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Actuarial  DepaiUiieni: 

* — • — • . — 

Canada  Life  Assurance 
c^^  Company.  ^§Q    ^ 


niEWSTER,  K.H:    j 


7^ 

Ny  THE 

YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS 

IN 

^timtt  anir  girt: 

EXHIBITING 

THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  DISCOVERIES  AND  IMPROVEMENTS 
OF  THE  PAST  YEAR, 

IN     MECHANICS     AND     THE     USEFUL    ARTS ;     NATURAL     PHILOSOPHY  ; 

ELECTRICITY;    CHEMISTRY;    ZOOLOGY  AND  BOTANY;    GEOLOGY 

AND  GEOGRAPHY  ;    METEOROLOGY  AND  ASTRONOMY. 

By  JOHN  TIMES, 

EDITOR  OF   "  THE  ARCANA  OF  SCIENCE  AND  ART." 

lEUuatrateD  toit^  lEngrabtngs* 

"  The  industrious  ants  of  Science  laboriously  bring  to  her  granaries  their  numerous  *hou?h 
•mall  additions;  and,  in  truth,  accumulate  Facts  destined  for  materials  for  the  preater  minds, 
that  reason  and  systematiie."— The  Maruuis  of  NoaTHA.MPTO«  ;  Proc.  Brit.  Assoc.  1&48. 


The  Britannia"  Tubular  Railway  Bridge,  aoroM  the  Menal  StraiU.    By  Robert  Stephenton.  y 

—Seepages.      ^H. 


LONDON : 
DAVID  BOGUE,  FLEET  STREET.  %'^ 

MDCCCXLIX. 


LONDON: 

VILSON  AND   OGILVY,   PRINTERS, 

Skinner  Street,  Siiowhill. 


SIR    DAVID    BREWSTER. 

{See  the  Frontitpiece.) 

Sir  David  Brewster  is  a  native  of  Jedburgh,  in  Roxburghshire;  where 
he  was  born  Dec.  11, 1781.  He  was  educated  for  the  Church  of  Scotland,  of 
whicJi  he  became  a  licentiate  ;  and  in  1800,  he  received  the  honorary  degree 
of  M.  A  from  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  While  studying  here,  .Mr.  Brewster 
enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Robison,  who  then  filled  the  Chair  of  Natural  Phi- 
iDsophy  ;  Playfair,  of  Mathematics ;  and  Dugald  Stewart  that  of  Moral  Philo- 
>ophy.' 

In  1808,  Mr.  Brewster  undertook  the  editorship  of  the  Edinburgh  Encydo- 
/K-erfifl,  which  was  only  finished  in  1830.  In  1807,  he  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  LL.D.  fromthe  University  of  Aberdeen  ;  and  in  1808,  was  elected  a 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh. 

Between  1801  and  1812,  Dr.  Brewster  devoted  his  attention  greatly  to  the 
study  of  Optics  ;  and  the  results  were  published  in  a  "  Treatise  on  New  Phi- 
losophical Instruments,"  in  1813. 

In  1811,  while  writing  the  article  "  Burning  Instruments"  for  the  Edin- 
burgh Enci/cloptedia,  "  he  was  led  (from  the  proposal  of  Buffon  for  construct- 
ing a  lens  of  great  diameter,  out  of  a  single  piece  of  glass,  by  cutting  out  the 
central  parts  in  successive  ridges,  like  steps  of  a  stair— a  proposal,  he  justly 
obsenes,  practically  impossible),  to  suggest  the  construction  of  a  lens  out  of 
zones  of  glass,  each  of  which  might  be  built  up  of  several  circular  segments, 
and  thus  form  an  apparatus  for  the  illumination  of  light-houses,  of  unequalled 
power.  This  beautiful  invention  was  afterwards  more  fully  developed  by  him 
in  the  '  Edinburgh  Transactions.'  "* 

In  1815,  Dr.  Brewster  received  the  Copley  Medal  of  the  Royal  Society  for 
one  of  his  discoveries  in  optical  science ;  and  soon  after  was  admitted  a  Fel- 
low of  that  body.  In  1816,  the  Institute  of  France  adjudged  to  him  half  of 
the  physical  prize  of  3000  francs,  awarded  for  two  of  the  most  important  dis- 
coveries made  in  Europe,  in  any  branch  of  science,  during  the  two  preceding 
years;  and  in  1819,  Or.  Brewster  received  from  the  Royal  Society  the  Rum- 
lord  Gold  and  Silver  Medals,  for  his  discoveries  on  the  Polarization  of  Light. 
In  1816,  Dr.  Brewster  invented  the  Kaleidoscope,  the  patent-right  of  which 
was  evaded,  so  that  the  inventor  gained  little  beyond  fame  ;  though  the  large 
sale  of  the  instrument  must  have  produced  considerable  profit. 

In  1819,  Dr.  Brewster,  in  conjunction  with  Professor  Jameson,  established 
the  "  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal ;"  and  subsequeatly.  Dr.  I'.rewster 
commenced  the  *'  Edinburgh  Journal  of  Science,"  of  which  sixteen  volumes 
appeared.  To  both  works  we  have  been  much  indebted  for  aid,  in  our 
Arcana  of  Science  and  Year-book  of  Facts. 

In  1825,  the  Institute  of  France  elected  Dr.  Brewster  a  Corresponding  Mem- 
ber ;  and  he  has  received  the  same  honour  from  the  Royal  Academies  of 
Russia,  Prussia,  Sweden,  and  Denmark. 

In  1831,  Dr.  Brewster  proposed  the  meeting  at  York,  which  led  to  the  esta- 
blishment of  "The  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science :"  to 
this  event  the  noble  President,  the  Marquis  of  Norlhampton,  gracefully  re- 
ferred at  the  Meeting  of  the  British  Association,  held  at  .Swansea,  in  1848. 

In  1831,  Dr.  Brewster  received  the  Decoration  oi  the  Hanoverian  Guelphic 
'  )rder ;  and  in  the  following  year,  the  honour  of  Knighthood  from  King' 
William  IV. 

Sir  David  Brewster  has  edited  and  written  various  works,  besides  contri- 
buting largely  to  the  "  Edinburgh  Review,"  the  '*  Transactions  of  the  British 
Association,"  and  other  scientiric  societies ;  and  the  "  North  British  Review." 
Amon:r  his  more  popular  works  are  a  Treatise  on  the  Kaleidoscope  ;  an  ori- 
ginal Treatise  on  Optics  for  the  '•  Cabinet  Cycloi)a.'(lia;"  and  Letters  on  Na- 
tural Magic,  and  a  Life  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  for  the  "  Family  Library."  Tlie 
latter  work  has  been  translated  into  German.  Sir  David  Brewster  is  likewise 
one  of  the  Editors  of  the  "  lyuidon  and  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Magazine." 
We  are  compelled  by  want  of  space  to  omit  an  enumeration  of  hieh  olHcial 
positions  which  Sir  David  Brewster  has  filled,  and  now  occupies.  Tlie  follow- 
ing gratifying  intelligence  of  an  additituial  honorary  distinction  conferred 
upon  the  distingui-shed  philosopher  appeared  in  La  Prette  .—*'  \t  the  sitting 
Of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  (at  Paris),  on  the  2d  of  January,  Sir  David  was 

•  Memoir  by  Dr.  Cooke  Taylor  in  "  Fislier's  National  Port  rait  Gallery." 


elected  one  of  the  eight  Foreign  Associate  Members  of  the  National  Institute 
of  France,  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  celebrated  chemist,  M.  Berzelius.  This 
honour,  coveted  by  the  most  illustrious  philosophers  of  Europe  and  of  the 
whole  world,  is  conferred  by  the  Academy  only  after  a  rigorous  examination 
of  the  scientific  claims  of  the  candidates,  who  are  proposed  to  the  Institute 
by  a  commission  of  five  members,  of  which  M.  Arago  was  on  this,  as  on  for- 
mer occasions,  the  reporter.  The  friends  of  the  other  candidates  withdrew 
their  pretensions,  in  order  to  allow  justice  to  be  done  to  the  merits  of  the 
illustrious  Scotch  philosopher.  The  eight  Associate  Members  of  the  Institute 
are  generally  regarded  as  the  eight  greatest  celebrit^s  in  the  beamed  vforld. 
We  shall  not  mention  the  other  candiuates  who  were  put  upon  the  list,  and 
are  reserved  for  a  future  nomination.  We  shall  soon  give  a  detailed  account 
in  this  journal  of  the  discoveries  of  Sir  David  Brewster,  who,  from  the  kaleido- 
scope to  the  law  of  the  angle  of  polarisation,  the  physical  laws  of  metallic 
reflection,  and  the  optical  properties  of  crystals,  is  the  author  of  an  immense 
number  of  facts  and  practical  applications  in  every  branch  of  optics." 

***  Our  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  courtesy  of  Messrs.  Henneman 
and  Malone,  of  Regent  Street,  Photographers  to  Her  Majesty,  for  the  loan  of 
a  beautifully  executed  Talbotype  of  Sir  David  Brewster,  whence  the  accompa- 
nying Portrait  has  been  engraved. 


CONTENTS 


MECHANICAL,  USEFUL,  and  DECORATIVE  ARTS 

NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY  .... 

ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE 

CHEMICAL  SCIENCE 

NATURAL  HISTORY : 

Zoology       

Botany 

GEOLOGY  and  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY     - 

ASTRONOMICAL  and   METEOROLOGICAL  PHENO 

MENA: 

With  a  Meteorological  Summary  for  the  Year 
OBITUARY 
of  Persons  eminent  in  Science  or  Art,  1848    - 


-  5—110 

-  111—147 

-  148—165 

-  166—187 


188—205 
206—219 

220—267 


3—281 


282 


YEAR-BOOK    OF    FACTS, 

i^ccj^antcal  and  ^$d'j\  ^rts. 


THE  GREAT  TUBULAR  BRIDGES  ON  THE  CHESTER  AND  HOLYHEAD 
RAILWAY. 

(See  Vignette.) 

The  final  operation  of  lowering  the  second  Tube  Bridge  at  Conway, 
for  the  return  line  to  Louiion,  on  the  Chester  and  Holyhead  Railway,  and 
the  placing  of  it  on  its  permanent  bed,  has  been  accomplished.  The  stu- 
pendous mass  of  1,300  tons  was  suspended  on  chains  for  a  period  of  ten 
days,  during  which  time  the  engineers  and  pilots  were  engaged  in  ad- 
justing the  bed-plates,  rollers,  and  masonry.  The  tube  was  likewise 
lengthened  6  feet  at  each  end :  this  additional  length  alone  weighing  up- 
wards of  60  tons.  Under  the  direction  of  Mr.  R.  Stephenson,  Captain 
Claston,  and  Mr.  Edwin  Clarke,  the  whole  Bridge,  with  its  permanent 
way  for  the  passage  of  the  trains,  complete  and  ready  for  use,  was  then 
gradually  lowered,  by  means  of  the  hydraulic  presses  which  raised  it,  on 
to  a  bed  of  red  and  white  lead,  spread  over  the  creosoted  timber,  which 
equalized  the  weight  on  the  cast  iron  bed- plates  and  rollers,  to  allow  for 
the  varying  temperature.  The  tube  is  now  in  use  for  the  transit  of  trains. 
The  operation  of  floating  and  raising  tiie  tubes,  and  state  of  the  works  in 
March  last,  will  be  found  efiectively  represeuted  in  the  Illustrated  London 
News,  No.  307. 

'•  The  Britannia"  bridge,  upon  the  same  principle  as  that  at  Conway, 
but  upon  a  much  grander  scale,  is  rapidly  advancing  towards  completion. 

^Ve  have,  in  previous  Year-books,  described  this  vast  work  ;  and  in 
No.  353  of  the  Illustrated  Lovdon  News  will  be  found  a  scries  of  en- 
gravings, showing  the  state  of  the  works  at  the  close  of  1818,  accom- 
panied by  descriptive  details ;  the  whole  derived  from  Mr.  Edwin  Clarke 
and  other  oflicial  sources.  We  have  engraved  the  bridge  complefe.  in  the 
title-page  of  the  present  volume  ;  and  quote  a  few  of  the  above  details : — 

The  pile  of  masonry  on  the  Anglesey  side  of  the  Straits  is  completed  :  it  is 
143  feet  6  inches  liii^li ;  aii<l,  from  the  front  to  the  end  of  the  winff  walls,  is 
173  feet.     Tin-  is  teniiinatc  in  pedestals,  on  wliich  repose  two  co- 

lossal lions,  oi  Kiractcr. 

The  second  1  nry  is  the  AnfflcRcy  Pier.    This  pier  Is  at  present 

about  1.i7f»'et  lii;:li  ;  iln  Icvol  of  tho  l)Otto?n  of  the  tubes  bemif  124  fet't  a!>ove 
low  wntfT.    The  (limtMisions  of  the  pier  ar«'  55  feet  wide,  by  32  feet  long.    The 

total  l,rl_'lit.ul,.|M-,,l,.plrt..,l.uill  l.r  I'Hifeet. 

!  'inds  thf  nritamiia  Rock  (from  which 

t:  rock  the  Britannia  I'ler  is  foinuhtl ; 

ii  :           ,•  low-wHtcr  nuirk,  or  7  feet  above  the 

I'  It  lb  ciiiiully  dintant  from  tiio  .\iiKl<>Hey  and  Carnarvon 

r  III  tiiR  cicur  from  I'nch,  iind  will  Kustain  the  four  ends  of 

ti;  which  Kpuii  tlu- distance  from  ^liori"  to  shore. 


6  TEAR-BOOK  OT  FACTS. 

The  Carnarvon  Pier  is  next  in  succession,  the  masonry  of  which  is  nearly 
completed.    It  is  the  same  in  every  respect  as  the  Anglesey  Pier. 

The  Carnarvon  Abutment  is  also  of  a  similar  character  to  the  one  on  the 
Anerlesey  shore.  „       ,  ^    i     ^   -i^ 

The  two  pairs  of  short  tubes,  which  are  250  feet  long,  are  to  be  built  on 
scaffolding  at  the  proper  height,  and  in  the  exact  position  which  they  will  be 
required  to  occupy  when  completed,  the  scaffolding  being  then  removed  from 
under  them.  The  two  pairs  of  long  tubes,  which  are  each  470  feet  long,  are 
in  a  very  forward  state,  and  are  being  built  on  platforms  erected  along  the 
Carnarvon  shore.  ,         ,  .  ..       t,  •       xu  * 

The  tubes  are  similar  to  the  one  at  Conway ;  the  only  variation  being  that 
these  tubes  are  58  feet  longer  and  three  feet  higher ;  and,  consequently,  in  so 
much  heavier.    The  arrangements  for  floating  aiyl  raising  are  also  similar. 

The  four  colossal  lions  which  adorn  the  pedestals  at  either  end  of  the  bridge 
are,  as  we  have  before  observed,  of  Egyptian  character,  and  are  truly  admirable 
in  design  and  workmanship.  They  are  each  25  feet  6  inches  in  length,  and  12 
feet  6  inches  in  height,  by  8  feet  in  width,  and  about  80  tons  in  weight.  Two 
thousand  cubic  feet  of  stone  were  required  for  each  lion  ;  and  from  these  sta- 
tistics some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  prodigious  scale  on  which  even  the 
decorative  part  of  the  bridge  is  carried  out.  These  lions  were  modelled  by 
Mr.  J.  Thomas.  '  ,      ^     .„  ^ 

The  total  quantity  of  stone  contained  in  the  bridge  when  completed  will  be 
1,400,000  cubic  feet;  the  timber  used  in  the  various  scaffoldings  for  the  ma- 
sonry, platfoi-ms  for  the  erection  of  the  tubes,  &c.,  is  450,000  cubic  feet ;  the 
weight  of  malleable  iron  in  the  tubes  is  10,000  tons,  of  cast  iron  1,400  tons ; 
the  whole  length  of  the  entire  bridge,  measuring  from  the  extreme  point  of 
the  wing  walls  of  the  Anglesey  Abutment  to  the  extreme  of  the  Carnarvon 
Abutment,  is  1833  feet ;  its  greatest  elevation,  say  at  the  Britannia  Pier,  being 
240  feet  above  low- water  mark. 


"  THE  times"  new  PRINTING  MACHINE. 

Mr.  Augustus  Applegath  has  coustructed,  for  the  printing  of  TAe 
Times  Newspaper,  a  Machine  of  much  greater  power  than  that  em- 
ployed for  this  purpose  since  the  year  1827.  The  great  improvement 
which  has  now  been  effected  by  Mr,  Applegath,  is  the  substitution  of  an 
uniform  rotatory  motion  for  the  horizontal  reciprocating  motion  of  the  old 
machines.  It  is  the  change  from  a  plane  to  a  circular  "table."  Instead 
of  being  laid  on  a  table  traversing  a  railroad,  the  types  are  now  built  up, 
as  it  were,  on  the  face  of  a  cylinder  revolving  on  a  perpendicular  axis. 
This  cylinder  is  a  drum  of  cast  iron,  about  5  feet  6  inches  in  diameter. 
The  "forms,"  or  pages  of  type,  are  made  segments  of  its  surface,  just  as 
a  tower  of  brick  might  be  faced  with  stone.  Eight  printing  cylinders, 
forty  inches  in  circumference,  are  arranged  round  the  drum.  Instead  of 
the  four  impressions  taken  by  the  old  machine  in  its  double  journey,  eight 
sheets  are  now  printed  in  every  revolution.  Any  one  who  knows  the 
immense  weight  of  metal  type,  and  the  impossibility  of  giving  it  any  hold 
upon  the  "form"  besides  weight  and  pressure,  will  at  once  perceive  the 
extent  of  the  obstacle  overcome  by  giving  the  central  drum  a  vertical  posi- 
tion. In  the  vertical  disposition  there  is  the  same  centrifugal  impulse 
as  in  the  horizontal,  but  it  does  not  operate  in  the  direction  of  gravity, 
and  therefore  is  more  easily  neutralized.  This  is  done  chiefly  by 
means  of  the  "  column  rules,"  which  make  the  upright  lines  dividing 
the  columns  of  the  page.  These  "  column  rules"  are  usually  long  strips 
of  brass,  and  in  this  instance  they  are  so  screwed  to  the  sides  of  the  iron 
frame,  or  "  chase,"  as  to  become  powerful  tension  ties ;  and  being  made 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  7 

with  a  wedge-like  section— that  is,  thicker  towards  the  outer  surface  of  the 
type— they  keep  it  iu  its  place,  like  the  key-stone  of  an  arch,  or  the  stone 
ribs  of  a  rubble  vault. 

Without  the  aid  of  drawings  it  is  difficult  to  convey  an  idea  of  a  ma- 
chine so  different  from  those  on  the  horizontal  principle.  On  entering  a 
large  room,  the  first  thing  that  strikes  the  eye  is  a  circular  gallery  about 
25  feet  in  diameter,  and  6  feet  from  the  ground,  surmounting  eight  large 
and  complicated  fabrics  radiating  from  a  central  tower  or  drum.  Each  of 
these  fabrics  is  the  feeding  apparatus  attached  to  one  of  the  eight  printing 
cyliaders.  On  the  gallery  are  seen  eight  men  at  so  many  "laying-on- 
tables,"  feeding  the  machine,  by  carefully  pushing  successive  sheets  into 
its  eight  mouths,  each  man  at  about  the  rate  of  one  sheet  in  four  seconds. 
Directly  under  those  men  are  eight  others  on  the  ground,  employed  in 
taking-off  and  piling  the  printed  sheets  thrown  out  by  the  machine.  The 
eye  soon  detects  the  four  forms  or  chases  of  type  fixed  on  the  face  of  the 
drum,  and  accommodated  to  its  shape,  and  vainly  attempts  to  follow  nu- 
merous sheets  of  paper  in  rapid  and  inexplicable  motion.  The  printing 
cylinders  surrounding  the  central  drum,  and  in  occasional  contact  with  it, 
bear  about  the  same  visible  proportion  to  it  as  the  pillars  of  the  temple  of 
Tivoli  to  the  circular  wall  within.  The  framing  which  supports  the 
central  drum  also  carries  the  bearings  of  the  eight  printing  cylinders, 
which  all  revolve  in  perfect  correspondence.  The  type  only  covers  a  small 
portion  ot  the  circumference  of  the  drum,  and  in  the  interval  there  is  a 
large  inking  table  fixed,  like  the  type,  on  its  cii-cular  face.  This  table 
communicates  the  ink  to  upright  inking  rollers,  placed  between  the  several 
printing  cylinders— the  rollers,  in  their  turn,  communicating  the  ink  to 
the  type.  So  far  the  arrangement  is  perfectly  simple,  the  machine  being, 
in  fact,  composed  of  the  parts  in  ordinary  use,  only  made  circular  and 
placed  in  a  vertical  instead  of  a  horizontal  position. 

The  great  problem  for  the  inventor  was  the  right  mode  of  "  feeding," 
or  supplying  the  sheets  of  paper  to  the  printing  cylinders  in  their  new 
position.  The  reader  will  easily  understand  by  spreading  out  a  sheet 
{The  Times  newspapef,)  the  difficulty  of  changing  it  in  less  than  four 
seconds  from  a  horizontal  to  a  perpendicular  position,  and  back  again ; 
and  through  still  more  changes  of  direction.  No  alteration  has  been 
made  in  the  manner  of  "laying  ou"  the  paper,  which  is  carried  from  a 
plane  table  in  the  usual  way,  downwards  between  two  sets  of  endless  tapes 
in  rapid  motion.  But  when  the  sheet  has  travelled  down  to  a  certain 
point,  it  is  suddenly  stopped  by  thin  pieces  of  wood  placed  edgeways, 
and  brought  into  contact  with  the  paper  on  both  sides  at  once ;  it  is  at 
the  same  moment  released  from  the  tapes,  and,  being  now  at  rest,  is  held 
in  rf  vertical  position  between  the  thin  pieces  of  wood,  or  "  stoppers ;" 
these  stoppers  arc  then  withdrawn,  and  the  sheet  hangs  for  a  moment 
suspended  between  two  small  pullies  called  finger  rollers ;  a  set  of  vertical 
rollers  (between  the  stoppers),  revolving  raj)idly,  are  immediately  brought 
into  contact  w^ith  the  sheet,  and  impel  it  horizontally  between  two  nevr 
sets  of  endless  tapes,  which  convey  it  round  the  printing  oyliuders.  It 
there  meets  the  type,  receives  the  impression,  and  is  1^  out  under  the 


8  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

feeding-gallery  into  the  hands  of  the  "  taker  off,"  who  draws  it  down  and 
lays  it  on  a  table  before  him. 

It  now  only  remains  to  explain  how  an  even  and  clear  impression  is 
obtained  from  a  segmental  surface  of  type.  The  printing  or  impression 
cylinders  are  40  inches  in  circumference,  and  each  cylinder  always  touches 
the  type  at  the  same  corresponding  points,  the  surfaces  moving  with  equal 
velocity.  The  blanket  or  cloth  round  the  printing  cylinders  is  undi  rlaid 
or  packed  out  with  slips  of  paper ;  and  by  this  simple  means,  and  the  use 
of  a  type  cylinder  of  large  diameter,  an  impression  is  obtained,  to  use 
the  words  of  the  patent,  "  not  discernible  from  that  given  by  a  flat  form 
of  type."  The  rate  at  which  this  machine  has  hitherto  been  worked  is 
about  1,000  revolutions  per  hour,  or  8,000  impressions.  This  rate  will 
be  gradually  increased  until  it  is  ascertained  how  far  it  may  be  urged  without 
injury  to  the  impressions,  and  danger  to  the  delicate  and  complicated 
fabric.  The  horizontal  machines,  with  four  cylinders,  have  been  driven 
up  to  6,000 ;  and  it  is  probable  that  this  machine  with  eight  cylinders 
wiU  be  ultimately  worked  to  12,000  copies  an  hour. — Abridged  from  the 
Times,  Dec.  29,1848.  — 

GAS-LIGHTING. 

Dr.  Andrew  Fyfe  has  communicated  to  the  Royal  Scottish  Society 
of  Arts,  a  valuable  paper  "  On  the  Comparative  Value  of  different  kinds 
of  Coal  for  the  purpose  of  Illumination  ;  and  on  the  methods  not  hitherto 
practised  for  ascertaining  the  Value  of  the  Gases  they  afford."  The 
paper  is  quoted  in  Nos,  89  and  90  of  Jameson's  Journal ;  we  have  only 
space  for  the  Doctor's  repetition  of  the  trials  made  by  him  with  the  view 
of  ascertaining  the  light  for  equal  consumpts  of  gases  by  different 
burners,  published  in  1842;  the  accui'acy  of  which  has  been  called  into 
question. 

The  following  are  the  average  results : 


Burners. 

Consumpt 

in  60 
Minutes. 

"-M^J 

Light  for 
equal  con- 
sumpts. 

Jet— flame  5  inches 

1  foot. 

1-98 

2-60 

3-00 

4-60 

4-50 

TOO 
2-89 
4-00 
4-40 
8-40 
7-84 

100 
1-45 
1-53 
1-46 
1-87 
1-74 

Small  Fishtail 

Large  Fishtail 

Small  Batwing  

Large  Batwing  

Argand,  40  holes    

In  the  paper  pubHshed  in  1842,  it  was  stated  that  the  most  profitable 
way  of  consuming  gas  is  by  the  Argand,  properly  constructed  ;  in  other 
words,  that  for  equal  consumpts,  the  greatest  amount  of  light  is  given  by 
the  Argand ;  next,  by  the  batwing ;  then  by  the  fishtail ;  and,  lastly,  by 
the  jet,  which  is  the  least  economical ;  and,  consequently,  lighting  by 
gas,  is  comparatively,  for  equal  amount  of  light,  by  far  most  expensive  to 
those  having  recourse  to  this  mode  of  burning  it,  such  as  to  those  re- 
quiring  small  quantities.  The  light,  as  then  stated,  was  in  the  ratio  of 
100,  140,  160,  180.     In  the  trials  now  recorded,  the  results  do  not  at 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  W 

all  correspond  with  these.  With  the  small  fishtail  and  the  Argand  they 
do  so  very  nearly ;  the  burners  used  having  been  the  same  as  formerly. 
The  others,  such  as  the  large  fishtail,  not  formerly  tried,  is  more  econo- 
mical than  the  small  fishtail ;  the  small  batwing,  also  not  formerly  tried, 
is  not  more  economical  than  the  small  fishtail,  and  much  less  so  than  the 
large  fishtail.  The  large  batwing,  the  largest  Dr.  Fyfe  has  ever  seen,  is 
equally  economical  with  the  Argand;  but  is  very  liable  to  smoke. 
The  general  results  of  these  trials  may,  however,  be  said  to  correspond 
with  those  previously  given,  proving  the  accuracy  of  my  former  state- 
ment, that  the  jet  is  the  worst  kind  of  burner,  giving  least  light  for  the 
same  consumpt :  next  come  the  fishtails,  generally  speaking ;  then  the 
batwings  of  medium  size ;  and,  lastly,  the  Argand. 

DAVISON  AND  SYMINGTON'S  PATENT  DESICCATING  PROCESS. 

This  valuable  process  for  Drjing  Goods  in  every  description  of  manu- 
facture, was  patented  a  few  years  since  ;  and  has  been  applied  to  fifteen 
branches  of  trade,  from  the  seasoning  of  the  hardest  woods  to  drying 
paper  and  fabrics  of  the  most  delicate  construction,  yarns,  silks ,  in  cloth 
bleaching  and  dyeing,  purifying  and  seasoning  brewers'  and  distillers' 
casks,  roasting  coffee,  cocoa,  and  other  seeds  and  vegetable  productions, 
calico  and  jiaper  printing,  public  baths  and  washhouses,  japanning,  prepa- 
ration of  India-rubber  and  gutta  percha,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  and  other 
com  ;  and,  in  fact,  in  every  other  manufacturing  process  where  a  thorough 
and  cleanly  drying  process  is  absolutely  necessary.  In  its  construction 
and  operation,  it  is  simple  and  certain ;  a  temperature  may  be  obtained  at 
once  continuous  and  controllable,  as  compared  with  any  of  the  old 
methods,  such  as  flues,  hot  plates,  steam  and  hot  water  pipes,  cockles, 
&c. ;  the  economy  of  time  is  enormous,  while  there  is  a  saving  of  fuel  of 
from  fifty  to  seventy  per  cent.  Its  extreme  cleanliness  also,  and  the  pure 
and  healthy  atmosphere  which  the  people  employed  breathe  while  at  their 
duties,  render  this  process  a  desideratum  wherever  artificial  drying  is 
necessary. 

The  patentees  have  received  for  the  invention,  the  first  Large  Gold 
M.rini  , ,t  1 1,«  Society  of  Arts ;  and  an  interesting  paper  on  the  subject,  by 
iw,  C.E.,  has  been  reprinted  from  the  Society's  Transactions. 
it  ion  of  the  process  in  connexion  with  the  sanitary  measures 
of  the  day  may  prove  important.  For  drying  the  garments  of  the  poor, 
at  the  public  baths  and  washhouses,  it  is  admirably  adapted.  It  not  only 
dries  quickly,  but  thoroughly  purifies  and  takes  away  those  odours  which 
hang  about  clothes  long  worn.  The  first  of  these  patents  was  taken  out 
about  four  years  ago ;  but,  in  consequence  of  some  improvements,  and 
rarious  new  applications  of  the  process  being  discovered,  a  new  one  was 
obtained  in  Noverhbcr,  1S17. 

The  more  recent  applications  of  the  process  arc  to  Calico  Printing,  and 
to  Padding  Stoves ;  for  drying  oats  and  madder,  and  sand  moulds  for 
foundries ;  and  for  biscuit- baking,  aud  the  drying  of  potatoes  for  ships' 
•tores. 

To  the  calico-printer,  the  advantages  of  the  process  are  very  great ;  for, 
indei>codent  of  the  saving  of  fuel,  there  is  a  certainty  and  controllability 


10  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

in  the  operation  which  is  highly  useful.  By  a  triple  valve  at  the  back  of 
each  printing-machine,  the  workmen  can  adjust  it  so  as  to  let  less  or 
more  of  the  heated  currents  into  the  drying  chambers,  as  may  be  best 
suited  to  the  quantity  of  colour,  or  as  the  texture  may  require.  By  this 
means,  all  styles  of  work,  from  the  lightest  pattern  to  the  heaviest 
blotches,  can  be  worked  in  the  same  shop,  giving  a  due  proportion  of 
heat  to  each  machine,  the  same  as  by  Steam  Can  drying ;  and  its 
superiority  over  Steam  Can  drying,  especially  for  heavy  blotch  patterns, 
recommends  it.  Also,  in  stove  drying,  when  the  patterns  are  very  solid, 
and  the  goods  require  a  great  degree  of  heat  to  dry  them,  the  amount  of 
heat  requisite  for  each  can  be  regulated  without  the  printer  subjecting 
himself  to  the  scorching  temperature  of  200  or  250  degrees,  in  shifting 
his  piece  off  or  on  the  rollers,  as  the  heat  in  the  flues  rises  or  falls  ;  or  else 
run  the  risk  of  having  marking  off  of  the  colours  on  the  ground,  on  the 
one  hand,  or  the  mordant  destroyed  on  the  other. 

One  of  the  earliest  applications  was  to  the  purifying  of  brewers'  casks: 
upwards  of  half  a  million  have  been  so  cleaned,  notwithstanding  great 
opposition  on  the  part  of  coopers  and  others,  whose  trade  has  been  mate- 
rially kept  up  by  the  old  practice  of  knocking  heads  out  of  casks,  and 
cleansing  by  wood  fiires  inside. 

IMPROVEMENT  IN  LIGHTHOUSES. 

Mr.  Gt.  Wells,  of  the  Admiralty  Department  of  Somerset  House,  has 
devised  this  improvement,  which  he  terms  a  "  Telegraphic  Lighthouse," 
and  the  plan  is  most  simple.  Below  the  ordinary  lantern  (in  existing 
lighthouses)  he  proposes  to  cut  four  or  more  oval  or  circular  apertures, 
some  feet  in  height.  In  these  apertures  are  to  be  exhibited  transparent 
letters  lighted  from  within,  fitted  in  an  opaque  ground.  For  example, 
the  main  part  of  the  opening  being  filled  with  a  sheet  of  iron,  a  tran- 
sparent letter  would  be  cut  in  it,  glazed  with  thick  glass.  Or  the  whole 
aperture  might  be  filled  with  glass,  all  except  the  transparent  letter  being 
ground,  or  otherwise  rendered  opaque.  This  improvement,  it  is  to  be 
remarked,  is  altogether  supplementary,  and  in  no  way  interferes  with  the 
existing  system.  The  transparent  letter  (which,  of  course,  is  the  same  in 
all  the  apertures,)  is  proposed  to  be  the  initial  of  the  place.  If  two 
places  of  the  same  name  were  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  a  small 
letter,  instead  of  a  capital,  might  be  used  in  one  of  them ;  but  this,  of 
course,  would  seldom  be  the  case. 


THE  CHINESE  JUNK. 

This  extraordinary  specimen  of  the  craft  of  China,  (the  first 
brought  to  England,)  proved  a  veiy  attractive  exhibition  during  last 
London  season.  The  Kei/ing,  for  such  is  the  nameof  the  Junk,  lay  in 
the  East  India  Docks,  where  her  peculiar  construction  could  be  inspected. 

Thus,  the  stern  is  of  great  height — over  40  feet ;  and  the  rudder  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  singular  part  of  the  vessel.  It  is  made  of  iron-wood 
and  teak,  bound  with  iron,  and  its  weight  is  from  72  to  8  tons.  It  is 
perforated  with  rhomboidal  holes,  and  in  deep  water  is  12  feet  below  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel.    The  great  elevation  of  the  stern  enables  the  rudder 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  11 

to  be  elevated  or  depressed  according  to  the  depth  of  water ;  and  by  this 
means  the  draught  may  be  made  to  vary  from  12  to  24  feet.  ^Vhen  the 
rudder  is  raised  up,  as  must  be  the  case  in  shallow  water,  the  vessel  is 
steered  by  a  short  tiller  on  the  second  poop.  When  let  down  to  its 
greatest  depth,  it  requires  occasionally  the  strength  of  15  men  to  work 
the  large  tiller,  and  even  then  the  aid  of  a  luff  tackle  purchase  and  the 
best  patent  blocks  ;  otherwise  it  would  require  30  men.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  the  Junk  was  running  before  a  fresh  gale,  attended  with  hail 
squalls,  a  tiller  rope  of  nine  inches  was  snapped  asunder.  Instead  of 
braces  and  pintles,  two  immense  ropes,  made  of  bamboo  and  grass,  pass 
under  the  bottom  and  come  over  the  bows  on  the  upper  deck,  where  they 
are  fastened ;  these  serving  to  confine  the  rudder  to  the  stern. 

The  Anchors  on  board  the  Keying  are  made  of  iron-wood,  one  weigh- 
ing 3000,  the  other  2700  pounds.  The  Hukes  are  shod  with  iron,  and 
attached  to  the  shank  by  strong  lashings  of  bamboo.  The  stock  is  com- 
posed of  three  separate  pieces  of  wood,  lashed  together  by  rattan  ropes, 
and  is  fixed  to  the  crown.  The  flukes  are  of  the  same  dimensions  as 
those  of  similar  sized  anchors  with  us ;  they  are  straight  and  not  rounded, 
and  there  are  no  palms.     The  kedges  have  only  one  fluke. 

The  whole  of  the  work  is  of  the  roughest  kind;  the  sides  of  the 
timbers  are  not  squared,  but  left  just  as  they  grew.  No  artificial  means 
has  been  resorted  to  for  any  bends ;  wherever  a  branch  has  been  found 
with  the  natural  requisite  curvature,  it  has  been  employed  without 
further  adaptation. 

Again,  every  thing  on  board  is  different  from  what  we  see  on  board  an 
European  vessel:  the  mode  of  construction,  the  absence  of  keel,  bowsprit, 
and  shrouds ;  the  materials  employed,  the  mast,  the  sail,  the  yard,  the 
rudder,  the  compass,  the  anchor ;  all  are  dissimilar.  The  appearance  of 
the  deck,  however,  reminds  us  of  the  prints  and  pictures  of  the  large 
early  English  men  of-war,  such  as  the  Great  Harry,  with  its  lotty  fore- 
castle and  aftcastle.  Her  immense  poop  has  three  galleries  rising  one 
above  the  other ;  and  her  bow,  which  is  square  and  without  bowsprit,  is 
also  of  great  height.  The  stern  is  elaborately  painted  with  birds,  &:c.,  of 
real  and  imaginary  forms.  Coming  from  the  bow  to  the  afterpart  of  the 
vessel,  we  find  a  series  of  water-tight  compartments,  such  as  we  have 
adopted  in  our  slcara-vesscls.  As  the  vessel  has  no  kelson,  the  mast  is 
not  stepped ;  the  end  of  the  mainmast  is  four  feet  from  the  bottom,  and 
is  kept  in  its  place  by  the  toggle.  Instead  of  the  timbers  being  first 
raised,  as  with  us,  they  are  the  last  in  their  places,  and  the  vessel  is  put 
together  with  immense  spiked  nails.  The  next  process  is  doubling  and 
clamping  above  and  below  decks.  Two  immense  beams  or  string-pieces 
arc  ranged  below,  fore  and  aft,  which  keep  the  other  beams  in  their 
places.  The  deck  frames  are  an  arch ;  and  a  platform,  erected  on  it, 
protects  it  from  the  sun,  and  from  injuries  otherwise  inevitable.  The 
teams  of  the  vessel  are  laid  with  a  sort  of  cement  or  putty,  made  of 
burnt  pounded  oyster-shells  and  oil  from  the  chinam  tree.  ^Vheh  dried, 
it  becomes  verj-  hard  ;  it  never  starts,  and  the  scams  arc  thus  made  water- 
tight. The  jjun wales  are  very  large,  enabling  the  sailors  to  pass  outside 
the  vcasel.     The  wales  also  project  three  feet  from  the  side.      It  is  sup- 


12  YEAR-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

posed  she  may  measure  about  400  tons,  and  carry  700.  The  saloon,  or 
state  cabin,  the  joss-house,  &c.,  with  their  numerous  curiosities,  are 
worthy  of  inspection.  A  printed  description  of  the  whole  is  sold  on 
board. 

CLARKE  AND  VAULEY's  ATMOSPHERIC  PILE-DRIVING  MACHINE. 

Among  the  various  operations  included  in  the  widely-extended  field  of 
civil  engineering,  where  of  late  years  the  vast  resources  of  science  have 
done  so  much  towards  the  reduction  of  human  labour  by  substituting  for 
it  the  powers  which  exist  in  nature,  made  available  through  the  medium 
of  an  infinity  of  mechanical  contrivances — that  of  Pile-driving  has  appeared 
hitherto  to  exist  in  the  same  primitive  condition  that  it  was  in  the  earliest 
days  of  engineering.  The  same  slow  and  tedious  monkey  and  crab-engine 
labours  at  its  work  now  with  no  better  effect  than  it  did  half  a  century 
back.  The  economy  of  timber,  now  so  extensively  used  in  constructions 
on  railways,  docks,  harbours,  and  other  works,  has  given  the  operation  of 
pile-driving  an  importance  which  it  never  before  possessed ;  and  mecha- 
nical skill  is  at  length  beginning  to  be  applied  to  its  improvement. 

In  the  common  crab-engine,  the  weight  of  the  rammer  is  necessarily 
limited  by  the  amount  of  manual  power  that  can  be  conveniently  brought 
to  bear  upon  it ;  and  the  requisite  amount  of  force  in  the  blow  is  made 
up  by  the  height  from  which  the  rammer  is  made  to  fall.  But  it  is  found 
that  a  succession  of  short,  quick  blows,  with  a  heavy  rammer,  does  the 
work  not  only  with  nmch  greater  speed,  but  in  every  way  with  greater 
efficiency  ;  damaging  the  timber  less,  and,  in  fact,  forcing  it  through  hard 
ground,  which  by  the  old  method  it  would  be  found  impossible  to  pene- 
trate. Nasmyth's  Direct-Action  Steam  Pile-Machine  was,  we  believe, 
the  first  application  of  steam-power  to  this  purpose.  But,  besides  being 
costly,  it  is  difficult  to  move  about ;  the  source  of  power,  namely,  the 
steam-boiler,  being  fixed  to  the  same  framing  as  the  rest  of  the  machine, 
causes  it  to  be  very  heavy,  and  difficult  of  transport.  This'also  precludes 
its  application  in  situations  where  it  would  be  exposed  to  the  action  of 
tidal  waters — a  not  unfrequent  case  in  works  of  this  nature. 

An  invention  recently  perfected  by  Messrs.  Clarke  and  Varley,  the  pa- 
tentees of  the  Elastic  Tube  Atmospheric  Eailway,  promises  that  the 
power  of  a  steam-engine  fixed  at  any  convenient  spot  can,  through  the 
medium  of  atmospheric  pressure,  be  made  available  at  any  required 
distance  by  the  simple  application  of  a  vacuum  cylinder,  with  its  appa- 
ratus of  self-acting  valves,  chains,  and  pulleys  attached  to  a  pile-eagine  of 
the  common  construction. 

One  of  these  machines  at  work,  driving  piles  at  the  extensive  coff'er- 
dam  in  process  of  erection  for  the  purpose  of  rebuilding  the  river-wall  on 
the  site  of  the  late  fire  at  Irongate  Wharf,  near  St.  Katherine's  Dock, 
was  worked  by  a  small  high-pressure  steam-engine,  fixed  on  the  shore, 
to  which  was  attached  an  air-pump  for  producing  the  exhaustion.  Com- 
munication was  made  hence  to  the  pile-machine  by  lengths  of  small 
galvanised  iron  pipes,  connected  together  by  flexible  joints.  The  machine 
consists  of  an  air-cylinder  of  wrought  iron,  open  at  the  top,  but  closed  at 
the  bottom.   Within  this  is  a  piston,  connected  by  an  iron  rod  to  a  chain, 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  AETS.  13 

which  passes  over  a  pulley  on  the  top  of  the  frame,  the  other  end  of  the 
chain  being  fixed  to  a  suspended  pulley ;  over  this  passes  a  second  chain, 
one  end  of  which  is  attached  to  the  rammer,  and  the  other  passes  down 
to  the  bottom  of  the  engine,  whence  again  returning  upwards  it  is  fastened 
to  the  top  of  the  pile.  The  action,  then,  is  this  : — The  rammer  being  sup- 
posed down  on  the  head  of  the  pile,  and  the  piston  consequently  at  the 
top  of  the  cylinder,  the  air  in  the  cylinder  is  now  rarified  by  the  action 
of  the  air-pump  above,  until  the  external  pressure  is  sufficient  to  counter- 
balance the  weight  of  the  rammer  ;  this,  then,  immediately  rises,  and,  as 
soon  as  the  piston  has  reached  the  bottom  of  the  cylinder,  a  motion  takes 
place  in  the  self-acting  slides,  by  which  the  air  is  suddenly  admitted  under 
ihe  piston ;  equilibrium  between  the  pressures  above  and  below  being 
thus  restored,  the  rammer  immediately  falls  with  its  whole  force  on  the  pile, 
bringing  in  its  progress  the  piston  again  to  the  top  of  the  cylinder,  wheu, 
the  slides  being  reversed,  the  operation  is  repeated.  Thus,  a  constant 
succession  of  short  heavy  blows  is  given,  and  never  ceases  until  the  pile  is 
driven  to  the  required  distance  into  the  soil.  And  as,  by  the  arrange- 
ment of  pulleys,  the  distance  between  the  pile-head  and  the  rammer  is 
always  the  same,  a  regiJarity  of  action  is  obtained,  quite  unknown  in  the 
old  pile-driver. 

The  machine  itself  requires  no  attendance  while  in  operation  ;  only  one 
man  is  employed  occasionally  wedging  up  the  pile  to  preserve  its  true 
direction.  It  is  moved  with  great  fiicility  from  pile  to  pile,  being  very 
little  heavier  than  the  common  crab-engine.  Under  the  cylinder  is  fixed 
a  small  crab,  which  is  used  to  raise  the  pile  to  its  place  previously  to  being 
ilriven. — Illwtrated  London  News,  No.  340. 


MALLEABLE  IRON  LEVER  BRIDGE. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  in  a  paper  on  a  plan  for  constructing  a  Malleable 
iiju  Lever  Bridge,  notices  the  bridges  of  the  ancients,  as  shewing  a  con- 
tinuous history  of  civil  engineering  accurately  traced  through  twenty- six 
centuries.  The  introduction  of  iron,  as  the  material  of  which  to  construct 
a  bridge,  was  noticed,  and  the  mode  of  its  application  alluded  to.  Having 
called  attention  to  the  first  application  of  iron  in  the  construction  of  the 
bridge  at  Coalbrook  Dale,  also  the  bridge  at  Southwark ;  to  those  on  the 
principle  of  suspension  at  Conway  and  Menai ;  and  to  the  last  great  work, 
the  tubular  bridge  at  Conway  ;  next  was  described  the  plan  on  w  hich  it 
is  proposed  to  construct  bridges  of  wrought  iron,  of  almost  any  required 
span.  It  consists  of  bars  of  wrought  iron  somewhat  in  the  form  of 
double  T  iron  :  these  are  proposed  to  be  ri vetted  together,  or  fixed  by  means 
of  screws  and  nuts  through  their  flanges,  in  a  manner  suited  to  the  position 
in  which  they  are  to  be  placed.  Thus,  over  the  piers  of  the  bridge  where 
strength  is  required,  the  bars  are  fixed  so  as  to  form  a  solid,  while  as  the 
arms  of  the  lever  become  extended  they  are  placed  so  as  to  form  au  oj)cn 
iron-work  of  a  light  and  elcpant  character.  The  whole  of  the  bars  are 
placed  in  a  horizontal  position,  and,  in  addition  to  other  fa^iteniugs,  arc 
to  be  tied  by  diagonal  rods  or  braces.  The  advantages  which  the  author 
considers  his  plan  to  possess  over  other  plans  arc,  that  of  enabling  bridges 
of  any  span  to  be  bailt  without  a  oenteriog,  whereby  a  great  saving  is 


14  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

effected,  also  in  enabling  a  flatter  roadway  to  be  obtained,  while  a  higher 
waterway  is  insured  than  can  be  obtained  by  any  plan  in  which  the  arch 
springing  from  the  pier  is  made  use  of, — Builder,  No.  804. 

SUSPENSION  BRIDGE  AT  NIAGARA  FALLS. 

This  extraordinary  work  has  been  completed ;  and  "  its  thousands  of 
tons  weight  of  the  strongest  iron  cord  that  the  ingenuity  of  the  iron- 
master can  devise,  find  a  safe  support  in  wrought-iron  anchors,  built  in 
the  solid  rock  100  feet  below  the  surface."  The  following  are  the  con- 
structive details : — 

Number  of  cables  for  bridge,  16 ;  number  of  strands  in  each  cable, 
600;  ultimate  tension,  6,500  tons;  capacity  of  the  bridge,  500  tons ; 
number  of  strands  in  the  ferry  cable,  37;  diameter  of  the  cable,  -f  inch ; 
height  of  stone  tower,  68  feet  1  inch ;  height  of  wood  tower  for  ferry, 
50  feet ;  base  of  the  tower,  20  square  feet;  size  at  the  top,  11  square 
feet ;  span  of  the  bridge,  800  feet ;  ,whole  weight  of  the  bridge,  650  tons ; 
height  from  the  water,  230  feet;  depth  of  water  under  the  bridge, 
250  feet. 

The  bridge  has  been  built  over  the  river  at  a  point  about  one  mile  and 
three-quarters  below  the  Falls,  and  directly  over  the  frightful  rapids 
which  commence  at  this  point.  Upon  the  very  edge  of  the  awful  preci- 
pice which  bounds  each  shore  of  the  river,  towers  have  been  raised ;  they 
are  about  80  feet  in  height,  and  at  a  point  about  100  feet  in  the  rear  of 
these  huge  towers,  the  immense  strands  or  ropes  of  wire  which  sustain 
the  bridge  in  mid-air,  are  firmly  fastened.  These  strands  pass  from  their 
fastenings  immediately  over  the  top  of  the  tower  upon  either  cliff: — 
they  pass  thence  across  the  chasm,  and  then  over  the  top  of  the  tower 
upon  the  opposite  shore,  in  the  rear  of  which  the  ends  are  fastened  into 
the  rocks,  as  above  described.  The  bridge  is  entirely  supported  by  these 
powerful  strands  of  wire ;  of  which  there  are  two — one  at  each  side  of 
the  bridge.  The  bridge  is  about  10  feet  in  width,  and  a  temporary  rail- 
ing of  wire  and  slabs  of  wood  has  been  constructed  at  each  side.  The 
flooring  is  composed  of  light  planks ;  they  rest  upon  thin  scantling  or 
timbers,  to  which  the  wires  are  fastened. 

The  American  journals  give  the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Eller,  the 
builder,  dated  July  29 : — "  This  morning  I  laid  the  last  plank  of  my 
foot-bridge  on  the  Canada  side,  and  then  drove  over  and  back  again  in  a 
buggy.  500  feet  of  the  bridge  was  without  railing  on  either  side.  My 
torse,  thongh  spirited,  went  along  quietly,  touched  up  occasionally  with 
a  whip,  just  to  show  him  that  he  was  in  command  and  give  him  courage. 
On  returning  I  directed  one  of  the  drivers  to  bring  on  his  team,  a  two- 
horse  close  carriage,  weighing  over  a  ton  and  a  half.  I  took  his  place 
on  the  box,  and  drove  over  and  back.  The  horse  went  quietly.  The 
flooring  is  but  8  feet  wide,  220  feet  high,  and  762  feet  long, — and  with- 
out railing,  over  such  a  torrent  as  you  never  saw,  and  never  will  see 
anywhere  else." 


FALL  OF  THE  MEIKLEWOOD  SUSPENSION  BRIDGE. 

This  handsome  and  useful  structure  across  the  Forth,  was  erected 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  H 

about  seventeen  years  since,  by  Col.  Graham,  of  Meiklewood ;  and  we 
re^t  to  add>  that  in  June  last  the  structure  fell  into  the  river,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  dry-rot  having  seized  the  principal  timbers.  This  bridge 
was  constructed  on  the  thrust-and-tension  principle,  which  is  the  same  as 
that  which  sustains  the  tube  lately  erected  across  the  Conway,  having  a 
span  of  400  feet.  The  span  of  Meiklewood  bridge  was  101  feet ;  and  as 
a  proof  of  the  strength  of  this  principle  of  structure,  the  bridge  conti- 
nued to  carry  heavily  loaded  carts  for  months,  if  not  for  years,  after  the 
dry-rot  had  so  pervaded  the  timbers,  that  almost  the  whole  body  of  the 
beams  was  decayed.  The  main  beams  were  of  Memel,  of  excellent  qua- 
lity, and  had  not  the  slightest  appearance  of  taint,  or  rot,  when  erected. 
The  disease  had  partially  extended  to  the  eyerights  and  other  parts  of  the 
woodwork.  Four  days  preceding  the  fall,  five  carts,  heavily  loaded  with 
barley,  passed  along  the  bridge  with  safety. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  CHRONOMETERS. 

The  imperfect  compensation  for  change  of  temperature  has  formed 
the  great  object  to  which  the  efforts  of  persons  interested  in  the  Im- 
provement of  Chronometers  have  been  directed.  The  cause  of  this 
defect  is,  that  the  balance-spring  loses  elasticity  by  an  increase  of  tempe- 
rature at  an  accumulating  rate  over  the  effect  produced  by  the  ordinary 
compensation.  The  great  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  principle,  the  effect  of 
which  could  be  increased  or  diminished  precisely  in  the  same  degree  as 
the  temperature  increased  or  diminished  the  elasticity  of  the  spring,  has 
perhaps  occupied  more  time,  and  led  to  more  profitless  experiments,  than 
any  obstacle  which  has  ever  opposed  itself  to  the  progress  of  chronome- 
trical  improvement. 

Mr.  Loseby  has  introduced  mercury  to  achieve  the  object  desired, 
which,  by  its  fluidity,  seems  to  admit  of  being  adjusted  so  that  its  effect 
varies  exactly  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  change  of  temperature  alters 
the  elasticity  of  the  spring ;  or  in  other  words,  which  makes  the  law  of 
the  successive  alterations  of  the  momentum  of  inertia  adapt  itself  to  the 
law  of  alteration  of  the  elasticity  of  the  spring,  whatever  that  law  may 
be.  Since  the  invention  was  submitted  to  the  Government,  in  1843,  it 
has  undergone  several  trials,  by  order  of  the  Board  of  Admiralty,  with  a 
view  to  test  its  principle.  The  chief  points  which  required  lo  be  proved 
were — first,  whether  the  principle  admitted  of  being  adjusted  to  the  irre- 
gular loss  of  elasticity  in  the  spring ;  and,  secondly,  if  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  mercury  would  be  sufficient.  The  fluidity  of  the  agent 
used,  at  once  answered  the  first  point,  and  it  was  therefore  to  the  second 
that  the  trials  have  been  chiefly  directed.  The  result  shews  that  not 
only  can  the  ordinary  defect  be  obviated,  but  in  most  of  the  trials  it  has 
even  been  reversed.  The  first  trial  commenced  in  January,  1845,  when 
two  chronometers  were  placed  at  the  Observatory,  Greenwich,  nnder  the 
direction  of  the  Astronomer  Royal,  and  imdcnvent  a  rigorous  ordoil ; 
having  been  exposed  to  the  open  air  on  the  north  side  of  the  building 
during  the  coldest  weeks  of  that  severe  winter,  and  also  to  temperatures 
▼ar)ing  from  85  degrees  to  120  degrees  Fahrenheit  for  the  extreme  heat. 
The  Astronomer  Royal's  Report,  which  was  laid  before  the  Admii-alty  in 


16  TEAR-BOOK  OF  PACTS. 

May,  contained  an  account  of  the  performance  of  these  chronometers, 
and  also  his  opinion  relative  to  the  principle.  The  following  extracts 
are  from  this  Report : — "  I  consider  this  invention  (taking  advantage 
very  happily  of  the  two  distinguishing  properties  of  mercury,  its  fluidity 
and  its  great  thermal  expansion)  as  the  most  ingenious  that  I  have  ever 
seen,  and  the  most  perfectly  adaptable  to  the  wants  of  chronometers.  I 
am  not  aware  that  it  is  liable  to  any  special  inconvenience." — "  I  think 
it  my  duty  to  report,  as  my  opinion,  that  Mr.  Loseby's  construction  has 
successfully  effected  its  object ;  and  remarking  the  ingenuity  of  the  method 
used,  and  the  fertility  of  its  principle,  I  state  as  my  opinion  to  the 
Board  of  Admiralty,  that  Mr.  Loseby  is  entitled  to  their  lordships'  general 
encouragement." 

The  annual  trial  of  chronometers  for  purchase  by  the  Admiralty  for 
the  past  year  contained  forty-eight  chronometers  of  various  makers,  in- 
cluding two  of  Mr.  Loseby's  improved  construction,  one  of  which  ob- 
tained the  first,  and  the  other  the  third  place  in  the  rates  published  by 
tjie  government,  for  their  superior  merit. —  The  Builder^  No.  306. 

TRIGONOMETRICAL   NEW    SURVEY   OF    LONDON. 

In  the  spring  of  last  year  there  was  erected  at  the  main  station  for 
for  observations  in  this  Survey,  a  very  remarkable  scaffold  from  the 
golden  gallery  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  to  the  summit  of  the  cross.  Upon 
this  scaffold  was  a  stage  10  feet  square,  which  supported  an  observatory, 
within  which  was  placed  upon  a  table  a  theodolite  18  inches  in  diameter  of 
the  circle.     A  railing,  roughly  but  securely  put  up,  surrounded  the  stage. 

The  observatory  was  a  hexagon  figure  3  feet  in  diameter  and  about  11 
feet  high,  with  panelled  sides  and  canvas  roof. 

The  construction  of  the  scaffolding  and  stage  should  be  detailed.  The 
former  was  of  rough  poles,  and  the  stage  itself  had  its  principal  bearing 
on  the  golden  gallery  or  top  of  the  great  cone.  The  four  lower  posts, 
which  were  29  feet  long,  stood  upon  short  planks  bedded  on  the  stone 
footway ;  and  the  top  supported  the  angles  of  four  horizontal  planks, 
each  23  feet  long,  and  bolted  together  at  the  angles.  From  these  planks 
was  erected  a  screen  of  boards  to  preveut  materials,  &c.  from  falling. 
The  base  of  the  four  upper  posts  (which  were  53  feet  long),  rested  on 
the  angles  of  the  above  planks ;  and  the  scaffold,  in  addition  to  these 
posts,  consisted  of  four  sets  of  horizontal,  and  four  sets  of  transverse, 
braces  on  each  of  the  four  sides,  the  whole  being  fastened  together  with 
spikes  and  ropes.  Again,  56  feet  of  the  uprights  were  double  poles 
placed  base  and  point,  and  bound  together  with  hoop-iron  and  wedges, 
and  bolts  and  hoop-iron  at  the  splices. 

The  height  from  base  to  floor  was  82  feet,  and  to  the  extreme  top  of 
the  observatory  92  feet.  The  ascent  was  by  the  inside  of  the  tower  or 
lantern  to  the  circular  openings ;  then  passing  to  the  outside  to  the  foot- 
ladders,  which  were  set  at  the  north-east  corner,  parallel  to  the  north- 
east principal  post,  inside  the  scaffold. 

The  whole  of  the  materials  were  drawn  up  from  the  floor  by  a 
permanent  windlass  (erected  in  the  tower)  to  the  golden  gallery ;  and 
thence  passed  to  the  outside  horizontally,  through  an  aperture  32  inches 


MECHANICAX   AND    USEFUL    ARTS.  17 

wide ;  and  they  were  farther  drawn  up  and  put  in  position  by  purchase 
erected  for  the  purpose.  The  stage  was  about  5  tons  weight,  and  the 
raising  occupied  between  a  fortnight  and  three  weeks  :  the  whole  was 
executed" under  the  superintendence  of  Corporal  Beaton,  by  direction  of 
Captain  Yolland,  of  the  Royal  Engineers. 

Although  the  scaflfold  was  ouly  up  three  mouths,  the  observations  taken 
were  between  3,000  and  4000,  in  which  were  included  every  division 
in  the  degree.  In  many  instances,  the  same  subject  was  goue  over  as 
many  as  six  times,  none  less  than  three  or  four.  The  utmost  distance 
obtained  was  26  miles  in  the  circle,  with  the  exception  of  the  north-west 
point :  here  Highgate  Hill  impeded  the  observations,  the  crown  of  the 
hill  being  higher  than  the  level  from  which  the  observations  were  taken. 
AiVith  this  single  exception  no  difficulties  presented  themselves,  and  the 
survey  and  the  various  altitudes  obtained  are  of  the  most  satisfactory 
description. 

The  scaffold  was  bound  together  with  ropes,  about  half  a  ton  being 
used  for  the  purpose.  In  this  perilous  undertaking,  not  the  slightest 
accident — not  even  to  the  breaking  of  a  single  pane  of  glass — occurred, 
while  ouly  some  of  the  corners  of  the  planks  were  chipped  off  during  the 
removal.* 


THE    VENTILOMETER. 

A  NEW  instniment  under  this  name,  invented  by  an  Officer  of  the 
French  Navy,  has  been  submitted  to  our  Lords  of  the  Admiralty.  Hitherto, 
winds  have  beuu  supposed  to  be  caused  chiefly  by  changes  in  the  density 
of  the  atmosphere,  but  the  inventor  of  the  Ventilometer  professes  to  have 
discovered  that  they  originate  entirely  from  "  electrical  changes,"  though, 
perhaps,  influenced  secondarily  by  the  pressure,  more  or  less,  of  the 
atmosphere ;  nay,  that  their  approach  may  be  as  truly  predicted  by  the 
magnetic  needle  as  the  degree  of  deviation  of  a  vessel's  course  from  due 
north.  The  instrument,  in  fact,  exactly  resembles  an  ordinary  ship's 
compass.  The  Ventilometer  forms  itself  "  into  the  centre  of  a  certain 
undellncd  circumference,  but  the  extent  of  whose  influence  does  not 
exceed  a  space  of  twenty-four  hours ;  any  change  taking  place  within  this 
circle  is  notified —  so  that,  suppose  a  vane  to  be  pointing  north,  but 
that  the  ventilometer  at  the  same  moment  points  to  the  south,  then, 
within  the  twenty-four  hours  most  certainly  the  south  wind  will  blow  ; 
but  the  ordinary  change  is  from  twelve  to  eighteen  hours,  and  should  the 
ventilometer  remain  for  hours  or  days  at  the  same  point,  the  same  wind 
will  continue  blowing;  but  when  it  changes  within  the  twenty-four  hours 
the  wiud  will  change  also.  This  instrument  is  not  influenced  by  the 
lighter  breezes ;  when  a  strong  wind  blows,  the  needle  or  indicator  id 
horizontal ;  but,  a«  the  winds  or  atmospheric  changes  gradually  increase 

violence,  the  point  is  elevated  by  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere,  and 

f  of  inifcnuity,-  the  hut  and  scaffbldinf 
.'0,  u|)on  the  AJte  of  the  crouof  St.  Paul's, 
nraiuic  view  of  London,  painted  at  th« 


.    V     « 

._ii,. 

r»i^ 
for: 

Colo^ftL-uiu  \u  Hit 

•  J\  !•.;••  I 

„. 

iniK. 

18-  YEAR-BOOK  OP  PACTS. 

thus  not  merely  pre-indicates  the  wind  that  is  to  blow,  but  its  exact 
strength  and  duration." 

IMPROVEMENTS  IN  TUBING. 

Messrs.  J.  Roose,  of  Darlaston,  Staffordshire,  and  W.  Haden 
Richardson,  Jun.,  have  patented  this  invention  for  the  manufacture  of 
Tubing  composed  of  copper,  or  brass,  or  alloys  thereof;  without  joint  or 
brazing ;  the  increase  of  its  coherency  and  compactness  rendering 
such  tubing  stronscer  and  more  durable,  and  much  better  adapted  for  flues 
for  locomotive  boilers  than  as  hitherto  used.  By  this  process  the  tubes 
are  cast  in  short  thick  lengths,  containing  sufficient  quantity  of  metal  to 
produce  ultimately  a  tube  of  the  required  length  and  thickness,  as  is  com- 
monly practised.  These  short  tubes,  however,  are  in  bore  of  about  the 
size  required  in  the  finished  tiibe,  the  thickness  of  metal  only  being 
augmented.  Both  the  internal  and  external  surfaces  of  these  tubes,  when 
cast,  must  be  well  cleansed,  and  ^  little  grease  or  fatty  matter  applied 
internally.  The  tube  is  then  placed  on  a  steel  mandril,  and  applied 
between  grooved  rollers  of  similar  description  to  those  adopted  for  rolling 
bar-iron ;  except  that  there  is  a  pair  of  rolls  placed  just  in  front  of  the 
reducing  rollers,  and  another  pair  of  rolls  immediately  behind  the  same, 
in  order  that  the  tube  may  be  properly  guided  to  and  from  them  whilst 
passing  between  them.  The  tube  having  passed  through  one  set  of 
rollers,  is  carried  on  through  several  other  successive  holes  between  the 
rollers,  each  diminishing  in  size,  and  will,  if  the  operation  be  sufficiently 
repeated,  become  of  the  diameter  and  length  required  for  the  practical 
purpose  to  which  it  is  to  be  applied. 


EIRE-PROOF  CONSTRUCTION. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  Institute  of  British  Architects,  by  Mr. 
Barrett,  descriptive  of  Dr.  Fox's  patent  mode  of  constructing  fire-proof 
roofs,  floors,  and  ceilings.  The  construction  consists  of  a  mass  of  con- 
crete filled  in  between  iron  joists,  the  lower  surface  being  plastered  to 
form  the  ceiling  of  the  room  below  ;  and  the  upper  surface  being  coated 
with  a  composition  of  lime  and  sand,  worked  smooth,  and  rendered  non- 
absorbent  of  moisture  by  the  application  of  two  coats  of  linseed  oil, 
forming  a  solid  and  fire-proof  floor.  The  same  principle  can  be  applied 
to  the  covering  of  roofs.  The  proprietor  states  that  buildings  can  be 
made  fire- proof  under  this  patent  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  the  usual  mode 
of  constructing  floors  and  roofs ;  and  the  expense  of  insurance  be  thereby 
avoided. 


HARRADINe's    "  PATENT   PORTABLE    BUREAU." 

This  is  a  novel  contrivance  for  preserving  letters  and  general  business 
papers  in  alphabetical  order  and  consecutive  dates,  for  ready  and  conve- 
nient reference. 

It  is  divided  into  as  many  compartments  as  there  are  letters  in  the 
alphabet,  and  is  thus  constructed  : — a  strip  of  mahogany,  oak,  or  any 


MECHANICAL  AND   USEPUL  ARTS.  Itf 

other  wood,  about  three  inches  wide  and  any  required  length,  forms  the 
bottom  or  floor,  to  one  edge  of  which  is  fastened  another  piece  eight 
inches  wide,  which  serves  as  the  back  division;  pieces  are  then  fitted  about 
three  inches  apart,  being  let  in  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  into  both  bottom 
and  back  ;  between  these  divisions  are  pieces  of  wood  (clips)  made  to  lit 
loosely ;  there  is  then  a  baud  of  India-rubber  passed  behind  the  divisions 
and  in  front  of  the  clips,  which  keeps  them  pressing  lightly  against  the 
back,  but  with  sufficient  force  to  prevent  papers  falling  out.  Each  dip 
has  a  knob  turned  with  a  recess  in  front  to  receive  a  medalliou  label,  with 
one,  two,  or  more  letters  of  the  alphabet  conspicuously  printed  in  gold  or 
colours.  The  whole  operation  in  using  this  bureau  consists  in  pulling 
the  knob,  and  placing  the  paper  behind  the  clip. 

Where  economy  of  room  is  a  great  object,  the  width  of  the  compart- 
ments is  reduced  to  suit  four,  five,  or  six  folds  in  ordinary  letter-paper, 
or  three  in  note-paper.  The  bureau  is  also  made  to  shut  up  into  a  com- 
pact piece  of  furniture  secured  by  a  lock  and  key. 

The  sole  agent  for  the  "Patent  Portable  Bureau"  is  Mr.  Hare,  108, 
Fleet  Street,  London. 


"the  PLANTAGENET     guard  RAZOR. 

This  useful  inveution,  which  has  been  patented,  consists  of  a  move- 
able metal  guard,  with  comb-like  teeth,  adapted  and  fitted  to  the  ordmary 
razor  in  such  a  manner  that  when  used  in  shaving  it  is  impossible  for 
a  person  to  cut  himself,  however  rapidly  the  razor  may  be  passed  over  the 
face  ;  the  advanced  position  of  the  teeth  of  the  guard  pushing  aside  the 
skin,  while  the  razor's  edge  removes  the  beard.  Shaving  can,  with  this 
razor,  be  performed  by  invalids,  and  blind,  nervous,  or  paralysed  indi- 
viduals, without  fear ;  by  the  sick  man  in  his  bed  while  in  a  recumbent 
position  ;  by  the  sailor  or  passenger  on  board  ship  ;  by  the  soldier,  the 
emigrant,  and  colonist ;  and  by  every  man  without  the  need  of  a  looking- 
glass,  and  with  great  freedom  and  celerity.  The  operator  may  either 
shave  upwards,  downwards,  or  across  the  face  and  chin,  with  safety  and 
freedom. 

watchman's  clock. 
I.v  order  to  insure  mechanical  regularity  in  the  magnetical  and  meteoro- 
logical departments  of  the  Iloyal  Observatory  at  Greenwich,  and  to  give 
reasonable  security  that  the  assistants  have  really  been  present  at  the  time 
at  which  their  observations  profess  to  be  made ;  there  is  provided  an 
instrument,  denominated  the  Watchman's  Clock,  which  is  thus  described 
by  Prof.  Airy,  in  the  lleport  of  the  observations  recently  made : — "  It 
consists  of  a  pendulum  clock  which  has  no  hands,  but  of  which  the  dial 
plate  turns  round  ;  this  dial  plate  has  a  number  of  radial  pins  fixed  to  its 
circiunfereuce,  each  of  which  can  be  pressed  downwards  (being  held  by 
the  friction  of  a  spring  only)  without  disturbing  the  others.  A  lever  is 
attaclicd  to  the  clock  frame  in  such  a  position  that,  by  means  of  a  cord 
which  passes  from  the  lever  through  a  hole  in  the  clock-case  to  its  out- 
•ide,  the  lever  can  be  made  to  jiress  down  that  pin  which  happens  to  be 
upjiermost,  and  no  other.     The  clock-case  and  clock  face  are  securely 


20  TEAE-BOOK  OF  TACTS. 

locked  up.  Thus  the  only  power  which  an  assistant  possesses  ove  rthe  clock 
is  that  of  pulling  the  cord,  and  thereby  depressing  one  ])in ;  the  dial 
plate  then  turns  away,  carrying  that  pin  in  its  depressed  state,  and  thus 
retains  for  about  eleven  hours  the  register  of  every  time  at  which  the 
assistant  has  pulled  the  cord.  About  one  hour  before  returning  to  the 
same  time  (semi-diurnal  reckoning)  the  bases  of  the  pins  begin  to  run 
upon  a  spiral  inclined  plane,  by  which  they  are  forced  up  to  their  normal 
position  before  coming  to  that  point  at  which  the  lever  can  act  on  them. 
It  is  the  duty  of  each  assistant,  on  making  the  prescribed  observations, 
to  pull  the  cord  of  the  watchman's  clock ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  first 
assistant  to  examine  the  face  of  the  clock  every  morning,  and  to  enter  in  a 
book  an  account  of  the  pins  which  he  finds  depressed." 


Snyder's  patent  process  of  manufacturing  leather. 

The  process  of  tanning,  by  whatever  means  it  is  conducted,  consists 
simply  in  the  combination  of  the  gelatine  of  the  skin  with  the  tannic 
acid,  or  tannin,  of  a  vegetable  infbsion.  "When  this  takes  place  under 
the  most  favourable  circumstances,  as  when  both  are  in  solution,  the 
combination  is  instantaneous,  and  in  the  proportion  of  54  of  gelatine  to 
46  of  tannin. 

Mr.  Snyder's  method  is  extremely  simple :  it  consists  of  making  a 
large  number  of  fine  ptmctures  in  the  skin,  either  partly  or  completely 
through  it,  which  admits  the  liquor  at  once  by  capillary  attraction  to  im- 
mediate contact  with  a  vastly  greater  surface,  and  fairly  to  the  centre  of 
the  skin.  Thus  it  is  tanned  more  equally  throughout,  and  in  less  than 
half  the  time  required  by  the  ordinary  process  ;  a  much  better  article  is 
produced,  a  great  saving  of  material  is  effected,  and  a  far  greater  weight 
of  leather  obtained  from  the  same  quantity  of  skin. 

It  appears  at  first  sight  a  rather  bold  experiment  to  perforate  a  skia 
throughout  in  order  to  malie  it  ultimately  more  compact  and  impervious, 
but  it  has,  nevertheless,  succeeded ;  for  the  punctures  heal  completely  on 
the  fleshy  side  of  the  skin,  (generally  about  three-fourths  of  the  whole 
thickness,)  though  they  remain  open  and  visible  in  the  grain. 

This  healing  is  so  complete  that  no  traces  of  the  punctures  are  visible 
on  cutting  through  the  flesh,  even  when  examined  with  the  aid  of  the 
strongest  magnifier ;  nor  is  their  existence  made  manifest  by  pressure  of 
either  air  or  water.  It  appears  that  the  points  used  in  puncturing  only 
penetrate  between  the  fibres  and  separate  them  temporarily ;  and  this 
being  done  when  they  are  in  the  loose,  flaccid  state,  before  described,  it  is 
easy  to  understand  that  when  they  are  thickened  by  the  combination  with 
the  tannin,  and  the  intervening  gelatine  is  expanded,  the  space  they  oc- 
cupied must  be  completely  filled  with  the  newly  formed  leather.  This 
view  of  the  rationale  of  the  process  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the 
punctures  remain  in  the  grain,  which  is  not  fibrous  at  all,  and  hence  the 
filling  up  cannot  take  place,  the  cells  and  scales  being  ruptured  or  per- 
forated by  the  punctures. 

These  punctures  which  remain  in  the  grain,  so  far  from  injuring  the 
leather,  are  highly  advantageous,  the  grain  being  under  ordinary  circum- 
•tances  liable  to  draw,  that  is,  to  present  a  wrinkled  appearance,  owing  to 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  21 

its  expanding  unequally  with  the  flesh.  It  is  in  this  drawn  grain  that  the 
cracking  of  leather  begins  ;  and  on  this  account  the  splitting  of  leather, 
(that  is,  the  entire  removal  of  the  grain.)  and  in  other  cases  the  shaving 
away  of  the  grain  from  those  parts  of  the  boot  most  likely  to  crack,  has 
been  adopted  with  great  success. 

An  importaut  characteristic  of  this  invention  is,  that  it  can  be  applied 
in  conjunction  with  any  other  improvement  that  may  hereafter  be  made, 
either  in  the  composition  of  the  solution  or  the  mode  of  applying  it.  Thus, 
punctured  skius  may  be  tanned  in  two  or  three  days,  or  even  in  a  few 
hours,  by  sewing  them  up  into  bags  and  applying  pressure ;  but  this  is 
not  advisable,  the  quality  being  inferior  in  proportion  to  the  acceleration 
thus  attained  ;  for,  besides  the  loss  of  gelatine,  the  skins  are  not  completely 
tanned,  but  only  coloured  by  the  solution  passing  through  them,  and  thus 
the  currier  may  be  deceived,  and  a  serious  loss  entailed  upon  him. — 
MecJianics'  Ma^jazine,  No.  1286. 

PRESENT  STATE  OF  THE  ART  OF  MOSAIC. 

We  quote  the  following  from  a  pai)er  by  Mr.  Digby  Wyatt,  Architect, 
in  the  Tramadiom  of  the  Society  of  Arts : — 

During  the  last  tea  years,  cements,  coloured  with  metallic  oxides,  have 
been  used  by  Mr.  Blashfield,  and  with  a  tolerably  successful  result,  for 
work  protected  from  the  weather;  but  for  out-door  work,  required  to 
stand  frost,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  employ  Roman  cement,  of 
which  the  dark  brown  gives  a  dingy  hue  to  all  colours  mixed  with  it. 
This,  with  some  other  practical  difliculties,  has  interfered  with  the  success 
of  the  plan.  Bitumen,  coloured  with  metallic  oxides,  has  also  beeu  tried 
with  Mr.  Blashfield  as  a  material  for  ornamental  flooring.  The  ground- 
work of  this  pattern  was  first  cast,  in  any  given  colour,' and  the  inter- 
stices were  afterwards  filled  up  with  bitumen  of  vanous  other  shades; 
but  the  method  was  even  less  successful  than  the  former.  The  contrac- 
tion and  expansion  of  the  bitumen  soon  rendered  the  surface  uneven  ;  the 
dust,  trodden  in,  obscured  the  pattern,  and  the  plan,  besides  being  ineftec- 
tual,  was  expensive.  Thus  far  I  have  employed  the  words  of  Mr. 
"Ward's  record  of  the  ditiiculties  which  inevitably  attend  upon  the  outset 
of  any  ingenious  revival ;  reserving  to  myself  the  pleasure  of  describing 
to  you  the  progress  of  more  successful  experiments. 

In  the  year  1839,  Mr.  Blashfield,  having  been  called  upon  by  Mr. 
Hope  to  construct  an  elaborate  Mosaic  flooring  for  him,  at  his  seat  at 
Deepdene,  in  Surrey,  and  bearing  in  mind  the  principle  of  the  ancient 
"  Opus  iucertum,"  tbe  Venetian  jnsc,  and  the  common  Italian  "  Trazzo" 
floors,  constniclcd  a  jjavement  which  has  elicited  much  admiration  from 
those  men  of  taste  who  have  examined  it.  This  and  many  similar  cfl'orts 
attracted  more  general  attention  to  the  subject,  and  consequently  a  more 
general  demand,  which  paved  the  way  for  those  great  improvements  in 
the  art  of  manufacturing  nnd  laying  down  oniamental  pavements,  which 
it  is  now  my  pleasing  duty  to  describe. 

These  ingenious  inventions,  or  revivals,  are  three  in  number  :  the  first 
is,  though  not  precisely  Mosaic  in  its  nature,  still  so  nearly  allied  to  it  in 
character  and  appliance  that  it  cannot  be  well  separated  from  it ;    I 


22  YEAR-BOOK  OF  PACTS. 

allude  to  the  Encaustic  tiles.  These  consisted  of  a  fictile  material  made  iih 
forms  of  about  six  inches  squaie,  into  the  surface  of  which,  while  still  i.. 
a  soft  state,  were  pressed  metal  dies,  upon  which  a  pattern  was  worked 
in  relief:  the  ornament  being  thus  indented,  the  intaglio  or  indentation 
was  filled  up  with  clay  of  a  different  colour.  The  tile  was  then  baked, 
and  covered  with  a  vitreous  glaze,  at  once  enhancing  and  protecting  the 
colour  of  the  material.  This  art  obtained  universally  in  England  from 
about  1300  to  1500,  and  was  again  revived  in  1830,  when  a  patent  was 
taken  out  for  the  manufacture  of  similar  tiles  ;  since  which  period,  the 
revival  has  been  carried  out  on  a  large  scale  by  Messrs.  Minton  and  Co., 
of  Stoke-upon-Trent,  and  many  other  manufacturers,  through  whose 
exertions  this  beautiful  decoration  has  now  a  very  extensive  employ- 
ment. 

The  second  great  step  in  the  revival  of  the  art  of  Mosaic  to  which  I 
would  allude  is  that  made  by  Mr.  Singer  (most  ably  assisted  by  Mr. 
Pether)  who,  in  the  year  1829,  o1»tained  a  patent  for  a  most  ingenious 
machine,  securing  a  perfectly  uniform  Tessera,  by  very  simple  means ; 
also  greatly  improving  the  mode  of  backing  and  laying  the  pavement. 
Mr.  Singer's  object  was  to  secure  a  perfect  imitation  of  the  ancient 
Roman  "  Opus  Tesselatum,"  and  to  this  end  he  required  to  produce 
tesserse,  or  small  cubes,  uniform  in  size,  hardness,  colour,  and  surface  ; 
and  to  accomplish  this  he  placed  compact  and  manipulated  clay  in  a 
machine,  where,  by  means  of  powerful  levers,  it  was  subjected  to  great 
pressure,  and  made  to  exude  at  last  out  of  a  horizontal  aperture  of  six"  by 
half  an  inch.  As  it  protruded  it  was  cut  into  lengths  of  three" ;  and  these 
small  pieces  of  clay,  of  six  inches  in  length  by  three"  in  breadth,  and  one- 
half  iu  depth,  were  left  for  some  days  to  dry.  Fifteen  or  twenty  of  them 
were  then  laid  upon  one  another,  and  a  frame  of  corresponding  size  (across 
which  were  strained  wires,  crossing  one  another  at  regular  intervals,) 
sliding  vertically  on  two  uprights,  was  made  to  pass  through  them, 
cutting  out  by  this  motion  perhaps  one  hundred  uniform  tessera.  When 
any  curved  forms  were  required,  the  tesserae  were  placed  angle-wise  in  a 
groove,  and  apiece  of  curved  metal  being  made  to  pass  through  a  quantity 
of  them  placed  together,  of  course  gave  a  perfect  coincidence  of  form  in 
the  parts  divided.  The  tesserae  were  then  burnt  and  partially  vitrified, 
making  a  very  nice  material,  and  one  by  means  of  which  beautiful  tesse- 
lated  pavement  may  be  produced.  The  works  already  executed  by  Mr. 
Singer,  among  which  may  be  noticed  the  flooring  of  the  hall  of  the 
Reform  Club,  and  the  paving  of  a  portion  of  "Wilton  Church,  near  Salis- 
bury, are  of  great  beauty. 

The  third  great  improvement,  which  carries  one  branch  of  the  art  of  Mo- 
saic to  even  a  higher  point  of  perfection  than  that  attained  by  the  ancients, 
was  originally  discovered  by  Mr.  Prosser,  of  Birmingham,  in  the  year 
1840.  He  found  that  if  the  material  of  porcelain  (a  mixture  of  flint 
and  fine  clay),  be  reduced  to  a  dry  powder,  and  in  that  state  subjected  to 
strong  pressure  between  steel  dies,  the  powder  is  compressed  into  about  a 
fourth  of  its  bulk,  and  is  converted  into  a  compact  substance  of  extraor- 
dinary hardness  and  density,  much  less  porous,  and  much  harder  than  the 
common  porcelain  uncompressed,  and  baked  in  the  furnace.    This  inge- 


MECHANTCAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS. 


ti 


nious  discovery  was  at  first  applied  by  Mr.  Prosser  to  the  manufacture  of 
buttons ;  but  the  happy  idea  having  suggested  itself  to  Mr.  Blashfield, 
that  this  process  was,  of  all  others,  the  one  best  suited  for  the  formation 
of  tesserae,  he  made  arrangements  with  Messrs.  Minton  and  Company, 
who  had  been  employed  by  Mr.  Prosser  to  carry  out  this  invention,  for  a 
supply  of  small  cubes  thus  fonned;  and  by  the  application  of  these  he 
has  much  benefitted  the  art.  These  tesserse  can  be  made  of  any  form, 
either  in  squares  for  tessclation ;  triangles  and  hexagons,  for  imitation 
of  the  "  Opus  Alexandrinum ;"  polygons  and  rhomboids  ;  or  of  any 
colour  ;  and  by  means  of  enamelling  the  surface  with  the  most  brilliant 
tints  and  gold,  very  perfect  substitutes  for  the  ancient  glass  Mosaic  may 
be  produced. 

In  order  to  form  a  Mosaic  with  these  tesserae,  the  pattern  is  first 
arranged  upon  a  true  bench,  that  is,  a  perfectly  level  and  rectangular 
table,  aud  then  the  tesserae  are  placed  close  together  upon  it,  so  as  to 
form  exactly  the  required  ornament ;  they  are  then  covered  over  with  a 
cement,  discovered  by  Mr.  Blashfield,  which  sets  to  an  extreme  degree 
of  hardness,  and  perfectly  resists  both  heat  and  water.  Previously  to 
this  discovery,  Roman  cement  had  been  employed.  On  that  are  bedded 
strong  titles,  or  slate  backing.  When  the  cement  has  set.  which  takes 
place  verj'  quickly,  the  pavement  may  be  removed  and  laid  down  in  the 
situation  intended,  and  will  be  found  to  be  perfectly  true  on  the  face,  of  an 
even  hardness,  imperishable,  and  unchanging,  with  an  almost  imper- 
ceptible joint ;  and,  altogether,  as  beautiful  as  such  a  work  of  art  can  be. 

