SEWING-MACHINES. Machines of this kind, until within a few years, have attracted but little attention ; but as they are coining into use, and are found to an swer an excellent purpose, the inventor is ingeniously exercising his skill to im prove them. No less than five patents have been granted this year for sewing machines. One of these is a re-issue of a patent granted some years ago, and need not be noticed. Two of the others are much alike, differing only in minor parti culars. The cloth in each, with its edge properly presented to the needle, is se cured to a proper feeding apparatus. The needle is placed perpendicular to the cloth, in a frame sliding back and forth for inserting and withdrawing it ; the eye is near the point. On the opposite side of the cloth is a twisted hook, which slides endwise in a direction nearly perpendicu lar to the needle ; as the needle passes through, fhe thread is caught by the hook and drawn sidewise, forming a loop. When the needle again passes through the cloth, it passes through this loop also, and the hook moves forward, releasing the old loop and seizing the new thread, forms a new loop passing through the old one. This operation combined produces
what is well-known as the tambour stitch. In another of these machines the thread is carried through the cloth by a bent needle, with the eye near the point. The shape of the needle leaves a space between it and the thread. A shuttle upon a cir cular way on the side of the cloth opposite the needle, has in it a bobbin of thread. This shuttle is sharp pointed and curved to adapt it to the way, and as it moves around it passes through the opening be ween the needle and the thread, and the needle is then withdrawn., leaving a loop of its own thread around the thread of the bobbin. This, if continued, will pro duce a seam. The shuttle is driven by two arms from the centre shaft with pins in their ends taking into perforations one in each end of the shuttle, and whenever one of these pins approaches the thread of the needle, it is raised out of the way and the shuttle is driven by the other.
Various forms of these machines have been patented, such as Watson's, Wil son's, Lerow and Blodgett's, &e.