r i l filmier nn be sep irated rrorflthem, by proper filtr ition ; but the latter I be disen ;ag 1. either by pre- croit itio i or distillation. AJthdu jh the utility of filtration is thus limit- ed to the noxious particles mixed with liqit . Buch as foul water, yel il is sufficiently impor- tant to deserve some attention*. The common filters are of two sorts; namely, simple pieces of paper, or cloth, through which the fiuid is pas e I; or similar materials twisted up in the same manner as skeins or wicks j they are first wet- ted, then s [U ezed, and one end {Hit into the vessel, which contains the liquor to be filtrated j the other end is to be suspended beneath the surface of the liquor, the purest parts of which drop gradually out ci the vessel, leaving behind the coarser particles. These filters, however, are not calculated for domestic use : hence different machines have been in- vented for the purpose of purify- ing turbid water. But among these various contrivances, tew appear to possess the advantage of sim- plicity, combined with that of af- fording an ample supply of a fluid so essentially necessary to the pre- servation of health. — A patent has lately been granted to Mr. James Peacock, of Finsbury-square, for a filtering machine, which is stated to be superior to any hitherto in- vented. It completely accomplishes the purpose of filtration, by caus- ing the turbid fluid to ascend through a medium of fine gravel, of progressive degrees of fineness, by which means the foulest water or other fluid becomes perfectly freed from all (mixed) impurities, ■without any noxious mineral qua- lity, which pumice or other com- mon filtering stones are suspected rir, [*>is to communicate. Should, from continual teration become in a r !, it may be co ap] nsed with the greatest facility in the short s ofoneminuh ; an advantage pos- sessed bj rtdne < fthe common ma- chines that opera 1 ! - by descent. Be- side these useful properties, Mr. Peacock's filtering machine does not occupy more room than a large drip-stone with its apparatus, and yields a constant and pure stream of more than 300 gallons- in 24 hours. — A specimen of this ma- chine is deposited for inspection at Guildhall, London. As we are, from a principle of justice to the public, no advocates for patent inventions that upon the whole, arise from the same mercenary and contracted source as patent quack medicines; ■ we shall recommend a very simple and effectual apparatus, by which the purest water may be easily pro- cured. This contrivance is calcu- lated on the plan of the celebrated filtering machine creeled at Paris, in the vicinity of the Samarataine, and by means of which the -foul water of the river Seine is so com- pletely purified, as to be divested of its laxative properties. Besides, this machinery, if constructed on a large scale, is well adapted to sup- ply the largest breweries, or dye- ing works, with any quantity of pure water at a trifling expence, and is attended with very little ad- ditional trouble. When we reflect on the method which Nature pursues in the fil- tration of water, we find that such waters as descend from hills, tho' passing through sand and rocks, are seldom perfe6tly pure ; but that those are the most limpid, which, by ascendiner, ooze out near T 2 the