Osborne's  steam  plough. 
Mr.  Curwood,  of  Whitechapel,  has  constructed,  under  the  patent  of 
Mr.  Osborne,  King  Street,  St.  James's,  a  steam  locomotive  engine,  ex- 
pressly for  a,xricultural  work,  or  steam  haulage  on  canals,  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Andrew  Smith's  wire  rope.  In  the  first  trial,  made  on  the  farm 
of  Mr.  Tyler,  near  Stratford,  Essex,  a  pair  of  these  steam-engines  were 
placed  opposite  each  other,  about  120  yards  apart,  with  a  sufficient 
length  of  wire  rope  between  them,  the  surplus  being  coiled  round  the 
beam  of  one  of  Lowcock's  two-way  ploughs.  This  trial,  although  not 
succe!!<4ful,  proved  that  the  conditions  of  the  two  modes  of  draught  differ 
essentially  :  horse  draught  being  upwards,  and  exercising  a  direct  control, 
by  its  proximity  to  the  plough,  whereas  the  draught  by  steam  power  is 
distant  and  downwards,  and  exercises  no  direct  control  on  the  plough : 
hence  the  experiment  was  instructive.  Another  trial  was  made,  extending 
the  distance  to  210  yards  between  the  engines,  when,  with  both  a  Kent 
turn  niid  an  Essex  rest  plough,  very  good  work  was  accomplished.  The 
subsequent  trials  were  made  with  a  two-wheel  single  engine,  the  wire-rope 
bcini;  returned  through  a  pulley  anchored  opposite  the  engine,  and  were 
equally  succassful  as  regards  the  work  done.  When  a  common  swing 
plotigh  v,as  used,  the  downward  draiight  buried  it  beyond  the  necessary 
depth  at  once.  From  these  rude  trials,  with  an  engine  of  10-horse  power, 
which  is  locomotive,  or  can  be  drawn  by  two  liorses,  we  think  there  is 
Utile  doubt  of  the  practicability  of  the  plan,  as  now  tested ;    but  on  the 


24  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

question  of  its  economy,  nothing  but  actual  experiments,  on  a  large  scale, 
with  suitable  implements,  can  determine. 

These  engines  possess  great  advantages  in  being  applicable  to  thrashing 
and  other  agricultural  purposes,  and  can  be  moved  from  farm  to  farm,  or 
from  field  to  field,  with  the  greatest  facility.  They  are  of  the  usual  form, 
but  superior  to  any  yet  made  for  agricultural  purposes,  both  as  to  arrange- 
ment and  workmansliip.  The  mode  employed  for  taking  up  the  wire-rope 
constitutes  the  patent.  A  pair  of  grooved  riggers,  30  inches  in  diameter, 
with  projecting  circles,  are  placed  tangent  to  each  other ;  the  projecting 
circles  forming  friction- wheels.  This  pair  of  riggers  is  placed  one  above 
the  other,  by  the  side  of  the  boiler,  and  secured  to  it  on  a  frame  by  two 
strong  iron  straps,  to  which  also  all  the  gearing  is  framed.  The  cylinders 
are  vertical,  and  encased  in  the  smoke-box,  giving  motion  to  the  crank-shaft 
by  beams  and  side  rods.  The  crank-shaft  traverses  under  the  boiler,  and 
communicates  the  necessary  motion  to  the  lower  rigger  by  a  spur  and  pinion 
wheel.  On  the  opposite  end  of  th,e  crank-shaft  are  keyed,  when  wanted, 
a  drum  and  boss,  for  a  universal  joint ;  and  the  engine  is  rendered 
locomotive  by  a  pair  of  stubb  wheels  and  chains,  connecting  them  with 
the  crank-shaft.  The  compactness  of  the  engine  is  admirable ;  for,  while 
it  is  equal  to  10-horse  power,  and  performs  three  distinct  operations,  its 
compass  is  only  10  feet  by  61  feet,  the  height  of  boiler  being  5  feet. 
The  wire-rope  is  wound  round  the  riggers  in  form  of  the  figure  of  8, 
and  all  sawing  and  abrasion  prevented ;  and  this  plan  presents  a  great 
advantage  in  not  requiring  perfect  tension,  but  will  take  up  a  slack  rope 
without  the  least  slip  on  the  grooved  riggers. — Mechanics'  Magazine, 
No.  1319. 

THK  VELOCENTIMETER. 

Mr.  F.  Winshaw  has  explained  to  the  British  Association,  this  instru- 
ment, with  its  applications.  He  stated  that  in  the  year  1837  he  was 
engaged  in  working  the  general  survey  of  the  railways  in  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland ;  and  that  he  invented  the  first  Velocentimeter  for  the  purpose 
of  testing  more  readily  than  by  the  ordinary  watch  furnished  with  the 
second-hand  the  time  occupied  in  passing  over  measured  distances,  which 
were  usually  marked  by  posts  or  standards.  He  now  exhibited  an  im- 
proved instrument  which  resembled  a  handsome  chronometer,  and 
observed  that  it  had  tabulated  thousands  of  miles  without  being  out  the 
hundredth  part  of  a  minute.  He  stated  that  by  it,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  electric  telegraph,  the  time  of  the  United  Kingdom  could  be  made 
uniform  to  half  a  second. 


railway  speed. 
The  most  extraordinary  journey  that  has  as  yet  been  made  by  the 
express  train  upon  the  Great  "Western  Railway,  was  performed  on  Satur- 
day,  Aug.  26,  1848,  with  the  "  Courier"  locomotive,  from  Didcot  to 
Paddington,  with  the  12  o'clock  express  train  from  Exeter,  consisting  of 
six  carriages,  weighing  60  tons.  The  "  Courier"  is  one  of  the  eight- 
wheel  class  of  engines,  with  eight-feet  driving  wheels,  18  inches  cylinders, 
and  24  feet  stroke :  and  the  only  difi'erence  between  her  and  the  others  of 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  29 

the  class  is,  that  her  tubes  are  three  inches  shorter,  and  her  fire-box  larsrer, 
by,  we  believe,  six  square  feet.  The  engine  was  driven  by  Mr.  Hejjpell, 
who  had  charge  of  the  celebrated  "  Ixion,"  seven-feet  driving-wheel  loco- 
motive, during  the  gauge  experiments.  The  53  miles  were  performed — 
that  is,  from  a  state  of  rest  to  the  time  the  engine  entered  the  Station  at 
Paddington— in  49  minutes  13  seconds,  or  at  an  average  speed,  including 
the  time  lost  in  getting  up  speed  when  departing  from  Didcot,  as  well  as 
the  time  lost  in  reducing  speed  when  arriving  at  Paddington,  of  sixty • 
seven  miles  per  hour.  The  forty  seventh  mile-post  was  passed  at  3-46- 
40^,  and  the  fourth  mile-post  at  4-23-24^,  so  i\iht  forty -three  miles  were 
performed  in  thirty-six  minutes  and  forty  seconds,  or  an  average  speed 
of  upwards  of  seventy  miles  per  hour. 

WROUGHT-IRON  BOWSTRING  GIRDERS  FOR  BRIDGES. 

A  WROUGHT-IRON  Rib  Of  Girder  has  been  employed  in  the  construc- 
tion of  Bridges,  of  120  feet  and  130  feet  span,  at  Messrs.  Fox,  Hender- 
son, and  Co.'s  establishment,  the  London  Works,  near  Birmingham, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Joseph  Locke,  C.E.,  M.P.  On  Aug.  6th, 
cue  of  them  was  publicly  tested  at  the  works,  in  the  presence  of  a  number 
of  scientific  gentlemen  and  engineers.  The  bridge-rib  had  been  erected, 
ready  for  proof,  in  an  open  si)ace  in  front  of  the  London  Works,  and  pre- 
sented a  clear  span  of  120  feet  between  the  bearings.  It  is  constructed 
entirely  of  wrought  iron,  and  consists  of  an  arch  of  boiler  plates  and  angle 
iron,  tied  across  at  the  ends  by  horizontal  bars  ;  and  the  tie  bars  are  con- 
nected with  the  arch  by  vertical  standards  and  by  a  double  system  of 
diagonals,  which  have  the  effect  of  distributing  over  the  whole  curve  of 
the  arch  the  action  of  weights  placed  on,  or  passing  over,  any  point  of  the 
bridge.  The  proof  was  applied  by  loading  the  bridge-rib  with  240  tons 
of  rails,  bars,  &c. ;  and  it  produced  the  following  satisfactory  results,  as 
the  weight  was  appLed  : — 

Wei(?ht  in  tons  of  rails,  Extreme    amount   of 

&c.,   placed   on   the  deflection  i)rotluced 

cross  g^irders.  at  centre  of  arch. 

3*i  ton.s 0  l-16th  inches. 

68i    „     0  5-8ths      „ 

1023    „     1  5-lGths    „ 

137      2  l-8th       „ 

17U    „     2  3-4ths      „ 

30Ji     „      3  .5-l6tlis     „ 

240      „      3  1l-IGth8„ 

The  proof  weight  was  fixed  at  240  tons,  as  being  double  the  greatest 
load  which  the  bridge  can  by  any  possibility  be  ever  required  to  bear.  A 
heavy  goods'  train  weighs  less  than  half  a  ton  per  foot  lineal ;  a  train, 
consisting  entirely  of  locomotive  engines  (which  would  be  the  heaviest  of 
ail  possible  trains)  would  only  weigh  one  ton  per  foot  lineal,  and,  con- 
sequently,  would  place  a  load  of  not  more  than  1 20  tons  on  a  bridge  of 
120  feet  span.  The  new  bowstring  bridge  has,  therefore,  been  proved  to 
twice  the  weight  which  ever  can  l)c  placed  upon  it,  and  to  four  times  the 
weight  which  it  is  ever  likely  to  have  to  bear.  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  add,  that  the  trial  gave  great  satiifactiou  to  all  parties.     These  ribs  are 


26  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS, 

adapted  for  large  spans,  in  cases  where  either  headway  is  of  importance, 
or  where  sufficient  abutment  cannot  be  obtained  without  very  heavy 
expense.  Bridges  constructed  of  these  ribs  may  be  employed  with  perfect 
safety  for  very  large  sjmns,  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  ordinary 
girders  are  used  for  small  ones.  The  strength  of  the  bridge  depends  upon 
the  rib  or  arch,  and  on  the  tiebars  by  which  the  extremities  are  held 
together.  The  vertical  standards  are  introduced,  partly  to  suspend  the 
load  from  the  arch,  and  partly  to  obtain  longitudinal  and  transverse 
firmness ;  they  also  support  the  tiebars.  The  diagonals  are  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing  undue  deflection  in  the  rib,  when  the  bridge  is 
unequally  loaded.  The  rib  itself  is  constructed  of  boiler-plates  and  angle- 
iron  riveted  up  in  the  form  of  a  square  hollow  trunk ;  it  is  strongly  tied 
together,  so  that  the  full  section  of  the  plates  and  angle-iron  may  be 
depended  upon  to  resist  the  crushing  strain. 

In  order  to  give  this  trunk  additional  lateral  stiffness,  the  side  plates, 
which  form  the  top,  are  made  to  ©verhang,  and  are  strengthened  on  the 
edges  by  angle-iron,  &c.  The  tiebars  measure  about  8  ins.  by  1  in.  each, 
and  are  introduced  in  sufficient  numbers  to  take  the  whole  strain.  The 
ribs  are  supported  at  each  end  on  cast  iron  shoes,  fixed  at  one  end  to 
the  piers,  and  mounted  at  the  other  on  sliding  frames  and  rollers.  This 
arrangement  provides  not  only  for  expansion  and  contraction,  but  also  for 
motion  under  a  very  heavy  load.  The  action  of  these  parts  under  proof 
has  been  found  to  be  perfect.  Cross  girders,  constructed  entirely  of 
wrought-iron,  are  suspended  between  the  ribs.  Besides  the  above  ex- 
periments, the  two  ribs  for  a  bridge,  130  feet  span,  have  been  proved 
with  a  weight  of  260  tons — i.  e.,  2  tons  per  foot  lineal — each,  put  on  in 
dead  weight,  by  suspending  cast  iron  cross  girders  underneath  the  points 
where  the  wrought-iron  girders  are  intended  to  be  attached,  and  by 
placing  thereon  260  tons  of  rails,  pigs,  bars,  &c.  In  proving,  the  load 
was  first  put  on  two  points  at  one  end,  then  on  the  next  two  points,  and 
80  on,  in  order  to  produce,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  same  effect  as  the 
passage  of  a  heavily  loaded  train.  In  the  case  of  one  rib,  the  load  was 
allowed  to  remain  for  several  days,  aud  then  removed.  After  the  lapse 
of  a  few  days,  the  same  load  was  replaced,  and  again  allowed  to  remain 
some  days.     The  results  were  very  satisfactory. 

During  the  process  of  proving,  observations  were  taken  with  a  dumpy 
level,  placed  at  a  distance;  and  the  sinking  of  the  bearing  plates  in  the 
ground  was  observed  and  noted.  The  bridges  now  being  constructed,  are 
intended  to  carry  a  double  line  of  rails  ;  and  the  test  applied  is,  therefore, 
equal  to  two  tons  to  each  foot  lineal  of  single  line  of  way.  This  test  was 
fixed  upon  in  the  belief  that  the  greatest  possible  load  which  can  in  work- 
ing be  placed  upon  each  line  of  rails  is  about  one  ton  per  foot  lineal ;  and 
that,  to  provide  for  the  additional  strain  caused  by  the  rapid  motion,  &c., 
of  the  practical  load  of  trains  passing,  the  proofw eight  ought  to  be  fixed 
at  double  the  greatest  possible  load.  In  very  large  spans  (say  400  feet 
and  upwards)  it  would  be  necessary,  on  many  accounts,  to  use  four  ribs 
instead  of  two,  and  to  brace  all  the*  four  ribs  together  overhead,  so  as  to 
obtain  additional  transverse  stiffness. — Mining  Journal. 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS. 


27 


ROCHAZ'S  IMPROVEMENTS  IN  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  OXIDE  OF  ZINC. 

M.  C.  A.  F.  KocHAZ,  of  Paris,  the  patentee,  states,  that  by  this  im- 
proved process,  the  employment  of  retorts,  as  by  the  old  method,  is 
dispensed  with,  the  fuel  and  labour  greatly  economised,  the  operation 
completely  independent  of  the  skill  of  the  workman,  and  the  loss  of  metal, 
incidental  to  the  old  method,  prevented.  Ores  of  lead  and  zinc  may  be 
operated  on  at  once.  The  principal  feature  consists  in  the  reduction  of 
the  native  sulphuret  of  zinc  (blende),  and  of  the  carbonates,  oxides,  and 
silicates  of  zinc,  and  sulphurets  and  oxides  of  lead,  by  the  action  of  the 
reducing  gases  of  a  blast  furnace,  by  which  the  scoria,  or  slag,  is  fused, 
and  the  zinc  volatilised  ;  the  vapours  are  then  condensed,  and  conducted 
into  a  reservoir,  situated  over  the  mouth  of  the  furnace,  and  heated  by  the 
gases  therefrom.  The  furnace  having  been  heated  to  the  required  tempe- 
rature by  the  combustion  of  fuel  alone,  a  charge  of  any  kind  of  the  above 
zinc  ores,  mixed  with  a  suitable  flux,  is  introduced  into  the  charging 
aperture ;  and  by  means  of  a  cover  above,  and  a  sliding  plate  below,  none 
of  the  gases  are  allowed  to  escape.  The  charge  thus  falls  upon  a  layer  of 
incandescent  fuel ;  the  layer  of  fuel  is  then  poured  upon  the  ore;  then 
another  charge  of  ore,  until  the  furnace  is  full,  and  it  is  to  be  replenished 
as  the  charge  sinks  below  a  certain  depth.  The  zinc  is  thus  volatilised 
by  the  heat,  and  the  scoria  falls  into  the  lower  part  of  the  furnace ;  the 
gases  and  volatilised  zinc  pass,  through  proper  openings,  through  a  hy- 
draulic main,  and  there  deposit  any  zinc  carried  with  them. — Mining 
Journal. 


THE  GREAT  DEE  VIADUCT  ON  THE  SHREWSBURY  AND  CHESTER 
RAILWAY. 

By  this  noble  structure,  the  Shrewsbury  and  Chester  Railway  crosses 
the  river  Dee,  in  the  Vale  of  Llangollen,  at  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in 
the  principality  of  ^V ales;  where  Nature  has  grouped  the  various  elements 
of  beauty  in  the  richest  profusion,  and  art  has  recorded  its  triumphs  by 
first-class  works. 

This  stui)endous  Viaduct  consists  of  19  semicircular  arches  of  60  feet 
span  ;  and  the  height  from  the  bed  of  the  river  to  the  top  of  the  parapet 
at  the  centre  pier  is  148  feet,  being  30  feet  higher  than  the  Menai 
Bridge.  Its  length  is  1,532  feet.  The  arches  are  built  with  a  double 
ring  of  arch  stones  four  feet  deep,  having  a  broad  chamfer  cut  off  each 
arris;  this  double  chamferred  ring  being  continued  down  the  piers 
without  break  to  the  foundation.  There  is  no  projecting  or  springing 
course  to  break  the  simple  and  majestic  outline  of  the  arch  and  piers. 

Th'-  ■  •  ■•    thirteen  feet  thick,  and  twenty-eight  feet  six  inches  long  at 

till  f  the  arch;  and  have  a  curvilinear  batten  or  slope  on  the 

fa(.  v  cs  strength  and  graceful  form  to  the  whole.     The  viaduct 

is  founded  on  the  solid  rock,  and  is  built  of  stone,  with  the  exception  of 
the  interior  arching,  which  is  of  hard  fire-bricks.  The  tint  of  the  stone 
i*  warm  and  1)eautiful ;  the  quoins  or  outer  rings  of  the  arches  and  piers 
are  smoothly  dressed ;  all  the  rest  of  the  work  is  rough  rustic,  and  conveys 
to  the  mind  the  idea  of  great  strength  and  solidity.  The  parapet  is  set 
on  a  bold  projecting  string-course,  supported  on  dcntcls ;  these  parts  arc 


28  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

in  single  stones  smoothly  dressed,  and  give  a  noble  finish  to  this  portion 
of  the  design. 

The  first  stone  of  this  great  work  was  laid  on  the  19th  of  April,  1846 ; 
and  the  last  arch  was  closed  on  the  12th  of  August,  1848;  but  the 
ceremony  of  keying  the  last  arch  did  not  take  place  till  the  25th  of 
August.  The  construction  thus  occupied  a  period  of  two  years  and  four 
months.  The  structure  contains  upwards  of  64,000  cubic  yards  of  solid 
masonry,  and  cost  about  £70,000.  It  is  the  largest  of  its  class  in  the 
world  yet  erected ;  and  its  cost  per  cubic  yard  bears  a  favourable  com- 
parison with  that  of  any  similar  work  yet  erected  in  this  country. 

The  viaduct  has  been  erected  under  the  direction,  and  from  the  design, 
of  Mr.  Henry  Robertson,  the  engineer  of  the  Shrewsbury  and  Chester 
Railway,  who  originally  laid  out  this  portion  of  the  railway  in  November, 
1845,  and  who  conducted  the  works  to  successful  completion. — Illustrated 
London  News,  No.  340. 

Messrs.  Makin,  Mackenzie,  and -Brassy,  were  the  contractors,  at  a  cost 
of  upwards  of  £100,000.  The  cost  of  timber  required  to  form  scaffold- 
ing, &c.,  for  its  erection  was  £15,000,  and  between  300  and  400  masons 
alone  were  employed  during  the  whole  time  of  construction. 


PUBLIC  PASSENGER  TIME-SIGNAL  FOR  RAILWAY  STATIONS. 

A  GREAT  want  has  long  been  felt  for  some  certain  and  eft'ective  means 
of  informing  or  warning  the  public  of  the  approaching  departure  of  pas- 
senger trains.  Bells  rung  within  or  near  the  station  cannot  ensure  this 
purpose,  the  sound  being  easily  stifled,  and  apt  to  be  regarded,  besides,  as 
a  nuisance.  Clocks  are  still  more  useless,  as  they  ai-e  visible  only  at 
short  distances,  even  where  they  can  be  placed  in  conspicuous  positions. 
The  requisite  machine,  it  is  confidently  stated,  has  now  been  devised  and 
brought  into  successful  operation.  It  consists  simply  of  a  lofty  pillar, 
with  a  moveable  ball,  which  drops,  within  ajimited  space  of  time,  from 
the  top  to  the  bottom,  and,  as  it  descends,  indicates  exactly  the  time 
which  is  to  elapse  before  the  train  sets  off".  Being  a  most  conspicuous 
object,  it  is  distinguished  at  a  considerable  distance  by  intending  passen- 
gers, who  are  thereby  saved  all  unnecessary  hurry  and  excitement  in 
making  their  way  to  the  station.  The  North  British  Company  have 
erected  one  of  these  signals  at  the  Portobello  Station ;  and  we  understand 
that  it  has  proved  a  very  great  comfort  and  relief  to  the  inhabitants. 
Every  station  of  any  importance  ought  to  be  provided  with  a  similar 
apparatus,  the  cost  of  which  is  insignificant,  considering  its  real  and  con- 
stant utility,  and  the  prevention  of  annoyance,  both  to  the  company's 
servants  and  the  public,  which  it  secures.  We  are  sure  that  the  least  of 
the  inventor's  objects  is  the  mere  pecuniary  profit  which  may  accrue  from 
this  ingenious  instrument';  and  we  have  therefore  the  less  hesitation  in 
calling  the  attention  of  railway  managers  to  its  undoubted  merit  and  use- 
fulness.— Scottish  Railway  Gazette. 


ELECTRO-MAGNETIC  RAILWAY  SIGNALS. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Roberts,  of  Holywell,  Flintshire,  has  invented  a  mode  of 
enabling  guards  or  passengers  in  a  train  to  sound  an  alarm  on  the  engi- 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  29 

neer's  whistle,  and  call  his  attention  to  any  danger  which  may  threaten 
the  train,  or  any  portion  of  it.  The  means  employed  is  electro-mag- 
netism— a  wire  passing  through  all  the  carriages,  with  a  spring  to  each 
compartment,  enabling  the  passenger,  by  a  pressure  of  the  finger,  to 
bring  the  positive  and  negative  poles  or  ends  of  the  wire  together,  and 
thus  act  on  the  steam  whistle.  The  objection  at  first  urged,  that  passen- 
gers might  use  it  unnecessarily,  or  from  mischievous  motives,  is  met  by 
a  contrivance  which  would  at  once  point  out  the  compartment  of  a  car- 
riage in  which  the  alarm  had  been  sounded,  and  contradistinguish  it  from 
an  "alarm  souuded  by  the  guard;  because,  in  the  case  of  a  passenger 
sounding  it,  a  bolt  at  that  point  holds  the  spring  in  the  position  in  which 
it  has  been  forced  in  giving  the  alarm,  and  it  can  only  be  released  by 
means  of  keys  to  be  in  the  possession  of  the  guards.  The  passenger,  there- 
fore, could  only  give  one  sound  on  the  whistle  ;  whilst  a  guard  would  be 
able  to  give  a  succession,  according  to  some  preconcerted  plan,  by  which 
the  engineer  would  know  from  whom  the  signals  proceeded,  and  what  he 
was  to  do.  The  inventor  suggests  that  the  engineer,  upon  an  alarm 
being  soimded,  if  not  able  to  discover  danger,  should  not  necessarily  stop 
the  train,  but  wait  till  the  guard  had  gone  to  the  carriage  from  which  the 
signal  proceeded,  and  ascertained  whether  there  was  good  ground  for  the 
alarm.  In  cases  where  the  alarm  was  given  wantonly,  or  mischievously, 
a  fine  of  £5,  or  some  serious  sum,  might  be  levied,  under  the  company's 
by-laws.  It  is  suggested  that  such  a  mode  of  communication  woidd  be 
wry  desirable  in  cases  where  a  single  carriage  in  the  midst  of  h  train 
gets  off  the  rails  unknown  to  the  engineer ;  it  might  then  prevent  further 
mischief. 

To  test  the  effect  of  the  electro-magnetic  process  in  sounding  the 
whistle,  an  engine  of  Fairbairn's  construction  was  got  into  working  order 
with  the  steam  up,  and  a  steam-whistle  was  screwed  on  to  the  left  side  of 
the  front  of  the  boiler,  over  the  steam-gauge,  to  which  was  attached,  in 
an  isolated  position,  an  electro-magnet.  The  magnet  is  formed  of  coils 
of  copper  wire,  surrounding  a  bar  of  soft  iron.  A  small  battery  connected 
with  it  was  placed  in  the  tender,  and  a  wire  from  the  battery  and  another 
from  the  magnet  were  carried  out  to  a  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty 
yards.  The  mere  bringing  of  these  two  ends  of  the  wire  in  contact, 
completing  the  electric  circuit,  draws  down  an  armature  or  horizoutiil 
bar  towards  the  poles  of  the  magnet  (which  is  placed  under  it),  and  this 
depressing  the  short  end  of  the  lever,  its  other  end  sets  in  motion  a 
valve,  allowing  steam  to  pass  from  the  boiler  of  the  locomotive  into  the 
apparatus  of  which  the  steam-whistle  forms  a  part ;  whilst  the  alarm  is 
given  instantly,  and  continued  until  the  contact  is  broken.  So  etlicient 
was  the  apparatus  in  power,  that,  whilst  a  weight  of  only  a  pound  and  a 
half  is  sutlicient  to  depress  the  lever  setting  the  machinery  in  motion,  the 
magnetic  power  was  equal  to  2  cwt.  The  practicability  of  sounding 
the  steam-whistle  by  this  process  waa  therefore  placed  beyond  a  doubt. 
The  ends  of  the  wire  were  brought  into  contact  with  one  of  the  solid 
rails  on  which  the  engine  stood,  and  with  the  wheels,  with  the  same 
instantaneous  effect  on  the  whistle.  To  equip  a  train  with  this  apparatus 
it  is  proposed  to  have  pieces  of  wire  along  the  sides,  through,  or  under- 


30  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

neath  each  of  the  carriages  of  the  companies  using  them,  with  spring 
clips,  and  jointed  staples  at  the  ends ;  so  that  when  the  carriages  are 
joined  together,  forming  a  train,  these  ends  could  be  linked  tog8ther  in  a 
moment,  and  the  metallic  contact  necessary  would  be  formed  "in  the  time 
the  words  could  be  pronounced.  The  ends  might  project  beyond  the 
carriages  so  as  to  allow  of  the  variable  separation  between  the  carriages 
which  sometimes^takes  place ;  or  the  wire  might  in  such  places  be  twisted 
into  a  kind  of  spiral  spring,  capable  of  being  lengthened  at  pleasure. 

TRANSMISSION  OF  MONEY  BY  RAILWAY. 

Mr.  Chubb  has  invented  an  iron  box  for  the  Transmission  of  Money, 
Bullion,  &c.,  on  Railways.  A  wrought-iron  box,  lined  throughout  with 
hard  steel  plates,  is  locked  down  at  the  terminus  to  a  strong  iron  plate  in 
the  guard's  carriage ;  the  key  of  this  lock,  and  also  the  key  by  which 
access  can  alone  be  obtained  to  the  interior,  is  kept  at  the  principal  ter- 
minus by  the  officer  who  has  charge  of  the  cash.  Each  station-master  is 
provided  with  a  key,  which  opens  a  small  lid  at  the  top  ;  when  he  has 
money  to  send,  he  unlocks  the  lid,  places  his  bag  of  money  or  parcel  in 
an  open  drum  underneath,  moves  a  handle  which  turns  the  drum,  and 
the  cash  is  dropped  inside :  before  he  is  able  to  take  out  his  key,  he  must 
move  the  drum  back,  and  see  that  the  money  is  gone.  It  will  be  ob- 
served, that  he  cannot  leave  the  lid  unlocked :  when  the  box  arrives  at 
the  terminus,  it  is  unlocked  from  the  frame,  taken  into  the  office,  and 
placed  on  a  similar  frame  there.  The  cash-keeper  only  can  with  his  key 
then  get  access  to  the  money. — Mechanics'  Magazine,  No.  1310. 


BALANCING  THE  WHEELS  OF  LOCOMOTIVE  ENGINES. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Institution  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  held  at  Bir- 
mingham, Mr.  M'Connell  has  read  a  paper  "  On  the  Balancing  of  Wheels." 
The  proper  balancing  of  the  wheels  of  locomotive  engines  was  stated  to  be 
a  very  important  matter,  as  most  of  the  railway  accidents,  in  cases  where 
the  carriages  had  jumped  off  the  line  of  rails,  were  to  be  attributed  to  a 
want  of  proper  balance  in  the  wheels  of  the  engines.  The  merit  of  the 
discovery  of  the  proper  balance  is  due  to  Mr.  George  Heaton,  of  Shad- 
well-street  Works,  Birmingham ;  who,  when  employed  by  the  Earl  of 
Craven,  had  occasion  to  examine  a  lathe  which  jumped  in  a  very  violent 
manner,  and  in  the  pulley  of  which  he  discovered  a  want  of  balance.  This 
defect  he  remedied,  and  the  lathe  afterwards  worked  properly.  Mr. 
M'Connell  went  on  to  detail  instances  of  Mr.  Heaton's  experiments,  and 
then  read  some  accounts  of  accidents  on  railways,  which  appeared  to  have 
resulted  from  the  cause  to  which  he  had  alluded.  After  an  explanation  of 
the  central  forces  of  wheels,  the  speaker  proceeded  to  exhibit,  by  models, 
proofs  of  his  statements ;  passed  on  to  describe  the  usual  manner  of  ba- 
lancing the  wheels  of  locomotive  engines,  which,  he  contended,  was  an 
improper  one ;  and  concluded  by  illustrating,  by  another  model,  the  ne- 
cessity for  obtaining  an  accurate  balance  in  the  piston  rod. 


THE  FAIRFIELD      RAILAVAY  STEAM-CARRIAGE. 

This  Carriage  has  been  built  by  Adams  and  Co.,  from  the  design  and 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  31 

plan  of  the  patentee,  Charles  Hatton  Gregory,  for  the  Bristol  and  Exeter 
KaiJw  ay.  The  engine  is  peculiar.  The  frame  is,  for  convenience,  made 
to  bolt  to  the  carriage  firmly,  in  a  separate  length,  so  as  to  remove  with 
facility,  in  case  of  repairs.  The  boiler  is  tubular  and  vertical,  3  feet  in 
diameter,  and  6  feet  high;  150  tubes,  4  feet  in  length,  I2  inches  dia- 
meter ;  fire  box,  2  feet  high,  2  feet  6  inches  diameter.  This  will  give 
20  square  feet  of  heating  surface  in  the  fire-box,  150  feet  tube  surface  in 
the  water,  and  50  feet  in  the  steam,  which  has  great  effect  in  drying  it 
before  it  leaves  the  boiler.  The  vertical  tubes  are  found  to  generate  steam 
very  rapidly.  The  cylinders  are  8  inches  in  diameter,  and  of  12  inches 
stroke.  The  pistons  communicate  by  their  connecting  rods  with  a  sepa- 
rate crank-shaft,  on  which  are  placed  the  eccentrics.  The  driving  wheels 
(4  feet  6  inches  iu  diameter),  the  axle  of  which  is  in  front  of  the  boiler, 
are  put  in  motion  by  side  rods  or  crank  pins.  Thus,  when  the  side  rods 
are  removed,  the  whole  becomes  an  ordinary  wheel  carriage.  The  tank  is 
in  front  of  the  boiler,  and  will  contain  220  gallons  of  water.  The  coke- 
boi  is  attached  to  the  carriage  end.  The  fuel  and  water  would  be  suffi- 
cient for  a  journey  of  about  40  miles.  The  first-class  compartment  is 
fitted  for  16  passengers,  but  6  extras  could  find  room.  The  second  class 
will  carry  32,  but  on  occasions,  48  :  total,  60.  The  runniug  wheels  are 
3  feet  6  inches  in  diameter,  and  run  independently  on  their  axles,  as  well 
as  the  usual  movement  of  the  axles  in  the  journals.  The  frame  is  within 
9  inches  of  the  rails,  and  no  steps  are  required.  The  total  weiglit  is  esti- 
mated at  10  tons;  and  the  consumption  of  coke  will  be  under  lOlbs.  per  mile. 
The  steam-carriage  has  exceeded  a  speed  of  35  spiles  an  hour  up  a 
3  mile  incline  of  1  in  100 ;  and  41  miles  down  the  same  incline,  with  the 
disadvantages  of  a  very  sharp  curve  and  no  run  at  starting,  very  loose 
rails,  and  one  of  them  deeply  rusted  from  disuse,  grinding  in  the  fianges 
with  great  friction.  There  is  little  doubt,  when  in  order,  this  carriage 
will  make  60  miles  per  hour  on  good  rails  on  a  level. — Illustrated 
London  News,  No.  345,  which  see  for  an  engraving  of  this  new  carriage. 

COMPRESSED  AIR  LOCOMOTIVE  ON  COMMON  ROADS. 

A  CARRIAGE  ui)on  this  principle  has  been  constructed  in  the  workshop 
for  the  College  of  Civil  Engineers,  at  Putney,  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion, and  from  the  plans,  of  Baron  Beruhard  Von  Rathen  :  first,  by  com- 
pressing the  air  with  a  rotatory  steam-engine  ;  and  secondly,  by  propelling 
the  locomotive  by  a  rotatory  air-engine.  In  an  experinicntid  trial,  the 
carriage,  which  is  about  3  tons  weight,  travelled  from  Putney  College  to 
AVandsworth  (about  one  mile),  from  beginning  to  end,  with  uniform 
and  rtgular  speed  of  about  eight  miles  per  hour  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  it  would  have  continued  to  run  for  10  or  12  miles,  as  was  originally 
intended,  but  for  an  unfortunate  accident  iu  charging  the  reservoir  (a 
combinatiou  of  cylindrical  tubes),  to  too  high  a  degree  of  pressure  in  the 
test,  by  which  the  greater  part  of  those  tubes  were  impaired  and  jjarlly 
destroyed.  The  cause  of  this  explosion  is  not  fully  ascertained,  as,  iu 
most  of  such  cases,  the  rest  of  the  tubes,  which  remained  air-tight,  were 
only  charged  for  the  trial,  and,  by  way  of  caution,  to  24  atmospheres, 
iustead  of  50 — to  which  extent  the  whole  reservoir  was  formerly  tried, 


33  YEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS, 

aud  intended  to  be  used,  at  this  degree  of  pressure,  which  would  have 
allowed  the  carriage  to  run  10  times  the  distance  of  the  actual  trial. 
Nevertheless,  we  may  consider  the  problem  of  the  practicability  of  com- 
pressing air  in  large  quantities,  and  to  a  high  degree  of  pressure,  without 
great  loss  of  power,  by  the  invention  of  Baron  Von  Rathen's  system,  as 
resolved.  By  his  invention  also,  of  a  regulator  and  of  an  apparatus  i'or 
expansion,  the  uniform  working  power  is  secured,  and  the  loss  by  refri- 
geration in  the  expansion  very  much  diminished.  The  greater  or  lesser 
distance  of  the  trial  can  be,  therefore,  of  no  great  consequence. — Mini7ig 
Journal.  

VAPOUR  ENGINE. 

An  Engine  of  ten-horse  power,  the  invention  of  a  M.  Trembley,  a 
Frenchman,  has  been  seen  in  operation  at  No.  14,  High-street,  White- 
chapel  ;  in  which,  by  a  combination  of  the  powers  and  properties  of  steam 
and  the  vapour  of  perchloride,  results  are  produced,  by  which  machinery 
is  worked  at  50  per  cent,  on  the  cost  below  the  expense  of  the  common 
steam-engine.  The  first  engine  constructed  on  this  principle  was  exhibited 
in  Paris  in  1846,  and  the  success  of  the  experiments  was  admitted. 
There  is  now  an  engine  on  the  same  principle  at  work  in  a  glass  manu- 
factory at  Lyons,  which  is  of  35-hrose  power;  in  it  ether  is  used,  by  the 
vaporization  of  which  the  force  is  obtained.  In  the  engine  now  at  work 
at  Messrs.  Home's,  perchloride  has,  on  the  suggestion  of  M.  Arago,  been 
employed  in  the  place  of  ether.  The  perchloride  is  an  agent  from  the 
vaporization  of  which  no  danger  can  arise,  from  explosion  or  combustion  : 
it  is  uninflammablei,  and  may  be  poured  into  a  red-hot  iron  ladle  with 
perfect  impunity,  nothing  being  produced  but  vapour  from  the  experi- 
ment. 


REGULATED  TIME-BALL. 

Professor  Chevallier  observes :  ''  The  usual  method  of  indicating 
the  time  by  a  Ball  is  by  permitting  the  ball  to  fall  freely,  the  motion 
being  a  little  accelerated  at  first  by  a  spring.  It  is  evident  that  this 
method  is  subject  to  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  particular  instant  of 
time  which  is  to  be  observed.  There  is  also  some  inconvenience  arising 
from  the  derangement  to  which  the  apparatus  is  liable  by  the  sudden 
stoppage  of  the  motion  of  the  ponderous  ball. 

"  It  is  proposed  to  remedy  these  disadvantages  by  regulating  the 
descent  of  the  ball,  so  that  its  motion  may  be  uniform,  and  causing  it  to 
pass  through  three  or  five  horizontal  hoops.  The  motion  may  be  so 
regulated  that  the  ball  may  pass  through  the  distance  between  one  hoop 
and  another  in  a  determinate  interval,  as  about  20* ;  and  the  mean  of 
the  times  at  which  the  ball  is  observed  to  pass  the  successive  hoops  may 
be  taken  as  in  the  observation  of  the  transit  of  a  star. 

"  If  the  ball  is  spherical,  the  time  of  its  bisection  by  the  hoops  may  be 
noticed. 

"  The  observer  is  supposed  to  be  at  some  distance  from  the  apparatus, 
so  that  his  eye  may  not  be  very  far  distant  from  the  plane  of  any  of  the 
hoops." — Proceedings  of  the  Boyal  Society. 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  S^ 

A  FORGOTTEN  STEAM-ENGINE. 

Among  the  companies  which  were  dragged  in  among  the  bubbles  of 
ItM,  was  the  York  Buildings  Company,  which  had  purchased  the  site  of 
York  House,  in  the  Strand,  to  build  works  for  the  supplying  of  the  west 
end  with  water  from  the  Thames.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  and  one  that 
appears  to  be  entirely  forgotten,  that,  within  two  or  three  years  of  the 
date  of  which  we  are  speaking,  a  veritable  Steam-Engine  was  constructed 
here,  which  is  thus  described  in  the  "  Foreigner's  Guide  to  London,"  pub- 
lished in  1729  : — "  Here  you  see  a  high  wooden  tower  and  a  water-engine 
of  a  new  invention,  that  draws  out  of  the  Thames  above  three  tons 
of  water  in  one  minute,  by  means  of  the  steam  arising  from  water  boiling 
in  a  great  copper,  a  continual  fire  being  kept  to  that  purpose.  The  steam 
being  compressed  and  condensed,  moves  by  its  evaporation  and  strikes  a 
counterpoise,  which  counterpoise  striking  another,  at  last  moves  a  great 
beam,  which,  by  its  motion  of  going  up  and  down,  draws  the  water  from 
the  river,  which  mounts  through  great  iron  pipes  to  the  height  of  the 
tower,  discharging  itself  there  into  a  deep  leaden  cistern ;  and  thence 
felling  down  through  otiier  large  iron  pipes,  fills  them  that  are  laid  along 
the  streets,  and  so  continuing  to  run  through  wooden  pipes,  as  far  as 
Marybone  fields,  falls  there  into  a  lariie  pond  or  reservoir,  from  whence 
the  new  buildings  near  Hanover  Square,  and  many  thousand  houses,  are 
supplied  with  water.  This  machine  is  certainly  a  great  curiosity  ;  and, 
though  it  be  not  so  large  as  that  of  Marley,  in  France,  yet,  considering  its 
smallness  in  comparison  with  that,  and  the  little  charge  it  was  built  and 
is  kept  with,  and  the  quantity  of  water  it  draws,  its  use  and  benefit  is 
much  beyond  that." — Wriff/U's  "  England  under  tlie  House  of  Hanover  " 

NAVAL  STEAM-ENGINES. 

I  HE  Washington  Union,  of  Jan.  5,  contains  a  long  report  from  a  board 
<u  professional  engineers  and  others,  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
American  Treasury  to  test  an  important  improvement  in  the  construction 
of  Naval  Steam- Engines,  the  invention  of  Capt.  Ericsson,  which  is  to 
create,  it  is  said,  "  a  new  era  in  steam  navigation,"  We  give  the  parti- 
culars as  they  have  been  abstracted  by  a  contemiwrary.  There  appears  to 
be  an  apparatus  called  an  evaporator,  and  another  a  condenser,  conve- 
niently arranged  amidst  the  machinery  so  as  to  occupy  very  little  space. 
By  this,  the  steam,  after  performing  its  work,  is  converted  into  water  and 
forced  back  into  the  boiler — again  and  again  taking  the  same  routine.  As 

'='" '  *' "•  -''-rim  will  always  be  lost  by  loose  joints,  the  evaporator  sup- 

K.y  from  the  clement  in  which  the  vessel  floats  ;  and  from 
ipply  of  steam  the  condenser  affords  any  desired  amount 
ol  fresh  water.  The  whole  is  said  to  be  complete  and  perfect,  and  the 
following  results  obtained  : — 1.  A  steamer  may  go  to  sea  and  complete  her 
voyage  without  ever  having  one  particle  of  salt  water  in  her  boiler,  if  she 
will  bitrin  it  with  fresh  water.  2.  She  need  not  carry  any  tanks  of  fresh 
water,  but  can  make  it  from  the  sea  at  will,  thus  saving  the  space  for  fuel. 
3.  Bcsiilfs  the  sui)iily  for  the  boiler  and  culinar)'  purposes,  enough  fresh 
water  can  be  made  to  allow  each  sailor  a  bath  every  day,  the  8U|)ply  may 
be  80  ample.    4.  The  fire  ueeil  never  be  extinguished  to*  relieve  the  boiler 

D 


34  YEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS, 

of  salt  and  mud,  as  neither  salt  nor  mud  will  ever  get  in  ;  thus  saviug  fuel. 

5.  The  boiler  will  require  little  or  no  watching ;  being  once  arranged,  the 
machinery  will  do  the  rest,  and  keep  up  the  exact  supply  of  pure  water. 

6.  A  boiler  at  sea,  especially  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  will  last  two  or  three 
times  as  long  as  at  present,  as  no  impurities  will  be  admitted  there  any 
more  than  on  the  lakes.  7.  Nearly  one-fifth  of  the  fuel  will  be  saved,  as 
the  heat  will  act  on  the  plates  and  flues,  free  of  incrustations  from  salt  or 
mud,  and  the  water  from  the  condenser,  while  very  hot,  will  be  pumped 
into  the  boiler.  8.  A  low-pressure  engiue  will  answer  on  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri,  as  well  as  on  streams  of  clear  water,  as  the  muddy  water  will 
be  evaporated,  the  vapour  re-condensed,  and  forced  into  the  boilers  as  clear 
as  crystal.  9.  The  awful  bursting  of  boilers,  so  often  occurring  on  the 
western  waters,  may  be  arrested  m  toto ;  as  the  saving  of  fuel,  and  the 
equal  adaptation  of  the  low-pressure  engine,  will  induce  its  substitution  in 
lieu  of  the  powder  magazines,  as  the  engines  now  in  use  may  be  called. 
10.  The  oil  used  around  the  pistou  of  the  cylinder,  and  the  rust  on  the 
boiler,  may  impart  a  little  of  their  taste  at  first  to  the  steam  and  water ; 
but  a  very  simple  filter  will  make  it  as  pure  as  when  distilled  in  the  che- 
mist's laboratory. 

.  INCRUSTATION  IN  STEAM-BOILEKS. 

M.  Cave,  the  eminent  I'rench  engineer,  announces  that  he  has  ascer- 
tained that  a  number  of  small  oak  blocks,  thrown  into  Steam-Boilers,  has 
the  efi'ect  of  completely  preventing  incrustations,  and  that  it  is  sufficient 
to  renew  them  about  once  a  fortnight. — Mechanics^  Magazine^  No.  1318. 

the  kotary  steam-engine. 
A  PATENT  has  been  secured  for  an  American  inventor,  of  a  new  kind  of 
Rotary-Engine,  It  consists  of  a  "  piston-wheel,"  on  which  a  number  of 
pistons  are  radially  disposed  in  tangential  curves,  working  steam-tight 
against  the  inner  circumference  of  the  cylinders.  Around  the  periphery 
of  the  cylinder  are  openings,  one  less  than  the  number  of  pistons,  in  which 
are  slide  stops  passing  into  the  cylinder.  The  peculiar  form  of  the  pis- 
tons enables  the  stops  gradually  to  recede  from  the  interior  of  the  cylinder 
till  they  become  flush  with  the  surface,  and  allow  the  pistons  to  pass  thera, 
when  they  are  again  projected  into  the  cylinder,  to  act  as  a  surface 
against  which  the  steam  propels  the  piston-wheel  forward. 

ClUADRUPLE  (steam-engine)  ALLIANCE, 

Messrs.  A,  and  A,  Shaw,  of  Park  Mills,  Shaw,  near  Oldham,  have 
started  four  new  and  powerful  Steam-Eugines,  made  by  Messrs.  E,  and 
J.  Taylor,  of  Marsden,  near  Huddersfield.  The  chief  point  of  interest 
connected  with  them,  arises  from  their  all  being  united  together  in  one 
engine-house, — a  thing  never  before  witnessed  in  this  country.  The  whole 
power  of  the  four  engines  is  concentrated  at  one  point,  and  works  so  that 
two  cranks  are  up  and  two  down ;  thus  obviating  the  hitherto  existing 
weakness  of  the  ordinary  engines,  where  the  desideratum  is  supplied  by 
the  momentum  of  the  fly-wheel.  Their  first  trial,  combined  in  this 
manner,   was  looked  forward  to  with  some  anxiety,  and  at  the  time 


MECUANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  55 

appointed  for  starting,  a  large  number  of  spectators  assembled  to  witness 
their  tirst  efforts.  At  a  given  signal  the  steam  was  turned  on,  and  the 
whole  moved  together  in  the  most  perfect  unanimity,  eliciting  marks  of 
approbation,  and  affording  conclusive  evidence  of  the  complete  success  of 
this  "  Quadruple  Alliance,"  where  uniform  motion  is  indispensable. — 
Leeds  Mercury. 

THE   "VLADIMIR,"  RUSSIAN  STEAM-FRIGATE. 

The  Vladimir  h  the  name  of  a  new  Steam-Prigate,  which  has  been  built 
and  engine-fitted  in  the  Thames  for  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  which, 
after  making  several  successful  trial  trips  to  the  Nore  and  back,  left  on 
a  voyage  to  Sebastopol,  in  the  black  Sea.  The  vessel  is  stated  to  be 
of  1200  tons  burden,  with  14  feet  draught  of  water  on  an  even  keel.  The 
total  weight  of  the  steam-machinery  (with  a  supply  of  water  and  fuel  iu- 
cluded)  is  about  220  tons,  and  the  space  occupied  by  the  engines  and 
boilers,  60  feet  high  by  20  feet  in  breadth.  The  engines,  which  are  on 
the  oscillating  principle,  and  fixed  horizontally,  are  nominally  of  400 
horse-power ;  but  the  actual  power,  as  shown  by  the  indicator-card,  is 
1200,  so  that  the  weight  of  the  machinery  does  not  much  exceed  three  cwt. 
per  horse-power.  The  cylinders  are  781  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  six 
feet  stroke  ;  and  the  wheels  which  they  have  to  drive  are  25  feet  4  inches 
in  diameter,  with  4  feet  9  inches  immersion.  On  one  of  the  trial  trips, 
with  a  pressure  of  steam  in  the  boilers  of  12  lbs.  per  square  inch, 
the  paddle-wheels  made  19  revolutions  per  minute ;  and  the  average  speed 
on  the  measured  mUe  was  11  knots  per  hour.  The  boilers,  which  are  four 
in  number,  are  placed  two  aft  of  the  engines  and  two  abaft  of  them,  and 
there  is  a  passage  between  each  pair  into  the  engine-room  in  the  centre. 
The  furnaces  uuder  the  boilers  are  worked  from  the  back,  and,  to  prevent 
the  radiation  of  the  heat  from  the  front  of  the  boilers,  they  are  screened 
on  that  side  by  partitions  of  wood.  The  whole  height  of  the  boilers  is 
only  8  feet  6  inches,  which  is  1  foot  6  inches  below  the  load  water-line. 
The  air-pumps  are  worked  by  vibrating  trunks,  without  guides.  Two 
valves  or  slides  are  attached  to  each  engine  and  wheel,  and  act  as  counter- 
balances. They  arc  worked  by  four  connecting-rods,  which,  again,  are 
worked  by  four  eccentrics,  fixed  on  the  crank-shaft  by  an  arrangement 
similar  to  that  used  in  locomotive  engines, — a  plan  first  introduced  by 
Messrs.  Rcunic  in  marine  engines.  The  starting,  stopping,  and  re- 
versing gear — the  barometers  and  steam-gauges — are  all  conveniently 
placed  within  reach  or  under  the  eye  of  the  engineer.  The  boilers  are 
supplied,  when  not  working,  by  a  small  steam  or  donkey-engine,  which  is 
worked  by  tlie  waste  steam  from  the  boilers. 

Th('  p(  rioniiances  of  this  vessel  on  the  trial  trips  were  in  the  highest 
degree  satisfactory,  and  such  as  to  do  great  credit  both  to  the  builder 
(Mr.  Mare),  and  to  the  engineers  (Messrs.  George  and  John  Rcunie).  So 
exactly  had  the  effects  of  the  different  weights  to  be  placed  on  board  of 
her  been  allowed  for,  that  no  material  difference  could  be  detected  between 
her  calcidated  and  actual  displacement.  And  the  machinery,  too,  was  in 
every  part  so  perfectly  adapted  to  its  intended  u»C8,  ns  to  need  no  altera- 
tion or  re-adjustincnt  whatever,  after  being  put  on  Inmrd. — Mechanics' 
Mj^astne,  No.  12-) 7- 


36  .  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

THE  STEAM-SHIP  "  DISPATCH." — ANNULAR  ENGINES, 

The  New  South- Western  Steam-Packet  Corapany  have  added  to  their 
fast-increasing  fleet  of  Steamers,  a  new  one,  named  as  above.  The  engines 
are  of  200  horse-power,  and  built  by  Messrs.  Maudslay,  Sons,  and  Field, 
on  the  well-known  Annular  Principle,  first  introduced  by  that  eminent 
firm.  The  great  objection  originally  taken  to  engines  on  this  plan,  was 
the  excessive  friction  to  which,  it  was  supposed,  the  pistons  must  be  sub- 
ject ;  some  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  it  would  even  swallow  up  the  whole 
power  of  the  engines ! 

Now,  the  result  of  all  the  inquiries  which  we  have  made  on  this  head, — 
inquiries  not  confined  to  those  who  have  had  the  designing  and  superin- 
tending of  such  engines,  but  extended  to  the  engineers  who  have  been 
entrusted  with  the  actual  working  of  them,  and  have,  therefore,  had  the 
best  opportunities  of  testing  and  measuring  the  amount  of  friction  of  the 
piston  of  the  annular  engine,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  piston  of  the 
common  cylinder  engine — is  this,  tjiat  though  there  is  indeed  an  increase 
of  friction  in  the  former,  it  is  so  trifling  in  amount  that  it  may  be  alto- 
gether neglected  as  an  element  in  calculating  the  power  of  such  engines ; 
and  as  far  more  than  counterbalanced  by  other  advantages  belonging 
almost  exclusively  to  this  and  the  double  cylinder  engines  manufactured 
by  the  same  firm.  The  advantages  to  which  we  allude  are  consequent  upon 
the  great  length  of  connecting-rod  of  which  the  aimular  engine  admits. 
Ti-iie  it  is  that  Mr.  John  Seaward  and  Professor  Airy  have  demonstrated 
that  it  is  a  matter  of  indiff"erence  whether  a  short  or  a  long  connecting- 
rod  is  used  (within  certain  definite  limits,  of  course)  for  transmitting  the 
power  from  the  piston  to  the  crank  ;  but  there  are  other  circumstances  to 
be  taken  into  account,  than  the  mere  lines  traced  out  by  the  crank  and 
the  connecting-rod  during  a  complete  revolution  of  the  crank.  The 
parallelism  of  the  piston-rod,  in  its  upward  and  downward  course, 
must  in  any  case  be  maintained ;  but  when  the  connecting-rod  is  short, 
the  brasses  of  the  parallel  guides  become  much  sooner  worn  out  than  when 
it  is  long.  Again,  in  all  engines,  especially  those  of  great  power,  the 
shorter  the  connecting-rod  is,  the  farther  the  strain  upon  the  framing 
(resulting  from  the  constant  change  in  the  line  of  motion)  is  removed  from 
the  perpendicular  to  the  horizontal  line,  and  consequently  the  greater  the 
tendency  to  twist  the  framing  from  side  to  side.  The  annular  and  double 
cylinder  engines  are  excellent  exemplifications  of  the  advantage  gained  in 
this  particular  by  the  use  of  a  long  connectingTrod  in  preference  to  a  short 
one.  Not  a  single  diagonal  brace  or  stay  is  required  to  counteract  the 
twisting  tendency  to  which  we  have  alluded,  while  in  engines  having  short 
connecting-rods,  the  working  parts  are  necessarily  almost  buried  in  cross- 
stays  and  diagonal  braces,  in  order  to  protect  them  from  being  shaken  to 
pieces. — Mechanics'  Magazine,  No.  1277. 


PROGRESS  OF  STEAM  NAVIGATION  IN  THE  INDIAN  SEAS^ 

The  Mining  Journal  gives  the  following  as  a  list  of  the  Steamers 
belonging  to  the  Honourable  East  India  Company  -.—Acbar,  1,143  tons, 
350-horses  power,  6  guns ;  Ajduhu,  1,440  tons,  500-h.  p.,  6  guns ; 
^Jssi/ria^  153  tons,  40-h.  p.;  Jidania,  616  tons,  210-h.  p„  5  guns; 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  87 

Auckland,  946  tons,  220.h.  p. ;  Bentice,  664  tons,  230-h.  p.,  3  guns ; 
*Comet,  204  tons,  40-h.  p.;  *  Conqueror,  204  tons,  40-h.  p. ;  *I}idui, 
304  tons,  60-h.  p. ;  *Meenec,  409  tons,  80-h.  p. ;  *  Medusa,  432  tons, 
70-h.  p. ;  *  Meteor,  149  tons,  24-h.  p. ;  Moozuffur,  1,140  tons,  500-h.  p., 
6  guns ;  *Napier,  1,440  tons,  500-h.  p.,  6  guns;  Nimrod,  153  tons, 
40-h.  p.  ;  *Xitocres,  153  tons,  40-h.  p. ;  Planet,  335  tons,  60-h.  p. ; 
Queen,  760  tons,  220-h.  p.,  4  guns ;  ^Satellite,  335  tons,  60-h.  p. ; 
Semiranm,  1,000  tons,  300-h.  p. ;  Sesostris,  876  tons,  220-h.  p.,  4  guns  ; 
Snake,  40  tons,  10-h.  p. ;  Victoria,  714  tons,  230-h.  p. ;  Zenobia,  684 
tons,  280-h.  p.  The  vessels  marked  *  arc  built  of  iron,  and  were  sent 
from  England  in  pieces.  The  greater  portion  were  constructed  on  the 
Thames  and  Clyde,  and  put  together  at  Bombay. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  STEAM  NAVIGATION  INTO  AUSTRIA. 

The  first  attempts  to  navigate  the  Danube  by  Steam,  were  made  by 
some  French  and  German  engineers,  who  were  so  confident  of  success 
that  they  did  not  even  try  the  vessel,  but  at  once  invited  the  Emperor, 
Francis  I.  to  honour  them  with  his  presence  on  their  first  trip  to  Pesth. 
His  Majesty  safely  embarked,  and  a  most  favourable  passage  was  made 
down  the  stream  ;  on  arriving  at  Pesth,  with  the  Emperor  on  board,  the 
vessel  created  no  little  sensation — salutes  were  fired  from  all  the  batteries, 
and  the  curiosity  evinced  was  intense;  and,  to  celebrate  the  great  event, 
public  balls  and  other  festivities  were  given.  At  the  end  of  all  the  joyous 
proceedings,  his  Majesty  intimated  his  intention  of  returning  to  Vienna. 
But  when  orders  were  given  to  "  go  on  with  all  speed,"  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  all  it  was  found  that  the  engines  had  no  power, — that  the  stream 
was  carrying  the  boat  down  the  river.  All  attempts  to  propel  the  boat 
against  the  current  proved  ineflectual ;  and  his  imperial  majesty  was 
obliged  to  land,  and  proceed  to  Vienna  through  a  country  where  the  roads 
were  so  bad  that  the  carriage  frequently  stuck  fast  in  the  mud.  The 
parties  from  this  defeat  were  induced  to  believe  that  to  navigate  the 
Danube  by  steam-vessels  was  impossible,  and  this  opinion  was  corrobo- 
rated by  "  emiacnt  engineers"  of  Vienna.  In  1830,  Mr.  J.  Pritchard,  a 
Woolwich  Dockyard  shipwright,  arrived  in  Vienna  with  a  companion, 
named  Andrews,  as  interpreter,  who,  after  examining  the  currents  of  the 
Danube,  announced  to  Baron  Putton,  an  influential  banker  in  Vienna, 
that  he  saw  no  difficulty  in  eff'ecting  the  desirable  object.  This  enlight- 
ened nobleman,  knowing  the  advantages  to  his  couutry  which  must  arise 
by  carrying  out  such  an  undertaking,  at  once  supplied  Mr.  Pritchard  with 
the  rajuisite  capital  for  a  second  attempt;  and  orders  were  given  to 
Messrs.  Boulton  and  Watt  for  the  engines,  which  are  at  present  working 
as  well  as  they  did  on  their  first  arrival  in  Austria.  The  "  learned" 
Viennese  continually  asserted  that  the  second  attempt  would  be  only 
money  thrown  away,  and  not  unfrequcntly  was  Mr.  Pritchard  taunted 
while  at  his  work.  With  persevering  energy,  however,  he  completed  his 
ship ;  the  engines  having  arrived  from  England,  were  properly  fitted  ; 
and,  all  being  ready,  Mr.  Pritchard  took  the  command,  accompanied  by 
his  Buppfjrtcrs  only ;  those  who  had  been  previously  defeated  in  their 
attempt  were  coateut  to  remain  on  shore,  expecting  to  have  a  hearty  laugh 


38  YEAR-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

at  the  Englishman.  Mr.  Pritchard,  however,  brought  his  charge  into 
the  rapids  near  Floresdorf,  and,  to  the  general  astonishment,  cleared  them 
in  gallant  style.  Mr.  Pritchard  returned  to  Vienna,  where  he  was  well 
received ;  the  ship  was  visited  by  the  Imperial  family,  and  permission 
given  to  name  her  The  Francis  the  First.  A  concession  was  then  granted 
by  the  Austrian  Government  to  Mr.  Pritchard  for  the  exclusive  right  of 
carrying  on  steam  navigation  on  the  Danube  for  15  years.  A  Company 
was  then  formed;  but,  from  some  mismanagement  on  the  part  of 
Pritchard  and  Andrews,  the  Directors  got  hold  of  the  concession.  An- 
drews contrived  to  obtain  about  £6,000,  while  Pritchard,  the  successful 
practical  man,  resides  near  Fiulme,  nearly  destitute. — Correspondent  of 
the  Mechanics'  Magazine^  No.  1277. 


AMEllICAN  STEAMEKS. 

Dk.  Scoresby  remarked,  in  a  lecture  which  he  lately  delivered  at 
Bradford,  that  the  recklessness  and  daring  of  the  Americans  were  remark- 
able, and  might  be  well  illustrated  by  the  value  which  appeared  to  be  set 
upon  life  in  their  Steamers.  British  steamers  sailed  across  the  Atlantic 
at  a  pressure  of  steam  from  5  lbs.  to  7  lbs.  ou  the  square  inch.  The 
American  Atlantic  steamers  profess  to  work  at  a  pressure  of  20  lbs.  on 
the  square  inch,  and  the  North  River  steamers  at  16  lbs.  to  20  lbs.,  and 
sometimes  30  lbs.,  on  the  square  inch ;  while  on  the  Mississippi  a  pres- 
sure of  80  lbs.,  100  lbs.,  120  lbs.,  and  even  higher,  was  had  recourse  to. 
It  was,  consequently,  very  easy  to  account  for  those  tremendous  explo- 
sions so  frequently  occurring  on  those  rivers.  Dr.  Scoresby  mentioned 
several  of  these  explosions  as  cases  in  point — showing  that  the  passengers 
were  equally  to  blame  with  the  captains  of  the  steam-boats. 

THE  NEW  STEAM  BASIN  AT  PORTSMOUTH, 

Has  been  opened  with  great  eclat  by  her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert, 
who  entered  it  with  the  royal  yacht  tender,  when  Colonel  Irvine,  C.B. 
the  chief  director  of  engineering  and  architectural  works,  by  the  royal 
command  placed,  the  last  stone  in  its  position.  The  entire  cost  of  this 
work,  which  has  been  executed  under  the  immediate  superintendence  of 
Captain  H.  James,  R.E.,  by  Mr.  P.  Rolt,  as  contractor,  has,  up  to  the 
present  time,  been  £400,000.  The  basin  will  accommodate  nine  first- 
dass  frigates.  It  was  begun  on  10th  June,  1843,  and  the  first  stone  was 
laid  on  15th  January,  1845.  The  average  mean  length  is  774  feet; 
width  400  feet  ;  depth  from  coping  31  feet ;  area  about  7^  acres.  The 
entrance  is  80  feet  wide.  There  are  two  inlets  300  feet  long  and  70  wide, 
and  a  graving  dock  300  by  80.  A  storehouse  687  feet  long,  48  feet 
wide,  and  51  feet  high,  and  a  brass  foundry  110  feet  by  90,  with  various 
other  buildings,  such  as  mills,  smitheries,  &c.  have  also  been  erected. 
The  quantity  of  granite,  Portland,  and  Purbeck  stone  used  in  the  con- 
struction is  1,155,208  cubic  feet;  of  bricks  7,696,000  cubic  feet;  of 
memel  and  beech  timber  735,700  cubic  feet;  excavations  removed 
959,500  tons  ;  clay  for  dam  25,000  tons.  Average  number  of  mea 
employed  1,500  :  quarriers  and  conveyers  of  material,  1,000. 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  S9 

THE  CATAMARAN. 

It  had  been  announced  by  advertisement  that  this  patent  life-preserver 
would  make  a  trip  from  Dover  to  Boulogne.  All  having  been  got  ready, 
the  Catamai-an  vsas  carried  down  to  the  water's  edge  by  a  few  sturdy 
boatmen,  and  in  a  trice  launched  for  the  tirst  time  on  the  sea, 
amid  the  roar  of  artillery  and  the  plaudits  of  the  people.  The  anchor 
being  got,  the  life-preserver  was  pulled  clear  of  ihe  land ;  and  then  it  was 
put  under  the  pressure  of  alug-sjul,  and  took  its  course  across  the  Channel. 
The  catamaran  is  exceedingly  simple  in  construction.  This  specimen  is 
thirty  feet  long  by  eight  feet  wide.  The  cylinders  were  stufled  with 
different  sorts  of  munitions ;  and  when  on  the  water  it  looked  in  shape 
not  unlike  an  elongated  basket,  through  the  bottom  and  sides  of  which 
the  water  has  free  iugress  and  egress.  Its  flexibility  protects  it  from 
damage  on  rocks  or  sinking  ships,  and  it  woidd  be  next  to  impossible  for  any 
sea  to  upset  it.  It  will,  therefore,  be  serviceable  where  no  boat  could 
live ;  and  though  it  does  not  keep  its  crew  dry -footed,  this  is  a  matter  of 
minor  import  in  cases  of  life  or  death.  We  have  no  doubt  of  the  success 
of  Mr.  ilely's  invention,  and  believe  that  every  seagoing  vessel  will 
shortly  adopt  the  catamaran  as  a  life-preserver  for  passengers  and  crew  in 
case  of  need.  In  the  case  of  a  vessel  taking  fire  at  sea,  getting  on  a 
sunken  rock,  or  in  any  way  becoming  in  a  sinking  state,  were  each  sailor 
provided  with  a  cylinder  case,  he  coidd  throw  his  clothes  and  a  little 
store  into  it,  and  the  strength  of  the  united  crew  could  very  soon  con- 
struct the  catamaran  raft.  The  catamaran,  in  the  above  trial,  arrived  safe 
at  Boulogne. — Dover  Chronicle. 


SHIP  BUILDING  ON  THE  WAVE  PEINCIPLE. 

Mr.  Scott  Russell  has  read  to  the  Royal  Institution,  a  paper  "  On 
the  Wave  Principle  applied  to  the  Construction  of  Ships."  ^Ir.  Scott 
Russell's  object  was — first,  to  explain  a  theory  of  naval  construction  of 
which  he  is  the  author  ;  secondly,  to  connect  with  that  theory  practical 
rules  for  the  construction  of  ships  ;  and,  finally,  to  state  the  results  which 
have  followed  the  adoption  of  the  form  resulting  from  this  principle, —  by 
the  general  adoption  of  which  the  velocity  of  merchant  steam  ships  has, 
within  twelve  or  fifteen  years,  been  raised  from  an  average  of  nine  or  ten 
miles  to  an  already  achieved  speed  of  seventeen  or  eighteen  miles  an 
hour.  The  theory  is  derived  from  the  observed  properties  of  what  Mr. 
Scott  Russell  has  tenned  the  solitary  wave  of  traiislatiwi  (or  the  wave  of 
the  first  order),  and  those  of  Wic.  gregarious  wave  of  oscillation  (the  wave 
of  the  sccoud  order).  The  first-named  wave  moves  with  a  velocity  which 
can  neither  be  accelerated  nor  retarded  by  the  velocity  of  the  floating  body 
which  produces  it ;  while  the  latter  wave  does  depend  on  the  speed  of  the 
boat  by  which  it  is  caused.  The  solitary  wave  is  formed  by  the  bow  of  a 
ship  when  in  motion,  and  its  velocity  dc|}cnds  on  the  curve  of  the  water- 
line  of  the  vessel. 

Mr.  Scott  Russell  proceeded  to  connect  with  these  properties  of  the 
waves  he  described,  the  following  principles  of  naval  architecture: — 
1.  The  principle  of  removing  the  least  quantity  of  water  to  the  least 
distance.    AssuroiDg  that  all  horizontal  motion  through  a  fluid  implies 


40  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

the  displacement  of  that  fluid,  it  is  obvious  that  the  amount  of  moving 
power  required  to  propel  a  vessel  will  vary  with  the  bulk  of  water  dis- 
turbed, and  the  range  of  its  disturbance.     In  the  ordinary  construction,  a 
great  mass  of  water  is  set  in  motion  on  either  side  of  the  bows  of  the  ship  : 
but,  as  Mr.  Scott  Russell  had  proved  experimentally  in  the  wave  boats, 
no  more  water  was  disturbed  by  them  than  was  occupied  by  the  immersed 
portion  of  the  vessel. — 2.  The  principle  of  adapting  the  form  of  the  body 
which  is  to  disturb  the  water  to  the  natural  form  of  the  fluid  which  is  to 
be  disturbed.     Referring  to  the  properties  of  the  wave  of  translation,  Mr. 
Scott  Russell  proved  that  it  was  impossible  to  propel  any  vessel  with  a 
speed  greater  than  that  of  the  wave  of  the  first  order  which  it  produced 
by  its  motion ;    and  that,  therefore,  wherever  speed  was  required,  the 
shape  of  the  vessel  must  be  modified  to  accord  with  the  laws  of  that  wave. 
Thus,  the  length  of  fast  ships  must  be  great   (200  feet  of  keel  being 
requisite  to  insure  with  least  power  a  speed  of  18  miles  an  hour,  300  feet 
of  keel  to  attain  23  miles,  &c.)     On  the  same  principle,  boats  made  on 
the  wave  system  are  broadest  abaft  the  middle;  the  lines  of  run  are 
much  finer  at  the  bow  than  at  the  stern,  the  bow  portion  of  the  water- 
line  being  concave. — 3.   The  principle  of  allowing  the  replacement  of 
water  to  take  place  vrith  the  greatest  possible  velocity.     The  wave  formed 
by  the  after  part  of  a  ship  is  not  the  wave  of  translation,  but  the  oscil- 
lating wave  of  the  second  order.     It  arises  from  a  vertical  motion  of  the 
water  from  below  to  replace  the  hollow  left  behind  the  ship  as  it  passes 
onwards.     This  replacement  is  most  rapid  when  the  stern  portion  of  the 
water-line  is  full.     Mr.  Scott  Russell  mentioned  that  vessels  of  various 
kinds  which  had  been  built  on  the  principles  he  described  (although  the 
principles  themselves  were  not  understood  by  those  who  acted  upon  them) 
had  always  been  remarkable  for  speed.     The  old  Thames  whei-ry,  the 
smugglers'  boats,  privateers,  the  caique  of  the  Bosphorus,  fisbing-boats  in  " 
the  North  of  Sootland,  have  been  built  more  or  less  on  this  principle  ; 
and  it  was  remarkable  that  whenever  the  form  of  any  of  these  vessels  was 
changed,  with  a  view  to  improvement,  the  speed  was  always  diminished. 
But  the  most  important  test  of  the  wave  principle  of  construction  is 
afl'orded  in  the  Holyhead  fast  boats, — all  of  which  had  systematically  been 
constructed,  with  more  or  less  accuracy,  in  conformity  with  the  wave 
principle,  and  are  propelled  at  the  rate  of  from  17§  to  18|  miles  an 
hour ;  the  rapidity  being  the  greatest  in  those  boats  in  whose  construction 
this  principle  is  most  accurately  maintained.     By  the  same  means,  Mr. 
Scott  Russell  felt  satisfied  that  23  miles  an  hour  could  be  produced ;  and 
he  was  quite  prepared  to  carry  that  speed  practically  into  effect. 

IMPROVEMENTS  IN  STEAM  SHIP  BUILDING. 

Mr.  Scott  Russell  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper, 
"  On  the  Improvements  which  have  been  made  in  Steam  Navigation," 
which  he  explained  by  appropriate  diagrams.  The  first  great  improve- 
ment that  had  been  made  was  in  the  boilers.  Formerly,  the  boiler  flues 
were  constructed  of  great  length,  so  that  the  smoke  was  kept  winding 
round  and  round  in  the  flues,  and  at  last  was  allowed  to  escape  with  diffi- 
culty.    Now,  however,  they  had  adopted  the  plan  of  getting  as  much  fii-e 


MECHAiVICAL  AXD  USEFUL  ARTS.  41 

as  possible  in  the  shortest  space  of  time, — and  this  had  been  accomplished 
by  imitating:  as  nearly  as  they  could  the  locomotive  engine  boiler,  by 
having  tubes  of  thin  metal  which  would  evaporate  a  much  greater  quantity 
of  water  in  the  same  time  as  flues  of  the  usual  thickness :  now,  also, 
instead  of  taking  the  smoke  a  long  distance  as  in  the  old  fashion,  they  used 
short  flues  of  four  to  six  feet  in  length,  and  by  having  a  great  many  of 
as  thin  metal  as  possible,  they  heated  the  greatest  quantity  of  water,  and 
had  the  additional  advantage  of  keeping  the  metal  cool,  in  couscqueuce 
of  which  a  boiler  of  smaller  extent  and  surface  was  of  much  greater 
efficiency  with  less  weight  of  metal. 

The  next  point  of  improvement  was  in  the  engine ;  in  the  construction 
of  which,  however,  there  had  been  less  change  than  in  other  matters. 
The  former  beam  engine  had  been  changed  for  the  direct  action  engine, 
which  was  of  various  kinds ;  but  the  greatest  change  which  had  been  made 
within  the  last  ten  years  consisted  in  the  employment  of  larger  quan- 
tities of  wTought  iron  in  the  construction  of  the  engines,  instead  of  the 
mass  of  cast  iron  formerly  used.  This  was  the  only  great  change, — for 
the  newest  Halifax  steamers  were  still  fitted  up  with  the  old-fashioned  or 
lever  engines. 

The  next  improvement  consisted  in  working  steam  expansively  to  a 
much  greater  extent  than  heretofore.  It  was  only  within  the  last  ten 
years  that  they  had  adopted  this  principle :  the  efi'ect  of  which  was,  that 
instead  of  completely  tilling  the  cylinder  with  steam,  they  filled  only  to 
the  extent  of  one-fourth — a  volume  of  steam  not  of  course  of  equal 
density,  but  by  which  they  got  two-thirds  of  the  work  done,  and  at  one- 
fourth  of  the  cost. 

The  next  improvement  had  been  made  in  the  paddle ;  not  so  much, 
perhaps,  in  the  wheel  itself — for  he  was  still  inclined  in' favour  of  the 
old  paddle-wheel,  although  for  short  voyages  he  admitted  the  advantage 
of  the  feathering  paddle-wheel  which  had  been  advocated  by  !Mr.  Price 
at  their  meeting  some  years  ago,  and  he  had  then  opposed  him  :  but  of  this 
by  and  by.  Another  great  improvement  which  he  had  made,  was  the 
driving  the  paddle-wheels  faster.  They  had  an  old  maxim,  which  was — 
whereas  a  good  old  horse,  going  2^  miles  an  hour,  could  not  draw  ad- 
vantageously at  more  than  220  feet  per  minute,  and  that  as  the  steam- 
engine  was  only  a  substitute  for  horses,  and  reckoned  as  so  much  horse- 
power, it  ought  not  to  go  fjister  than  2^  miles  per  hour,  and  this  one 
thing  had  kept  them  back  for  half  a  century.  He  did  not  mean  that  the 
result  should  be  faster  than  2^  miles  per  hour,  but  that  the  piston  shoidd 
not  rise  up  and  down  in  the  cylinder  faster  than  2^  miles  an  hour,  which 
was  only  4  feet  in  a  second,  while  the  motion  of  steam  of  15  lb.  was 
1,100  feet  in  a  second.  Fortunately,  however,  this  old  maxim  had  been 
abandoned,  and  the  piston  now  moved  from  250,  270,  to  300  feet  in  a 
minute.  For  this  improvement  they  were  indebted  to  no  new  principle, 
but  to  the  application  of  mathematical  principles  of  science. 

He  now  came  to  another  great  improvement :  this  was  the  change 
in  the  formation  of  stcam-boats,  which  had  been  radical ;  he  meant  the 
entire  alteration  in  the  form  of  the  ships.  A  few  years  ago,  steam-vessels 
which  would  go  ten  or  twelve  miles  an  hour  were  deemed  fast  ships  ;  now, 


42  YEAB-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

however,  we  had  attained  a  much  higher  rate  of  speed.  Vessels  were 
then  built  on  the  old-fashioned  principle  that  the  water-line  should  be 
nearly  straight,  that  the  run  of  the  vessel  should  be  a  fine  line,  and 
that  there  should  never  be  a  hollow  line,  except  a  little  in  the  run  of  the 
ship,  but  that  there  most  certainly  should  not  be  any  hollow  line  in  the 
bow,  for  there  the  water-line  should  be  straight,  or  a  little  convex,  lie- 
searches  and  inquiries  were,  however,  made  by  a  Committee  of  the  British 
Association,  as  to  the  form  which  would  enable  the  vessel  to  go  fastest 
through  the  water.  These  inquiries  lasted  for  years,  and  they  established, 
by  a  series  of  experiments,  a  set  of  very  curious  facts.  Formerly,  every 
builder  of  ships  had  his  notion  of  proportion;  some,  that  the  length 
should  be  four  times  the  breadth ;  others,  that  it  should  be  4 1  or  5  ;  and 
some  went  so  far  as  to  say  thatthe  length  should  be  six  times  the  breadth, 
but  these  were  deemed  innovations  :  so  that  although  the  proportions  of 
width,  as  compared  with  breadth,  were  said  to  be  fixed  ones,  yet  strangely 
enough  every  one  differed  as  to  those  proportions.  Another  question 
was,  what  part  of  the  vessel  should  have  the  greatest  width  ?  and  it  was 
generally  thought  that  the  greatest  width  should  be  nearest  the  bow.  Some 
daring  persons  had,  however,  put  it  back  as  far  as  the  centre  of  the  ship. 
Still  this  was  the  exception,  and  not  the  rule.  Then  there  was  another 
great  principle,  which  was,  that  the  bow  and  the  stern  should  exactly 
balance  each  other — that  is,  that  the  vessel  should  be  equally  balanced  ; 
but  the  new  rules  which  the  British  Association  had  established  were  as 
follows  : — They  began  by  upsetting  the  old  rule  with  respect  to  the  pro- 
portions which'  the  length  should  bear  to  the  breadth,  finding  that  the 
greater  the  speed  required,  the  greater  should  be  the  length,  and  that  the 
vessel  should  be  built  merely  of  the  breadth  necessary  to  enable  the 
engines  to  be  put  in,  and  to  stow  the  requisite  cargo. 

Then  the  second  great  improvemeut  made  by  them  was,  that  the 
greatest  width  of  water-line,  instead  of  being  before  the  middle,  should 
be  abaft  the  middle  of  the  vessel,  and  in  fact  two-fifths  from  the  stern, 
and  three-fifths  from  the  bow. 

The  next  great  improvement  was,  that,  instead  of  having  the  bow 
broad  and  bluff,  or  a  cod's-head  bow,  for  the  purpose  of  rising  over  the 
wave,  you  might  have  hollow  water-lines,  or  what  were  called  wave-lines, 
from  their  particular  form,  and  with  that  form  the  vessel  would  be  pro- 
pelled with  less  power  and  greater  velocity ;  and  also  that  instead  of 
keeping  to  the  old  fine  run  abaft,  and  cutting  it  away,  you  might  with 
great  advantage  have  a  fuller  line  abaft,  provided  it  was  fine  under  the 
water.  Thus,  by  these  improvements  the  form  of  the  old  vessel  was 
pretty  nearly  reversed,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  old  school ;  and  the 
steamers  were  given  large  and  commodious  cabins  and  after  holds,  instead 
of  having  cabins  so  pinched  in  that  you  could  hardly  stand  in  them.  Another 
heresy,  introduced  by  the  British  Association,  was,  that  of  the  principle 
as  to  the  balance  of  the  stern  and  the  bow  upon  which  they  now  rested ; 
but  which  was  founded  in  a  most  singular  error,  for  they  left  out  some- 
thing which  was  very  material.  They  concluded  that  the  wave  acted 
equally  on  both  ends  of  the  vessel  in  striking  it ;  but  they  did  not  take 
into  consideration  the  impossibility  of  this  when  a  vessel  was  moving,  not 


MICHANTCAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  48 

having  taken  into  calculation  the  velocity  of  the  wave  or  of  the  vessel, 
and  that  from  this  circumstance  the  concussion  from  a  wave  striking  the 
bow  would  be  a  most  powerful  one,  while  it  could  not  be  so  with  regard 
to  the  stem,  because  if  the  velocity  of  the  wave  meeting  it  was  fifieen 
miles,  the  shock  would  be  as  of  thirty  miles;  and,  therefore,  it  became 
most  plain  that  the  bow  would  give  the  greatest  resistance  to  the  wave. 
Mr.  Russell  had  examined  all  the  fastest  steamers  which  had  effected 
fifteen  to  seventeen  miles  an  hour,  and  in  smooth  water  eighteen  miles 
an  hour;  and  he  would  venture  to  state  that  there  was  not  one  of  them 
which  accomplished  from  fifteen  to  seventeen  miles  an  hour,  which  had 
not  all  these  alterations  in  every  particular ;  that  the  wave  form  and 
wave  principle  were  now  adopted  by  all  the  great  steani-ship  builders, 
and  that  all  the  fast  steam-boats  had  what  was  called  the  wave-bow.  Now, 
of  the  eight  boats  on  the  Holyhead  and  Dublin  stations,  if  examined,  it 
would  be  found  that  all  of  them  were  built  on  these  principles,  although 
in  some  of  them  there  was  still  left  a  little  of  the  old  principle,  some  of 
the  boats  being  made  a  little  fuller  and  more  straight ;  and  if  any  person 
would  look  at  one  of  these  boats,  it  would  be  perceived  that  the  moment 
they  moved,  the  very  wave  itself  rebelled  against  them,  and  broke  against 
their  bows, — and  consequently,  that  these  were  slower  than  any  of 
the  others.  All  of  them,  however,  were  vessels  of  the  first  class : 
he  gave  the  details  of  their  construction, — for  which  we  have  not  space. 
All  of  them  were  examples  of  the  value  of  the  form  and  the  principles 
which  the  Brit  ish  Association  had  advocated  and  introduced  at  a  very 
early  period  in  its  history. 

Mr.  J.  Taylor  stated  that,  as  Treasurer  of  the  Association,  he  could 
bear  witness  to  the  value  of  the  efforts  of  the  Association  in  this  direction  ; 
and  he  felt  bound  in  justice  to  state  that  the  credit  Mr.  Russell  had 
given  to  the  Association  was  chiefly  due  to  himself,  as  the  individual  who, 
with  the  late  Sir  J.  Robison,  had  conducted  the  investigations  on  this 
subject. 

Mr.  J.  Price  rose  to  say,  that  he  agreed  with  Mr.  Russell  in  all  that  he 
had  adduced.  There  was,  however,  one  mode  of  steam  navigation — one 
mode  of  propulsion,  to  which  he  had  not  alluded :  he  meant  the  mode  of 
propubion  by  the  screw-propeller.  He  would,  therefore,  mention  that  they 
had  built  a  little  vessel  called  the  Neath  Abbey,  which  plied  from  Neath 
to  Bristol,  a  distance  of  upwards  of  sixty  miles,  and  which  had  only  two 
12-inch  cylinders, — in  fact,  a  mere  toy — of  course  using  high  steam. 
Now,  she  could  walk  round  the  Beresford,  which  had  two  40  horse- 
power engines  :  the  working  her  upon  the  high-j)ressure  steam  principle 
necessarily  increased  the  speed  of  the  piston.  With  these  engines  they 
had  stepped  out  of  the  old  track.  They  had  not  adopted  the  American 
plan  of  a  high-pressure  engine  and  puffing  off  the  steam,  but  of  a  high- 
pressure  engine  without  puffing  off  the  steam,  and  without  using  a  jet  of 
cold  water.  He  confessed  that  when  this  plan  was  proposed  by  his 
Tonnger  coadjutors,  he,  as  one  of  the  old-fashioned,  hesitated, — but  at 
length  he  consented.  The  Neath  Abbey  had  a  screw  propeller  with 
three  blades,  which  were  immersed  under  the  water — her  proi)eller  being 
about  3i  feet  in  diameter.    The  vessel  is  built  in  the  best  form,  allowing 


44  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

sufficient  breadth  for  her  engines.  The  two  12-inch  cylinders  are  placed 
diagonally,  and  slung  up  by  wrought-iron  beams;  they  lay  hold  of 
one  crank  pin,  like  the  hands  of  two  men  working  at  a  grindstone ;  and 
thus  they  conducted  their  engines  almost  in  a  snuff-box.  Then  they 
employed  their  boiler  in  the  manner  described  by  Mr.  Russell,  Then 
they  came  to  the  condensation  of  the  steam ;  which  they  did  not  allow 
to  go  puffing  off,  but  let  it  pass  back  into  the  boiler  condensed,  and  in  a 
distilled  state, — which  accounted  for  their  never  having  any  mud  or  dirt 
in  their  boilers. — Athencewn,  No.  1086. 


