| Description | (Begun on 26 Oct., but evidently not completed on the same day. Directed to Johann Christian Wiegleb’s.) (3 pcs.)
My dear Son,
My last letter was adress'd to you at Mr. Frege's at Leipzig, since which I have not had the satisfaction of hearing one tittle of you, your last letter being from Leipzig, receiv'd in August, sans date; and my anxiety is much encreased by not knowing what country you're in, whether in good or bad health, or under the roof of a friend or an enemy. I cannot suppose that my comfort is a matter of indifference to you, and therefore I must atribute your silence to indolence, which is a most ruinous quality for a man of business. I must therefore request of you to alter your conduct and write to me regularly once a week, or, at longest, once a fortnight; surely you cannot think half an hour per week too much to bestow on me, when you know how much pleasure it afford[s] me, and your other friends, to hear good tydings of you.
I have this morning been reading over a number of copys of letters that have passed between John Garbett and the Bishop of Blois in France, also to Lord Lansdown, to his father, his sisters, and grandfather, which certainly shew such marks of attention, good sense, politeness, and knowledge of books and men as must yield great happiness to his parents and pleasure to his friends. Nevertheless, I have as high an opinion of my son's head and heart as of his, but the want of punctuality and industry are alloys to his character; however, I hope he will soon regain all that is loosing.
I hope this will find you at Langensalitze in the house of Mr. Wiegleb (for I don't like the idea of your living at an inn), where I beg you will begin a regular course of chymistry, that you will not only consider it as a matter of amusement but as a matter of real business, and that you will take such pains in makeing notes of every thing that you ought to remember, so that nothing essential escape you and be lost. Hereafter you will find that a clear and distinct knowledge of that science will be found to be one of the corner foundation stones of your education.
Mr. Keir is now writing a new Dictionary of Chymistry, which will be the most compleat book every yet published on that subject, as it will contain all the modern discoveries and modern opineons of Monsieur Le Voicier and his adherents, and those fairly contrasted with the opineons of the phlogistick chymists; and I particularly recommend to your perusal Mr. Keir's preface, which is the best written of any thing in that line I ever read, as it is keen, fine, satirical, and polite. I shall find an opportunity of sending the first and the only part of it yet published, and which is a very important part, as under the letter A comes acids, alkalys, airs; and I beg you will present it to Mr. Wiegleb with my compliments, beging his acceptance of it and your perusal of it dureing your stay with him.
Alass, poor Mr. Day was thrown from his horse about three weeks ago and kill'd upon the spot without uttering one word. His lady hath sent me a mourning ring, which I shall wear as a memento of the uncertaintly of life and of all terestial happiness. He was a charitable good man, good husband, sincere friend, but rather inclinable a little to the misanthrope.
Mr. and Mrs. Matthews have been at Soho, but return'd home last week. The winter is now approaching apace and the throng of company at Soho begins to abate, so that I hope to have more opportunities of writing to you than I have had for some time past.
When I first mention'd a wish for you to go to Langensalitze I did not know it was so near a certain Baron's, or it would have been an objection, but I hope you have discression enough to avoid temptation, or to leap from the tops of Dover's clifts into the sea of ruin inevitable.
I know not where to direct this letter to you, and therefore I shall send it to Mr. Reinhard, as I presume he will know whether you are at Friberg or Langensalitze.
I saw Mr. Striber yesterday and expect him here every minute. If you should see any part of his family, please to let them know he is in good health.
I and the rest of the freeholders of this parish have had several meetings, and at length have agreed with Mr. Birch (who is the lord of the manor), the rector Mr. Lane, and with each other, to divide and inclose the commons, and shall apply for an Act as soon as Parliament meet; and in case I can have the land I wish and agree with Mr. Birch, I propose to build you a house; otherwise I shall change my plan.
Pray have you the means of reading the English news papers, or have you authentick intelligence of what passes in France? This is an epocha of great moment and worth every young man's attention. You see the king and queen of France are fall'n from their high station at Versailles, and are now little more than state prisoners in the Louvre.
In the course of all your travils and acquaintance, pray enquire if any steam engines are wanted in Saxony or any other parts of Germany, as I wish to cultivate a foreign trade in that branch; besides, it will be improving your self and introduceing you into business, and serving me and your self. We are desireous of erecting engines all over the world; and, from haveing already erected about three hundred, we, of consequence, have more practical as well as more scientifical knowledge than any other persons, in the construction of steam engines. We have had many philosophical and mechanical robbers, who have come here under false names and pretences, but they have all fail'd in makeing good machines upon returning to their own countries, after laying out a much greater sum than they might have purchased of us perfect machines than would have burnt much less coals than those they have erected, and thereby have preserv'd their honour, their money, and reduced there enterprise to a certainty.
cubic feet of water
The expence in fuel of raising 500,000 to the height of one foot
is the cost of one bushel of coal, or 50,000 ten feet with one bushel,
or 5,000 one hundred feet with ditto,
or 500 one thousand feet high.
