500
[Class XXII.
unquestionable success has attended the application ofgas to wamiing apartments, than to cooking, or heating■water for baths. It would, however, be unreasonableto expect the entirely successful application of a newcalorific p<wer, with an experience so limited as we nowpossess of‘he conditions under which it may he renderedavailable; and the Jury accordingly refer to these con-trivances hss for their present completeness and efficiencythan for tieir probable future importance, which, someof its menbers believe, can hardly be over-estimated.
Casting n iron forms a large and important branch ofindustry wherever the advantages of iron and fuel arepossessed t> an adequate extent. Owing to the varietyof coal-fieils, abundance of the mineral, aud improvedmodes of snelting, England is distinguished above othernations for the exuberance and cheapness of her supplyof iron, anl for the extent to which it is employed incasting. If, however, the quality of articles producedby casting be considered, the contributions from France ,Belgium, Irussia, and Austria , will show that she haspowerful rvals to contend with in that respect. Theiron castings from these countries display a sharpness,cleanness, tnd closeness of texture, and a good taste andintelligence in design, which afford much reason to doubt■whether aiy pre-eminence can be accorded to thiscountry, eicept so far as mere quantity is concerned.It is, of ceurse, not to be forgotten, that the comparisoncan only bt made within certain limits. The iron cast-ings of thif country, if they do not actually take a widerrange than the continental, do so in the Exhibition; butstill if the tomparison be confined to objects of a similarcharacter, he Jury believe that the palm of superioritymust be as.igued to the continental specimens, which onthe whole ire distinguished more highly for skilful cast-ing aud intelligent and appropriate design. Among themost emiinnt in these respects they rank the cast-ironbedstead <f J. P. V. Andre (France , 1053, p. 1229),which is exhibited in the state in which it comes fromthe mould, as a pure casting to which the file has notbeen subsemently applied. The founder, in this instance,has succeeccd, either by attention to the quality of thesand, or to the temperature of the metal, in producingimpressiom of the most beautiful distinctness. Some ofthe casting* of Morel (France , 1666, p. 1256) have alsomuch elegaice and lightness. It may be added that therailings, aid generally the iron castings exhibited onthe French side, are light and graceful in appearance;and the Jiry believe it extremely probable, that if theiron founders of France , with their facilities for obtain-ing tastefu designs, enjoyed the advantage of a largersupply of dieap material—either by improvements ontheir mod» of smelting, or by the removal of impoliticrestrictions on the importation of foreign iron—theymight, besdes greatly increasing the demand at home,become successful exporters to this country, where orna-mental casings of really excellent design and low priceare by no neans largely supplied.
The Ro'al Prussian Iron Foundry (1 Zollv., 271,p. 1064) al.o exhibits specimens of iron casting of a veryhigh order The minute and delicate castings, consistingoftrinkets small chimney ornaments, and figures, exe-cuted at Birlin by private enterprise, are already favour-ably knowi in this country. They are, it is said, theproduce of small furnaces, from which, by great care inthe choice of iron and other precautions, the foundersare enablei to obtain the metal in a degree of fluiditynecessary o fill the minute and sometimes intricatemoulds enployed. The more important works contri-buted by he Royal Prussian Iron Foundry sustain thereputation of Berlin iron casting. In particular, theJury noti'.e with approbation two cast-iron pedestalswith figuns and scrolls in high relief, surmounted byequestrian statuettes, works which they consider mostspirited am beautifully cast.
A bust (f the king of Spain , cast at the Royal Ord-nance of Truria, may also be noticed on account of thedelicacy aid precision of the impression (Spain , 280,p. 1347); aid for the same reason, busts of the king andlate queen of the Belgians, by the firm of Van derBranden aid Co,, of Brussels (Belgium , 3C3, p. 11G2).
1 The iron casting of the United Kingdom , though al-: ready, as lias beeu observed, of great extent, mightj doubtless be more largely employed for purposes both of' use and ornament. It is probable that the expense ofnew moulds, the difficulty of obtaining appropriate de-j signs, and a prejudice existing against iron on account ofi its liability to fracture and oxidation (though the latterfault may possibly be obviated), present in many casesI obstacles to its more extensive use in construction and| decoration. That it is susceptible, in casting, of the mostperfect and sharp impressions, is clearly evinced by theexamples already noticed; and the successful renderingof Mr. J. Bei.i/s statue of *• The Eagle Slayer,” by theCoalukook Dale Company (641, p. 659), shows that thecost of man}' public monuments might be reduced bybringing into use, as a substitute for bronze, a materialcheaper than zinc, and more easily procured in this coun-try. On the whole, and considering the comparativemerits of British and foreign iron casting with respectboth to execution and design, the inferiority of the formermay be said, as in other cases, to be general, and on anaverage rather than special. There are examples from theUnited Kingdom which, in all respects, may challengecomparison with the productions of any country; but theaverage merit of British iron castings of an ornamentalkind is lower than that of France or Prussia ; and it willprobably be found that the pre-eminence of those countriesis due rather to the employment of better artists for thepreparation of designs, and artisans more intelligent indesign, than to any superiority in the mere process ofcasting. In other respects, some of the continentalnations labour under disadvantages which do not affectthe United Kingdom ; and if our iron castings are in anyrespect inferior, the blame rests with our founders, whoneglect to avail themselves of all the means necessary tothe perfection of their art.
In the manufacture of locks, Wolverhampton still sus-tains its ancient reputation. Excellence of workmanship,lowness of price, and an adequate degree of security,characterise the contributions from that place, and provethe advantage of the peculiar division of labour which isadopted in the manufacture. The specimens of locksthroughout the Exhibition generally evince that the artis in a very advanced state, both here and on the Conti-nent; but still it is impossible for the Jury to ignore thefact, that the present condition of lock-making is trace-able to English ingenuity and invention; and they believethat on the whole the collection of locks on the British side deserves the place of pre-eminence. The lock onthe very well-made safe of Sommermeyer, of Magde-bourg (1 Zollv., 802, p. 1094), may be noticed honour-ably ; and the bank lock of Messrs. Day and Newell,of New York (United States , 298, p. 1453), is remark-able for ingenuity of principle, and for combinationsand arrangements which seem to render it impregnable.Locks of this description, if they could be sold at amoderate price, and made available for ordinary pur-poses, would no doubt be favourably received, and re-munerate the inventor. It is, however, a serious objec-tion to any lock, notwithstanding its ingenuity andsecurity, that the key should be so ponderous and bulkyas to require for itself a separate place of deposit and safekeeping. The smallness of the key in proportion to thesize and strength of the lock is particularly remarkablein the locks of Messrs. Bramah (653, p. 664) and ofMessrs. Chubb (646, pp. 663, 664), besides those meritsin other respects, which public opinion has so long andso amply recognised.
On the comparative security afforded by the variouslocks which have come before the Jury, they are notprepared to offer an opinion. They would merely ex-press a doubt whether the circumstance that a lock hasbeen picked under conditions which ordinarily couldscarcely ever, if at all, he obtained, can be assumed as atest of its insecurity.
In connection with locks, the Jury may refer to ironsafes and treasure-chests, of which a large number isexhibited, and which for the most part are of about equalmerit, so far as the chances of security offered by themare concerned. It seems doubtful whether much of the