SCREW  PROPELLERS. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  at  the  Royal  Institution,  by  Mr,  E,  Cowper, 
"  On  Screw  Propellers."  Mr,  Cowper  commenced  by  an  illustration  of 
the  law  of  resistance  to  a  body  moving  through  water.  A  disc  of  tin  was 
drawn  up  from  the  bottom  of  a  jar  of  water  by  one  weight  hung  over  a 
■puUey — the  time  being  measured  \y  twenty  beats  of  a  pendulum.  It 
was  then  drawn  up  in  ten  beats  (i.e.  tivice  the  velocity)  by  four  weights, 
showing  the  resistance  to  be  as  the  square  of  the  velocity.  The  disad- 
vantages of  the  common  paddle-wheel  were  pointed  out,  and  the  various 
contrivances  to  obviate  them,  in  the  inventions  of  Buchanan,  Oldham, 
Morgan,  Field,  Galloway,  &c.  A  general  index  was  given  of  the  various 
screw  propellers  of 

Paucton in  1768  1  Woodcroft in  1832 


Bramah 1795 

Shorter 1802 

Fulton    1802 

Trevithick    1815 

Cummerow 1828 


Smith     

1836 

1836 

Lowe      

1838 

Blaxland    

1841 

Buchanan 

1847 

The  general  principles  of  the  propeller,  and  the  effect  of  a  variety  of 
forms,  were  illustrated  by  causing  the  propellers  to  travel  along  a  hori- 
zontal wire  (about  8  feet  long),  by  giving  them  a  rapid  rotation.  Wood- 
croft's  propeller  was  explained.  It  consists  in  making  a  screw  with  an 
increasing  pitch, — the  term  pitch  meaning  the  distance  between  the 
threads  of  the  screw.  A  screw  of  uniform  pitch  is  an  inclined  plane 
wrapped  round  a  cylinder.  A  screw  of  increasing  pitch  is  an  inclined  curve 
wrapped  round  a  cylinder.  If  the  blades  of  the  propeller  are  bent,  so  as 
to  be  somewhat  hollow,  this  would  make  an  increasing  pitch.  The  expe- 
riments proved  that  a  small  portion  of  a  blade  of  uniform  pitch  did  the 
duty,  the  rest  of  the  blade  merely  following  in  the  wake  of  the  effective 
portion;  but  by  making  the  blade  with  an  increasing  pitch,  each  in- 
creasing portion  overtakes  the  disturbed  water,  and  so  becomes  effective. 
Accordingly,  the  model,  with  "Woodcroft's  increasing  pitch,  flew  along 
the  wire  rapidly ;  but  when  it  was  reversed  it  would  scarcely  move.  On 
a  large  ship  a  similar  experiment  was  tried,  making  a  difference  of  20  per 
cent,  when  the  screw  was  reversed.  The  Great  Britain  was  fitted  with 
Woodcroft's  screw  on  her  last  voyage,  and,  there  is  little  doubt,  propelled 
the  vt?,^^  faster  than  the  captain  was  aware.  A  large  diagram  was 
shown  (the  full  size)  of  the  screw  fitted  to  the  Blenheim  (74),  the  Oak, 
and  the  Termagant  (22  guns).  The  screw  consists  of  two  blades.  It  is 
16^  feet  in  diameter;  the  blade  is  7  feet  wide,  and  the  twist  or  angle  of 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  45 

the  blade  is  such  that  when  lying  on  the  ground  the  upper  edge  wonld  be 
8  feet  4  iucht's  high.  The  screw  is  let  down  through  a  water-tight  well 
at  the  stern  of  the  vessel,  and  can  be  drawn  up  out  of  the  water  so  as  to 
give  no  impediment  when  the  ship  is  sailing  with  a  fair  wind  ;  and  yet  (he 
weight  of  the  screw  is  6^  tons,  and  the  short  iron  shaft  fixed  in  its  centre 
1^  ton,  making  together  8  toes.  The  screw  is  of  gun-metal,  and  worth 
about  £650.  II.  M.  yacht  Fairy  was  fitted  with  a  screw  propeller  of  two 
blades,  5  feet  4  inches  in  diameter.  She  has  two  engines  of  64-horse 
power  each,  and  her  speed  is  15^  miles  per  hour.  The  Sarah  Sands 
(1,300  tons)  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  auxiliary  steam  power.  She 
has  two  oscillating  engines  of  180-horse  power,  driving  (by  direct  action) 
a  Woodcroft  screw  of  four  blades  and  14  feet  diameter.  She  made  the 
passage  to  New  York  in  twenty  days,  while  the  sailing  packets  took 
forty,  and  has  just  returned  from  New  York  in  fourteen  days,  and  has 
frequently  made  eleven  miles  in  the  hour.  After  the  lectiu-e,  Mr.  Cowper 
explained  the  various  engines  used  for  driving  the  screw,  and  exhibited  a 
large  model  of  improved  gearing  for  those  cases  in  which  toothed  wheels 
were  employed.  The  "  wave-line"  form  of  vessel  recommended  by 
Mr.  Scott  Russell  was  also  demonstrated  by  experiment. 


HARBOURS  OF  REFUGE. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  consist- 
....:  chiefly  of  a  succinct  review  of  the  Reports  of  the  Commissioners  on 
Shipwrecks  and  on  Harbours  of  Refuge  ;  giving  the  opinions  of  the  naval 
officers  and  civil  engineers  on  the  necessity  for  Harbours  in  certtiin 
situations,  the  naval  qualities  possessed  by  those  positions,  the  possibility 
of  constructing  harbours  in  them,  and  the  nature  of  the  structures.  It 
was  stated  that  of  various  situations  pointed  out,  that  of  Dover  is  the  only 
one  yet  decided  on ;  though  great  works  are  contemplated  at  Portland — 
where,  from  Mr.  Rendle's  designs,  a  system  of  construction  will  be 
adopted  which  will  be  both  economical  and  stable,  and  at  the  same  time 
afford  employment  to  a  class  of  persons  whose  labour  it  has  been  dillicult 
hitherto  to  use  efficiently.  The  various  projects  for  floating  breakwaters, 
and  other  artificial  shelter  for  vessels,  were  examined,  and  generally 
condemned  as  inefficient  for  the  objects  proposed.  The  questions  relativft 
to  the  movcnjent  of  sand,  the  drifting  of  the  shingle,  and  the  dei)Osit  of 
silt  in  Dover  Hay  and  other  places,  were  treated  ;  and  reasons  were  given 
for  the  various  forms  of  construction,  and  the  projects  for  meeting  the 
difficultirs  induced  by  these  circumstances.  The  next  question  was  the 
plan  of  the  harbour  and  the  mode  of  construction  of  the  works.     Aft€r 

? noting  all  the  authorities  on  both  sides — including  the  naval  officers,  the 
Vjmmissioncrs,  the  civil  engineers,  and  various  scientific  writers— the  pro- 
ferencc  was  iriven  to  a  large  harbour  with  two  entrances,  so  placed  as  to 
allow  a  sutlicient  run  of  the  tide  through  it,  to  prevent  any  very  consider- 
able dciM)sit  of  silt,  but  so  constructed  as  to  afford  shelter  to  the  vessels 
within.     The  pier  walls  ti:  '  '      harbour  to  be  built  vertically  up 

from  the  bottom,  or  with  inclination  in  their  height,  instead 

of  throwing  in  masses  of  i „^    ..,..*:  to  find  its  own  angle  of  re|K)se — 

which  it  was  shewn  was  not  less  than  four  or  five  to  one,  und  that  it  onlv 


46  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

attained  solidity  after  a  lapse  of  many  years,  even  with  a  due  admixture 
of  small  materials,  to  till  up  the  interstices,  and  after  constant  supplies  of 
stone  to  replace  that  which  the  seas  removed.  The  reports  of  Captain 
Washington  were  quoted,  to  prove  the  failures  that  had  occurred  at  certain 
harboiu*s  in  Ireland,  where  it  was  stated  that  the  long  slopes  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  sea,  and  had  ruined  the  harbours  they  were  intended  to 
protect.  The  proceedings  at  Cherbourg  and  Plymouth  were  followed  in 
detail,  with  a  view  to  deducing  arguments  against  the  long  slopes,  and  in 
favour  of  vertical  sea  walls.  The  protest  by  Sir  Howard  Douglas  in 
favour  of  long  slopes  was  examined,  and  the  arguments  used  on  both 
sides  were  analyzed.  Col.  Enys's  theory  of  the  efiects  of  the  "  flot  du 
fond"  was  inspected ;  and  without  going  to  the  entire  length  that  he 
does,  it  was  admitted  that  in  many  cases  the  effects  produced  were  as  he 
described  them,  and  that  the  subject,  as  he  had  brought  it  forward,  was 
well  worthy  the  attention  of  civil  engineers.  The  placing  a  vertical  wall 
upon  a  substratum  of  rubble  in  the  form  of  a  long  slope,  was  shown  to 
be  pregnant  with  mischief,  and  had  never  been  successful,  and  the 
adoption  of  that  system  at  Cherbourg  had  been  a  matter  of  necessity 
rather  than  of  choice.  Mr.  Allan  Stephenson's  experiments  on  the  force 
of  waves  striking  opposing  bodies,  were  given ;  and  it  was  urged  that  the 
force  shown  to  be  developed  by  a  breaking  wave  could  not  act  upon  a 
vertical  wall,  up  and  down  which  it  would  merely  oscillate, — whereas  it 
might  fall  with  all  its  accumulated  force  upon  a  slope,  upon  which  it 
would  naturally  break.  In  conclusion,  it  was  urged,  that,  although  for 
Dover — which  is  the  spot  whereon  to  mount  guard  over  the  Channel  in 
order  not  only  to  prevent  invasion,  but  to  maintain  our  present  naval 
supremacy — it  might  be  permitted  to  spend  a  large  sum  of  money,  yet  it 
would  not  do  to  have  several  Lovers;  and  therefore  it  behoved  the 
authorities  to  consider  carefully  the  site,  the  plan,  and  the  method  of 
construction,  before  commencing  such  works. 

In  the  discussion  which  ensued — and  in  which  the  principal  civil 
engineers  engaged  on  great  hydraulic  works  took  part — the  speakers 
explained  the  actual  circumstances  and  conditions  of  the  works  which  had 
been  instanced  as  failures ;  it  was  shown  that,  far  from  being  expensive 
or  useless  works,  they  had  been  completed  withiu  the  original  estimates ; 
and  that  wherever  the  construction  had  required  restoration  or  additions, 
it  had  arisen  from  the  use  of  defective  materials,  which,  being  on  the  spot, 
it  had  been  obligatory  to  employ — not  from  the  use  of  the  long  slope, 
which,  as  compared  to  vertical  walls  in  similar  situations,  was  shown  to 
be  more  durable,  and  to  have  been  in  many  instances  successfully  substi- 
tuted for  vertical  walls  after  these  had  succumbed  to  the  assaults  of  the 
billows. — AthencetiMy  No.  1080. 


BOILER  EXPLOSIONS. 

The  recent  prevalence  of  Boiler  Explosions  has  called  forth  hints  in  va- 
rious forms  for  their  prevention,  among  which  is  a  pamphlet  embodying 
the  results  of  the  experience  of  a  civil  engineer  (Mr.  William  Stewart)  for 
the  last  twenty  years,  with  all  sorts  of  engines :  not  an  exjierience  in  the 
practice  of  explosion,  we  mean,  but  in  its  prevention,  by  the  adoption  of 


HECHAKICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  4? 

those  rules  of  prudence  which  twenty  years'  experience  cannot  but  force 
on  the  notice  of  any  man  of  an  observing  and  intelligent  turn  of  mind. 

Amongst  the  main  causes  of  explosion  he  enumerates  the  tendency  of 
the  bottom  of  the  boiler  to  give  way  to  the  expansive  force  of  the  steam 
sooner  than  the  top,  the  safety-valve  in  such  case  being  perfectly  useless  ; 
want  of  water  in  the  boiler  ;  excess  of  water;  attachment  of  the  safety- 
valve  by  slime  and  dirt ;  the  very  opening  of  the  valve  in  some  cases ;  the 
formation  of  explosive  gases  from  decomposition  of  the  water,  as  well  as 
of  steam  from  its  mere  expansion,  operative  in  such  cases  as  that  of  the 
rod  heating  of  the  boiler  from  want  of  water. 

The  bottoms  of  boilers,  he  observes,  should  be  made  of  inflexible  ma- 
terial, with  an  arch  of  perfect  regularity,  since  sheet-iron,  in  cases  of  want 
of  water,  softens  and  weakens,  bulges  aud  bursts,  while  the  upper  part 
resists  the  pressure.  To  ))revent  the  occurrence  of  such  cases,  of  course 
a  sufficient  supply  of  water,  and  a  safety-valve  in  good  order,  are  requisite ; 
but  the  bottom  should  be  kept  free  from  incrustation.  When  a  want  of 
water  occurs,  if  the  flues  are  not  yet  red  hot,  the  engine  should  be  kept 
ill  motion,  and  a  supply  slowly  pumped  in ;  but  if  the  flues  be  anything 
red,  the  fire  must  be  directly  withdrawn,  and  the  boiler  cooled,  before 
attempting  to  replenish  with  water,  the  engine  being  still  kept  in  motion, 
and  the  safety-valve  on  no  account  moved,  as  a  rapid  escape  of  steam  will 
8et  the  remaiuing  water  in  ebullition,  cause  it  to  fall  in  drops  on  the  red- 
hot  surface,  and  suddenly  expand  into  volumes  of  steam,  or  even  be  as 
suddenly  decomposed  into  the  still  more  tremendous  volume  of  its  consti- 
tuent gases. 

Where  the  boiler  is  too  full  of  water,  the  heat  may  be  raised  almost  to 
a  red  heat  without  generating  steam,  unless  the  safety  valve  be  opened, 

'icu  there  will  be  imminent  risk  of  an  explosion,  from  the  sudden  libe- 

:on  and  generation  of  steam  at  so  high  a  heat.      To  prevent  such  an 

.j^-cident,  the  fire  must  be  checked  or  withdrawn  till  the  temperature  of 

the  water  be  reduced  below  the  boiling  point,  and  then,  but  not  till  then, 

the  surplus  quantity  of  the  water  may  be  withdrawn. 

Accidents  have  even  occurred  when  there  was  neither  steam  nor  water 

:  the  boiler,  nor  fire  underneath,  but  the  previous  heat  must  have  de- 
composed water  into  gases  afterwards  exploded  by  a  caudle,  &c. — Builder^ 
No.  291. 


coxdie's  patent  steam  hammer. 

A:,  ..,.,..... eiiicut  on  Mr.  Nasmyth's  Hammer  has  been  patented  by 
Mr.  Coudie,  and  introduced  at  Mr.  Dixon's  iron  works,  at  Govau,  near 
Glasgow.  It  has  a  stroke  of  3i  feet,  with  a  weight  of  41  cwt.,  and  has 
been  constantly  at  work,  night  and  day,  since  March,  and,  including 
•erap  furnaces,  1ms  kept,  it  is  said,  as  many  as  fourteen  puddling  funiaces 
in  full  work  during  the  whole  of  that  time.  The  manager  declares  that 
**the  tool  will  pay  its  own  cost  in  the  first  year."  The  franio-work  of  this 
hft  .1  .      .  ]  j^  {•j.^.j^  Ijjj^jj^  jjj  j^jjj  ^,j,|.,     .  '  1  to  that  of 

ii  owever,  of  a  cylinder  i  the  cross 

fnu. ....  .  ., \o  side  bcarcra,  a  pistou-i ,,  ,,U.s  from  the 

head  Irame.  This  piston-rod  is  held  by  a  ball-and-socket  joint  to  the  head 


48  TEAR-BOOK  OF  TACTS. 

frame-work,  and  the  cylinder,  to  the  lower  end  of  which  is  attached  the 
ram,  moves  up  and  down,  supported  by  the  side  frames.  The  steam  is 
fed  into  the  cylinder  down  through  the  centre  of  the  piston-rod. 
Mr.  Condie's  hammer  is  considered  to  be  not  liable  to  the  same  risk  of 
breaking  by  concussion  as  that  of  Mr.  Nasmyth's,  and  the  cylinder  and 
hammer  (measuring  together  about  6|  feet,  with  grooves  in  each  side), 
sliding  on  feathers  on  the  side  frames,  move  throughout  almost  without 
oscillation. — Builder,  No.  296. 


JONES  S  FRICTION  HAMMER. 

In  the  British  Mirror  is  described  a  sight  of  a  novel  machine  which  has 
been  completed,  and  is  now  at  work  at  the  Great  Western  Works,  the  in- 
vention of  Mr.  John  Jones,  manager  of  the  works,  who  also  invented  the 
"  Cambrian  Engine."  The  machine  is  called  a  "  Friction  Hammer,"  and 
consists  of  frames  of  cast-iron,  in  which  are  vertical  slides  acting  as  guides 
to  the  hammer,  and  also  supporting  the  machinery  necessary  for  putting 
the  hammer  in  motion.  The  hammer  consists  of  a  plane  bar  of  flat  wrought 
iron,  so  arranged  as  to  work  in  the  slides,  and  is  raised  by  means  of  two 
vertical  rollers  turning  in  opposite  directions,  which  are  made  to  bear 
upon  the  bar  by  an  exceedingly  simple  arrangement  of  levers.  A  slight 
pressure  upon  the  handle  of  one  lever  raises  the  hammer  to  any  height  not 
csceeding  7  feet;  the  pressure  being  removed  it  falls  by  its  own  gravity: 
this  lever  is  also  arranged  so  as  to  stop  the  hammer  in  any  part  of  its  de- 
scent, should  circumstances  render  it  necessary.  The  friction  rollers  are 
put  in  motion  by  means  of  straps  and  pulleys,  fly-wheels  being  also  fitted 
on  each  strap.  A  double  punching  and  shearing  machine,  of  great  power, 
by  the  same  inventor,  has  also  just  been  completed  at  these  works. 

HYDRAULIC  PRESSURE-ENGINES. 

Mr.  J.  GLYNhas  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  on  this  sub- 
ject, in  which  he  called  the  attention  of  the  members  to  a  mode  of  em- 
ploying the  power  of  waterfalls  in  a  most  useful  and  important  manner — 
too  long  neglected  in  this  country,  considering  the  advantages  it  affords  in 
hilly  districts  for  the  drainage  of  mines.  He  brought  under  their 
notice  the  means  of  employing  high  falls  of  water  to  produce  a  recipro- 
cating motion  by  means  of  a  "  Pressure-Engine."  The  presure-engine 
acted  by  the  power  of  a  descending  column  of  water  upon  the  piston  of  a 
cylinder,  to  give  motion  to  pumps  for  raising  water  to  a  different  level,  or 
to  produce  a  reciprocating  motion  for  other  purposes.  The  pressure 
engine  was  calculated  to  give  great  mechanical  effect  in  cases  where 
waterfalls  may  be  found  of  much  too  great  a  height,  and  too  small  a 
quantity,  to  be  practically  brought  to  bear  in  a  sufficient  degree  on  water- 
wheels  within  the  ordinary  limits  of  diameter.  The  author  produced 
instances  of  the  desired  pressure  engine,  one  of  which  was  constructed 
about  forty  years  ago  in  Derbyshire,  and  which,  he  believed,  was  still  at 
work  in  the  Alport  Mines,  to  which  it  was  removed  from  its  original 
situation.  The  cylinder  was,  he  believed,  30  inches  in  diameter.  In 
1841,  Mr.  John  Taylor  advised  the  application  of  another  and  more 
powerful  engine  at  the    Alport   Mines,    which  was  made   under   his 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  49 

(Mr.  Glyn's)  directiou  at  the  Battcrley  Ironworks,  in  Derby!>hire.  This 
was  the  most  powerful  engine  that  had  been  made.  The  cylinder  was 
50  inches  in  diameter,  and  the  stroke  10  feet.  It  was  worked  by 
a  column  of  water  of  132  feet  in  height,  so  that  the  proportion  of  power 
to  act  on  it  was  as  the  area  of  a  piston  to  that  of  the  plunger,  namely, 
1,963  to  1,385,  or  fully  70  per  cent.  The  superintendent  of  the  ma- 
chinery assured  Mr.  G.  that  the  engine  had  never  cost  £12  a  year  since 
it  was  erected.  Its  usual  speed  was  about  5  strokes  per  minute,  but  it  was 
capable  of  working  at  7  strokes  per  minute,  without  any  concussion  in 
the  descending  colimin,  the  duty  actually  done  being  equal  to  163  horse- 
power. Area  of  plunge,  9621  feet  x  10  feet  x  7  strokes  =  67341. 
673-41  X  62-5  X  132=^11^- =  163  horse-power.  The  author  con- 
cluded by  remarking  that,  in  this  case  as  in  all  others,  when  water  acts 
by  its  gravity  or  pressure,  those  machines  do  the  best  work  when  the 
water  enters  the  machine  without  shock  or  impulse,  and  quits  it  without 
velocity.  They  thereby  obtain  all  the  available  power  that  the  water  will 
yield  with  the  least  loss  of  effect ;  and  this  result  is  best  accomplished  by 
making  the  \)\\)e3  and  passages  of  sufficient  and  ample  size  to  prevent  ac- 
celeration of  the  hydrostatic  column. 

An  eiperimental  engine,  in  the  construction  of  which  it  is  said 
that  a  difficulty  hitherto  experienced  has  been  overcome,  in  the 
free  discharge  of  water  from  the  cylinder,  has  been  made  for  the 
water  company  at  Dundee,  by  Messrs.  Steele  and  Sons,  of  the  Lily  bank 
Foundry  there,  and  successfully  set  to  work  with  a  power  equal  to  that  of 
three  men,  derived  from  the  mere  flow  of  a  thin  stream  of  water  through 
an  ordinary  water-pipe.  Neither  preparation,  risk,  nor  experience  is  re- 
quisite to  set  it  a-going,  the  turning  of  a  stop-cock  being  all  that 
is  necessary.  A  small  machine  of  this  kind  has  been  set  to  work  in  a 
coffee-shop  at  Dundee,  where  it  has  been  found  to  grind  in  a  "  neat  and 
efficient,"  as  well  as  economical  and  expeditious  manner.  One  of  the 
editors  of  Chambers's  Journal,  in  describing  another  at  Peebles,  worked 
by  the  water  running  through  a  common  leaden  pipe,  only  an  inch  in  bore, 
and  pumping  with  the  force  of  several  men,  remarks,  "How  easy  it  would 
be  to  fit  up  machinery  of  this  simple  kind  in  cities — how  inexpensive  the 
power  !  A  pipe  of  water  introduced  into  a  dwelling  for  domestic  or  other 
purposes  might,  in  the  first  instance,  be  led  to  the  top  of  the  house,  and 
made  to  turn  a  wheel  in  making  its  descent  to  the  lower  floors.  The 
world  has  not  yet  awakened  to  hydraulics." 


ARMSTBONO  8  HYDRAULIC  ENGINE. 

The  following  description  of  the  operation  of  an  Engine  now  in  use  at 
the  Albert  Dock,  Liverpool,  is  from  the  Nnccastle  Journal: — "The 
question  is  constantly  asked,  how  dots  the  engine  go  by  water?  And  as 
much  niisapjirehension  apj)cars  to  prevail  upon  the  subject,  we  shall  en- 
deavour to  answer  the  inquirj*.  It  will  be  observed,  that  the  engine  has 
two  cylinders  lying  at  an  angle  with  each  other  ;  each  of  these  contains  a 
piston,  \x\mn  the  alternate  sides  of  tvhich  the  moving  power  is  exerted  in 
the  same  manner  as  in  the  steam-engine.  Kut  where,  it  is  af>ked,  does 
the  water  come  from,  and  where  docs  it  go  to  ?    The  answer  to  this  is  as 

£ 


50  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

follows  : — The  Water  Company  have  two  main  pipes  in  the  adjacent  street, 
one  of  which  communicates  with  a  reservoir  at  Carr's  Hill,  situate  at  an 
elevation  of  420  feet  above  the  Tyne,  and  the  other  with  a  reservoir  at 
the  head  of  Gallowgate,  the  height  of  which  is  230  feet  above  the  same 
point ;  so  that  there  is  a  difference  of  elevation  between  the  two  reservoirs 
of  190  feet,  and  a  corresponding  difference  of  pressure  in  the  water  supplied 
from  each,  which  difference  is  equal  to  about  82  lbs.  on  the  square  inch. 
Now,  the  engine  being  connected  by  branch  pipes  with  both  of  the  street 
mains,  the  pistons  are  acted  upon  by  the  pressure  of  the  Carr's  Hill  water 
on  the  one  side,  and  by  the  opposing  pressure  of  the  Gallowgate  water  on 
the  other ;  and  the  engine  is,  consequently,  put  in  motion  by  a  force  equal 
to  the  difference  between  the  two  pressures.  By  this  means,  the  water, 
instead  of  being  run  to  waste,  merely  passes  from  one  set  of  pipes  to  the 
other,  and  remains  available  for  the  use  of  the  town.  The  engine 
is  worked  by  slide  valves,  which,  we  are  informed,  are  so  constructed  as 
to  afford  very  wide  passages  for  the,  water,  without  occasioning  an  undue 
pressure  on  the  face  of  the  slides.  There  is  also,  we  are  told,  an  arrange- 
ment for  liberating  the  water  in  the  cylinders  at  the  time  when  the  valve 
ports  are  closed,  which  enables  the  engine  to  turn  each  stroke  with  the 
same  freedom  as  the  steam-engine.  At  any  rate,  certain  it  is  that  all  im- 
pediments to  the  attainment  of  high  speed  and  easy  motion  are  removed 
in  this  engine ;  and  there  appears  to  be  every  probability  of  its  coming  into 
extensive  use,  not  only  in  cases  where  steam-engines  are  considered 
'objectionable,  but  also  for  many  purposes  where  it  will  be  found  more 
economical  than  steam,  and  in  others  where  it  will  be  applied  in  substi- 
tution of  manual  labour." 

FALL  AND  VELOCITY  OF  RIVERS. 

The  Fall  of  a  River  influences  in  part  the  velocity  or  force  of  its  current, 
but  not  to  such  an  extent  that  the  rate  of  fall  could  be  taken  as  a  scale 
for  the  rate  of  velocity.  The  Rhine,  Danube,  and  Elbe,  are  very  rapid 
rivers,  yet  they  only  exhibit  a  fall  of  one  or  two,  and  very  seldom  three, 
feet  per  mile.  The  "  gentle  Tweed,"  with  an  average  fall  of  nearly  eight 
feet,  from  the  affluence  of  Biggar  water  to  the  sea,  is  freely  navigated  by 
small  boats;  while  a  fall  of  only  two  feet  in  the  Danube  causes  the 
greatest  obstacles  to  navigation.  The  Severn  and  the  Shannon  are  much 
alike  in  magnitude  :  the  average  descent  of  the  former  is  26"6  inches  per 
mile,  of  the  latter  only  nine  inches  ;  and  yet  the  Severn  pursues  its  course 
without  any  rapids  or  falls,  whilst  the  Shannon  forms  the  magnificent 
falls  of  Doonas,  equalling  the  most  celebrated  in  Europe. — Mr,  A. 
Peterman :  Transactions  of  the  Geological  Society, 


DRAINAGE  OF  LAND  BY  STEAM  POWER. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  "  On  the  Applica- 
tion of  Steam  Power  to  the  Drainage  of  Marshes  and  Een  Lands,"  by 
Mr.  J.  Glynn.  The  number  of  districts,  says  Mr.  Glynn,  in  which  I 
have  successfully  applied  the  steam-engine  for  such  purposes  is  15,  and 
the  quantity  of  land  so  drained  amounts  to  125,000  acres ;  the  engines 
employed  being  17  in  number,  and  their  aggregate  power  870  horses, — 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  AETS.  51 

the  size  of  the  engines  varying  from  20  to  80  horse-power.  I  was  also 
engaged  iu  draining  the  Hammerbruk  District,  close  by  the  city  of 
Hamburgh ;  and  in  another  district  near  to  Rotterdam  an  engine  and 
machinery  with  the  requisite  buildings  were  erected  from  my  plans  by  the 
Chevalier  Conrad. 

In  Lincolnshire  and  Cambridgeshire  much  had  been  done  to  carry  off  the 
water  by  natural  means  ;  and  many  large  cuts,  and  embankments  formed — 
especially  in  the  Bedford  level,  which  alone  contains  about  300,000  acres 
of  fen  land ;  and  the  great  level  of  the  Fens  contains  about  080,000 
acres,  now  rich  in  corn  and  cattle.  The  Dutch  engineers  who  had  been 
engaged  in  these  works  had  erected  a  number  of  windmills  to  throw  off 
the  water  when  the  sluices  could  not  carry  it  away.  By  the  aid  of  these 
machines,  the  land  was  so  far  reclaimed  as  to  be  brought  into  pasture  and 
cultivation,  producing  occasional  crops  of  wheat.  The  waters  from  the 
uplands  and  higher  levels  were  intercepted  by  catch-water  drains,  which 
carried  away  as  far  as  might  be  practicable  the  highland  waters,  and 
prevented  them  from  running  down  upon  the  fen, — but  as  it  often  hap- 
pened, when  there  was  most  rain  there  was  least  wind,  and  the  wind- 
engines  were  useless  when  their  help  was  most  needed,  the  crops  were 
lost.  In  this  state  was  the  fen  country  when  the  steam-engine  was 
introduced ;  and  by  its  aid  the  farmer  may  venture  to  sow  wheat  ui)on 
these  rich  levels  with  as  much  confidence  and  even  more  than  upon  higher 
ground  ;  for  not  only  can  he  throw  off  at  pleasure  the  superfluous  water, 
but  in  dry  weather  a  suj)ply  can  be  admitted  from  the  rivers, — so  that 
forming  in  such  cases  is  rendered  less  precarious  than  in  situations 
originally  more  favoured  by  nature. 

The  quantity  of  rain  which  falls  in  these  levels  on  the  eastern  side  of 
England  being  much  below  the  general  average  of  the  kingdom,  the  power 
required  to  throw  off  the  superfluous  water  is  small  compared  with  the 
breadth  of  land  to  be  drained ;  the  proportion  seldom  being  greater  than 
10  horse-power  to  1,000  acres,  and  in  some  cases  considerably  less.  The 
general  plan  is  to  carry  away  the  water  coming  off  the  higher  grounds, 
and  as  far  as  may  be  practicable  prevent  it  from  running  down  into  the 
marsh  by  means  of  the  catch-water  drains  before  mentioned,  leaving  the 
rain  water  alone  to  be  dealt  with  by  mechanical  power.  As  the  quantity 
of  rain  falling  in  the  great  level  of  the  Fens  seldom  exceeds  twenty-six 
inches,  and  about  two-thirds  of  this  quantity  is  carried  off  by  evaporation 
and  absorption,  or  the  growth  of  plauts,  it  is  only  in  extreme  cases  that 
two  inches  in  depth  require  to  be  thrown  off  by  the  engines  in  any  one 
month, — which  amounts  to  one  cubic  foot  and  a  half  upon  every  square 
yard  of  land,  or  7,200  cubic  feet  to  the  acre.  The  standard  and  accepted 
measure  of  a  horse's  power  is  33,000  lb.  raised  one  foot  in  a  minute,  or 
3,300  lb.  raised  ten  feet  high  iu  the  same  lime ;  and  as  a  cubic  foot  of 
water  weighs  02 ^  lb.,  and  a  gallon  of  water  10  lb.,  so  a  hoi-se's  power 
will  raise  and  discharge  at  a  height  of  ten  feet  380  gallons,  or  52^^  cubic 
feet  of  water  in  a  minute.  ( 'ons^^qucntly,  this  as8ume<l  excess  of  7,200 
cabic  feet  of  water  fallen  upon  an  acre  of  land  will  be  raised  and  dis- 
charged at  an  elevation  of  10  feet  in  about  2  hours  and  10  minutes.  If 
the  qaantity  of  laud  be  1,000  acres  of  fen  or  marsh  with  the  upland 


52  YEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS, 

waters  all  banked  out,  the  excess  of  rain  according  to  the  above  estimate 
will  amount  to  7,620,000  cubic  feet.  A  steam-engine  of  10  horse-power 
will  throw  off  this  water  in  232  hours,  or  in  less  than  20  days,  working 
12  hours  a  day ;  and  1  have  found  this  calculation  fully  supported  in 
practice.  Although  the  rain  due  to  any  given  month  may  fall  iu  a  few 
days,  yet  in  such  a  case  the  ground  will  absorb  a  good  deal  of  it,  and  the 
drains  must  be  made  of  a  capacity  large  enough  to  receive  and  contain 
the  rain  as  it  falls ; — besides,  in  cases  of  necessity,  the  engine  may  be 
made  to  work  20  hours  a  day  instead  of  12,  until  the  danger  is  past.  I 
have  generally  caused  the  main  drains  to  be  cut  71  feet  deep,  and  of 
width  sufficient  to  give  them  the  required  capacity  to  receive  the  rain 
water  as  it  falls,  and  bring  it  down  to  the  engine.  In  some  instances — 
where  the  districts  are  extensive  and  their  length  great— it  has  been 
requisite  to  make  them  somewhat  deeper. 

In  all  cases  of  using  steam  power,  I  have  applied  scoop- wheels  to 
raise  the  water.  These  scoop-wheels  somewhat  resemble  the  undershot- 
wheel  of  a  water-mill :  but  instead  of  being  turned  by  the  impulse  of  the 
water,  they  are  used  to  lift  it,  and  are  kept  in  motion  by  steam  power. 
The  float- boards  or  ladle-boards  of  the  wheels  are  made  of  wood,  and 
fitted  to  work  in  a  trough  or  track  of  masonry ;  and  they  are  generally 
made  5  feet  in  length — that  is  to  say,  they  are  immersed  5  feet  in  the 
water — and  their  width  or  horizontal  dimension  varies  with  the  power  of 
the  engine  and  the  head  of  water  to  be  overcome,  from  20  inches  to  5 
feet.  The  wheel-track  at  the  lower  end  communicates  with  the  main 
drain,  and  the  higher  end  with  the  river ;  the  water  in  the  river  being 
kept  out  by  a  pair  of  pointing  doors,  like  the  lock  gates  of  a  canal,  which 
close  when  the  engine  ceases  to  work.  The  wheels  themselves  are  made 
of  cast-iron,  formed  in  parts  for  convenience  of  transport.  The  float- 
boards  are  connected  with  the  cast-iron  part  of  the  wheel  by  means  of 
oak  starts,  which  are  stepped  into  sockets  cast  in  the  circumference  of 
the  wheel  to  receive  them.  There  are  cast-iron  toothed  segments  fitted 
to  the  wheel,  into  which  works  a  pinion  upon  the  crank-shaft  of  the 
engine.  "When  the  head  of  water  in  the  river  or  delivering  drain  does 
not  vary  much,  it  is  sufficient  to  have  one  speed  for  the  wheel;  but  when 
the  tide  rises  in  the  river,  it  is  desirable  to  have  two  speeds  or  powers  of 
wheelwork, — the  one  to  be  used  at  low  water,  and  the  other  more  power- 
ful combination  to  act  against  tbe  rising  tide.  But,  in  most  cases,  it  is 
not  requisite  to  raise  the  water  more  than  three  or  four  feet  higher  than 
the  surface  of  the  land  intended  to  be  drained ;  and  even  that  is  only 
necessary  when  the  rivers  are  fuU  between  their  banks,  from  a  continu- 
ance of  wet  weather  or  from  upland  floods.  In  some  instances,  the 
height  of  the  water  in  the  river  being  affected  by  the  tide,  the  drainage 
by  natural  outfall  can  take  place  only  during  the  ebb  ;  and  here,  in  case 
of  long-continuing  rains,  the  natural  drainage  requires  the  assistance  of 
mechanical  power.  I  have  stated  that  the  main  drains  have  generally 
been  made  71  feet  deep,  or  more  in  larger  districts, — so  that  the  water 
may  never  rise  higher  than  within  18  inches  or  2  feet  of  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  the  ladle  or  float-board  dip  5  feet  below  the  water,  leaving  a 
foot  below  the  dip  of  the  wheel,  so  that  the  water  may  run  freely  to  it, 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  68 

and  to  allow  for  the  casual  obstruction  of  weeds  in  the  main  drain, — 
which,  if  it  be  sufficiently  capacious  and  well  formed,  will  bring  down  the 
water  to  the  engine  with  a  descent  of  3  inches  in  a  mile.  Suppose,  then, 
that  the  wheel  dip  5  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  main  drain, 
and  that  the  water  in  the  river  into  which  this  water  must  be  raised  and 
discharged  has  its  level  5  feet  above  that  in  the  drain,  the  wheel  in  such 
case  will  be  said  to  have  10  feet  head  and  dip,  and  ought  to  be  made  28 
or  30  feet  in  diameter.  I  have  found  it  practicable  to  throw  out  the 
water  against  a  head  of  10  feet,  with  a  dip  of  5  feet, — that  is  to  say,  15 
feet  head  and  dip  with  a  wheel  of  35  feet  in  diameter;  but  in  another 
engine  more  recently  erected,  I  have  made  the  wheel  40  feet  in  diameter. 
The  engine  that  drives  that  wheel  is  of  SO-horse  power,  and  is  situated 
on  the  ten-mile  bank,  near  Littleport,  in  the  Isle  of  Ely. 

The  largest  quantity  of  water  delivered  by  one  engine  is  from  Deeping 
Fen,  near  Spalding.  This  fen  contains  25,000  acres,  and  is  drained  by  two 
steam-engines, — one  of  80  and  one  of  60-horse  power.  The  80-horse 
engine  has  a  wheel  of  28  feet  in  diameter,  with  float-boards  or  ladles, 
5§  feet  by  5  feet,  and  moving  with  a  mean  velocity  of  6  feet  per  second. 
So  that  the  section  of  the  stream,  when  the  engine  has  its  full  dip,  is  27^  feet, 
and  the  quantity  discharged  per  second  is  165  cubic  feet, — equal  to  more 
than  4^  tons  of  water  in  a  second,  or  about  16,200  tons  of  water  in  an  hour. 
It  was  iu  the  year  1825  that  these  two  engines  were  erected  ;  and  at  that 
time  the  district  was  kept  in  a  half-cultivated  state  by  the  help  of  41 
windmills,  the  land  at  times  being  wholly  under  water.  It  now  grows 
excellent  wheat,  producing  from  4  to  6  quarters  to  the  acre. 

In  many  districts,  land  has  been  purchased  at  from  £10  to  £20  an  acre,  by 
persons  who  foresaw  the  consequences  of  these  improvements,  and  which 
they  could  now  sell  at  from  £50  to  £70  an  acre.  This  increase  has 
arisen  not  only  from  the  land  being  cleared  from  the  injurious  efTccts  of 
the  water  upon  it,  but  from  the  improved  system  of  cultivation  which  it 
has  enabled  the  farmers  to  adopt.  The  fen  lands  in  Cambridgeshire  and 
iu  great  part  of  the  neighbouring  counties,  are  formed  of  a  rich  black 
earth,  consisting  of  decomposed  vegetable  matter,  generally  from  6  to  10 
feet  thick,  although  in  some  places  much  thicker,  resting  upon  a  bed  of 
blue  gault,  containing  clay,  lime,  and  sand.  When  steam  drainage  was 
first  introduced,  it  was  the  practice  to  pare  the  land  and  burn  it ;  then  to 
«ow  rape-seed,  and  to  feed  sheep  upon  the  green  crop ;  after  which  wheat 
was  sown.  The  wheat  grown  upon  this  land  had  a  long  weak  straw, 
easily  bent  and  broken,  carrying  cars  of  com  of  small  size,  and  having 
but  a  weak  and  uncertain  hold  by  its  ro<jt  in  the  black  soil.  I,atterly, 
however,  chemistry  having  thrown  greater  light  upon  the  operations  of 
agriculture,  it  ha«  been  the  practice  to  sink  pits,  at  regular  distances, 
through  the  black  earth,  and  to  bring  up  the  blue  gault,  which  is  spread 
upon  the  surface  as  a  manure.  The  straw — by  this  means  taking  up  an 
additional  quantity  of  silex — becomes  firm,  strong,  and  not  so  tall  as 
formerly,  carrying  larger  and  heavier  corn  ;  and  the  mixture  of  clay  gives 
t  better  hold  to  the  roots,  rendering  the  crops  less  liable  to  be  laid  by  the 
wind  and  rain ;  whilst  the  produce  i«  most  loxuriant  and  abundant. — 
Athfjutnm,  No.  1089. 


54  year-book  of  facts. 

martin's  improvements  in  draining. 
Mr.  John  Martin,  the  well-known  artist,  has  patented  a  mode  of 
constructing  Water  Sewerage,  and  Gas-pipes,  which  promises  to  be  of 
considerable  importance.  The  invention  embraces,  z«^(?r  «/m,  one  very 
important  matter — namely,  a  means  of  so  coupling  the  pipes  as  will 
prevent  one  pipe  settling  away  from  another,  and  the  consequent  leakage, 
as  may  be  the  case  when  they  are  simply  butted  against  one  another 
without  a  socket,  and  yet  give  the  greatest  facility  for  taking  out  one 
or  more  lengths  without  injury.  The  mode  is  exceedingly  simple,  and 
apparently  eifective. 

NEW  ELEMENT  OF  MECHANISM. 

Mr.  R.  Roberts  has  explained  to  the  British  Association,  a  con- 
trivance by  which  he  has  effected  in  a  very  simple  manner  movements  for 
which  more  complicated  mechanism  was  frequently  employed.  The 
model  consisted  of  a  steel-stock  ^haft,  on  which  were  fitted  two  brass 
discs  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  kept  steady.  One  of  the  discs  had  eleven 
teeth,  rounded  at  the  top  and  bottom  in  its  circumference,  and  was 
placed  on  the  body  of  the  shaft.  The  other  disc,  which  was  rather  the 
larger,  was  in  the  eccentric  position  of  the  shaft,  with  its  face  to  that  of 
the  toothed  disc.  The  plain  disc  had  four  studs  rivetted  into  it  at  equal 
distances  from  each  other,  and  at  such  distances  as  to  admit  of  their 
being  brought  successively,  by  the  revolution  of  the  eccentric,  to  the 
bottom  of  the  hollows  in  the  toothed  disc.  The  following  movements 
may  be  effected  by  this  model — viz.  if  the  shaft  be  held  stationary,  and 
tlie  discs  be  made  to  revolve  upon  it,  one  of  the  discs  will  make  twelve 
revolutions,  whilst  the  other  only  makes  eleven.  Again,  if  the  toothed 
disc  be  held  whilst  the  shaft  be  made  to  revolve  twelve  times,  the 
plain  disc  will  revolve,  in  the  same  direction,  one  revolution  only  ;  and 
if  the  plain  disc  be  held,  the  toothed  disc  will  perform  one  revolu- 
tion in  the  contrary  for  eleven  revolutions  of  the  shaft.  It  would  be 
evident  that  almost  any  other  number  of  revolutions  may  be  produced 
by  employing  a  smaller  number  of  studs,  not  fewer  than  three,  which 
will  not  divide  the  number  of  teeth  in  that  disc.  The  idea  of  this  novel 
element  in  mechanics  was  suggested  by  Mr.  Roberts  to  a  dial  movement 
in  an  American  clock. — Athenaum.  No.  1086. 


MOVING  A  house. 

The  Americans  have  been  outdone  in  this  kind  of  work  at  Messrs. 
Ransome  and  May's,  Orwell  Foundry,  Ipswich;  where  a  brick-built 
House,  two  stories  high,  26  feet  by  18,  has  been  removed  a  distance  of 
70  feet,  and  raised  2^  feet,  without  sustaining  the  slightest  crack  in  the 
walls  or  ceilings,  or  even  in  the  papering  of  the  rooms.  The  removal 
was  accomplished  under  the  direction  and  superintendence  of  Mr.  Worby, 
the  manager  of  the  works ;  and  the  modus  operandi  seems  to  have  been 
this : — A  series  of  holes,  six  inches  square,  was  first  made  through  the 
brickwork,  close  to  the  ground,  at  intervals  of  three  feet,  all  round  the 
house.  Through  these  holes  were  inserted  cantalivers,  or  pieces  of  timber 
about  four  feet  long ;  and  the  earth,  inside  and  out,  having  been  cleared 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  55 

away,  the  cads  were  made  to  rest  ou  blocks  of  wood, — so  that  during  the 
removal  of  the  foundation  the  sui)erstructure  would  rest  entirely  ou  them. 
The  uext  operation  was  to  remove  the  foundation,  and  to  lay  in  its  place 
long  pieces  of  timber,  eleven  inches  square ;  these  had  a  coat  of  mortar 
laid  ou  as  a  bed  for  the  brickwork,  and  were  then  lifted  up  to  the  walls, 
forming  a  kind  of  framework,  on  which,  the  cautalivers  aud  blocks  bciug 
removed,  the  house  stood  as  lirmly  as  it  did  on  its  original  foundation. 
The  building  was  then  raised  to  the  required  height,  one  side  being  ele- 
•vated  at  a  time,  and  a  number  of  longitudinal  timbers  of  great  strength 
laid  underneath,  and  continued  along  the  ground  as  far  as  the  new 
foundation.  As  a  precautionary  measure,  the  sides  of  the  house  were 
bound  in  by  means  of  stout  planks  run  up  at  the  angles,  and  fastened 
together  with  iron  rods.  The  whole  of  this  preliminary  work  occupied, 
some  time  to  complete,  the  workmen  only  turning  to  it  when  they  had 
nothing  else  to  engage  them.  The  timbers  along  whic^  the  house  was  to 
slide  having  been  well  greased,  three  bottle-jack  screws  were  brought  to 
bear  upon  one  end  of  the  framework,  and  the  process  of  locomotion  com- 
menced. The  rate  of  travelling  was  about  one  foot  in  five  minutes  ;  but 
as  a  long  delay  occurred  each  time  the  screws  were  refhed  and  got  into 
play,  not  more  than  twenty-five  feet  could  be  accomplished  in  a  day. 
The  house  is  now  standing  on  its  second  foundation,  none  the  worse  for 
the  experiment  to  which  it  has  been  subjected. — Suffolk  Chronicle. 


IMPROVEMENT  IN  PRINTING. 

A  NEW  Printing  Machine  has  been  produced  in  America,  the  invention 

f  Colonel  Hoe,  a  partner  in  a  well-known  engineering  house  in  New 

I  urk.     It  is  called  by  the  Americans,  "  Hoe's  liast  Fast  Press,"  and  is 

I  us  described  in  iht  Philadelphia  Ledger: — "The  esisential  principle 

:  difference  between  this  last  invention  and  all  other  kinds  of  presses 

machines  hitherto  used,  consists  in  the  fact,  that  while  upon  those  the 

-  ;ire  locked  up  with  quoins,  and  a  mallet  and  shooting-stick,  in  a 

^i.aac,  and  laid  tlat  nytou.  a  bed  of  iron,  the  surface  of  which  is  fiat ;  with 

this  one  the  types  are  screwed  up  with  a  wrench,  in  what  the  compositors 

are  pleased  to  denominate  a  turtle,  constituting  both  bed  and  chase,  and 

placed  upon  a  large  cylinder,  four  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter,  more  or 

less,  which  revolves  upon  its  own  axle  within  four  other  smaller  cylinders, 

;  lie  fourth  part  the  size  of  the  larger  one,  these  revolving  also  upon  their 

VQ  axles  in  an  opposite  direction.     Each  one  of  these  smaller  cylinders 

receives  from  its  supplying  attendant  the  sheet  of  pai>er  with  which,  at 

every  fourth  revolution,  it  meets  the  form  of  type  as  it  comes  round ; 

and,  in  passing,  gives  the  impression,  and  instantly  throws  it  out  into  the 

receiver's  hand,  above  or  below,  according  to  the  relative  position  of  the 

cylinder.     Surrounding  the  large  inner  cylinder,  to  which  the  form  of 

type  is  attached,  and  between  those  giving  the  impression,  are  placed  the 

inking  rollers,  which  spread  the  ink  upon  the  lace  of  the  type  as  it 

revolves  under  them.     There  are  two  of  these  to  each  cylinder.     The 

inking  fountain  is  placed  entirely  underneath  the  machine,  from  which 

the  ink  is  constantly  drawn  by  means  of  a  continually  revolving  small 

iron  cylinder,  forming  itself  a  part  of  the  fountain.     From  this  the  ink 


56  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

is  taken  up  by  means  of  small  rollers,  with  a  small  vibrating  distributor, 
working  in  connection  with  them ;  and  is  conveyed  to  the  surface  of  the 
large  cylinder,  the  entire  circumference  of  which,  except  that  section  of 
it  occupied  by  the  form  of  type,  performs  in  its  revolution  the  office  of 
both  distributor  aad  feeder  to  the  eight  inking  rollers,  from  which  latter 
the  types  receive  their  supply  direct.  With  two  of  the  cylinders,  the 
white  paper  is  fed  in  above,  and  the  printed  sheets  are  thrown  out 
below  ;  and  with  the  other  two  it  is  fed  in  below,  and  thrown  out  above. 
The  room  taken  up  by  the  machine,  paper,  boards,  and  all  included,  is 
about  sixteen  feet  in  length,  and  nine  feet  high  by  about  five  feet  in 
breadth.  The  types  used  upon  it  are  the  ordinary  types,  which  are  made 
to  assume  a  circular  form  in  the  "  make-up,"  by  the  use  of  bevelled 
column  rules. 

For  the  attendance  of  this  press,  ten  persons  are  required — viz.  a 
superintendent  and  an  assistant,  and  four  to  feed  sheets  in,  and  four 
to  receive  them  as  they  come  out.  This  machine,  according  to  the 
Ledger,  is  capable  of  throwing  off  twelve  thousand  impressions  an 
hour  with  the  same  amount  of  labour  as  that  bestowed  on  machines  in 
ordinary  use  at  the  same  office,  and  which  are  stated  to  be  the  best  that 
could  be  produced. 

NEW  SCREW-CUTTING  MACHINE. 

A  PLAN  of  cutting  Iron  Screws  is  stated  to  have  been  invented  by 
P.  W.  Gates,  Esq.  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  by  which  the  power  of  one  man 
will  cut  per  day  700  half-inch,  500  three-quarter  inch,  400  one-inch, 
and  300  one-and-a-half  bolts.  The  advantages  claimed  for  this  plan  over 
the  common  die,  are  its  dispatch  in  doing  work  ;  its  durability,  having 
cut  over  4000  bolts  with  one  die,  without  any  repairs.  Instead  of  jam- 
ming or  driving  the  thread  into  shape,  it  cuts  it  out,  the  same  as  in  a 
lathe,  leaving  the  thread  of  solid  iron,  which  cannot  be  stripped  off,  as  is 
usual  with  those  cut  with  the  common  die  ;  and  it  will  do  the  work  by 
once  passing  along  the  bolt,  making  the  thread  perfect.  The  die,  it  is 
said,  can  be  made  by  ordinary  workmen,  with  far  less  expense  than  the 
common  die,  and  when  made  is  not  at  all  liable  to  get  out  of  repair. 

CIRCULAR  SAWING. 

An  experiment,  by  permission  of  the  lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Admiralty,  has  been  made  at  the  Saw-mills,  "VVoolwich  Dockyard,  by 
Mr.  James  "White,  C.  E.,  with  the  view  of  testing  the  efficiency  of  Cir- 
cular Saws  in  cutting  through  the  centre  of  rough  timber  of  a  diameter 
nearly  equal  to  that  of  the  saw  itself. 

An  elm-tree — one  end  of  which  was  of  the  full  diameter  of  the  saw — 
was  placed  upon  one  of  the  circular  sawing  machines,  having  a  saw  4  ft. 
diameter,  and  a  self-feeding  motion,  in  the  usual  way.  By  this  motion, 
the  tree  was  brought  towards  the  saw,  and  passed  over  it  j  and  by  a  re- 
verse motion,  it  was  run  back. 

The  cut  made  in  the  tree,  passing  over  the  saw,  was  in  dead  wood  all 
the  way,  and  fully  20  inches  deep.  After  the  tree  was  run  back,  it  was 
turned  over,  and  adjusted  for  a  second  cut  to  line  with  the  first ;  and  in 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEPUL  ARTS,  67 

this  positioa  it  was  brought  forward  as  before,  and  completely  divided 
iD  two. 

The  object  of  tliis  exi>eriraent  was  to  ascertain  whether  rough  timber, 
of  a  large  size,  can  be  cut  up  in  this  way,  and  the  result  was  quite  con- 
clusive in  that  respect. 

DUNN  AND  Elliott's  machine  for  testing  chain  cables. 

Messrs.  Dunn  and  Elliott,  of  the  AVindsor-bridge  Iron-works, 
Manchester,  have  invented  a  machine  for  Testing  Chain  Cables,  which  is 
dietinguished  by  great  simplicity  in  its  arrangement,  and  by  which  some 
important  objects  are  more  completely  attained  than  by  any  previous  in- 
vention. The  machine  was  tried  at  the  AVindsor-bridge  Iron-works,  in 
the  presence  of  Mr.  Fothergill  (of  the  firm  of  Roberts,  Fothergill,  and 
Dobinson),  Mr.  "VV.  Mayburn  (of  the  Ardwick  Iron-works),  Mr.  Barlow 
(consulting  engineer),  Mr.  Booth  (manager  of  Messrs.  Whitworth  and 
Co.'s  works),  and  other  engineers  and  machine  makers.  The  machine  in 
question  consists  of  a  horizontal  iron  cylinder,  6  feet  long,  in  which 
works  a  piston.  At  the  end  of  the  cylinder,  and  continuing  in  the  same 
right  line,  is  an  iron  trough,  or  pipe,  which  may  be  lengthened  or  con- 
tracted at  pleasure.  At  the  end  of  this  trough  is  a  pair  of  iron  claws, 
to  which  one  end  of  the  chain  to  be  tested  is  (astened ;  the  other  end  of 
the  chain  is  fastened  to  the  end  of  the  piston-rod  by  similar  claws. 

The  chain  being  thus  fixed,  is  tested  as  follows : — Water  is  forced 
by  a  double  hydraulic  pump  into  the  cylinder,  between  the  bottom 
of  the  piston  and  the  water-tight  end  of  the  cylinder  next  to  the  trough, 
which,  of  course,  forces  the  piston  to  descend  the  cylinder,  stretching 
and  severely  testing  the  chain,  one  end  of  which  is  attached  to  the 
piston-rod.  The  advantage  of  testing  the  chain  by  means  of  a 
hydraulic  pump,  over  any  other  means  of  testing  hitherto  adopted,  is, 
that  a  more  gradual  and  constant  increase  of  pressure  is  obtained ; 
and  that,  on  account  of  the  slightest  elasticity  of  water,  there  is 
not  the  severe  rebound  which,  on  other  arrangements,  takes  place  when  a 
heavy  chain  is  broken  at  a  very  high  pressure,  and  which  is  sometimes 
attended  with  serious  injury  to  the  testing  machinery,  and  with  dangerous 
accidents  to  the  bystanders.  The  trough  by  which  the  chain  is  being 
testeil  i»  shut  in,  which  is  a  further  precaution  against  accident. 

The  adaptation  of  the  hydraulic  press  to  this  purpose  is  not,  how- 
ever, a  novelty.  The  jieculiar  advantage  of  the  new  machine  is  the  com.* 
Irination  of  the  hydraulic  press  with  a  simple  and  effectual  contrivance  for 
accurately  registering  the  pressure  exerted  upon  the  chain,  which  we  shall 
now  describe.  At  the  end  of  the  cylinder,  next  the  trough,  and  in  its 
npper  surface,  is  fixed  a  brass  ram,  workinir  in  a  water-tight  stulling- 
box,  and  having  its  upper  end  connected  with  a  scalebcam.  This  scale- 
beam,  of  course,  rests  on  a  support  fixed  upon  the  machine.  "NVhen, 
therefore,  the  water  is  forced  into  the  cylinder,  the  ram,  it  is  clear,  must 
be  driven  upwards,  lifting  the  scalebcam  with  it ;  and,  by  fixing  different 
weights  upon  this,  or  sliding  the  same  weight  nearer  or  further  from  the 
ftilcnim  of  the  beam,  as  on  a  steelyard,  the  intensity  of  the  pressure  can 
be  accarately  measured.    The  gradual  increase  of  weight  arising  from 


58  YEAB-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

sliding  the  weight  along  the  beam,  combined  with  the  gradually  increas- 
ing pressure  from  the  hydraulic  press,  gives,  it  will  be  at  once  seen,  a 
total  freedom  from  jerking,  or  from  sudden  straining  in  the  testing.  In 
order  to  get  rid  of  the  necessity  of  entering  into  minute  calculations  as 
to  the  effect  of  the  weight  of  the  scalebeam,  or  the  friction  of  the  ram 
in  the  stuffing-box,  the  scalebeam  is  lengthened  beyond  the  pivot,  its 
two  limbs  being  made  to  balance ;  and  upon  the  limb  on  which  the  ram 
does  not  act,  and  upon  which  the  testing  weight  or  weights  are  not 
placed,  a  small  weight  equal  to  this  friction  is  placed.  In  the  Cabl©- 
testing  Machines  to  which  the  hydraulic  pressure  has  hitherto  been 
applied,  the  lever  for  measuring  the  pressure  has  been  annexed  to  the 
pump  ;  and,  consequently,  one  most  important  element  in  the  calculation, 
the  friction  of  the  water  in  the  pipe  from  the  pump  to  the  cylinder,  and 
in  the  cylinder  itself,  has  been  totally  omitted,  or,  at  all  events,  has  not 
been  measured  with  the  slightest  approach  to  accuracy.  The  weight  of 
the  whole  machine,  not  including  the  trough,  is  about  three  tons,  its 
width  about  five  feet ;  the  length,  of  course,  is  variable,  depending  upon 
the  length  of  the  chain  which  is  being  tested.  It  is  capable  of  testing, 
with  any  pressui-e, from  5  cwt.  to  100 tons;  its  cost  is  only  about £200. 
The  Corporation  machine  at  Liverpool,  whose  testing  power  does  not 
exceed  that  of  Messrs.  Dunn  and  Elliott's  machine,  cost  £1000,  and  is 
about  six  times  the  weight,  and  three  times  the  bulk  of  the  machin£  we 
have  been  describing. 

The  above  machine  has  been  proved  at  the  Cradley  Chain-works.  A 
Chain  Cable,  30  yards  long,  made  from  If  rounds  of  the  regular  quality 
of  cable  iron,  by  S.  Evers  and  Sons,  bore  the  extraordinary  weight  of  78 
tons,  being  28  tons  above  the  regular  proof  required  at  Lloyd's,  and 
stretched  4  feet  in  length  before  it  could  be  broken,  the  power  of  the 
machine  literally  dragging  the  iron  asunder. — Btrmingham  Journal; 
the  Mechanics'  Mayazine. 


FILE-MAKING  BY  MACHINEB,Y. 

In  the  town  of  Birmingham,  Connecticut,  an  invention  has  been  per- 
fected for  Cutting  Files  by  Machinery,  which,  it  is  said,  if  not  brought 
to  England,  will  make  files  an  article  of  import.  In  England,  files  are 
cut  with  a  hammer  and  chisel,  producing  from  one  to  a  dozen  files  per 
day.  A  contemporary  thus  describes  the  new  machine : — It  is  about 
5  feet  long,  2  feet  wide,  and  3  feet  high,  and  can  be  worked  as  easily  as 
the  turning  of  a  common  grindstone.  The  blank  intended  to  be  made  a 
file  is  placed  in  a  central  position ;  the  chisel  strikes  both  sides  of  the 
blank  at  the  same  time,  making,  in  common  speed,  between  200  and  300 
cuts  per  minute.  The  gearing  is  so  adjusted  that  the  chisels  accommo- 
date themselves  to  the  thickness  of  the  file,  so  that  the  cut  is  equal  in 
depth  throughout ;  and  the  regular  progression  of  the  file  ensui-es  per- 
fect regularity  in  the  distance  of  the  cuts,  A  10-inch  file,  of  medium 
fineness,  is  cut  on  both  sides  in  three  minutes ;  in  three  minutes  more 
the  traverse  cuts  are  made,  and  it  is  again  passed  through  to  cut  the 
sides.  Thus,  three  machines,  which  will  not  cost  more  than  300  dollars 
each,  and  can  be  tended  by  one  man,  can  complete  twenty  common  tiles 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  AKTS.  59 

in  an  hour,  or  200  in  a  day.     A  steam-engine  of  5-horse  power  can  put 
fifty  of  these  machines  in  operation. 

DE  LA  PONS'S  PATENT  ROTARY  LOCKS. 

We  have  examined  with  much  care,  and  considerable  pleasure,  an  in- 
•  uious  and  elegant  Rotary  Lock,  invented  by  Mr.  De  la  Fons,  and 
manufactured  for  sale  by  Barlow,  of  Long  Acre.  The  principle  of  the 
Rotary  bolt  is  applied  not  only  to  Locks,  but  also  to  latches,  fasteners  for 
carriage  doors,  casements,  and,  indeed,  to  almost  every  description  of 
fastening. 

Amongst  the  advantages  which  Mr.  De  la  Fons's  Ix)ck  appears  to  pos- 
sess, are — 1st,  the  imi)ossibility  of  ever  reaching  the  defences  of  the 
lock  by  any  of  the  usual  means,  as  all  access  to  the  interior  is  closed  be- 
fore the  action  of  the  key  commences ; — 2dly,  whereas  access  to  drawers 
in  particular,  is  frequently  gained  mthout  the  aid  of  a  key,  by  springing 
the  wood,  without  unlocking,  or  by  forcing  back  the  bolt  with  a  kuile  or 
other  instrument,  this  is  most  effectually  preveuted,  the  bolt  being  linked 
into  the  opposite  frame  of  the  drawer,  and  can  only  be  separated  by  un- 
locking ; — 3dly,  in  all  locks  hitherto  constructed,  the  bolt  seldom  has 
more  than  a  quaiter  of  an  inch  to  move,  while  the  patent  bolt,  in  tra- 
versing, has  to  pass  through  several  times  that  distance  before  it  is  re- 
leased ; — and,  4thly,  the  usual  means  resorted  to  for  defeating  intricate 
-nd  expensive  locks,  is  by  forcing  away  all  impediments  with  a  solid 

iwerful  key.  This  hitherto  great  defect  is  rendered  impracticable  by 
;:ican8  of  a  peculiar  novel  contrivance,  so  that  if  any  attempt  of  the 
kind  be  made,  the  interior  of  the  lock  yields  to  extra  force,  and  suffers 
the  key  to  pass  completely  round  without  damaging  or  deranging  the 
lock  in  the  slightest  degree. 

In  the  best  of  the  locks,  the  means  of  making  several  thoasand 
changes  in  the  wards  are  ingeniously  provided,  and  of  altering  the  key 
to  accord  with  them ;  so  that  if  a  key  be  lost,  others  being  in  hand,  the 
jjossibility  of  its  passing  may  be  immediately  prevented,  and  the  lock 
i>ecome,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  new  one. 

The  sash- fastening  has  the  advantage  of  securing  sashes  against  rat- 
ing;  and  the  casement-latch  appears  to  be  a  particularly  nice  arrauge- 
.^<:ii\,.— Builder,  No.  270. 


GUNPOWDEK  WAGGONS. 

It  may  not  be  generally  known  (says  Mr.  Ilerapath),  that  large  quanti- 
;.  3  of  Gunpowder  are  frequently  and  safely  conveyed  by   railway.     Aa 
Mfh  n<*  1 1  tons  in  one  day,  and  in  a  few  months  above  100  tons,  have 
I.   r  ! ;     1  on  the  London  and  North  Western  line  to  LiverjKwl,  Man- 
1    I     lis,  and  other  places.     The  waggons  are  made  expressly  for 
tir    !    ii     ..     There   arc   eight  of  these  on  the  London  and  North- 
W  t  ;.  I  u,  (instructed  in  accordance  with  the  patent  of  Mr.  Ilenson.    The 
body  of  the  waggon  is  formed  with  sheet  iron  on  the  outside  :  the  inte- 
rior is  lined  with  2-inch  plank,  between  which  and  the  iron  outside  a 
thickness  of  felt  is  carefully  placed.     These  are  screwed  to  either  from 
tlic  outside,  so  that  there  is  nothing  but  wood  iniidc,  except  on  the  floor, 


60  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

which  is  covered  with  sheet  lead.  The  door  fits  close  with  a  double 
rabbit,  so  that  it  is  almost  air-tight,  and  it  is  therefore  impossible  for 
any  fire  to  get  to  the  powder.  The  axles  are  cased  with  wood.  The 
comparative  absence  of  the  usual  noise  and  vibration  in  the  movement  of 
these  Powder  Waggons  is  very  remarkable. 


IMPROVEMENTS  IN  BELL-HANGING. 

A  PATENT  has  been  obtained  by  Mr.  W.  P.  Parker,  of  Lime-street, 
for  an  improved  arrangement  of  Bells  in  hotels,  mansions,  &c.,  by 
which,  whatever  number  of  rooms  there  may  be,  one  bell  will  suffice ; 
and  the  particular  room  is  indicated  by  a  corresponding  number  appear- 
ing on  the  face  of  the  machine.  A  contemporary  gives  the  following 
notion  of  the  arrangement : — A  suitable  bed,  or  foundation-plate,  is  made 
of  a  size  corresponding  to  the  number  of  rooms,  in  which  are  grooves, 
cut  in  a  horizontal  direction :  in  these  grooves,  bars,  consisting  of  strips 
of  metal  properly  secured  by  studs,  slide;  they  are  connected  with 
suitable  cranks  and  levers,  in  such  manner,  that  when  pulled  backward 
they  immediately  raise  a  hammer  which  strikes  the  bell ;  and  they  are, 
on  the  bell-pull  being  released,  drawn  back  into  their  places  by  barrel 
springs.  On  the  face  of  the  foundation-plate,  which  is  the  part  exhibited 
to  view,  numbers  are  painted,  corresponding  with  the  several  rooms, 
cabins,  &c.,  each  covered  with  a  semicircular  piece  of  sheet  metal,  moving 
on  a  pivot  in  the  centre  of  the  cord  of  the  are  in  such  a  manner  that 
when  the  circular  part  is  upward,  the  figure  is  covered ;  but  when  one 
of  the  bars  is  pulled  back  in  the  groove,  it  draws  down  the  semicircular 
shield,  and  discloses  the  figure  at  the  same  instant  the  bell  is  struck :  on 
being  released,  the  bar  is  replaced  in  its  original  position,  and  the  shield 
resumes  its  place  over  the  number. 


EXPANDING  ROSE-BIT. 

The  Rose-bit  is  a  tool  much  used  for  light  finishing  cuts,  in  brass, 
iron,  and  steel.  The  extremity  is  commonly  cylindrical,  and  the  end  is 
cut  into  teeth  like  a  countersink.  When  it  is  supplied  with  plenty  of 
oil,  and  there  is  but  little  stufi"  to  remove,  it  acts  very  beautifully. 

A  valuable  improvement  in  this  instrument  has  lately  been  made  by 
Mr.  Hippesley,  an  amateur  mechanic  of  Stoneaston.  It  consists  in  making 
it  expandible  at  pleasure,  whereby  one  tool  may  serve  to  produce  holes  of 
various  sizes.  The  body  is  made  tubular,  with  three  slits  in  it,  reaching 
from  the  top  nearly  half-way  down ;  and  it  is  expanded  by  means  of  an 
internal  stem,  which  is  screwed  into  the  lower  end  of  the  tube,  and  is  of 
an  enlarged  size  and  conical  form  at  the  upper  end  (that  next  the  teeth)  ; 
so  that  as  the  stem  is  screwed  forward  the  bit  is  expanded. 

The  rose-bit,  both  in  its  original  and  this  its  improved  form,  may  be 
used  without  oil  for  ivory  and  hard  woods,  in  which  it  makes  a  very  clean 
hole. — Mechanics'  Maffazine,  No.  1290. 


HOROLOGY. 

Two  of  the  evening  meetings  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  have  been 
devoted  to  the  subject  of  Horology.   On  the  first,  Mr.  0.  Morgan  exhibited 


MtCIIANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  Ql 

a  series  of  watches,  incluJiiig  several  from  Nuremberg,  usually  kllo^^•ll  as 
"  Nuremberg  eggs,"  being  in  the  egg  form.  The  oldest  mechanical 
contrivance  for  measuring  the  lapse  of  time,  that  we  observed,  was  not 
earlier  than  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  or  perhaps  Henry  VIII.,  but  this 
is  a  point  that  may  be  fairly  disputed  ;  and  they  came  down  to  a  com- 
paratively modern  period.  One  of  the  most  valuable  specimens  was  of 
French  manufacture,  and  was  the  watch  which  had  actually  belonged  to, 
and  had  been  worn  by,  Louis  XIV.  It  was  much  larger  and  more 
cumberous  than  several  watches  of  considerably  greater  antiquity.  This 
relic  is  the  property  of  Mr.  ButtenNorth.  The  reading  was  then  com- 
menced of  a  Dissertation,  by  Capt.  Smyth,  on  a  very  valuable  astrological 
clock,  which  has  been  for  some  years  in  the  possession  of  the  Society,  but 
has  never  till  now  attracted  deserved  attention.  It  is  of  portable  dimen- 
sions, a  circle  of  some  eight  or  nine  inches  diameter,  of  the  very  early 
date  of  1525,  and  capable  of  being  set  going  and  performing  all  its  duties 
at  any  hour.  It  seems  to  be  the  oldest  clock  known  that  can  be  put  in 
motion  so  as  to  keep  correct  time.  The  explanation  of  the  details  of  this 
instrument  was  preceded  by  remarks  upon  the  antiquity  of  clocks  in 
general,  which  are  carried  back  by  some  to  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  cen- 
tury. One  of  the  most  ancient  on  record  had  been  put  up  by  au  Abbot 
of  St.  Alban's,  but  every  trace  of  it  had  long  disappeared.  It  did  not 
seem  that  striking-clocks  were  known  in  this  country  until  about  a.d. 
1250.  One  of  the  oldest  of  which  any  portion  remains  was  at  Exeter; 
another  at  Wells  ;  and  a  third,  put  u|)  by  Cardinal  AVolsey  at  Hampton 
Court.  Of  this  last  only  the  face  is  left,  the  works  being  wholly  modem. 
The  writer  might  also  have  instanced  the  clock  at  Launceston,  with  its 
singular  and  antique  striking  figures  on  each  side  of  the  face.  This  is 
unquestionably  as  old  as  the  reign  of  Henry  VI II.,  as  is  established  by 
the  costume  of  the  figures.  The  reading  ot  the  rest  of  the  paper  was 
postponed. 

In  addition  to  the  valuable  series  of  watches  of  all  ages,  belonging  to 
Mr.  Morgan,  which  were  on  the  table,  the  Clockmakers'  Company  sent 
for  exhibition  all  the  ancient  curious  watches  and  portable  clocks  in  their 
possession.  Some  remarkable  drawings  were  on  the  walls, — including 
three  views  of  the  death's-head  watch  which  belonged  to  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots,  with  her  name  and  the  date  on  it,  which  we  believe  is  now  at  Windsor 
(^tle ;  together  with  the  antique  clock  formerly  the  property  of  Horace 
Walpole,  and  sold  at  Strawberry  Hill.  Perhaps,  so  many  specimens  of 
by-gone  ingenuity  and  gradual  improvement  in  the  art  of  watchmaking 
were  never  at  any  former  time  brought  together ;  and  several  of  our  most 
eminent  mechanics  in  this  department  (including  Mr.  Vulliamy  and  Mr. 
Vines)  were  present  on  the  occasion.  The  very  singular  dial  with  sixteen 
faces  by  Holbein  the  painter,  and  Cratzcr  the  celebrated  watchmaker  of 
that  day,  was  also  introduced  as  an  illustrative  object.  The  exhibition  was 
foUowetl  by  the  reading  of  the  conclusion  of  Capt.  W.  H.  Smyth's  pai)er 
on  the  portable  clock,  the  property  of  the  Society,  which  was  made  in 
Bohemia  in  1525,  and  presented  by  the  Emperor  Sigismund  to  his  sister, 
Queen  Bona.  It  seems  to  have  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Society, 
by  bequest,  considerably  more  than  half  a  ccutury  ago,  but  has  never  yet 


62  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

been  described.  Indeed,  it  would  still  have  remained  unknown  but  for 
the  research  and  acuteness  of  the  director,  who  found  it  when  Mr.  Albert 
Way,  the  late  director,  was  making  out  his  catalogue  of  relics,  antiquities, 
and  curiosities  in  the  presses,  cabinets,  and  cases  of  the  Society.  Capt. 
Smyth's  more  general  dissertation  was  followed  by  a  minute  and  valuable 
description  of  the  ancient  machinery  and  works  of  the  clock,  by  Mr. 
Vulliamy. 

Mr.  Williams  took  an  opportunity  of  adverting  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hunter's 
recent  paper  on  Gunpowder  and  Cannon ;  the  interest  of  which  he  ad- 
mitted, while  he  denied  the  novelty  of  the  discovery — contending  that  it 
had  been  made  and  published  some  time  ago,  together  with  proof  that 
both  gunpowder  and  artillery  were  known  and  used  as  early  as  the  first 
year  of  Edward  ITI.  This  is  an  important  historical  point,  and  we  hope 
that  it  will  receive  further  elucidation.  We  are  confident  that  there  is 
much  latent  information  regarding  it  in  public  documents  in  the  State 
Paper  Office,  at  the  Tower,  in  the  Rolls  Ciiapel,  and  at  what  is  called  the 
Carlton  Ride. — Athenaum^  Nos.  1075  and  1076. 


TELEGRAPHIC    COMMUNICATION. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  by  Mr.  F.  Whishaw, 
"  On  the  Uniformity  of  Time  and  other  Telegraphs  ;"  and  one  "  On  the 
Multitubular  Sub-way  Pij)es  and  Panergous  Joints."  After  explaining 
the  several  modes  of  telegraphic  communication  which  have  been  for 
some  years  before  the  public,  IVIr.  Whishaw  proceeded  to  describe  the 
present  system  of  working  what  is  called  the  needle  telegraph.  At  each 
telegraph  station  is  placed  a  single  or  double  instrument,  according  to 
circumstances,  somewhat  resembling  a  large  clock  dial,  but  instead  of 
having  figures  marked  in  a  circle  thereon,  as  in  the  case  of  a  clock,  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet  are  arranged  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  dial.  Two 
pointers  or  hands  are  hung  on  pivots  passing  through  the  dial,  each 
having  on  the  other  end — viz.  behind  the  dial — a  needle  which  is  acted 
upon  by  electrical  agency,  through  the  medium  of  a  magnetic  wire  placed 
behind  the  needle,  so  that  by  a  hand  moving  in  front  of  the  dial,  either 
to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  any  of  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  may  be  indi- 
cated by  the  current  of  electricity  passing  through  from  one  pile  of  the 
battery  at  station  A  to  station  B.  An  alarum  bell  is  attached  to  each  in- 
strument, to  call  attention.  The  lecturer  went  on  to  describe  other  re- 
cently invented  instruments  on  which  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  are 
ranged  in  vertical  lines  towards  the  central  part  of  the  dial ;  and  which, 
instead  of  the  oscillating  character  of  Cooke's  needle  telegraph,  have  a 
dead  beat,  which  rendered  mistakes  much  less  likely  to  occur. 


NEVr   MACHINERY   FOR  BRICKMAKING. 

A  Mr.  Legros  has  taken  out  a  patent  for  Machines  for  Moulding 
Bricks,  Tiles,  and  other  articles,  by  means  of  which  it  is  asserted  superior 
produCyC  is  obtained  at  less  cost  than  by  the  present  modes.  In  one  of 
his  inventions  (there  are  two)  Mr.  Legros  has  adapted  the  principle  of 
motion  on  a  small  railway  to  the  performance  of  the  several  steps  of  tliE 
manufacture.    Por  this  purpose,  the  rails  are  laid  down  so  as  to  traverse 


JfECHANICAL  AND  TTSEFUL  ARTS.  63 

on  the  same  level  all  the  buildings  in  which  the  various  parts  of  the  ma- 
chinery are  erected.  The  Morning  Advertiser  gives  the  following  de- 
scription of  the  machinery : — 

"  A  train  of  at  least  eight  waggons  moves  along  the  line,  which  is  pro- 
vided either  with  turn-tables  or  curves,  in  order  that  the  train  or  trains 
may  be  maintained  in  continual  circulatiou  through  the  apparatus,  with- 
out change  of  direction.  The  waggons  are  divided  by  fixed  vertical 
diaphragms  into  so  many  fixed  rectangular  compartments,  in  which  the 
plastic  materials  are  to  be  moulded.  It  is  in  the  construction  and  ap- 
pendages of  these  compartments,  that  the  ingenuity  and  advantage  of 
the  machine  principally  consists.  They  are  provided  with  floors  or 
bottoms,  capable  of  being  raised  to  the  level  of  the  top  of  the  waggons, 
or  of  being  depressed  beneath  it  to  a  depth  equal  to  one  dimension  of  the 
article  to  he  produced.  The  requisite  vertical  motion  of  the  floors  is 
provided  for  by  attaching  upright  rods  to  them,  which,  traversing  through 
eyes,  render  the  mouldiug-box,  in  point  of  fact,  a  rectangular  piston- 
diamber.  The  rods  descend  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  level  of  the 
waggon -wheels,  and  terminate  in  a  cross-piece,  to  which  small  wheels,  or 
trucks,  are  attached,  capable  of  revolution  in  the  direction  of  the  trains' 
motion.  These  interior  wheels  move  constantly  in  contact  with  another 
set  of  rails,  stantling  higher  than  the  waggon-rails ;  but,  unlike  the  latter, 
they  do  not  continue  in  everj-  place  at  the  same  level.  At  two  or  three 
points  of  the  line,  they  are  alternately  depressed  and  raised  by  an  altitude 
equal  to  the  greatest  depth  of  the  moulding-box,  the  change  taking  phice 
by  means  of  a  short  but  abrupt  gradient.  The  floors  of  the  boxes  being 
brought  to  the  level  of  the  tops  of  the  waggons,  it  is  obvious  that  on  the 
trains  arriving  at  the  descending  gradient,  the  piston  wheels  will  descend 
also,  and  thus  form  the  moulding  boxes  at  the  tops  of  the  waggons.  So 
long  OS  the  interior  wheels  revolve  in  contact  with  the  lower  level  of  the 
second  set  of  rails,  the  moulding  boxes  will  continue  open,  but  when  the 
train  reaches  the  ascending  gradient,  the  re-action  of  the  small  wheels 
against  it  will  force  up  the  pistons,  and  with  them  the  floors  of  the 
moulding-boxes.  This  being  the  manner  in  which  the  boxes  are  alter- 
nately made  and  destroyed,  the  rest  of  the  process  will  be  easily  conipro- 
hended.  The  train  of  waggons  moving  over  the  higher  level  of  the 
second  rails,  in  passing  over  the  descending  gradient,  the  moulding-boxes 
form  themselves  at  the  top,  and  are  ready  to  receive  thtfir  contents. 
They  then  pass  under  a  sand-box,  which  strews  the  boxes  finely  with 
sand,  to  prevent  the  adhesion  of  the  clay  to  their  surfaces.  A  little 
farther  on  they  are  filled  with  clay  from  a  hopper  placed  close  to  the  place 
where  the  clay  is  dui?  from,  and  the  sr.i)erfln()us  clny  is  cut  off  at  one  and 
the  same  motion.  From  the  hopper  the  train  passes  through  the  press- 
ing machiner)',  the  pistons  being  still  at  the  lower  end  ;  and  here  the 
bricks  are  closely  pressed  in  their  cases.  Ikyond  this  sjxit  the  train 
passes  over  the  ascending  gradient,  which  forces  the  bricks  out  of  their 
iwxes,  and  above  the  level  of  the  tops  of  the  waggons,  whence  they  arc 
carried  to  the  drying  place  and  walled.  If  this  description  has  been  un- 
deratood,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  process  suffers  no  interruption  at  any 
lU^ ;  the  trains  being  kept  in  constant  performance  of  the  circuit,  and 


64  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

the  three  operations  of  filling  the  moulds,  pressing,  and  discharging  them, 
being  gone  through  in  rapid  and  unbroken  succession,  by  the  mere  motion 
of  the  trains  along  the  rails  which  traverse  the  machinery.  The  clay  is  not 
prepared  in  any  way,  but  is  dug  and  transferred  at  once  to  the  hopper, 
and  thence  to  the  boxes.  In  this  way  it  is  ascertained  that  one  machine 
will  turn  out  66  bricks  in  a  minute,  or  about  40,000  in  a  day ;  and  the 
invention  will  effect  an  economy  of  4^.  on  a  thousand." 

THE   AECHITECTS'   AND   BUILDERS'    PATENT   SQUARE. 

This  Instrument,  which  is  made  on  the  same  principle  as  Blundell's 
Agricultural  Drainage  Level,  and  is  designed  by  Mr.  Robert  Blundell, 
surveyor,  consists  of  an  endless  tube,  bent  into  a  shape  somewhat  resem- 
bling an  isoseceles  triangle,  having  an  enlarged  globular  reservoir  at  the 
angle  opposite  the  shortest  side  of  the  triangle,  and  partially  filled  with 
coloured  spirits  of  wine :  the  tube  is  fixed  in  a  frame  having  two  straight 
sides,  one  at  right  angles  to  the  other,  and  thus  it  forms  a  square.  When 
tbe  lower  side  of  this  square  is  plated  on  a  horizontal  line,  the  spirit  iu 
the  tube  indicates  the  same  by  its  surface  iu  the  side  against  which  the 
index  is  fixed  rising  to  a  point  marked  "  Level ;"  and  when  the  square  is 
placed  on  any  sloping  surface,  the  spirit  will  indicate  the  angle  of  devia- 
tion from  the  horizontal :  if  the  vertical  side  of  the  square  be  placed 
against  any  vertical  line,  the  spirit  will  stand  at  "  0  "  or  "  Level "  on 
index  ;  but  if  it  be  placed  against  any  sloping  line,  the  side  of  a  column, 
or  any  sloping  wall,  the  spirit  will  register  the  angle  or  deviation  from 
the  vertical  line.  It  is  intended  for  the  use  of  builders,  architects,  sur- 
veyors, and  the  foremen  of  building  works ;  and  its  superiority  over  the 
square  and  plumb- bob  now  in  use  appears  to  be  considerable  :  it  is  much 
more  accurate,  because  the  plumb-bob  is  disturbed  and  rendered  inaccu- 
rate by  the  slightest  breath  of  air ;  and  it  can  be  used  where  the  plumb- 
bob  is  useless,  namely,  in  the  open  air  in  any  weather.  It  will  be  found 
more  expeditious  in  use,  and  this  must  be  allowed  to  be  a  great  advan- 
tage ;  and  it  also  indicates,  without  any  calculation  or  adjustment,  the 
angle  of  deviation  from  the  horizontal  or  vertical,  and  has  a  graduated 
scide  affixed  to  the  index,  which  shows  the  slopes  of  water-courses, 
gutters,  columns,  or  any  lines  deviating  from  the  horizontal  or  vertical. 
It  is  very  portable,  and  not  at  all  liable  to  be  injured.  The  spirit-tube 
is  protected  by  being  imbedded  in  the  square,  and  no  part  left  visible 
except  a  small  portion  at  the  index. 

THE  STONE  QUARRIES  OF  CAEN. 

The  principal  Quarries,  (says  Mr.  Godwin,  F.R.S.,  who  has  visited 
them  along  with  Mr.  C.  H.  Smith,  one  of  the  Government  Commission 
for  selecting  stone  for  Westminster  Palace,)  are  at  Allemagne,  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  due  south  of  Caen.     There  are  others  at  La  Maladrerie, 

a  suburb  of  Caen  in  another  direction,  but  of  an  inferior  quahty 

We  shall  describe  two  quarries  as  being  entered  by  means  of  a  shaft,  and 
there  are  many  others  in  the  same  position.  The  majority,  however,  of 
the  Allemagne  quarries  are  on  the  hill  side,  overhanging  the  river  Orne, 
and  need  no  shaft.     The  jriver  vwm  at  thp  foot  of  a  deep  escarpment. 


MECHANTCAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  65 

which  rises  60  or  80  feet  above  it.  At  this  level  there  is  a  wide  road- 
way,  and  then  beyond  this  the  hill  again  rises  :  and  it  is  in  the  face  of 
this  second  escarpment  that  the  quarries  are  opened. 

