Garden Automaton

1848 Scientific American  
Other saline substances came into use, and pits were formed, into which, on the large scale, the w�ter to ':Ie cooled was put in ves sels, surrounded by the cooling mixture. Finally came the important discovery, that an intensely freezing mixture was capable of being formed by mixing snow or ic� and salt 'together. A celebrated physician electrified a large audience by exhibiting its effects up on a bottle of wine, which he actually froze A. tlficlol Cold. into ice: and this "llew method of
more » ... zing Since-the dIys of that dissipated heathen, water" is also mentioned by Lord Bacon. who in order to cool the air during an op-Such are the conditions under which this pressive Bummer, caased mountains of snow I subject has oeen . handed down to existing to be piled up, and suffered the � to meJ't posterity. away, down to the present era, In which (To be continued.) there prevails a rage for the t�ing, mankind Ga;;Ien A;;t��;t�-;;-.has been Incessantly in quest ofre trigeratives. At Eu s ton, in Oxfordshire, England, there In those regions where ice and snow are found uliring winter, it became an easy ex pedient to stale up such treasures at cold for use in warmer seasons; Dut where, if formed at all, they could be only of a momentary exist-is a garden with ml!.ny curious ingenuities, which are very amusing. On approaching a certain spot a hermit rises from the ground, and entertaining one with a" neat and appro priate speech," sinks down like a Jack in a ence, It is manifest that some at bel' means box. There is a small rocky island in the must be employed to Bupply the luxury of midst 01 a lake, which is full of watery tricks . coldness to the � oble � nd w . ealthy; and t�us The visiter is' politely requested to walk up the art ofarlLficlal refl ' lgeratiOn-an art which J and view this spot, and a1t�r satisfying his cu ha� . to b � ast of the elaborate researches � f riosity, and proceeding to walk Gown again, the IngenlOns Robert Boyle, and has OCCUPIthe fountaineer bobs down tUl' llS a cock and ed much of the con , si�eration of � ther P�Ise n ds jet s d'eau flying on �ll sides of the ' vic-10sQphers before ana �Lnce -� ook Its ol ' l gm . tim, o ne st rea m 'havmg for its object his legs, We have already taken nolLce of . the now and another his head. Atter this reception, prevalent use and means of procunng beauhe is conducted to look at a spaniel hunting a I tiful . ice . for the table, we shall here present I duck, by the force of water-the au�omatons I a bnef sketch of the history, a . nd a short � o -diving and pursuing each other by turns. Be. tice of the methods of. prod UCing cold ar hfiy ond is a g rotto ; a hedge of sparkling jets of cially_ water rises ftom the ground to gU3n' it ; mim-Cold, as a luxury was far from being un· ic cascades foam down in tiny cataracts, and known to the ancients, The winter's snow countless streams shoot up, and appear to lose or ice was rudely gathered up in heaps, or themselves by being caught in their return, buried in pi ts and covered with straw or chaff. and not suffered to fall down again. Here, But this was a wasteful, and grew to be an d too, a nightingale discourses liquid mUSIC, an expensive method; and it became desirable arched jets of water with one another, and to kave ready means a.t e�ery season, and innow and then delightful showers tell the vi dependantly of the aCCidents of the skies, for siteI' that it sometimes rains when the sun obtaining the same end. The simplest of shines. these proceeded on the principle of loss of temperature, as a result of rapid evaporation. The Egyptians were accustomed to cool their water by placing it in earthen pitchers, the exteriors of which were kept constantly wet by being sprinkled with water by sla ves. It was the habit of one of their luxurious mon archs to have several servants for this office alone, whose duties were to expose the wa ter to cool on the summit of the palace, and constantly supply the royal table with the �everage. Cooliag pits were also dug in the earth, into which the water-ve�sels were pla ced during the day time, the exterior being well soaked with water, and then surround ed with the fresh leaves of a vine or other plant, evaporation npidly went on, and the liquid became most agreeably cool. Another method is said to be mentioned by Plutarch, which was by casting into the water a nurr. bel' of small stolles, the agitation and conse· quent evaporation produced by which would probably exercIse a slightly frigorific power over the water. It was probably an acciden tal observation' of what could not hne failed to have been an every day occurrence, that led to the next improvement in this mode of retrigeration. Many of the earthen vessels of the Egyptians are made at unglazed ware; water placed III ooe of these was found to be cooler than when kept in other vessels, and the more open and porous the material, the more rapid the transudation of the water, and its evaporation from the surface of the jars, the greater the degree of cold obtained. Water-vases were then form ed for that pur pose solely; and the invention, unaltered in principle, has come down to the present time with increasing usetulness. Illustrious of the second great chemical law-that liquefaction produces cold-next followed . For ages in India, it had been the practice to cool bever age in that burning climate by dissolving saltpetre in water. From India, the practice made its way into Europe; and Beckmann states that a Spanish physician, Blarious Vil la Franca, practising at Rome, first introdu ced this method of producing cold in Italy about the middle of the sixteenth century. It is related that wine, placed in this mixture, was cooled to a degree making it almost in tolerable to thl' teeth; and this was a consi derable step in the histo�y of artifi cial cold. lI1llslcal Fishes. Aquatic ammals are generally supposed destitute of the mear:. of making themselves heard; and if they communicate with each other, it is usually supposed that it must be otherwise than by sound. The seal, has, it is believed, a peculiar and distinct cry; and the grampus snorts a8 it attains the surface. Frogs and other amphibious animals croak loud and long enough; but in all these ca ses the sounds are emitted, not unaer, but above the water, and by creatures rarely more thau halt aquatic. The cetaceous races have warm blood, and su-:: kle their young: and fishes, properly so ca 11 ed, are considered, as we shall presently show, erroneously, a si, lent race. The long-eared Baalamite is jast Iy reckoned tBe strangest ass men tioned in history, and a scaly creature emitting sounds may tfllly be reckoned a very odd fish indeed. A party lately crossing from the promontory in Salsette, called the Neat's Tongue, to near Sewree, were about sunset, struc.k by hearing long distinct sounds like the protracted boom ing of a distant bell, the dying cadence of an Eolian harp, the note ofa pitchpipe or pitch fOl' k, 01' any other long drawn-out musical note. It was at first supposed to be musIc from Parell floating at intervals upon the breeze; then it was perceived to come fl' om all directions almost in equal strength, and to arise from the surface of the water all around the vessel. The boatmen at once in timated that the sounds were produced by fish aboundillg in the muddy creeks and shoals around Bombay and Sal sette ; they were perfectly well ,known, and very o!len heard. Accordingly, on inclining the ear to wards the surface of the water, or better still by placing it close to the planks of the ves sel, the notes appeared long anel distinct, and followed each ether in co ns�ant succession This fish is about the size of a perch. To lIJake Superior Potato Bread. Take eight or ten large potatoes, peel and boil them; when done, make them fine and mix with half a pint 0: good yeast in the cen tre of a bowl of flour, say six quarts ; set it in a warm place to rise. When quite light, mix it up stiffwith warm water, and let it rise a second lime ; make it into loaves, let them rise, then bake slowly. ItlECHANICAL MOVEMENTS. This cut exhibits a combinatIOn by which a series of concentric clIrve lines may be des· cl' ibed on the square surface attached to the lower wheel hy rnnns of a point proceeding from the upright pal! to the right, which IS traversed by the upper wheel at the same time that the square surface i. revolved by the lo·ver. Anothc.' Parallel Ruler.
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican06101848-304a fatcat:cereqs6qwfa3fhfmiuebjvko3q