MR. BERRY'S AND OTHER PATENT INVENTIONS.
IT has been observed by a lively writer, that our costume of the present day would appear, from its succinctness, to have been fashioned an order that men might dart through the world with the least possible incumbrance; and modern inventors seem to adopt the spirit of this remark, not only by increasing in various ways the facilities of loco- motion, but by administering to the convenience of the locomotive state of existence by rendering all sorts of comforts and luxuries portable, from soups to smelling-salts. The cabin of Gulliver is but a clumsy type of the modern travelling carriage with its multifarious accommo- dations; and the railroad is a far more safe and not less speedy means of transit than the roc which wafted Gulliver from the lap of his Brobdignagian protectress. Economy of space and time is con- sulted in so many compact conveniences, that to enumerate the half of them would he to swell this paragraph into a Repertory of Improve- ments.
The patent inventions of Mr. BERRY deserve especial notice, for their neatness, simplicity, and universal utility. In the next edition of the "Miseries of Human Life," the inconveniences of a smelling- bottle without a stopper, or one with the stopper irremoveably fixed, and of an ink-glass with the cork so attached to it that it prefers parting com- pany from the top rather than leave the glass, may be omitted; for in Mr. BERRY'S portable Bottles for Ink, Smelling-salts, &c. the lid is the stopper, a piece of ground glass or cahoutchouc being inserted in the top, which shuts down close upon the orifice of the bottle, and renders it air-tight. Minute as are these additions to our convenience, they are not the less welcome. Ladies especially are lovers of neatness, and every time they dip their pen in Mr. BERRY'S portable ink-glass, or have recourse to his improved smelling-bottle, they will bless the inge- nious inventor. His instantaneous Light-bottles, upon the same prin- ciple, are a convenient addition to the writing-desk: the whole ap- paratus may be screwed into one end of a ruler, at the other end of which is an ink-glass ; for these useful contrivances may be placed topsy- turvy without any danger of the escape of the contents of the bottle,
or any chance of soil to delicate fingers on opening them afterwards. The several articles are fitted up with extreme neatness, in various modes and shapes, from the plainest wood to the most costly material. A writing or dressing-case would be incomplete without them. Here is another improvement, minute and useful,—a steel pen in the shape of a duck's-head, called the Oblique Pen. We have tried various steel pens, and have found the worst of them acceptable, because they saved us the trouble—the absolute bore—of pen-mending. The Per-.
ryian Pen was a great improvement upon the common stiff and unelastic. steel pen ; but it held too small a portion of ink, and soon got out of order. The Oblique Pen will contain as much ink as a quill pen ; and it is as elastic; it glides smoothly over the surface of the paper, and does not spirt out the ink, as do some steel pens, whose points are apt to catch in the paper. Its shape is not in the least degree objec- tionable in writing ; and it retains its good qualities longer if any thing than other steel pens. The pen should be wiped dry after using, other- wise the ink causes the nibs to adhere, and it will not mark at the first stroke. When the nibs have lost their elasticity, and remain separated, the pen is no longer fit for use : bow long it lasts, depends upon its usage, like every thing else. The pens are made of various degrees of softness and delicacy, to suit different hands. We have given it a fair trial, and we afford the best proof of our favourable opinion by now adopting it for constant use.
Besides these minute improvements, we have seen at Messrs. DEA- CONS' in Demers Street, one of a larger description, but not less useful and convenient, for mounting Maps. The maps, to any number, being first strained on linen, are fastened together by means of strips of can- vas pasted at the back, so as to form one continuous volume ; which is rolled round two cylinders, after the manner of ancient manuscripts,. and passes over a brass rod raised above and between the rollers at a height sufficient to display a large map before the eye as on a frame. The machinery is simple, consisting only of a rack and cog-wheel; and by turning a winch-handle, each map is successively unfolded. An ad- ditional map may be readily inserted at any part of the roll. The ad- vantages of this Multiplying Map-roller are—a great diminution of ex- pense, facility of reference, and economy of space. The apparatus may either be fitted to a library-table, or fill that space against the wall of an apartment which a single map when unrolled would occupy. Maps of ' all sizes may be inserted; and the principle is also applicable to prints.
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