These  are  worked  to  a  greater  extent,  and  from  west  to  east,  the  joints 
facing  the  cardinal  points :  some  of  them  extend  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  under  ground.  A  few  of  them  communicate  by  lateral  passages 
one  with  another,  and  would  shelter  an  army.  The  glimmer  of  the 
quarrymen's  lights  seen  at  the  end  of  a  gallery,  and  the  sound  of  their 
chisels,  a  scarcely-heard  "  pick,  pick,"  increase  the  peculiar  eflect  of  the 
scene. 

The  ceiling  bed  (about  2  feet  6  inches  thick)  is  called  the  banc  clou- 
tier.  It  is  cohesive  and  sonnd,  but  cannot  profitably  be  worked,  and  is 
never  taken  out. 

The  workable  beds,  six  in  number,  are  named  as  follows : — 

The  Ban^  pourri. — This  is  under  the  ceiling  bed,  and  is  about  3  feet 
thick.  It  is  considered  a  good  stone,  well  indurated,  but  as  it  occasion- 
ally contains  pebbles  like  those  in  the  banc  cluutier,  although  not  to  the 
same  extent,  it  is  not  so  fit  for  fine  work  as  the  lower  beds. 

The  Gros  banc  lies  next,  and  could  be  got  out  5  feet  thick. 

The  Pierre  franche,  which  follows,  is  about  3  feet  deep,  and  appears 
to  be  considered  the  best  and  most  durable  bed.     Then  come 

The  Banc  de  quatre  pie(h,  and 

The  Fierre  de  t rente  pouces.  Both  of  these  are  good  beds,  and  are 
the  lowest  which  ought  to  be  used  for  external  work.  The  last  bed  which 
is  quarried  is  termed 

rhe  Banr  franc;  and  this  being,  like  the  gros  batic,  nearly  five  feet 

ck,  is  sidit  into  two  thicknesses,  three  feet  and  two  feet,  of  which  the 
upper  (two  feet  thick)  is  called  the  banqueret  of  the  banc  franc. 

There  seems  to  be  no  difierence  of  opinion,  amidst  the  greatest  dif- 
ferences in  other  respects,  as  to  the  unfitness  of  the  whole  of  the  banc 
franc  for  external  work. 

Of  late,  one  of  the  Caen  houses,  (Messrs.  Luard  and  Beedham,)  be- 
coming satisfied  that  the  bottom  bed  is  not  fit  for  outside  work,  profess 
to  mark  with  a  cross  every  block  which  comes  from  it,  so  that  these  may 
be  used  in  parts  not  exposed  to  the  eflects  of  the  weather,  and  we  are  dis- 
posed, after  inquiry,  to  believe  their  profession.  If  builders,  to  savo 
labour  or  through  carelessness,  will,  nevertheless,  use  the  "  bad"  bed 
externally,  the  culpability  of  course  rests  with  them,  and  the  reputation 
of  the  stone  is  risked  in  spite  of  any  precaution  which  may  be  taken  to 
prevent  it. 

Wc  do  not  find  that  the  other  merchants  profess  to  distinguish  the 
blocks  of  the  bottom  bed  from  those  of  the  upper.  One  of  the  principal 
of  them,  who,  although  he  would  not  admit  that  the  franc  banc  gave  the 
worst  stone,  still  called  it  in  conversation,  the  "  bad"  bed,  said,  "  If  I 
distinguish  this,  I  shall  have  to  keep  it  back,  and  what  can  I  do  with  it? 
When  dr)',  the  stone  looks  all  aliki;,  and  I  defy  any  jk-Tsou  then  to  tell 
one  bed  from  another."  This  is  true  enough;  but  which  bed  will  last 
longer,  and  what  is  the  wise  course  for  those  to  adopt  who  are  really 

f 


66  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

interested  in  maintaining  a  good   reputation  for  the  stone,  are  quite 
another  question. — The  Builder. 

KANSOME's  artificial  STONE. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  descrip- 
tive of  Mr.  Frederick  Ransome's  process  for  making  Artificial  Stone. 
Broken  pieces  of  silica  (common  flint)  being  subjected  for  a  time  to  the 
action  of  caustic  alkali  boiling  under  pressure  in  a  close  vessel,  forms  a 
transparent  silicated  solution,  which  is  evaporated  to  a  specific  gravity  of 
1,600  (distilled  water  being  1,000)  and  is  then  intimately  mixed  with 
given  proportions  of  well-washed  sand,  broken  granite,  or  other  materials 
of  different  degrees  of  hardness.  The  paste  thus  constituted,  after  being 
pressed  into  moulds,  from  which  the  most  delicate  impressions  are  readily 
received,  is  subjected  to  a  red  heat  in  a  stove  or  kiln  ;  by  which  operation 
the  free  or  uncombined  silica  of  the  raw  materials  unites  with  the  excess 
of  alkali  existing  in  the  solution,  thus  forming  a  semi-vitreous  com- 
])ound,  and  rendering  the  artificial  stone  perfectly  insoluble.  This  pro- 
duction must  evidently  be  adaptable  to  a  comprehensive  range  of  objects 
for  decorative  art  and  architectural  purposes, — busts,  vases,  flooring-tiles, 
steps,  balustrades,  mouldings,  capitals,  shafts  and  bases  of  columns,  &c.  &c. 
Even  grinding-stones,  and  whet-stones  for  scythes,  have  been  made.  It 
was  stated  to  be  already  extensively  manufactured  at  Ipswich,  and  to 
admit  of  extensive  application  where  elaborately-carved  stone  would  be 
too  expensive. 

RANSOME  AND  BUCKWELL's  ARTIFICIAL  STONES. 

Mr.  Faraday,  in  introducing  these  inventions  to  the  Eoyal  Insti- 
tution, said  that,  in  undertaking  at  a  short  notice  to  describe  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  these  Artificial  Stones  were  constructed,  he  refrained  from 
expressing  an  opinion  as  to  their  probable  commercial  success.  He  ex- 
plained the  process  adopted  and  the  object  aimed  at,  first  in  Mr.  Ransome's, 
and  afterwards  in  Mr.  Buckwell's  invention.  Mr.  Ransome's  manufac- 
ture having  been  already  noticed  in  a  preceding  article,  needs  to  be  but 
briefly  adverted  to  now.  Broken  flints  are  dissolved  in  a  solution  of 
caustic  alkali,  at  a  temperature  of  300°  Fahr.  "When  this  solution  is  suffi- 
ciently evaporated,  siliceous  sand,  or  the  flint  grit  of  roads,  and  a  little 
clay,  are  worked  with  it,  till  the  w^hole  is  of  the  consistence  of  putty.  It 
is  finally  pressed  in  moulds,  dried,  fired  for  48  hours,  and  then  slowly 
cooled.  The  impression  produced  is  very  sharp ;  the  stone  resembles 
white  sandstone,  and  is  said  to  resist  all  atmospheric  changes,  and  even 
acids.  Philosophically  considered,  this  artificial  stone  is  a  mass  of  sand 
cemented  together  by  glass.  The  glass,  at  first  containing  excess  of 
alkali,  is  diffused  in  a  fluid  state  throughout  the  particles  of  flint  and 
alumina.  These  particles  absorb  the  superabundant  alkali  when  the  stone 
is  fired,  and  the  resulting  vitreous  cement  resembles,  in  hardness  and  re- 
sisting power,  the  portion  of  glass  which,  in  the  common  manufacture  of 
the  hardest  kinds  of  that  substance,  is  found  in  immediate  contact  with 
the  sides  of  the  pots.      To  show  the  unstable  nature  of  ordinary  glass. 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  67 

Mr.  Faraday  exhibited  green  botiles  in  which  diluted  sulphuric  acid  had 
been  kept.  In  the  glass  of  these  bottles  the  lime  had  been  separated  from 
the  silica  by  the  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  insides  were  in  consequence 
studded  with  multitudes  of  regularly-formed  cones  of  sulphate  of  lime. 

Mr.  Faraday  then  entered  on  Mr.  Buckwell's  manufacture.  As  the 
artificial  stone  invented  by  Mr.  Ransome  is  chiefly  applicable  for  orna- 
mental purposes,  so  Mr.  Buckwell's  invention,  termed  by  him  ari'tficial 
granite,  appears  exclusively  designed  to  supply  the  place  of  blocks  brought 
from  the  quarry  for  large  works,  whether  walls  of  houses,  or  of  aqueducts, 
sewers,  &c.  Mr.  Buckwell  uses  the  following  simple  process: — Frag- 
ments of  a  suitable  stone  (Portland  stone,  for  example,)  are  gauged  and 
sorted  into  sizes.  These  are  cleaned,  and  carefully  mixed  on  a  board  with 
cement  in  the  proportion  of  5  parts  of  large  fragments,  two  of  smaller 
ones,  1  of  cement,  and  a  portion  of  water ;  but  the  water  is  in  no  greater 
quantity  than  will  bring  it  to  the  dampness  of  fresh  deal  saw-dust.  This 
being  done,  the  materials  are  put  into  a  strong  mould  to  the  depth  of 
about  1  \  inch  at  a  time ;  they  are  then  driven  together  bg  percussion, 
more  materials  are  now  put  in,  these  in  turn  hammered  together  till  the 
water  has  escaped  by  holes  pierced  for  that  purpose  in  the  moulds,  and 
this  process  is  continued  till  the  block  or  pipe  has  attained  the  required 
magnitude.  It  is  then  taken  out  of  the  mould,  and  now  fonnd  to  be  so 
hard  as  to  ring  when  struck,  and  in  ten  days  is  fit  for  service.  If  is  af- 
firmed to  harden  under  the  influence  of  moisture,  to  bear,  when  moulded 
in  the  form  of  girders,  a  greater  transverse  pressure  than  any  rock  except 
slate,  and  to  be  only  one-sixth  of  the  cost  of  brick-work.  It  will  be  no- 
ticed that  this  process  is  characterized  by  the  use  of  fragments,  by  the 
small  quantity  of  cemeut  employed  (not  one-fourth  of  the  proportion  used 
in  common  grouting),  and  by  water,  instead  of  fire,  being  made  the  means 
of  bringing  the  fragments  into  close  union.  Mr.  Faraday  then  noticed 
two  scientific  principles  on  which  the  success  of  Mr.  Buckwell's  process 
greatly  depends  : — 1.  The  me  of  water  in  effecting  tJie  approximation  of 
the  particles  and  th^  exclusion  of  air.  It  had  been  ascertaiued  by 
Dr.  VVoilaston  (Bakerian  Lecture,  1828)  that,  in  order  to  bring  the  par- 
ticles of  platina  into  close  contact,  it  was  best  to  bring  them  together  in 
water.  When  a  freshly-made  road  is  watered  to  make  the  materials  bind 
together,  the  same  principle  assists  in  the  result.  Having  filled  a  mea- 
sured glass  with  sand,  Mr.  Faraday  showed  that  when  the  glass  was  first 
filled  with  water,  and  then  the  sand  added  with  agitation,  it  occupied  lest 
•pace  than  it  did  when  dry.  2.  The  effect  of  percussion  in  bringing  par- 
ticles together.  Mr.  Faraday  noticed  that  simjjlc  pressure  will  not  dis- 
place interstitial  air  or  water,  but  that  a  blow  will.  Water  contained  in 
a  small  cylinder  of  wire-gauze  was  shown  remaining  in  the  open  net-work 
when  subjected  to  the  pres.Hure  of  a  column  of  the  same  fluid,  though  it 
freely  ran  through  the  meshes  when  the  cylinder  was  gently  struck.  On 
the  same  principle,  the  moistened  sand  on  the  sea-shore  gives  way,  and 
leaves  a  foot-mark  under  the  impact  of  the  limb  which  strikes  it.  In  con- 
cloiion,  Mr.  Faraday  noticed  the  remarkable  fact  that  the  sedimentary 
matter  in  sewers,  &c.  docs  not  accumulate  on  Mr.  Buckwell's  artificial 
granite  as  it  does  in  glazed  pi{>cs. 


68  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

HOW  TO  HARDEN  GYPSUM. 

It  is  known  that  calcined  Gypsum,  after  being  moistened  with  a  solu- 
tion of  alum  and  again  burnt,  acquires  much  greater  hardness  and  solidity. 
Mr.  Kreating  recommends  for  the  same  purpose  a  solution  of  1  lb.  of 
borax  in  9  lbs.  of  water,  which  is  poured  over  the  calcined  fragments  of 
gypsum.  They  are  then  kept  at  a  strong  red  heat  for  six  hours,  ground 
to  a  powder,  and  worked.  The  effect  is  said  to  be  still  better  if  a  pound  of 
tartar  and  twice  the  quantity  of  water  are  added  to  the  solution. — LieUg's 
Annalen, 


NEW  AMERICAN  CEMENT. 

The  Buffalo  Journal,  (U.  S.,)  describes  a  valuable  cement,  which  was 
first  discovered  in  Sharon,  Medina  County,  Ohio,  and  after  undergoing 
the  most  thorough  tests  has  been  pronounced  of  great  value.  The  Cleveland 
Herald  says  :  "  The  mine  itself  is  one  of  the  most  singular  depositories  to 
be  found.  It  seems  as  if  poured  into  a  large  sandstone  basin,  covering 
some  four  acres,  is  found  at  the  depth  of  twenty  feet,  presents  an  even 
level  surface,  is  about  five  feet  thick,  and  when  dug  out  is  no  harder  than 
tallow,  and  is  entirely  free  from  dirt  or  other  impurities.  An  exposure 
of  fourteen  days  to  the  air  changes  the  cement  to  stone,  so  hard  that  it  is 
difficult  to  grind.  For  use,  it  is  ground  when  green,  and  after  it  has 
hardened,  ground  again,  and  kept  in  a  powdered  state  until  mixed  with 
oil.  When  applied  to  roofing,  it  becomes  as  hard  and  durable  as  slate, 
and  is  completely  tire  and  weather  proof." 


Payne's  patent  for  preserving  wood,  &c.  against  fire. 
A  series  of  experiments  has  been  exhibited,  on  the  shingles,  at  low 
■water,  in  front  of  Whitehall-wharf,  in  Cannon-row,  to  test  the  efficiency 
of  the  invention  of  Messrs.  Payne  to  prepare  Wood  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  render  it  capable  of  withstanding  the  force  of  fire,  and  perfectly  unin- 
flammable, though  exposed  to  the  heat  of  flames  or  burning  masses  of 
wood  or  coal.  The  experiments  were  as  favourable  as  could  be  wished. 
Three  cottages  or  miniature  buildings  were  ignited,  two  of  them  con- 
structed of  the  wood  prepared  by  the  patentees  of  the  invention,  the 
other  of  unprepared  wood.  The  cottage  built  of  unprepared  wood  was 
speedily  consumed,  whilst  those  of  which  the  wood  had  been  prepared  by 
the  invention,  although  partially  charred  by  the  terrific  heat  of  the  fire, 
never  became  absolutely  on  fire,  and  resisted  the  utmost  effort  of  the 
flames.  The  expense  of  preparing  timber  under  the  patent  of  Messrs. 
Payne  is  small,  and  by  it  many  trees  hitherto  considered  as  of  little  im- 
portance may  be  hardened  and  made  into  the  most  elegant  pieces  of 
furniture.  The  timber  prepared  against  the  "  dry  rot"  is  impregnated  or 
imbued  with  sulphate  of  iron  decomposed  by  muriatic  acid.  That  which 
is  prepared  against  fire  is  prepared  with  sulphate  of  iron,  and  with  alum 
decomposed  by  muriate  of  lime ;  and  that  which  is  prepared  against 
worms  is  composed  of  sulphuret  of  barium,  decomposed  by  sulphate  of 
iron.  This  invention  is  very  important  in  many  respects.  It  renders 
all  kinds  of  woods  capable  of  resisting  fire ;  it  hardens  them,  and  produces 
on  them  a  beautiful  surface. 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  69 

FRENCH  METHOD  OF  PRESERVATION  OF  WOOD. 

A  PATENT  has  been  taken  out  in  France  by  MM,  Hutin  and  Boutigny, 
the  principle  of  which  consists  in  the  assimilation  of  the  antiseptic  sub- 
stance with  the  vegetable  itself,  in  place  of  impregnation  with  corrosive 
sublimate,  or  the  chlorides  of  zinc,  calcium,  iron,  &c.,  which  have  been 
found,  it  is  said,  to  tear  the  woody  fibre  asunder  by  the  irresistible  force 
of  crj'stallization.  On  the  new  principle,  nothing  more  is  necessary  than 
simply  to  immerse  the  ends  of  each  piece  to  be  preserved  in  any  of  the 
hydro-carbons,  such  as  the  oil  of  schist,  and  set  on  fire  the  ends  of  the 
pieces  thus  treated,  letting  them  burn  until  all  the  applied  hydro-carbon 
is  burned  out ;  when  they  must  be  immediately  dipped  into  a  hot  mixture 
of  pitch,  tar,  and  shellac,  and  may  then  be  painted,  tarred,  &c.  M. 
Gemini,  in  a  paper  read  to  the  Paris  Academy,  testifies  to  the  destruction 
of  fibres  by  the  usual  processes,  and  recommends  tar,  creosote,  naphtha,  or 
any  of  the  highly-bituminized  articles  easily  and  economically  obtained. 


DRYING  OF  WOOD  BY  STEAM. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  by  M.  Vio- 
lette,  "  On  the  Desiccation  of  Wood  by  Steam."  The  author  states  that 
if  steam  at  the  temperature  of  100°  of  centigrade  be  raised  to  a  tempera- 
ture of  200°  to  250°,  without  the  addition  of  water,  it  is  no  longer 
saturated,  and  can,  on  the  contrary,  take  up  the  moisture  contained  in 
wood.  He  proceeded  to  show  that  this  is  the  cheapest  and  most  effectual 
process  that  can  be  used. 

AMERICAN  PATENT  CASE. — SCULPTURING  BY  MACHINERY. 

A  VERY  interesting  exhibition  has  been  made  in  the  Circuit  Court  in 
the  United  States,  for  the  Philadelphia  district,  in  two  suits  brought  by 
Mr.  A.  K.  Carter,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  as  agent  of  Blanchard's  Gun  Stock 
Turning-factory,  against  parties  in  this  city,  for  an  infrincrement  of 
patent  right.  The  machine  is  described,  in  the  specification  to  the  patent, 
as  an  "  engine  for  turning  irregular  forms  out  of  wood,  iron,  brass,  or  other 
material  or  substance  which  can  be  cut  by  ordinary  tools,"  and  was 
originally  designed  and  applied  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  shoemakers' 
lasts,  carriage  spokes,  boat  oars,  gun  stocks,  and  a  variety  of  other  articles  ; 
mostly  wooden  and  metallic  forms  used  in  the  purposes  of  mechanic  art. 
A  most  striking  application  of  the  invention,  however,  is  that  of  actually 
cutting,  even  to  cameo  size,  and  with  life-like  fidelity,  busts  out  of  solid 
and  close-grained  marble.  Two  beautiful  pieces  of  sculpture  were  pro- 
duced by  Mr.  Carter,  in  court — one  a  bust  of  Mr.  Clay,  the  other  of  Mr. 
Webster.  Mr.  Thomas  Blanchard,  the  person  represented  by  Mr.  Carter, 
and  the  inventor  of  this  machine,  is  a  native,  we  believe,  of  Boston  ;  in 
which  city  he  resides.  His  invention  was  patented  so  long  ago  as  1820, 
but  was  never  applied  until  now  to  any  but  the  useful  arts.  In  1834,  in 
consideration  of  the  extraordinary  merit  of  the  invention,  Congress  passed 
a  special  Act,  renewing  the  patent  for  14  years  ;  but  it  was  still  appUcd 
only  to  utilitarian  purposes. 

The  jury  in  the  case  brought  in  this  circuit,  and  which  was  for  the 
ia£riagemeot«  of  the  patent  in  cutting  shoe  lasts,  gave  a  verdict  in  favour 


70  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

of  Mr.  Blanchard;  in  one  case  of  1,344  dollars,  and  in  the  other  of  850 
dollars.  The  originality  and  validity  of  the  patent  had  indeed  been  pre- 
viously well  settled  by  Judge  Story  and  other  eminent  jurists  in  New 
England  :  and  the  defendants  here,  after  resisting  the  claim  for  some 
years,  on  being  satisfied  of  the  clear  rights  of  Mr.  Blanchard,  very  pro- 
perly abandoned  the  defence,  and  referred  the  whole  matter  of  damages  to 
the  jury ;  who,  under  the  direction  of  the  Court,  found  the  verdicts  already 
mentioned. — Philadelp'ia  Gazette;  Mechanics^  Magazine. 


aUAERYING  MACHINE. 

A  NEW  Stone-drilling  Machine  has  been  tested  upon  the  quarry  of  Mr. 
R.  Cail,  near  Gateshead.  The  machine  was  put  in  motion  by  four  men, 
and  worked  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  when  they  attained  a  depth  of  8  feet, 
of  4  inches  gauge.  The  hole  was  then  charged  with  19  lbs.  of  powder, 
and  the  discharge  produced  the  removal  of  5400  cubic  feet  of  rock. 


NEW  WlNE  PRESS. 

The  Brevet  (T Invention  states  that  a  new  Wine  Press,  of  simple 
construction,  has  been  invented  by  M.  Koeppelin,  Secretary  to  the  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  Colmar.  It  consists  of  a  metallic  vessel,  the  diameter 
of  which  is  equal  to  twice  its  depth,  and  which  is  divided  in  the  middle 
by  a  moveable  diaphragm  of  au  impermeable  fabric.  The  space  above 
the  diaphragm  is  filled  with  grapes,  and  then  a  perforated  cover  put  on, 
which  is  made  fast  to  the  top  of  the  vessel.  Water  is  next  forced  in 
beneath  the  diaphragm  by  means  of  a  pump,  and,  by  its  irresistible  pres- 
sure, expresses  the  juice,  and  causes  it  to  flow  through  the  holes  in  the 
cover.  Numerous  experiments  have  been  made  with  this  machine  before 
the  Congress  of  Vine-growers,  the  Agricultural  Society  of  the  Haut-Rhin, 
and  the  Industrial  School  of  Mulhausen.  It  is  said  to  work  with  great 
facility  and  rapidity,  to  occupy  little  space,  and  to  be  easily  moved  aljout. 
The  same  machine  may,  no  doubt,  be  employed  with  advantage  for  the 
expression  of  juice  from  apples,  beet-root,  olives,  &c. 


AMERICAN  SEWING-MACHINE. 

The  patentee  (Elias  Howe,  jun.,)  says :  In  sewing  a  seam  with  my 
machine  two  threads  are  employed,  one  of  which  threads  is  carried 
through  the  cloth  by  means  of  a  curved  needle,  the  pointed  end  of  which 
is  to  pass  through  the  said  cloth :  the  needle  used  has  the  eye  that  is  to 
receive  the  thread  within  a  small  distance,  say  an  eighth  of  a  inch,  of  its 
inner  or  pointed  end.  The  other  or  outer  end  of  the  needle  is  held  by  an 
arm  that  vibrates  on  a  pivot  or  joint  pin,  and  the  cui-vature  of  the  needle 
is  such  as  to  correspond  with  the  length  of  the  arm  as  its  radius.  When 
the  thread  is  carried  through  the  doth,  which  may  be  done  to  the  distance 
of  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch,  the  thread  will  be  stretched  above  the 
curved  needle,  something  in  the  manner  of  a  bowstring,  leaving  a  smaU 
open  space  between  the  two.  A  small  shuttle,  carrying  a  bobbin  filled 
with  silk  or  thread,  is  then  made  to  pass  entirely  through  this  open  space, 
between  the  needle  and  the  thread  which  it  carries ;  and  when  the  shuttle 
is  returned,  which  is  done  by  means  of  a  picker  staff  or  shuttle-driver,  the 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  71 

thread  which  was  carried  in  by  the  needle  is  surrounded  by  that  received 
from  the  shuttle  ;  and  as  the  needle  is  drawn  out,  it  forces  that  which  was 
received  from  the  shuttle  into  the  body  of  the  cloth  ;  and,  as  this  opera- 
tion  is  repeated,  a  seam  is  formed  which  has  on  each  side  of  the  cloth  the 
same  appearance  as  that  given  by  stitching,  with  this  peculiarity,  that  the 
thread  sown  on  one  side  of  the  cloth  is  exclusively  that  which  was  given 
out  by  the  needle,  and  the  thread  seen  on  the  other  side  is  exclusively 
that  which  was  given  out  by  the  shuttle.  It  will,  therefore,  be  seen  that 
a  stitch  is  made  at  every  back  and  forth  movement  of  the  shuttle.  The 
two  thicknesses  of  cloth  that  are  to  be  sewed  are  held  upon  pointed  wires, 
which  project  out  from  a  metallic  plate,  like  the  teeth  of  a  comb,  but  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  each  other — say  three-fourths  of  an  inch, 
more  or  less  ;  these  pointed  wires  sustaining  the  cloth,  and  answering  the 
purpose  of  ordinary  basting.  The  metallic  plate  from  which  these  wires 
project  has  numerous  holes  through  it,  which  answer  the  purpose  of  rack- 
teeth  in  enabling  the  plate  to  move  forward,  by  means  of  a  pinion,  as  the 
stitches  are  taken.  The  distance  to  which  the  said  plate  is  moved,  and, 
consequently,  the  length  of  the  stitches,  may  be  regulated  at  pleasure. — 
We  quote  this  from  the  Franklin  Journal.  Some  account  of  the  machine 
was  given  in  the  Year-book  of  Facts,  1848,  p.  73. 

NEW  SPINNING  MATERIAL. 

A  LETTER  from  Leipsic  states  that  "The  owner  of  some  spinning- 
mills  at  Berlin  has  lately  brought  into  the  market  a  new  species  of 
flaxen  thread,  which  is  extremely  long  and  silky,  white  in  colour,  and 
spun  and  dyed  with  extraordinary  facility.  This  primary  material,  which 
possesses,  even  in  a  superior  degree,  all  the  qualities  of  silk,  is  likely  to 
comi)ete  with  it  from  its  simple  and  rapid  fabrication,  and  from  its  price 
being  very  low  as  conipared  with  that  of  silk.  The  appearance  of  this 
new  article  of  commerce  has  caused  a  great  sensation  among  the  dealers 
at  the  fair  at  Leipsic,  and  an  Englishman  has  offered  the  inventor 
£20,000  for  his  secret ;  but  this  has  been  refused,  as  the  owner  intends 
to  reserve  to  himself  all  the  benefits  of  his  discovery. 

IMPROVED  POWER-LOOM  SHUTTLE. 

Mr.  Richard  Stiver  ha.s  patented  an  improved  Shuttle,  of  which  the 
Arbroath  Review  gives  the  following  description  : — "  The  shuttle  is  of  the 
same  size  as  those  presently  in  use,  but  it  contains  two  pirns  ;  and  the 
beauty  of  the  invention  consists  in  connecting  the  threads  of  the  two  pirns 
together,  so  that  when  the  one  is  exhausted  the  thread  runs  instantly  to 
the  other  pirn,  from  which  it  is  thrown  off  continuously,  without  a  stop- 
page of  the  machinery,  until  both  pirns  are  run  out.  The  result  is,  that, 
while  by  the  shuttle  generally  in  use,  not  more  than  nine  inches  of  cloth 
can  be  worked  without  a  stoppa^^,  by  Mr.  Stiver's  invention  full  thirty 
iaches  can  Ix:  so,  on  an  average,  each  of  his  shuttles  being  fitted  to 
contain  seven  ounces  of  weft.  By  this  means  an  immense  saving  of  time 
will  be  effected — the  storpagcs  in  the  manufacture  of  each  piece  being 
reduced  from  160  to  50,  or  less  than  one-third.  In  other  words,  upwards 
of  an  hour  will  thctcby  bo  added  to  the  daily  production  of  the  loom. 


72  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

without  a  farthing  of  expense,  and  with  diminished  labour  to  all  con- 
cerned. The  weft  is  drawn  out  of  the  shuttle  through  an  eye  in  the 
centre,  making  two  selvages  at  the  same  time ;  and,  in  this  way,  it 
escapes  all  risk  of  being  thrown  out  of  the  lay." 


COATING   OF    SHIPS     BOTTOMS. 

The  Rocket  iron  steam-vessel  has  been  examined,  after  being  twelve 
months  coated  on  one  side  of  the  bottom  with  the  newly  invented  anti- 
corrosive  composition  of  naphthalized  pitch ;  the  other  side  being  coated 
with  that  preparation  and  red  lead,  in  alternate  streaks  ;  so  as  to  prove 
the  comparative  advantages  of  these  alleged  preventives  of  the  growth 
and.  adhesion  of  rubbish,  animalcules,  &c.  to  the  bottoms  of  iron  ships. 
The  inspection  of  the  Rocket,  at  Portsmouth,  by  Admiral  Prescote,  Mr. 
Murray,  Mr.  Fincham,  and  other  officers  of  eminence,  has  reported  the 
iron  coated  with  the  anti-corrosive  composition  to  be  free  from  all  the 
substances  that  usually  cling  to  iron  subject  to  the  action  of  salt  water, 
except  here  and  there  a  spot  which  'had  been  imperfectly  paid ;  whereas, 
the  red-lead  streaks  were  covered  with  weeds  and  grass,  some  feet  long, 
muscles,  shrimps,  barnacles,  &c.,  independent  of  great  oxidization.  The 
inventor  of  the  composition  is  Mr.  Hay,  chemical  assistant  to  the  master 
shipwright  at  Portsmouth. 


GALVANISED    IRON. 

Mr.  R.  Hunt,  in  the  course  of  a  lecture  on  Mining,  delivered  at  the 
London  Institution,  said, — "Considerable  attention  had  been  lately  paid 
to  the  process  of  Galvanizing  Iron, — a  discovery  which  promises  to  be  of 
the  highest  utility.  Mr.  Nadsmyth,  of  Patricroft,  near  Manchester,  and 
Mr.  Owen,  two  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Government  committee  on 
the  subject  of  metals,  had  lately  been  making  experiments,  the  result  of 
which  would  indicate  that,  by  giving  iron  a  coating  of  zinc,  or  by  com- 
bining zinc  with  iron  in  its  manufacture,  it  would  be  much  improved, 
preserved  from  oxidising,  and  rendered  less  brittle ;  and  that  old  plates 
of  iron — such,  for  instance,  as  had  been  used  for  the  bottoms  of  ships — 
with  an  admixture  of  zinc,  still  possessed  its  original  qualities ;  and,  in 
fact,  iron  remelted  from  such  plates  was  found  to  be  of  a  better  quality 
than  at  first.  These  experiments  had,  indeed,  excited  great  attention  to 
the  important  question,  whether  iron  would  not  be  improved  by  a  small 
portion  of  zinc.  Tinned  iron,  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  very  soon  be- 
came oxidised ;  but  in  iron  protected  by  zinc,  although  exposed  to  all 
weather,  there  was  no  change.  Indeed,  a  piece  made  bright  remained  so 
after  being  placed  in  water  for  several  months.  The  zinced  iron,  which 
was  now  used  in  roofing  large  buildings — as,  for  instance,  the  new 
Houses  of  Parliament — had  the  quality  of  becoming  incrusted  with  a 
coat  of  oxide  of  zinc,  which  prevented  any  further  destructive  effects  from 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere. 


ECONOMICAL   IMPROVEMENT   IN   THE   REFINING  OF  SILVER  LEAD. 

The  ordinary  mode  of  recovering  the  lead  and  silver  with  which  the 
Done-ash  employed  as  a  cupel  or  test  by  the  refiners  of  silver  lead  be- 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  78 

comes  saturated,  consists  in  returning  the  used  cupel  to  the  furnace  ;  but 
though  the  bone  ash  is  thus  wholly  destroyed,  considerable  portions  of  the 
lead  and  silver,  combining  with  the  phosphoric  acid  of  the  ash,  pass  off 
in  vapour,  and  are  wholly  lost.  Mr.  A.  J.  Johnson,  the  eminent  assayer, 
has  just  patented  an  improved  process,  by  which  this  waste  is  completely 
prevented.  The  used  cupel  is  reduced  to  a  fine  powder,  and  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  pyroligueous  or  acetic  acid  (varying  from  1030  to  1048 
sp.  gr.,  according  to  the  per  centage  of  lead  contained  in  the  cupel),  to 
produce  a  mixture  of  thin  consistence,  is  added  ;  this  mixture  is  stirred 
occasionally  during  a  period  of  two  days  (by  which  time  the  bulk  of  the 
lead  becomes  dissolved) ;  it  is  next  put  into  cloth  or  flannel  filters,  in 
order  that  the  lead  solution  may  drain  oflf;  and  then  the  remaining 
soluble  salt  of  lead  is  removed,  by  washing  with  water,  and  by  the  appli- 
cation  of  pressure,  previous  to  drying  the  bone-ash.  The  silver  and  a 
small  quantity  of  lead  still  remain  in  the  bone-ash  after  the  above  opera- 
tion, although  there  is  not  sufficient  lead  to  interfere  materially  with  the 
absorbent  jwwers  of  the  bone  ash,  or  to  prevent  it  from  being  again 
used,  provided  it  has  been  properly  freed  from  the  lead  solution ;  but  if 
it  should  be  desired  to  extract  the  lead  more  perfectly,  the  bone  ash,  after 
being  removed  from  the  filters,  and  before  being  washed  and  pressed,  is 
subjected  to  the  action  of  a  second  portion  of  acid— stirring  the  mixture 
thoroughly.  To  bring  the  lead  contained  in  the  above-mentioned  solu- 
tion into  a  marketable  form,  the  solution  may  be  evaporated  to  produce 
sugar  of  lead ;  or,  by  means  of  the  re-agents  commonly  used,  the  carbo- 
nate, sulphate,  sulphuret,  or  other  compound  of  lead  may  be  obtained. — 
Mechanics^  Magazine,  No.  1287. 

METHOD    OP   "WELDING    IRON,    STEEL,    AND    SHEET-IRON. 

In  an  earthen  vessel,  melt  borax,  and  add  to  it  1-lOth  of  sal-ammoniac. 
"When  these  ingredients  are  properly  fused  and  mixed,  pour  them  out 
upon  an  iron  plate,  and  let  them  cool.  There  is  thus  obtained  a  glassy 
matter,  to  which  is  to  be  added  an  equal  quantity  of  quick-lime.  The 
iron  or  steel  which  are  to  be  soldered,  are  first  heated  to  redness  ;  then 
this  compound,  first  reduced  to  powder,  is  laid  upon  them — the  composi- 
tion melts  and  runs  like  sealing-wax ;  the  pieces  are  next  replaced  in  the 
fire,  taking  care  to  heat  them  at  a  temperature  far  below  that  usually 
employed  in  welding;  they  are  then  withdrawn  and  hammered,  and  the 
surfaces  will  be  found  to  be  thus  jKirfectly  united.  The  author  asserts 
that  this  process,  which  may  be  applied  to  welding  sheet-iron  tubes, 
never  fails. — From  the  French ;  Mechanics*  Magazine,  No.  1300. 


KEW   METHOD   OF  EXTBACTINO   PURE   GOLD   7K0M  ALLOTS  AND 
FROM   ORES. 

The  following  method  of  obtaining  pure  Metallic  Gold  in  the  form  of 
a  sjMjngy  mass  has  been  practised  by  tlie  inventor  for  several  years,  and 
no  account  of  the  process  has,  to  his  knowledge,  heretofore  been  published. 
It  is  very  useful  to  the  chemist  and  to  the  manufacturer,  and  is  more 
ccoDomical  than  any  other  method  that  the  inventor  is  acquainted  with. 


74  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

After  separating  the  gold  from  silver  by  means  of  a  mixture  of  nitric 
and  hydrochloric  acids,  as  is  usually  done,  the  solution  containing  gold 
and  copper  is  to  be  evaporated  to  a  small  bulk,  and  the  excess  of  nitric 
acid  is  thus  driven  oif. 

A  little  oxalic  acid  is  added,  and  then  a  solution  of  carbonate  of 
potash,  sufficient  to  take  up  nearly  all  the  gold  in  the  state  of  aurite  of 
potash,  is  gradually  added.  A  large  quantity  of  crystallised  oxalic  acid  is 
now  added,  so  as  to  be  in  great  excess,  and  the  whole  is  to  be  quickly 
boiled.  All  the  gold  is  immediately  precipitated  in  the  form  of  a 
beautiful  yellow  sponge,  which  is  absolutely  pure  metallic  gold.  All 
the  copper  is  taken  up  by  the  excess  of  oxalic  acid,  and  may  be 
washed  out. 

Boil  the  sponge  in  pure  water  so  long  as  any  trace  of  acidity  remains, 
and  the  gold  is  then  to  be  removed  from  the  capsule  and  dried  on  filtering 
paper.  It  may  be  formed  into  rolls,  bars,  or  thin  sheets,  by  pressing  it 
moderately  in  paper.  The  inventor  has  made  several  useful  applications 
of  the  gold  sponge  thus  prepared;  and  had  a  tooth  plugged  with  it  in 
October,  1846,  to  which  purpose  it  is  well  adapted. 

By  moderate  pressure,  the  spongy  gold  becomes  a  solid  mass,  and 
burnishes  quite  brilliantly. 

The  jeweller  or  goldsmith  will  find  spongy  gold  to  be  quite  convenient 
when  he  requires  it  for  a  solder,  and  it  is  a  convenient  form  of  the  metal 
for  making  an  amalgam  for  fine  gilding.  The  inventor  has  used  it  for 
some  years  in  soldering  platina,  and  prefers  it  to  the  filings  or  gold  foil 
for  that  purpose.  His  method  of  separating  fine  gold  from  coarse  is  very 
simple,  and  cheaper  than  the  usual  process.  It  is  applicable  in  the  sepa- 
ration of  gold  from  ores  that  may  be  treated  by  acids,  and  is  vastly  pre- 
ferable to  the  method  commonly  used  by  chemists  and  assayers. 

When  making  oxide  of  gold  for  dentists'  use,  the  chemist  will  find  that 
oxalic  acid  added  to  his  potassic  solution  will  at  once  recover  all  the  gold 
that  is  dissolved  in  an  excess  of  the  alkaline  solution.  Many  other  ap- 
plications of  this  very  simple  method  will  occur  to  chemists  and  artisans. — 
C.  T.  Jackson,  in  SillimarCs  Journal,  September  1848 ;  Mech.anics' 
Magazine,  No.  1319. 

NEW  METHOD  OF  BRONZING  DIFFERENT  METALS. 

(Communicated  to  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences  by  M.  Becquerel.   Trans- 
lated for  the  Mechanics'  Magazine,  from  the  Moniteur  Jndustriel.) 

I  HAVE  been  requested  by  Messrs.  Brunei,  Bisson,  and  Gaugain,  to 
present  to  the  Academy,  pieces  of  different  Metals,  bronzed  by  a  new 
electro -chemical  process. 

In  1841,  a  method  was  communicated  to  the  Academy  of  Bronzing 
some  few  Metals  by  the  electric  deposition  of  layers  of  brass  or  bronze 
{laiton  ou  de  bronze),  and  which  necessitated  the  employment  of  double 
alkaline  cyanides  of  copper  and  zinc.  It  was,  however,  never  brought 
into  practice,  either  on  account  of  the  dearness  of  the  cyanides,  or  for 
some  other  reasons  not  expressed.     Messrs.  Brunei,  Bisson,  and  Gaugain 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  AKTS.  7* 

have  substituted  for  these  cyauides  (to  produce  a  coaling  of  brass)  an 
aqueous  solution,  composed  of — 

500  parts  of  carbonate  of  potash, 
20       "         chloride  of  copper, 
40       "        sulphate  of  zinc, 
250       "         azotate  of  ammonia. 
To  obtain  a  bronze,  a  salt  of  tin  is  substituted  for  the  sulphate  of  zinc. 

By  employing  these  solutions,  iron,  cast-iron,  steel,  lead,  zinc,  tin,  or 
alloys  of  any  of  these  metals  with  another,  or  with  bismuth  or  anti- 
mony, are  easily  coated  with  brass  or  bronze  after  a  previous  cleansing, 
the  agent  employed  for  which  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  metal. 

The  operation  is  conducted  without  recourse  being  had  to  heat,  and 
the  piece  to  be  coated  is  placed  in  communication  with  the  negative  pole 
of  a  Bunsen's  batteiT,  and  a  plate  of  bronze  or  brass  is  used  as  the  posi- 
tive decomposing  point. 

"When  large  surfaces  have  to  be  coated,  it  has  been  found  in  practice, 
that  the  number  of  the  plates,  and  not  their  size,  must  be  increased. 

"When  pieces  of  metal  have  been  coated  and  coloured,  they  rival  the 
finest  bronzes ;  even  the  coarsest  exterior,  after  being  thus  treated,  exhi- 
bits a  very  beautiful  appearance.  They  will  also,  when  kept  within  doors, 
resist  oxidation;  but,  should  they  be  exposed  to  the  exterior  atmos- 
phere, they  must  be  coated  with  some  suitable  varnish. 

[Some  further  explanation  of  these  processes  is  very  desirable;  it 
having  been  hitherto  considered  an  impossibility  to  precipitate  any  two  or 
more  metals  in  the  state  of  an  alloy,  such  as  brass  or  bronze. — IVaus.'] 


LIQUID  FOR  CLEANING  METALS. 

One  of  the  first  operations  in  finishing  metallic  work  after  it  comes 
from  the  casting,  or  from  the  hammer,  is  to  free  it  from  the  coat  of  oxide 
which  adheres  to  it  -.  this  is  done  generally  by  keeping  it  for  some  time 
in  water,  strongly  acidulated  with  sulphuric  or  muriatic  acid.  But  an 
inconvenience  in  this  process  results  from  the  fact  that  the  metal  is  liable 
to  be  attacked  on  its  lines  and  angles,  and  wherever  it  presents  a  point 
or  edge.  Hence  arises  a  double  loss,  both  of  the  acid  employed  and  of 
the  metal. 

Mil.  Thomas  and  Dellisse  state,  that  they  have  succeeded  in  avoiding 
these  inconveniences,  by  combining  with  the  acid  of  the  bath  certain 
organic  matters  which  have  the  proj)erty  of  preventing,  or  at  least  of 
considerably  diminishing,  the  influence  on  the  metal  of  the  acids.  Ac- 
cording  to  them,  glycerine,  artificial  tannin,  naphthaline,  and  creosote, 
attain  this  end.  In  the  baths  thus  composed,  the  scale  of  oxide  detaches 
itself  without  dissolving,  and  without  the  metal  being  attacked,  so  that 
the  pieccii  may  remain  in  the  bath  as  long  as  may  be  desired,  without 
alteration. 


IKRLBACH's  PATEWT  PBOCE88  OF  UNITING  WROUGHT- IRON  AND 
CAST-IRON,  ETC. 

The  object  of  this  invention  consists  in  an  improved  method  of  se- 
curely Uniting  certain  Metals  and  Alloys  of  Mctuls  of  different  proper- 


76  YEAR-BOOR  OF  FACTS. 

ties  and  values  together :  as,  for  example,  Wrought-Tron  with  Cast-iron, 
or  Copper  with  Cast- Iron,  or  Gun-Metal  with  Cast-iron,  whereby  com- 
pound pieces  of  metal,  suitable  for  beams,  girders,  ribs,  gudgeons,  rail- 
way chairs,  wheels,  axles,  and  other  parts  of  machinery  and  mechanical 
structures,  may  be  produced,  possessing  all  the  aggregate  weight  and 
cohesiveness  required,  but  much  harder  and  stronger  in  some  parts  (such, 
for  example,  as  those  exposed  to  friction  or  to  direct  strain)  than  in 
other  parts. 

Of  the  great  utility  of  such  a  process  as  this  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion. We  have  seen  some  specimens  of  wrought  and  cast-iron  thus 
combined  together  which  resisted  every  attempt  of  a  powerful  hammer 
to  separate  them.     The  following  are  the  details  of  the  process : — 

"  To  unite  Cast -Iron  with  Wrought-Iron,  as,  for  example,  to  make  a 
rectangular  beam  which  shall  consist  of  one-quarter  of  its  thickness  of 
wrought-iron  and  three-quarters  of  cast-iron,  or  of  these  two  metals  in 
any  other  given  proportions,  I  pi;oceed  as  follows : — I  take  a  piece  of 
wrought-iron  of  the  quarter,  or  other  required  thickness  aforesaid,  and 
immerse  it  in  a  cleausing  bath  of  nitric,  or  any  other  suitable  acid,  di- 
luted with  water.  I  next  remove  it  from  the  bath  and  make  it  red-hot, 
whereupon  I  plunge  it  once  more  into  the  cleansing  bath.  By  these  pro- 
cesses it  is  freed  from  any  oxide  which  may  have  formed  upon  it.  Then, 
in  order  to  get  rid  of  the  acid  which  may  be  adhering  to  it,  I  wash  it 
with  an  alkaline  solution  (sal-ammoniac  for  example,  diluted  in  water), 
immediately  after  which  I  immerse  it  in  a  bath  of  melted  tin,  and  leave 
it  there  till  it  is  well  tinned  over.  I  next  coat  or  cover  the  tinned 
wrought-iron  on  that  side  where  it  is  to  be  united  to  the  cast-iron  with 
an  alloy  or  solder,  composed  of  copper  and  tin,  in  the  proportion  of 
about  5  parts  of  copper  to  95  parts  of  tin.  The  wrought-iron  thus  pre- 
pared is  then  dropped  into  the  bottom  of  a  mould,  of  a  size  and  form 
corresponding  with  that  of  the  compound  beam  desired  to  be  produced, 
and  made  fast  by  well-tinned  pins  and  nails  ;  iron,  in  a  hot  and  fluid 
state,  is  next  poured  upon  the  wrought-iron  till  the  mould  is  filled,  when 
a  fusion  takes  place  between  the  surfaces  of  the  wrought-iron  and  cast- 
iron,  through  the  action  of  the  interposed  alloy,  or  solder,  of  copper  and 
tin,  and  the  two  principal  substances  become  so  firmly  united  together  as 
not  to  be  easily  detachable,  if  at  all. 

"  To  unite  steel  with  cast-iron,  I  adopt  the  same  method  in  all  re- 
spects as  has  been  just  directed  to  be  followed  in  regard  to  wrought-iron 
and  cast-iron. 

"  To  unite  copper  with  cast-iron,  or  gun-metal,  and  cast-iron,  or  brass 
and  cast-iron,  or  any  other  of  the  alloys  of  copper  with  cast-iron,  I  also 
make  use  of  similar  means  to  the  preceding,  only  instead  of  freeing  the 
surfaces  of  the  metal  to  which  the  cast-iron  is  to  be  added  by  acid  and 
alkaline  solutions  and  heating  as  aforesaid,  I  effect  this  by  filing  merely, 
and  add  the  iron  at  a  lower  degree  of  heat,  so  that  it  may  not  melt  the 
body  of  the  copper,  gun-metal,  brass,  or  other  alloy. 

"  The  proportions  before  directed  to  be  observed  in  the  composition  of 
the  alloy  or  solder  are  such  as  will  be  suitable  to  be  observed  when  the 
compound  piece  of  metal  is  of  a  medium  size  ;  but  when  it  is  above  that 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  77 

size,  and  according  to  the  ratio  in  which  it  exceeds  it,  the  quantity  of 
copper  used  in  the  alloy  should  be  increased.  In  the  exemplifications 
before  given  the  different  metals  have  been  supposed  to  be  united  late- 
rally, or  side  to  side,  but  one  metal  may  have  another  united  to  it  on 
both  sides,  or  be  enclosed  by  it  on  both  sides,  and  the  pieces  may  be  also 
of  any  curvilineal,  angular,  or  other  form ;  the  mode  of  castiug  being 
varied  to  suit  the  circumstances  of  such  case,  according  to  the  practices 
in  common  use  among  founders." — Meclianics'  Mayazine,  No.  1272. 

WHISHAW'S  INSULATING  PIPES. 

A  PATENT  has  been  taken  out  by  Mr.  Francis  Whishaw,  C.E.,  for — 1. 
A  cluster  of  pipes,  channels,  or  ducts,  of  earthenware  or  pottery,  com- 
bined together  in  the  same  mass,  or  within  the  same  external  surface. 
2.  The  manufacture  of  pipes  of  earthenware,  or  pottery,  by  means  of 
a  conical  die,  or  dod.  3.  The  manufacture,  combination,  and  arrange- 
ment of  pipes  of  earthenware,  pottery,  or  glass,  with  suitable  collars 
and  plugs.  4.  The  combining  pipes  of  earthenware,  pottery,  and  glass, 
by  means  of  air-tight  joints,  cemented  with  asphalte  or  gutta  percha. 

CYLINDER  CASTING. 

A  CYLINDER  of  unusual  magnitude  was  cast  on  "Wednesday,  Nov.  21, 
at  the  liaigh  Foundry,  "Wigan,  in  the  presence  of  a  great  number  of 
persons,  who  had  been  attracted  from  various  parts  of  the  surrounding 
district,  to  witness  the  novelty  of  so  large  a  casting.  This  cylinder  is  8 
feet  \  inches  diameter,  and  about  17  feet  long,  and  is  intended  for  a 
direct  action  pumping  engine,  to  be  erected  at  the  Mostyn  Colliery, 
Flintshire.  The  weight  is  about  22  tons,  and  the  quantity  of  metal 
melted  was  nearly  30  tons. 

We  believe  this  is  the  largest  steam-engine  cylinder  in  the  world,  with 
the  exception  only  of  those  employed  in  pumping  the  Haarlem  Lake,  in 
Holland.— (5<?^  Year-book  of  Facts,  1847,  p.  34.) 

No  accident  occurred  during  the  operation ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  as- 
certained that  it  was  a  "  good  run,"  a  small  discharge  of  gunpowder  gave 
the  signal  for  many  hundreds  of  workmen  and  others  to  give  three  times 
three  cheers,  which  was  done  with  hearty  good  will. 

The  Haigh  Foundry  Company  have  erected  a  boring-mill  for  the  pur- 
pose of  boring  this  cylinder,  and  they  have  made  it  of  sufficient  capacity 
to  bore  one  of  11  feet  diameter,  and  19  feet  in  length. — Mechanics' 
Magazine,  No.  1321. 

On  Wednesday,  the  13th  of  December,  the  large  cylinder  of  the 
hydraulic  press  intended  to  be  used  at  Bangor  to  raise  the  tubes  of  the 
bridge  of  the  (.lie^tcr  and  Holyhead  Kailway,  was  cast  at  the  IJank  Quay 
Foundrj-,  Warrington.  It  weighs  about  25  tons,  and  will  have  to 
sustain  a  pressure  of  apwards  of  1,000  tons  when  at  work. — TimeSt 
Dec.  15,  1848. 


A  NEW  inNERAL  U8KFVL  IN  ARTS. 
"We  learn  that  Mr.  IJlake,  of  Akron,  Ohio  (U.S.),  has  discovered  a 
mineral,  in  the  ucighU)urho<jd  of  the  latter  place,  which  promises  to  l)e 
of  great  value,     lie  bus  visited  Wadhiugtou,  and  obtained  a  puteut  for 


78  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

it.  "When  first  dug  up,  it  is  of  the  consistence  of  tallow,  and  gra- 
dually hardens  in  a  few  days,  so  as  to  resemble  slate,  and  finally  it  be- 
comes as  hard  as  rock.  It  is  of  the  colour  of  indigo.  It  is  impervious 
both  to  water  and  fire,  and  admits  of  the  finest  polish.  When  reduced 
to  powder,  and  mixed  up  with  linseed-oil,  it  has  the  appearance  of  black 
paint,  and  may  be  spread  over  wood,  canvas,  &c.  Roofs  have  been 
guarded  by  it  against  fire ;  and  as  it  does  not  absorb  the  rain,  it  protects 
the  rafters  from  decay.  It  consists  of  about  one-half  of  silica,  one- 
fourth  alumina,  with  less  proportions  of  magnesia,  black  oxide  of  iron, 
sulphate  of  iron,  lime,  and  carbon. — Sheffield  Iris. 

THE  ZINC  WORKS  OF  STOLLBERG. 

The  small  town  of  Stollberg,  about  four  miles  from  Eschweiler,  is  a 
centre  of  great  manufacturing  activity.  Perhaps,  the  most  interesting 
establishments  for  strangers  are  those  for  producing  Zinc  from  calamine. 
The  best  mines  belong  to  the  company  of  the  Marquis  de  Sessenaye,  a 
French  gentleman,  who  established  here  zinc  works  on  a  large  scale,  in 
which  the  following  system  is  adopted  : — 

A  chimney  of  considerable  width,  but  of  moderate  height,  stands  in  the 
centre  of  each  batch  of  furnaces.  In  the  middle,  immediately  adjoining 
the  chimney,  are  two  roasting  furnaces,  in  which  the  ore  is  calcined.  To 
the  right  and  left  of  these  are  two  pairs  of  reducing  furnaces,  or  rather, 
two  large  reverberatory  furnaces,  which  are  charged  in  the  middle  from 
above,  and  which  are  open  at  the  side  towards  the  gangways.  In  the 
space  between  the  middle,  or  firing-place,  and  these  openings,  are  placed 
a  series  of  retorts  of  fire-proof  clay,  of  elliptical  shape,  into  which  move- 
able necks  are  inserted,  that  communicate  with  short  perpendicular  pipes, 
which  fit  into  holes  in  the  hearth-plate,  under  which  openings  like  an  ash- 
pit are  constructed.  The  ore  having  been  well  calcined  in  the  roasting 
furnace,  and  turned  from  a  carbonate  into  an  oxide  of  zinc,  is  first  pow- 
dered. The  oxide  is  then  placed  in  the  retorts,  or  muffles,  as  they  are 
called,  and  the  furnaces  are  carefully  closed  with  clay,  and  highly  heated 
to  throw  ofi"  the  oxygen  in  the  shape  of  gas.  One  result  of  the  great  heat 
in  this  process  is,  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  metal  escapes  with  the  oxy- 
gen, which  finds  its  way  through  the  neck  of  the  retort  and  down  the 
tube  connected  with  it,  where  the  reduced  metal  falls  in  small  globulai* 
particles.  The  metal  thus  deposited  is  washed  from  the  refuse  that  falls 
with  it,  and  is  melted  in  furnaces  placed  at  the  extremity  of  the  reverbera- 
tory furnaces.  The  heat  of  these  serves  to  melt  the  zinc,  that  it  may  be 
cast  into  thin  blocks  for  rolling  into  sheets.  The  production  of  these 
works  is  estimated  at  10  tons  per  diem.  For  this  a  consumption  of  seven 
times  the  weight  of  coal  is  assumed,  and  the  manufacture  of  the  metal 
could,  consequently,  only  be  undertaken  where  the  coals  are  on  the  pre- 
mises, as  may  here  be  said  to  be  the  case. — Banfield's  History  of  the 
Rhine.  

REPORT  ON  THE  SEWERS  OF  THE  CITY  OF  LONDON. 

Messrs.  Walker,  Cubitt,  and  Brunei,  civil  engineers,  have  been  en- 
gaged for  some  time  past  in  the  examination  of  the  City  Sewers,  and  have 
recently  made  their  Report.  We  give  the  following  abstract  of  theii 
general  opinion,  with  which  it  concludes  : — 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  79 

•'  We  think,  that  although  there  may  be  exceptions  in  particular  cases, 
the  present  sizes  of  the  sewers  arc  not  too  great,  and  that  they  ought  not 
to  be  lessened. 

That  the  sewers,  where  made,  are  efficient. 

That,  as  from  three  to  four  miles  only  of  the  50  miles  of  streets, 
courts,  and  alleys  within  the  city  are  without  sewers  or  drains,  it  is  desir- 
able that  the  same  be  constructed  as  soon  as  arrangements  can  be  made 
for  the  purpose,  so  that  every  street,  court,  or  aUey,  within  the  city  may 
be  efficiently  drained. 

Tbat  the  city  sewers,  which  receive  the  sewage  of  the  portions  of  the 
adjoining  county,  are  sufficient  for  the  discharge  of  the  county  and  city 
drainage. 

That  as  of  the  16,000  houses  and  buildings  in  the  city,  6,762  have 
not  private  covered  drains,  it  is  desirable  that  these  be  provided. 

That  the  fall  or  inclination  in'  the  private  drains  is  generally  such  as 
to  keep  the  drains  clear  of  deposit. 

That  any  general  search  for  cesspools  for  the  purpose  of  opening  and 
emptying  them  in  private  houses,  woiUd  be  impolitic  as  a  general  measure, 
and  would  be  likely  to  be  more  injurious  than  the  cesspools  now  are,  if 
they  are  properly  constructed,  which  should  be  ascertained. 

That  the  form  of  sewers  has,  practically,  very  little  to  do  with  the 
eeneral  question  of  their  keeping  clear  of  deposit,  this  depending  very 
much  upon  their  fall  and  the  quantity  of  water ;  but  that  no  fall  or  quan- 
tity of  water  is  likely  to  be  obtained  in  the  city  sewers  sufficient  to  keep 
them  clear  of  obstructions,  without  the  occasional  aid  of  men  in  the  sewers 
to  remove  hard  deposit. 

That  the  most  eminent  men  of  their  time  have  been  consulted  in,  or  have 
directed  the  eiecutiou  of,  the  city  sewers,  including  "\Vren,'\Vyatt,  Dance, 
and  Ilenuie. 

Tliat  we  have  discovered  nothing  in  the  construction  of  the  works 
which  can  justify  our  charging  the  commissioners  with  waste  in  respect 
of  the  size  or  construction  of  the  sewers  or  otherwise,  although  the  outlay 
during  the  last  ten  years  must  have  been  great,  as  during  that  time  more 
ftcwers  have  been  made  than  during  the  previous  130  years. 

That  the  system  of  flushing  has  been  introduced  lately  with  great  ad- 
vantage, and  is  already  considerably  extended. 

That  the  desiderata  in  order  to  perfect  the  sewerage  of  the  city  are — 
the  formation  of  the  three  to  four  miles  of  sewers,  the  extension  of  pri- 
vate drains,  and  the  flushing  system  by  gates  and  tanks,  as  described  in 
our  fpport. 

I  I  of  the  new  plans  suggested  by  the  surveyor  to  the  Metro- 

p»>i  Commissioners,  nor  that  of  their  consulting  engineer,  is 

appiii  auii'  lu  lae  City  Sewers." 

THE  CK8SPOOLS  OF  THE  METROPOLIS. 

At  the  last  census,  in  1841,  there  were  270,85U  houses  in  the  metro- 
polis. It  is  known  that  there  is  scarcely  a  house  without  a  Cesspool 
under  it,  and  that  very  many  old  houses  have  two,  three,  and  more 
under  them  \  so  that  there  may  be  taken  to  be  300,000  of  such  recep- 


80  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

tacles.  The  exposed  surfaee  of  each  cesspool,  taken  on  an  average, 
measures  9  feet ;  and  the  mean  depth  of  the  whole  is  about  6^  feet,  so 
that  each  contains  581  cubic  feet  of  filth.  The  exhaling  surface  of  all 
the  cesspools  (300,000  x  9)  =  2,700,000  feet,  or  equal  to  62  acres  nearly ; 
and  the  total  quantity  of  foul  matter  contained  in  them  (300,000  x  58|) 
=  17,550,000  cubic  feet ;  or  equal  to  one  enormous  cesspool  10  miles  in 
length,  50  feet  in  width,  and  6  feet  6  inches  in  depth ;  which  would 
extend  through  London,  from  the  Broadway,  at  Hammersmith,  to  Bow- 
bridge  over  the  River  Lea,  a  length  of  10  miles.  If  such  a  gigantic 
cesspool  of  filth  were  to  be  seen,  it  would  till  the  mind  with  horror ;  but, 
as  is  shown  above,  a  vast  number  of  small  ones,  which,  added  together, 
equal  it  in  extent,  is  dotted  all  over  the  town  :  in  fact,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  ground,  in  old  districts  more  particularly,  is  literally  honey- 
combed with  the  barbarous  things.  From  them  a  stinking,  pestiferous 
vapour  is  constantly  escaping. — Builder,  No.  281. 


VENTILATION  OF  COLLIERIES. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  "  On  the  Ventila- 
tion of  Collieries,  with  a  Description  of  a  New  Mine  Ventilator,"  by 
W.  P.  Struve.  Mr.  Struve  proposes  to  substitute  for  the  present  system 
of  furnaces,  a  ventilator  worked  by  a  five-horse  power  engine,  calculated 
to  take  out  of  a  mine  an  unlimited  quantity  of  air  :  this  he  does  by  con- 
verting the  whole  area  of  the  upcast  pit  into  an  air-channel,  which  he 
connects  with  his  ventilator  by  means  of  a  culvert  of  a  similar  size.  The 
Ventilator  consists  of  two  large  air-chambers,  something  like  gasometers, 
which  he  causes  to  move  up  and  down  in  water  contained  in  a  tank  con- 
structed of  masonry;  the  chambers  balance  each  other,  and  are  sur- 
rounded with  outside  cases,  so  as  to  form  double  pumps  :  the  inlet  and 
outlet  valves,  when  open,  present  the  same  amount  of  area  for  the  ingress 
and  egress  of  the  air  as  the  upcast  pit,  so  that  the  only  resistance  to  be 
overcome  in  ventilating  the  mine  is  what  arises  from  the  friction  of  the 
air  in  the  passages  of  the  mine  and  in  the  parts  of  the  apparatus,  which 
would  be  of  small  amount.  He  described  one  now  erecting  on  this  prin- 
ciple at  the  Eagle's  Bush  Colliery,  calculated  to  pass  through  that  mine 
40,000  cubic  feet  per  minute,  the  cost  of  which  would  be  about  £4,000. 


TO  EXTINGUISH  FIRES. 

Dr.  Reid  has  proposed  a  plan  for  Extinguishing  Fires  in  Ships.  He 
writes,  in  the  Daily  News — "  Flame  or  combustion  canuot  go  on  where 
there  is  carbonic  acid  gas.  This  is  one  of  the  elementary  principles  of 
chemistry.  It  may  be  shewn  in  yarious  ways  : — A  lighted  taper  plunged 
into  a  jar  of  carbonic  acid  gas  is  instantaneously  extinguished ;  or,  if  we 
take  the  glass  of  a  common  argand  burner,  and  close  the  upper  end  of  it 
by  a  flat  plate  of  glass,  or  even  by  a  piece  of  card  or  pasteboard,  firmly, 
so  completely  as  to  prevent  any  current  of  air  through  the  tube,  on  intro- 
ducing, for  about  an  inch  or  so,  the  flame  of  a  candle  at  the  other  extre- 
mity (the  glass  of  the  argand  burner  being  held  upright),  it  will  shortly, 
usually  in  the  space  of  little  more  than  a  minute,  be  extinguished,  merely 
bj^  the  accumulation  of  the  carbonic  acid  gas  produced  by  its  own  com- 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  81 

bastion.  The  production  of  carbonic  acid  gas  is  completely  at  our  com- 
mand ;  for,  on  adding  dilute  sulphuric  acid  to  chalk,  we  can  set  at  liberty, 
in  the  space  of  two  or  three  minutes,  enormous  volumes  of  the  so-called 
fixed  air.  The  cost  of  material  for  a  ship  of  1,000  tons  would  not  ex- 
ceed, at  the  utmost,  £15.  or  £20.  sterling.  By  means  of  tubes  proceed- 
ing from  the  upper  deck,  in  connection  with  a  cistern  containing  the 
dilute  sulphuric  acid,  to  the  quarters  below  where  there  is  most  likelihood 
of  danger  from  fire,  or  moveable  hose  (made  of  gutta  percha),  which 
can  be  introduced  into  any  part  of  the  vessel, — the  oil  of  vitriol,  ])re- 
viously  diluted  with  water,  can  be  at  once  poured  over  the  chalk  (\vhi(  h 
is  to  be  thrown  down  in  the  place  where  the  fire  rages),  and  immediately 
the  carbonic  acid  being  set  at  liberty,  the  fire  is  extinguished ;  for  com- 
bustion cannot  go  on  in  an  atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  I  have 
been  much  occupied  experimenting  on  this  subject,  and  I  find  that  from 
five  tons  of  chalk  as  much  carbonic  acid  gas  may  be  obtained  as  will  be 
sufficient  to  completely  fill  a  vessel  of  1,000  tons  burden.  The  expense 
of  laying  the  tubes  will  not  exceed  £30.  or  £40. ;  and,  once  laid,  there  is 
no  further  trouble  or  expense." 

SPONTANEOUS  COMBUSTION. 

The  American  newspapers  mention  the  loss  by  fire,  occasioned  by  Spon- 
taneous Combustion,  of  the  brig  Canning,  at  Port  Famine.  She  was  laden 
with  nitrate  of  soda.  The  layers  of  bags  which  contained  the  soda,  on 
being  reached  by  the  fire,  exploded  in  succession,  with  reports  resemblitis 
the  discharge  of  artillery. 

hunt's  patent  IMPROVEMENTS  IN  EFFECTING  THE  COMBUSTION  OF 
INFLAMMABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

'^m.  first  of  these  Improvements  consists  in  the  employment  of  caps, 
plates,  or  discs  of  perforated  metal  or  of  wire  gauze,  which  are  placed  en 
the  top  of  the  chimneys  of  gas,  oil,  camphinc,  or  other  lamps.  The 
object  of  this  arrangement  is  to  enlarge  the  flame,  and  thereby  to  obtain 
more  light  from  the  consumption  of  the  same  quantity  of  combustible 
substances. 

In  explanation  of  the  second  of  his  improvements,  the  patentee  ob- 
serves, that  it  has  hitherto  been  the  custom  to  make  the  argand  burner 
and  the  chimney-holder  in  several  pieces,  which  art  afterwards  soldered 
together ;  but  that  he  now  proposes  to  cast  the  outer  cylinder  of  the 
burner  and  the  rim  and  bottom  of  the  chimney-holder  in  one  piece,  and 
the  inside  cylinder  in  another  piece,  and  afterwards  to  solder  these  two 
pieces  together,  as  usual ;  or  to  cast  the  inside  cylinder,  rim,  and  bottom 
of  the  holder  in  one  piece,  and  then  to  solder  on  the  outside  cylinder ; 
or,  instead  of  casting  the  cylinders  and  holder,  they  may  be  stamped 
out. 

The  patentf^**  •^♦"tpc  ^\^r^{  he  is  aware  that  it  has  already  been  proposed 
to  suspend,  (  ir  within  the  chimney,  pieces  of  metal  for  the 

trarposc  of  im  <•  flame;  and  that  his  claims  are  therefore  limited 

in  respect  to  the  tirsl  part  of  his  invention,  to  the  ap))licalion  of  cnpg, 
plates,  or  discs  of  perforated  metal,  wire  gauze,  £:c.  to  the  \.o\n  of  lamp 

o 


YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 


chimneys ;  and  in  regard  to  the  second,  to  the  casting  or  stamping  of 
ither  the»inside  or  outside  cylinder  in  one  piece  with  the  bottom  and  rim 
of  the  chimney-holder. — Mechanic^  Magazine^  No.  1277. 


COMBUSTION  OF  WATER  WITH  FUEL. 

The  following  memorandum  has  been  found  among  Sir  S.  Bentham's 
papers: — "  In  regard  to  all  or  most  of  these  different  kinds  of  fuel 
(namely,  coal,  wood,  peat,  and  oil),  there  seems  some  reason  to  believe 
that  an  addition  of  water  may  be  made  to  increase  the  quantity  of  heat 
produced  by  their  combustion.  Chemical  analysis  appears,  in  some 
respects,  to  confirm  the  experience  of  persons  of  various  classes.  The 
practice  of  throwing  water  on  coals  is  general  amongst  blacksmiths :  the 
wetting  of  ashes  on  throwing  them  on  a  coal  fire  is  the  usual  practice  of 
housewives :  mixing  green  wood  with  dry,  and  wet  clay  with  small  coal, 
has  been  found  advantageous  in  horticultural  furnaces."  Mr.  Strutt,  of 
Derby,  it  is  said,  nearly  twenty.years  ago,  at  Sir  Samuel's  request, 
caused  a  trial  to  be  made,  in  a  common  steam-engine  fireplace,  of  the 
effect  of  placing  a  trough  of  water  in  the  ashpit :  in  this  way,  however, 
no  addition  of  heat  was  perceptible,  but  a  very  decided  advantage  in 
preserving  the  fire-bars  from  rapid  destruction.  In  some  correspondence 
on  the  subject,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Sylvester  conceived,  that  as  much 
heat  would  be  lost  in  decomposing  water  as  was  likely  to  be  gained  by 
burning  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  set  at  liberty, — an  idea  much  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  suggestion  of  our  own,  with  reference  to  a  recent  French 
invention,  in  which  electricity  was  brought  to  bear  on  water  for  its 
decomposition  while  passing  along  the  furnace-bars  of  a  locomotive 
engine  of  a  peculiar  construction. — Builder^  No.  290. 


UNIVERSAL  COAL-GAS  BLOWPIPE. 

Mr.  William  Herapath,  of  Bristol,  is  the  inventor  of  this  novelty, 
which  consists,  first,  of  an  elastic  tube  for  the  stream  of  air  to  the  blow- 
pipe. When  used  with  the  mouth,  it  has  an  ivory  mouth-piece  ;  but  with 
the  largest  apparatus  it  is  connected  with  a  double  bellows,  worked  with 
a  treadle.  The  blowpipe  jet  can  be  made  removeable,  to  vary  the  dia- 
meter of  the  jet.  In  order  to  make  the  blowpipe  universal,  it  is  only 
necessarjr  to  place  it  on  the  candlestick-foot,  and  by  a  vulcanized  India- 
rubber  tube,  join  it  to  the  service-pipe,  when  it  is  portable  from  one  part 
of  the  workbench  to  any  other. 

This  instrument  seems  likely  to  effect  a  complete  revolution  in  such 
workshops  as  require  heat  to  be  applied  over  a  space  of  a  few  inches  by 
each  operative  :  it  can  be  used  wherever  coal-gas  is  available,  and  its 
economy  must  be  evident,  as  the  stopcock  will  shut  off  nearly  all  the  gas 
as  soon  as  heat  is  not  required,  while  it  is  always  ready  for  recommence- 
ment ;  and,  when  in  action,  every  modification  of  flame  from  the  cone  to 
a  brushy  one  of  3  inches  in  diameter  and  14  inches  in  length  may  be 
obtained.  From  this  variety  of  power  there  are  but  few  operations  that 
the  instrument  is  unequal  to :  the  chemist,  the  silversmith,  the  glass- 
worker,  the  brazier,  the  gasfitter,  the  tinman,  and  even  the  cook,  can 
take  advantage  of  it,  and  in  a  larger  state,  with  a  bellows  worked  by 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  83 

hands  or  feet,  the  blacksmith  might  resort  to  it.  The  inventor,  Mr. 
Herapath,  the  eminent  chemist,  gives  as  familiar  tests  of  its  powers 
when  urged  by  the  mouth  through  a  gas  stream  from  a  f -inch  gas  service 
pipe,  that  he  can  blow  a  Hint  glass  bulb  of  4  inches  diameter  and  a  mo- 
derate thickness ;  or  hard-solder  a  brass  tube  2  inches  diameter  and  6 
inches  long ;  or  melt  six  ounces  of  fine  silver  in  a  minute  and  a  half. 
He  raised  an  imperial  pint  of  water  from  50°  Fahr.  to  212°,  in  an  ordi- 
nary tin  saucepan,  in  two  minutes,  and  a  heavy  copper  soldering  iron  to 
the  proper  heat  in  one  minute.  It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  this 
blowpipe  possesses  an  advantage  over  every  other  instrument  of  the  kind 
in  admitting  the  use  of  both  hands  by  the  operator  ;  as  both  the  gas  and 
the  jet  having  fixed  relations  to  each  other,  no  hand  is  wanted  for  any 
other  purpose  than  regulating  the  gas-cock  when  a  variation  of  heat  is 
wanted,  and  even  that  might  have  been  superseded  by  a  crank  on  the 
cock,  to  be  turned  by  the  foot. — Mechanics'  Mcujazine^  No.  1290. 


APPLICATION  OP  THE  GASES  FEOM  BLAST  FURNACES  TO  HEATING. 

Mr.  J.  P.  BuDU  has  stated  to  the  British  Association  that  the  Gases 
which  are  evolved  from  these  Furnaces  escai)e  at  a  temperature  which  is 
about  the  melting  point  of  brass.  In  the  iron-works  at  Ystalyfera, 
where  the  iron  is  smelted  by  the  use  of  anthracite  coal,  advantage  has 
been  taken  of  this  in  a  most  ingenious  manner,  by  an  arrangement, 
which  is  in  its  character  exceedingly  simple,  but  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
describe  without  a  model.  The  hot  gas  is  led  off  into  another  channel 
by  means  of  a  strong  current  generated  through  a  chamber  and  air-way 
from  a  point  just  below  the  top  of  the  iron  furnace.  It  is  conducted, 
very  little  heat  being  lost  in  the  passage,  under  the  boiler  of  a  steam- 
engine  ;  and  it  is  found  to  be  at  a  sufficiently  high  tem|)erature  to  heat 
the  boiler  without  the  consumption  of  any  fuel  whatever.  Hence  an 
immense  saving  is  effected.  Although  only  one  furnace  and  one  boiler 
have  hitherto  been  adapted  to  this  purpose,  it  is  found  to  effect  a  saving  of 
£350  a  year.  We  may  consequently  expect  that  when  the  experiment 
is  further  extended,  and  more  of  the  furnaces  so  arranged  that  this  heat 
may  be  economized  and  employed  for  the  numerous  useful  purposes  to 
which  it  is  applicable  in  a  large  establishment,  the  saving  will  amount  to 
many  thousands  annually. 


SPONTANEOUS  OASES. 

An  immense  volume  of  natural  Gas,  sulRcient  for  the  supply  of  a  city, 
it  is  said,  has  just  been  discovered  near  Detroit,  Michigan,  while  borinf^ 
a  4-inch  shaft  for  water.  At  a  depth  of  70  feet  a  vein  or  cavity  was 
struck,  from  which  issued  a  violent  current  of  air,  throwing  up  stones  as 
large  as  hen's  eggs,  10  or  15  feet  high,  accompanied  by  a  volume  of 
water,  rising  10  or  12  feet.  On  applying  a  light  to  the  air  it  burnt 
furiously,  the  flames  rising  20  feet.  It  is  pro|H)scd,  says  the  l^nc  York 
Sun,  to  conduct  this  gas  in  pi[)€s  to  Detroit,  and  light  that  city  with  it. 
The  fact  has  frecjucutly  been  noticed,  that  wc  have  enormous  jets  of 
natural  gas  for  ever  burning — almost  altogether  uselessly  too — in  our  own 
country.    There  is  one  between  Newcastle  and  Shields,  which,  at  night, 


TEAB-BOQK  OV  JFACn. 


lon^  tD  tte  oMt  of 


Ut^  kj  ft  tdhe  of  Iraa  S  to  4  iMJbes 


■dike 

iL    SoM 

«  gmil  of  fke  a%  vitk  a  Tiev 

rit   mF    11    farl^yi^»iliJ«ycfar— J 

«  far  aoMt  tiiK ;  Vtf  it  VB  Mt 

iSiic  is  m  ciHipHBf  cafkyiag  ofild  to  mtwiirt  it;  aa^  «•  it  k  ] 
late  I jiitotte  ~ 


sao 


Mb.  Sl  WHiim  ^  r^o't"' f^ 


G^'vUehisaii  to  be 


Mfs  tkat 

ittoaioptiL    Tki 


lkM.aeattktr«i&aHKimcfaiML    Walir  k  ngiibdf 
if— ttjiiotfcefaitntota.  HyiB^F»aiaDie«f «sta 

tofil  waekatfel  cUw  iiiaJMiii  m  fhedMiciart.  aad 

P«»;  tt^aettmy i  ito  tflhc  gao. 


Ataxxiabse 


itB«J.fc»b«aiiel9^3fr.W. 

■e  if  Aid  is  spei.    la  1b  Miuaat  of  tin  dwofoj,  at  a 
if  Oe  Smal  Snltkb  SooE^  cf  411^  lliu  Koiip  potci  cat 


■porikelnHa 
tfcnvaafariirito 
Wo.    13»pci«9tt«lB^aeiica 


tfce 


to 
«f  Ob 


MZCHJLSICLI.  A39  CSOCl  AKRL 


» 


:«  miBttim  ISk  tv  into  te 
■ymmi.  tkil  tke  ^  kHk 
rvfcs.    The  aixtare  k 

3SI,  m  OM  jor.  1:1^ 


It  «» ilitei  W  Str.  A.  W. 

CoQefe«r 

£15,000.000  «■ 

gal.  a«d  SOO^OOO  dMliraM  «r  cofce;  «f  Ike  fatter.  1»lOOO 

Cfae  Mrtxft  far  fiicL    Tla  wilii  rf  ha— s  t ■■■■■[§  ym  Li>i»  it 
'  n  hilf  a  Bil&M.  a^  thk  k^;tk  oftke  MWi  Bipraiii  aT  ISOO 


.  ia  a  neat  iHliR  lA  Oa  BqF<i 

amthe        |    T     afOorfGai 

arir  G^OOQ^OOO  taaa  af  aori  «a 

of  aw.  «i  fraa  IUlOOQlOOO  ta 

Etiaa.    la  Lwin  dwi;  SOQuMO 

■K  4,500.000^000  ciUe  fa*  aT 


A  GAS-XETsa  of  nuKaoe  aiae  kaa  bam.  case  aaa  eooKpce^^a  »  xoe 
iroa-vwhi  af  Mw*>  Gkaar,  ia  Charfaa-attaet.  Ik«|  I—,,  aai  aractai 

that  I  itdfcKitwf at  1^  the  Cfcarterrf  Gaa  Qi^iay.    II  is  vhak  »  caldl 
a  diT  ^  fif  f. — aa  water  heiag  CHfkjai  oi  the  araees^  a*  ia  the 

thekiwariefinieiiHlancaBifHtBaalalylkita  aaaaeUe  Aahngas 
aad  tfaae  in*  ffHiwa.    Tha  gat  eatan  at  the  iahft  fipe^  irtaact  il 

MM.    AeeatJaaaaei^p^yielgflaf  lytheaetieaaalheaweiMiiJia- 

pfe^M.«ltteh  ael  afaa  the  iijiriiat  ■iiiiaTij  tj  m~m  -' j 

BBBK  IBB  uCQHDVB  CQBIKn«BBBl»  IHK   RBWEn  US  wBMHfKNH  W  rH 

«itkaMmafaecaBa7<a»pliieoC«x£ili»ni  iateea  fkaa  ante  to 
'  af—iari^  0.000  cdbie  fat  afiae  per 

oflSOOWatMn.    Hva^tva 
S  ia  hiiaht.    ThtthMaiaa 


Bt  thb  p«laalai  iiiiBliw.  a  gra 

tiaa  of  gai  ie  Med  to  hena  W«  attoiaed. 
of  a  liiialM  vaKa,  iadoead  ia  ^a  Wi,  wtoeh 
•d  thn^  which  tha  Mvply  aT  the 
The  vaNa  ia  a  thia  plate  of  ka«. 
itie  aaitoWi 


ia  te 


TW 


■■hedto  the 
ia  thecoatia 


86  TEAB-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

contains  it,  and  the  mode  of  its  operation  is  this.  When  the  pressnre  of 
the  gas  through  the  chamber  does  not  exceed  a  certain  fixed  amount,  the 
supply  to  the  burner  is  such  as  to  prevent  any  waste  or  smoke ;  but  the 
moment  the  pressure  exceeds  this  fixed  amount,  the  valve  is  raised  by  it 
to  the  top  of  the  chamber,  where,  by  closing  all  the  apertures  through 
which  the  gas  is  supplied  to  the  burners,  the  supply  is  at  once  cut  off, — 
and  what  gas  is  requisite  to  maintain  the  light  rushes  through  an  aper- 
ture pierced  in  the  centre  of  the  valve,  the  size  of  which  regulates  the 
consumption.  The  instant  the  extra  pressure  diminishes  so  as  to  allow 
the  gravity  of  the  valve  to  exert  its  force,  the  valve  falls  back  to  its  first 
position  at  the  bottom  of  the  chamber.  The  invention  promises  to  be  of 
value  to  those  who,  being  under  the  necessity  of  using  gas,  cannot  always 
be  at  hand  to  regulate  the  supply  to  the  burners. — Daily  News, 

NAPHTHA. 

The  very  loose  application  of  th,e  name  "  Naphtha,"  which  originally 
belonged  to  volatile  hydrocarbonaceous  liquids  found  at  certain  places  in 
the  earth,  and  which  has  since  been  adopted  for  the  somewhat  similar 
substance  distilled  from  coal  tar,  as  well  as  for  the  very  different  pyroxylic 
spirit,  is  productive  of  frequent  inconvenience.  A  greater  precision  in 
our  common  nomenclature  is  highly  desirable.  It  would  be  an  im- 
provement, perhaps,  if  the  word  "naphtha"  were  accepted  as  a  ge- 
neric term  for  liquid  hydrocarbons  of  ascertained  or  probable  pyrogenous 
origin  (or  even  without  this  restriction),  and  if  a  special  prefix  were 
always  used  to  indicate  the  nature  of  ty&cj  particular  instance.  Thus 
earth  or  native  naphtha,  schist-naphtha,  animal  naphtha,  &c.,  would  be  at 
once  intelligible.  Wood-naphtha  w^ould  designate  the  interesting  hydro- 
carbonaceous  fluids  of  wood-tar,  and  would  leave  the  term  "  wood-spirit" 
to  the  compound  to  which  it  is  already  appropriated,  and  which  has  already 
as  many  synonyms  as  can  reasonably  be  required.  Additional  epithets 
would  mark  the  distinct  substances  obtained  from  any  one  source :  thus, 
in  the  case  of  coal-tar,  which  yields  two  sorts  of  oil  having  the  well- 
marked  difference  of  being,  one  lighter,  the  other  heavier,  than  water, 
there  would  be  light  coal-naphtha,  and  heavy  coal-naphtha,  which  terms 
will  be  adopted  in  this  paper. — Mr.  C.  B.  Mansfield:  Pharmaceutical 
Tvtnes, 


ANTIQUITY  OF  GUNPOWDER. 

The  first  pplication  of  Gunpowder  to  the  tiring  of  artillery  has  been 
commonly  ascribed  to  the  English  at  the  battle  of  Cressy,  August,  1346  ; 
but  hitherto  this  fact  has  depended  almost  solely  on  the  evidence  of  a 
single  Italian  writer,  coupled  with  the  circumstance  that  the  word  "  gun- 
ners" has  been  met  with  in  some  public  accounts  of  the  reign  of 
Edward  III.  Upon  this  point  the  Rev.  J.  Hunter  has  lately  communi- 
cated to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  some  new  and  curious  particulars, 
derived  from  records  of  the  period,  showing  the  very  names  of  the  per- 
sons employed  in  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder,  (out  of  saltpetre  and 
"  quick  sulphur,"  as  it  was  called,  without  any  mention  of  charcoal,)  and 
the  quantities  supplied  to  the  King  just  previously  to  his  expedition  to 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  87 

France  in  June  or  July,  1346.  In  the  Records  it  is  termed  puhis  pro 
inyenm ;  and  they  establish  that  a  considerable  weight  had  been  supjjlied 
to  the  English  array  subsequently  to  its  landing  at  La  Hogue  and  pre- 
viously to  the  battle  of  Cressy  ;  and  that  before  Edward  III.  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Calais,  he  issued  an  order  to  the  proper  officers  in  England 
requiring  them  to  purchase  as  much  saltpetre  and  sulphur  as  they  could 
procure. 


COMPOSITION  OF  GUTTA  PERCHA. 

