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This volume, compiled in the 1820s, contains an encyclopedia article, extracts and writings, diagrams, tables, and newspaper clippings pertaining to the design and construction of canals.

This volume (450 pages), compiled in the 1820s, contains extensive information on the design and construction of canals. The first few pages include a manuscript subject index. Pages 1-155 consist of a printed encyclopedia article about canals, bound directly into the volume. Other articles and fragments of articles are included, including the entire entry for "Canada."

The remaining pages consist of manuscript extracts, writings, and notes about canals, illustrated with colored diagrams and drawings. The volume includes sections about types of locks; tunnels; drawbridges; excavation; building materials, labor, and costs; water supply; the effects of rain and evaporation on canals; and hydraulics. Sections focus on canals in the United States, England, Wales, and France. The manuscript contains tables of data about the number and length of canals in each country. Specific structures, such as the Ohio & Chesapeake Canal, Union Canal, and Erie Canal are described and used as examples throughout the text. Illustrations include diagrams of locks, tunnels, and canals; a depiction of a method for burrowing out soil using a horse and several workers (p. 370); and a map of France highlighting its canals (p. 424). Notes, newspaper clippings, and additional drawings are laid into the volume.

This volume (209 pages) contains instructions, diagrams, and tables related to many aspects of sailing and British naval ships.

This volume (209 pages) contains instructions, diagrams, and tables related to many aspects of sailing and British naval ships. Multiple unidentified writers contributed to this book.

The first section is comprised of a manuscript excerpt from S. John Peschell's Observations upon the Fitting of Guns on Board His Majesty's Ships. Peschell, who was stationed on the HMS San Domingo in Bermuda, provided instructions for mounting, firing, and otherwise working with guns onboard a ship. He also discussed some differences between the Royal Navy and United States Navy, and wrote about the battle between the Shannon and the Chesapeake. The text is accompanied by charts showing elevations and depressions of the San Domingo's guns and a copied letter from several ship captains to Admiral Richard Bickerton.

The remainder of the volume consists primarily of notes about naval vessels, intended for commanders. They concern ship construction, sailing methods, gunnery and first aid. Some instructions are accompanied by diagrams. Other information includes recipes, a list of items to be placed next to a ship's guns, and notes about ammunition. The end of the volume contains accounts of quill tubes, powder, shot, and wads on an unidentified ship from 1824-1825, and a list of addresses.