Theatre of Instruments and Machines

DECLARATION.

can be transferred, by that beam which leans toward the south, parallel to the western line and 1 p. 11 p. distant from it, which two men push: the rest pertains to the stability of the machine and to the motion of lifting. In that part which is 1 p. 6 p. distant from the western line and 1 p. 17 p. from the meridian line is a trispast, from whose windlass a rope is led to the end of the rostrum of the machine, from which, by ropes, hangs the polypast of architects, in which, as was said before, the greatest force of pulling resides. It remains that we warn the reader that the rope depicted, other than that which we mentioned, is empty. In the rest, however, the picture is to be imitated.

PROP. LVI.

The construction of a machine hitherto unknown, by which, through the principle of the balance-beam, a ship equipped with all its armament can be lifted on high by a single hand and led into a port, or led out from a port.

Declaration of the 56th figure.

How great the force of the tripled and multiplied balance-beam is, is shown here. This part which is 1 p. 14 p. distant from the northern line is the fulcrum of the machine, which rests on an intermediate axis so that it may move freely; the rest pertains to the stability of the motion. Higher to the west is the rostrum or first balance-beam, which is pulled by the second, in whose base the angle of a triangle appears; this triangle is for binding the balance-beams and moving the fulcrum. In the base of the second balance-beam, at a point 2 p. 9 p. distant from the meridian line and 1 p. 6 p. from the east, is a hinge, around which is turned a pole extending from the corner of the west and south to the north, at whose extremities are chains with rings for placing weights. This, however, assists as much as the balance-beam does the others, so that at last the force of all joined together is greatest. From the hinge of the aforementioned pole toward the south is a small pin binding the pole, at whose northern extremity are chains with weights so that the worker may be assisted in lifting the ship that has been grasped.

PROP. LVII.

An artifice not yet common, placed in the hold of a ship, by which seawater is admitted, which, agitated by the motion of the ship, with wheels driven and balanced, exactly defines the space of the journey completed.

Declaration of the 57th figure.

In the ship there is a channel by which water is introduced, which is moved by the motion of the ship and moves a small wheel which moves another in turn, as in clocks, so that the indicator, by the multiplication of wheels and numbers, finally records the miles. I know the arrangement of the wheels, but how many teeth are needed I have not yet tested. Let those who devote themselves to navigation investigate it.

PROP. LVIII.

A new artifice for extracting from the deep of the sea a sunken merchant ship, provided the multitude of waters does not exceed thirty cubits, or unless the ship is buried under an excessive mass of mud or sand, or is thoroughly broken.

Declaration of the 58th figure.

By the duplication of endless screws, this is done without difficulty. The sunken ship is joined to the eastern line by ropes so that it may be lifted on high, four of which extend to the surface of the water to be wound onto windlasses. There are windlasses at the prow and stern of two ships floating on the water above the sunken ship, which are joined together by timbers; in each of the assemblies of the prows and sterns of the joined ships is a doubled trispast, which the reader will be able to explore if my words are understood and he considers the figure diligently. He will also see that the eastern trispasts receive motion from those two men who are in the ship, and the western ones from those who are within that same assembly; again...