Mr.  F.  Whishaw,  in  a  lengthy  paper  read  to  the  British  Association, 
has  stated,  "  Contrary  to  the  general  opinion  that  Gutta  Percha  is  a 
simple,  hydrogenous  substance,  Mr.  Crane,  (chemist  to  the  Gutta  Percha 
Company,)  found  it  in  its  ordinary  state  to  consist  of  at  least  two  distinct 
materials,  besides  a  notable  proportion  of  sulphur — viz.  1.  A  white 
matter,  gutta  percha  in  its  pure  state ;  2.  A  substance  of  a  dark  brown 
colour.  Various  experiments  were  made  to  ascertain  its  strength  when 
mixed  with  other  matters,  and  also  as  to  what  pigments  would  mix  with 
it  without  rendering  it  brittle  or  deteriorating  its  qualities.  From  these 
it  appeared  that  the  only  pigments  that  could  altogether  be  relied  on  to 
be  used  with  gutta  percha  were  orange  lead,  rose  pink,  red  lead,  vermi- 
lion, Dutch  pink,  yellow  ochre,  and  orange  chrome.  Under  the  influence 
of  heat  and  pressure,  gutta  percha  would  spread  to  a  certain  extent,  and 
more  so  if  mixed  with  foreign  matters.  All  the  mixtures  composed  of 
gutta  i)ercha  and  other  substances  which  had  been  subjected  to  experi- 
ment, except  that  containing  plumbago,  were  found  to  increase  its 
power  of  conducting  heat ;  but  in  its  pure  state  gutta  percha  was  an  ex- 
cellent non-conductor  of  electricity.  The  best  composition  for  increasing 
the  pliability  of  gutta  percha  was  that  formed  in  conjunction  with 
caoutchouc  tar,  and  next  in  order  that  of  its  own  tar ;  and  the  best 
material  at  present  known  for  moulding  and  embodying  was  obtained  by 
mixing  gutta  percha  with  its  own  tar  and  lamp-black. — At/ienaum, 
No.  1086. 

The  trade  in  this  article  seems  to  be  advancing  in  importance  every 
day,  and  to  be  engrossing  the  attention  of  the  natives  of  the  Indian 
Archipelago,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  pursuits.  The  quantity  imported 
into  Singapore  in  the  first  four  months  of  this  year,  according  to  the 
official  rejxjrts,  was  upwards  of  70U  piculs,  equal  t<5  820  cwts.,  which  ig, 
however,  short  of  the  actual  supply.  The  price  had  risen  from  12  to 
20  dollars. 

A  variety  of  information  respecting  the  application  of  this  new  Bub> 
stance  in  the  arts  will  be  found  in  the  Year-book  of  Facti,  1846,  p.  73; 
Year-book,  1847,  p.  105;  and  Year-book,  1848,  pp.  20  and  232. 
The  facts  licrein  stated  comprise  the  introduction  of  gutta  jHircha  into 
use  in  England ;  the  natural  economy  of  the  substance ;  and  its  various 
applicatiou.<4,  many  of  them  secured  by  patent. 

OUTTA  PKRCHA  HPEAKINO  TUBES. 

Mr.  F.  Whishaw  has  exhibited  to  the  Hrilish  Association  the  Tela- 
kouphauon,  or  speaking  trumix;t ;  and  in  doing  so,  said  that  ei)caking 


88  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

lubes  of  Gutta  Percha  were  quite  new,  as  was  also  the  means  of  calling 
attention  by  them  of  the  person  at  a  distance,  which  was  accomplished  by 
the  insertion  of  a  whistle,  which,  being  blown,  sounded  at  the  other  end 
quite  shrilly.  Attention  having  been  thus  obtained,  you  remove  the 
whistle,  and  by  simply  whispering,  the  voice  would  be  conveyed  quite 
audibly  for  a  distance  of  at  least  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  and  a  conversa- 
tion kept.  It  must  be  obvious  how  useful  these  telegraphs  must  become  in 
large  manufactories ;  and  indeed  in  private  houses  they  might  quite  super- 
sede the  use  of  bells,  as  they  were  so  very  cheap,  and  by  branch  pipes 
could  be  conveyed  to  different  rooms :  and,  indeed,  if  there  were  no 
electric  telegraphs,  they  might,  by  a  person  being  stationed  at  the  end  of 
each  tube  of  three  quarters  of  a  mile  or  a  mile,  be  made  most  speedily  to 
convey  intelligence  for  any  distance.  In  private  houses  the  whistle  need 
not  be  used,  but  a  more  musical  sound  could  be  produced.  He  then 
amused  the  auditors  by  causing  the  end  of  a  tube,  which  was  of  the 
length  of  100  feet,  to  be  inserted  into  the  mouth-piece  of  a  flute  held  in 
a  person's  hand,  regulated  the  notes,  and  placing  his  own  mouth  to  the 
other  end  of  the  tube,  "  God  save  the  Q,ueen  "  was  played  at  a  distance 
of  100  feet  from  the  person  giving  the  flute  breath.  Turning  to  the 
Bishop  of  St.  David's,  he  said  that  in  the  event  of  a  clergyman  having 
three  livings,  he  might,  by  the  aid  of  three  of  these  tubes,  preach  the 
same  sermon  in  three  different  churches  at  the  same  time.  Mr.  Whishaw 
also  exhibited  the  gutta  percha  submarine  rope  or  telegraph,  which 
consisted  of  a  tube  perforated  with  a  series  of  small  tubes,  for  the  con- 
veyance of  telegraphic  wire,  and  which,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  its 
being  acted  upon  by  sea  water  or  marine  insects,  was  banded  or 
braided  round  by  a  small  rope,  and  its  being  perfectly  air-tight  would 
render  it  quite  impervious  to  the  atmosphere. 


RAILWAY  CARRIAGE  AXXE-GREASE. 

Some  mystery  has  been  made  on  this  subject,  and  patents  taken  out 
for  various  articles ;  but,  it  is  believed,  from  experience,  the  following  is 
the  best : — Take  56  or  60  lbs.  of  soda,  dissolve  in  about  3  gallons  of 
water  in  a  small  boiler ;  when  quite  dissolved,  to  be  poured  into  a  large 
tub  or  wooden  cooler,  containing  from  30  to  36  gallons  of  cold  water, 
and  well  mixed.  Tallow  to  be  melted  (according  to  the  proportions  here- 
inafter stated)  in  a  60-gallon  boiler.  After  being  thoroughly  dissolved, 
palm  oil  is  to  be  added,  and  then  the  mixture  allowed  to  boil ;  as  soon  as 
it  boils  the  fire  to  be  taken  out  of  the  furnace,  and  the  mixture  to  be 
cooled  gradually,  and  to  be  frequently  stirred  while  cooUng.  When 
cooled  down  to  blood-heat  (98°),  it  is  to  be  run  oft"  through  a  sieve  into 
the  cooler  containing  the  water  and  soda,  and  it  must  be  stirred  during 
the  whole  of  the  time  it  is  running  off,  in  order  that  it  may  be  properly 
mixed. 

Proportions  of  Oil  and  Tallow. 
Summer  Weather.  Winter  Weather. 

Palm  Oil    1  cwt.  1  qr.  I  Palm  Oil     1  cwt.  3  qrs. 

TaUow    1    „     3„      TaUow    1    „     1    „ 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS. 

In  open  Weather  (Spring  or  Autumn). 

)il 

Tallow 


Palm  Oil 1  cwt.  2  qrs- j  ,q^,i  quantities. 


Salt's  Facts  and  Figures. 


VINEOABS  OF  COMMERCE  AND  THEIR  ANALYSIS.     BY  DR.  UUE. 

There  is  probably  no  article  of  extensive  consumption  in  this  country 
80  subject  to  variation  in  its  strength  and  purity  as  Vinegar.  The  sour 
liquor  manufactured  from  malt  contains  generally  so  much  gluten  as  to  be 
very  prone  to  putrefy,  were  not  this  offensive  cliauge  counteracted  by  the 
addition  of  oil  of  vitriol — an  adulteration  sanctioned  by  law.  This  is  a 
miserable  shift,  or  pretended  necessity,  in  the  present  advanced  stage  of 
organic  chemistry.  It  offers,  besides,  an  easy  source  of  fraud,  since 
neither  the  retailers  nor  consumers  of  the  article  are  competent  to  dis- 
tinguish how  much  of  the  sourness  is  derived  from  the  mild  fermented, 
and  how  much  from  the  coiTosive  mineral,  acid.  All  the  pickles  in  which 
our  bourgeoisie  so  much  delight,  are  polluted  by  the  same  sophistication. 
Not  long  since,  a  sample  of  vinegar  was  submitted  to  me  for  examination, 
said  to  be  that  supplied  by  contract  to  the  British  navy.  I  found  it  to 
contain  little  more  than  half  the  fair  amount  of /jro*?/"  vinegar,  with  much 
gluten,  and  a  copious  supplement  of  oil  of  vitriol.  Our  Admiralty  might 
buy  such  stuff  at  a  low  price ;  but  it  was  dear  at  nothing,  since  it  would 
derange  all  ordinary  stomachs. 

The  strength  of  vinegar,  as  of  acids  in  general,  may  be  determined  by 
the  proportion  of  alkali  which  a  given  weight  of  it  will  saturate.  For 
this  pur|)osc  I  give  the  preference  to  water  of  pure  ammonia,  of  specific 
gravity  0*9U2,  because  1000  water-grain  measures  of  it  neuti%lize  60 
grains  of  real  acetic  acid  hydrate,  which  contains  1  atom  of  water  =  9,  and 
1  atom  dry  acid  =  51.  Our  excise  proof  vinegar  contains  5  per  cent,  of 
this  latter  acid,  and  therefore  nearly  6  of  the  hydrated  acid.  Hence, 
1000  water-grain  measures  of  proof  vinegar  will  neutralize  1000  water- 
grain  measures  of  the  test-water  of  ammonia.  If  1000  water-grain 
measures  of  another  vinegar  neutralizes  only  O'JO  grain  measures,  that 
vinegar  is  40  per  cent,  under  proof.  But  a  further  deduction  must  be 
made  on  account  of  the  mineral  acidity  by  the  following  method  : — Eva- 
porate 1000  water-grain  measures  of  the  vinegar,  in  a  porcelain  or  glass 
basin,  by  the  heat  of  a  brine-bath  (225°  Fahr.) ;  weigh  the  residuum, 
then  wash  it  with  alcohol  of  0S40,  and  filter.  The  sulphuric  acid  will 
pass  through  in  the  spirit,  and  may  bo  estimated  cither  by  the  test  ammonia, 
by  evaporating  the  spirit  and  weighing  what  remains,  or  by  precipitation 
with  any  soluble  barjtic  salt,  and  determining  the  amount  of  sulphate  of 
bar>te».  The  gluten  may  be  ascertained  by  ignition  of  the  filter,  pre- 
v^  1  ■  hcd  dry:  the  saline  or  alkaline  impurities  will  remain  for 
\-  The  fixed  alkali   will  be  probably  soda,  from  acetate  of 

'llv  i)r(-.f lit   in  w<H)d  vincgar,  which  is  sometimes  used  to 
^  iited  malt  vinegar. 

I  in  with  alcohol  above  prescribed,  is  essen- 
tial to  illnliuguihh  WtHi'iMi  sulphuric  acid  and  sulphate  of  lime,  which  lat- 
ter substance  Is  unavoidably  present  iu  the  vinegars  of  such  factories  as 


90  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

are  supplied  with  gypseous  well  water.  Sulphate  of  lime  is  insoluhle  in 
spirits  of  the  above  strengtli. 

Weak  vinegars  have  been  occasionally  fortified  with  nitric  or  muriatic 
acid.  The  former  is  detected  by  lettiug  fall  a  drop  or  two  of  sulphate  of 
indigo  into  the  vinegar,  and  applying  heat ;  when  the  blue  tint  will 
change  to  yellow-brown.  To  detect  muriatic  acid,  distil  a  portion  of  the 
vinegar,  and  introduce  into  the  receiver  a  few  drops  of  nitrate  of  silver. 
A  white  curdy  precipitate  will  betray  the  muriatic  acid. 

The  tendency  to  putrefaction  in  malt  vinegars,  may  be  obviated  by  ox- 
idizing the  gluten,  and  thus  rendering  it  insoluble.  It  is  to  this  plan  of 
discharging  the  gluten  in  the  Bavarian  beer  process,  that  the  limpidity 
and  keeping  quality  of  this  wholesome  beverage  are  justly  ascribed  by 
Liebig,  and  other  great  German  chemists.  A  like  oxidizement  of  malt 
vinegar  is  accomplished  in  the  modern  improvements  of  Ham's  patent 
method  of  acetification,  as  described  in  my  paper  on  Acetic  Acid  in  the 
December  number  of  this  journal  (vol.  vii.,  p.  286).  I  have  recently  had 
an  opportunity  of  verifying  the  truth  of  this  proposition,  in  the  minute 
analysis  of  malt  vinegars  made  in  that  way  on  the  great  scale,  at  the 
works  of  Messrs.  Hill,  Evans,  and  Williams,  of  W^orcester,  which  vine- 
gars are  well  flavoured,  and  keep  well,  without  one  drop  of  sulphuric  acid. 
A  malt  liquor  thus  perfectly  acetified,  must  be  far  more  wholesome  than 
our  ordinary  half- fermented  vitriol- holding  vinegars,  and  preferable  even 
to  much  of  the  pretended  wine-vinegar  of  France,  fortified  too  often  by 
the  more  or  less  acrimonious  acid  distilled  from  wood. — Pharmaceutical 
Journal,  May,  1848. 

•  ON  DYEING. 

A  PAPER  on  this  useful  art  has  been  read  by  Mr.  Napier,  to  the  Royal 
Institution.  Having  defined  Dyeing  to  be  the  art  of  imparting  colour  to 
fibrous  materials,  Mr.  Napier  stated  that  he  should  confine  his  remarks 
to  the  processes  of  dyeing  cotton.  He  noticed  that,  the  fibres  of  raw 
cotton  being  enveloped  in  a  resinous  matter,  it  is  necessary  that  it  be 
boiled  before  it  is  subjected  to  the  dye,  an  operation  in  which  it  loses 
from  7  to  9  per  cent,  of  its  weight ,  The  principle  of  the  use  of  mordants 
was  then  explained.  There  is,  generally  speaking,  but  little  attraction 
between  the  colouring  matter  and  the  cotton.  Hence  the  necessity  for  a 
mordant,  i.e.  an  intermediate  substance,  which,  being  capable  of  uniting 
with  the  dye  and  the  stuff,  combines  them  permanently  with  each  other. 
This  remarkable  property  is  possessed  by  the  oxides  of  tin,  lead,  iron,  and 
aluminum.  Having  exhibited  the  effects  of  mordants,  and  shown  how  by 
the  expulsion  of  the  acetic  acid  acetate  of  alumine  was  made  to  act  as  a 
mordant,  Mr.  Napier  noticed  that  if  nitrate  of  iron  be  exposed  to  sun- 
light, the  colour  produced  is  deepened  by  ferro-prussiate  of  potash.  At 
the  same  time  he  admitted  that,  when  an  attempt  was  made  to  apply 
this  principle  to  practical  purposes,  not  half  the  usual  intensity  of  colour 
was  obtained.  It  was  suggested  as  an  explanation  of  this  phenomenon, 
that  the  light  either  disables  the  iron  from  entering  into  the  pores  of  the 
cotton,  or  else  presents  what  Mr.  Napier  regards  as  a  catalytic  influence 
of  the  cotton  itself.     The  well-known  distinction  between  substantive  and 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  91 

adjective  colours  having  been  illustrated,  and  safflower  and  indigo  exhi- 
bited as  types  of  the  former,  Mr.  Napier  showed  how  difficult  it  was  in 
this,  as  in  other  branches  of  science,  to  lay  down  any  rigid  definition. 
Having  mixed  a  mordant  with  an  adjective,  he  produced  effects  which 
might  fairly  be  ascribed  to  this  mixture  acting  as  a  substantive  colour — 
and  he  concluded  by  noticing  the  following  process  in  dyeing  silk.  Saf- 
flower contains  a  red  and  also  a  yellow  hue — the  former  injures  the  latter, 
and  is  soluble  in  water.  Therefore  the  yellow  tint  having  been  washed 
out  from  it,  the  safflower  is  digested  with  carbonate  of  potass.  This 
substance,  however,  though  it  dissolves  the  red  tint,  will  not  dye.  The 
solution  is  therefore  neutralized  by  an  acid.  Wh^u  this  is  done,  a  mass 
of  cotton  placed  in  the  middle  of  a  vat  filled  with  the  dye  absoibs  the 
whole  colouring  matter.  The  cotton  itself  is  next  washed  out  in  an 
alkali,  the  alkali  again  neutralized,  and  then  the  liquid  is  in  a  condition 
to  dye  silk. — Athtnaum,  No.  1063. 

COLOURING  MATTERS  OP  MADDER. 

Dr.  Schunck  concludes  a  long  paper,  read  to  the  Bntish  Association, 
on  this  subject,  with  the  following  practical  deductions : — 

Few  subjects  connected  with  the  arts  have  raised  so  much  discussion 
as  the  nature  of  the  process  of  Madder-dyeing.  The  investigation  of 
Kobiquet  on  this  subject,  instead  of  clearing  it  up,  seemed  to  add  to  its 
complexity.  He  considered  his  alizarin  as  the  substance  mainly  concerned 
in  the  production  of  madder  colours.  This  has  been  denied  by  others, 
though  I  think  on  insufficient  grouuds.  A  remarkable  discovery  in  re- 
gard to  madder-dyeing,  wag  the  fact  that  lime  is  ver)'  essential  in  this 
process.  It  was  found  that  madder,  if  not  grown  on  calcareous  soil,  is 
incapable  of  producing  fast  colours,  but  that  if  in  this  case  chalk  be  added 
to  the  madder  during  dyeing,  or  if  calcareous  water  be  employed,  the  de- 
sired effect  is  produced.  This,  again,  has  given  rise  to  endless  discus- 
sions. It  was  found  by  Persoz  that  the  minutest  quantity  of  lime  added 
to  alizarin  impaired  its  colouring  power  during  dyeing,  and  the  effect  of 
lime  in  madder-dyeing  appeared  to  be  an  inexplicable  mystery.  I  will 
not  enter  further  into  the  disputes  on  this  subject,  but  shall  state  at  once 
my  own  views.  It  seems  to  me  that  former  investigators  have  erred  iu 
supposing  that  madder  contained  only  one  colouring  matter,  whereas  I 
think  I  have  proved  that  there  are  two,  perfectly  distinct  and  definite, 
alizarin  and  mbiacin,  which  perform  distinct  functions  during  the  process 
of  dyeing.  I  have  found,  as  I  stated  above,  that  of  the  two  colouring 
matters,  alizarin  and  rubiacin,  the  former  is  the  only  one  that  is  capable 
of  dyeing  when  in  a  free  state,  and  further,  that  the  brown  precipitate 
produced  by  acids  in  a  watery  extract  of  madder  contains  the  whole  of 
these  two  colouring  matters  in  a  free  state.  If,  then,  a  piece  of  mor- 
danted cloth  be  dyed  with  this  brown  precipitate,  after  being  freed  from 
all  excess  of  acid,  the  whole  effect  is  produced  by  the  alizarin  contained 
in  the  brown  precipitate.  If,  however,  a  small  quantity  of  lime,  chalk, 
soda,  or  any  alkaline  base,  either  caustic  or  carbonated,  be  added  to  the 
brown  precipitate  before  dyeing,  ihcn  itsixiwer  of  dyeing  is  very  much  in- 
creased.    In  order  to  prove  this,  I  took  six  pieces  of  mordanted  cloth,  all 


92  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

of  the  same  size.  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3  were  mordanted  in  the  usual  way 
with  acetate  of  alumina,  and  Nos.  4,  5,  and  6  with  acetate  of  iron.     Nos. 

1  and  4  were  dyed  with  a  certain  quantity  of  the  brown  precipitate  ;  Nos. 

2  and  5  with  the  same  quantity  of  the  brown  precipitate,  to  which,  how- 
ever, there  had  previously  been  added  a  very  small  quantity  of  lime 
water  ;  Nos.  3  and  6,  lastly,  with  the  same  quantity  of  brown  precipitate, 
and  a  large  excess  of  lime  water.  The  dyeing  was  performed  each  time 
in  the  same  vessel  with  the  same  quantity  of  water,  and  for  the  same 
length  of  time.  Now  I  found  at  the  conclusion  that  No.  2  exhibited  a 
far  darker,  fuller,  aud  more  brilliant  shade  of  red  than  No.  1,  and  No.  5 
a  much  more  intense  purple  colour  than  No.  4,  whereas  Nos.  3  and  6 
showed  hardly  any  colour  at  all.  Now  I  can  offer  only  one  explanation 
of  these  differences.  When  a  small  quantity  of  lime  is  added  to  the 
brown  precipitate,  it  combines  exclusively  with  the  rubiacin,  or  is  trans- 
ferred during  the  process  of  dyeing  exclusively  to  the  rubiacin.  The 
fii'st  effect  of  the  dyeing  is  the  combination  of  the  alizarin  with  the 
alumina  and  peroxide  of  iron  of  the  mordants.  These  compounds  then 
attract  and  combine  with  the  lime  compound  of  rubiacin  contained  in  the 
fluid,  by  which  means  a  greater  intensity  of  colour  is  produced.  I 
repeated  this  experiment  with  the  pure  colouring  matters.  I  took  two 
pieces  of  mordanted  cloth  of  the  same  size,  and  dyed  the  one  with  pure 
alizarin,  and  the  other  with  the  same  quantity  of  alizarin  to  which  rubiacin, 
combined  with  lime,  was  added,  and  I  found  that  the  latter  was  much 
darker  than  the  former.  I  therefore  conclude  that  madder  colours  are 
always  double  compounds  of  alizarin,  rubiacin,  alumina,  and  an  alkaline 
base,  or  of  alizarin,  rubiacin,  peroxide  of  iron,  and  an  alkaline  base. 

It  follows  from  this  that  the  maximum  of  tinctorial  power  in  madder 
is  produced  when  the  alizarin  is  in  a  free  state,  and  the  rubiacin  is  in 
combination  with  lime  or  some  alkaline  base.  If  an  excess  of  lime  be 
added,  then  the  alizarin  also  combines  with  it,  and  is  thus  rendered  inca- 
pable of  attaching  itself  to  the  alumina  and  peroxide  of  iron  of  the 
mordants.  A  slight  excess  of  lime  exists  in  the  root  when  grown  on  a 
calcareous  soil ;  for  if  a  quantity  of  madder  which  has  dyed  as  much  cloth 
as  it  is  capable  of  doing,  and  is  seemingly  quite  exhausted  of  colouring 
matter,  be  treated  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  the  acid  be  carefully  removed 
by  washing,  it  is  found  that  after  being  so  treated  it  is  capable  of  again 
dyeing  almost  as  much  mordanted  cloth  as  it  did  before, — a  fact  long  known 
in  practice.  I  may  state,  in  addition,  that  the  colours  produced  by  the 
brown  precipitate  to  which  a  small  quantity  of  lime  has  been  added,  resist 
the  action  of  soap  aud  acids,  &c.,  to  which  all  madder  colours  must  be 
subjected  in  order  to  heighten  them,  much  better  than  if  no  lime  had  been 
added.  I  therefore  conclude,  that  though  the  possibiHty  in  general  of 
dyeing  with  madder  is  due  to  alizarin,  the  solidity  and  brilliance  of 
madder  colours  must  be  ascribed  to  rubiacin. 


NEW  WHITE  PAINT. 

Mr.  Forrest,  the  discoverer  of  this  novelty,  has  announced  to  the 
Liverpool  Polytechnic  Society,  his  intention  to  present  the  secret  to  the 
public,  intimating,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  consisted  of  white  oxide  of 


MECUAMCAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  OS 

antimony  (argentine  dowers,  as  it  used  to  be  called  by  the  old  chemists), 
and  that  it  had  many  advantages  as  an  excellent  body  paint,  superior  to 
white  lead,  and  much  cheaper,  inasmuch  as  antimony  might  be  obtained  in 
abundancefor  about  £12.  a  ton,  while  lead  costs  £24. 10s.  He  also  pointed 
out  its  greater  permanency  of  colour,  and  its  capability  of  being  spread 
over  a  much  larger  surface,  than  an  equal  weight  of  white  lead.  Indeed, 
it  is  not  only  lighter,  but  may  be  made  more  subtle.  It  is  rather  sin- 
gular that  the  old  chemists  called  antimony  their  lead,  maintaining  that, 
in  some  of  its  properties,  it  bore  a  near  affinity  to  lead. — Abridged  from 
the  Builder. 

The  discovery  has  since  been  claimed  by  a  Mr.  Waldron,  who  states 
that  he,  some  years  since,  furnished  specimens  of  this  new  pigment, 
"  oxide  of  antimony,  superior  to  white  lead,  and  much  cheaper,"  to 
Mr.  Barry,  for  trial  at  the  new  palace  at  Westminster.  A  finer  or  more 
brilliant  whiteness  is  the  result ;  another  excellence  is  its  succedaneous 
remedy  for  "  painters'  colic." 

HOUSE- PAINTING. 

M.  Leclaire,  house-painter,  of  Edinburgh,  calls  attention  to  a  substi- 
tution which  he  daily  makes  of  the  white  of  zinc,  and  colours  with  a  zinc 
base,  for  white  lead  and  colours  with  a  base  of  copper  and  lead,  in  the  arts 
and  for  ordinary  purposes. 

In  his  practice,  M.  I>eclaire  employs  the  white  of  zinc,  which  appears 
to  possess  all  the  qualities  of  white  lead,  without  any  of  its  inconveniences. 
Thus,  if  we  must  give  credit  to  his  statements,  and  the  results  are  of  suf- 
licieut  standing  to  render  it  easy  to  verily  them,  zinc-white  is  much  whiter 
than  white  lead ;  ground  and  used  with  oil,  it  reflects  the  light,  instead  of 
absorbing  it ;  it  furnishes  finer  and  more  transparent  tones,  it  covers 
better,  and  with  equal  weights,  a  larger  space ;  it  remains  unchanged  by 
sulphurous  fumes,  which  immediately  blacken  objects  painted  with  lead  ; 
finally,  the  manufacture  and  use  of  zinc-white  has  no  injurious  efiect  upon 
the  health.  But  all  this  is  not  sufficient  for  the  complete  solution  of  the 
problem.  In  fact,  although  zinc-white  was  known  in  science,  it  has  never 
been  collected  hitherto  but  as  a  produce  of  the  laboratory.  It  was  n&- 
cessarj'  to  obtain  it  in  quantities  and  at  an  accessible  price.  Then,  once 
obtained  and  mixed  with  oil,  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  apply  it  readily 
to  painting,  that  it  should  be  made  to  dry  easily.  Now,  the  only  drying 
substances  we  knew  had  a  leaden  base,  and  thus  communicated  all  the  de- 
fects of  lead  to  the  zinc-white.  M.  I>cclaire  has  obtained  a  drying  sub- 
stance with  a  manganese  base,  which  has  the  property  of  drying  zinc-white 
more  readily  than  litharge  could  do. 

This  was  not  all.      White  tones  form,  so  to  speak,  a  kind  of  exception 
in  painting.    Some  of  the  colours  njost  in  u":'  —    ^   *    rtcd  from  lead  and 
c()]»|)(r,  and  owe  tothe<te  metals  the  defect  ol  ilc  by  sulphurous 

gases  :  minglctl  with  zinc-while,  they  dcprivtu  ..      ....  ..Jvantagc  of  being 

unalterable.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  render  the  process  complete, 
and  its  application  common,  to  substitute  colours  which  undergo  no 
change  for  all  these  alten-blc  rolours.  "  After  many  years  of  research,"  says 
M.  Lcdaire,  "  I  have  succeeded  in  produciug,  if  1  may  use  such  an  ex* 


94  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

pression,  the  commencement  of  a  reformation  in  painting,  by  completing 
the  scale  of  unalterable  colours, — by  the  substitution  of  inoffensive  and 
unalterable  colours  for  all  su(!h  as  had  lead  or  copper  for  their  base ;  so 
that  I  can  now  affirm,  1st,  That  the  health  of  a  great  number  of  men  may 
be  saved  vfithout  any  detriment  to  the  profession  ;  2dly,  That  the  interior 
and  exterior  of  houses  may  be  painted  without  the  least  risk  of  the 
colours  changing  or  blackening  by  sulphurous  emanations ;  3dly,  That 
pictures  will  be  no  longer  liable  to  change  their  appearance  and  harmony 
with  the  lapse  of  time,  as  has  happened  with  so  many  pictures  of  the  old 
masters." 

M.  Leclaire  constantly  employs  about  two  hundred  workmen  in  Paris. 
From  the  time  that  he  substituted  zinc-white  for  white-lead,  not  only  has 
he  never  had  a  case  of  lead-colic,  but  he  affirms  that  no  indisposition  has 
at  any  time  appeared  among  his  workmen  which  can  be  attributed  to  their 
profession.  The  work  has  been  entrusted  to  the  examination  of  a  com- 
mission.— From  rinstitut,  No.  734  ;  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  88. 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  ENAMEL. 

Mr.  Diqby  Wyatt  has  read  to  the  Society  of  Arts,  a  paper  "  On  the  Art 
of  Enamel,  Ancient  and  Modern."  After  a  description  of  the  composition  of 
pure  Enamel  and  of  the  nature  of  the  pigments  usually  employed  to  colour 
it,  Mr.  Wyatt  proceeded  to  enumerate  the  six  leading  varieties  which  had 
been  adopted  at  various  periods  in  the  history  of  the  art  to  unite  the 
vitreous  paste  with  its  metallic  base,  endeavouring  as  far  as  possible  to 
describe  each  genus  in  the  language  of  some  contemporary  authority. 
The  first,  or  Byzantine  process — which  obtained  throughout  the  Eastern 
Empire  from  probably  the  time  of  Justinian  down  to  about  the  year 
1300 — was  illustrated  from  the  particulars  furnished  by  Theophilus,  the 
celebrated  artist-monk  of  the  eleventh  or  twelfth  century  ;  and  its  chief 
peculiarity  appeared  to  have  been  the  formation  of  casements,  or  cavities, 
for  the  reception  of  the  enamel  by  means  of  the  gold  filigree.  The  second, 
or  early  Limoges  style — which  was  so  much  practised  in  that  city  from 
probably  the  eleventh  centuiy  until  the  frightful  siege  and  massacre  by 
the  Black  Prince — was  described  from  a  comparison  of  the  notices  of  Mr. 
Albert  Way  with  those  of  MM.  Petit,  Dussieux,  Pottier,  and  the  Abbe' 
Texier ;  and  would  seem  to  have  substituted  for  the  filigree  compartments 
of  the  Byzantine  mode  excisions  formed  in  the  thick  copperplate  by  the 
graver.  The  third,  or  early  Italian  mode — practised  for  probably  some 
fifty  years  before  the  days  of  Ugolino  Veri,  the  artist  who  executed  the 
(»lebrated  shrine  in  Orvieto  Cathedral,  in  the  year  1338,  and  carried  by 
subsequent  goldsmiths  and  enamellers  down  to  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century — was  detailed  from  descriptions  given  by  Vasari  and  Benevenuto 
Cellini  about  the  middle  of  that  century.  It  appears  to  have  held  a 
midway  position  between  the  ancient  "  champ  leve"  or  incised,  and  the 
paiuted  enamels  afterwards  produced  ;  consisting  in  engraving  silver  after 
the  manner  of  medallic  relief,  and  then  floating  over  it  with  variously 
coloured  transparent  pastes.  Benevenuto  was  said  to  have,  if  not 
invented,  at  least  been  the  first  to  describe  the  improvement  that  took 
place  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  in  the  art,  which  coi»- 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  AKTS.  96 

stituted  what  Mr.  Wyatt  called  jewellers'  enamel.  It  consisted  in  using 
as  a  vehicle  with  the  glass-powder  employed  to  cover  small  gold  or  silver 
objects  in  the  round  "or  in  the  highest  relief,"  water  in  which  pips  of 
pears  had  been  steeped.  This  held  the  paste  in  its  place  until  vitritication 
took  place,  and  was  yet  so  delicate  a  cement  as  in  no  degree  to  interfere 
with  the  perfect  purity  of  the  enamel.  The  fifth,  or  "  late  Limoges" 
variety  was  described  as  having  sprung  at  once,  fully  armed  from  the 
train  of  that  Jupiter  of  enamellers,  Leonard  Limousin,  under  the  auspices 
of  Francis  the  First ;  and  differed  from  its  predecessors  chiefly  in  entirely 
covering  the  surface  of  the  metal  with  an  opaque  paste,  and  then  painting 
on  that  with  transparent  colours,  regaining  the  effect  of  a  translucent 
ground  by  applying  silver  leaf  in  particular  situations,  fastening  it  with  a 
glass  of  colourless  enamel,  and  then  tinting  over  it.  These  peculiarities, 
as  well  as  the  "pdntnre  grisdtre"  and  touching  with  gold,  were  illus- 
trated from  the  manuscripts  published  by  M.  Maurice  Ardent,  of 
Limoges.  This  style  appears  to  have  dwindled  into  nonentity  under  the 
bauds  of  the  Nouailhers,  a  family  who  lived  (they  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
have  flourished)  during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

In  connexion  with  the  detail  of  the  sixth  and  last  process,  the  rainiatnre 
gtyle,  honourable  allusion  was  made  to  the  labours  of  Sir  Theodore  de 
^Icyerne  and  his  connexion  with  Petitot,  the  principal  and  best  known 
of  this  school  of  art.  The  improvements  effected  in  this  style  would 
seem  to  have  been  a  great  enrichment  of  the  palette  by  the  addition  of 
new  pigments,  the  power  of  multiplying  the  number  of  firiugs,  and 
graduating  the  succession  of  tints,  their  hardness  and  fusibility  by  the 
addition  of  fluxes,  &c.  Unhappily,  the  mystery  which  many  selfish 
artists  have  throwni  over  their  modes  of  procedure  renders  them  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  analyze  or  describe.  Mr.  "Wyatt  then  gave  a  rapid 
sketch  of  the  history  of  the  art,  and  concluded  by  expressing  an  earnest 
hope  that  we  may  ere  long  adopt  and  fully  carry  out  the  whole  practice 
of  the  Middle  Ages. 

CUEIOSITIES  OP  GLASS  MANUPACTURE. 

This  is  the  title  of  a  paper  read  by  Mr.  Apsley  Pellatt  at  the  Royal 
Institution,  supplementarily  to  a  communication  made  in  1847,  and  re- 
ported in  the  Year-book  of  FacU,  1848,  p.  83.  Mr.  Pellatt  explained 
the  various  processes  by  diagrams,  models,  and  working  instruments.  Of 
these  processes  we  can  give  but  a  brief  outline.  It  was  noticed  that  iu 
ancient,  as  in  modern  glass,  sand  was  the  base  and  alkali  the  solvent,  and 
the  injury  occasioned  to  the  glass  by  an  excess  of  the  latter  ingredient  wa8 
pointed  out.  That  opacity  of  glass,  called  devitrijicatiott,  was  explained  as 
consisting  in  the  formation  of  a  multitude  of  minute  crystals  in  close  con- 
tact with  each  other  on  the  surface  of  the  glass.  The  process  of  annealing 
was  then  described  ;  and  it  was  shown  that  a  glass  tube  forty  inches  in 
lentrth  contracts,  if  niinruilcd,  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  while  an  unannealed 
tulji"  iif  the  same  lcn:'4h  contracts  but  one-eighth  of  an  inch.  The  most 
iutresting  part  of  Mr.  Pellatt's  dibcoursc  referred  to  the  mode  of  making 
Vitro  di  Trino,  and  of  impressing  heraldic  devices,  &c.  on  glass.  In  the 
OQse  of  Vitro  di  Triuo,  the  gathered  glass,  after  being  expanded  into  a 


96  YEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

bulb  or  cylinder  of  the  required  size,  has  rods  of  other  glass  or  enamel, 
attached  to  it  in  a  vertical  position,  at  equal  distances  all  round,  and  then, 
the  bottom  being  held,  the  top  part  is  more  or  less  turned,  so  as  to  give 
an  equally  inclined  twist  to  the  vessel  and  the  rods.  A  similar  but  larger 
vessel  is  made,  but  which  is  also  turned  inside  out,  and  then  the  former  is 
put  into  the  lathe ;  and,  being  expanded  by  blowing,  the  two  come  to- 
gether and  adhere  by  the  rods  and  their  intersections,  but  inclose  small 
portions  of  air,  which,  being  regular  in  size,  form,  and  disposition,  give 
the  character  of  the  glass.  "When  heraldic  devices,  &c.  are  to  be  im- 
pressed, a  mould  of  the  design  is  made  iu  a  fit  earthy  material  (beine  puz- 
zolana  or  one  of  the  volcanic  deposits),  and  this  is  placed  within,  and  forms 
part  of  the  larger  iron  mould  in  which  the  decanter  is  blown :  when  the 
large  mould  is  removed,  the  earthen  portion  still  adheres  to  the  glass,  and 
continues  in  its  place  until  the  bottle  is  finished.  After  the  annealing, 
the  mould  is  moistened  with  water,  and  immediately  separates,  and  the 
impression  is  found  really  perfect. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Pellatt's  communication,  Mr.  Faraday  called  the 
attention  of  the  members  to  two  circumstances  of  philosophical  interest 
which  had  happened  during  the  momentary  apprehension  of  fire  from  a 
heated  furnace  being,  on  a  previous  evening,  placed  so  near  a  timber  beam 
as  to  char  it.  1.  At  three  different  times  the  water  poured  on  the  cinders 
of  the  temporary  furnace,  when,  on  the  fire  being  drawn,  they  fell  on  the 
hearth,  became  decomposed  by  the  ignited  carbon,  and  the  hydrogen,  driven 
by  the  sudden  expansion  of  steam,  &c.,  having  penetrated  the  hot  and 
porous  hearth-stone,  found  its  way  to  the  heated  beams  and  space  which 
were  immediately  beneath.  2.  This  gas,  though  not  in  the  state  of  fiame 
as  it  passed  through  the  hearth-stone  and  pugging,  was,  after  being  mixed 
with  the  air  below,  sufiiciently  hot  to  enter  into  combustion,  producing 
three  gushes  of  flame  downwards  from  beneath  the  hearth  :  and  it  was 
experimentally  shown  that  a  temperature  so  low  as  barely  to  scorch  paper, 
and  in  which  the  hand  may  be  held  for  some  seconds  without  inconve- 
nience, is  yet  able  to  ignite  a  jet  of  coal  or  hydrogen  gas  in  air. — 
AthencBum,  No.  1061. 


THE  VENETIAN  GLASS  WEIGHTS. 

An  exceedingly  beautiful  description  of  Weights  for  library  tables,  to 
which  the  above  name  has  been  given,  has  lately  made  its  appearance  in 
the  fancy  stationery  shops.  The  weight,  which  is  of  various  forms, 
circular,  oval,  square,  &c.,  consists  of  a  mass  of  clear,  white  crystal,  in- 
side of  which,  and  embodied  in  it,  there  are  representations,  in  coloured 
glass,  of  coral,  flowers,  and  other  objects,  formed  by  laying  together  the 
fibres  of  glass  of  various  colours,  so  assorted  that  a  section  across  the 
fibres  exhibits  the  objects  intended  to  be  represented.  The  thing,  how- 
ever, is  not  altogether  new,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  description 
of  two  specimens,  given  by  Winckelmann,  in  his  "Annotations  on  the 
History  of  the  Arts  among  the  Ancients:" — 

"  Each  of  them  is  not  quite  one  inch  long  and  one-third  of  an  inch 
broad.  One  plate  exhibits,  on  a  dark  ground  of  variegated  colours,  a  bird, 
representing  a  duck  of  various  very  lively  colours,  more  suitable  to  the 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEPUL  ARTS.  W 

Chinese  arbitrary  taste,  than  adapted  to  show  the  true  tints  of  nature. 
The  outlines  are  well  decided  and  sharp  ;  the  colours  beautiful  and  pure, 
and  have  a  very  striking  and  brilliant  effect,  because  the  artist,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  parts,  has  in  some  employed  an  opaque,  and  in  others 
n  transparent  glass.  The  most  delicate  pencil  of  the  miniature-painter 
could  not  have  traced  more  accurately  and  distinctly  either  the  circle  of 
the  pupil  of  the  eye,  or  the  apparently  scaly  feathers  on  the  breast  and 
wings,  behind  the  beginning  of  which  this  piece  had  been  broken.  But  the 
admiration  of  the  beholder  is  at  the  highest  pitch  when,  by  turning  the 
glass,  he  sees  the  same  bird  on  the  reverse,  without  perceiving  any  dif- 
ference in  the  smaller  points ;  whence  we  could  not  but  conclude  that 
this  picture  is  continued  through  the  whole  thickness  of  the  specimen, 
and  that  if  the  glass  were  cut  transversely,  the  same  picture  of  the  duck 
would  be  found  repeated  in  the  several  slabs  ;  a  conclusion  which  was  still 
further  confirmed  by  the  transparent  places  of  some  beautiful  colours  upon 
the  eye  and  breast  that  were  observed.  The  painting  has  on  both  sides  a 
granular  appearance,  and  seems  to  have  been  formed  in  the  manner  of 
mosaic  works,  of  single  pieces,  but  so  accurately  united,  that  a  powerful 
magnifying  glass  was  unable  to  discover  any  junctures.  This  circum- 
stance, and  the  continuation  of  the  picture  throughout  the  whole  sub- 
stance, renders  it  extremely  difficult  to  form  any  direct  notion  of  the 
process  or  manner  of  forming  such  a  work ;  and  the  conception  of  it 
might  have  long  continued  enigmatical,  were  it  not  that,  in  the  section 
of  the  fracture  mentioned,  lines  are  observable,  of  the  same  colours  which 
appear  on  the  upper  surface,  that  pervade  the  whole  mass,  from  one  side 
to  the  other ;  whence  it  became  a  rational  conclusion,  that  this  kind  of 
painting  must  have  been  executed  by  joining  variously  coloured  filaments 
of  glas;;,  and  subsequently  fusing  them  into  one  coherent  body.  The 
other  specimen  is  of  almost  the  same  size,  and  made  in  the  same  manner. 
It  exhibits  oniameiital  drawing  of  white,  green,  and  yellow  colours,  which 
are  traced  on  a  blue  ground,  and  represent  volutes,  beads,  and  flowers, 
resting  on  pjTamidally  converging  lines.  All  these  are  very  distinct  and 
separate,  but  so  extremely  small,  that  even  a  keen  eye  finds  it  difficult  to 
perceive  the  subtle  endings,— those,  in  particular,  in  which  the  volutes 
tcnninate;  notwithstanding  which,  these  ornaments  pass  uninterrnptedly 
through  the  whole  thickness  of  the  piece." — Qiiotedin  the  Mechanics' 
Mcujazme,  No.  1800. 


BRASS  LETTERS  ON  GLASS. 

AccoRDiNO  to  the  specification  of  Mr.  J.  L.  Lamcnaude,  who  has 
secured  a  ])atent  for  Cements  for  affixing  Brass  Letters  on  Panes  of 
GlnHH,  the  fiillowing  are  his  recipes: — First,  15  ])art9  of  copal  vaniish,  5 

pnf      '    ' ■_'  oil,  .'i  of  oil  of  turpentine,  2  of  essence  of  tuq)entijic,  5  of 

ai  -solved  in  a  water  bath,  and  10  parts  of  hydrate  of  lime. — 

S< '  ,    lis  of  sanadracli  and  galijiot  resin  varnish,  B  of  drying  oil, 

5  of  oil  and  essence  of  turpentine  mixed  :  these  are  first  mixed,  and  then 
10  parta  of  Spanish  white  and  dry  while  lead  arc  added. — Third,  15 
parts  of  copal  varnish  and  gum  lac  mixed,  5  parts  of  dr}'ing  oil,  3  parts 
of  a  solution  of  caoutchouc,  or  gutta  pcrcha,  7  parts  of  tar  oil,  and  10 
H 


YEAR-BOOK  OF  TACTS. 


parts  of  Roman  cement  and  plaster  of  Paris,  in  powder,  mixed. — Fourth, 
15  parts  of  copal  varnish  and  colophane  resin,  5  of  oil  and  essence  of  tur- 
])entine,  2  parts  isinglass  in  powder,  3  parts  filinos,  or  blacksmiths'  iron- 
cinders,  ejround  and  sifted,  and  10  parts  of  washed  earth,  ochre,  or  rotten- 
stone.— ^««/fl?(?r.  No.  293. 


THE  CUTTING  PROPERTY  OF  COKE. 

The  following  interesting  fact  was  discovered  some  years  ago,  and  it 
appears  to  furnish  additional  evidence  as  to  the  identity  of  the  Diamond 
with  Carbon,  namely,  that  Coke  is  possessed  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
properties  of  the  diamond,  in  so  far  as  it  has  the  property  of  cutting 
glass.  The  term  "  cutting"  is  used  in  contradistinction  to  the  property 
of  scratching,  which  is  possessed  by  all  bodies  that  are  harder  than  glass. 
The  cut  produced  by  coke  is  a  perfect  clear  diamond-like  cut,  so  clean 
and  perfect  as  to  exhibit  the  most  beautiful  prismatic  colours,  owing  to 
the  perfection  of  the  incision.  Coke  hitherto  has  been  considered  as  a 
soft  substance,  doubtless  from  the  ease  with  which  a  mass  of  it  can  be 
crushed  and  pulverized  ;  but  it  will  be  found  that  the  minute  plate-forrned 
crystals,  of  which  a  mass  of  coke  is  composed,  are  intensely  hard,  and,  as 
before  said,  are  possessed  of  the  remarkable  property  of  cutting  glass. 
The  discovery  of  the  extreme  "  diamond-like"  hardness  of  the  particles  of 
coke  will,  no  doubt,  prove  of  value  in  many  processes  in  the  arts,  as  well 
as  interesting  in  a  purely  scientific  sense. 

This  fact  was  noticed  at  the  late  Meeting  of  the  British  Association, 
by  Mr.  Nasmyth :  in  a  conversation  which  ensued,  it  was  stated  by  Mr. 
Chance,  of  Birmingham,  that  in  all  probability  the  knowledge  of  this 
fact  would  lead  to  a  saving  of  nearly  £400  a  year  in  his  establishment. 


NEW  METHOD  OF  SILVERING  GLASS. 

This  new,  easyj  and,  we  believe,  cheap  process  of  Silvering  Glass,  has, 
been  extensively  practised  by  Mr.  Drayton,  the  inventor.  This  new 
method  will  entirely  do  away  with  the  old,  injurious,  and  dilatory  pro- 
cess of  silvering  by  mercury  and  tin.  Nor  is  this  its  only  advantage. 
The  silver  is  richer  in  its  texture  than  that  produced  by  the  old  process ; 
and  it  may  be  touched  with  the  finger,  and  still  left  untarnished.  This 
important  improvement  is  produced  by  a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  in 
water  and  spirit,  mixed  with  ammonia  and  the  oils  of  cassia  and  of 
cloves.     Some  of  the  glass  thus  silvered  is  extremely  beautiful.* 


ORNAMENTAL  LEATHER. 

Mr.  Poynter  has  read  to  the  Institute  of  British  Architects,  a  paper 
"  On  Ornamental  Leather  Hangings."  He  stated  that  this  material  was 
used  in  a  similar  way  by  the  Egyptians  900  years  B.C. ;  but  he  principally 
confined  his  remarks  to  the  use  made  of  it  since  the  16th  century, — as, 
during  that  and  the  following  century,  it  was  extensively  used  by  the 
richer  classes — its  manufacture  being  principally  at  Venice  and  in 
Flanders.  From  the  latter  country  it  was  introduced  into  France ;  but 
it  is  doubtful  if  it  was  ever  manufactured  in  England.     Leather  hangings 

*  See  also  Year-book  of  Facts,  1848,  p.  85. 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  99 

never  entirely  superseded  tapestry  or  wood  panelling.  The  best  leather 
was  made  from  goats'  or  calves'  skin,  ingeniously  connected  together ; 
and  the  surface  was  silvered  over  previously  to  being  painted.  The  effect 
of  gold  was  produced  by  a  varnish  of  yellow  colour  laid  on  the  silver. 
The  embossing  was  done  by  the  pressure  from  dies  ;  the  minute  orna- 
ments being  produced  by  tools — the  method  corresponding  to  that  adopted 
by  bookbinders  of  the  present  day.  Among  the  various  specimens  of 
this  rich  style  of  decoration  exhibited,  and  belonging  to  Mr.  Pratt,  of 
Bond-street,  was  a  large  and  valuable  hanging  of  the  17th  century,  repre- 
senting the  meeting  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  richly  painted  and  elabo- 
rately finished  in  all  the  details  of  the  dresses  and  other  portions  of  the 
figures,  which  are  the  size  of  life.  Mr.  Poynter  alluded  to  fine  examples 
to  be  seen  at  Chatsworth,  and  other  mansions  in  England ;  and  particu- 
larly described  a  series  of  leather  panels  at  Rouen,  which  are  perfect. 

LITHOGRAPHY. 

Mr.  S.  Williams  has  read  to  the  Society  of  Arts,  a  paper,  "  On  the 
Hi>tory  and  Progress  of  Lithogi-aphy."  He  commenced  by  stating  that 
Lithography,  like  many  other  important  discoveries,  owed  its  birth  to 
mere  chance  ;  and  proceeded  to  give  a  brief  account  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  Alois  Senefelder  turned  his  attention  to  the  discovery 
of  a  ready  means  of  printing  what  as  a  writer  and  aspirant  to 
histrionic  fame  he  produced.  "I  had  just  succeeded,"  states  Se- 
nefelder, "in  polishing  a  stone  plate  which  I  intended  to  cover 
with  etching  ground  in  order  to  continue  my  exertions*  in  writ- 
ing backwards,  when  my  mother  entering  the  room,  required  me 
to  write  a  washing-bill.  It  so  happened  that  there  was  not  a  morsel  of 
writing  paper  or  ink  at  hand, — nor  had  we  any  one  to  send  for  these 
materials  ;  I  therefore  resolved  to  write  with  my  ink,  prepared  with  wax, 
soap,  and  lamp  black,  upon  the  stone  which  T  had  just  polished,  as  the 
matter  would  admit  of  no  delay.  Some  time  after,  requiring  the  stone  for 
use,  and  the  writing  being  as  I  had  left  it,  it  occurred  to  me  whether  I 
could  not  bite  in  the  stone  with  acid."  This  Senefelder  succeeded  in  doing ; 
— and  thus  the  art  was  discovered.  Baron  Aretin  in  Munich,  Count 
Lastcyrie  in  Paris,  and  Mr.  Ackermann  in  London,  fostered  the  rising  art ; 
and  in  ISl'J  Senefelder's  account  of  lithography  appeared,  with  illustra- 
tions showing  the  then  state  of  the  art.  Mr.  Hullmandel  (observes  Mr. 
Williams)  has  done  more  to  improve  and  establish  lithopraphy  in  PiUgland, 
and  to  make  it  available  to  artists,  than  any  other  individual,  Senefelder 
alone  excepted.  The  author  proceeded  to  describe  the  nature  of  the 
lithographic  stone,  and  the  diHiculties  which  had  to  be  overcome  by  the 
first  artists,  not  merely  in  drawing  upon  the  stone,  but  also  iu  enabling 
the  printer  to  reproduce  their  works.  The  specimens  exhibited  he 
divided  into  six  classes ;  and  stated  that  each  of  the  specimens  iu  the 
various  classes  is  produced  in  the  following  manner : — Class  \.  Drawings, 
on  one  stone  only,  with  the  crayon,  and  printed  in  black  ink.  Class  2. 
Drawings  with  the  crayon  ou  two  or  three  stones,  and  printed  with 
neutral  tints.  Claas  3  Drawing  made  ou  several  .stones,  and  printed  iu 
colours.     Class  4.  Drawings  in  litholiut  with  the  brush  and  liquid  ink — 


100  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

a  process  patented  by  Mr.  Hullmandel.  Class  5.  Drawings  made  with  a 
stump,  used  as  in  making  chalk  drawings.  This  process  is  also  patented. 
Class  6  consists  of  specimens  of  printing  from  transfers  from  old  prints, 
newspapers,  and  pen  drawings,  by  a  process  known  and  patented  as  the 
anastatic  process. —  Athenaeum,  No.  1054. 

ANASTATIC  PRINTING. 

Mr.  H.  E.  Strickland,  M.A.,  of  Oxford,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Delamotte,  who  has  established  an  Anastatic  Press  in  the  above  city, 
has  succeeded  in  transferring  and  printing  from  drawings  made  on  paper 
with  lithographic  chalk.  He  made  a  hasty  sketch  on  common  drawing 
paper  (of  good  quality,  but  not  very  smooth  surface),  and  sent  it  to 
Mr.  Delamotte's  press.  "Within  an  hour,  Mr.  Strickland  received  a  per- 
fect facsimile  of  the  original  drawing,  not  to  be  distinguished  from  a 
lithograph.  Further  experiments  will  be  required  to  prove  whether  this 
method  can  supersede  the  finer  branches  of  lithographic  drawing ;  or,  in 
other  words,  whether  paper  can  be  made  with  a  surface  as  finely  and  uni- 
formly grained  as  that  which  is  produced  on  the  stone.  But  for  less 
delicate  and  elaborate  works  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  anastatic  pro- 
cess has  two  advantages  over  lithography  :  first,  we  dispense  with  the  cost 
and  inconvenience  of  transporting  and  using  heavy  stones.  The  traveller 
May  now  fill  his  portfolio  with  sketches  made  in  the  field,  with  lithographic 
chalk  on  paper,  and  may  afterwards  print  off  as  many  copies  of  these 
sketches  as  he  pleases.  And  secondly,  the  drawings  do  not  require  to  be 
reversed,  or  even  copied, — a  great  saving  of  the  artist's  time  and  labour. — 
Athenceum,  No.  1059. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Athenceum,  No.  1060,  suggests  that  if  India 
paper,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  Chinese  paper,  of  the  best  quality,  be 
mounted  on  soft  plate-paper  (by  pressing  the  two  together,  while  damp, 
through  a  lithographic  press,  the  India  paper  being  in  contact  with  the 
blank  surface  of  a  lithographic  stone,  which  has  been  properly  grained  as 
for  a  fine  lithographic  chalk  drawing,  precisely  as  India  paper  impressions 
of  lithographs  are  taken),  and  afterwards  dried  under  a  slight  pressure,  to 
preserve  the  flatness  of  the  double  sheet,  it  will  be  found  that  the  surface 
of  the  India  paper  has  had  a  clear  sharp  grain  communicated  to  it  by  the 
grain  of  the  stone,  of  which  it  will  be  the  exact  counterpart — but  little, 
if  at  all,  inferior  to  it — adapted  to  receive  drawings  done  with  lithographic 
chalk,  that  may  vie  in  finish,  force,  and  delicacy,  with  highly-finished 
drawings  done  on  the  stone.  These  drawings  so  executed  may,  as 
Mr.  Strickland  proposes,  be  subjected  to  the  anastatic  process ;  and,  adds 
the  writer,  "  I  have  little  doubt  that  very  beautiful  and  highly-finished 
works  may  most  conveniently  be  produced  in  this  manner.  I  may  oh- 
serve  that  I  have  frequently  had  paper  prepared  in  this  way,  as  I  consider 
it  a  most  agreeable  preparation  for  pencil  and  chalk  drawings  of  the  ordi- 
nary description ;  and  I  have  found  that  it  would  be  comparatively  inex- 
pensive, as  it  may  be  done  by  any  lithographic  printer." 

Mr.  Strickland  has  since  tried  various  kinds  of  paper  as  a  medium  for 
the  lithographic  chalk,  and  finds  that  the  so-called  metallic  paper  (pre- 
pared for  metallic  pencils)  makes  the  nearest  approach  to  the  effect  of 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  101 

lithography.  Fine  drawingpaper,  smooth  but  not  glossy,  is  the  next  best 
material.  Mr.  Delamotte  has  fouad  India  paper  too  tender  a  substance  for 
transferring  to  zinc.  For  fine  subjects  it  is  essential  that  the  lithographic 
chalk  be  of  a  hard  quality  and  cut  to  a  fine  point.  The  papi/rograpJis  thus 
produced  appear  to  the  eye  like  lithographs  ;  but,  when  examined  by  a  lens, 
they  exhibit  a  different  effect,  in  consequence  of  the  surface  of  paper  con- 
sisting of  horizontal  fibres,  while  that  of  a  lithographic  stone  is  made  up 
of  small  conical  points.  That  the  latter  structure  might  be  given 
to  paper  by  mixing  some  finely-powdered  mineral  matter  with  the 
fibrous  pulp.  Calcareous  substances,  however,  will  effervesce  with  the 
acids  used  in  transferring,  and  siliceous  ones  would  be  too  rough  and 
gritty.  Some  hard  aluminous  matter,  such  as  powdered  slate,  or  brick- 
dust,  if  mixed  in  due  proportion  with  the  paper,  would  probably  enable 
\xi  to  produce  the  effect  of  lithography  without  the  use  of  stoues. 


THE  CARPET  MANUFACTURE  IN  AMERICA. 

The  most  extensive  Manufactories  in  the  United  States  are  at  Thorap- 
BonviUe :  they  use  10,000,000  lbs.  of  wool,  and  10,000  lbs.  of  flax  yarn 
per  aunum.  They  manufacture  three-ply  Brussels  and  Axminster  car- 
peting of  the  richest  patterns,  the  weaving  being  mostly  done  at  present 
on  hand-looms ;  they  are,  however,  about  introducing  power-looms  into 
this  (actory  for  weaving  rugs  and  Axminster  carpets.  The  wool  for 
Axminster  carpeting  is  first  woven  in  a  web,  and  afterwards  cut  in  strips, 
forming  what  is  called  chenniele  card :  this  is  done  upon  a  machine, 
invented  by  Messrs.  Davidson  and  Parks,  of  Springfield,  Vermont,  which 
is  the  first  and  only  one  of  the  kind  in  the  United  States,  and  has  more 
than  paid  for  itself  in  six  months.  This  machine  has  over  200  cutters, 
or  knives,  which  are  attached  to  a  cylinder,  making  some  300  revolu- 
tions, and  cutting  full  two  yards  of  the  web  per  minute  into  strips, 
which,  being  passed  over  a  grooved  cylinder,  heated  by  having  hot  irons 
inserted  within  it,  it  is  prepared  for  weaving.  Besides  the  large  carpet 
establishment,  there  is  in  this  village  a  factory  150  by  43  feet  on  the 
group,  and  five  stories  high,  for  the  manufacture  of  knit  shirts,  drawers, 
and  fancy  ginghams :  this  establishment  has  about  30  sets  of  wool  cards, 
and  25  or  30  gingham  rooms. — Scientific  American. 


PREPARATION  OF  A  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  HORN.      BY  M  ROCHON. 

In  many  of  the  arts,  more  especially  where  steel  instruments  are 
manufactured,  glass  windows  are  of  great  inconvenience,  owing  to  fre- 
quent breakage  by  fragments  of  steel.  The  substitution  of  horn  is 
attended  with  some  inconvenience,  principally  on  account  of  its  want  of 
transparency.  A  substitute  is  proposed  to  be  made  by  very  light  cloth 
or  wirc-gauzc,  composed  of  fine  brass  wire,  which  is  to  be  immersed 
repeatedly  into  a  solution  of  isinglass  until  all  the  meshes  are  filled,  and  a 
suificient  thickness  acquired,  afVer  which  it  is  covered  with  a  coat  of 
Tarnish  to  protect  it  from  the  weather. — Jamesons  Journal,  No.  88. 

FIRE-ESCAPES  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 

A  CORBESPONDKNT  of  Uu  BitUdef  remark*  t — "Whilit  obsenring 


102  TEAK-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

with  satisfaction  the  frequency  and  utility  of  these  in  the  metropolis  and 
suburbs,  I  have  not — '  in  populous  city  pent'  for  many  years — heard  or 
read  of  their  extensive  use  in  the  country,  where,  on  the  whole,  they  may 
be  as  necessary;  and  of  course  the  danger  to  human  life  is  equaDy 
important.  They  should  be  now  nearly  as  common  as  fire-engines, 
though  never  superseding  them,  especially  as  the  price  is  low, — a  good 
*  escape,'  I  believe,  not  exceeding  £30.  The  best,  and  perhaps  only 
really  good  one,  is,  on  many  accounts,  the  canvas  trough,  with  a  ladder, 
forming  the  upper  side.  The  management  seems  so  simple  that  it  might 
be  safely  intrusted  to  strangers,  and  the  materials  are  not  likely  to  tempt 
robbery,  so  that  it  might  be  left  loose  near  a  church  or  market,  &c.  &c. 
If,  happily,  occasions  of  using  them  do  not  very  often  happen,  there  will 
be  the  same  sense  of  security  as  in  locks  or  bolts  to  doors  and  shutters, 
with  the  added  motive  of  preparing  it  for  others  also — the  poor  and 
helpless.  Fire-escapes  might  be  washed  with  an  anti- combustible  solu- 
tion, as  mentioned  by  a  writer  in  the  Mechanics^  Magazine  several  years 
back."  

MARBLE  VENEERING,  OR  SLATY  PAINT, 

In  Ohio,  according  to  a  New  York  paper,  a  Mr.  Blake,  of  Akron,  has 
discovered  a  curious  mineral,  soft  at  first,  and  like  indigo,  but  hardening 
in  a  few  days  into  a  slaty  stone.  On  analysis,  it  is  found  to  consist  of 
about  one-half  silica,  one-fourth  alumina,  with  magnesia,  oxide  and  sul- 
phate of  iron,  lime,  and  carbon.  By  reducing  it  to  fine  powder,  mixing 
with  linseed  oil  into  thick  paint,  and  applying  it  with  a  brush  to  wood, 
iron,  tin,  zinc,  or  brick,  it  becomes,  after  a  few  months'  exposure, 
perfectly  hard  and  indestructible.  As  a  protection  against  fire,  it  is 
said  to  be  invaluable.  In  the  west  it  is  in  large  demand  for  covering 
roofs  of  buildings,  for  bridges  and  fences,  &c.,  all  of  which  it  protects 
from  weather  as  well  as  from  fire.  School  slates  are  manufactured 
by  applying  it  to  thin  wood  or  pasteboard.  On  wooden  mantel 
fronts  and  tables  its  appearance,  when  polished,  is  held  to  be  not 
inferior  to  the  finest  Egyptian  marble.  Mr.  Blake  has  procured  a  patent 
for  his  discovery.  Would  not  Portland  cement,  in  fine  powder,  and  thus 
applied,  with  linseed  oil,  produce  a  slaty  veneer  over  similar  surfaces  ? 
We  make  a  present  of  the  suggestion  to  the  Portland  cement  manufac- 
turers. Parian  cement  mixes  with  oil,  and  might  thus,  we  think,  be  used 
as  paint,  or  for  stony  veneering  ;  and  certainly  the  surface  of  blocks  of 
Portland  cement  reminds  one  a  good  deal  of  slate :  the  hardening,  too, 
from  a  soft  or  moist  state  very  much  adds  to  the  resemblance  which  it 
bears  to  this  new  world's  wonder.  Silica,  with  lime,  has  been  found, 
if  we  mistake  not,  to  form  a  sort  of  glaze  well  adapted  to  give  a  stony 
veneering,  like  this,  to  plaster. — Builder,  No.  298. 


METHOD  OF  BRINGING  OUT  SCULPTURE  UPON  ALABASTER. 

This  process  is  founded  upon  the  property  which  alabaster  or  sulphate 
of  lime  has  of  being  slowly  eaten  out  by  cold  water,  so  that  its  polish  is 
destroyed. 

In  the  first  place,  the  sculptures  in  relief,  and  aU  the  parts  intended  to 
be  preserved,  are  covered  with  a  varnish  insoluble  in  water,  composed  of 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  103 

wax  dissolved  in  oil  of  turpentine  mixed  with  white  lead,  or  rather  with 
a  tur|jeutine  varnish,  to  which  white  lead  and  a  little  animal  oil 
have  been  added  to  prevent  the  varnish  from  hardening  and  adhering  too 
strongly  to  the  alabaster.  This  is  applied  with  a  soft  paint  brush  mois- 
tened with  oil  of  turpentine,  into  which  it  must  be  dipped  every  time 
that  varnish  is  taken.  The  reserved  parts  being  thus  covered,  sutler  the 
vessel  or  ornament  to  dry  for  some  hours,  and  then  place  it  in  a  vessel 
filled  with  cold  water,  and  leave  it  there  for  forty-eight  hours,  or  longer 
if  it  is  thought  necessary.  The  varuish  is  then  removed  with  a  flue 
sponge  dipped  in  oil  of  tur|)entine,  and  the  vessel  dried  with  a  soft  and 
very  dry  rag.  "When  the  vessel  is  thus  cleared  of  its  varnish  and  dried, 
pass  over  it  a  new  soft  brush,  first  dipped  in  finely  powdered  plaster. 
This  powder  fills  the  pores  of  the  plaster  which  has  been  attacked  by  the 
water,  and  renders  it  mat ;  which  brings  out  the  transparent  parts  of  the 
alabaster  in  relief. 

To  clean  ortiaments  and  sculptures  in  al^ibaster. —  Wash  out  any  grease 
spots  with  oil  of  turpentime ;  then  put  the  piece  in  water,  and  sulfcr  it  to 
remain  until  it  is  freed  from  its  impurities.  "NVhen  you  take  it  out,  rub 
it  with  a  very  dry  paint-brush  ;  let  it  dry,  and  pass  over  it  powdered 
plaster.  In  this  way  the  piece  will  be  perfectly  washed,  and  will  look  as 
though  it  had  just  come  from  the  hand  of  the  carver. — Mechanics' 
Moi/azine,  No.  1300. 


EXTRAORDINARY  SPECIMEN  OP  NEEDLEWORK. 

One  of  those  products  of  ingenuity  and  perseverance  which  astonish 
ordinary  persons  has  been  exhibited  two  days  ago,  by  iSlr.  John  Monro, 
of  Paisley.  This  individual,  who  was  apprenticed  to  his  uncle  as  a  tailor, 
bad  a  taste  for  drawing,  and  as  he  grew  up  he  could  find-  no  better  vent 
for  his  artistic  "  darning"  skill  than  in  designing  and  executing  a  most 
elaborate  a^d  beautiful  counterpane  in  cloth.  There  have  been  employed 
in  the  making  of  this  counterpane  3,570  pieces  of  cloth,  of  various 
colours ;  and  not  only  are  there  in  it  curious  combinations  and  contrasts 
of  patchwork,  but  portraits  of  theatrical  heroes  and  heroines  painted  and 
bedizened  in  their  stage  finery, — views  of  ships  on  several  tacks,  the 
rigging  of  which  is  executed  in  silk, — and  a  variety  of  animals.  Despite 
the  novel  and  limited  means  which  the  humble  artist  had  at  his  command 
to  produce  his  effects,  he  has  succeeded  in  giving  to  his  cloth  paintings  a 
vigour,  brilliancy,  and  beauty  which  are  really  remarkable.  Mr.  Mouro 
devoted  to  this  si>ccimen  of  his  abilities  all  his  spare  hours  for  eleven 
years  and  four  mouths. — Manchester  Examiner. 


Stevens's  patent  gelatinous  compounds. 

Tins  invention  consists  in  certain  methods  of  treating  calves'  feet, 
"  cow  heel,"  "  shecps'  trotters,"  and  other  substanc<s  of  a  similar  kind, 
possessing  gelatinous  and  edible  ])ropertie8,  for  the  puq>o8e  of  producing 
drj'  preparations  or  powders,  which  may  be  employed  for  expeditiously 
making  jelly,  blanc-maugc,  lozenges,  and  similar  gelatinous  compounds. 

The  preparation  or  jKjwder  for  making  jelly  is  produced  in  the  following 
manner : — "  The  calves'  feet  or  similar  substances  are  put  into  a  pot  or 


104  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

boiler,  and  jost  covered  with  water;  the  pot  is  then  placed  over  a  fire, 
and  the  contents  caused  to  boil  until  the  glutinods  properties  of  the  afore- 
said substances  are  entirely  extracted,  which  will  generally  be  effected  in 
six  or  seven  hours, — the  degree  of  heat  applied  not  being  allowed  to 
exceed  the  usual  boiling  point,  and  care  being  to  skim  off  any  oily  matter 
that  may  rise  to  the  top.  The  glutinous  liquor  is  strained  into  any 
suitable  vessel,  and  allowed  to  remain  until  cold ;  it  is  then  clarified  by 
the  addition,  to  every  twelve  gallons  of  the  liquor,  of  the  white  of  from 
one  hundred  to  two  hundred  eggs  (according  to  quality,  as  the  patentee 
sometimes  finds  one  hundred  to  be  sufficient,  and  at  other  times 
two  hundred  are  required),  and  three  or  four  ounces  of  lemon  juice,  or 
one  ounce  of  acetic  acid  or  pyroligneous  acid,  or  one  ounce  of  citric  acid 
in  a  dry  state  (any  other  acid  of  an  innocuous  character  will  answer) ; 
and  a  further  addition  is  made  of  about  four  pounds  of  lemon  peel.  The 
mixture  being  now  passed  through  a  bag  or  sieve,  a  bright  jelly  is 
obtained ;  and  if  this  jelly  be  too,  thin,  it  is  evaporated  by  means  of  a 
water-bath,  until  sufficiently  thick  to  pour  out  dry.  The  jelly  or  prepa- 
ration is  now  placed  in  a  drying  oven,  in  which  it  is  subjected  to  a  heat 
of  100°  Eahr.,  for  a  period  varying  from  three  to  seven  days ;  it  is  then 
reduced  to  powder  by  first  pounding  it  in  a  mortar  and  afterwards  grinding. 
Twenty  pounds  of  this  powder  are  mixed  with  thirty-four  pounds  of 
pounded  loaf  sugar,  and  as  much  more  acid  in  a  dry  state  as  may  be 
required ;  and  the  mixture  is  placed  in  bottles  until  required  for  use.  Six 
or  seven  ounces  of  this  powder  or  preparation  (according  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  atmosphere)  with  three  or  four  glasses  of  white  wine,  and  a 
pint  and  a  half  of  boiling  water,  will  make  a  quart  of  jelly." 

The  following  is  the  method  of  producing  the  preparation  or  powder 
for  making  blanc-mange  : — "  The  calves'  feet  or  similar  substances  are 
boiled  down,  as  before  described;  then  the  liquor  is  clarified  by  the 
addition,  to  every  twelve  gallons  of  it,  of  the  white  of  thirty  eggs,  without 
any  acid,  and  but  a  small  quantity  of  lemon  peel ;  and  the  flavour  of 
almonds  is  given  to  the  liquor  by  the  introduction  of  almond  water,  made 
by  pounding  blanched  almonds  in  a  mortar, — about  twelve  ounces  of 
bitter  almonds  and  twenty-four  ounces  of  sweet  almonds  being  used  for 
every  twelve  gallons  of  the  glutinous  liquor.  The  glutinous  preparation 
is  then  dried  in  an  oven,  and  reduced  to  powder ;  after  which  it  is  mixed 
with  an  equal  weight  of  pounded  loaf  sugar,  and  with  some  essence  of 
almonds,  or  other  flavouring  material,  if  desired  ;  and  it  is  then  bottled. 
Four  ounces  and  a  half  of  this  preparation,  with  a  quart  of  boiling  milk, 
will  make  a  quart  of  blanc-mange." 

The  preparation  for  making  lozenges  is  obtained  by  boiling  down  the 
calves'  feet  or  similar  substances,  and  evaporating  the  glutinous  liquor  to 
a  proper  consistency ;  then  adding  flavouring  materials,  such  as  are 
commonly  used  by  lozenge  makers,  and  finely  powdered  loaf  sugar.  This 
preparation  may  be  made  into  lozenges  in  the  ordinary  way. — Mechanics' 
Magazine,  No,  1284. 


MELON   WINE. 

A  PAPEE  has  been  received  by  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  from  M. 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  106 

Boucharett,  on  the  culture  of  the  Vine,  and  the  making  of  Wine,  The 
author  gives  hints  as  to  the  kinds  of  vine  proper  to  different  soils,  and 
the  mode  of  cultivating  them ;  and  si)eak8  also  of  various  other  vegetable 
productions  from  which  wiue  might  be  made.  The  Melon,  he  says,  is 
one  of  the  best ;  it  yields  an  excellent  white  wine,  which  will  keep  for 
several  centuries,  and,  properly  cultivated,  may  be  made  to  render  a 
handsome  profit. — Jamesons  Journal,  No.  88. 


TO  CORRECT  SOURNESS  IN  MILK,  CREAM,  AND  BREAD. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  the  sourness  of  Milk  and  Cream  may  be 
immediatehj  corrected  by  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  the  common 
carbonate  of  magnesia,  in  powder.  Half  a  teaspoouful  (about  equal  to 
4  grains)  may  be  added  to  a  pint  of  milk  or  cream,  if  only  slightly  sour ; 
a  larger  quantity  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  sourness. 

From  two  to  three  grains  may  be  added  to  every  pound  of  flour  to 
prevent  sourness  in  bread,  so  injurious  to  some  constitutions. 

Carbonate  of  Soda  is  sometimes  employed  for  the  same  purpose,  but 
it  comminicates  a  very  unpleasant  flavour  to  the  bread,  and,  in  the  case  of 
milk  or  cream  is  worse  than  the  disease. — Mechanics'  Magazine,  No.  1272. 


splitting  paper. 
An  ingenioos  discovery,  likely  to  be  nseful  to  the  collectors  of  old  en- 
gravings,  has  been  made  by  a  young  man,  a  Mr.  Baldwin.  It  is  the  means 
of  Splitting  into  two  parts  one  sheet  of  Paper,  so  as  to  separate  the  en- 
graving in  front,  from  the  text  which  may  have  been  printed  at  the  back, 
often  to  the  obscuring  of  the  former.  We  have  seen  a  leaf  thus  divided, 
in  which  the  one  part  shows  the  engraving  perfectly  clear  from  the  pre- 
vious confusion  of  the  lines  that  showed  through;  the  other  exhibiting 
the  text  as  if  it  had  been  printed  on  a  page  with  a  clean  back.  Each  page 
is  as  sound  as  if  it  had  been  originally  of  a  distinct  fabric.  The  discovery 
will,  probably,  be  valuable  applied  to  drawings  by  the  old  masters,  who 
were  frequently  in  the  habit  of  making  studies  on  both  sides  of  the  same 
piece  of  pai>er.  We  are  curious  to  see  if  the  agency  by  which  the  sepa- 
ration is  effected — and  which,  for  obvious  reasons,  is  yet  a  secret — be  such 
as  may  be  applied  to  drawings  without  chemically  disturbing  their  con- 
stituents, i'he  application  of  the  means  to  letters  and  manuscripts  for 
mounting  and  illustration  is  obvious.  We  have  seen  Mr.  Baldwin's 
discovery  applied  to  the  division  of  a  leaf  of  a  newspaper.  A  sheet  of 
the  Illustrated  London  News,  on  which  was  printed  the  w^oodcut  from 
Maclisc's  large  picture  of  the  '  Knight  arming  for  Ikttle,'  exhibited  at 
the  Royal  Academy  last  year,  being  so  divided,  prcsenti  d  the  engraving 
free  as  if  it  had  been  printed  on  very  thin  paper,  and  like  an  India-paper 
impression. — Athen^tm,  No.  1098. 


a  new  pen. — AMERICAN  GOLD  PEN. 

Db.  Spvbgin,  to  whom  the  public  ii  already  indebted  for  several  inge- 
nious inventions,  has  now  patented  a  New  Pen,  which  promises  to  have  im- 
portant advantages,  without  being  in  any  degree  oosUy.    These  are  the  re- 


106  YEAR-BOOK  OF  PACTS. 

tention  of  a  large  quantity  of  ink,  sufficient,  for  example,  to  write  a  letter 
without  again  dipping  the  pen,  and  the  prevention  of  corrosion.  Capillary 
attraction  and  galvanism  are  the  principles  involved,  and  the  means  em- 
ployed are  very  simple.  Within  a  common  iron  pen,  a  small  plate  of  zinc, 
bent  to  follow  the  line  of  the  pen,  is  secured  by  points  of  solder  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  former,  by  means  of  which  the  ink  is  securely  retained, 
and  a  galvanic  current  is  kept  up. 

The  progress  of  the  manufacture  oi  gold  pens  in  America,  will  serve  to 
show  the  extent  of  business  which  may  be  done  in  an  article  of  this  kind 
when  successful.  The  Charleston  Courier  (U.S.),  says  the  first  gold  pen 
was  made  in  New  York,  in  1838,  and  now  the  principal  manufacturer  of 
them  employs  a  capital  of  80,000  dollars  in  the  undertaking.  In  the 
manufacture  of  pens,  the  gold  is  first  rolled  out  in  ribbons,  and  then  cut 
with  a  die  to  the  proper  shape,  the  points  put  on,  and  then  ground 
down  to  the  required  nib.  The  points  are  of  iridium,  a  new  metal  fouud 
with  platinum.  The  points  are  all  imported,  generally  without  the 
ceremony  of  an  introduction  to  the  Custom  House,  and  cost  from  7  to 
55  dollars  per  ounce.  The  pens  and  cases  sell  from  10  to  30  dollars  per 
dozen.  It  is  not  easy  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  pens  manu- 
factured per  annum,  but  it  is  probably  not  less  than  1,000,000,  of  which 
one  manufacturer,  Bagley,  makes  nearly  half.  A  person  who  had  not 
thought  of  the  subject,  would  scarcely  suppose  that  800  lbs.  of  gold  were 
used  up  every  year  in  America  in  the  manufacture  of  such  a  trifling  article 
as  pens,  a  business  unknown  ten  years  ago — yet  such  is  the  fact.  A  state- 
ment of  the  tons  of  iron  worked  into  pens  in  England  every  year,  would 
be  even  more  startling,  and  would  show  that  Dr.  Spurgin's  improvement, 
simple  as  it  appears,  may,  if  it  fulfil  its  promises,  be  more  productive 
than  some  larger  matters. — Builder,  No.  267. 


WEDGEWOOD  S   DESK   CLIP. 

Mr.  "Wedgewood,  of  Rathbone  Place,  has  added  a  very  useful  append- 
age to  his  "Patent  Manifold  Writer,"  in  a  "  Clip  "  to  hold  down  the  leaves 
while  the  machine  was  in  use.  Mr.  Wedgewood  has  also  greatly  im- 
proved the  materials  used  in  his  desk :  his  carbonic  paper,  as  it  is  now 
manufactured,  is  of  much  finer  and  blacker  appearance  than  heretofore. 
His  copying  paper  is  beautifully  white  and  transparent,  and  wholly  free 
from  smell.  Sir  Edward  Parry  used  these  articles  with  great  advantage 
in  his  Arctic  voyage  ;  while  all  liquid  inks  became  congealed  and  utterly 
useless  to  him,  the  Wedgewood  machine  and  papers  continued  as  ser- 
viceable as  ever. 


THE  conservatory  AT  CHATSWORTH. 

This  immense  structure  is  composed  of  glass  panes,  manufactured 
especially  for  it,  placed  in  iron  framework,  of  the  lightest  apparent 
kind,  but,  as  subsequent  trials  have  proved,  of  the  most  firm  and  sub- 
stantial description.  The  length  of  the  erection  is  nearly  300  feet,  its 
height  above  70,  and  its  width  150.  It  covers  nearly  an  acre  of  ground, 
through  the  centre  of  which  is  the  carriage  road,  and  the  tubes  for  the 
hot  water  which  regulate  the  required  temperature  measure  six  miles.    A 


ITECHANICAL  AND  USEFUL  ARTS.  107 

light,  but  beautiful  gallery,  erected  at  the  base  of  the  dome,  and  which 
transverses  the  entire  building,  enables  the  spectator  to  review  the  whole 
of  the  interior  from  various  points.  The  access  to  the  gallery  is  by  steps, 
placed  with  admirable  taste  in  the  midst  of  rock  work,  in  the  fissures  of 
which  are  plants,  apparently  natural  productions.  A  tunnel  surrounds 
the  whole  edifice,  by  which  access  is  obtained  to  the  stoves  and  pipes,  and 
rails  are  laid  down  to  convey  the  coals  per  train,  and  supply  tlie  neces- 
sary heat.  The  interior  contains  a  vast  number  of  trees  and  plants,  many 
theua  of  gigantic  proportions,  and  the  rarest  of  tropical  growth.  Birds 
of  varied  and  exquisite  beauty,  whose  delicate  structure  could  not  endure 
the  rigours  of  our  climate,  are  seen  flying  about ;  and  pools  of  water,  in 
which  plants  suited  to  the  required  purpose  have  been  encouraged  to 
grow,  contain  gold,  silver,  and  other  fish.  In  this  structure  may  be  seen 
the  largest  crystal  yet  found  in  the  world ;  and  also  one,  but  of  much 
smaller  dimensions,  which  has  been  pronounced  the  most  beautiful. — 
Lerbtfskire  Courier. 

MODEL  OF  THE  TABERNACLE. 

There  have  been  exhibited  in  London,  "  Models  of  the  Tabernacle  and 
Encampment  of  Israel,"  by  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Hartshorn,  an  Irish  clergy- 
man. For  its  mere  features,  we  can  do  no  better  than  draw  upon  a  daily 
contemporary : — "  The  first  model  represents  the  encampment  of  the 
Jews  in  the  plain  of  Moab — that  of  the  Levites  being  complete,  with  the 
Tabernacle  in  the  centre.  In  the  distance  are  seen  the  tents  of  Ephraim, 
with  a  view  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  mountain  scenery.  The  second  model 
gives  the  Court  of  the  Tabernacle  in  detail,  with  its  60  pillars,  em- 
broidered curtain,  altar  of  burnt  offering,  and  all  the  other  costly  items 
of  the  Jewish  ceremonial.  Great  pains  and  expense  have  been  bestowed 
on  this  portion  of  the  exhibition.  The  miniature  candlestick,  sacred 
vesseb,  &c.  are  of  gold  or  silver,  the  pillars  are  richly  gilt,  aud  the  whole 
is  of  the  most  elaborate  and  careful  workmanship.  The  curtain  of  the 
holy  place  is  exquisitely  embroidered,  and  even  the  water-vessels  have 
been  carefully  copied  from  the  specimens  in  the  British  Museum.  A 
miniature  high-priest  presides  at  the  altar  of  burnt  offering  to  the 
*  lodorus,* — on  which  a  sacrificial  animal  is  about  to  be  fastened ;  and  a 
group  surrounds,  such  as  one  might  imagine  to  be  present  on  some  occa- 
sion of  high  festival."  The  sacred  text  has  been  so  implicitly  followed 
as  not  to  leave  a  single  peculiarity  unrepresented. — AthemBum,lio.  1056. 


NEW  PILOT  HOUSE,  DOVER. 

Extensive  improvements  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  South-Eastern 
Railway  Terminus  at  Dover,  having  involved  the  removal  of  the  pilots' 
station,  it  became  necessary  to  provide  other  accommodatioa  for  them, 
and  hencfc  the  structure  about  to  be  described. 