And for our rotative engines, one bushel of coal will grind as much corn, or raise as much weight, or do as much work in any respect, as two of the very strongest horses, or three common horses, can do per day; for a horse can't work very hard more than six hours per day and keep up his flesh.
We have lately improved the rotative mills so as to make them as managable, and full as regular, as any water wheels can be; and, as they are never retarded by floods, by frosts, by draughts, or from the want of wind, and as they can now be erected in towns without makeing any smoak, or in any other situations, so they become more usefull than water or wind mills.
A bushel of coals weighs 84 pounds averdepois, and one bushel of Newcastle coal is equal in effect to 100 pounds of Stafforshire coals. Any question you can't answer upon the subject you may write to me upon. I will send you other facts and calculations, but you must keep them to your self, and only answer particular questions, which questions you should receive in writing, and then tell them you will give an answer in writing, which you may do by sending me the question.
I wish you could find the means of sending two of the half pence to the Duke of Weymar, with a good translation of my paper with them. I have just set Mr. Striber to make a translation of it into German, but I own I should like to have a translation of it into elegant language by Mr. Reinhard or some man of letters. You may also send Mr. Reinhard one of the ½d. I will, however, send you Striber's translation so soon as I can get it copyed.
I have sent you three small sets of steel buttons in the box, which will serve for you to make presents of to your friends, as sometimes small presents serve to cultivate friendships and to repay obligations in a manner mutualy agreeable to both giver and receiver. As this box is to go round by Hamburg I fear it will be long in reaching you, and therefore I desire you would enquire if there is any other means of sending small parcels to you, and let me know. I desired Lawson to put into the box four of the medals which I struck upon the recovery of our king, but he forgot.
I think I shall publish in some of the German papers some account of my new coining machine, which is one of the most ingenious, most mechanical, and most philosophical I ever invented, and the most perfect; and I doubt not but in time it will be adopted by all the princes on earth who coin money, as it will save great expences, much time, and much risk, as very few people are only necessary.
Pray tell me whether Mr. Wigleb is one of the phlogistick or antiphlogistick chymists.
As you have in your possession tables ready calculated to shew diameters of circles, areas of those diameters, weights in English averdepois pounds, of cylinders of waters one fathom long (or say 6 feet), you may readily answer any questions that may be required of you, but you had better make your calculations alone, that you may not be confused.
The questions will come under one or other of the following, viz.
1st. Query, what sized engine is necessary to work a given pump to a given depth?
2d. Query,what sized pump will a given engine work to a given depth?
3d. Query, to what depth will a given engine work a given pump?
Example of first query:
Suppose I want to work a pump 120 feet high (or 20 fathom) and the pump is 12 in. diameter. Query, what size should the engine be to work it?
One fathom of water 12 in. diameter (or, say, the water in a pump that is 12 ins. diameter) weighs 294,5 lb. x by 20 fathoms = 5890 pounds, which is the weigh[t] of a column of water 12 ins. diameter and 20 fathom high (as you'l see by your tables). Now, divide 5890 lb. by the number of pounds weight which you mean to load your engine with per square inch, say 10 lb. per square inch; then cut off one figure, and there remains 589, which is the number of square inches that ought to be contain'd in a circle whose diameter ought to be the diameter of the cylinder wanted. Look into your table, and you'l find that the area of a cylinder or a piston 27 inches diameter is 572 ins., which is rather too small, and therefore I prefer to take the next number, which is 28, and that area is 615 square inch; but in general I should prefer loading my engine only with 9 lb. per square inch, as the engine will work quicker and 'tis better to have a little too much power than too little, and in that case I should divide the weight of the column of water by 9:
total load
9 lb. ) 5890
654
Hence the area should be 654 square inches and requires a cylinder 29 in. diameter, which is = to 660 square inches.
From the foregoing I presume you'l understand how to answer questions coming under the first head; and now for those under the second head:
Suppose an engine 72 ins. diameter is employ'd to raise water to the height, or from the depth, of 100 fathom. Query, what size should the pump be?
