large mule than he can on a small one; and when the number of mules in mill (A) shall be reduced from twenty-five pair to thirteen, he will still be unable to look after more than 96 threads; and as the number of spinners will be reduced to thirteen, so the whole number of threads which the whole number of spinners will then be able to piece up will be 1,248(instead of 2,400), this will leave 15,552 threads to be pieced up by the piecers; hence 121 piecers will be required (instead of 112 as previously), if the same average of threads per piecer is still taken. In point of fact, however, the same average ought not to be taken, as the more convenient form which the mule will assume will enable the piecérs (though it will not the spinners) to look after a greater number of threads than before, and hence so many as nine piecers need not be added to the number previously employed. Assuming therefore such proportions, and applying them to all the three mills, each proportion calculated for each mill respectively, the total number of adults dismissed will be seventy-five, and that of juvenile hands who supersede them will be fifty-s -seven. * I state this upon the authority of the overlooker of one of these mills, whom I repeatedly examined on the point. 40 EFFECTS OF IMPROVEMENTS OF MACHINERY ON WAGES. Mill (A), possessing twenty-five pair of mules of the productive power of 336 spindles each mule, and spinning yarn of the fineness of 170 to 210 hanks to the pound, with the following personel: Mill (B), possessing twenty pair of mules of the productive power of 324 spindles each mule, and spinning yarn of the fineness of 120 to 210 hanks to the pound, with the following personel: Men. Women. Boys. Girls. EFFECTS OF IMPROVEMENTS OF MACHINERY ON WAGES. 41 Mill (C), possessing 103 pair of mules of the productive power of 312 spindles each mule, and spinning yarn of the fineness of 140 to 210 hanks to the pound, with the following personel: --- I have explained the grounds on which I have deducted seventy-five adults, and added fifty-seven non-adults, after the improvement. Now, though I might fairly estimate the average earnings of a "fine" spinner (which they all are in these three mills) on mules of 336 spindles at 35s. net the week, yet I will only take them at 25s. Then the total amount of saving in adult labour by superseding seventy-five spinners will be 93l. 15s. 10d. a week, and the additional cost for the albour of fifty-seven additional piecers will be (if they are averaged at 5s. each for the week) 141. 5s. But in this case the earnings of each of the remaining spinners will be increased, as is evidenced by the printed list of prices for -53 +41 94 164 377 111 spinning, which shows that the price paid for work done diminishes in a ratio less rapid than that in which the productiveness of the mule increases: and as the process by which this is effected creates an additional demand for children, the average of their wages must have a tendency to rise; and since the article produced can be offered in the market of the world at a lower price in consequence of the diminution in cost of production, which results from the large saving in wages of labour produced by the improvement of the machine, it is then brought, for the first time, within the range of the means of a large class of consumers who never used it before. This must create a demand for a greater quantity of it, enlarge the field of production, |