The  I.I  site  about  200  feet  west  of  Cheescman's 

Head,  (.'  ,  and  within  10  fe«t  of  the  sea  wall:  it 

stands  uj..,,.  ..  ,.,..  .„  „  ,„  .....ulc  10  feet  thick,  which  is  carried  down 
to  whrrc  the  shingle,  from  its  compactness,  forms  an  excellent  founda- 
tion :  it  is  built  of  brick,  with  dressings  of  Portland  stone  cement,  the 


108  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

balcony  excepted,  whose  floor  is  of  York  stone  landings,  with  brackets 
and  balustrade  of  Bramley  Fall  stone.  The  interior  arrangements  con- 
sist, on  the  ground  floor,  of  a  store  room  20  feet  square,  whence  a  pair 
of  doors  opens  on  the  seaward  front,  capable  of  admitting  a  boat. 
The  first  floor  is  a  dormitory,  where  berths  are  fitted  up ;  the  second 
story,  on  a  level  with  the  balcony,  is  the  look-out  room  ;  and  above  is 
another  chamber  for  stores  and  signals :  from  this,  access  is  obtained  to 
the  roof,  which  is  a  lead  flat,  afibrding  by  its  great  elevation  a  fine  view 
of  the  scenery  around, 

Mr.  S,  Beazley  was  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Grissell  the  builder. — 
Builder,  No.  290. 


LOW  PRESSURE  ATMOSPHERIC  RAILWAY. 

Mr.  W.  p.  Struve  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  on  this 
invention.  After  having  described  the  various  plans  of  applying  Atmo- 
spheric Pressure  to  the  purpose  of  Railway  transit,  from  that  of  Vallance 
in  1824,  to  the  present  extensive  experiment  on  the  South  Devon  Railway, 
the  writer  pointed  out  the  great  difficulty  which  existed  of  communicating 
the  interior  motion  of  the  piston  in  the  tube  to  the  train  outside  :  that 
in  order  to  do  this,  it  became  necessary  to  have  a  slit  or  opening  along 
its  whole  length,  which  is  closed  by  au  elastic  valve,  rendered  tight  and 
impervious  to  air  by  a  composition  of  fatty  matter  placed  iu  the  groove  in 
which  the  valve  fiills.  The  difficulties,  however,  which  had  to  be  con- 
tended with  on  account  of  the  leakage  along  the  valve  and  piston  were  very 
great.  He  went  on  to  state : — The  plan  by  which  I  propose  to  obviate 
these  difficulties  is,  to  make  a  covered  viaduct  of  the  railway  for  the 
purpose  of  passing  the  train  through.  The  sides  to  be  constructed  of 
masonry,  and  the  top  of  timber  or  any  other  materials  that  may  be  found 
equally  convenient.  The  piston  to  be  a  shield  fixed  on  wheels  made  to  fit 
the  covered  way ;  but  allowing  a  sufficient  space  round  its  outer  edge,  so 
that  it  may  pass  along  without  touching  the  interior  surface  of  the  passage. 
As  the  rarefr.ction  required  to  urge  the  train  through  would  be  very  little, 
not  much  importance  need  be  attached  to  the  leakage :  a  covered  way  of 
9  feet  square,  equivalent  to  81  superficial  feet  at  a  pressure  of  -5%  of  a 
pound  to  the  inch,  would  amount  to  8  tons,  or  four  times  the 
pressure  which  was  obtained  on  the  Croydon  Railway.  The  train  of 
carriages  would  thus  pass  through  a  covered  way,  which  may  be  lighted 
through  glass.  As  valves  in  the  shield  may  at  any  time  be  opened,  so  as 
to  diminish  or  remove  the  pressure,  the  train  may  be  slackened  or  stopped 
at  any  point.  The  advantages  of  this  plan  appear  to  be,  increased  speed, 
safety,  and  economy  ;  also  the  resistance  of  the  air  in  front  of  the  train 
will  be  diminished,  and  no  stoppages  can  be  occasioned  by  a  snow  drift 
or  frost.  The  system  also  possesses  all  the  advantages  claimed  by  the 
promoters  of  the  other  mode  of  atmospheric  traction.  I  propose  to  ex- 
haust the  tube  by  means  of  two  large  chambers  constructed  like  gasome- 
ters moving  up  and  down  in  water  by  means  of  a  steam-engine,  which 
need  not  be  stopped,  as  the  regulation  of  the  speed  and  the  stoppage  of 
the  train  would  be  effected  by  opening  the  valves  in  the  shield,  or  the 
doorways  at  the  stations.     Each  station  would  be  provided  with  a  loop 


MECHANICAL  AND  USEPUl  AETS.  109 

line,  80  as  not  to  destroy  the  continuity  of  tbe  covered  way,  and  the  trains 
would  then  run  into  open  sheds  at  each  station  for  the  purpose  of  receiv- 
ing and  taking  out  the  passeugers.  The  cost  of  the  covered  way  and 
apparatus  for  exhausting  will,  in  ordinary  cases,  not  exceed  Jb7,0UU  per 
mile ;  which  is  not  more  than  the  usual  cost  of  locomotive  engines,  and  the 
extra  weight  of  rails  required  for  their  support,  nor  more  than  the  cost  of 
the  present  atmospheric  railways.  A  working  model,  20  feet  long,  was  ex- 
hibited, and  the  subject  generally  excited  much  interest. — AthencEuniy 
No.  1087.  

SUBMARINE  FOUNDATIONS  :    SCREW  PILES. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  by  Mr. 
A.  Alitchell,  of  Belfast,  "  On  Submarine  Foundations,  particularly  the 
Screw-pile  and  Moorings."  The  author  restricted  himself  almost  entirely 
to  the  description  of  the  works  executed  with  the  Screw-pile,  as  that  had 
been  chiefly  employed  for  supporting  structures  on  loose  sand  or  mud 
banks  wholly  or  partially  covered  by  the  sea,  where  it  had  previously 
been  considered  ver>'  hazardous,  if  not  impracticable,  to  erect  any  permanent 
edilice ;  and  in  this  narrative  he  avoided  all  comparison  with  other  modes 
of  proceeding,  even  when  thty  had  the  same  object.  The  origin  of  the 
screw- pile  was  the  screw-mooring,  which  was  designed  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  for  an  especial  object  a  greater  holding  power  than  was  pos- 
sessed by  either  the  ordinary  pile  or  any  of  the  usual  mooring  anchors 
or  blocks  of  however  large  dimensions.  It  was  proved  by  experiment 
that  if  a  screw  with  a  broad  spiral  flange  were  fixed  upon  a  spindle,  and 
forcibly  propelled  by  rotary  motion  to  a  certain  depth  into  the  ground, 
an  enormous  force  would  be  required  to  extract  it  by  direct  tension,  and 
that  the  power  employed  must  be  suflScient  to  drag  up  a  mass  of  the  form 
of  a  frustrum  of  a  cone  reversed  ;  the  base  being  at  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  the  section  of  the  apex  being  equal  to  the  diameter  of  the  sci'ew. 
The  extent  of  the  resisting  mass  must  of  course  depend  upon  the  natural 
tenacity  of  the  soil.  Even  in  this  reasoning  it  must  be  evident  that  a 
vertical  course  was  calculated  upon  ;  but  as,  practically,  that  seldom  or 
never  occurred,  the  angle  of  tension  and  the  curve  of  the  buoy-cable 
again  gave  the  moorings  greater  power.  This  was  found  correct  in 
practice.     It  occurred  to  Mr.  Mitchell  that  the  same  means  of  resistance 

lo  downward  pr-     -.'ht  be  used,  and  he  proposed  to  apply  it  for  the 

foundations  oi  beacons,  and  other  structures,  which,  for  mari- 

time purposi  -,  ill-  desirable  to  place  upon  sand  and  mud  banks, 

where  liitlif  rto  it  had  been  considered  impracticable  to  place  any  per- 
manent ulitices. 

In  1838,  a  plan  for  a  structure  of  this  nature  for  a  lighthouse  on  tbe 
Maplin  Sand,  at  the  inoutb  o  the  Thames,  was  laid  before  the  Corpora- 
tion of  the  Trinity  1 ;  nortcd  by  the  opinion  of  Mr.  ^Valker,  their 
eniiincrr.  The  nii  >  ,  5  inches  diameter,  with  screws  4  feet 
(jjr,,,,.  1,  r  ,.,.,-,.  accoio,..^.;  .....ui  22  lett  deep  into  the  mud,  and,  with 
jM  ion,  they  were  allowed  to  stand  for  two  years  before  any 
e<i  ^  aced  upon  them,  'ihc  lighthouse  was  subsequently  con- 
structed, auii  had  stood  perfectly  until  the  present  time.  Tending  this  pro- 
bation,  it  was  determined  to  erect  a  lighthouse  to  point  out  the  eutrauce 


110  YEAR-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

to  the  harbour  of  Flcetwood-on-Wyre  ;  and,  under  the  advice  of  Capt, 
Denham,  R.N.,  the  screw-piles  were  adopted.  The  spot  fixed  on  was  the 
point  of  a  bank  of  loose  sand  about  two  miles  from  the  shore.  Seven  iron 
piles,  with  screws  of  3  feet  diameter,  were  forced  about  16  feet  into  the 
bank,  and  upon  them  timber  supports,  48  feet  in  vertical  height,  were 
fixed,  to  carry  the  house  and  lantern.  This  structure  was  completed  in 
six  months,  and  was  successful — never  having  required  any  repairs  to  the 
present  time.  A  similar  lighthouse  was  erected  near  Belfast ;  and  since 
then,  several  others,  with  a  great  number  of  beacons,  have  been  fixed  in 
situations  heretofore  deemed  impracticable.  A  project  was  started  by  the 
Earl  of  Courtown,  in  the  year  1847,  for  adding  to  the  length  of  the  pier 
at  the  Harbour  of  Courtown,  on  the  coast  of  Wexford,  which  had  proved  an 
entire  failure,  from  the  channel  between  the  solid  pier  being  continually 
choked  up  with  sand.  Iron  piles,  with  screws  of  2  feet  diameter,  to  be 
driven  from  11  to  15  feet  into  the  sand  and  blue  clay,  were  decided  to  be 
used  in  order  to  form  an  open  jet|;y,  through  which  the  sand  could  be 
washed  by  the  current — and  the  platform  could  be  used  for  loading  and 
discharging  the  shipping.  The  surf  was  so  heavy  on  the  coast,  that  the 
usual  barges  or  floating  rafts  could  not  be  used  for  putting  the  piles 
down  :  so  a  plan  was  designed  by  Messrs.  Mitchell  for  projecting  a  stage 
forward  from  the  solid  part,  rigging  a  large  grooved  wheel  upon  the  top 
of  the  pile,  passing  an  endless  rope  band  around  it  and  round  a  pulley 
fixed  150  feet  back,  and  then  by  a  number  of  men  hauling  upon  the  land 
a  rotary  motion  was  communicated,  which  screwed  it  down  fast.  By 
these  means  one  bay  of  the  pier,  17  feet  long,  was  finished  daily,  even  in 
rough  weather.  The  entire  length  of  the  jetty  was  260  feet,  its  breadth 
18  feet,  with  a  cross-head  of  54  feet  long,  with  landing  stages  at  each 
end,  and  two  lines  of  railway  throughout.  The  cost  of  this  extension  was 
£4,150,  or  about  £47.  10s.  per  current  lineal  yard — a  small  sum  com- 
pared to  the  cost  of  stone  piers  ;  but  more  than  the  expense  would  be 
now,  as  the  system  of  work  is  better  understood. — Athenceum,  No.  1062. 

rOOT-SUSPENSION  BEIDGE,  SHADWELL. 

A  rooT-susPENSTON  Bridge  has  been  erected  imder  the  direction  of 
Mr.  William  Dredge,  C.E.,  across  the  Ropery-grounds  in  the  Sun  Tavern 
Fields,  parish  of  Shadwell,  to  form  a  communication  between  the  Com- 
mercial Road  and  the  London  Docks.  The  bridge  is  built  of  iron,  with 
the  exception  of  the  roadway,  which  is  planked  with  2^  inch  yellow  battens. 
The  clear  span  of  the  bridge  is  91  feet,  the  width  of  the  roadway  7  feet 
6  inches.  Each  chain  as  it  rests  upon  the  tower  of  support  is  composed 
of  eight  five-eighths  of  an  inch  round  bar  of  iron,  and  four  bars,  each 
half- inch  in  diameter ;  this  gives  an  aggregate  section  at  each  end  of  6' 52 
square  inches  of  iron  in  the  chains,  the  breaking  strain  of  which  is  195 
tons,  being  equivalent  to  132  tons  placed  upon  the  platform.  The 
weight,  however,  which  the  bridge  will  bear  in  safety  is  only  one-third  of 
this,  or  44  tons.  The  holdfasts,  to  the  retaining  chains,  are  held  in  their 
places  by  being  securely  imbedded,  each  in  about  10  tons  of  concrete. 
The  platform,  when  extremely  loaded,  will  hold  about  150  persons. — 
Mechanics^  Magazine^  No.  1287. 


Ill 
i^atural    ^j^ilosopj^n. 


ATMOSPUKRIC    WAVES. 

The  fifth  Report  on  Atmospheric  Waves,  by  Mr.  Birt,  read  to  the  British 
Association,  consists  of  three  parts: — the  first  having  reference  to  the 
information  we  at  present  possess  relative  to  such  individual  waves  as 
have  been  determined :  the  second  treating  of  the  barometric  curves 
which  result  from  the  crossing  of  the  north-westerly  and  south-westerly 
waves,  the  two  principal  systems  common  to  Europe — the  most  promi- 
nent subject  being  that  particular  curve  known  as  the  "  great  symmetrical 
wave  of  November"  :  and  the  third  embodying  the  results  that  have  been 
obtained  during  the  last  year  illustrative  of  the  symmetry  of  the  "  great 
wave,"  more  particularly  the  locality  of  greatest  symmetry,  and  the 
departure  from  symmetry  in  certain  directions. 

Under  the  second  head,  the  author  has  thrown  together  the  result  of 
his  inquriies  into  the/onw*  presented  by  the  barometric  curves  at  certain 
stations,  and  has  devoted  attention  to  the  symmetrical  curve  of  November 
as  it  has  been  observed  at  the  Observatory  at  Greenwich  in  the  years 
ISil  to  1845.  In  connexion  with  this  subject,  the  author  remarked,  "  it 
has  been  assumed  that  the  symmetrical  wave  of  November  consists  of 
five  subordinate  waves  giving  rise  to  the  five  maxima  which  characterize 
it,  the  central  maximum  forming  the  apex  of  the  symmetrical  curve, 
the  remainder  being  subordinate  thereto.  ('Association  Keports,'  18-46, 
p.  125.)  Upon  a  close  inspection  of  the  curve  of  the  '  great  wave  '  as 
laid  down  from  the  Greenwich  observations,  six  subordinate  maxima  can 
he  traced,  three  on  each  side  the  central  apex,  which  in  all  the  years  is 
by  fiir  the  most  prominent.  The  mean  curve  leads  to  the' conclusion  that 
Greenwich  is  not  the  point  of  greatest  symmetry,  its  closing  portion  being 
depressed  more  than  two  inches  below  the  commencement. 

"The  next  feature  is  the  decided  rise  of  the  mercurial  column  during  a 
Ijeriod  of  sixty-eight  hours  preceding  the  transit  of  the  crest ;  the  vaJue 
of  this  rise  is  1  mch  or  about  '010  inch  per  hour.  The  fall  is  not  so 
precipitous  ;  the  barometer  appears  to  be  kept  up  in  this  locality  by  the 
first  subordinate  maximum  succeeding  the  crest,  so  that  at  the  epoch  of 
8ixty.ci^_'ht  hours  after  transit  the  value  of  the  reading  is  more  than  2 
inches  liiL-'lar  than  at  8ixty-ei{iht  hours  before  transit.  At  eighty  hours 
after  transit  a  precipitous  fall  commences,  which  continues  during  the 
next  twcnty-foiu:  hours,  the  mercury  sinking  '30  inch  or  about  015  per 
hour.  The  fall  afterwards  continues  with  two  slight  interruptions,  an- 
swering to  the  subordinate  maxima,  until  the  close  of  the  wave  148  hours 
after  transit."  The  peculiar  features  of  the  mean  curve,  especially  the 
<i  '  ...     1,1  terminal  readings,  •211  inch,  combined 

V  iiy  the  "  great  wave  "   at  its  last  retuni, 

i  expressing  numerically  the  departure  from 

>;  iiiny  be  selected.     This  departure  from 

F\ :  ^  ,  111  by  the  observations  of  1840,  especially 

as  wc  proceed  iVuni  Brussels,  European  nodal  point,  towards  Ireland 
and  the  north-west  of  Scotland,  u  u  well  sccu  in  the  scries  of  curves 


112  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

illustrating  the  author's  report  in  the  last  volume  of  the  Association  Re- 
ports. Three  principal  maxima  characterize  these  curves  on  the  5th,  the 
9th,  and  the  12th  of  November;  and  the  differences  of  altitude  between 
those  of  the  5th  and  1 2th  have  been  employed  to  indicate  the  deviation 
from  symmetry  in  the  direction  already  alluded  to. 

The  discussion  of  these  differences  and  the  results  deduced  from  them 
form  the  third  part  of  the  report.  The  author  has  laid  down  on  a  map 
of  the  British  Isles  these  differences,  and  from  them  constructed  a  chart 
of  the  lines  of  equal  deviation  from  symmetry  :  these  lines  range  from 
•100  inch — which  passes  north-west  of  the  Channel  Islands,  proceeds 
towards  the  Isle  of  Wight,  skirts  the  shores  of  Sussex  and  Kent,  and 
passes  through  Rarasgate — to  '550  inch,  which  passes  through  Limerick, 
is  slightly  curved  as  it  crosses  Ireland,  and  proceeds  nearly  in  a  straight 
line  across  the  Scottish  Islands  to  the  north-west  of  Great  Britain.  The 
values  of  these  lines  express  the  depression  of  the  maximum  of  the  5th 
below  that  of  the  12th.  Among  these  lines  the  author  regards  the  direc- 
tion of  that  representing  '260  inch  as  the  best  determined.  It  appears 
to  have  passed  near  and  to  the  west  of  Helstone,  this  station  exhibiting 
a  deviation  of  "258  inch  ;  it  then  proceeded  along  the  coasts  of  Cornwall 
and  Devonshire,  crossed  the  Bristol  Channel,  entered  Wales,  and  con- 
tinued its  course  across  Glamorganshire  towards  Brecon,  which  it  left  to 
the  north-west,  as  it  rather  abruptly  changed  its  direction  and  proceeded 
towards  Gloucester ;  which  it  passed  through.  It  appears  to  have  under- 
gone considerable  inflexion  as  it  traversed  the  central  parts  of  England, 
rising  again  towards  Nottingham,  which  is  removed  "025  inch  from  it  to 
the  west ;  it  finally  left  the  shores  of  England  at  the  south-eastern  angle 
of  Yorkshire,  and  entered  on  the  German  Ocean. 

The  author  solicited  attention  to  a  feature  which  characterizes  all  these 
Unes,  especially  the  one  just  traced,  viz.,  the  decided  inflexion  they  under- 
go as  they  pass  over  the  land.  The  chart  exhibits  tvjo  systems  of 
inflexion,  one  being  peculiar  to  Ireland  and  England ;  the  general  direc- 
tion of  the  lines  undergoing  a  change  as  the  line  of  greatest  symmetry 
is  approached,  the  inflexion  being  governed  apparently  by  the  masses  of 
land  ;  and  the  other  to  Scotland,  the  inflexion  being  very  decided  over  the 
land  northward  of  the  Firth  of  Forth.  From  the  single  instance  discussed 
by  the  author,  the  result  appears  to  be  that  the  symmetry  of  the  baro- 
metric curve  is  departed  from  in  a  greater  degree  at  inland  stations,  a 
greater  difference  between  the  points  selected  being  exhibited  at  such 
stations  than  at  the  sea  coast  on  either  side.  The  report  closed  with  some 
remarks  on  the  non-persistency  of  the  direction  of  these  lines  of  deviation 
from  symmetry,  and  on  the  high  propability  that  they  revolve  about  the 
nodal  point  of  the  two  principal  systems  of  atmospheric  waves,  Brussels. 
— Athenceum,  No.  1086. 


VELOCITY  AND  HEIGHT  OF  WAVES. 

Capt.  Stanley  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  the 
following  result  of  experiments  made  by  him  on  board  H.M.S.  Rattle- 
snake:— The  method  adopted  for  the  determination  of  the  length  and 
speed  of  the  sea  was  to  veer  a  spar  astern  by  the  marked  lead  line,  when 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY. 


lis 


lO  ship  was  going  dead  before  the  wind  and  sea,  until  the  spar  was  on 
the  crest  of  one  wave,  while  the  ship's  stern  was  on  the  crest  of  the  ])re- 
cedmg  one.  After  a  few  trials  Capt.  Stanley  found  that  when  the  sea 
was  at  all  regular,  he  could  obtain  this  distance  within  2  or  3  fathoms, 
when  the  length  of  wave  was  50.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  speed  of  the 
sea,  the  time  was  noted  when  the  crest  of  the  advancing  wave  passed  the 
spar  astern,  and  also  the  time  when  it  reached  the  ship  ;  and  by  taking  a 
number  of  observations,  Capt.  Stanley  has  everj"  reason  to  believe  he  has 
obtained  a  result  not  very  far  removed  from  the  truth.  The  officer  noting 
the  time  in  all  these  observations  having  only  to  register  the  indications 
of  the  watch  when  the  observer  called  ''  Stop,"  had  no  bias  to  induce  him 
to  make  the  ditferences  more  regular.  For  measuring  the  heisrht  of  the 
waves,  the  Captain  adopted  a  plan  recommended  to  him  by  Mrs.  Somer- 
ville, — which  he  has  tried  for  ten  years  with  great  success.  When  the 
ship  is  in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  the  person  observing  ascends  the  rigging 
until  he  can  just  see  the  crest  of  the  coming  wave  on  with  the  horizon, 
and  the  height  of  his  eye  above  the  ship's  water-lme  will  give  a  very  fair 
measure  of  the  dillerence  of  level  between  the  crest  and  hollow  of  a  sea. 
Of  course,  in  all  these  observations,  the  mean  of  a  great  many  have  been 
taken  ;  for  even  when  the  sea  is  most  regidar,  apparently  there  is  a  change 
in  the  hei;;ht  of  the  individual  waves.  The  details  of  the  experiments 
will  be  found  in  No.  lObS  of  the  Athetiaum.  The  following  is  a  sum- 
mary of  the  observations  : — 


1 

1 

ilM7. 

1 

d 
1 
o 

4> 

1 

1 

1 

o 

c 

III 

m 

1^ 

11 

en 

Remarks. 

April 

Knots 
72 

Feet 
22 

Fms. 
55 

Second 
100 

Knots 
27- 

Shipbefore  the  Wind  with 
a  heavy  following  Sea. 

23 

6 

60 

20 

43 

8-0 

24-5 

Ditto. 

M 

6 

60 

20 

50 

100 

240 

Ditto. 

25 

» 

5  0 

35to40 

78 

221 

Sea  irregular. 

96 

60 

S3 

7*4 

221 

Heavy  following  Sea. 

May 

a 

6 

(4-5) 

7-0 

33 

57 

10-4 

36-3 

>i                  ■  r -— oU^erva- 
ly  good  m 

a 

7 

7-8 

17 

35 

8-» 

22- 

Wind  and  Sea  a  little  on 
Port  Quarter. 

NoTB.— The  Nambera  denotins  the  strength  of  the  Wind  are 
by  Admiral  ISeaufurt. 

Mr.  Scott  Russell  and  Lord  Adare  made  some  remarks  on  this  com- 
muuicatiou ;— in  the  cuurso  ol  which  the  latter  said  ibat  few  persons 


114  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

could  realize  the  magnificent  effect  of  standing  on  the  cliffs  of  the  west 
coast  of  Ireland,  and  observing  the  great  breakers  rolling  in  from  the 
Atlantic,  some  of  which  he  had,  by  a  method  exactly  similar  to  that  used 
by  Capt.  Stanley,  convinced  himself  were  50  feet  high,  and  occasionally 
they  even  reached  the  enormous  magnitude  of  150  feet ! 


REMARKABLE  TIDE. 

Mr.  G.  Roberts  has  reported  to  the  British  Association,  a  Remark- 
able Tide  in  the  British  Channel,  July  7,  1848,  as  it  appeared  at  Lyme 
Regis,  Dorset.  Weather  warm  and  calm.  Dead  neap  tides.  Fine  for 
twenty-four  hours  before  the  phenomenon.  About  two  hours  and  a  half 
before  the  phenomenon,  at  1§  a.m.  it  blew  hard  for  ten  miimtes.  The 
wind  before  and  after  this  gust  was  gentle,  and  had  gone  round  to  all 
points  of  the  compass.  At  dead  low  water,  or  perhaps  just  after  the  water 
had  begun  to  flow  at  4  a.m.,  the  tide  began  to  run  into  the  cobb  so  that 
a  boat  rowed  with  two  oars  could  not  make  head  against  it,  but  was  car- 
ried along  with  it.  The  informant  estimates  the  height  of  the  water  to 
have  been  about  six  or  seven  feet,  and  that  it  took  eight  minutes  to  flow  in,  or 
at  most  ten  minutes,  and  the  same  time  to  flow  out.  Then,  when  out,  it 
began  to  flow  in  again,  and  so  continued  till  8  o'clock,  a  space  of  four 
hours,  W'hen  the  sea  was  quite  calm,  and  so  continued  all  the  day. 
The  same  was  experienced  at  Dartmouth  and  Portland.  Some  of  the 
sailors  said  it  w^as  a  Bore  ;  others,  that  it  was  caused  by  thunder  weather ; 
some  said  there  had  been  an  earthquake  in  the  ocean.  Some  sailors  say 
the  tide  ran  ten  knots  an  hour. 


USE  OF  THE  MARINE  HYDROMETER. 

This  is  an  instrument  which  Mr.  George  Buchanan  has  found  extremely 
useful  in  inquiries  connected  with  the  prevalence  of  sea  or  river  water 
in  different  estuaries,  with  the  view  of  determining  the  limits  of  these 
waters  in  respect  of  the  sea.  This  forms  not  only  a  curious  subject  of 
investigation,  but  has  become  of  great  practical  application  in  Scot- 
land, in  connexion  with  the  interests  of  the  salmon-fisheries.  These 
we  know  in  rivers  are  restricted  in  the  modes  of  fishing,  while  in  the  sea 
they  may  be  carried  on  freely  by  any  means  of  catching,  such  as  stake- 
nets  or  other  fixed  machinery.  After  the  introduction  of  this  modern 
improvement  in  the  fishing,  the  great  question  arose,  how  to  determine 
the  limit  between  the  river  and  the  sea,  and  by  it  to  fix  the  point  where 
the  restrictions  were  to  be  taken  off,  and  the  free  use  of  fixed  machinery 
was  to  begin.  On  this  question  much  diversity  of  opinion  has  prevailed  ; 
and  among  other  tests  was  that  of  the  prevalence  of  fresh  or  salt  w^ater. 

Having  been  engaged  in  various  inquiries  of  this  nature,  Mr.  Buchanan 
found  that  for  every  purpose  it  was  sufficient  to  test  the  qualities  of  the 
waters  by  their  specific  gravities,  this  being  always  an  exact  measure  of 
the  ])revalence  of  sea  or  of  fresh  w^ater  in  any  mixture. 

The  specific  gravities  were,  accordingly,  measured  by  weighing  each 
specimen  in  the  usual  way  in  a  fine  balance.  But  this  method  being 
tedious,  and  nearly  inapplicable  where  a  great  number  of  specimens  were 
to  be  tried  on  the  spot,  and  during  the  progress  of  the  surveys, — it  oc- 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  115 

curred  to  Mr.  Buchanan,  that  something  on  the  principle  of  the  hydro- 
meter inijrht  be  introduced,  which  would  facilitate  the  business ;  and  this 
is  one  of  the  instruments  found  to  answer.  It  consists  merely  of  a 
common  spirit  hydrometer-bulb,  made  so  long  as  just  to  sink  under  the 
bulb  in  sea- water,  and  adapted  with  a  very  thin  scale,  so  as  to  give 
greater  sensibility,  and  measure  the  different  shades  of  sr.ltncss  with 
accuracy.  Considerable  difficulty  was  found  in  adapting  this  scale,  as  it 
must  not  only  be  thin,  but  light ;  otherwise  it  tends  to  overbalance  the 
whole  instrument.  A.  thin  slip  of  whalebone  or  ivory  answers  sulliciently 
well.  A  stem  of  glass  would  be  desirable,  but  it  is  too  slender,  and 
liable  to  be  broken.  If  the  instrument  be  entirely  of  brass,  like  the 
brewers'  liydrometer,  it  will  answer  very  well ;  and  Mr.  Buchanan  has 
no  doubt  that,  in  the  hands  of  instrument-makers,  a  more  finished  and 
correct  instrument  could  be  constructed  for  general  use ;  while  it  would 
be  curious  to  have  experiments  with  such  an  instrument  in  different 
seas. 

The  general  specific  crravity  of  sea- water  along  the  shores  on  the  east 
coast  of  Scotland,  Mr.  Buchanan  has  found  rarely  to  exceed  1026  ;  fresh 
water  being  1000.  The  use  of  the  instrument  was  shewn  in  different 
waters,  and  a  very  small  impregnation  of  salt  was  visible  in  fresh  water 
by  the  rising  of  the  stem.  A  specimen  from  Granton  Pier  at  low  water 
was  found  1024,  shewing  an  impregnation  of  one  part  of  fresh  in  thir- 
teen of  salt,  and  at  high  water  it  was  exactly  the  same,  and  also  the 
same  at  the  top  and  bottom  ;  but  this  is  seldom  the  case  at  the  mouths  of 
rivers  and  estuaries,  the  fresh  water  being  found  generally  floating  on  the 
surface,  particularly  in  rivers  such  as  the  North  Esk  in  Forfarshire, 
which,  making  a  rapid  and  sudden  descent  into  the  sea  without  an  inter- 
vening estuary  of  any  extent,  no  time  is  allowed  for  the  mixture  of  the 
waters.  Mr.  B.  has  frequently  found  the  waters  there  perfectly  fresh  on  the 
surface,  and  in  the  water  at  four  or  five  feet  deep,  the'  hydrometer 
njounted  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  scale,  shewing  the  entire  prevalence  of 
the  sea-water  at  that  depth.  After  their  descent  into  the  open  sea,  the 
fresh  waters  float  about  on  the  surface  for  a  long  time,  and  are  driven  in 
ililTcrent  directions  by  the  prevailing  winds. — See  the  paper  on  this 
subject  communicated  by  the  Itoyal  Scottish  Society  of  Arts,  to  Jame- 
S'ui'.f  JournaL  No.  88. 


THE  NEW  FRENCH  BAROMETER. 

At  the  recent  meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Swansea,  Pro- 
fi's^ur  Lloyd  having  been  requested  by  several  members  to  describe  a 
Barometer  on  a  new  principle  which  he  had  lately  seen,  said  that  it  was  a 
French  invention.  *'  A  cylinder  of  coj»per,  with  a  very  thin  and  corru- 
^'Titi-d  end,  was  j         "  iiansted  and   hermetically   scaled;    and  the 

ttl<  ( I  of  the  var} ;  of  the  atmosphere  on  the  thin  end  was 

„     ,.,,>;... I    i,v  ,.  ,  ,, ,,  r»,  fo  as  to  aflect  the  index  of  a  dial  very 

!i-(iial.     A  friend  of  his  had  tested  the  indica- 
•  A  by  placing  it  under  the  rcc- ivcr  of  an  air-pump, 

and  observing  its  march  in  comparison  with  the  indications  of  the  long 
gauge,  and  found  them  to  agree  to  leas  thao  the  I-iOO  of  ao  iuch." 


116  TEAR-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

The  barometer  referred  to  was  patented  in  this  country,  April  27, 1844, 
by-  Mr.  rontainmoreau,  on  behalf  of  the  inventor,  whose  specification 
states  :  "This  new  mode  of  constructing  barometers  and  other  pneumatic 
instruments,  consists  more  especially  in  the  application  of  thin  sheets  or 
diaphragms  of  metal,  glass.  India-rubber,  or  other  flexible  air-tight 
substances,  to  certain  apparatus  employed  for  measuring  the  pressure  and 
elasticity  of  the  air  and  other  fluids,  in  such  manner  as  to  fonn  a  kind  of 
elastic  cushion,  or  buffer,  suscei;!^'ble  of  the  slightest  variation  of  the 
pressure  of  the  atmosphere  or  fluid  with  which  it  is  in  contact,  and  con- 
sequently indicating  the  amount  of  the  same  by  the  greater  or  less  de- 
pression of  the  said  yielding  substances.  And  the  invention  consists 
generally  in  the  application  of  the  above  principle  to  all  those  pneumatic 
instruments,  in  which  any  reciprocating  motion  and  oscillation  takes 
place  upon  a  variation  in  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  peculiar  adaptation  of  this  barometer  to  its  intended  object  will  be 
clearly  seen.  The  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  being  jemoved  from  the 
under  surface  of  the  thin  diaphragm,  but  this  weight  being  variable, 
according  to  the  state  of  the  weather,  consequently  the  amount  of 
depression  will  be  greater  or  less  in  proportion  to  its  variation.  There- 
fore, all  that  is  required  to  complete  the  instrument,  is  simply  to  provide 
mechanism  for  accurately  measuring  this  depression  and  exhibiting  its 
amount  on  a  dial  or  other  ordinnry  scale. 

A  detailed  description  of  this  Barometer  (the  Aneroid),  will  be  found  in 
the  Mechanics'  Magazine,  No.  1307.  * 


ATMOSPHERIC  DISTURBANCES,  ON  APRII-  6. 

Col.  Sykes  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  an  elaborate 
paper  "  On  Atmospheric  Disturbances  throughout  the  "World,  and  on  a 
remarkable  storm  at  Bombay,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1848."  In  this 
valuable  Report,  the  author  characterizes  the  atmospheric  disturbances  and 
anomalies  which  presented  themselves  in  various  places  in  Europe,  Asia, 
Africa,  and  even  America,  for  some  months  past,  as  not  less  remarkable 
than  the  political  agitations  and  storms  which  swept  over  Europe, 
lately.  Of  these  it  gives  ample  details  collected  from  various  sources.  It 
particularizes  the  ice  and  snow  in  Poonah,  and  the  extreme  cold  at 
Bombay,  Simla,  and  other  places  in  the  East  Indies,  as  quite  a  miracle. 
It  traces  the  contemporaneous  state  of  public  health  ;  and  concludes  by 
giving,  as  described  by  Dr.  Buist  in  the  Bombay  Times,  all  the  details 
of  an  extraordinary  thunder-storm  ;  with  the  meteorological  records  pre- 
ceding, accompanying,  and  following  it,  the  progress  of  the  «torm  from 
place  to  place,  influence  on  magnetic  phenomena,  and  auroral  displays. 


*  Mr.  Weld,  Librarian  to  the  Royal  Society,  states  that  the  principle  of 
this  new  Barometer  was  developed  so  long  ago  as  1798,  by  M.  Cont^,  who 
describes  an  instrument  thus  constructed,  and  resembling  a  watch  in  ap- 
pearance, in  the  Bulletin  des  Sciences  Naturelles,  Tom.  i.  No.  xiii.  p.  106. 
See  Mr.  Weld's  communication  to  the  Athenceum  for  December  30,  1848. 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  117 

RESISTANCE  OP  THE  AIR  TO  PENDULUMS. 

Mr.  Stokes  has  comnuaicated  to  the  British  Asjociatioa  a  paper  on 
his  subject.  The  results  obtained  froia  the  commou  theory  of  fluid 
luotiou,  in  which  the  pressure  is  supiwsed  equal  in  all  directious,  for  the 
resistance  of  the  air  to  an  oscillatiuu  sphere  or  cyliudncal  rod,  do  not 
agree  with  the  ex{)eriiuents  of  Hessel  and  Bailey,  the  discrepancy  being  so 
much  the  greater  as  the  railius  of  the  sphere  or  rod  is  smaller.  Mr. 
Stokes  states  that  he  had  solved  the  problem  in  the  cases  of  the  sphere 
aud  cyliuder,  using  instead  of  the  common  equations  the  equations  which 
he  had  given  in  the  Eighth  volume  of  the  Cambridge  Philosophical 
Trausactious,  which  had  been  previously  obtained  by  difTercnt  methods 
by  Navier,  by  Poisson,  and  by  M.  de  Saint- V^euaut.  These  equations 
contain  one  arbitrary  constant,  the  value  of  which  obtained  from  oue 
experimcut  ought,  if  the  theory  were  correct,  to  satisfy  the  others ;  or, 
which  comes  to  the  same,  different  experiments  ought  to  lead  to  the  same 
value  of  the  constant,  except  so  far  as  de[)ends  on  errors  of  observation. 
Three  of  Baily's  experiments,  made  on  cylindrical  rods  of  very  different 
diameters,  which  gave  results  very  different  from  oue  another  aud  from 
that  obtained  from  the  common  theory,  led  to  very  nearly  the  same  value 
for  the  arbitrary  constant,  aud  this  value  satisfied  very  nearly  the  experi- 
ments made  on  spheres  suspended  by  fine  wires. 


SHOOTING   STARS. 

Sir  J.  W,  Lubbock,  Bart.,  in  correctiug  an  oversight  in  the  Philoso- 
phical Magazine,  where  it  is  implied  that  the  same  shooting  star  may  be 
observed  to  disappear  at  different  instants  of  time  by  different  observers, 
remarks  : — "  It  is  obvious  that  if  the  moving  body  cease  to  shine,  by 
reason  of  its  entering  the  shadow  of  the  earth,  this  event  is  entirely 
irresiHjctive  of  the  position  of  the  observer  ;  and,  therefore,  if  it  should  be 
observed  by  more  than  oue  person,  such  observations  will  furnish  the 
parallax,  aud  may  determine  whether  this  mode  of  accounting  for  the 
disappearance  of  the  star  is  correct  or  not.  If  it  has  been  attempted  to 
deteriuiue  the  differences  of  terrestrial  longitude  by  such  observations, 
probably  the  materials  exist  somewhere  by  which  the  accuracy  of  the 
hypothesis  can  at  once  be  tested.  It  may  possibly  ,  however,  be  again 
observed  on  the  same  night,  either  by  the  same  or  different  observers, 
after  an  entire  revolution." 

It  haa  bt.     '   r      '      '    ""  'it ion,   whether  such  bodies  owe  their 

origiu  to  VI  i  .1  surface.      But  observers  are,   Sir 

John  belies  1.,  „p, ....  .  ...i.ice  of  the  moon  offers  no  evidence  of 

gre;it  .i_'iiiition.  The  indentations  of  the  »urface  remain  unchanged,  and 
no  piitiiiiiucna  have,  it  is  believed,  been  seen  which  indicate  the  existence 
of  volcanoes,  which  might  discharge  small  bodies  with  great  force,  and 
thus  give  rise  to  th««  s«t«'lli(»-»  of  the  earth. 

The  ca-sc  is  wi.I  "       !  as  regards  the  sun.     Changes  of  enormous 

magiiituili- are  (•  iicsstid  un   its  surface,   which  indicate  the 

action  uf  furees  ii_i  am.;  nil.  uiaAs  probably  in  a  state  of  fluidity.  Kecently, 
Sir  John  Lul^buck  luu>  observed  »|»ot9  which  were  even  risible  to  the 


118  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

naked  eye,  and  of  which,  on  the  following  and  succeeding  days,  not  a  trace 
could  be  found  by  a  good  telescope. 

If  a  body  were  thrown  up  from  the  sun's  surface,  it  must,  omitting  all 
consideration  of  the  planets,  describe  an  ellipse  having  the  centre  of  the 
sun  in  one  of  the  foci ;  and  thus,  however  great  the  force  by  which  the 
body  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  discharged,  it  must  return  to  the  sun, 
and  impinging  upon  it,  would  not  perform  even  one  entire  revolution. 
If,  however,  we  consider  the  action  of  the  other  planets,  and  especially 
of  Jupiter,  it  seems  by  no  means  impossible  that  in  returning,  a  body  so 
discharged  might  clear  the  sun,  and  pei-form  many  complete  revolutions 
arouud  the  primary,  that  is,  might  become  a  comet  (or  shooting  star). 
It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  how  much  the  perihelion  distance  of 
sufh  a  body  miaht  be  lengthened  under  given  circumstances  of  the  action 
of  Jupiter ;  or  whether,  under  any  hypothesis  of  the  configuration  of  the 
planets,  the  perihelion  distance  of  any  known  comet  could  be  brought 
under  "004647.  Le.  Verrier  suggests,  that  some  of  the  comets  may  have 
become  fixed  to  our  system,  and  retained  by  the  action  of  Jupiter ;  and 
that  in  consequence  of  the  same  action,  they  may  again  wander  in  space, 
and  cease  to  belong  to  this  system.*  But  may  not  such  bodies  owe  their 
origin  to  the  same  forces  of  which  the  existence  is  indubitable,  which 
operate  on  the  surface  at  any  rate  of  the  sun's  mass  ?  And  if  so,  it  is 
by  no  means  impossible,  that,  by  calculating  the  perturbations  of  some 
comet  for  the  past,  especially  one  whose  perihelion  distance  is  small,  it 
may  be  traced  back  to  its  origin,  and  the  very  year  ascertained  when  it 
left  the  solar  mass. 

The  phenomena  of  Shooting  Stars  may  possibly  throw  light  upon  the 
question  of  the  extent  to  which  an  atmosphere  extends,  capable  of  aflTord- 
iug  any  sensible  resistance  to  the  motion  of  snch  bodies,  and  may  thus 
afford  an  interesting  illustration  of  the  connexion  which  exists  between 
diflfereut  branches  of  physical  science.  Jn  the  treatise  on  the  Heat  of 
Vapours,  p.  48,  Sir  John  has  given  a  table,  showing,  upon  the  hypothesis 
he  there  adopted,  the  density  and  temperature  for  a  given  height  above 
the  earth's  surface.  According  to  that  hypothesis,  at  a  height  of  fifteen 
miles  the  temperature  is  240°*6  F.,  below  zero  the  density  is  03573,  and 
the  atmosphere  ceases  altogether  at  a  height  of  22'35  miles.  In  the 
Comjdes  Rettdus  des  Sceances  de  V Academic  des  Sciences,  tom.  viii.  p. 
95,  M.  Biot  has  verified  a  calculation  of  Lambert,  who  found  from  the 
phenomena  of  twilight,  the  altitude  of  the  atmosphere  to  be  about  eighteen 
miles.  The  constitution  of  the  higher  regions  of  the  atmosphere,  accord- 
ing to  the  hypothesis  adopted  by  Ivory,  is  very  different,  and  extends  to 
a  much  greater  height.  See  p.  3  of  the  Supplement  to  Sir  John's 
Treatise  on  the  Heat  of  Vapours,  where  he  has  given  a  table,  showing  the 
construction  of  the  atmosphere  according  to  Ivory.    Such  a  table  for  the 

*  "  Dans  un  certain  nombre  des  si^cles  toutefois,  elle  attelndra  de  nouveau 
I'orbite  de  Jupiter,  dans  une  direction  oppos^e  a  celle  par  laquelle  elle  a  par 
arriver  dans  le  syst^me  plan^taire;  et  son  cours  sera  certainement  encore 
fois  altera  :  peut-etre  mfime  Jupiter  la  rendra-t'il  aux  espaces  auxquels  11 1'avait 
ddrob^e."— Le  Verrier,  Comptes  Rendus,  Dec.  20, 1847,  p.  925. 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  119 

constitution  due  to  Laplace's  hypothesis  is  still  wanted. — The  Philoso- 
phical Magazine,  No.  214. 

Ill  the  paper  first  alluded  to,  Sir  John  Lubbock  attempts  to  explain  the 
cause  of  the  sudden  disappearance  of  Shooting  Stars,  and  offers  the  follow- 
ing remarks : — 

A  minute  brilliant  spot  of  light  is  seen  to  traverse  a  portion  of  the 
heavens  with  great  rapidity  ;   it  then  disappears,  often  very  suddenly. 

Three  hypothtses  may  be  used  to  account  for  this  most  curious  pheno- 
menon. 

1 .  The  body  shines  by  its  own  light,  and  then  explodes  like  a  sky-rocket, 
breaking  into  minute  fragments  too  small  to  be  any  longer  visible  to  the 
naked  eye. 

2.  Such  a  body  having  shone  by  its  own  light,  suddenly  ceases  to  be 
luminous. 

"  The  falling  stars,  and  other  fiery  meteors  which  are  frequently  seen 
at  a  considerable  height  in  the  atmosphere,  and  which  have  received  dif- 
ferent names  according  to  the  variety  of  their  figure  and  size,  arise  from 
the  fermentation  of  the  effluvia  of  acid  and  alkaline  bodies  which  float  in 
the  atmosphere.  When  the  more  subtile  parts  of  the  effluvia  are  burnt 
away,  the  viscous  and  earthy  parts  become  too  heavy  for  the  air  to 
support,  and  by  their  gravity  fall  to  the  earth." — Keith's  Use  of  the  Globes. 
According  to  Sir  Humphrj'  Davy,  in  the  Philosophical  Transaction  for 
1817,  "  the  luminous  appearances  of  shooting  stars  and  meteors  cannot 
be  owing  to  any  inflammation  of  elastic  fluids,  but  must  depend  upon  the 
ignition  of  solid  bodies." 

3.  The  body  shines  by  the  reflected  light  of  the  sun,  and  ceases  to  be 
visible  by  its  passing  into  the  earth's  shadow,  or,  in  other  words,  is 
eclijised. — Philosophical  Magazine,  No.  213. 


NEW  MAGNETIC  ACTION. 

Prof.  PLiiCKEE  has  described  to  the  British  Association,  some  experi- 
ments belonging  to  a  New  Magnetic  Action.  A  crystal  with  one  optical 
axis  being  brought  between  the  two  i)oles  of  a  magnet,  there  will  be  a 
repulsive  force,  going  out  from  each  of  the  poles,  and  acting  upon  the 
optical  axis.  According  to  this  action,  the  crj-stal,  if  suspended,  will 
take  such  a  iKjsition  that  its  optical  action  is  placed  within  the  equatorial 
plane.  Uhen  the  crystal  has  two  optical  axes,  there  will  be  tiie  same 
a<:lion  on  both ;  according  to  which,  the  line  bisecting  the  acute  angle 
formed  by  the  axis  will  turn  into  the  equatorial  plane.  When  the  crystal 
is  suspended  in  such  a  way  that  it  may  freely  move  round  any  line  what- 
ever of  the  plane,  containing  both  axes,  this  plane  will  take  the  equatorial 
position,  'i'hus,  a  crj'stal  being  neither  transparent  nor  showing  any 
trace  of  its  crystalline  structure,  wc  may  by  means  of  a  magnet  find  the 
optical  axes.  At  the  same  time,  wc  get  a  new  proof  of  the  connection 
between  light  and  magnetism.  When  light  is  passing  through  a  crvstul, 
there  are  in  general  two  directions,  whtrc  it  is  effected  in  a  quite  distinct 
way  :  these  same  directions  arc  acted  upon  by  a  magnet.  —  Mhenaum, 
No.  10b6. 


120  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

MAGNETICAL  EXPERIMENTS  ON  BOARD  H.  M.  IRON  STEAM-VESSEL 
"  BLOODHOUND." 

These  Experiments  were  undertakeu  by  Capt.  Edward  Johnson,  R.N., 
r.R.S.,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  whether  the  action  of  steam  upon 
the  hull  of  an  Iron  Vessel  affects  a  Compass,  properly  placed,  in  any  degree 
that  may  be  of  practical  imjwrtance  in  its  navigation  ;  and,  also,  whether 
the  keeling  of  the  vessel  produces  any  alteration  in  the  deviations,  or  dis- 
turbs a  compass  so  placed  to  any  considerable  exteut.  The  former 
question  is,  from  the  results  of  these  experiments,  resolved  in  the  nega- 
tive ;  but  with  res})ect  to  the  second,  it  appears  that  the  deviations 
produced  by  keeling  are  very  marked,  and  could  not  be  safely  disregarded. 
These  observations  completely  confirm  those  already  made  by  Mr.  Walker 
and  Commander  Shaugh  on  board  H,  M.  iron  brig  "  Recruit,"  Com- 
mander A.  Slade,  and  they  prove  the  necessity  that  exists  for  ascertaining 
the  deviations  of  the  compass  in  all  ships,  not  only  at  the  beginning  and 
end  of  their  voyage,  but  likewise  at  iutermediate  stations  ;  as  also  constant 
observation  of  the  course  which  the  ship  may  be  steering. 


WORKING  OF  THE  COMPASSES  ON  BOARD  THE  IRON  STEAMER 
"  PLUTO." 

These  Observations  were  made  from  September,  1841,  on  the  vessel's 
passage  from  England  to  China,  and  during  her  service  in  those  seas, 
until  her  arrival  at  Calcutta  in  January  1843,  by  John  Tudor,  Com- 
mander R.N. 

The  author  states  that  the  compasses  of  "  the  Pluto"  were  adjusted  by 
Mr.  Sims,  of  the  firm  of  Troughtuu  and  Sims,  by  order  of  Mr.  Pen- 
coote  of  the  East  India  House,  under  whose  directions  that  ship  was 
fitted  out ;  and  it  is  to  the  great  pains  taken  by  Mr.  Sims  in  placing  the 
magnets  employed  for  counteracting  tlie  local  attraction,  that  the  author 
attributes  the  undeviatiug  accuracy  of  those  compasses  during  the  whole 
time  "  the  Pluto"  was  under  his  command  in  both  hemispheres.  He  ob- 
serves, that  in  the  first  place  much  care  is  required  in  securing  the 
magnets,  and  protecting  them  from  wet,  after  their  proper  position  has 
beau  ascertained.  In  the  case  of  "the  Pluto,"  two  magnets  were  placed 
under  the  deck  in  the  author's  cabin ;  one  of  them  eighteen  inches  below 
the  deck,  being,  it  is  true,  an  eyesore,  but  one  of  trifling  consideration, 
when  compared  with  the  great  importance  of  the  well- working  of  the 
compass.  The  next  point  to  be  attended  to  is,  that  the  cards,  or  needles, 
should  be  all  of  the  same  size,  and  exactly  corresponding  with  that  of  the 
compass  used  at  the  placing  of  the  magnets  for  counteracting  the  local 
attraction.  The  bittacles  should  all  be  of  the  same  make  and  height,  and 
the  compass-boxes  of  the  same  size  ;  so  that  whenever  a  new  compass  or 
a  fresh  bittacle  is  wanted,  the  circle  in  which  the  needle  moves  may 
remain  at  the  same  angle  from  the  magnet  as  at  the  first  adjustment. 
On  a  strict  attention  to  these  precautions  will  depend  the  well- working 
of  the  compass  in  all  iron  vessels,  and  also  in  wooden  vessels  whenever 
the  quantity  of  iron  they  contain  creates  the  necessity  of  measui-es  being 
taken  for  counteracting  local  attraction. 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  121 

It  has  been  alleged  that  the  a^jnstments  for  local  attraction  made  in 
iiortheru  latitudes  are  not  correct  when  the  ship  is  south  of  the  equator ; 
but  the  author  states  that,  jn  "  the  Pluto,"  he  observed  no  diifercuce ;  that 
ship  havinj;  made,  while  under  his  command,  passaijes  of  many  thousand 
miles,  comprising  94  degrees  of  latitude,  namely,  from  51"  north  to  43° 
south,  and  153  degrees  of  longitude,  namely,  from  30°  west  to  123°  east; 
during  the  whole  of  which  he  never  found  any  other  correction  for  the 
compasses  necessary,  excepting  that  required  for  the  magnetic  variation, 
the  local  attraction  having  completely  neutralized. — Proceedings  of  the 
Boyal  Society. 


SUPPOSED  INFLUENCF.  OF  MAGNETISM  ON  CHEMICAL  ACTION. 

Mr.  R.  Hunt  has  communicated  to  the  Philosophical  Magazine,  No. 
215,  a  paper  on  this  question.  Mr.  Hunt  states,  that  the  results  of  all 
his  earlier  experiments  led  him  to  believe  that  Magnetism  exerted  a 
retarding  Influence  ujwn  Chemical  Action  ;  and  under  this  impression, 
having  made  some  hundreds  of  experiments,  he  submitted  a  communi- 
cation to  the  Itoyal  Society,  which  he  afterwards  withdrew,  from  the 
circumstance  that  under  some  new  modifications  of  these  experiments 
he  obtained  many  exceedingly  contradictory  results. 

Mr.  Hunt  does  not  detail  his  several  new  reseai-ches,  but  calls  atten- 
tion to  a  form  of  experiment  which  appears  to  him  to  be  most  unobjec- 
tionable, and  which  he  thinks  we  may  regard  as  an  erperimentum  crucis. 

The  conditions  thought  essential  to  the  accurate  solution  of  this  ques- 
tion, were  the  following : — 

1.  A  correct  measure  of  the  amount  of  chemical  action. 

2.  Means  of  determining  if  the  action  was  constant  and  unvarying. 

3.  The  power  of  bringing  the  whole  under  magnetic  influence  without 
in  any  way  disturbing  the  arrangement,  or  bringing  any  other  forces  be- 
sidt's  magnetism  into  action. 

From  tliis  experiment,  which  of  course  has  no  bejtring  upon  the 
disposition  of  crjstals,  or  the  direction  of  bodies  free  t^-j  move  near  the 
poles  ot  magnets,  Mr.  Hunt  is  compelled,  notwithstanding  his  former 
impressions,  to  conclude,  that  mat/ii^tism  has  ho  dinTt  infiuence  vpon 
this  form,  of  ch^mirat  acti^tn,  either  as  an  accelerating  or  a  retarding 
agent. 


EXPERIMENTS  (.:>    mr    im  t.i  i  SCE  OF  MAGNKl  isM  ON  I'ol.A  iU/r  i.   i.i.,iii. 

Sir  .Ioh.v  K.  \S.  Hkr.schkl,  Bart,  has  communicated  to  the  Hoyal 
S<x:iety,  some  recent  experiments  on  Didmagnetism.  and  particularly  on 
the  influence  of  .Magnetism  on  Polarized  Light,  by  Prof.  Carlo  Matteucci. 
The  following  extracts  are  in  the  words  of  the  author  : — 

"  The  apf»aratns  I  employed  in  these  experiments  was  an  electro-mag- 
netic a|t{iaratiis  invented  by  M.  Kninkorf,  and  described  by  .M.  Hiot  at  a 
Hi'  '     Academy  of  Sciences  ot  I'aris,  and  con-isting  of  a  jM)werfiil 

cl'  ',  of  whi<-h  the  wjft  iron  cylmder  is  traversed  by  a  hole  in 

Uii  .....w.wi,  of  the  length  of  the  axis,  through  which  hole  the  ray  of 
polarized  light  is  m:ule  to  pass;  and  the  voltaic  cun cut  which  1  em- 
ployed on  liiis  occasion  wa»  that  of  »cveu  fiair  of  Grove's  oouslructtou.  I 


122  YEAR-BOOK  OF  PACTS. 

made  my  first  experiment  with  a  piece  of  heavy  glass,  which  I  received 
from  Faraday  himself.  In  order  to  assure  myself  of  the  exact  amount 
of  rotation  induced  by  magnetic  action,  I  caused  the  ray  of  light,  before 
it  reached  the  heavy  glass,  to  pass  through  the  system  invented  by  M. 
Soleil,  consisting  of  two  equal  plates  of  perpendicular  quartz,  placed  side 
by  side ;  the  one  turning  to  the  right,  the  other  to  the  left.  T  ascertained, 
first  of  all,  the  rotation  produced  by  making  the  current  pass  sometimes 
in  one  direction,  and  sometimes  in  the  other ;  the  two  rotations,  one  to 
the  right,  the  other  to  the  left,  thus  produced,  were  exactly  the  same. 
Then  1  compressed  slightly  the  middle  part  of  the  piece  of  heavy  glass, 
in  the  same  manner  as  one  compresses  pieces  of  glass.  I  was  then 
obliged  to  turn  the  eyepiece  in  a  certain  direction  in  order  to  restore  the 
image  to  its  first  condition ;  in  my  experiments  I  always  had  to  turn  it, 
after  compression,  towards  the  right.  I  next  made  the  current  pass, 
first  in  one  direction,  then  in  the  other.  The  general  facts  which  I  have 
observed  constantly  and  without  exception,  are  the  followmg : — The  ro- 
tation produced  by  the  magnet  on  the  compressed  piece  of  heavy  glass  is 
not  the  same  to  the  right  as  it  is  to  the  left :  the  rotation  produced  by 
the  magnet  is  considerably  greater  in  the  direction  of  the  rotation  pro- 
duced by  compression  than  it  is  in  the  contrary  direction  :  the  rotation 
produced  by  the  magnet  on  the  compressed  heavy  glass,  and  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  rotation  produeed  by  the  compression,  is  greater  than  that 
produced  by  the  same  magnet  on  glass  which  has  not  been  compressed, 
and  the  rotation  in  the  contrary  direction  is  less.  The  following  are  the 
numerical  results : — 

"  In  one  experiment  I  obtained  on  a  piece  of  heavy  glass  not  com- 
pressed, 3°  of  rotation  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  according  to  the  direc- 
tion of  the  current :  on  slightly  compressing  the  glass,  I  had  to  turn 
to  the  right  the  eyepiece  to  4°,  5°,  and  even  to  8°,  in  order  to  restore 
the  image  to  its  first  direction.  In  closing  the  circuit,  the  rotation  pro- 
duced in  the  same  direction  as  that  due  to  compression  was  3|°  or  4°, 
while  the  rotation  produced  in  the  contrary  direction  was  from  2°  to  l^". 
On  ceasing  to  compress  the  glass,  I  obtained  the  same  phenomena  as  I 
had  observed  before  the  compression. 

"  I  have  made  in  the  same  manner  experiments  with  a  piece  of  flint- 
glass,  which  produced  a  rotation  of  2°  under  the  influence  of  the  magnet. 
When  I  applied  the  same  magnet  to  pieces  of  compressec^  flint-glass,  I 
could  not  discover  the  slightest  sensible  rotation  in  whatever  direction  I 
might  make  the  current  pass.  Plates  of  quartz  cut  perpendicularly  or 
parallel  to  the  axis,  and  compressed  in  various  directions,  did  not  acquire 
any  rotatory  power  under  the  influence  of  the  magnet.  I  think  that  the 
peculiarity  exhibited  by  compressed  heavy  glass  is  of  some  interest,  iu 
as  far  as  it  appears  likely  to  lead  to  a  more  satisfactory  explanation  of  the 
want  of  rotatory  power  communicated  by  magnetism  in  crystalline 
bodies. 

"  I  shall  conclude  by  communicating  the  negative  results  of  some  ex- 
periments I  attempted  with  a  view  to  discover  the  action  of  diamagnetic 
bodies  on  each  other,  and  of  magnetism  on  gaseous  bodies.  I  suspended 
smaU  needles  of  bismuth  between  the  poles  of  a  very  powerful  electro- 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  123 

magnet,  and  with  a  good  chronometer  I  counted  the  nnmher  of  their  oscilla- 
tions, either  aloue  or  in  the  vicinity  of  pieces  of  bismuth  of  various  shapes 
and  sizes.  I  repeated  these  eiperimeuts  with  all  possible  care,  avoiding 
the  slightest  cun-ent  of  air,  reckoning  the  smallest  oscillations,  and  those 
of  the  same  extent  in  the  different  cases.  I  never  obtained  any  diffe- 
rences beyond  half  a  second,  which  existed  equally  whether  the  pieces  of 
bismuth  were  near  or  not.  The  exj)eriment,  therefore,  does  not  serve  to 
show  the  action  of  diamagnetic  bodies  on  each  other ;  an  action  which 
naturally  ought  to  exist,  but  which,  perhaps,  is  overpowered  by  the 
stronger  action  of  the  magnet. 

"  I  afterwards  counted  the  oscillations  of  a  small  needle  of  bismuth, 
which  I  succeeded  in  suspending  by  a  silk  fibre  {Jil  de  cocon)  inside  of  a 
glass  ball  blown  at  the  top  of  a  barometer  tube.  The  ball  was  placed 
between  the  poles  of  my  electro-magnet.  In  this  experiment  the  bis- 
muth needle  was  held  sometimes  in  a  nearly  perfect  vacuum ;  at  others, 
in  atmospheric  air.  The  number  of  oscillations  in  both  cases  was  exactly 
the  same. 

"  We  must  therefore  give  np  the  idea  of  explaining  diamagnetic  phe- 
nomena by  a  magnetic  action,  which  would  be  stronger  upon  the  air  than 
upon  bismuth." 

GALVANIC  CURRENTS  IN  THE  BLOOD. 

Mb.  J.  W.  Healk,  Licentiate  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  and 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  of  England,  has  communicated 
to  the  Royal  Society  the  abstract  of  a  paper  on  this  subject,  in  which  he 
dilates  on  the  importance  of  the  Galvanic  Current  in  physiological  and 
pathological  inquiry  ;  pointing  out  the  peculiar  significance  of  the  fact  of 
the  reverse  current  being  established  as  soon  as  the  direct  current  is  im- 
|XKled ;  the  systematic  capillaries  being  endowed  with  the  power  of 
generating  a  force  exactly  the  reverse  to  that  set  up  in  the  lungs ;  the  ra- 
pidity of  the  circulation  thus  being,  cceterts  paribus,  the  measure  of  the 
primary  flow  over  the  resistance.  He  infers  that  the  galvanism  formed 
in  the  muscles  owes  its  origin  to  the  opposed  condition  of  the  blood  iu 
the  capillary  net-work  which  supplies  each ;  the  anastomosis  of  the  arte- 
rial capillaries  with  each  other  increasing  their  galvanic  surface,  while 
their  limited  anastomoses  with  the  veins  supply  the  conditions  necessary 
for  the  passive  current.  The  office  of  conductors,  for  the  active  dis- 
charge of  the  accumulated  force,  is  assigned  to  the  nerves  of  the  volun- 
tary muscles  ;  the  author  believing  that  the  circuit  by  which  this  is  effected 
is,  in  turn,  prolonged  up  to  and  from  the  nervous  centres  ;  which  centres 
are,  in  their  turn,  shown  to  be  libendly  supplied  with  blood-vessels,  ca- 
pable of  influencing  the  galvanic  equilibrium.  The  accelerated  })erspira- 
tion  caused  by  increased  muscular  exertion  is  attributable  to  this  cause. 
It  is  inferred,  that  the  voluntary  muscles  are  provided  with  apfMiratus 
within  the  inii-i:         '         !  to  regulate  1 1  'ral  galvanic  discharge. 

Tin-  niutiKil  n.  lilt  parts  ih  >  the  fact  of  the  whole 

body  being  iiic.i.... c  galvanic  cirt.*, cannot  be  disturbed  in 

any  part  without  the  whole  partici|>ating  proi)urtiouaUy  in  the  effects. 


124  YEAR-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

NEW  CAUSE  OF  INTERFERENCE  OF  LIGHT. 

The  Rev.  Professor  Powell  has  explained  to  the  British  Associatiou 
this  plieuomenori.  The  principal  experiment  evincing  this  new  kind 
of  interfereace,  consists  iu  ])lacing  a  plate  of  glass  or  other  transparent 
substance,  ia  a  prismatic  vessel  containing  a  fluid  (as,  e.  g.  oil  of  sassafras  or 
anise  with  plate  or  crown  glass),  so  as  to  intercept  the  upper  or  thicker 
half  of  the  prism ;  when  the  spectrum  is  seen  covered  with  dark  bands 
parallel  to  the  edge  of  the  prism,  the  number  and  breadth  of  which  vary 
greatly  vvith  the  refractive  powers  of  the  plate  and  medium,  and  with  the 
thickness  of  the  plate.  In  mauy  combinations,  the  plate  must  be  ^in- 
serted  in  the  way  just  described,  or  towards  one  end  of  the  spectrum, 
thus  exhibiting  an  effect  analogous  to  what  was  termed  "  polarity"  in  the 
experiments,  by  partial  interception,  of  Sir  D.  Brewster.  But,  for  many 
combinatious,  no  bands  are  produced  by  this  arrangement.  In  these 
cases,  however,  on  placing  the  plate  to  intercept  the  thinner  part  of  the 
prism,  bands  will  be  produced.  This  remarkable  relation,  as  well  as  the 
number  and  character  of  the  bande,  can  be  all  expressed  by  a  formula  de- 
rived from  the  simple  interference  theory :  but  for  some  more  minute 
changes  observed  recourse  must  be  had  to  the  diffraction  theory,  as  in 
Mr.  Airy's  investigations  {Fh'd.  Trans.  18i0,  1841).  Those  investiga- 
tions have  been  pursued  by  Mr.  Stokes,  of  Pemb.  Coll.  Cambridge. 
"Wheu  plates  of  doubly  refracting  crystal  are  employed,  two  sets  of  bands 
are  seeu  superimposed,  even  in  those  of  the  most  feeble  doubly  refracting 
power,  as  quartz,  &c.  This  may,  perhaps,  be  serviceable  to  the  minera- 
logist for  detecting  this  property  when  very  weak.  In  general,  the 
number  of  bands  observed  in  different  cases  agrees  sufficiently  well  with 
calculation ;  and  the  method  may  be  applied  inversely  for  finding  the  re- 
fractive indices  of  one  substauce,  the  other  being  known.  There  is,  also, 
a  close  analogy  between  these  bands  and  those  described  by  the  Baron 
Von  AVrede,  though  produced  in  a  totally  different  manner.  (See  Taylor's 
*'ror.  Scientific  Mem."  vol.  i.  pt.  iii.  p.  487.) 

Sir  D.  Brewster  pointed  out  the  circumstances  under  which  the  bands 
appeared  and  did  not  appe.ir,  when  the  refracting  augle  of  the  prism  was 
turned  to  the  red  or  to  the  blue  end  of  the  spectrum,  as  related  to  the  re- 
fractive indices  of  the  prism  and  the  surrounding  medium ;  which  in  his 
experiments  was  oil  of  caosia, 

POLAR  CLOCK  OR  DIAL. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  "  On  a  Means  of 
determining  the  apparent  Solar  Time  by  the  Diurnal  Changes  of  the 
Plane  of  Polarization  at  the  North  Polar  Sky,"  by  Professor  Wheatstone. 

A  short  time  after  the  discovery,  by  Malus,  of  the  polarization  of 
light  by  reflection,  it  was  ascertained  by  Arago  that  the  light  reflected 
from  difl'erent  parts  of  the  sky  w^as  polarized.  The  observation  was  made 
in  clear  weather,  with  the  aid  of  a  thin  film  of  mica  and  a  prism  of  Ice- 
land spar ;  he  saw  that  the  two  images  projected  on  the  sky  were,  in 
general,  of  dissimilar  colours,  which  appeared  to  vary  in  intensity  with 
the  hour  of  the  day  and  with  the  position,  in  relation  to  the  sun,  of  the 
part  of  the  sky  from  which  the  rays  fell  upon  the  film.     The  first  attempt 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY. 


1^5 


to  assicn  a  law  to  the  phenomena  of  atmospheric  polarization  was  made 
by  Professor  Quetelet,  of  Brussels,  in  1825,  in  the  following  terms  : — 
"  If  the  observer  consider  himsell  as  placed  in  the  centre  of  a  sphere,  of 
which  the  sun  occupies  one  of  the  poles,  the  polarization  is  at  its 
maximum  at  the  different  points  of  the  equator  of  this  sphere,  and  goes 
on  diminishing  in  the  ratio  of  the  squares  of  the  sines  unto  the  poles, 
where  it  is  »«/."  This  law  would  be  true  did  the  reflected  light  pro- 
ceeding from  the  part  of  the  sky  regarded  arise  solely  from  the  direct 
light  of  the  sun  sent  to  that  part ;  but  other  secondary  reflections  occur 
which  complicate  the  result,  and  give  rise  to  the  neutral  points  since  dis- 
covered by  Arago,  Babinet,  and  Brewster. 

But,  for  the  purpose  of  explaining  the  principle  of  the  instrument  now 
submitted,  says  Prof.  Wheatstone,  we  need  not  take  into  consideration  the 
intensity  of  the  polarization  of  the  part  of  the  sky  to  which  it  is  directed  ; 
the  plane  of  polarization  for  the  time  being  is  the  only  thing  we  need 
concern  ourselves  about,  and  a  very  simple  expression,  stated  first  I  be- 
lieve by  M.  Babiuet,  defines  the  position  of  this  plane  for  any  given  point 
of  the  sky  ;  it  is  this : — "  For  a  given  point  of  the  atmosphere  the  plane 
of  polarization  of  the  portion  of  polarized  light  which  it  scuds  to  the  eye, 
coincides  with  the  plane  which  passes  through  this  point,  the  eye  of  the 
observer  and  the  sun."  The  truth  of  this  law  may  be  easily  demoustrated, 
without  any  refined  apparatus,  in  the  following  manner : — Let  the  ob- 
server be  provided  with  a  Nicols  prism  and  a  plate  of  Iceland  spar  cut 
perpendicularly  to  the  axis,  and  stand  with  his  back  towards  the  sua ; 
keeping  the  diagonal  of  the  prism  always  in  the  sjune  vertical  plane,  let 
him  direct  it  successively  to  every  point  of  the  sky  within  that  plane; 
the  intensity  of  the  polarization,  indicated  by  the  brightness  of  the 
coloured  image,  will  vary  very  considerably  at  these  difl'ere'nt  points,  but 
the  plane  of  polarization,  indicated  by  the  upright  position  of  the  black  or 
white  cross,  as  the  case  may  be,  will  remain  unchanged.  I  leave  out  of 
consideration  for  the  present  the  inversion  of  the  plane  of  ])olarization, 
observed  occasionally  near  the  horizon  below  the  neutral  point.  If  we 
direct  our  analyzing  apparatus  to  the  zenith  during  the  whole  day,  the 
change  in  the  plane  of  polarization  of  that  point  ot  the  sky  will  correa- 
p<jn(l  with  the  azimuths  of  the  sun.  Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the 
north  pole  of  the  sky ;  as  the  sun  in  its  apparent  daily  course  moves 
equably  in  a  circle  round  this  pole  it  is  obvious  that  the  jilancs  of  polari- 
wition  at  the  point  in  question  change  exactly  as  the  position  of  the  hour 
circles  do.  The  position  of  the  plane  of  polarization  of  the  north  pole  of 
the  sky  will,  at  any  period  of  the  day,  therefore  indicate  the  apparent  or 
true  solar  time.  The  point  of  intersection  of  the  hour  circles,  or  the 
north  pole  of  the  sky,  corresfjonds  on  only  two  days  of  the  year  with  the 
ma\iniiuu  ini(ii>ity  of  pol.iri/.iitioii  ;  t!i(-.e  days  are  the  equinoxe« ;  on  all 
oth'T  d;i\  -  tlir   |i..ii)t-^  of  iii:i\iinmii    |)n!.iri/:ition  of  the  resfHrctive  hour 

cirr'.  -  .'    .  ■  I -    .    ,-,  ,,   .  ,1.    ,     ,1    .1    ,,.f...^,.„.; 1,,,.  .1 -.-Mlnr 

di-'  iing 

2:1  ,  .  ii"int 

Coioura  111  I1I111.H  nt  stlunitr,  6lc. 

ThcAC  {KtiuUi  being  premised,  I  will  describe  the  new  instrument  which  I 


1^6  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

have  called  the  Polar  Clock  or  Dial.  It  is  thus  constructed : — At  the 
extremity  of  a  vertical  pillar  is  fixed,  within  a  biass  ring;,  a  glass  disk,  so 
inclined  that  its  plane  is  perpendicidar  to  the  polar  axis  of  the  earth.  On 
the  lower  half  of  this  disk  is  a  graduated  semi-circle,  divided  into  twelve 
parts  (each  of  which  is  again  subdivided  into  five  or  ten  parts),  and 
against  the  divisions  the  hours  of  the  day  are  marked,  commencing  and 
terminating  with  six.  Within  the  fixed  brass  ring  containing  the  glass  dial 
plate,  the  broad  end  of  a  conical  tube  is  so  fitted  that  it  freely  moves  round 
its  own  axis;  this  broad  end  is  closed  by  another  glass  disk,  in  the 
centre  of  which  is  a  small  star  or  other  figure,  formed  of  thin  films  of 
selenite,  exhibiting,  when  examined  with  polarized  light,  strongly  con- 
trasting colours ;  and  a  hand  is  painted  in  such  a  position  as  to  be  a  pro- 
longation of  one  of  the  principal  sections  of  the  crystalline  films.  At  the 
smaller  end  of  the  conical  tube  a  Nicols  prism  is  fixed,  so  that  either  of 
its  diagonals  shall  be  45°  from  the  principal  section  of  the  selenite  films. 
The  instrument  being  so  fixed  that  the  axis  of  the  conical  tube  shall 
coiucide  with  the  polar  axis  of  the  earth,  and  the  eye  of  the  observer 
being  placed  to  the  Nicols  prism,  it  will  be  remarked  that  the  selenite 
star  will  in  general  be  richly  coloured,  but  as  the  tube  is  turned  on  its 
axis  the  colours  will  vary  in  intensity,  and  in  two  positions  will  entirely 
disappear.  In  one  of  these  positions  a  small  circular  disk  in  the  centre 
of  the  star  will  be  a  certain  colour,  red  for  instance,  while  in  the  other 
position  it  will  exhibit  the  complementary  colour.  This  effect  is  obtained 
by  placing  the  principal  section  of  the  small  central  disk  22f°  from  that 
of  the  other  films  of  selenite  which  form  the  star. 

The  rule  to  ascertain  the  times  by  this  instrument  is  as  follows  :  The 
tube  must  be  turned  round  by  the  hand  of  the  observer  until  the  coloured 
star  entirely  disappears,  while  the  disk  in  the  centre  remains  red ;  the 
hand  will  then  point  accurately  to  the  hour.  The  accuracy  with  which 
the  solar  time  may  be  indicated  by  this  means  will  depend  on  the  exact- 
ness wdth  which  the  plane  of  polarization  can  be  determined  •.  one  degree 
of  change  in  the  plane  corresponds  with  four  minutes  of  solar  time.  The 
instrument  may  be  furnished  with  a  graduated  quadrant,  for  the  purpose 
of  adapting  it  to  any  latitude ;  but  if  it  be  intended  to  be  fixed  in  any 
locality,  it  may  be  permanently  adjusted  to  the  proper  polar  elevation,  and 
•the  expense  of  the  graduated  quadrant  be  saved :  a  spirit  level  will  be 
useful  to  adjust  it  accurately.  The  instrument  might  be  set  to  its  proper 
azimuth  by  the  sun's  shadow  at  noon,  or  by  means  of  a  declination  needle ; 
but  an  observation  with  the  instrument  itself  may  be  more  readily 
employed  for  this  purpose.  Ascertain  the  true  solar  time  by  means  of  a 
good  watch  and  a  time  equation  table  ;  set  the  hand  of  the  polar  clock  to 
correspond  thereto ;  and  turn  the  vertical  pillar  on  its  axis  until  the 
colours  of  the  selenite  star  entirely  disappear.  The  instrument  then  will 
be  properly  adjusted. 

The  advantages  a  polar  clock  possesses  over  a  sun-dial  are — 1.  The 
polar  clock  being  consta'.tly  directed  to  the  same  point  of  the  sky,  there 
is  no  locality  in  which  it  cannot  be  employed ;  whereas,  in  order  that  the 
indications  of  a  sun-dial  should  be  observed  during  a  whole  day,  no 
obstacle  wust  exist  at  any  time  between  the  dial  and  the  places  of  the  sun ; 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  127 

and  it  therefore  cannot  le  applied  in  any  confined  situation.  The  polar 
clock  is  consequently  applicable  in  places  where  a  sun-dial  would  be  of  no 
avail ;   on  the  north  s'de  of  a  mountain  or  a  lofty  biiildiug,  for  instance. 

2.  It  will  continue  to  indicate  the  time  after  sunset  and  before  sunrise ; 
in  fact,  so  long  as  the  rays  of  the  sun  are  reflected  from  the  atmosphere. 

3.  It  will  also  indicate  the  time,  but  with  less  accuracy,  when  the  sky  is 
overcast,  if  the  clouds  do  not  exceed  a  certain  density.  The  plane  of 
polarization  of  the  north  pole  of  the  sky  moves  in  the  opposite  direction 
to  that  of  the  hand  of  a  watch ;  it  is  more  convenient,  therefore,  to  have 
the  hours  graduated  on  the  lower  semi-circle,  lor  the  figures  will  then 
be  read  in  their  direct  order,  whereas  they  wonld  be  re<id  backwards  on 
an  upper  semi-circle.  In  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  upper  semi-circle 
should  be  employed,  for  the  plane  of  polarization  of  the  south  pole  of  the 
sky  changes  in  the  satne  direction  as  the  hand  of  a  watch.  If  bpth  the 
upj)er  and  lower  semi-circles  be  graduated,  the  same  instrument  will  serve 
equally  for  both  hemispheres. 

Several  other  forms  of  the  polar  clock  were  then  described :  we  shall 
confine  our  description  to  one  among  them,  which,  though  much  less 
accurate  in  its  indications  than  the  preceding,  beautifully  illustrates  the 
principle.  On  a  plate  of  glass,  twenty-two  films  of  selenite  of  equal 
thickness  are  arranged  radially  in  a  semi-circle  ;  they  are  placed  so  that 
th'-  line  bisectintr  the  principal  sections  of  the  films  shall  correspond  with 
the  radii  respectively,  and  figures  corresponding  to  the  hours  are  painted 
above  each  film  iu  regular  order.  This  plate  of  glass  is  fixed  in  a  frame 
so  that  its  plane  is  inclined  to  the  horizon  38°  32',  the  complement  of  the 
polar  elevation ;  the  light  passing  perpendicularly  through  this  plate  falls 
at  the  i>olarizing  angle  56°  45'  on  a  reflector  of  black  glass,  which  is 
inclined  18^  13'  to  the  horizon.  This  apparatus  being  pro|)erly  adjusted, 
that  is,  so  that  the  glass  dial  plate  shall  be  perpendicular  to  the  polar 
axis  of  the  earth,  the  following  will  be  the  effect  when  presented  towards 
an  unclouded  sky.  At  all  times  of  the  day  the  radii  will  appear  of 
various  shades  of  two  complementary  colotirs,  which  we  will  assume  to  be 
red  and  green ;  and  the  hour  is  indicated  by  the  figure  placed  opposite 
the  radius  which  contains  the  most  red :  the  half  hour  is  indicated  by  the 
equality  of  two  adjacent  tints. — Athenanim,  No.  1088. 

Berkeley's  theory  op  vision. 
SiE  David  Brewster  has  stated  to  the  British  Association,  that,  after 
a  minute  examination  of  the  well-k-nown  Theory  of  Vision,  by  Bishop 
Berkeley,  he  has  found,  as  he  conceives,  the  fundamental  principle  on 
which  the  entire  theory  reposed,  defective.  Berkeley's  first  proposition, 
which  contains  that  principle,  is  that  direct  distance  from  the  eye  has  no 
lir:'  alive  in  the  image  on  the  retina;   and,  therefore,  that  dis- 

tai  I  ye  cannot  be  a  direct    object  of  vision:    now  this  first 

pr.|  .  ;.M.  ,r  I).  Brewster '•>•>•• 'i'>«  to  be  false  in  fart,  and  therefore 
the  cntiic  theory  which  \\  "U  it  must  lie  abandoned.     That 

there;  is  a  direct  liticar  ni  on  the  retina,  even  as  seen  by  a 

si'iglc  eye,  he  .showwl  by  a  «iiairratn  lu  be  the  result  of  the  rays  entering 
the  pupil ;  and  let  the  pupil  be  of  what  size  it  may,  ualcw  reduced  to  an 


128  YEAK-HOOK  OF  PACTS. 

actual  point,  which  it  never  can  be,  it  must  allow  the  rays  to  form  an  im- 
pressiou  of  the  entire  length  of  a  line  stretching  away  directly  from  the 
eye  ;  therefore,  ol)ject3  do  not  appear  all  at  the  same  distance  from 
the  eye,  as  would  follow  from  the  Bishop's  theory. 

But  further.  Dr.  ikrkeley  founded  his  entire  theory  on  an  assumed 
fact,  which,  if  true  at  all,  could  be  so  only  when  one  eye  was  alone  used. 
Man  is  not  uu  animal  with  but  one  eye.  An  iulant  obtains  his  lirst 
glances  of  the  external  world  by  opening  on  it  both  eyes  ;  and  from  what- 
ever source  its  lessons  are  derived,  both  eyes  must  be  admitted  to  be 
equally  t  Iticicnt  in  the  knowledge  conveyed.  In  deteriuiniug  this  ques- 
tion, Sir  D.  Brewster  does  not  consider  it  essential  to  decide  how  single 
vision  with  two  eyes  is  effected.  It  may  be  from  the  images  falling  on 
corresponding  points  of  the  retina, — an  opinion  now  exploded  ;  or  from 
the  decussation  of  the  filaments  of  the  optic  nerve, — an  opinion  also  ex- 
ploded ;  or  it  may  be  the  necessary  result  of  the  line  of  visible  nirection — 
as  it  certainly  is.  But  wheresover  it  originates,  it  is  a  fact  which  must  be 
admitted.  We  have,  therefore,  to  determine  at  what  distance,  and  in 
what  direction,  a  body  woidd  be  seen  by  two  eyes  when  seen  single ;  a 
determination  greatly  facilitated  by  that  beautiful  instrument,  the  stereo- 
scope of  Professor  Wheatstone. 

Sir  David  then,  by  reference  to  diagrams,  explained  how  this  detenni- 
nation  was  aided  by  the  use  of  both  eyes ;  and  in  confirmation  of  his 
views  appealed  to  facts  recorded  by  naturalists,  to  prove  that  the  young 
of  animals  saw  distances  correctly  almost  at  the  instant  of  their  birth. 
The  duckling  ran  to  the  water  almost  as  soon  as  it  broke  the  shell.  The 
young  boa  constrictor  would  involve  and  bite  an  object  presented  to  it ; 
and  in  like  manner  no  person  ever  saw  a  child  use  such  motions  as  proved 
it  to  perceive  objects  at  its  eye,  to  grasp  at  the  sun  or  moon  or  other  in- 
accessible object,  but  quite  the  contrary.  He  also  contended  that  the 
recorded  cases  of  persons  restored  to  sight  by  being  couched  for  catai-act, 
or  having  a  pupil  formed,  led  to  a  similar  conclusion ; — all  of  whom  saw 
objects  at  a  distance  from  the  eye,  and  none  supposed  those  objects  to  be 
upon  the  eye  or  within  it. 

Dr.  Whevvell,  after  expressing  his  strong  sense  of  the  general  value  and 
ingenuity  of  Sir  D.  Brewster's  views,  and  his  diligence  of  research,  begged 
most  respectfully  to  ditFer  from  him  entirely  in  his  conclusions.  All  the 
facts  adduced  by  him  were  as  well  known  to  Berkeley,  and  to  those  who 
adopted  and  carried  forward  his  views,  as  they  were  to  Sir  D.  Brewster ; 
and  he  could  scarcely  suppose  that  conclusions  so  firmly  based  upon  facts, 
and  harmonizing  so  completely  with  all  that  was  known,  would  be  over- 
turned in  a  moment  by  a  few  well-turned  sentences  or  ingenious  popular 
deductions.  As  to  those  animals  who  were  under  the  dominion  of  in- 
stinct, the  question  of  how  they  at  first  were  aided  by  their  seases,  as  it 
was  most  intricate,  so  he  conceived  it  could  not  be  hoped  to  be  disposed 
of  in  this  summary  manner ;  and  many  doubted  whether  it  was  not  so 
mysterious  in  its  oi>erations  as  to  leave  the  question  of  its  final  solution 
at  any  future  period  most  doubtful.  But  as  to  man,  he  had  little  doubt 
that  the  most  convincing  proofs  could  be  adduced  that  he  requii-ed  expe- 
rience to  guide  him  in  the  uses  to  which,  at  least  in  mature  life,  he 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  129 

applied  liis  senses ;  although  he  admitted  that  in  infancy  something 
resembling  the  instinct  of  other  animals  Avas  to  be  observed.  But  if  Sir 
D.  Brewster  had  persuaded  himself  that  infants,  or  even  persons  restored 
to  sight  at  a  mature  age,  could  see  the  distances  and  directions  of  objects 
directly,  without  any  aid  from  experience,  all  he  could  assure  him  of  was, 
that  there  were  many  others  capable  of  forming  a  sound  judgment,  who, 
after  the  most  patient  and  attentive  consideration  of  facts,  had  arrived  at 
a  very  diiferent  conclusion. 