[Marginal heading: Questions under the second head.] The area of a 72 is = 4071,5 square ins.; x 10 lb. = 40715 pounds for the load; divide by 100 fathom = 407 for one fathom; then look into your table and see what is the diameter of one fathom of water that comes to the nearest to that weight, and you'l find that one fathom of a pump 14 ins. diameter gives 400 lb. of water, which is as large as should be taken in that case. But if you was to load your engine to 9 lb. per in., then x 4071,5 by 9 and the load will be = 36643 pounds; ÷ by 100 fathoms = 366½, and in that case a 13 in. pump or 13 1/3 would be nearest that weight. N.B. In such great weights it's not necessary to go into fractions.
[Marginal heading: Questions under the third head.] Now for queries of the third class:
To what depth or height will an engine whose diameter is 60 inches work a pump whose diameter is 30 inches?
The area of 60 is = 2827 x 10 lb. = 28270 lb. ÷ 1840 lb., which is the weight of one fathom of water whose diameter is 30 inches.
1840 ) 28270 15 fathom, or, say, 90 feet high.
1840
9870
9200
There is a fourth class of questions, viz. what quantity of water will a given engine raise from a given depth? These questions properly come under the second class, for by looking into your table you'l find what quantity of water is contain'd in one fathom of any sized pump, and you'l find it express'd in cubic feet in one column and in pounds weight in another. Thus, in case the second pump of 14 inches diameter contains 400 pounds weight of water, or it contains 6,4 cubic feet (say, 6 41/100 cubic feet) of water; and therefore, if the stroke of the pump is 6 feet long, that will be the quantity; but if it is 9 feet long, it will be encreased in the ratio of 9 to 6, or as 3 to 2.
N.B. An English cubic foot of river water of a temperate degree (say, 60 of your thermometer) weighs exactly 1000 ounces or 62½ pound averdepois; but if these calculations are to be reduced into foreign weights and measures, then recourse must be had to their relative proportions to English weights and measures.
When you are quite master and ready at these calculations, I will mention many other improvments we have made, which you'l readily suppose when I tell you that we have an engine at work that raises a column of water 18 inches diameter to the height of 140 fathom, which is the most powerfull engine in the world, and it makes 12 strokes per minute. [Marginal note: Tell me the size of this cylinder in your next.]
Our engines make from 80 to 120 foot of stroke per minute, according to their load and the length of each stroke. They commonly make from 10 to 16 strokes per minute, but our rotative engines make from 16 to 60, or even 100, strokes per minute.
I will finish this letter next post.
M.B.
Thank God. Since writing the inclosed I have receiv'd my dear son's letter from Langensalza, which relieves me from my anxiety and makes me happy.
I have this moment given Lawson orders (and I will see that 'tis done directly) to look out the small collection of fossills you write for, and will make you an abstract of my catologue, for the many repeatitions of the same things would be unnecessary.
I observe your remarks on Mr. W.: although pharmancy may be out of your line, yet some knowledge of it, and seeing the operations, will always be usefull. I consider Mr. W. as a good practical chymist, and particularly in all those branches which relate to the Arts in general. I beg you will make drawings of all his furnices and his utensills of every sort, as well as make notes of all his lectures. It will teach you to make the opporations, will teach you the German chymical language, and will afford you an opportunity of learning much chymistry by reading. I will not fail sending you the first volume of Mr. Keir's dictionary, which I beg you will peruse attentivly and study till you understand it well. I think I shall send you Dr. Black's lectures in MS., 5 vols.
Mr. Keir and Mr. from Viena, whose father is a great botanist, dine with me to day; he knows Mr. Wiglib.
Of all things I beg, for God's sake and my sake and your own sake, that you will not learn to play at any game at cards, for if you once play, you will have no excuse when you are pressed to play; rather acquire the character of an unsociable fellow that prefers studying chymistry or literature to playing at cards. You will in all probability find some young acquaintance that prefers science to the killing of time with gambling; for after a man hath play'd at whist seven years he will not have acquired one new idea, and life is too short, I know, to acquire half the knowledge that is necessary and desireable. Of all things pray be very circumspect in the choice of your company.
Tell me your company and I'll tell you what you are, is an old proverb that all the world knows to be a true and just one. I will write to you again soon, and in the intrem pray present my compliments to Mr. Wigleb and tell [him] I will without delay send him some English fossills.
Your sister and Miss Mynd are well, and desire their love, and your sister will write soon, and oftener, to you.
Mr. Striber dined with me yesterday, when I took him a part and gave him a serious and severe lecture, and I hope will have the effect to make him return to his friends and settle to business, which he has promised me he will do in the spring.
God bless and preserve you, my dear son. I am ever your most affectionate father and most sincere friend,
Mattw. Boulton
[Edited transcript.] |