Mr.  Estin,  surgeon  and  oculist,  of  Bristol,  next  confirmed  the  views 
enforced  by  Dr.  "Whewell,  He  gave  several  instances  of  persons  whom  he 
had  restored  to  sight  from  total  blindness,  who,  previous  to  experience, 
could  form  no  idea  whatever  of  the  distances,  or  directions,  or  shapes  of 
bodies ;  and  in  one  instance  the  patient,  for  a  length  of  time,  was  in  the 
habit  of  shutting  the  eyes  entirely  and  feeling  the  objects,  in  order  to  get 
rid  of  the  confusion  which  this  circumstance  gave  rise  to.  But  as  her 
experience  grew  more  perfect,  she  saw  with  increasing  correctness  and 
pleasure,  until  at  length  her  sight  became  perfect. 

IDENTITY  OP  LIGHT  AND  HEAT' 

M.  INIelloni  closed  an  important  series  of  "  Researches  on  the 
Radiations  of  Incandescent  Bodies,  and  on  the  Elementary  Colours  of 
the  Solar  Spectrum,"  read  to  the  Academy  of  Scieuces  at  Naples,  with 
the  following  striking  observations  : — "  In  conclusion,  I  cannot  but  ex- 
press my  admiration  how  the  discovery  of  a  series  of  facts,  which  seemed 
contrary  to  the  theory  of  the  identity  of  light  and  heat,  has  become  now 
the  fundamental  basis  of  that  theory.  Who  would  not  have  thought  at 
first  sight,  that  the  radiations  of  heat  were  of  a  nature  altogether  diffe- 
rent from  light,  on  seeing  them  transmitted  in  such  difi'erent  pro- 
portions through  substances  endued  with  the  greatest  transparency; 
traversing  other  bodies,  strongly  coloured,  in  an  immediate  and  instan- 
taneous manner,  and  this  in  greater  abundance  than  through  some  media 
perfectly  limpid ;  and  going  in  a  single  rectilinear  path  through  a  plate 
of  completely  opake  glass  ?  Yet,  nevertheless,  these  singular  properties 
are  the  necessary  consequences  of  the  transparency  and  coloration  of  bodies 
for  heat  combined  with  different  periods  of  the  ethereal  undulations.  No 
one  could  ever  have  maintained  the  identity  of  light  and  heat  until  there 
had  first  been  proved  coloration  of  the  one  and  the  other  of  these  agents, 
and  the  quality  that  every  ray  of  dark  heat  possesses  of  propagating 
itself  and  being  refracted  in  a  solid  body." 

PRODUCTION  OP  LIGHT  BY  CHEMICAL  ACTION. 

Professor  J.  AV.  Draper,  M.D.,  of  the  University  of  New  York,  has 
communicated  to  the  PJiilosophical  Magazine,  No.  213,  a  series  of 
valuable  investigations  upon  this  important  subject. 

"  The  production  of  light  and  heat,"  observes  Dr.  Draper  introductorily, 
"  by  the  combustion  of  various  bodies,  is,  of  all  chemical  processes,  that 
which  ministers  most  to  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  man. 

"  It  is  nevertheless  remarkable  how  little  positive  knowledge  we  still 
possess  on  this  subject.     Some  chemists  believe  that  the  light  emitted  by 

K 


130  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

llamos  is  due  to  electric  discharges ;  others,  regarding  light  and  heat  as 
material  bodies,  which  can  be  incoqjorated  or  united  with  ponderable 
substances,  suppose  that  they  are  disengaged  as  chemical  changes  go  on. 
In  tiiis  confusion  of  opinions,  a  multitude  of  interesting  and  hitherto 
unanswered  questions  present  themselves.  It  is  known  that  different 
substances,  when  burning,  emit  lights  of  different  colours :  thus  sulphur 
and  carbonic  oxide  bum  blue,  wax  yellow,  and  cyanogen  lilac.  "What  are 
the  chemical  conditions  that  determine  these  singular  differences?  How 
is  it  that,  by  changing  the  circumstances  of  combustion,  we  can  vary  the 
nature  of  the  light  ?  We  turn  aside  the  flame  of  a  candle  by  means  of  a 
blowpipe,  and  a  neat  blue  cone  appears;  why  does  it  shine  with  a  blue 
light  ? 

Such  inquiries  might  be  multiplied  without  end ;  but  a  little  consi- 
deration shows  that  their  various  answers  depend  on  the  determination 
of  a  much  more  general  problem ;  viz.  can  any  connexion  be  traced  be- 
tween the  chemical  conditions  under  which  a  body  burns,  and  the  nature 
of  the  light  it  emits?  It  is  to  the  discussion  of  that  problem  that  this 
memoir  is  devoted. 

Sir  H.  Davy  has  already  furnished  us  with  two  important  circum- 
stances in  relation  to  the  nature  flame: — 1st.  All  common  flames  are 
incandescent  shells,  the  interior  of  which  is  dark;  2nd,  the  relative 
quantity  of  light  emitted  depends  on  the  temporary  disengagement  of 
solid  particles. 

It  is  only  by  a  very  general  examination  of  the  light  arising  from 
various  solids,  vapours,  and  gases,  when  burning,  that  we  can  expect  to 
obtain  data  for  a  true  theory  of  combustion.  This  is  what  Dr.  Draper 
endeavours  to  furnish  on  the  present  occasion. 

As  was  foreseen  by  all  the  older  chemists,  the  true  theory  of  combus- 
tion, whatever  it  may  prove  to  be,  must  necessarily  be  one  of  the  funda- 
mental theories  of  chemistry.  It  must  include  the  nature  of  all  chemical 
changes  whatsoever.  The  subject  is  therefore  not  alone  interesting  in  a 
])opular  sense,  but  of  great  importance  in  its  scientific  connexions. 

I.  Prismatic  analysis  of  the  fames  of  various  vapours  and  gases ; 
proving  that  they  yield  all  the  colours  of  the  spectrum. 

I  commenced  this  investigation  of  the  nature  of  flame,  and  of  combus- 
tion generally,  by  an  optical  examination  of  various  bodies  in  the  act  of 
burning.  Some  authors  have  asserted  that  certain  flames  yield  mono- 
chromatic lights.  It  is  necessary  to  verify  this  assertion  if  true,  or  set  it 
aside  if  false. 

We  have  not  space  to  quote  the  details,  but  give  the  Professor's 
inferences : — 

"Do  not  the  various  facts  here  brought  forward  prove  that  all 
chemical  combinations  are  attended  by  a  rapid  vibratory  motion  of  the 
parts  of  the  combining  bodies,  which  vibrations  become  more  frequent  as 
the  chemical  action  is  more  intense  ? 

"  The  burning  particles  which  constitute  the  inner  shell  of  a  flame  are 
executing  about  four  hundred  billions  of  vibrations  in  one  second;  those 
in  the  middle  about  six  hundred  billions,  and  those  on  the  exterior,  in 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,  131 

contact  with  the  air,  about  eight  hundred  billions  in  the  same  time. 
The  quality  of  the  emitted  light,  as  respects  its  colour,  depending  on  the 
frequency  with  which  those  vibrations  are  accomplished,  increases  in 
refrangibility  as  the  violence  of  the  chemical  action  becomes  greater. 

"  The  parts  of  all  material  bodies  are  in  a  state  of  incessant  vibration : 
that  which  we  call  temperature  depends  on  the  frequency  and  amplitude  of 
those  vibrations  conjointly.  If  by  any  process,  as  by  chemical  agencies, 
we  increase  that  frequency  to  between  four  and  eight  hundred  billions  of 
vibrations  in  one  second,  ignition  or  combustion  results.  In  the  case  of 
the  former  of  these  numbers  the  temperature  is  977°  F.  At  this  tempe- 
rature or  epoch,  the  waves  propagated  in  the  aether  impress  the  organ  of 
vision  with  a  red  light.  This  also  is  the  temperature  of  the  innermost 
shell  of  a  flame.  If  the  frequency  of  vibration  still  increases,  the  tem- 
perature correspondingly  rises,  and  the  light  successively  becomes  orange, 
yeUow,  green,  blue,  &c. ;  and  this  condition  obtains  in  the  successive 
strata  of  a  flame  as  we  pass  from  its  interior  to  its  exterior  superficies. 

"  The  general  principle  at  which  I  thus  arrive,  as  the  final  result  of 
this  experimental  investigation,  viz. — that  there  is  a  connexion  between  the 
vehemence  with  which  chemical  affinity  is  satisfied  and  the  refrangibility 
of  the  resulting  light, — assumes  the  position  of  a  simple  consequence  of 
the  uudulatory  theory.  Is  it  not  very  natural,  if  all  chemical  changes 
are  attended  by  vibratory  motions  in  the  particles  of  the  bodies  engaged, 
that  those  vibrations  should  increase  in  frequency  as  the  action  becomes 
more  violent  ?  But  an  increased  frequency  of  vibration  is  the  same 
thing  as  an  increased  refrangibility. 

"  I  think  that  in  this  manner  the  theory  of  ethereal  undulations  is  on 
the  point  of  including  many  of  those  fundamental  facts  in  chemistry 
which  until  now  have  been  believed  to  be  adverse  to  it,  or  at  all  events  as 
standing  apart  from  it.  I  recal  the  admirable  remark  which  Dr. 
Whewcll  has  made,  in  his  History  of  the  Inductive  Sciences,  how  this 
theory,  like  that  of  universal  gravitation,  has  exhibited  all  the  aspect  of  a 
great  physical  fact,  advancing  to  the  explanation  of  things  that  seemed  to 
have  no  necessary  connexion  with  it,  and  converting  what  at  first  sight 
was  regai-ded  as  contradictory  into  the  firmest  arguments  for  its  truth." 

CAUSE    OF   LIGHTNING. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  Royal  Society,  "  On  the  Disruptive  Dis- 
charge of  accumulated  Electricity,  and  the  Proximate  Cause  of  Lightning." 
By  Isham  Baggs,  Esq. 

The  author  proposes  to  inquire  into  the  principal  causes  of  the  violent 
aud  disruptive  union  of  opposite  electricities  which  constitute  the  electric 
dischai'ge ;  aud  to  apply  the  knowledge  thus  gained  to  the  explanation  of 
natural  phenomena,  and  the  further  proof  of  the  identity  of  frictional  and 
voltaic  electricities.  He  describes  two  instruments  which  he  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  discharges  of  a  Leyden  jar,  or  battery, 
by  adjusting  with  precision  the  distances  between  two  brass  balls,  forming 
a  communication  between  the  inner  and  outer  coatings ;  allowing  of  their 
being  charged  only  to  a  limited  degree  of  intensity,  by  carrying  off  all 
the  electricity  beyond  that  extent ;  and  thus  guai'ding  the  glass  from  the 


132  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

dangers  of  fracture  from  an  excess  of  charge.  He  is  led  to  the  conclusion, 
that  with  a  given  dialectric,  such  as  glass,  the  limit  to  the  intensity  of  the 
charge  it  can  receive  varies  directly  as  the  cube  of  its  thickness,  being  in 
the  compound  ratio  of  the  resistance  it  presents  to  the  discharge,  which 
is  simjjly  as  the  thickness,  and  of  the  square  of  the  distance  of  the  two 
charged  surfaces, — such  being  the  law  of  electric  action. 

"When  a  number  of  insulated  Leyden  jars,  arranged  in  a  consecutive 
series  byconnecting  the  outer  coating  of  each  with  the  inner  coating  of 
the  next,  is  charged  by  means  of  an  electrical  machine,  the  tension  of  the 
charge  diminishes  in  each  jar  as  they  follow  in  the  series,  that  of  the  ter- 
minal jar  being  exceedingly  small.  On  the  other  hand,  when  each  jar 
has  been  charged  separately  in  the  same  manner  and  to  an  equal  extent, 
and  then  quickly  arranged  in  the  series,  the  jars  not  touching  one  another, 
but  the  knobs  connected  with  the  inner  coating  of  each  jar,  after  the  first, 
being  placed  at  a  certain  distance  from  the  outer  coating  of  the  preceding 
jar,  which  in  such  an  arrangement  is  charged  with  an  electricity  of  an 
opposite  kind  to  that  of  the  knob  adjacent  to  it, — the  author  found  that  the 
tension  of  the  electricities  was  greatly  augmented,  giving  rise  to  violent 
explosions  whenever  a  discharge  occurred.  He  considers  a  battery  thus 
constituted  as  bearing  the  same  relation  to  a  single  Leyden  jar  as  the 
voltaic  pile  does  to  a  single  galvanic  circle ;  and  as  affording  in  like  man- 
ner the  means  of  exalting,  to  any  assignable  degree,  the  electric  tension. 
Adopting  the  views  of  Mr.  Crosse  as  to  the  constitution  of  a  thunder-cloud — 
namely,  that  it  is  formed  of  a  number  of  concentric  zones  of  electricity, 
aJtemately  positive  and  negative,  the  central  one  having  the  highest  inten- 
sity, and  the  tension  diminishing  in  the  successive  zones  surrounding  the 
innermost,  till  it  became  inappreciable  in  the  one  most  remote — the  author 
considers  this  condition  of  the  cloud  to  be  analogous  to  that  of  the  battery 
above  described,  and  the  phenomena  of  the  former  to  receive  complete 
illustration  from  the  experimental  results  obtained  with  the  latter. 

BENEFIT   OF  VOLCANOES, 

Dfi.  Daubeny  concludes  the  new  edition  of  his  work  on  A'olcanoes, 
published  in  the  past  year,  by  a  chapter  on  the  final  causes  of  A'olcanoes,  in 
which  those  who  have  exclusively  regarded  these  igneous  operations  in  the 
light  of  destructive  agents,  will'be  gratified  by  some  sound  and  philoso- 
phical views  as  to  the  benefits  which  they  confer  on  the  organic  creation. 
We  quote  the  following  as  an  example  :— 

"Potass,  soda,  certain  earthy  phosphates,  lime,  magnesia,  must  be 
present  wherever  a  healthy  vegetation  proceeds.  Now  some  of  these  bodies 
are  naturally  insoluble  in  water,  whilst  others  are  dissolved  with  such 
readiness,  that  any  conceivable  supply  of  them,  in  their  isolated  condition, 
would  be  speedily  carried  off  and  find  its  way  into  the  ocean.  The  first, 
therefore,  must  be  rendered  more  soluble,  the  latter  less  so,  than  they 
are  by  themselves.  Now  the  manner  in  which  nature  has  availed  herself 
of  the  instrumentality  of  volcanoes  to  effect  both  these  opposite  purposes 
IS  equally  beautiful  and  simple. 

"  She  has  in  the  first  place  brought  to  the  surface,  iu  the  form  of  lava 
pud  trachyte,  vast  masses  of  matter  containing  the  alkalies,  lime  and 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,  133 

magnesia,  in  what  I  have  termed  a  dormant  condition,  that  is,  so  united 
by  the  force  of  cohesioa  and  of  chemical  affinity  as  not  to  be  readily  dis- 
engaged and  carried  off  by  water.     *     *     *     * 

"  Now  nature  has  provided,  in  the  carbonic  acid  which  is  so  copiously 
evolved  from  volcanoes,  and  which  consequently  impregnates  the  springs 
in  those  very  countries,  more  particularly  where  volcanic  products  are 
found,  an  agent  capable,  as  completely  as  muriatic  acid,  though  more 
slowly,  of  acting  upon  these  descriptions  of  rock,  of  separating  the  alkali 
and  alkaline  earths,  and  of  presenting  them  to  the  vessels  of  plants  in  a 
condition  in  which  they  can  be  assimilated. 

"  Thus  every  volcanic  as  well  as  every  granitic  rock  contains  a  store- 
house of  alkali  for  the  future  exigencies  of  the  vegetable  world,  whilst  the 
former  is  also  charged  with  those  principles  which  are  often  wanting  in 
granite,  but  which  are  no  less  essential  to  many  plants — I  mean  lime 
and  magnesia. 

"Had  the  alkalies  been  present  in  the  ground  in  beds  or  isolated 
masses,  they  would  have  been  speedily  washed  away,  and  the  vegetables 
that  require  them  would  by  this  time  have  been  restricted  to  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  ocean." — Review,  in  the  Philosophical  Magazine, 
No.  215. 


NEW  SELF-EEGISTERING  THERMOMETER. 

This  instrument,  with  twelve  months'  tracing  of  its  worth,  has  been 
described  to  the  British  Association,  by  its  inventor,  Mr.  Harrison.  The 
principle  on  which  the  instrument  acts,  is  the  difference  in  the  expansion 
and  contraction  of  two  metals,  from  the  effects  of  heat  and  cold,  and 
acting  by  the  direct  pull  of  the  contracting  metal  when  it  is  kept  in  a 
straight  line.  It  is  made  sufficiently  powerful  to  overcome  any  resistance 
which  the  fulcrums  of  the  levers  or  the  tracing  pencil  may  cause.  Cast- 
iron  and  hard- rolled  copper  are  selected  as  the  best  suited  for  the  purpose. 
From  tables  published  by  Smeaton  and  others,  it  appears  that  copper  ex- 
pands -^7  of  its  length,  while  cast-iron  only  expands  -gYtr  ^i^^i  *  variation 
of  180  degrees  of  lahrenheit's  thermometer,  which  leaves  a  difference  of 
about  the  ^i^o  ^f  its  length ;  and  as  the  range  of  the  thermometer  in 
the  shade  in  this  climate  is  about  90  degrees,  or  half  of  180,  the  53^0 
part  of  the  length  of  the  copper  bar  is  employed  as  a  moving  power. 
Mr.  Harrison  fixed  upon  a  bar  ten  feet  long  as  being  a  convenient  length : 
the  two  metals  will  then  vary  nearly  the  one-and-twentieth  part  of  an 
inch  between  the  hottest  day  in  summer  and  the  coldest  day  in  winter. 
This  variation  is  multiplied  by  means  of  a  compound  lever,  so  as  to  get  a 
sufficient  scale  to  divide.  The  end  of  the  last  lever  carries  a  pencil,  which 
traces  upon  a  revolving  cylinder  the  variations  that  take  place.  In  order  to 
divide  the  scale  accurately,  Mr.  H.  procured  a  standard  thermometer  by 
Messrs.  Troughton  and  Simms,  and  placed  it  in  the  eame  situation,  and 
made  several  observations  in  the  day,  for  some  weeks,  in  the  spring  of 
the  year,  when  the  range  of  the  thermometer  is  the  greatest.  After  the 
scale  was  properly  divided,  Mr.  H.  engraved  it  on  a  plate  of  copper,  in 
order  to  get  a  number  of  copies  printed.  The  only  attendance  the  instru- 
ment now  requires,  is  to  put  a  fresh  paper  upon  the  cylinder,  by  means 


184  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

of  stretchinf?  screws  fixed  on  one  side  of  the  cylinder,  once  a  week,  when 
I  wind  the  timepiece  up. 

Tliis  new  iustriimeut  is  enpiraveii  and  described  in  1086  of  the  Athe- 
lUBum.  The  following  are  the  tabulated  results  for  the  year  1847,  from 
tracings  by  the  instrument : — 

General  mean  of  whole  year 47-89 

„  of  January 36-61 

„  ofApril    44-13 

„  of  July 61-80 

of  October 49-35 

Highest  sinprle  observation,  1st  Aup^ust    . .  80-0 

Lowest  single  observation,  13tli  February  .  22*0 

Prof.  Lloyd  observed,  that  he  much  feared,  as  the  indications  of  this 
thermometer  were  derived  from  the  unequal  expansion  of  different  metals 
magnified  by  a  system  of  levers,  that  the  bearings  of  the  levers  would  be 
found  not  to  move  continuously,  but  by  starts.  Sir  W.  S.  Harris  thought 
it  likely  some  correction  would  be  required  for  the  hygrometrical  state  of 
the  paper  on  which  the  curves  were  traced,  as  well  as  for  the  effects  of 
changes  of  temperature  of  other  parts  of  the  instrument. — Athenceuniy 
No.  1087. 


THE  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH  IN  METEOROLOGICAL  RESEARCH. 

Mr.  Ball  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  the  following 
paper  on  the  means  of  effecting  this  object.  "  What  is  popularly  termed 
the  weather  is  a  general  expression  for  the  physical  condition  of  the 
atmosphere  with  reference  to  heat,  pressure,  moisture,  and  the  velocity 
and  direction  of  its  motion.  Two  classes  of  causes  determine  these  con- 
ditions at  any  given  point  of  the  earth's  surface.  The  first  class  may  for 
short  periods  of  time  be  considered  as  constants,  depending  on  the  posi- 
tion of  the  point  of  observation  on  the  globe  and  the  physical  conforma- 
tion of  the  adjoining  district.  The  second  class,  upon  which  the  pro- 
verbial uncertainty  of  the  weather  depends,  depend  upon  the  relative  in- 
fluence of  each  portion  of  the  atmosphere  upon  those  surrounding  it,  by 
virlue  of  which  a  disturbance  of  equilibrium  at  any  one  point  is  rapidly 
propagated  in  all  directions.  In  common  language,  this  is  expressed  by 
saying  that  the  direction  of  the  wind  is  at  once  the  cause  and  the  indica- 
tion of  changes  of  the  weather.  However  far  we  may  be  from  a  general 
solution  of  the  problem  of  atmospheric  disturbances,  meteorologists  have 
made  considerable  progress  in  tracing  the  connexion  between  successive 
states  of  the  weather,  owing  to  the  mutual  influence  of  contiguous  por- 
tions of  the  atmosphere.  These  cases  have  been  studied  a  posteriori, 
comparing  the  known  results  with  observations  extending  over  consider- 
able areas.  Now  that  we  have  the  means  of  receiving  information  in  an 
indefinitely  short  space  of  time  by  the  Electric  Telegraph,  these  problems, 
under  favourable  circumstances,  may  be  studied  a  priori.''^  In  London 
we  may  receive  instantaneous  intelligence  of  the  condition  of  the  atmos- 

w  *  T^^^^^P^^^*  London  evening  paper  adopted  this  idea,  in  publishing, 
by  aid  of  the  Electric  Telegraph  Companv,  the  state  of  the  weather  in  dff- 
terent  parts  of  the  kingdom,  at  a  given  time  each  day. 


NATUEAL  PHILOSOPHY.  135 

pliere  as  to  the  five  above-mentioned  elements,  iVom  nearly  all  the  extre- 
mities of  Great  Britain ; — with  a  delay  of  about  four  hours  we  can  have 
similar  intelligence  from  the  western  part  of  Ireland,  and  with  a  still 
shorter  delay,  our  communications  may  extend  to  the  centre  of  France, 
the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and  even  to  the  frontiers  of  Hungary  and 
Poland.  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  with  such  elements  for  calculation 
we  should  at  once  be  enabled  to  predict  changes  in  the  weather  with 
absolute  certainty.  It  would  require  some  time  to  eliminate  the  action 
of  accidental  and  local  causes  at  particular  stations ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  in  a  short  time  the  determinations  thus  arrived  at 
would  possess  a  high  degree  of  probability.  The  ordinary  rate  at  which 
atmospheric  disturbances  are  propagated  does  not  seem  to  exceed  twenty 
miles  per  hour;  so  that  with  a  circle  of  stations,  extending  about  500 
miles  in  each  direction,  we  should  in  almost  all  cases  be  enabled  to  cal- 
culate on  the  state  of  the  weather  for  twenty-four  hours  in  advance." 

Dr.  Lloyd  said  he  supposed  Mr.  Ball  was  aware  that  Professor  Lamonf , 
of  Munich,  had  rendered  the  ordinary  telegraph  subservient  in  that 
c  juntry  to  the  purposes  proposed  by  Mr.  Ball.  By  having  the  state  of 
the  barometer,  thermometer,  and  wind,  telegraphed  from  every  part  of 
Bavaria,  he  was  often  enabled  to  foretel  storms  and  other  atmospheric 
changes  more  than  twenty-four  hours  before  they  occurred,  to  the  no 
small  astonishment  of  those  who  were  not  aware  of  the  means  he  used. — 
AthencRum,  No.  1088. 

THE  KEFLECTING  CIRCLE. 

Mr.  J.  C.  Dennis  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  "  On 
Improvements  in  the  Reflecting  Circle,  more  particularly  in  reierence  to 
an  Instrument  for  the  Purpose  of  measuring  regular  Distances  of  the  Sun 
and  Moon."  So  great  is  the  accuracy  required  in  instruments  of  this 
kind  that  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  to  the  5940th  part  of  an  inch. 
The  smallest  error  of  construction  therefrom  produces  a  serious  error  in 
the  observation ;  and  to  render  the  construction  more  perfect,  the  fol- 
lowing suggestion  is  made : — Instead  of  attaching  the  circle  (technically 
called  an  arc)  to  the  parts  which  support  it,  let  the  whole  be  cast  in  one 
piece,  and  then  placed,  polished,  or  divided,  to  suit  the  purposes  of  modern 
astronomy. 


METALS  IN  THE  HUMAN  BLOOD. 

M.  MiLLON  states  Human  Blood  to  be  known  always  to  contain 
silica,  manganese,  lead,  and  copi)er ;  and  this  determination  being 
effected,  it  became  a  curious  subject  of  inquiry,  whether  the  copper  and 
the  lead  are  disseminated  throughout  the  whole  mass  of  the  blood,  or  if, 
as  happens  with  the  iron,  they  are  confined  to  the  red  particles. 

Experience  has  left  no  doubt  on  this  subject.  One  kilogramme  of  the 
clot,  carefully  separated  from  the  serum  of  many  bleedings,  yielded 
0*083  grs.  of  lead  and  copper ;  one  kilogramme  of  serum  separated  from 
the  preceding  clot  yielded  only  0"003  grs.  of  these  two  metals.  These 
three  milligrammes  of  lead  and  copper  contained  in  the  serum,  ought  un- 
doubtedly to  be  attributed  to  the  red  globules  dissolved  or  suspended  in 
the  lymph. 


l;Ui  TEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  copper  and  the  lead  are  not  diffused  through- 
out the  bh)od,  but  are  fixed  with  the  iron  in  the  globules ;  and  every- 
thing leads  to  the  conclusion  that  they  contribute,  as  it  does,  to 
organization  and  to  life.  Do  they  exert  a  decided  influence  on  the 
health  V  Docs  chlorosis  exist  on  account  of  deficiency  of  copper,  lead, 
and  manganese  ?  or  is  their  excess  the  secret  cause  of  any  obscure  and 
disordered  affection  ?  Therapeutics  ought  to  answer  these  questions,  and 
enlighten  us  in  its  turn.  Legal  medicine,  on  its  part,  will  perhaps  draw 
up  useful  Jiints  as  to  the  permanent  presence  of  these  metallic  poisons, 
and  with  respect  to  their  enormous  variations,  even  in  the  midst  of  life. — 
Comjdes  Rendiis ;  Philosophical  Mcu/azine,  No.  215. 

PROCURING  CRYSTALLIZATION  IN  THE  DRY  WAY. 

MM.BeudanTjBerthier,  and  DuFRENOY,  have  reported  to  the  Paris 
Academy  of  Sciences,  upon  the  result  of  a  series  of  experiments  made 
by  M.  Ebelmen,  to  solve  this  problem.  In  its  most  general  form,  the 
idea  consists  of  this, — that  many  bodies  in  fusion  probably  possess  the 
property  of  acting  as  dissolvents  on  many  others,  fusible  as  well  as  infu- 
sible. It  does  not  appear  absolutely  necessary  that  these  bodies  should 
be  capable  of  being  volatilised  in  order  to  obtain  from  them  a  Crj'stalliza- 
tion  of  the  dissolved  substances ;  for  with  water  only  we  may  obtain 
crystals  in  vessels  hermetically  sealed,  and  consequently  without  evapora- 
tion, by  the  mere  difference  of  the  temperature  of  saturation  and  crystal- 
lization. Now^,  since  we  find  infusible  bodies,  such  as  quartz,  corundum, 
spinel,  cyraophane,  &c.,  as  well  as  fusible  bodies,  such  as  garnet,  emerald, 
&c.  in  felsphathic  substances,  in  the  granular  carbonate  of  lime,  &c.,  may 
we  not  suppose  that  these  matters,  iu  a  state  of  fusion,  have  been  dissol- 
vents ?  May  we  not,  also,  suppose  the  same  thing  of  many  others  ? 
These  are  at  least  fine  subjects  for  experiment,  which  it  will  be  of 
advantage  to  try ;  for  if  we  may  suppose,  in  consequence  of  M.  Ebelmen 's 
experiments,  that  boracic  acid  may  be  the  vehicle  of  some  great  crystal- 
lization, by  vvay  of  formation,  in  some  localities  where  \\q  at  present  see 
it  disengaged  in  abundance,  it  must  be  confessed  that  this  body,  as  well 
as  its  compounds,  is  too  rare  among  the  products  that  issue  from  the 
bosom  of  the  earth  to  ascribe  it  to  the  enormous  mass  which  would  have 
been  required  for  the  purpose  mentioned. 

However  this  may  be,  Beudant  says,  in  terminating  his  report,  we  see, 
by  the  short  exposition  which  has  been  given,  that  M.  Ebelmen's  idea 
appears  to  be  a  very  fruitful  one ;  that  it  has  been  conceived  in  the  sound 
spirit  of  natural  philosophy ;  that  it  has  already  furnished  the  means  of 
verifying  doubtful  compositions  in  a  great  number  of  minerals,  as  well  as 
of  making  many  substances  which  nature  has  not  yet  presented  to  us, 
and  thus  fdling  up  important  blanks  in  general  classification;  finally, 
that  it  has  yielded  positive  and  fundamental  facts  for  science. — For  details 
of  the  experiments,  see  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  88. 


RAPID   MOTION   OP   THE    OBSERVER  ON   SOUND. 

Mb.  Scott  Russell,  in  a  paper  read  to  the  British  Association, 
observed,  that  until  the  existence  of  the  very  high  velocities  now  given 
to  railway  trains,  no  opportunities  have  existed  of  observing  any  pbeno- 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  137 

mena  in  which  the  velocity  of  the  observer  has  been  sufficient  to  affect 
\he  character  of  sounds.  The  author  having  had  occasion  to  make 
o^^servations  on  railway  trains  moving  at  high  velocities,  has  been  led 
to  notice  some  very  curious  effects  in  sounds  heard  at  fifty  and  sixty  miles 
an  kour.  These  effects  are  not  heard  by  an  observer  who  is  stationary. 
He  found  that  the  sound  of  a  whistle  on  an  engine  stationary  on  the  line 
was  hqard  by  a  passenger  in  a  rapid  train  to  give  a  different  note — in  a 
differer.t  key  from  that  in  which  it  was  heard  by  the  person  standing 
beside  i^.  The  same  was  true  of  all  sounds.  The  passenger  in  rapid 
motion  heard  them  in  a  different  key,  which  might  be  either  louder  or 
lower  in  pitch  than  the  true  or  stationary  sound.  The  explanation  of 
this  was  given  as  follows  : — The  pitch  of  a  musical  sound  is  determined 
by  the  number  of  vibrations  which  reach  the  ear  in  a  second  of  time — 
thirty-two  vibrations  per  second  of  an  organ  pipe  give  the  note  c,  and  a 
greater  or  less  number  give  a  more  acute  sound,  or  one  more  grave. 
Tliese  vibrations  move  with  a  velocity  of  1,024  feet  per  second  nearly. 
If  an  observer  in  a  railway  train  move  at  the  rate  of  fifty-six  miles  an 
hour  towards  a  sounding  body,  he  will  meet  a  greater  number  of  undula- 
tions in  a  second  of  time  than  if  at  rest,  in  the  proportion  which  his  velocity 
bears  to  the  velocity  of  sound  ;  but  if  he  move  away  from  the  sounding  body, 
he  will  meet  a  smaller  number  in  that  proportion.  In  the  former  case 
he  will  hear  the  sound  a  semi-tone  higher,  and  in  the  latter,  a  semi-tone 
lower  than  the  observer  at  rest.  In  the  case  of  two  trains  meeting  at 
this  velocity,  the  one  containing  the  sounding  body  and  the  other  the 
observer,  the  effect  is  doubled  in  amount.  Before  the  trains  meet,  the 
sound  is  heard  two  semi-tones  too  high,  and  after  they  pass,  two  semi- 
tones too  low — being  a  difference  of  a  major  third. — There  were  next 
explained  the  various  effects  which  the  noises  of  a  train  produced  on  the 
ears  of  passengers  at  high  velocities.  The  reflected  sounds  of  a  train, 
from  surfaces  like  those  of  bridges  across  the  line,  were  at  ordinary  velo- 
cities sent  back  to  the  ear  changed  by  less  than  a  serai-tone,  so  as  to  cause 
a  harsh  discord,  which  was  an  element  of  the  unpleasant  effect  on  the  ear 
when  passing  a  bridge.  In  a  tunnel,  also,  the  sounds  reflected  from  any 
irregularities  in  t!ie  front  of  the  train  or  behind  it,  were  discords  to  the 
sounds  of  the  train  heard  directly.  He  showed,  however,  that  at  a  speed 
of  112  miles  an  hour,  these  sounds  might  be  those  of  a  harmony  with 
each  other  and  become  agreeable,  for  the  sounds  reflected  in  opposite 
dii'ections  would  have  the  interval  of  a  major  third. 

Sir  D.  Brewster  observed,  that  in  his  opinion  the  explanation  of  the 
curious  effect  of  rapid  motion  of  the  observer  on  sound  vvas  to  be  sought 
from  physiological  causes,  and  not  acoustic ;  and  pointed  out  what  he 
considered  to  be  analogous  phenomena  with  respect  to  light — such  as  the 
augmentation  of  light  at  the  boundary  of  moving  shadows,  the  perfect 
clearness  with  which  objects  could  be  seen  through  rapidly  moving  open- 
ings in  screens,  and  the  production  of  colour  by  screens  in  motion  under 
certain  circumstances. 

Sir  W.  S.  Harris  conceived  that  all  the  effects  were  to  be  explained  by 
the  undulatory  theory  of  sound  in  the  manner  in  which  they  were  ex- 
plained by  Mr.  Scott' Russell. — Athenceum,  No,  1086. 


188  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

TRANSMISSION  OP  SOUND  AND  ELECTRIC  ITY. 

During  a  lecture  latoly  delivered  by  Dr.  Faraday,  at  the  Royal  Insti- 
tution, two  remarkable  experiments  were  exhibited,  with  a  view  to  show 
peculiarities  in  the  transniissiou  of  Electricity.  A  lonjr  strip  of  wood  was 
suspended  from  the  ceiling  of  the  lecture  room,  touching  a  wooden  box 
at  one  cud.  A  tuning  fork  was  struck  and  applied  to  the  other  extremity 
of  the  connected  strip  of  wood,  when  presently  a  loud  musical  note  issued 
from  the  box,  though  the  sound  of  the  fork  at  the  other  end  was  in- 
audible. The  next  experiment  was  still  more  curious.  A  rod  connected 
with  a  piano-forte  in  a  room  beneath  came  through  the  floor  of  the  lec- 
ture room,  and  on  the  top  of  the  rod  Dr.  Faraday  applied  a  guitar  to  act 
as  a  sounding  board.  When  the  piano  was  played,  the  sound  seemed  to 
issue  from  the  guitar  as  loudly  as  if  the  instrument  were  in  the  room, 
but  the  instant  the  connection  was  broken  between  the  rod  and  the 
guitar,  no  note  could  be  heard.  Another  analogy  between  vibrations 
producing  sound  and  electricity  is  the  sensation,  resembling  that  of  an 
electric  shock,  communicated  on  touching  a  vibrating  bar  of  metal,  or  a 
vibrating  string.  The  school  trick,  of  fixing  a  wet  string  or  piece  of  tape 
round  the  waist,  and  then  pulling  it  through  the  fingers,  was  practised 
by  Dr.  Faraday  on  his  assistant,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  how  readily 
the  sensation  of  an  electric  shock  may  be  imitated  by  vibrations. 

TIDES  OF  THE  IRISH  AND  ENGLISH  CHANNELS. 

Professor  Airy  has  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society,  a  "  Report 
of  Experiments  made  on  the  Tides  in  the  Irish  Sea ;  on  the  similarity  of 
the  Tidal  phenomena  of  the  Irish  and  English  Channels ;  and  on  the  im- 
portance of  extending  the  experiments  round  the  Land's-End  and  up  the 
English  Channel."  Embodied  in  a  letter  to  the  Hydrographer,  by  Cap- 
tain F.  W.  Beechey,  R.N.,  F.R.S. 

The  author  commences  by  stating  that  the  set  of  the  tides  in  the 
Irish  Sea  had  always  been  misunderstood,  owing  to  the  disposition  to 
associate  the  turn  of  the  stream  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  water  on  the 
shore.  This  misapprehension,  in  a  channel  varying  so  much  in  its  times 
of  high  water,  could  not  fail  to  produce  much  mischief;  and  to  this 
cause  may  be  ascribed,  in  all  probability,  a  large  proportion  of  the  wrecks 
in  Caernarvon  Bay. 

The  present  inquiry  has  dispelled  these  errors,  and  has  furnished 
science  with  some  new  and  interesting  facts.  It  has  shown  that,  not- 
withstanding the  variety  of  times  of  high  water,  the  turn  of  the  stream 
throughout  the  north  and  south  Channels  occurs  at  the  same  hour,  and 
that  this  time  happens  to  coincide  with  the  times  of  high  and  low  water 
at  Morecombe  Bay,  a  place  remarkable  as  being  the  spot  where  the 
streams  coming  round  the  opposite  extremities  of  Ireland  finally  unite. 
These  experiments,  taken  in  connexion  wdth  those  of  the  Ordnance  made 
at  the  suggestion  of  Professor  Airy,  show  that  there  are  two  spots  in  the 
Irish  Sea,  in  one  of  which  the  stream  runs  with  considerable  rapidity, 
without  there  being  any  rise  or  fall  of  the  water,  and  in  the  other  the 
water  rises  and  falls  without  having  any  perceptible  stream  ;  that  the 
same  stream  makes  high  and  low  water  in  different  parts  of  the  channel 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  139 

at  the  same  time ;  and  that  during  certain  portions  of  the  tide,  the 
stream,  opposing  the  wave,  runs  up  an  ascent  of  one  foot  in  three  miJes, 
with  a  velocity  of  three  miles  an  hour. 

The  author  then  notices  a  chart  of  lines  of  equal  range  of  tide,  which 
has  hoen  compiled  partly  from  the  ranges  published  by  the  Royal  So- 
ciety*, and  partly  from  observations  made  on  the  present  occasion  ;  and 
has  annexed  a  tablef ,  by  the  aid  of  which  the  seaman  will  be  able  to 
compare  his  soundings,  taken  at  any  time  of  the  tide,  with  the  depths 
marked  upon  the  Admiralty  charts. 

Next  follows  the  mention  of  a  feature  in  the  motion  of  the  tide-wave 
which  Captain  Beechey  thinks  has  hitherto  escaped  observation  ;  viz. 
that  the  upper  portions  of  the  water  fall  quicker  than  the  lower,  or  in 
other  words,  that  the  half-tide  level  does  not  coincide  with  the  place  of 
the  water  at  the  half-tide  interval ;  that  this  difference  in  the  Bristol 
Channel  amounts  to  as  much  as  four  feet| ;  and  that  the  law  seems  to  be 
applicable  to  all  the  tides  of  the  Irish  Sea§. 

We  are  next  presented  with  a  table  (No.  5)  exhibiting  the  various 
curves  assumed  by  the  tide-waves,  and  with  the  durations  of  the  ebb  and 
flood  at  each  place. 

Having  explained  these  observations  in  the  Ii-ish  Sea,  the  author  pro- 
ceeds to  apply  to  the  tides  of  the  English  Channel  the  law  which  he 
found  to  regulate  the  stream  of  the  Irish  Channel,  availing  himself  of  the 
observations  of  Captain  M.  White  and  others  for  this  purpose. 

The  author  then  traces  the  great  similarity  of  tidal  phenomena  of  the 
two  channels,  and  proceeds  to  describe  them.  For  this  purpose  he  con- 
riders  the  Irish  Channel  as  extending  from  a  line  connecting  the  Land's- 
End  with  Cape  Clear  to  the  end  of  its  tidal  stream,  or  virtual  head  of  the 
tide  at  Peel ;  and  the  English  Channel  from  a  line  joining  the  Land's- 
End  and  Ushant,  to  the  end  of  its  tid.-d  stream  off  Dungeness.  With 
these  preliminary  lines,  he  shows  that  both  channels  receive  their  tides 
from  the  Atlantic,  and  that  they  each  flow  up  until  met  by  counter- 
streams  ;  that  from  the  outer  limit  of  the  English  Channel  to  the  virtual 
head  of  its  tide  the  distance  is  262  geographical  miles ;  and  in  the 
Irish  Channel,  from  its  entrance  to  the  vii'tual  head  of  its  tide,  it  is  265 
miles. 

The  author  traces  a  further  identity  in  the  progress  of  the  tide-wave 
along  the  sides  of  both  channels  opposite  to  that  of  the  node.  In  the 
first  part  of  the  channel  the  wave  in  each  travels  at  about  fifty  miles 
per  hour ;  in  the  next,  just  above  the  node,  this  rate  is  brought  down  to 
about  thirty  miles  per  hour  in  one,  and  to  sixteen  miles  in  the  other  ;  it 
then  in  both  becomes  accelerated,  and  attains  to  about  seventy-six  miles 
per  hour. 

Lastly,  the  author  observes  that  the  node  or  hinge  of  the  tide,  placed 
by  Professor  Whewell  (in  his  papers  cm  the  Tides)  in  the  North  Sea,  is 
situated  at  the  same  distance  nearly  from  the  head  of  the  tide  off  Dunge- 
ness, as  the  node  near  Swanage  is  on  the  opposite  side  of  it ;  and  that  in 

*  Philosophical  Transactions,  1836,  part  1.  t  Table  X. 

t  See  Diagram,  No.  9.  §  Diagram,  No.  11. 


140  TEAE-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

the  Irish  Channel,  at  the  same  distance  nearly  as  the  node  at  Courtowa 
is  from  the  head  of  the  tide  off'  Peel,  there  is  a  similar  spot  of  no  rise 
recently  observed  by  Captain  Robinson. 

The  author  concludes  this  paper  by  urging  a  further  investigation  of 
the  tidal  piicnorneua  of  the  English  Channel,  on  the  ground  of  the  great 
advantage  navigation,  as  well  as  scieuce  in  general,  would  derive  from 
such  an  examination. 

Captain  Beechey's  letter  is  illustrated  hy  twelve  charts  and  diagrams, 
showing  the  identity  and  singular  phenomena  of  these  two  great  channels. 
— See  the  Abstract  more  fully  in  the  Philosophical  Magazine,  No.  218. 


SINGULAK  IRREGULARITY  OF  VISION. 

Mr,  Heineken,  of  Sidmonth,  in  a  letter  to  the  Editors  of  the  Phi- 
losophical Magazine,  states,  that  in  the  Medico -Chirurgical  Review 
for  1834,  it  is  related  that  M.  Prevost,  of  Geneva,  and  Mr.  Bab- 
bage  have  themselves  experienced  a  singular  Irregularity  of  Vision,  viz. 
that  of  double  images  with  one  eye.  The  details  arc  given  in  the  work 
above  named,  and  also  in  the  Arcana  of  Science*  for  1834,  p.  184, 

"I  am  induced,"  says  Mr,  Heineken,  "to  trouble  you  with  a  some- 
what similarity  in  my  own  case,  from  a  note  made  at  the  time  : — 

"  Having  occasion  to  divide  a  yard  into  a  thousand  parts,  I  used  an 
eye-lens  of  six  inches  focus,  to  assist  the  right  eye  while  dividing  :  the 
left  was  kept  closed.  I  had  been  employed  about  two  hours,  in  making 
400  divisions,  and  then  left  off".  I  then  found  that  upon  looking  at  a 
window  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  with  the  left  (unemployed) 
eye,  the  bars  were  triple,  while  with  the  right  (employed)  they  were 
single.  This  effect  lasted  (gradually  decreasing)  for  at  least  two  hours; 
the  bars  were  also  surrounded  by  a  strong  penumbra.  At  first,  objects, 
— such  as  people  on  horseback — were  so  distorted  that  I  had  great  diffi- 
culty in  deciding  what  they  were. 

"  On  another  occasion  I  have  noticed  a  defect  of  vision  of  a  somewhat 
different  character.  Upon  rising  one  morning  I  observed  in  the  right 
eye,  as  it  were  innumerable  faint  scintillations  or  lucid  points,  the  whole 
field  of  vision  being  covered  by  them.  Upon  going  to  a  looking-glass,  I 
found  that  I  could  not  see  one  half  of  the  face  with  that  eye — it  appeared 
perfectly  dark.  The  effect  lasted  perhaps  half  or  three-quarters  of  an 
hour.  Dr.'Kitchiner  mentions  having  been  alarmed  by  a  somewhat 
similar  appearance ;  but  this  seems  to  have  arisen  from  over-exertion  of 
the  eye,  from  minute  examination  of  the  powers,  &c.  of  several  telescopes. 
In  my  own  case,  I  am  not  aware  that  the  eye  had  been  at  all  overworked 
on  the  previous  day,  or  for  some  length  of  time ;  nor  had  it  any  con- 
nexion with  the  previous  cause  of  multiple  vision,  this  having  occurred 
more  than  twelve  months  before." 


decomposition  of  light  by  the  eye. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Atheiueum,  No.  1080,  writes :  "  On  closing 
the  eyes,  after  having  looked  steadfastly  at  a  sheet  of  white  paper  held  in 

*  The  Arcana  of  Science,  11  vols,  now  out  of  print,  has  been  succeeded  by 
"  The  Year-book  of  Facts,"  by  the  same  Editor. 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  141 

the  sun  for  about  half  a  minute,  and  covering  them  without  pressure,  to 
exclude  extraneous  light  (a  silk  handkerchief  held  in  the  hand  will 
answer  the  purpose),  the  figure  of  the  paper  remains  visible  for  some 
time.  A.t  first  it  is  generally  white,  and  theu  gradually  changes  through 
the  colours  of  the  spectrum.  All  the  colours  are  seldom  seen  at  the  same 
trial ;  and  it  rarely  happens,  when  one  or  more  are  missed,  that  they  after- 
wards appear.  Thus,  when  the  change  is  from  green  to  red,  yellow  or 
orange  are  seldom  seen.  The  change  from  white  generally  commences  with 
a  light  indigo  or  blue,  and  terminates  with  red,  or  some  compound  of  it, — 
but  sometimes  with  a  deep  blue  or  violet.  The  colours  are  generally 
seen  at  the  edges  of  the  figure  first, — though  this  is  not  always  the  case ; 
and  when  they  once  appear,  they  often  remain  mixed  up  with  those  that 
succeed.  Many  curious  modifications  and  confused  mixtures  of  colours 
will  be  perceived  at  times ;  but  it  seldom  happens  that  the  colours  de- 
velope  themselves,  in  the  first  instance,  contrary  to  their  order  in  the 
spectrum,  although,  when  the  last  has  appeared,  they  occur  in  various 
ways.  This  is  a  phenomenon  I  have  not  seen  noticed  anywhere ;  and 
it  would  seem  to  arise  from  the  retina  decomposing  the  light  that  falls 
upon  it,  surrendering  the  rays  in  the  order  of  refrangibility." 


VISUAL  IMPRESSION  UPON  THE  RETINA. 

Sir  David  Brewster  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  a 
paper  "  On  the  Visual  Impression  upon  the  Foramen  Centrale  of  the 
Retina."  The  author  described  by  diagrams  the  position  of  the  optio 
nerve  as  it  enters  the  eye,  which,  though  covered  by  the  nervous  coat 
of  the  retina,  is  entirely  devoid  of  the  choroides ;  and  it  is  well  known 
that  if  the  image  of  even  a  bright  object,  as  of  a  candle,  be  made  to  fall 
on  this  spot,  nothing  but  an  indistinct  luminosity  can  be  perceived. 
Sommering  was  the  first  who  observed  exactly,  at  the  place  where  the 
optic  axis  reaches  the  retina,  a  spot  at  which,  while  the  choroides  was 
there  perfect,  the  retina  was  entirely  absent ;  yet  it  was  on  this  spot  that 
the  image  was  formed  when  vision  was  most  distinct — for  it  was  well 
known  that  when  we  wanted  to  see  things  most  accurately,  the  optic 
axis  of  both  eyes  was  directed  upon  it.  This  spot,  therefore,  which  was 
called  by  its  discoverer  the  Foramen  Centrale,  had  at  all  times  occupied 
much  attention ;  but  it  was  found  very  difficult  to  determine  its  extent, 
or  even  its  form — chiefly  because  in  the  dead  human  eye  it  was  found  to 
be  a  mere  fold,  as  some  maintained,  or  two  folds  across,  as  others.  The 
author — having  observed  that  after  the  eye  had  been  for  some  time  re- 
posed, if  it  be  turned  to  a  uniformly  and  not  too  strongly  illuminated  sur- 
face, such  as  a  sheet  of  white  paper  held  at  some  distance,  a  dark  round 
spot  was  perceived  surrounded  by  the  uniform  white  of  the  ground, — 
said,  that  this  spot  in  some  peculiar  states  of  disease  was  found  to  be  a 
bright  spot  surrounded  by  a  dark  ground.  On  considering  this  spot,  he 
found  its  place  to  correspond  with  that  of  the  foramen  centrale ;  and 
having  accurately  measured  its  angular  magnitude,  he  found  it  to  be 
about  35'  of  a  degree;  which,  assuming  the  eyeball  to  be  a  sphere  of 
about  five-tenths  of  ?m  inch  diameter,  would  give  the  diameter  of  the  spot 


142  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

about  the  one-thirtieth  of  an  inch,  which  he  believed  was  pretty  nearly 
that  assigned  originally  to  the  foramen  centrale  by  Sommering.— 
Aihenantm,  No.  1086. 


VISION  OF  DISTANCES. 

Sir  David  Brewster  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper 
"  On  the  Vision  of  Distances  as  given  by  Colours."  The  author  briefly 
euumcratcd  the  several  opinions  maintained  by  opticians  as  to  the  mode 
in  which  the  eye  distinguishes  distances ;  and  particularized  'the  facts 
determined  by  Mr.  Wheatstoue  by  his  beautiful  contrivance,  the  stereo- 
scope. But  he  considered  that  there  was  yet  another  almost  neglected 
source  of  distinguishing  distances :  he  alluded  to  the  different  places  at 
which  the  images  of  different  colours  are  formed  from  the  object.  The 
influence  of  this  any  person  might  at  once  couvince  himself  of  by  viewing 
near  objects,  which  were  of  well -contrasted  colours,  as  the  outlines  of 
countries  on  maps  where  the  bounding  lines  would  be  found  to  be  some- 
times red  and  sometimes  blue  for  near  countries.  Now,  it  woiJd  be 
observed  that  when  closely  viewed,  these  w  ould  appear  to  separate ;  the 
plane  of  the  pa])er  for  those  parts  coloured  red  to  approach  the  eye,  while 
that  of  those  coloured  blue  recede. — Atlienaum,  No.  1086. 


LORD  ROSSE's  telescope. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Dublin  Royal  Academy,  on  March  17th,  Dr. 
Robinson  gave  an  account  of  the  present  condition  of  Lord  Rosse's  Tele- 
scope. Dr.  Robinson  found  that  the  speculum  (whose  figm-e,  as  he  had 
formerly  stated,  was  not  quite  perfect),  as  well  as  a  duplicate  one,  had 
been  polished  by  the  workmen ;  and  as  he  apprehended  no  difficulty  in 
the  process,  it  was  repeated.  An  unexpected  difficulty,  however,  occurred, 
which  made  much  delay  till  Lord  Rosse  discovered  the  cause.  The 
success  of  the  operation  requires  that  it  be  performed  at  the  temperature 
of  55°.  In  winter  this  must  be  obtained  by  artificial  heat, — which, 
however,  increases  the  dryness  of  the  air,  so  that  the  polishing  material 
cannot  be  kept  on  the  speculum.  In  this  case  the  surface  is  untrue,  and 
gives  a  confused  image.  This  was  verified  by  the  hygrometer,  and  remedied 
by  a  jet  of  steam  so  regulated  as  to  keep  the  air  saturated  with  moisture. 
The  result  was  immediate ;  and  at  the  first  trial  the  speculum  acted  so 
well  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  try  any  further  experiments.  Three  addi- 
tions had  been  made  to  the  telescope  : — 1.  The  movement  in  right  ascen- 
sion is  given  from  the  ground  by  machinery  intended  to  be  connected 
with  a  clock  movement  which  is  in  progress.  2.  To  obviate  the  difficulty 
of  finding  objects,  an  eye-piece  of  large  field  and  peculiar  con- 
struction is  connected  with  a  slide,  so  that  it  can  be)  replaced  by  the 
usual  one  in  an  instant.  It  magnifies  208  times,  and  employs  nearly 
four  feet  of  the  speculum,  the  same  as  Herschel's  40-feet ;  thus  giving 
the  power  of  trying  what  that  instrument  might  show.  3.  The  micro- 
meter is  peculiar, — a  plate  of  parallel  glass,  with  a  position  circle  at- 
tached. Light  admitted  at  its  edge  cannot  escape  at  the  parallel  surfaces, 
except  they  be  scratched,  and  a  scale  of  equal  parts  engraved  on  one  of 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  143 

them  with  a  diamond — luminous  in  a  field  absolutely  black.  The  ex- 
ceedingly unfavourable  state  of  the  weather  subsequently  prevented  much 
from  being  done :  in  fact,  there  was  but  one  good  night,  the  11th  ult. 
In  the  moon  he  observed  the  large  flat  bottom  of  the  crater  covered  with 
fragments,  and  satisfied  himself  that  one  of  the  bright  stripes,  which 
have  been  often  discussed,  had  no  visible  elevation  above  the  general 
surface.  In  the  belts  of  Jupiter,  streaks  like  those  of  Pyrrhus's  cloud 
were  seen ;  and  the  fading  of  their  brown  colour  towards  the  edge  is 
evidence  that  they  are  seen  through  a  considerable  and  imperfectly  trans- 
parent atmosphere.  A  similar  shade  in  the  polar  regions,  where  little 
cloud  is  to  be  expected,  seems  to  indicate  that  the  brighter  bands  are 
cloudy  regions,  and  the  more  dusky  show  the  body  of  the  planet.  Seve- 
ral nebulae  wece  examined, — and,  as  formerly,  all  were  resolved.  That 
of  Orion  is  most  remarkable.  Even  before  the  mirror  was  perfect,  and 
iu  bad  nights,  that  part  of  it  which  presents  the  strange  flocculent  ap- 
pearance described  by  Sir  John  Herschel,  is  seen  to  be  composed  of  stars, 
with  the  lowest  power,  360.  But  Dr.  Robinson's  eye  required  830  to 
bring  out  the  smaller  stars,  amongst  which  these  are  scattered.  Having 
seen  them,  and  known  the  easiest  parts,  they  were  seen  with  the  3-feet 
and  500. 

Dr.  Robinson  has  seen  a  recent  notice  in  which  this  nebula  is  said  to 
have  been  resolved  by  the  observers  of  Harvard  University,  U.S.,  with  a 
Munich  achromatic  of  from  15  to  16  inches  aperture.  He  has  often 
seen  it  with  Cooper's  of  13*5,  a  ditierence  easily  to  be  allowed  for,  but 
never  saw  any  trace  of  resolution.  He  does  not  in  the  least  dispute  the 
obsei-vation  ;  for  a  precise  knowledge  of  the  place  (which  Dr.  Nichol  had 
mentioned)  with  a  purer  atmosphere  and  sharper  eyes  than  his  are  suffi- 
cient to  account  for  it ;  but  he  cannot  refrain  from  remarking,  that  the 
epithet  "  incomparable,"  which  they  apply  to  their  telescope,  would  be 
less  extravagant  if — in  addition  to  the  two  stars  of  the  trapezium  which 
were  discovered  by  the  telescopes  of  Dorpat  and  Kensington — they  had 
seen  the  other  two  which  the  6-feet  showed  at  the  first  glance,  after  its 
polish  was  completed.  Another  interesting  object  is  the  planetary  nebula, 
h.  464,  situated  in  the  splendid  cluster,  Messier,  46,  and  probably  a  part 
of  it.  It  is  a  disc  of  small  stars  uniformly  distributed  and  surrounded 
by  the  larger.  Messier,  64,  is  a  singular  modification  of  the  annular 
form  seen  obliquely.  The  opening  seems  black  as  ink,  and  at  its  margin 
is  one  of  those  interior  clusters  of  bright  stars  so  often  noticed  before. 
But  the  most  remarkable  nebidar  arrangement  which  this  instrument  has 
revealed  is  that  where  the  stars  are  grouped  in  spirals.  Lord  Rosse  de- 
scribed one  of  them  (Messier,  51)  in  the  year  1845  ;  and  Dr.  Robinson 
found  four  others  on  the  11th,  of  which  he  exhibited  drawings,  h.  604, 
seen  by  Herschel  as  a  bi-central  nebula),  Messier,  99,  in  which  the  centre 
is  a  cluster  of  stars.  Messier,  97,  looks  with  the  finding  eye-piece  like  a 
figure  of  eight ;  but  the  higher  powers  show  star  spirals  related  to  two 
centres,  appearing  like  stars  with  dark  spaces  round  them, — though  pro- 
bably high  powers  in  a  fine  night  would  prove  them  to  be  clusters. 
Another  fact  deserves  to  be  noted,  from  its  bearing  on  Struve's  "Etudes 
d' Astronomic  Steilaire."      In  that  admirable  book,  among  other  curious 


144  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

matters,  he  infers,  that  the  18-ineh  telescope  of  Herschel  penetrated  into 
only  one-third  of  what  was  due  to  its  optical  power.  He  explains  this 
space  by  sui)posing  the  heavenly  spaces  imperfectly  transparent.  In  com- 
puting the  limit,  however,  he  assumes  that  the  Milky  AVay  is  in  its  greatest 
extent  "  unfathomable  by  the  telescope."  Dr.  Robinson,  however, 
chanced  to  observe  it  when  it  is  deepest  at  6-4,  and  is  certain  that  its  re- 
motest stars  were  very  far  indeed  within  the  limit  of  the  G-feet,  and  very 
much  larger  than  those  of  the  nebula  of  Orion. — AlhencBum,  No.  1080. 

NEW  SYSTEM  OF  OIL-PAINTING. 

M.  LiBEUTAT  HuNDERTPFUND,  the  historical  painter  at  Augsberg, 
has  published  a  work,  entitled  "  The  Art  of  Painting  brought  back  to  its 
Simplest  and  Surest  Principles,"  {Die  Malerie,  &c.),  in  which  a  very 
valuable  discovery  has  been  applied  to  the  practice  of  oil-painting,  so  as  to 
render  it  comparatively  easy,  and  to  ground  it  on  an  intelligible  theory. 
While  he  was  busied  with  experiments  to  find  out  a  better  mode  of  imi- 
tating the  transparency  of  the  natural  shadow,  a  glass  prism  fell  into  his 
hands.  This  was  a  source  of  great  delight  to  him.  The  colours  ]iroduced 
by  it,  and  their  operation  on  each  other,  became  an  engrossing  subject  of 
his  thoughts ;  and  on  one  occasion  his  fancy  led  him  to  imagine  the  three 
primitive  colours, —  red,  blue,  and  yellow — springing  like  rays  from  the 
centre  of  a  circle  to  three  equidistant  points  in  its  circumference,  and 
affecting  the  intermediate  spaces  there  by  producing  their  three  deriva- 
tive colours, — purple,  orange,  and  green.  This  was  a  mere  play  of  imagina- 
tion ;  for  at  the  moment  of  its  occurrence  he  had  not  any  idea  of  the 
discover)'^  up  to  which  he  was  subsequently  led. 

Shortly  after  this  arrangement  had  occurred  to  M,  Hundertpfund,  his 
attention  was  accidentally  drawn  to  an  unfinished  picture  by  Titian  :  and 
the  state  of  it  enabled  him  to  remark  that  the  shades  of  a  red  object 
there  had  been  produced  by  tinder-painiing  them  with  green, — that  is  to 
say,  Titian  had  first  painted  all  the  shadows  with  a  green  colour,  and  had 
afterwards  painted  them  over  with  red.  This  mode  of  under-painting 
was  not  quite  new  to  M.  Hundertpfund ;  for  he  had  observed  that  land- 
scape painters  often  produced  the  shadows  of  a  green  object  by  preparing 
them  with  burnt  sienna, — and  this  tint  appeared  to  his  eye  to  partake 
more  of  red  than  of  any  other  colour.  These  two  facts,  as  they  travelled 
about  in  his  mind,  came  there  into  company  with  his  previously  imagined 
circle  of  colours,  and  caused  him  to  remark  that  if  the  radius  (which 
indicates  the  ray  of  red  colour),  were  produced  in  a  straight  line  to  the 
oi)posite  extremity  of  the  circle,  it  would  reach  just  that  point  at  which 
the  green  would  be  predominant :  and  this  observation  induced  him  to 
establish  in  his  own  thoughts  a  particular  axiom,  namely,  that  green  is 
the  opposite — the  antipodes  of  red.  Following  up  this  train  of  specula- 
tion, he  began  to  believe  that  the  success  which  attended  Titian's  prai^tioe 
of  preparing  red  shadows  with  green  colour  might  be  referable  to  a  natural 
cause ;  and  that  such  a  cause  might  be  equally  operative  with  regard  to 
colour,  so  as  to  justify  the  establishment  of  a  general  rule,  that  all 
shadows  ought  to  be  prepared  with  the  opposite  to  which  they  relate. 
Proof  was  already  before  him  that  the  shadow  on  red  could  be  most 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  145 

effectively  prepared  with  its  opposite  green;  and  it  remained  to  be 
proved  whether  the  shadows  on  green  could  not  be  prepared  with  its 
opposite  red— and  also,  whether  the  shadows  on  the  other  primitive 
colours  could  not  be  prepared  with  their  respective  opposites.  M.  Hun- 
dertpfund  found  this  theory  justified  not  only  with  regard  to  the  primitive 
colours  and  their  derivatives,  but  also  with  regard  to  those  tints  which 
occupy  the  intermediate  spaces  in  the  circle  between  the  primitive  and 
derivative  colours*. 

The  different  tints  produced  according  to  this  system  of  oil  painting 
are  divided   by  M.  Huadertpfund  into  colours,  whole-tones,  and  half- 
tones : — 
The  colours  are,  Primitive  or  Generic  (Sfammfarben),  i.  e.  red,  blue,  and 

yellow,  and— Derivative  or  Secondary  {Nebenfarben),  i.  e.  violet,  orange, 

and  green. 
The  whole-tones  are  produced  by  a  mixture  of  any  two  primitive  colours 

in  unequal  proportions,  e.  g.  red  and  yellow,  so  as  to  form  a  red-orange  or 

an  orange-red— or  by  a  mixture  of  derivatives  when  any  of  the  primitive 

colours  become  thereby  predominant. 
The  half-tones  are  produced  by  an  equally  proportioned  mixture  of  two 

derivative  colours,  e.  g.  green  and  orange. 

The  reader  will  find  this  new  system  more  fully  detailed  in  the 
Athencemn,  No.  1084 :  and  a  translation  of  M.  Huudertpfund's  work  has 
appeared  in  London,  f 

IDEAL   COLOURS. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  M.  Hundertpfund's  work,  just 
quoted,  is  the  chapter  on  Ideal  Colours  (Idealn  Farbeti) ;  because  it  dis- 
closes the  principles  on  which  the  system  in  question  is  built. 

The  author  sets  out  with  a  definition  of  light  and  darkness  as  they 
relate  to  colour.  But  his  definition  is  not  in  harmony  with  that  com- 
monly accepted.  Light  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a  substance,  and 
darkness  to  be  the  mere  absence  of  light.  But  M.  Hundertpfund  treats 
them  both  as  substances  having  a  sort  of  sympathetic  affection  for  each 
other,  and  as  having,  each  of  them,  a  disposition  to  attract  and  expand. 
"  When  light,"  he  says,  "  yields  itself  up  to  darkness,  the  darkness  re- 
ceives and  draws  it  into  its  own  body,  and  becomes  softened  by  it. 
The  light,  howevei-,  suffers  by  the  incorporation.  On  its  first  entrance 
into  darkness  it  loses  its  primitive  splendour,  and  exhibits  itself  as  a  blue 
transparent  object.  As  it  enters  more  deeply  into  darkness  its  blue  be- 
comes more  and  more  tinged  with  red,  until  a  point  is  reached  where 
darkness  has  completely  absorbed  the  light,  and  then  a  perfect  red  appears, 
softening  the  austerity  of  the  gloom,  and  exhibiting  itself  in  great 
splendour." 

This,  according  to  the  author's  hypothesis,  is  the  natural  cause  of  the 
blue  and  red  and  their  derivative  purple.     The  cause  of  the  yellow  he 

*  A  circular  arrangement  of  colours  somewhat  similar  to  that  which  oc- 
curred to  M.  Hundertpfund  is  proposed  by  Goethe  in  his  "  Farbenlehre," 
but  without  deducing  from  it  the  consequences  on  which  the  present  theory 
is  founded. 

t  "The  Art  of  Painting  Restored  to  its  simplest  and  surest  Principles." 
Published  by  D.  Bogue,  Fleet  Street. 

L 


146  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

attributes  to  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  light  to  release  itself  from 
ihe  darkness  after  being  absorbed  by  it.  On  reappearing,  influeneed  by 
darkness,  it  assumes  a  yellow  colour,  tinged  at  first  with  red,  and  then 
less  and  less  so  till  the  yellow  stands  alone.  The  intermediate  colour  is 
of  course  orange  : — i.  e.  the  derivative  of  red  and  yellow. 

The  other  derivative,  green,  is  supposed  to  be  farmed  in  consequence 
of  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  yellow,  or  rather  of  the  light,  to  direct 
itself  towards  the  point  where  it  first  entered  the  darkness,  and  so  to  come 
into  contact  with  the  blue :  which  seems  to  presume  that  there  is  in  light 
a  propensity  to  take  a  circular  course  through  darkness,  and  to  return  to 
the  point  at  which  it  set  out. 

We  know  but  little  about  light ;  the  nature  of  which,  like  that  of 
many  other  things,  has  as  yet  been  more  the  subject  of  conjecture  than 
of  demonstration.  M.  Hundertpfund's  ideas  must  therefore  stand  or 
fall  according  to  their  intrinsic  justice  •,  but  there  are  many  things  which 
seem  to  confirm  them.  For  instance,  let  any  one  light  a  candle  in  a  dark 
room,  and  watch  the  progress  of  its  ignition.  He  will  observe  (particu- 
larly if  the  candle  lights  slowly)  that  its  first  flame  is  blue,  that  it  then 
becomes  red,  and  at  length  blazes  up  from  an  orange  into  a  bright  yellow. 
This  course  of  transition  is  in  harmony  with  M.  Hundertpfund's  hypo- 
thesis ;  for  it  will  be  the  natural  result  of  the  following  causes  : — light  is 
produced,  and  as  it  enters  into  the  darkness  (which  is  at  first  stronger 
than  the  light)  it  becomes  blue ;  then,  as  it  is  further  affected,  violet  and 
red  :  and  when  at  last  it  frees  itself  from  the  darkness  and  triumphs  over 
it,  orange  and  yellow.  It  may  be  remarked,  also,  that  in  daylight,  in 
the  open  air  or  in  a  room  lighted  up  strongly  by  sunshine,  this  transition 
of  colours  is  not  perceived,  and  that  in  proportion  as  the  room  is  in 
shade  will  the  transition  be  more  and  more  strongly  visible. — Letter,  in 
the  Athenceum,  No.  1084. 


ON  THE  EXISTENCE  OF  THE  COLOUR  BROWN.    BY  ERNEST  BRUCKE. 

Broavn  is  wanting  in  the  prismatic  spectrum,  and  its  relation  to  the 
colours  of  the  spectrum  is  as  yet  unknown.  Any  one  may,  however, 
easily  convince  himself  that  brown  is  nothing  more  than  the  complemen- 
tary colour  to  that  of  Herschel's  lavender-gray  rays,  i.  e.  w^hite  light  from 
which  these  rays  have  been  removed. 

For  this  purpose,  separate  plates  should  be  split  from  crystallized 
gypsum  in  such  a  manner  that  on  one  side  they  are  as  thin  as  possible, 
and  from  it  gradually  increase  in  thickness  in  broad  ten-aces.  One  of 
these  plates  is  placed  under  the  microscope,  which  must  be  furnished 
with  two  Nichol's  prisms,  one  beneath  the  object-glass,  and  one  in  the 
eye -piece,  and  so  arranged,  the  prisms  being  parallel,  and  the  linear 
magnifying  power  being  about  twenty  diameters  (at  a  distance  of  eight 
French  inches^  that  the  above-mentioned  thin  side  is  in  the  field.  If  it 
is  sufficiently  thin,  no  colour  is  perceived  immediately  at  the  side ;  but  as 
we  proceed  towards  the  thicker  part,  at  first  a  pale  brown  tint  becomes 
visible,  as  if  we  were  looking  through  a  very  thin  plate  of  horn,  and  as 
the  thickness  of  the  plate  gradually  increases  in  broad  and  low  terraces, 
the  brown  continues  to  become  darker  until  it  assumes  a  deep  and  pure 


NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY.  147 

nut-brown  colour,  without  the  intervention  of  any  of  the  prismatic 
colours  which  the  thicker  parts  of  the  plate  exhibit. 

It  is  evident  that  the  plate  at  the  margin  where  it  appears  colourless  is 
so  thin,  that  the  difference  of  the  path  of  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary 
ray  on  their  exit  does  not  amount  to  half  the  length  of  a  wave  for  any 
colour.  Thus  interference  of  the  most  refractive  rays  does  not  occur 
until  the  thickness  is  greater,  and  the  brown  colour  must  therefore  be 
produced  by  the  disappearance  of  the  lavender-gray  rays  from  the  com- 
pound light. 

The  correctness  of  this  conclusion  is  readily  tested.  On  crossing  the 
prisms,  it  is  seen  that  whilst  in  the  case  of  all  the  other  colours  of  the 
plate  the  well  known  complementary  colours  appear,  that  portion  which 
was  previously  brown  becomes  coloured  lavender-gray,  and  the  intensity 
of  this  colour  is  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  the  brown  previously  ob- 
served at  the  same  spot. — From  Poggendorff's  Annalen  ;  read  before  the 
Physical  Society  of  Berlin :  Phil.  Mag.  No.  222. 

NAPHTHA  SPRING. 

In  a  coal-pit,  near  Alfreton,  belonging  to  Mr.  Oakes,  of  Red  dings,  a 
valuable  spring  of  a  mineral  oil  as  naphtha  has  made  its  appearance. 
The  quantity  varies  according  to  the  fall  of  the  roof  of  coal  from  150  to 
30  gallons  daily.  The  pit  in  which  the  spring  occurs  is  said  to  be  the 
deepest  in  that  part  of  the  country.  Some  years  since,  a  large  spring  of 
salt  water,  or  nearly  saturated  brine,  appeared  in  this  pit,  and  has  con- 
tinued to  flow  uninterruptedly.  Latterly,  the  mineral  oil  has  accompa- 
nied the  salt  spring.  The  oil  as  it  issues  is  of  a  dark  tarry  colour;  but 
by  distillation  yields  first  a  very  volatile  liquid,  which  is  found  to  be  a 
good  substitute  for  chloroform  as  an  agent  for  acting  on  the  nerves  of 
sensation, — and,  secondly,  a  nearly  colourless  oil  which  possesses  very 
high  illuminating  powers,  and  possessing  the  advantage  that  it  will  not 
burn  without  a  wick,  thus  rendering  it  free  from  the  objection  which  has 
been  found  to  attach  itself  to  the  use  of  camphine.  As  a  final  product  of 
the  distillation,  abundance  of  solid  paraffin  is  obtained ;  this  substance 
being  described  by  Reichenbach  as  invaluable  for  machinery  from  its 
anti-frictional  properties,  and  its  unchanging  character  when  exposed  to 
air.  It  is  understood  that  a  house  in  Manchester  has  contracted  for  this 
mineral  oil,  with  a  view  of  introducing  it  for  the  purposes  of  house  illu- 
mination. A  similar  spring  is  recorded  to  have  occurred  about  a 
century  since,  near  Birmingham.  They  are  common  in  Persia  and  Italy. 
Milan  is  illiimiuated  with  the  product  of  a  similar  spring.  "We  have 
been  informed  that  a  chemical  examination  of  the  various  oils  of  which 
the  Derbyshire  spring  consists  is  being  made  in  the  laboratory  of  the 
Museum  of  Practical  Geology. — From  the  "  Scientific  Gossip,"  in  the 
Athenaeum,  No.  1107- 


148 
^Electrical  Science. 


ON  DIAMAGNETISM. 

Professor  Plucker,  in  a  letter  to  D  r.  Faraday,  says  : — Diamagnetic 
polarity  is  now  placed  beyond  doubt.  You  will  find,  among  others, 
the  curious  fact,  that  the  intensity  of  the  diamagnetic  force  increases 
more  rapidly  when  the  force  of  the  electro-magnets  is  increased  than  that 
of  the  magnetic  force.  The  increase  of  the  force  of  the  electro-magnet 
imparts  to  a  piece  of  charcoal,  having  first  the  position  of  a  magnetic 
body,  that  of  a  diamagnetic  body.  I  have  subsequently  proved  this  law 
in  different  ways.  The  following  experiment  is  striking.  If  by  means 
of  a  counterpoise,  any  body  containing  at  the  same  time  magnetic  and 
diamagnetic  substances  (for  instance,  mercury  in  a  brass  vessel,  this  last 
being  magnetic)  is  held  in  equilibrium,  this  body  is  repelled  by  the  mag- 
net when  brought  near  it,  and  attracted  when  it  is  removed. 

I  have  devised  a  method  which  allows  of  my  comparing  exactly  the 
intensity  of  the  diamagnetism  of  the  different  bodies,  solid  and  liquid, 
and  at  the  same  lime  I  arrived  at  a  number  of  curious  results  concerning 
magnetic  induction,  and  especially  the  relation  between  the  chemical 
constitution  of  bodies  and  their  magnetism." — See  Philosophical  Maga- 
zine, No.  219. 


MOTION  OF  THE  ELECTRIC  FLUID  ALONG  CONDUCTORS. 

A  PAPER,  by  the  Rev.  T.  Exley,  has  been  read  to  the  British  Associa- 
tion, the  object  of  which  was  to  propound  a  theory  by  which  it  was 
thought  all  the  phenomena  of  electrical  action  were  explained  on  the 
notion  of  one  fluid. 

Dr.  Faraday  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  mathematical  examina- 
tion of  the  subject  had  led  to  an  equal  balance  in  favour  of  the  hypothesis 
of  both  one  and  two  fluids, — and  that  another  view,  equally  plausible, 
denied  the  existence  of  either  one.  It  was,  therefore,  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that  we  should  move  carefully  in  the  inq  dry,  and  endeavour  to 
disentangle  truth  without  entertaining  any  view  more  favourable  to  one 
than  to  the  other  of  these  theories.  The  whole  subject  was  involved  in 
perplexing  mysteries. 


GRAVITATION  OF  THE  ELECTRIC  FLUID. 

Mr.  Lake,  of  the  Royal  Laboratory,  Portsmouth,  has  communicated 
to  the  Lancet  the  results  of  a  singular  experiment,  which  appears  to  show 
that  the  Electric  Agent  is  really  fluid ;  and  that  when  collected  so  as  not 
to  exert  its  powers  of  attraction  and  repulsion,  it  obeys  the  laws  of  gravi- 
tation, like  carbonic  acid  and  other  gases.  The  electric  fluid  was  received 
in  a  Leyden  jar  insulated  ou  a  glass  plate.  At  the  lower  pai't  of  the  jar 
was  a  crack  in  the  side,  of  a  star-like  form,  and  from  around  this  the 
metallic  coating  was  removed.  On  charging  the  jar,  it  was  observed  that 
the  electric  fluid  soon  began  to  flow  out  in  a  stream  from  the  lower  open- 
ing;  and  on  continuing  the  working  of  the  machine,  it  flowed  over  the 
lip  of  the  jar,  descending  in  a  faint  luminous  conical  stream  (visible  only 


ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE.  149 

ia  the  dark)  until  it  reached  the  level  of  the  outside  coating,  over  which  it 
became  gradually  diffused,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  frill,  or  collar.  When  the 
jar  was  inclined  a  little  on  one  side,  there  was  a  perceptible  difference  in  the 
time  of  its  escape  over  the  higher  and  lower  parts  of  the  lip,  from  the 
latter  of  which  it  began  to  flow  first.  On  discontinuing  the  working  of 
the  machine,  the  fluid  first  ceased  to  flow  at  the  lip  of  tbe  jar,  and  then 
at  the  lower  aperture.  On  renewing  the  operation,  it  first  reappeared  at 
the  lower  aperture,  and  afterwards  at  the  mouth.  This  very  ingenious 
experiment  appears^  to  establish  the  fact,  that  the  electric  fluid  is  mate- 
rial, and  is  influenced,  under  certain  circumstances,  by  the  laws  of 
gravitation.  Mr.  Lake  proposes  for  it  the  name  of  pyrogen ;  but  this  is 
inconvenient,  because  it  is  already  applied  to  certain  chemical  products. — 
Medical  Gazette. 


RELATION  OF  ELECTRICAL  AND  CHEMICAL  PHENOMENA, 

Mr.  Goodman,  in  a  paper  communicated  to  the  Manchester  Literary 
and  Philosophical  Society,  on  his  new  potassium  battery,*  concludes  his 
researches  as  follows : — 

These  experiments  with  potassium  tend  to  show,  that  there  is  a  very 
intimate  relation,  (if  not  a  complete  analogy,)  between  electrical  and 
chemical  phenomena,  as  shown  by  Sir  H.  Davy.  For  the  substance 
which  possesses  the  highest  chemical  affinity  is  here  shown  to  manifest 
also  the  most  exalted  electrical  energy  or  tension,  and  vice  versa ;  and 
this  electrical  energy  is  at  all  times  proportional  to  the  measure  of  the 
chemical  forces  employed.  The  battery  was  on  one  occasion  kept  in  con- 
tinuous action  for  two  hours,  and,  by  a  little  contrivance,  the  potassium 
was  in  each  cell  simultaneously  raised  from  its  membrane  into  the  super- 
natant naphtha,  and  remained  there  in  a  quiescent  state  until  the  following 
evening,  when  it  was  again  used  with  facility ;  no  loss  having  occurred 
of  any  consequence,  except  in  the  giving  way  of  three  membranes.  It 
was  found  that,  for  delicate  experiments  with  one  pair,  goldbeaters'  skin 
or  turkey's  craw  is  considerably  more  efficient  than  bladder  :  decomposi- 
tion of  water  is  scarcely  perceptible  when  the  latter  is  employed. 


PASSAGE  OP  gases  THROUGH  ONE  ANOTHER. 

If  a  liquid  be  interposed  between  the  two  poles  of  an  electrip  battery 
and  the  body  to  be  decomposed,  the  acid  or  the  oxygen  is  found  to  pass 
through  that  interposed  liquid  to  the  positive  pole,  the  hydrogen  and  the 
matter  of  the  base  to  the  negative  pole,  and  without  acting  upon  the 
substance  of  the  interposed  liquid.  Thus,  supposing  a  vegetable  colour 
to  tinge  the  water  in  an  intermediate  cup,  acid  will  pass  through  it  with- 
out reddening  it,  and  alkali  without  making  it  green.  Nay,  an  acid 
will  pass  through  an  alkaline  solution,  or  an  alkali  through  an  acid,  with- 
out uniting  in  either  case  to  form  a  neutral  salt,  unless  the  neutral 
compound  is  insoluble,  for  in  that  case  it  falls  to  the  bottom. — Lord 
Brougham. 

*  Described  in  the  Year-book  of  Facts,  1848,  p.  147. 


150  TEAK-BOOK  OP  PACTS. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  THEORIES  OP  PRANKLIN,  DUPAY,  AND  AMPERE, 

Dr.  R.  Hare,  Emeritus  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  lias  communicated  to  the  Philosophical  Magazine, 
No.  218, a  paper  of  "Objections  to  the  Theories  severally  of  Franklin, 
Dufay,  and  Ampere  ;  with  an  Attempt  to  explain  Electrical  Phenomena 
by  Statical  or  Uudulatory  Polarization."*  The  article  occupies  nearly  30 
pages  of  the  Magazine ;  so  that  we  can  only  quote  the  author's  summary. 

Yrora  the  facts  and  reasonings  which  have  been  stated,  it  is  presumed 
that  the  following  deductions  may  be  considered  as  highly  probable,  if 
not  altogether  susceptible  of  demonstration. 

The  theories  of  Franklin,  Dufay,  and  Ampere,  are  irreconcileable  with 
the  premises  on  which  they  are  foimded,  and  with  facts  on  all  sides  admitted. 

A  charge  of  frictional  electricity,  or  that  species  of  electric  excitement 
which  is  produced  by  friction,  is  not  due  to  any  accumulation,  nor  to 
any  deficiency  either  of  one  or  of  two  fluids,  but  to  the  opposite  polarities 
induced  in  imponderable  ethereal  matter  existing  throughout  space  how- 
ever otherwise  void,  and  likewise  condensed  more  or  less  within  pon- 
derable bodies,  so  as  to  enter  into  combination  with  their  particles,  forming 
atoms  which  may  be  designated  as  ethereo-ponderable. 

Frictional  charges  of  electricity  seek  the  surfaces  of  bodies  to  which 
they  may  be  imparted,  without  sensibly  affecting  the  ethereo-ponderable 
matter  of  which  they  consist. 

When  surfaces  thus  oppositely  charged,  or,  in  other  words,  having  about 
them  oppositely  polarized  ethereal  atmospheres,  are  made  to  communi- 
cate, no  current  takes  place,  nor  any  transfer  of  the  polarized  matter  :  yet 
any  conductor  touching  both  atmospheres  furnishes  a  channel  through 
which  the  opposite  polarities  are  reciprocally  neutralized  by  being  com- 
municated wave-like  to  an  intermediate  point. 

Galvano-electric  discharges  are  likewise  effected  hy  waves  of  opposite 
polarization,  without  any  flow  of  matter  meriting  to  be  called  a  current. 

But  such  waves  are  not  propagated  superficially  through  the  purely 
ethereal  medium ;  they  occur  in  masses,  formed  both  of  the  ethereal  and 
ponderable  matter.  If  the  generation  of  frictional  electricity,  sufficient 
to  influence  the  gold-leaf  electrometer,  indicate  that  there  are  some  purely 
ethereal  waves  caused  by  the  galvano-electric  reaction,  such  waves  arise 
from  the  inductive  influence  of  those  created  in  the  ethereo-ponderable 
matter. 

*  Agreeably  to  Faraday's  researches  and  general  experience,  we  have  reason 
to  believe  that  all  particles  of  matter  are  endowed  with  one  or  the  other  of  two 
species  of  polarity.  This  word  polarity  conveys  the  idea  that  two  termina- 
tions in  each  particle  are  respectively  endowed  with  forces  which  are  analo- 
gous, but  contrary  in  their  nature;  so  that  of  any  two  homog^eneous  particles, 
the  similar  poles  repel  each  other,  while  the  dissimilar  attract ;  likewise  when 
freely  suspended  they  take  a  certain  position  relatively  to  each  other,  and  on 
due  proximity,  the  opposite  polar  forces,  counteracting-  each  other,  appear  to 
be  extinct.  When  deranged  from  this  natural  state  of  reciprocal  neutrali- 
zation, their  liberated  poles  react  with  the  particles  of  adjacent  bodies,  or 
those  in  the  surrounding  medium.  Under  these  circumsances,  any  body 
which  may  be  constituted  of  the  particles  thus  reacting,  is  said  to  be  polarized, 
or  in  a  state  of  polarization. 

Statical  implies  stationary ;  undulatory,  wave-like. 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  151 

WTien  the  intensity  of  a  frictional  discharge  is  increased  beyond  a  certain 
point,  the  wire  remaining  the  same,  its  powers  become  enfeebled  or  de- 
stroyed by  ignition,  and  ultimately  by  deflagration :  if  the  diameter  of 
the  wire  be  increased,  the  surface,  proportionally  augmented,  enables 
more  of  the  ethereal  waves  to  pass  superficially,  producing  proportionally 
less  ethereo-ponderable  undulation. 

Magnetism,  when  stationary,  as  in  magnetic  needles  and  other  per- 
manent magnets,  appears  to  be  owing  to  an  enduring  polarization  of  the 
ethereo-ponderable  atoms,  like  that  transiently  produced  by  galvanic 
discharge. 

The  magnetism  transiently  exhibited  by  a  galvanized  wire  is  due  to 
oppositely  polarizing  impulses,  severally  proceeding  wave-like  to  an  inter- 
mediate part  of  the  circuit  where  reciprocal  neutralization  ensues. 

When  magnetism  is  produced  by  a  frictional  discharge  operating  upon 
a  conducting  wire,  it  must  be  deemed  a  secondary  effect,  arising  from  the 
polarizing  influence  of  the  ethereal  waves  upon  the  ethereo-ponderable 
atoms  of  the  wire. 

Such  waves  pass  superficially  in  preference  ;  but  when  the  wire  is  com- 
paratively small,  the  reaction  between  the  waves  and  ethereo-ponderable 
atoms  becomes  sufficiently  powerful  to  polarize  them,  and  thus  render 
them  competent,  for  an  extremely  minute  period  of  time,  to  produce  all 
the  affections  of  a  galvano-electric  current,  whether  of  ignition,  of  elec- 
trolysis, or  magnetization.  Thus,  as  the  ethereo-ponderable  waves  pro- 
duce such  as  are  purely  ethereal,  so  purely  ethereal  waves  may  produce 
such  as  are  ethereo-ponderable. 

The  polarization  of  hair  upon  electrified  scalps  is  supposed  to  be  due 
to  a  superficial  association  with  the  surroundmg  polarized  ethereal  atoms, 
while  that  of  iron  filings,  by  a  magnet  or  galvanized  wire,  is  conceived 
to  arise  from  the  influence  of  polarized  ethereo-ponderable  atoms,  con- 
sisting of  ethereal  and  ponderable  matter  in  a  state  of  combustion, 

Faradian  discharges  are  as  truly  the  effects  of  ethereo-))onderable 
polarization,  as  those  from  an  electrified  conductor,  or  coated  surfaces  of 
glass,  are  due  to  static  ethereal  polarization. 

It  is  well  known  that  if  a  rod  of  iron  be  included  in  a  coil  of  coated  copper 
wire  on  making  the  medium  of  a  voltaic  discharge,  the  wire  is  magnetized. 
Agreeably  to  a  communication  from  Joule,  in  the  Phil.  Mag.  for  Feb.  1847,  the 
bar  is  at  the  same  time  lengthened  without  any  augmentation  of  bulk ;  so  that 
its  other  dimensions  must  be  lessened  in  proportion  to  the  elongation. 

All  these  facts  tend  to  prove  that  a  change  in  the  relative  position  of  the 
constituent  ethereo-ponderable  atoms  of  iron  accompanies  its  magnetization, 
either  as  an  immediate  cause,  or  as  a  collateral  effect. 


franklin's  electrifying  machine. 
A  scientific  acquisition  has  been  made  by  M.  Andraud,  of  Paris,  the 
eugineer  so  well  known  by  his  works  and  experiments  on  compressed  air. 
At  the  shop  of  a  dealer  in  second-hand  articles,  he  discovered  and  pur- 
chased the  Electrifying  Machine — still,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  eighty  years, 
in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation — of  Benjamin  Franklin,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  made  at  Philadelphia. — Galignani's  Messenger. 


162  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC   MOTIVE  POWER. 

Since  the  discovery  by  Oilrsted  of  the  magnetic  power  imparted  to 
bars  of  iron  by  an  electric  current  traversing  copper  wire  coiled  around 
them,  numerous  attempts  have  been  made,  with  various  degrees  of  suc- 
cess, to  move  machinery  by  the  enormous  force  which  we  have  thus  at 
our  command.  The  most  remarkable  experiments  are  those  of  Professor 
Jacobi,  who,  in  1838  and  1839,  succeeded  in  propelling  a  boat  upon  the 
Neva  at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour.  At  this  time,  (Jan.  1849,)  an  en- 
gine is  in  process  of  construction  in  London,  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Hjorth,  a  countryman  ofthe  great  discoverer  of  electro-magnetism,  which 
the  patentee  supposes  will  give  a  power  equal  to  five  horses.  We  have  seen 
the  model,  which  certainly  embraces  many  new  features  that  promise  to 
render  the  application  of  the  power  more  effective  than  it  has  been 
hitherto.  One  of  the  electro-magnets  made  for  the  large  engine,  in  a 
recent  trial,  supported  nearly  5,000  lbs.,  and  its  attractive  force  at  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  was  equal  to  nearly  1,500  lbs.  As  this  force  can  be 
multiplied  without  limits,  the  question  is  reduced  entirely  to  one  of 
economy  and  convenience. — "Scientific  Gossip"  in  the  Al/ienaum, 'No. 
1106;  Jan.  6,  1849. 


ELECTRICITY  OF  MINERAL  LODES. 

A  PAPER  on  this  subject  has  been  read  to  the  Royal  Institution,  by 
Mr.  R.  Hunt,  who  defined  a  mineral  lode  as  a  fissure  extending  along  a 
considerable  tract  of  country  which  has  in  process  of  time  become  filled 
with  various  substances,  both  metallic  and  non-metallic,  proceeded  to 
examine  the  evidences  of  electrical  agency  to  which  the  peculiar  order  of 
arrangement  found  in  these  fissures  had  been  referred.  The  three 
theories  held  most  worthy  of  notice  were : — 1st.  That  mineral  lodes  were 
formed  contemporaneously  with  the  rocks  in  which  they  were  found. 
2nd.  That  into  fissures,  previously  existing,  mineral  matter  was  subli- 
mated from  great  depths  below  the  earth's  surface.  The  connexion  of 
mineral  lodes  with  the  elvan  courses  and  other  rocks  of  igneous  origin 
was  adverted  to  as  sustaining  this  hypothesis.  3rd.  That  fissures  were 
filled  by  substances  deposited  from  aqueous  solution. 

Electricity  has  been  regarded  as  the  active  agent  in  effecting  mineral 
deposits.  The  conditions  of  the  prevailing  rocks  in  mining  districts  was 
especially  described  in  reference  to  that  hypothesis.  In  Cornwall,  our 
most  extensive  mining-field,  these  rocks  are  granite,  killas,  greenstone, 
and  elvan.  These  substances  were  sliowu  to  be  non-conductors  of  elec- 
tricity ;  and  Mr.  Hunt  stated,  that  though  he  had  exposed  these  rocks  to 
conditions  resembling  those  which  prevail  in  nature,  he  had  never  been 
able  to  obtain  evidence  of  any  electrical  excitement.  With  respect  to 
Cornwall,  it  is  impossible  not  to  remark  that  the  direction  of  almost  all 
the  mineral  lodes  is  from  N.E.  to  S.W.  It  was  also  observable  that  in 
most  cases,  where  the  direction  of  the  lodes  varied,  the  nature  of  their 
mineral  contents  was  also  found  to  be  different.  It  was  evident  that 
some  cause  determining  the  condition  of  the  rocks  affected  the  order  and 
quality  of  mineral  deposits.  In  Cornwall,  the  productive  lodes  were 
found  to  be  in  the  immediate  proximity  of  the  granite  hills.    The  preva- 


ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE.  153 

lent  copper  ore  of  Cornwall  is  copper  pyrites  (a  double  sulphnret  of 
copper  and  iron) ;  but  in  the  St.  Just  district,  near  the  granite,  slate  and 
greenstone  alternate  in  a  very  remarkable  manner ;  and  where  the  di- 
rection of  the  lodes  is  slightly  different  from  those  in  other  parts  of  the 
country,  the  grey  copper  ore  (sulphnret  of  copper)  prevails.  The  pecu- 
liar uniformity  found  in  many  mineral  lodes,  which  exhibit  metallic  ores 
alternating  with  quartz,  baryta,  and  other  earthy  crystals,  is  referable  to 
an  influence  analogous  to  that  of  voltaic  electricity. 

Mr.  Hunt  referred  to  the  above  as  the  principal  facts  adduced  by  those 
who  ascribed  mineral  formations  to  electrical  agency.  Mr.  R.  W.  Fox, 
having  traced  electric  currents  flowing  through  the  copper  lodes  of  Corn- 
wall, regarded  them  as  indications  of  the  great  currents  held  by  Ampere 
to  traverse  the  earth  from  east  to  west.  The  same  gentleman  had,  by  pro- 
cesses formed  on  this  theory,  caused  clay  to  laminate,  and  had  formed  an 
artificial  mineral  vein.  Mr.  Hunt  had  obtained  similar  results  from  the 
same  experiments.  In  the  Cornish  mines,  when  wires  were  connected  either 
with  two  dissimilar  lodes  or  with  two  portions  of  a  dislocated  lode  (in 
which,  between  the  points  of  separation,  clay  or  quartz  were  interposed), 
voltaic  currents,  sufficiently  powerful  to  effect  electro  chemical  decompo- 
sition, had  been  detected.  In  this  way  iodide  of  potassium,  chloride  of 
gold,  and  sulphate  of  copper,  had  been  decomposed.  Iron  had  been  ren- 
dered magnetic ;  and  by  Mr.  R.  W.  Fox  an  electrotype  plate  had  been 
obtained  merely  from  the  electricity  derived  from  two  mineral  lodes. 

Notwithstanding  those  evidences,  the  facts  that  some  lodes  of  sul- 
phnret of  lead  and  copper  did  not  afford  any  indications  of  currents,  and 
that  the  quantity  of  electricity  was  exceedingly  different  even  in  those 
lodes  which  were  capable  of  affecting  the  galvanometer,  led  Mr.  Hunt  to 
conclude  that  the  voltaic  currents  observed  were  rather  indications  of 
local  chemical  action  than  of  any  general  electrical  influence.  Many  ex- 
periments were  mentioned  which  went  to  support  this  view.  At  the 
same  time,  it  was  thought  that  the  peculiar  conditions  in  which  cobalt, 
nickel,  and  some  other  of  the  rarer  minerals,  were  found,  evidently  indi- 
cated the  agency  of  electricity  ;  and  it  was  probable  that  this  electricity 
was  derived  from  the  chemical  action  going  on  within  the  neighbouring 
lode.  Although  adopting  the  theory  of  Ampere,  there  was  some  experi- 
mental evidence  which  appeared  to  render  it  probable  that  the  electricity 
circulating  around  the  earth  might  be  active  in  producing  the  phenomena 
of  mineral  lodes,  Mr.  Hunt  thought  the  evidence  which  had  been  ob- 
tained of  electrical  currents  circulating  with  metallic  lodes  was  in  favour 
of  regarding  them  as  merely  local  influences.  Without  denying  the  pro- 
bable truth  of  the  general  theory  of  electrical  action  in  these  mineral 
phenomena,  he  thought  a  much  more  extensive  experimental  investiga- 
tion must  be  made  before  it  could  be  received  as  an  ascertained  fact. — 
Athenmtm,  No.  1072. 


USE  or  GUTTA  PERCHA  IN  ELECTRICAL  INSULATION. 

Dr.  Faraday,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  R.  Phillips,  F.R.S.,  one  of  the 
Editors  of  the  Philosophical  Magazine,  states  that  he  has  lately  found 
Gutta  Percha  very  useful  in  Electrical  Experiments.     Its  use  depends 


15'i  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

upon  the  high  insulating  power  which  it  possesses,  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions, and  the  manner  in  which  it  keeps  this  power  in  states  of  the 
atmosphere  which  make  the  surface  of  glass  a  good  conductor.  All 
gutta  percha  is  not,  however,  equally  good  as  it  comes  from  the  manufac- 
turer's hands ;  but  it  does  not  seem  difficult  to  bring  it  into  the  best  state. 
A  good  piece  of  gutta  percha  will  insulate  as  well  as  an  equal  piece  of 
shell-lac,  whether  it  be  in  the  form  of  sheet,  or  rod,  or  filament ;  but 
being  tough  aud  flexible  when  cold,  as  well  as  soft  when  hot,  it  will 
serve  better  than  shell-lac  in  many  cases  where  the  brittleness  of  the 
latter  is  an  inconvenience.  Thus  it  makes  very  good  handles  for  carriers 
of  electricity  in  experiments  on  induction,  not  being  liable  to  fracture : 
in  the  form  of  thin  band  or  string  it  makes  an  excellent  insulating  sus- 
pender :  a  piece  of  it  in  sheet  makes  a  most  convenient  insulating  basis 
for  anything  placed  on  it.  It  forms  excellent  insulating  plugs  for  the 
stems  of  gold-leaf  electrometers  when  they  pass  through  sheltering  tubes, 
aud  larger  plugs  supply  good  insulating  feet  for  extemporary  electr'cd 
arrangements :  cylinders  of  it  half  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter  have 
great  stiffness,  and  form  excellent  insulating  pillars.  In  these  and  in 
many  other  ways  its  power  as  an  insulator  may  be  useful. 

Because  of  its  good  insulation  it  is  also  an  excellent  substance  for  the 
excitement  of  negative  electricity.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  take  one  of 
the  soles  sold  by  the  shoemakers  out  of  paper,  or  into  the  hand,  without 
exciting  it  to  such  a  degree  as  to  open  the  leaves  of  an  electrometer  one 
or  more  inches ;  or  if  it  be  unelectrified,  the  slightest  passage  over  the 
band  or  face,  the  clothes,  or  almost  any  other  substance,  gives  it  an 
electric  state.  Some  of  the  gutta  percha  is  sold  in  very  thin  sheets,  re- 
sembling in  general  appearance  oiled  silk ;  and  if  a  strip  of  this  be  drawn 
through  the  fingers,  it  is  so  electric  as  to  adhere  to  the  hand  or  attract 
pieces  of  paper.  The  appearance  is  such  as  to  suggest  the  making  a 
thicker  sheet  of  the  substance  into  a  plate  electrical  machine,  fcr  the 
production  of  negative  electricity. 

Then,  as  to  inductive  action  through  the  substance,  a  sheet  of  it  is  soon 
converted  into  an  excellent  elcctrophorus ;  or  it  may  be  coated  and  used 
in  place  of  a  Leyden  jar ;  or  in  any  of  the  many  other  forms  of  ai)paratus 
dependent  on  inductive  action. 

With  respect  to  that  gutta  percha  which  is  not  in  good  electrical  con- 
dition (and  which  has  constituted  about  one-half  of  that  which,  being 
obtained  at  the  shops,  has  passed  through  Dr.  Faraday's  hands),  it  has 
either  discharged  an  electrometer  as  a  piece  of  paper  or  wood  would  do, 
or  it  has  made  it  collapse  greatly  by  touching,  yet  has  on  its  removal 
been  followed  by  a  full  opening  of  the  leaves  again  :  the  latter  effect  Dr. 
Faraday  has  traced  and  referred  to  a  conducting  portion  within  the  mass 
covered  by  a  thin  external  non-conducting  coat.  When  a  piece  which 
insulates  well  is  cut,  the  surface  exposed  has  a  resinous  lustre  and  a  com- 
pact character  that  is  very  distinctive ;  whilst  that  which  conducts  has 
not  the  same  degree  of  lustre,  appears  less  translucent,  and  has  more  the 
aspect  of  a  turbid  solution  solidified.  Both  moist  steam  heat,  and  water- 
baths,  are  believed  to  be  used  in  its  preparation  or  commerce  ;  and  the 
difference  of  specimens  depends  probably  upon  the  manner  in  wliich  these 


ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE.  155 

are  applied,  and  followed  by  the  after  process  of  rolling  between  hot 
cylinders.  However,  if  a  portion  of  that  which  conducts  be  warmed  in 
a  current  of  warm  air,  as  over  the  glass  of  a  low  gas  flame,  and  be 
stretched,  doubled  up,  and  kneaded  for  some  time  between  the  fingers, 
as  if  with  the  intention  of  dissipating  the  moisture  within,  it  becomes  as 
good  an  insulator  as  the  best. 

Dr.  Faraday  soaked  a  good  piece  in  water  for  an  hour ;  and  on  taking 
it  out,  wiping  it,  and  exposing  it  to  the  air  for  a  minute  or  two,  found  it 
insulate  as  well  as  ever.  Another  piece  was  soaked  for  four  days,  and 
then  wiped  and  tried  :  at  first  it  was  found  lowered  in  insulating  power  ; 
but  after  twelve  hours'  exposure  to  air,  under  common  circumstanci's,  it 
was  as  good  as  ever.  A  week's  exposure  in  a  warm  air  cupboard  of  a 
piece  that  did  not  insulate,  made  it  much  better  :  a  film  on  the  outside 
became  non-conducting ;  but  if  two  fresh  surfaces  were  exposed  by  cut- 
ting, and  these  were  brought  into  contact  with  the  electrometer  and  the 
finger,  the  inside  portion  was  still  found  to  conduct. 

If  the  gutta  percha  in  either  the  good  or  the  bad  condition  (as  to  electri- 
cal service)  be  submitted  to  a  gradually  increasing  temperature,  at  about 
350°  or  380°,  it  gives  off  a  considerable  portion  of  water;  being  then 
cooled,  the  substance  which  remains  has  the  general  properties  of  gutta 
percha,  and  insulates  well.  The  original  gum  is  probably  complicated, 
being  a  mixture  of  several  things ;  and  whether  the  water  has  existed  in 
the  substance  as  a  hydrate,  or  is  the  result  of  a  deeper  change  of  one 
part  or  another  of  the  gum.  Dr.  Faraday  is  not  prepared  to  say. 


MODE  OF  COATING  WIRE  WITH  GUTTA  PERCHA  FOR  ELECTRICAL 
PURPOSES. 

The  Wire  to  be  coated  should  be  passed  round  a  pulley  immersed  in  a 
solution  of  gutta  percha  (in  bisulphuret  of  carbon)  contained  in  a  glass 
jar.  The  pulley  to  be  attached  to  the  under  side  of  the  lid  of  the  jar. 
The  lid  to  have  two  holes  in  it,  through  which  the  wire  passes  in  and 
out.  The  wire,  after  passing  round  the  pulley,  is  drawn  through  a  tube 
fixed  in  one  of  the  holes  in  the  cover.  A  series  of  soft,  circular  brushes 
to  be  inserted  in  this  tube ;  and  the  wire  then  carried  upward  over  another 
pulley — vertical  to  the  tube,  and  fixed  at  a  great  height — and  again 
brought  to  the  ground. 

In  passing  round  the  pulley  in  the  jar,  the  wire  will  be  coated  with 
the  solution,  and  in  passing  through  the  tube  the  brushes  will  remove  the 
superfluous  solution  and  distribute  it  evenly.  By  the  time  the  vdre 
reaches  the  second  pulley,  the  bisulphuret  has  evaporated  and  left  a  thin 
coating  of  gutta  percha. 

The  wire  could  be  covered  very  fast,  as  the  solvent  is  very  volatile. 
The  coating  being  thin  is  easily  injured.  Where  good  insulation  is  re- 
quired, and  where  the  wire  would  be  used  roughly,  it  would  be  well  to 
cover  the  wire  with  cotton  in  the  ordinary  way,  and  afterwards  pass  it 
through  the  solution  of  gutta  percha.  This  plan  would  be  useful  for 
telegraphic  wires,  if  not  too  expensive.  It  would  certainly  be  very 
durable,  though  perhaps  not  more  expensive  than  gutta  percha  tubing  of 
sufficient  thickness  to  be  effective.    It  is  necessai-y  to  have  the  brushes  in 


158  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

the  tube  revolve,  and  so  pass  over  the  surface  of  the  wire  transversely. — 
Mechanics'  Mayazine,  No.  1315. 

THE  MAYNOOTH  BATTERY. 

We  noticed  this  new  and  cheap  Voltaic  Battery  in  the  Year-book  of 
Facts,  1848,  p.  145.  The  inventor,  the  Eev.  D.  Cailan,*  Professor  of 
Natural  Philosophy  in  Maynooth  College,  has  communicated  to  the  Phi- 
losophical Magazine,  No.  219,  some  additional  experiments,  comparing 
the  power  of  a  cast-iron  (or  Maynooth)  battery  with  that  of  a  Grove's  of 
equal  size.     We  select  a  few  of  the  results : 

"  The  cast  iron  was  excited  by  a  mixture  consisting  of  about  four  parts 
of  sulphuric  acid,  two  of  nitric  acid,  and  two  of  nitre  dissolved  in  water. 
The  platina  was  excited  by  equal  parts  of  concentrated  nitric  and  sul- 
phuric acid.  The  zinc  plates  of  both  batteries  were  excited  by  dilute 
sulphuric  acid  of  the  same  strength.  The  cast-iron  battery  was  consider- 
ably superior  to  Grove's,  in  its  magnetic  power,  in  its  heating  power, 
and  in  its  power  of  producing  decomposition.  The  magnetic  effects  of 
the  two  batteries  were  compared  by  means  of  a  galvanometer  and  of  a 
small  magnetic  machine.  Grove's  produced  a  deflection  of  82° ;  the  cast- 
iron  caused  a  deflection  of  85°.  When  the  voltaic  currents  of  the  two 
batteries  were  sent  simultaneously  in  opposite  directions  through  the 
helix  of  the  galvanometer,  the  current  from  the  cast-iron  battery  de- 
stroyed the  deflection  caused  by  Grove's,  and  produced  an  opposite  deflec- 
tion of  60°.  In  the  magnetic  machine,  the  cast-iron  battery  produced 
fifty  revolutions  in  a  minute ;  Grove's  produced  only  thirty-five  in  the 
same  time." 

The  superiority  of  the  heating  power  of  the  cast-iron  battery  was 
shown  by  its  fusing  a  steel  wire,  which  Grove's  only  raised  to  a  dull  red 
heat.  Dr.  Cailan  has  been  told  by  persons  who  tried  the  two  batteries, 
that  they  fouud  the  heating  power  of  the  cast-iron  battery  to  be  twice  as 
great  as  that  of  Grove's. 

The  decomposing  powers  of  the  two  batteries  were  compared  by  the 
quantities  of  the  mixed  gases  which  they  produced  during  the  space  of 
three  minutes.  The  result  clearly  established  the  superiority  of  the  cast- 
iron  battery.  Dr.  Cailan  has  found  by  experiment  that  a  cast-iron 
battery  is  about  fifteen  times  as  powerful  as  a  Wollaston  bat- 
tery of  the  same  size,  and  nearly  as  powerful  and  a  half  as  Grove's. 
Hence  our  new  cast-iron  battery,  in  which  there  are  96  square  feet  of 
zinc,  is  equal  in  power  to  a  Wollaston  battery  containing  more  than 
1400  square  feet  of  zinc,  or  more  than  13,000  four-inch  plates,  and  to  a 
Grove's  containing  140  square  feet  of  platina.  Now  the  battery  made 
by  order  of  Napoleon  for  the  Polytechnic  School,  which  was  the  largest 
zinc  and  copper  battery  ever  constructed,  contained  only  about  600 
square  feet  of  zinc  ;  and  the  most  powerful  Grove's  of  which  I  have  seen 
an  account  did  not  contain  20  square  feet  of  platina.  Hence  the  cast- 
iron  battery  belonging  to  the  College  is  more  than  twice  as  powerful  as 
the  largest  Grove's  ever  constructed. 

•  Misprinted  Cullan,in  the  Year-book,  1848. 


ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE,  157 

ELECTKO-BRONZING  METALS. 

For  some  time,  the  means  of  depositing  a  layer  of  brass  or  bronze  on 
metals  by  means  of  the  galvanic  battery  has  been  known  in  France,  but 
the  process  was  expensive.  A  solution  for  the  purpose  has  been  lately 
proposed  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  which  would  have  the  effect 
of  cheapening  the  operation.  It  consists  of  a  solution  in  water  of  500 
parts  of  carbonate  of  potash,  20  of  chloride  of  copper,  40  of  sulphate  of 
zinc,  and  250  of  nitrate  of  ammonia.  To  produce  bronze,  a  salt  of  tin 
is  substituted  for  the  sulphate  of  zinc.  By  means  of  these  solutions,  it  is 
said  they  can  readily  cover  with  a  coating  of  bronze  cast  or  wrought 
iron,  steel,  lead,  zinc,  tin,  and  alloys  of  these  metals  with  one  another,  or 
with  bismuth  and  antimony,  after  a  previous  cleaning,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  metal.  The  operation  is  conducted  with  a  cold  solution. 
The  metal  to  be  coated  is  placed  in  connection  with  the  negative  pole  of 
a  Bunsen  battery ;  a  plate  of  brass  or  bronze  being  employed  at  the 
positive  pole.  "When  the  objects  have  been  covered  with  a  coating  of 
the  metal  desired,  and  have  received  their  proper  colour,  they  will  be 
found,  it  is  stated,  to  rival  the  tinest  bronzes. 


ENORMOUS  APPLICATION  OP  THE  ELECTROTYPE  PROCESS. 

An  enormous  application  of  the  Electrotype  or  Galvano-Plastic  Pro- 
cess has  been  made  in  the  sculpture  of  the  cathedral  of  St.  Isaac,  at  St. 
Petersburgh,  by  the  architect.  After  having  made  very  important 
experiments,  he  was  authorised  to  adopt  this  mode  in  the  execution  of 
the  metallic  sculptures  and  carvings  for  the  following  reasons  : — 1.  The 
identical  reproduction  of  the  sculpture  without  chiselling.  2.  The  light- 
ness of  the  pieces,  which  enabled  the  architect  to  introduce  sculptures  of 
higher  relief  than  any  hitherto  known,  and  to  fix  the  pieces  suspended 
from  the  vaultings,  without  fear  of  accident,  or  of  their  being  detached. 
3.  The  great  saving  of  expense  between  these  and  castings  in  bronze. 
The  gilding,  also,  was  effected  by  the  same  process,  and  presented  equal 
advantages.  The  seven  doors  of  the  cathedral  will  be  of  bronze  and 
electrotype,  the  framework  being  of  the  former,  and  the  sculptm-al  parts 
of  the  latter.  Three  of  these  doors  are  30  feet  high,  and  44  feet  wide, 
the  four  others  17  feet  8  inches  wide.  They  contain  51  bas-reliefs,  63 
statues,  and  84  alto-relievo  busts,  of  religious  subjects  and  characters. 
The  quantity  employed  in  the  dome  is  as  follows  : — Ducat  gold,  247  lbs. ; 
copper,  521  tons;  brass,  321^  tons;  wrought  iron,  524^  tons ;  cast- 
iron,  1,068  tons.    Total,  1,966^  tons. — Description,  by  the  Architect. 

ON  THE  ADVANTAGE  OF  ELECTROTYPING  DAGUERREOTYPE  PLATES. 

Mr.  Kilburn,  of  Regent  Street,  London,  has  communicated  to  the 
Philosophical  Magazine,  No.  218,  the  following  simple  experiment, 
demonstrating  the  advantages  of  electrotyping  Daguerreotype  plates. 

Purity  of  silver  for  the  plates  has  always  been  much  insisted  on  ;  and 
of  the  various  means  that  have  been  resorted  to  to  obtain  this,  the  batteiy 
process  offers  the  most  simple  as  well  as  the  most  satisfactory  means  of 
accomplishing  it. 

Prepare  a  plate  for  silvering  ;  but  in  the  place  of  depositing  electro- 


158  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

type  silver  over  the  whole  face  of  the  plate,  only  permit  the  deposit  to 
take  place  over  one  half,  by  immersing  the  plate  only  half  way  in  the 
decomposition  trough.  [With  a  one  quart  Smee's  battery,  one  minute 
will  be  sufficient.]  Finish  the  plate  afterwards  on  removing  it  from  the 
battery  in  the  usual  way,  as  when  preparing  to  receive  the  sensitive  coat- 
ing ;  and  when  "  cross  buffed,"  it  will  be  perceived,  on  examining  the 
surface,  how  much  blacker  and  more  brilliant  is  the  polish  on  the  elec- 
trotyjjcd  silver  half,  the  remaining  half  appearing  by  contrast  quite 
greasy.  The  importance  of  this  depth  of  black  will  at  once  be  appre- 
ciated when  it  is  remembered  that  it  is  the  black  burnish  of  the  silver 
which  forms  the  dark  portions  or  blacks  of  the  Daguerreotype  picture. 
If  the  plate  thus  prepared  be  now  made  sensitive,  and  placed  in  the 
camera,  it  will  be  found  that  the  electrotype  half  has  also  an  advantage 
in  sensitiveness,  the  "  halfed  image"  being  about  four  seconds,  or  about 
one-third  of  the  exposure,  in  advance  of  the  other  side  not  coated  in  the 
battery.  Mr.  Kilburu  has  tried  this  with  a  great  variety  of  solutions, 
and  always  with  the  same  result. 

MESSRS.   BARLOW  AND   FOSTER'S   PATENT  IMPROVEMENTS  IN  ELECTRIC 
TELEGRAPHS  AND  APPARATUS. 

The  Improvements  specified  under  this  patent  consist,  first,  in  coat- 
ing, and  thereby  protecting  and  insulating  the  wires  of  telegraphs,  with 
gutta  percha,  or  a  compound  thereof.  To  coat  such  wires  with  gulta 
percha  is  of  course  not  new,  but  to  coat  them  with  the  particular  com- 
pound specified  may  possibly  be  so.  The  compound  consists  of  one  part 
by  weight  of  New  Zealand  gum,  and  one  part  of  milk  of  sulphur,  added 
to  eight  parts  of  gutta  percha,  by  little  and  little,  while  iu  a  kneading 
trough,  and  at  a  temperature  of  120°  Fahr.  The  coating  is  effected  as 
follows : — Two  pairs  of  rollers  are  made  to  revolve,  by  means  of  suitable 
gearing,  at  one  uniform  speed,  and  each  pair  is  provided  with  a  pipe 
fitted  steam-tight  to  one  end  of  their  axis,  through  which  pipe  steam  is 
admitted  at  pleasure,  which  serves  to  bring  the  rollers  to  a  temperature 
sufficient  to  soften  partially  two  bands  of  gutta  percha  passed  between 
them.  Then  there  is  another  pair  of  rollers  which  have  their  surfaces 
cut  with  semicircular  grooves ;  the  grooves  of  the  one  roller  correspond- 
ing, or  falling  right  over,  those  of  the  other.  The  wires  to  be  covered 
are  wound  upon  reels,  from  which  they  pass  between  the  second  pair  of 
rollers.  The  bands  or  fillets  of  gutta  percha  are  passed  between  the  first 
pair  of  rollers,  (and  are  so  brought  into  an  adhesive  state),  and  the  two 
bands  of  gutta  percha,  with  the  wires  between  them,  are  in  this  state 
passed  between  the  second  pair  of  rollers,  by  which  the  fillets  of  gutta 
percha  are  made  to  adhere  together,  and  consequently  to  envelop  the 
wires. 

Secondly. — The  patentees  propose  so  to  govern  the  currents  of  elec- 
tricity as  to  cause  the  pulsations  to  indicate  different  signs  and  symbols. 
The  pulsation  of  one  current  of  electricity  is  made  to  move  forward  the 
axle  or  other  recipient  of  motion  to  a  certain  distance  representing  five 
units  :  and  that  of  the  other  current  a  distance  in  the  reverse  direction, 
representing  four  units ;  and  the  conjoined  pulsations  of  the  two  currents 


ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE.  159 

a  distauce  represented  by  one  unit.     Thus,  supposing  A  and  B  to  repre- 
sent the  two  currents,  the  sign  will  be  indicated 
1st.  by  1  pulsation  of  A, 
2d.  by  1  pulsation  of  A  and  B, 
3d.  by  1  pulsation  of  B, 

and  80  on.      The  mechanical  arrangements  by  which  this  is  effected 
could  not  be  rendered  intelligible  without  engravings. 

Thirdly. — The  patentees  describe  an  electric  telegraph  apparatus  for 
indicating  the  passing  and  time  of  passing  of  a  railway  train.  A  dial  is 
pierced  with  60  holes  at  regular  distances,  in  which  holes  small  plugs 
are  placed.  This  dial  is  made  to  revolve  once  every  hour.  A  metal 
spring  presses  against  the  face  of  the  dial,  and  has  the  effect  of  thrusting 
back  any  plug  that  may  have  been  protruded.  Above  the  dial  is  an 
electro-magnet,  which  attracts,  on  the  passing  of  au  electric  current  from 
the  station  which  the  train  has  just  passed,  one  end  of  a  lever,  the  other 
end  of  which  protrudes  the  plug  immediately  underneath  it  beyond  the 
face  of  the  dial,  so  that  the  attendant  is  enabled,  by  looking  at  the  dial, 
to  see  whether  the  train  has  passed  the  station,  and  what  time  has  elapsed 
since  it  passed. 

The  claims  are — 

Istly.  The  "  modes"  of  coating  and  insulating  the  wires  of  electric 
telegraphs  with  gutta  percha  or  its  compound. 

2dly.  The  governing  the  currents  of  electricity  so  as  to  cause  each 
pulsation  thereof,  separately  or  conjoined,  to  indicate  different  signs  or 
symbols. 

3dly.  The  apparatus  for  indicating  the  passing  and  time  of  passing  of 
railway  \,rdsxi.%.— Mechanics'  Magazine,  No.  1319. 


SUBAaUEOUS  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH. 

The  practicability  of  transmitting  signals  by  Electric  Telegraph  under 
Water  has  been  experimentally  proved  by  the  Electric  Telegraph  Company, 
in  Manchester.  The  wire  used  on  the  occasion  was  of  copper,  which,  after 
having  been  wrapped  with  cotton  and  passed  through  shell  lac,  had  been 
then  covered  with  India  rubber,  cemented  by  naphtha.  Wire  of  a  similar 
description  had  been  used  with  success  in  the  Summit  Tunnel,  on  the 
Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  Railway,  through  which  the  signals  were  with 
great  difficulty  transmitted  by  the  ordinary  wire.  In  the  experiment 
made  at  Manchester,  one  end  of  the  coated  wire  was  connected  with  the 
wires  at  the  Hunt's  Bank  station,  which  communicated  with  the  Telegraph 
Company's  Office  at  the  Exchange  Arcade,  and  the  wire  was  then  allowed 
to  hang  from  the  railway  bridge  over  the  Irwell  into  the  river,  where  it 
remained  in  a  large  coil  of  about  half  a  mile  in  length,  under  water, 
while  the  other  end  of  it  was  carried,  still  under  water,  some  hundred 
yards  higher  up,  and  on  the  Salford  side  of  the  river,  where  it  was  con- 
nected with  an  instrument ;  and  signals  were  transmitted  from  the 
one  place  to  the  other  with  the  utmost  ease.  The  deflection  of  the 
needle  was  only  five  degrees  (a  deflection  which  was  easily  accounted  for 
upon  the  supposition  that  the  coating  of  the  signal  wire  had  been  cut 
through  in  some  places  by  the  wire  which  was  thrown  over  it  to  sustain 


160  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

the  weights  necessary  to  retain  the  signal  wire  in  its  place,  in  consequence 
of  the  unusually  strong  current  which  was  running,  caused  by  the  heavy 
rains  of  the  night  previously),  the  ordinary  deflection  being  two  or  tliree 
degrees  ;  while  in  rainy  weather,  (such  as  the  day  on  which  the  experi- 
ment was  made)  it  would  probably  amount  to  as  much  as  fifteen  degrees 
between  Liverpool  and  Manchester.  The  coated  wire  remained  in  the 
water  during  the  night,  and  next  day  the  experiments  were  repeated  with 
the  same  success." — Abridged  from  ike  Manchester  Guardian. 

THE  CENTRAL  ELECTRIC  TELEGRAPH  OFFICE. 

The  Electric  Telegraph  Company  have  completed  their  Central  Office 
in  Lothbury,  the  mechanical  and  electrical  arrangements  in  connexion 
with  which  are  very  interesting.  The  office  is  a  large  and  lofty  hall, 
with  galleries  running  round,  supported  by  pillars.  Under  the  galleries 
at  each  end  of  the  hall  are  two  long  counters,  over  which  are  the  names 
of  the  various  places  to  which  messages  can  be  sent.  Behind  the  counter 
are  stationed  clerks  whose  business  it  is  to  receive  the  message, — enter  it 
in  a  form  which  will  be  presently  described, — and  pass  it  to  another  set 
of  clerks  who  transmit  it  by  machinery  to  the  ivallcries  above.  Adjoining 
these  are  a  series  of  rooms  containing  the  electro-magnetic  telegraphs  of 
Messrs.  Wheatstone  and  Cooke.  They  are  placed  on  desks ;  and  before 
them,  are  seated  the  clerks  whose  province  it  is  to  work  the  apparatus. 
Each  apartment  is  provided  with  an  electric  clock  showing  true  London 
railway  time;  which,  as  our  readers  know,  is  observed  throughout  the 
departments. 

The  wires  are  brought  into  the  underground  portion  of  the  building  by 
means  of  nine  tubes, — each  tube  containing  nine  wires.  They  are  sub- 
divided as  follows : — 27  come  from  the  North  Western  Railway,  9  from 
the  Eastern  Counties,  9  from  the  South-Eastern,  9  from  the  South- 
western, 9  from  the  Strand  Branch  Office  and  Windsor,  9  from  the 
Admiralty,  and  9  are  spare  to  meet  casualties.  The  Admiralty  have  now 
an  uninterrupted  communication  between  their  offices  in  Whitehall  and 
the  Dockyards  at  Portsmouth;  for  which  accommodation  they  pay 
£1,200  a-year  to  the  company.  On  a  level  with  the  rooms  in  which  the 
wires  are  received  are  several  long  and  narrow  chambers  devoted  to  the 
batteries.  Of  these  there  are  108  ;  each  battery  consisting  of  24  plates. 
Sand  moistened  by  sulphuric  acid  and  water  is  used  as  the  exciting 
medium.  The  batteries  thus  charged  are  found  to  remain  above  a  month 
io  good  working  order.  They  are  so  numbered  and  arranged  in  reference 
to  the  wires  that  any  defect  can  be  immediately  rectified.  Each  railway 
has  a  division  to  itself,  and  thus  all  risk  of  confusion  is  avoided. 

At  the  date  of  this  notice,  (January,  1848)  the  Company  had  laid  down 
2,500  miles  of  wire,  and  had  upwards  of  1000  men  in  their  employ. 
There  were  57  clerks  employed  in  transmitting  and  receiving  messages, 
independently  of  those  occupied  in  printing  communications  for  the  news- 
])apers.  This  is  carried  on  in  a  large  room  connected  with  the  gallery. 
It  is  carried  on  with  wonderful  celerity,  1,000  letters  being  pnnted 
each  minute  at  stations  two  hundred  or  more  miles  apart.  The  process 
bus  been  thus  briefly  desci'ibed ::— A  slip  of  paper  about  a  quarter  of  an 


ELECTKICAL  SCIENCE.  161 

inch  broad  is  punched  with  holes  at  distances  corresponding  to  the  dash 
lines  shown  above — these  holes  being  the  letters.  Two  cylinders,  one, 
for  example,  in  London,  the  other  at  Manchester,  are  connected  in 
the  usual  manner  by  electricity.  Supposing  it  may  be  desired  by  a  party 
in  London  to  print  a  message  at  Manchester  the  slip,  of  paper  is  placed 
over  the  cylinder  in  London,  and  pressed  upon  it  by  means  of  a  spring 
which  plays  in  the  middle.  Thus,  when  those  portions  of  the  paper 
which  present  no  holes  appear,  the  contact  is  broken ;  where  the  holes 
are  presented,  contact  is  made ;  and  accordingly,  the  current  of  elec- 
tricity will  be  conveyed  or  broken  to  the  cylinder  at  Manchester  precisely 
in  the  same  ratio  as  it  is  received  from  the  cylinder  in  London.  Over 
the  cylinder  in  Manchester  is  wound  a  sheet  of  paper  dipped  in  a  solution 
of  prussiate  of  potash  and  sulphuric  acid ;  which  enables  it  to  receive, 
and  record  by  dark  green  lines,  the  strokes  of  electricity  given  oat  by 
making  and  breaking  contact  with  the  cylinder  at  London.  There  are 
various  ingenious  mechanical  arrangements  connected  with  the  process, 
which  is  the  invention  of  Mr.  Bain. 

A  more  detailed  description  of  the  Office  will  be  found  in  the  Athe- 
nwum.  No.  1056,  whence  the  above  has  been  selected. 

Mr.  Holmes,  the  head  of  the  Establishment,  states,  that  he  has  reduced 
the  expenditure  of  the  battery  power  by  the  telegraph,  to  one-tenth  of  the 
amount  required  before ;  so  that  now,  instead  of  working  on  the  long 
circuit  (a  distance  of  about  250  miles)  with  an  equivalent  of  about  240 
pairs  of  plates,  24  pairs  do  duty  with  much  more  effective  result ;  the 
reduced  intensity  not  suffering  so  much  by  the  defect  of  bad  insulation. 
The  most  important  point,  however,  is  the  economy  of  power  when  it  is 
applied  to  the  numerous  stations  throughout  the  kingdom,  and  the 
increased  facility  of  working  through  a  much  larger  amount  of  circuit 
resistance.  The  addition  consists  in  the  substitution  of  a  single  small 
steel  lozenge  three-quarters  of  an  inch  long  for  the  two  5-inch  astatic  mag- 
netic needles,  and  placed  between  two  small  coils  of  peculiar  shape.  This 
form  has  the  advantage,  besides  those  already  mentioned,  of  giving  a 
signal  free  from  that  constant  vibration  of  the  needle  against  which  so 
much  has  been  said :  the  pendulous  action  of  gravity  being  very  limited, 
from  its  better  adapted  form. 


ELECTRIC  COPYING  TELEGRAPH. 

This  new  adaptation  of  the  Electric  Telegraph,  by  Mr.  C,  F.  Bake- 
well,  is  not  confined  to  writing,  but  may  be  used  with  equal  certainty  to 
transmit  drawings.  In  his  Telegraph,  words,  traced  from  the  original, 
are  legibly  copied  on  paper  by  an  instrument  that  has  no  connexion  with 
the  one  to  which  the  transmitted  message  is  applied,  excepting  by  voltaic 
battery.  The  letters  traced  on  the  paper  appear  of  a  pale  colour,  on  a 
dark  ground,  formed  by  numerous  lines  drawn  close  together.  The 
communications  thus  traced,  we  understand,  may  be  transmitted  at  the 
rate  of  five  hundred  letters  per  minute  of  ordinary  writing ;  and  were 
short-hand  symbols  employed,  the  rapidity  of  transmission  Avould  be 
quadrupled.  When  this  means  of  correspondence  is  in  operation,  instead 
of  dropping  a  letter  into  the  post-office,  and  waiting  days  for  an  answer. 


102  YEAR  BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

we  may  apply  it  to  the  Copyint?  Telegraph,  have  it  copied  at  the  distant 
towu  ill  a  minute  or  less,  and  receive  a  reply  in  our  own  correspondent's 
handwriting  almost  as  soon  as  the  ink  is  dry  with  which  it  is  penned. 
There  are  various  means,  too,  for  preserving  the  secrecy  of  correspon- 
dence, the  most  curious  of  which  is,  that  the  writing  may  be  rendered 
nearly  invisible  in  all  parts  but  the  direction,  imtil  its  delivery  to  the 
person  for  whom  it  is  designed. — Spectator. 


"  KNOWLEDGE  IS  POWER." 

Tfiis  Baconian  axiom  has  been  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  following 
incident.  In  the  course  of  the  pacification  conference  of  Sir  Harry  Smith 
with  the  Kaffirs  at  King  William's  Town,  a  voltaic  battery  was  fired  on 
the  opposite  slope  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  Here  a  wairgon  had 
been  placed  at  300  yards  distance  from  the  battery,  communicating  in 
the  usual  manner  by  means  of  wires.  The  object  of  his  Excellency  was 
to  convey  to  the  Kaffir  mind  an  idea  of  sudden  and  irresistible  power. 
Accordingly,  on  a  given  signal  from  him — the  waving  of  a  small  flag — 
the  discharge  instantly  took  place.  The  explosion  shattered  the  carriage 
of  the  waggon, — canting  up  the  body  of  the  vehicle,  so  that  it  remained 
fixed  by  one  end  on  the  ground,  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees.  The  action 
was  so  sudden  as  scarcely  to  afi^ord  time  to  his  Excellency  to  direct  the 
attention  of  the  Kaffirs  to  the  experiment,  but  in  those  who  were  look- 
ing towards  the  pit,  and  saw  the  power  exercised  on  a  distant  object,  the 
surprise  manifested  was  amusing.  "  There,"  exclaimed  his  Excellency, 
"  is  a  lesson  to  you  not  to  meddle  with  waggons;  as  you  now  see  the 
l)ower  I  possess,  should  you  do  so,  to  punish  you." — South  African 
Advertiser. 


FIRING  SHELLS  BY  ELECTRICITY. 

This  has  been  accomplished  by  Lieut.  H.  Moor,  of  the  United  States 
Navy ;  and  the  following  details  of  the  invention  are  given  by  an 
A.merican  Correspondent  of  the  MecJmnics'  Magazine:  — 

The  loaded  shell  is  prepared  with  the  end  of  a  coil  of  wire  attached  to  it, 
which,  on  being  discharj^ed  from  the  mortar,  it  carries  out  with  it  like  the 
string  of  a  kite.  The  leni?th  of  the  coil  is  considerably  greater  than  the  dis- 
tance to  which  the  shell  is  to  be  thrown,  and  being  laid  so  as  to  run  freely, 
the  inner  end  of  the  wire  is  not  disturbed  by  the  motion  of  the  shell,  but  is 
free  to  be  taken  to  a  galvanic  battery  at  anymoment  during  its  flight.  It  is 
a  species  of  a  magnetic  telegraph  applied  to  the  flying  shell,  which  it  over- 
takes and  explodes  with  the  rapidity  of  thought.  This  method  can  only  be 
used  to  advantage  when  the  shell  is  projected  with  a  moderate  velocity,  so  as 
to  be  distinctly  visible  during  its  flight.  This  can  be  done  to  a  distance  of 
2000  feet ;  as  a  large  shell  projected  with  no  greater  velocity  than  sufficient  to 
carry  it  to  that  distance,  can  be  distinctly  traced  by  the  eye  from  the  moment 
of  its  leaving  the  mortar  to  the  end  of  its'  flight.  The  person  in  charge  of  the 
explosion  keeps  his  eye  fixed  on  the  shell,  and  as  it  passes  nearest  the  point 
of  attack  efl'ects  the  explosion  by  a  single  motion  of  the  hand,  without  once 
diverting  his  eye  from  the  shell.  As  shells  are  at  present  used,  they  cannot 
be  made  to  explode  at  the  moment  of  coming  into  contact  with  an  object,  and 
in  the  open  field  are  of  no  more  service  against  a  body  of  men  than  a  shot 
oi  the  same  diameter ;  as  the  explosion  cannot  be  depended  on  at  tlie  de- 
sired moment.  But  by  effecting  the  explosion  at  the  precise  instant  of 
coming  in  contact  with  a  body  of  troops,  the  etlect  is  increased  a  hundred 
fold.    A  constant  succession  of  such  explosions  would  destroy  aiiy  body  of 


ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE.  1C3 

men.  The  effects  of  the  shell  would  not  be  confined  to  the  immediate 
vicinity,  but  would  extend  to  a  great  distance  in  all  directions  according  to 
the  magnitude  of  the  shell  and  the  powder  it  contained. 

The  light  10-inch  mortar  weighs  1800  lbs.  and  carries  a  shell  of  100  lbs. 
weight,  containing  2  lbs.  of  powder.  This  great  weight  of  the  shell  is  intended 
to  give  it  sufficient  density  and  strength  to  project  it  to  a  great  distance,  and 
to  penetrate  hard  substances.  But  for  use  in  the  open  field  a  10 -inch  cylin- 
drical shell  of  the  same  length,  made  of  half-inch  wrought  iron,  weight 
55  lbs.  and  carries  20  lbs.  of  powder,  and  has  sufficient  density  and  strength 
to  project  from  1000  to  2000  feet.  By  increasing  the  length  of  the  shell,  the 
quantity  of  powder  could  be  proportionally  increased.  A  fortification  armed 
with  shells  of  this  description  would  have  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  mining 
above  grouud,  or,  in  other  words,  of  throwing  magazines  into  the  midst  of 
an  enemy  and  exploding  them  at  the  most  decisive  point.  And  as  this 
could  be  done  from  a  distance  of  2000  feet  up  to  the  very  walls,  no  force 
could  approach  near  enough  to  carry  the  works  by  the  usual  method.  There 
are  many  other  applications  of  this  method,  particularly  to  destroying  ships, 
from  the  great  extent  of  inflammable  surface  which  they  expose  in  the  sails, 
spars,  and  decks.  For  distant  firing,  no  change  is  to  be  made  in  the  present 
method ;  the  same  shots  and  shells  to  be  used  as  heretofore,  until  the  firing 
approaches  to  within  about  500  yards,  when  the  cylindrical  shells  are  to  be 
used  with  the  new  method  of  explosion. 

A  6-inch  cylindrical  shell,  one  foot  in  length  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
thick,  to  fit  a  32-pounder,  weight  27  lbs.  and  carries  12  lbs.  of  powder.  Tliis 
loaded  shell  weighs  39  lbs.  and  has  one-third  the  weight  or  density  of  solid 
iron,  and  requires  but  a  moderate  velocity  to  project  it  to  a  distance  of  half 
a  mile.  For  shorter  distances  the  length  of  the  shell  may  be  increased  to 
two  or  three  feet,  so  as  to  contain  from  20  lbs.  to  30  lbs.  of  powder,  and  it  can 
be  thrown  with  sufficient  accuracy  to  produce  the  most  destructive  effects. 
In  the  same  manner  the  8-inch  shell,  with  a  length  of  from  two  to  three  feet, 
will  contain  from  40  lbs.  to  50  lbs.  of  powder,  and  the  10-inch  from  60  lbs.  to 
80  lbs.  These  shells  are  to  be  protected  from  the  guns  at  present  in  use, 
after  the  necessity  for  distant  firing  has  ceased  ;  and  they  will  afford  a  means 
ot  attack  and  defence  at  close  quarters  which  it  will  be  impossible  for  any 
force  to  withstand.  In  general,  no  change  in  the  armaments  will  be  required 
for  the  use  of  these  shells ;  they  can  be  fired  from  any  kind  of  guns  at  close 
quarters. 

There  is  a  very  light  species  of  brass  ordnance  (cohora  mortars)  which 
mi?ht  be  used  with  advantage  with  these  shells.  A  10-inch  mortar  of  this 
description  weighs  but  700  los.  and  has  sufficient  strength  to  project  a  cylin- 
drical shell  containing  30  lbs.  of  powder.  As  the  weight  is  only  about  the 
same  as  a  light  field-piece,  it  could  be  easily  transported,  and  at  close 
quarters  it  would  be  more  efl'ectual  than  a  whole  park  of  small  artillerv. 


staite's  patent  electric  light. 

An  experiment,  exhibited  at  Newcastle,  of  this  new  mode  of  Lighting, 
was  briefly  described  in  the  Year-hook  of  Facts,  1848,  p.  148.  The 
patentee  has  since  given  several  public  exhibitions  of  the  novelty :  one  of 
these,  at  the  Hanover  Square  Rooms,  in  London,  we  find  thus  popularly 
described  in  No.  344  of  the  Illustrated  London  News : — 

The  light  was  produced  from  a  galvanic  battery  of  moderate  size,  em- 
bracing in  its  construction  and  elements  several  improvements,  so  as  to 
render  the  battery  constant,  continuous,  and  regular  in  its  action,  and 
economical  in  cost.  By  means  of  solid  copper  wires,  the  electric  fluid  is 
conveyed  to  the  lamp,  which  may  be  placed  on  a  table  or  suspended  from 
the  ceiling.  In  this  lamp  are  two  cylinders  of  carbon,  which  are  used  as 
electrodes,  that  is  to  say,  the  current  of  electricity  is  passed  from  one  to 
the  other  as  they  stand  end  to  end,  their  ends  being  separated  by  an  in- 
terval of  from  less  than  one-twentieth  to  about  half  an  incli,  according 


164  YEAR-BOOK  OF  fACTS. 

to  the  power  of  the  electric  current  used  ;  and  these  cylinders  are  moved 
by  a  clock-work  arrangement,  in  proportion  as  they  are  consumed,  at  a 
speed  which  is  regulnted  by  the  current.  To  render  the  light  coiitmuous, 
it  is  necessary  that  these  two  pieces  of  carbon  should  first  be  brought 
into  actual  contact,  that  the  current  may  pass,  and  then  be  separated  to  a 
short  distance  apart.  This  is  accomplished  by  means  of  tJie  current  itself ^ 
without  manual  aid.  As  the  carbon  gradually  wears  away  (about  half  an 
inch  an  hour),  the  same  regulated  distance  between  the  two  electrodes  is 
ensured  by  like  means.  The  apparatus  (if  it  may  be  so  called)  to  effect 
this  self-regulation  is  an  electro-magnetic  instrument,  placed  immediately 
under  the  plate  of  the  lamp,  and  through  which  the  current  of  electricity 
is  made  to  pass.  The  principle  of  this  instrument  is  extremely  ingenious, 
and  in  some  degree  resembles  a  galvanometer:  the  galvanic  current 
passing  through  a  coil  of  wire,  magnetises  a  bar  of  soft  iron  which  is 
])assed  through  the  coil ;  and,  in  proportion  as  the  current  is  strong  or 
feeble,  the  magnetised  bar  rises  or  falls.  When  the  current  is  in  excess, 
it  actuates  an  escapement,  and  the  two  electrodes  are  drawn  to  the  re- 
quired distance  apart;  and  when  the  current  passing  is  less  than  the 
regulated  quantity,  the  motion  is  reversed,  and  the  electrodes  are  drawn 
closer  together.  By  these  means,  not  only  is  the  light  rendered  steady 
and  constant,  but  only  so  much  of  the  generated  fluid  is  allowed  to  pass 
as  is  developed  in  light — effecting  an  economy  of  the  battery  power  never 
before  approached. 

The  light  equalled  between  800  and  900  standard  wax  candles.  The 
prismatic  rays  were  subsequently  shown  by  Mr.  Staite,  and  were  as 
vivid  and  bright  as  those  from  a  sunbeam,  and  perfectly  identical  in 
colour,  showing  the  light  to  be,  in  purity,  equal  to  that  of  the  sun. 

Exhibitions  of  this  electric  light  were  subsequently  given  in  Trafalgar 
Square ;  and  great  interest  has  been  excited  by  the  alleged  probability  of 
the  invention  superseding  gas  lighting.  Its  completeness  has  been  much 
disputed  by  practical  men ;  more  especially,  the  trouble  and  expense  at- 
tending the  working  of  the  battery,  in  which  nitric  acid  being  employed, 
it  is  maintained  that  changes  are  continually  occurring  at  both  poles. 

The  reader  will  find  the  invention  minutely  described  and  illustrated, 
from  the  Patentee's  specification,  in  i\iQ  Mechanics'  Magazine,  No.  1275. 

In  Paris,  an  exhibition  of  another  Electric  Light  has  been  given,  in  the 
Theatre  du  Palais  Royal,  with  great  success.  We  believe  it  was  about 
1820  that  Buusen  first  caught  the  idea  of  attaching  cones  of  carbon  to 
the  poles  of  the  conductors  from  the  battery,  and  inclosed  in  an  exhaasted 
glass  globe ;  and  this  produces  a  light  so  vivid,  that  the  eye  cannot  bear 
it  for  an  instant.  The  experiment  was  repeated  in  Paris,  some  time 
since,  on  a  large  scale,  at  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  and  far  surpassed  any 
previous  conceptions.  The  flame  was  wonderfully  intense;  and  as  the 
reflector  was  turned  to  different  portions  of  the  surrounding  scenery, 
each  object  arose  to  sight  with  a  light  equal  to  day,  and  with  a  sudden- 
ness from  the  darkness  that  appeared  magical.  The  illumination  of  the 
theatre  in  the  Palais  Royal  is  thus  described  : — The  electric  light,  with  con- 
tinuous spark,  obtained  by  the  new  battery  of  MISI.  Lemolt  and  Archo- 
rcau,  was  used  by  the  manager  to  illumine  the  house.     The  intensity  of 


ELECTRICAL  SCIENCE.  165 

the  spark  eclipsed  the  lights  of  the  lustre,  and  those  on  the  stage.  By  the 
aid  of  an  ingenious  piece  of  mechanism  connecting  him  with  the  wires 
from  the  battery,  M.  Lemenil,  an  actor,  placed  in  front  of  the  stage, 
emitted  from  himself  a  spark  of  such  brilliancy,  that  the  theatre  was  as 
light  as  during  bright  sunshine.  The  importance  of  the  peculiar  arrange- 
ment of  this  battery  is,  that  the  spark  obtains  a  continuity  of  brightness 
before  unknown.  The  spark  itself,  although  smaller  than  the  flame  of  a 
common  gas-burner,  is  said  to  be  equal  to  300  burners ;  it  consequently 
surpasses  all  the  hydro-carbon  lights,  and  it  throws  its  rays  to  a  distance 
three  times  as  great. 

On  December  5th  and  7th,  this  Electric  Light  was  publicly  exhibited 
in  London,  with  success. 


ELECTRICITY  DEVELOPED  BY  CHEMICAL  ACTION. 

That  elegant  and  correct  experimentalist,  Faraday,  has  shown  that 
zinc  and  platinum  wires,  one-eighteenthof  an  inch  in  diameter  and  about 
half  an  inch  long,  dipped  into  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  so  weak  that  it  is 
not  sensibly  sour  to  the  tongue,  will  evolve  more  electricity  in  one-twen- 
tieth of  a  minute  than  is  given  by  thirty  turns  of  a  large  and  powerful 
plate  electrical  machine  in  full  action;  a  quantity  which,  if  passed 
through  the  bead  of  a  cat,  is  sufficient  to  kill  it,  as  by  a  flash  of  lightning. 
Pursuing  this  interesting  inquiry  still  further,  it  is  found  that  a  single 
grain  of  water  contains  as  much  electricity  as  could  be  accumulated  in 
800,000  Leyden  jars,  each  requiring  thirty  turns  of  the  large  machine  of 
the  Royal  Institution  to  charge  it, — a  quantity  equal  to  that  which  is  de- 
veloped from  a  discharged  thunder-cloud.  "  Yet  we  have  it  under  perfect 
command ;  can  evolve,  direct,  and  employ  it  at  pleasure ;  and  when  it 
has  performed  its  full  work  of  electrolization,  it  has  only  separated  the 
elements  of  a  single  grain  of  water."* 


ELECTRO-MAGNETIC  INDUCTION. 

Prof.  W.  Thomson  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  a 
paper  "  On  the  Theory  of  Electro -magnetic  Induction,"  the  object  of 
which  was  to  prove  a  priori  a  very  beautiful  theorem  lately  given  by 
Newman,  in  his  researches  on  this  subject  lately  laid  before  the  Berlin 
Academy  of  Sciences, — which  theorem  completely  expresses  the  circum- 
stances that  determine  the  intensity  current  induced  by  a  closed  linear 
conductor  (a  bent  metallic  wire  with  its  ends  joined,  under  the  influence 
of  a  magnet  bar  in  a  state  of  relative  motion).  The  principle  on  which 
Prof.  Thomson  demonstrates  the  same  theorem  a  priori  is  the  axiom 
that  "  the  amount  of  work  expended  in  producing  the  relative  motion  on 
which  the  electro-magnetic  induction  depends,  must  be  equivalent  to  the 
mechanical  effect  lost  by  the  current  induced." — Athenceum^  No.  1068. 

*  From  "  The  Poetry  of  Science ;  or  Studies  of  the  Physical  Phenomena 
of  Nature."  By  Robert  Hunt.  This  is  one  of  the  most  charming'  books 
published  during  the  past  year  :  its  truthfulness  and  graceful  style  must 
render  the  work  very  popular. 


166  TEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

&f}tmic&\  Science. 


THE  BAKEKIAN  LECTURE. 

On  Dec.  7,  Di*-  Faraday  delivered  to  the  Royal  Society*  the  Bakerian 
Lecture,  "  On  the  Crystalline  Polarity  of  Bismuth  and  other  bodies,  and 
on  its  Relation  to  the  Majjnetic  Form  of  Force."  The  author  states 
that  in  preparing  small  cylinders  of  bismuth  by  casting  them  into  glass 
tubes,  he  had  often  been  embarrassed  by  the  anomalous  magnetic  results 
which  they  gave,  and  that  having  determined  to  investigate  the  matter 
closely,  it  ended  in  a  reference  of  the  effects  to  the  crystalline  condition 
of  the  bismuth,  which  is  stated  in  the  lecture,  an  abstract  of  which  will 
be  found  in  ihe  Athenaum,  No.  1 103.  In  conclusion.  Dr.  Faraday  re- 
marked "  how  rapidly  the  knowledge  of  molecular  forces  growls  upon  us, 
and  how  strikingly  every  investigation  tends  to  develope  more  and  more 
their  importance,  and  their  extreme  attraction  as  an  object  of  study.  A 
few  years  ago,  magnetism  was  to  us  an  occult  power  affecting  only  a  few 
bodies ;  now  it  is  found  to  influence  all  bodies,  and  to  possess  the  most 
intimate  relations  with  electricity,  heat,  chemical  action,  light,  crystalli- 
zation, and,  through  it,  with  the  forces  concerned  in  cohesion ;  and  we 
may,  in  the  present  state  of  things,  well  feel  urged  to  continue  in  our 
labours,  encouraged  by  the  hope  of  bringing  it  into  a  bond  of  union  with 
gravity  itself." 


CAPILLARY  ATTRACTION. 

Mr.  "W.  Swan,  in  concluding  a  series  of  experiments  "  On  certain 
Phenomena  of  Capillary  Attraction  exhibited  by  Chloroform,  the  Fixed 
Oils,  and  other  Liquids,"  observes,  that  "  if  the  phenomenon  of  the 
flattened  surface  of  two  immiscible  liquids  has  received  a  correct  explana- 
tion on  the  hypothesis  of  a  strong  mutual  attraction  of  their  molecules, 
and  if  this  phenomenon  is  found  to  appear  only  in  cases  where  the 
liquids  have  a  decided  chemical  affinity  for  each  other,  an  interesting  con- 
nexion is  thereby  established  between  chemical  affinity  and  the  mechani- 
cal force  of  cohesion,  tending  to  prove  that  they  are  modifications  of  the 
same  force ;  while  the  whole  subject  of  the  mutual  attraction  of  two 
liquids  opens  up  an  interesting,  and,  so  far  as  Mr.  Swan  is  aware,  a  new 
field  of  inquiry  in  capillary  attraction." — See  Philosophical  Magazine^ 
No.  219. 


"  spheroidal"  steam. 
It  will  be  in  the  recollection  of  our  readers  that  at  the  meeting 
of  the  British  Association  at  Cambridge,  M.  Boutigny  exhibited  some 
remarkable  experiments  proving  that  water  when  projected  upon  dull  red- 
hot  metal  assumed  a  peculiar  (spheroidal)  state,  and  evaporated  slowly  at 
a  temperature  which  never  exceeds  190°  Fahr.f     The  vapour,  however, 

*  The  Earl  of  Rosse,  President,  in  the  chair;  this  being  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Royal  Society  since  the  election  of  his  Lordship  to  the  Presidentship, 
t  See  Year-book  of  Facts,  1846,  p.  188. 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  167 

escaping  from  this  spheroid  acquires  the  heat  of  the  metal  with  which 
it  is  in  contact,  and  has  an  elastic  force  very  superior  to  that  of  ordinary 
steam.  Taking  advantage  of  this  fact,  M.  Testud  de  Beauregard  has 
constructed  a  steam-engine  on  this  principle,  and  an  experiment  is 
being  made  on  a  large  scale  in  London.  The  idea  is  not,  however, 
new.  In  1825,  Mr.  J.  C.  C.  Ruddatz  obtained  a  patent  for  an  invention 
of  Dr.  Ernst  Alban,  which  involved  precisely  the  same  principles.  Since 
that  lime,  Mr.  Thomas  Howard  has  patented  an  engine  in  which  water 
was  projected  in  small  quantities  upon  a  plate  of  iron  resting  on  hot 
mercury.  Neither  of  these  appears  to  have  been  successful ;  but  we 
understand  that  the  present  patentees  hope  to  avail  themselves  to  a 
greater  degree  than  has  hitherto  been  practicable  of  the  laws  of  this 
''  spheroidal"  water  which  have  been  so  industriously  worked  out  by  M. 
Boutigny. — "  Scientific  Gossip,"  in  the  Athenceum,  No.  1106 ;  Jan.  6, 
1849. 


EEMARKABLE  EXPERIMENTS  IN  EBULLITION. 

M.  Marcet  boiled  distilled  water  in  a  balloon  that  had  contained  sul- 
phuric acid  heated  to  302°  F.,  but  had  subsequently  been  well  washed. 
He  observed  the  following  phenomena  : — The  water  in  the  balloon  com- 
menced to  boil  regularly  between  212°  and  213-8°  F. ;  but  almost 
immediately  after  the  ebuUitionary  movements  slackened  visibly,  the 
bubbles  of  vapour  soon  ceased  to  rise  uniformly  from  the  whole  surface 
of  the  balloon,  a  few  bubbles  only  sprung  from  time  to  time  from  certain 
parts  of  the  balloon,  and  the  separation  of  these  bubbles  from  the  sides  of 
the  vessel  proceeded  by  sudden  and  violent  bursts.  The  thermometer 
rose  rapidly  to  between  217°  and  219°.  M.  Marcet  now  increased  the 
flame  of  the  spirit  lamp ;  this  proceeding  seemed,  as  it  were,  to  force  on 
the  production  of  vapours;  the  number  of  bubbles  augmented,  but  they 
continued  to  form  with  difficulty,  and  to  separate  from  the  sides  of  the 
vessel  by  bursts.  At  the  disengagement  of  every  puff"  of  vapour  the 
thermometer  fell  suddenly  to  the  extent  of  several  tenths  of  a  degree, 
rising  again  immediately  after.  M.  Marcet  now  diminished  the  intensity 
of  the  flame  suddenly,  whereupon  the  ebuUitionary  movements  ceased 
almost  completely,  but  the  thermometer,  instead  of  falling,  rose  suddenly 
to  between  221°  and  223°  F.  At  this  elevated  temperature  the  water 
continued  for  several  seconds  without  the  disengagement  of  a  single 
bubble,  or  the  manifestation  of  any  of  the  usual  signs  of  ebullition. 
Upon  increasing  anew  the  intensity  of  the  flame,  a  few  large  bubbles  de- 
tached themselves  with  difficulty,  and  the  thermometer  fell  by  1"8  to  2'6 
degrees,  rising  anew  immediately  on  diminishing  the  intensity  of  the 
flame.  Whilst  the  thermometer  was  marking  222°  F.,  and  the  ebullition 
of  the  water  seemed  almost  entirely  suspended,  a  few  iron  filings  were 
thrown  into  the  balloon ;  the  result  was  instantaneous ;  the  ebullition  re- 
commenced with  considerable  energy :  every  metallic  fragment  formed  a 
species  of  focus  from  which  sprung  innumerable  bubbles  of  vapour,  and 
the  thermometer  fell  immediately  to  about  212°  F.  The  same  result 
ensued,  though  in  less  a  degree,  upon  the  introduction  of  a  pinch  of  pounded 
glass  into  the  balloon.     The  suspension  of  a  small  fragment  of  iron  in 


1C8  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

the  water  (in  a  manuer  to  keep  the  metal  from  contact  with  either  the 
sides  or  the  bottom  of  the  balloon)  produced  similar  effects,  but  in  a 
much  less  degree,  the  thermometer  falling  rarely  below  217'4°  F. 

M.  Marcct  tried  the  same  experiment  with  alcohol;  the  results  were 
the  same  as  those  obtained  with  water. 

Finally,  M.  Marcet  has  shown  that,  whatsoever  the  nature  of  the 
boiler,  the  temperature  of  the  steam  is  invariably  lower  than  that  of  the 
water  from  which  the  steam  is  generated.  In  glass  vessels  this  difference 
amounts  on  an  average  to  1'908  degrees, — in  metal  vessels  only  to  between 
0-27  and  0-36  of  a  degree. 

There  is  but  one  exception  from  this  rule,  viz.  where  the  inside  of  the 
boiler  is  coated  with  a  thin  layer  of  sulphur,  or  gum-lac,  or  any  other 
matter  possessing  an  adhesion  for  water ;  in  that  case  the  boiling  water 
and  the  steam  have  the  same  temperature. 

We  see  accordingly  that,  contrary  to  the  generally  received  notion,  it 
is  not  in  metal  vessels  that  the  ebullition  point  is  lower  under  a  stronger 
pressure,  but  in  glass  vessels,  if  the  latter  are  coated  inside  with  sulphur, 
gum-lac,  &c. — Professor  Longet :  Pharmaceutical  Times. 


OXIDATION  OF  THE  DIAMOND. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  from  Professors 
R.  E.  and  W.  B.  Rogers,  "  On  the  Oxidation  of  the  Diamond  in  the 
Liquid  Way."  The  processes  for  oxidizing  the  diamond  hitherto 
described  consist  in  actually  burning  this  gem,  either  in  the  air  or  in 
oxygen  gas,  or  in  some  substance  rich  in  oxygen,  as  nitrate  of  potassa. 
In  all  these  experiments,  a  very  elevated  temperature  is  required.  It  is, 
therefore,  interesting  to  discover  that  the  diamond  may  be  converted  into 
carbonic  acid  in  the  liquid  way  and  at  a  moderate  heat  by  the  reaction  of 
a  mixture  of  bichromate  of  potassa  and  sulphuric  acid  ;  in  other  words, 
by  the  oxidating  power  of  chromic  acid.  To  succeed  in  this  experiment 
it  is  necessary  to  reduce  the  diamond  to  the  most  minute  state  of  division. 
A  single  grain  of  the  gem  will  suffice  for  many  experiments.  In  repeated 
trials,  more  than  half  a  grain  has  never  been  used,  and  clear  evidence 
of  the  oxidation  has  been  obtained  by  the  evolution  of  carbonic  acid. 
The  bichromate  of  potash  when  heated  is  always  found  to  afford  some 
carbonic  acid ;  but  error  is  avoided  by  first  heating  the  acid  alone  in  the 
retort  to  about  350°,  then  adding  the  bichromate  by  degrees,  and  stirring 
the  mixture  so  as  to  effect  a  complete  separation  of  chromic  acid.  A  very 
brisk  reaction  takes  place — much  oxygen  is  disengaged,  and  with  it  any 
carbonic  acid  which  the  materials  themselves  are  capable  of  evolving. 
When  no  more  carbonic  acid  can  be  detected  by  lime-water  tests,  the 
powdered  diamond  is  carefully  added.  The  evolution  of  carbonic  acid  is 
soon  evinced  by  the  growing  milkiness  of  lime-water,  and  this  continues 
slowly  to  increase  as  long  as  there  is  any  free  chromic  acid  in  the  retort. 
The  chief  point  of  interest  in  the  subject,  however,  is  the  fact — now 
published  for  the  first  time— that  the  diamond  is  capable  of  being  oxidated 
in  the  liquid  way,  and  at  a  comparativeiy  moderate  temperature  ;  varying 
between  350°  and  450© 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  169 

CARBONATE  OF  MANGANESE  IN  IRELAND. 

This  substance  has  been  found  in  the  townland  of  Glandree,  parish  of 
lulla,  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  county  of  Clare.  The  precise  locality 
is  near  the  top  of  a  mountain,  about  900  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
on  the  side  of  a  new  road  connecting  Scariflf  with  Gort. 

The  rock  of  the  locality  is  the  old  red  sandstone,  from  under  which  the 
clay-slate  rises  close  by.  The  surface  is,  however,  very  much  covered 
by  boulders  of  sandstone  and  by  bog,  and  broken  into  hummocks,  sepa- 
rating little  basins,  in  which  deposits  of  marl,  very  rich  in  lime,  and  of 
much  value  for  agricultural  purposes,  are  usually  found.  Amongst  them, 
and  from  the  precise  locality  already  stated,  was  one  fawn-coloured  earthy 
matter  which  effervesced  strongly  with  acids,  especially  when  heated, 
and  which,  on  more  exact  examination,  turned  out  to  be  not  carbonate 
of  lime,  but  carbonate  of  manganese. 

This  substance  forms  a  layer  of  several  inches  thick,  lying  under  a 
stratum  of  bog  of  about  two  feet  thick,  and  resting  on  the  partially  de- 
composed surface  of  the  underlying  sandstone  and  slate  rocks. 

The  composition  of  two  different  specimens  of  this  mineral  was  found 
to  be — 

A.  B. 

Protocarbonate  of  manganese 74-55  79'9i 

Carbonate  of  lime    a  trace         2-43 

Protocarbonate  of  iron 15-01  ir04 

Clay  and  sand   -33  -37 

Organic  matter,  moisture,  and  loss 10- 11  6*22 

100-00         100-00 

The  carbonate  of  manganese  is  known  to  be  one  of  the  rarest  forms  in 
which  that  metal  occurs ;  and,  so  far  as  Sir  R.  Kane  is  aware,  it  has  been 
hitherto  found  only  in  a  compact  and  crystallized  form.  The  condition 
of  the  substance  now  described  may  therefore  possibly  be  quite  new  to 
science ;  but  certainly  it  has  not  been  found  constituting  a  kind  of  marly 
deposit  spread  extensively  under  bog,  nor  is  it  known  at  all  as  an  Irish 
mineral. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  study  of  the  action  to  which  this  material 
is  subjected  under  its  native  condition,  may  throw  some  light  on  the 
theory  of  the  impregnating  and  cementing  of  rocks  by  the  peroxide,  and 
indeed  perhaps  to  the  mode  of  generation  of  the  native  earthy  peroxides 
of  manganese. — Communicated  by  Sir  Robert  Kane  to  the  Philosophical 
Magazine,  No.  212. 


EXTRACTION  OE  SILVER. 

Dr.  Percy  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  his  "  Experi- 
ments connected  with  the  Extraction  of  Silver  from  some  of  its  Ores  by 
the  Wet  Way,  with  a  Notice  of  a  Process  as  a  Substitute  for  that  of 
Liquation."  This  communication  proposes  to  treat  silver  ores  with 
hyposulphite  of  lime  and  chloride  of  lime ;  and  from  experiments  detailed 
by  Dr.  Percy  there  appears  every  reason  to  believe  that  these  substances 
may  be  employed  economically,  and  both  gold  and  silver  extracted  by  an 
easy  and  effective  method.     A  process  as  a  substitute  for  that  of  liquation 


170  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

was  also  sufrpestpd.  Mr.  Hunt  proposed,  from  the  importance  in  a 
practical  poiut  of  this  communication,  that  it  be  printed  entire  in  tie 
volume  of  Transactions.  Col.  Yorke  seconded  this  proposition ;  and  it 
was  adopted. 

CHEMISTRY  OF  METALLUKGIC  PROCESSES. 

Dr.  Percy  has  illustrated  to  the  British  Association,  "  The  Chemistry 
of  the  various  Metallurgic  Processes  now  practised  around  Swansea." 
Of  course,  that  of  copper  smelting  formed  the  main  subject.  In  the  first 
place,  the  varieties  of  the  ores  employed — viz.,  the  oxide  of  copper,  the 
sulphuret  and  the  double  sulphuret  of  copper  and  iron,  and  the  recently 
imported  carbonates — were  described.  The  processes  of  roasting  to  expel 
the  arsenic,  and  to  a  certain  extent  the  sulphur,  and  the  arrangements  of 
the  furnaces,  were  minutely  detailed.  A  great  number  of  specimens, 
showing  every  stage  of  the  process,  were  exhibited.  The  smelting  pro- 
cess formed  the  next  subject  of  consideration  ;  which  was  well  described 
and  amply  illustrated.  The  various  qualities  of  copper  produced  from 
different  ores,  and  the  causes  of  the  differences  as  far  as  they  are  known, 
were  examined.  In  addition  to  the  ordinary  processes  of  reduction,  the 
recent  process  patented  by  Mr,  Napier,  in  which  the  ore  is  reduced  by 
taking  advantage  of  the  chemical  affinity  of  iron  for  the  sulphur  of  the 
ores,  was  described.  It  was  thought  to  possess  many  advantages,  and 
the  copper  produced  by  the  process  was  of  an  exceedingly  good  character. 
A  short  notice  was  taken  of  the  works  at  Ystalyfera,  where  anthracite  is 
employed  for  fusing  iron,  and  the  heated  gases  escaping  at  the  top  of 
the  furnace  are  collected  and  employed  to  heat  the  boiler  of  a  steam 
engine;  by  this,  saving  the  entire  amount  of  the  ordinary  fuel.  In  con- 
clusion, the  necessity  of  uniting  practical  knowledge  and  experimental 
science  was  insisted  on,  and  the  great  importance  of  some  school  iu 
which,  as  at  the  Ecole  des  Mines,  a  good  practical  mining  and  metallur- 
gical education  could  be  obtained,  was  strongly  urged. — Athenmim. 

ARTIFICIAL  aUARTZ. 

M.  Ebelmen  has  submitted  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  some 
specimens  of  Artificial  Quartz.  Amongst  them  are  some  to  which  he 
has  given  various  tints  by  mixing  colouring  substances  with  the  silicic 
acid.  The  specimens  impregnated  with  chloruret  of  gold  are  remarkably 
beautiful.  At  the  end  of  a  certain  time  the  chloruret  of  gold  is  decom- 
posed, and  streaks  of  gold  appear  in  the  entire  mass.  The  decomposition 
is  accelerated  by  the  action  of  the  solar  light,  and  under  its  influence,  also, 
bright  colours  are  obtained — sometimes  blue,  sometimes  red,  and  some- 
times violet.  By  a  modification  of  his  process,  M,  Ebelmen  obtains  a 
true  natural  mineral,  the  hydrophane.  It  is  a  silicious,  porous,  and 
opaque  substance,  which  becomes  perfectly  diaphanous  as  soon  as  it  is 
plunged  in  water.  M.  Ebelmen  has  ascertained  that  this  substance 
absorbs  gases  as  powerfully  as  charcoal . 


CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS  OF  TEA. 

In  the  proceedings  of  the  London  Chemical  Society,  there  is  an  interest- 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  171 

ing  paper  by  Mr.  Warriagton  on  the  Analysis  of  Tea,  in  which  he 
states  that  he  has  not  only  removed  the  whole  of  the  colouring  matter, 
or  glazing,  from  green  tea,  but  been  able  to  analyze  the  matter  removed, 
and  prove  it,  by  chemical  evidence,  to  consist  of  Prussian  blue  and 
gypsum  principally.  So  that,  in  fact,  the  drinkers  of  green  tea,  as  it 
comes  to  the  English  market,  indulge  in  a  beverage  of  Chinese  paint, 
aud  might  imitate  the  mixture  by  dissolving  Prussian  blue  and  plaster-of 
Paris  in  hot  water.  The  Chinese  do  not  drink  this  painted  tea :  they 
only  sell  it. — Gardeners^  Chronicle. 

EXPLOSION  OF  GAS. 

During  the  Coroner's  investigation  of  the  cause  of  a  late  destructive 
fire  and  explosion  in  Albany  Street,  Dr.  Arnott,  having  inspected  the 
premises,  and  heard  the  evidence,  stated  that  he  believed  an  admixture  of 
Coal  Gas  and  Common  Air  capable  of  producing  such  an  explosion.  One 
measure  of  ordinary  coal  gas  requires  ten  measures  of  atmospheric  air  to 
render  it  in  the  highest  degree  explosive.  The  greatest  explosion  that 
can  be  attained  will  be  effected  from  one  part  coal  gas  and  ten  of  common 
air.  The  result  of  such  a  mixture  would  be  to  increase  the  volume  about 
fifteen  times ;  that  is  to  say,  that  one  room  containing  one  part  of  coal 
gas  and  ten  of  common  air  would  expand  sufficiently  to  fill  fifteen  rooms 
with  the  same  mixture,  and  the  explosion  of  the  whole  would  be  in- 
stantaneous. 

As  a  preventive  of  such  explosions,  Dr.  Amott  stated: — Gas  ascends 
to  the  top  of  a  room  ;  and  there  remains  usually  at  the  top  of  the  air  as 
oil  does  upon  water,  and  the  more  it  is  mixed  with  atmospheric  air  the 
more  explosive  it  becomes  :  and  the  surest  remedy  is  to  have  a  ventilator 
at  the  top  of  each  room,  in  the  chimney.  Gas  ascends  almost  three 
times  as  much  as  ordinary  smoke,  and  the  draught  in  the  chimney  would 
be  sure  to  carry  it  off,  inasm)ich  as  a  chimney  is  always  an  air  pump. 

The  Coroner  believed  that,  if  the  explosion  had  been  caused  by  gun- 
powder, it  could  not  have  been  more  terrific  than  in  this  case. 

Dr.  Arnott  said,  gunpowder  was  nothing  more  than  gas  very  much 
condensed ;  a  cubic  foot  of  the  united  gases,  coal  gas  and  atmospheric 
ail-,  was  equal  to  half  an  ounce  of  gunpowder.  The  Doctor  said  he  would 
not  pledge  himself  as  to  the  amount  of  expansion,  as  he  had  understood 
other  scientific  gentlemen  had  differed  with  him,  one  declaring  it  would 
only  increase  six  times.  The  result,  however,  would  be  the  same  as 
regards  explosive  powers. 


NEW  HYDRO-CARBON  GAS. 

An  apparatus  of  novel  construction  has  been  patented  by  Mr.  Stephen 
White,  for  the  manufacture  of  Gas  from  water  and  common  tar,  or  resin, 
&c.  Tlie  apparatus  consists  of  three  retorts  placed  in  a  stove,  two  of 
which  are  filled  with  charcoal  and  thin  pieces  of  iron,  and  the  other  with 
iron  chains  hanging  from  a  centre  bar.  The  first  two  retorts  are  for 
the  decomposition  of  water,  which  is  regularly  supplied  by  means  of  a 
syphon- pipe  passing  through  and  into  the  centre  of  the  retort ;  the  water 
in  passing  through  the  heated  material  becomes  converted  into  pure  hy- 


172  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

drogcn  and  per-oxide  of  carbor*  It  then  passes  into  the  third  retort  to 
receive  its  dose  of  bi-carburet  of  hydrogen,  which  is  prepared  from  com- 
mon tar,  resin,  or  similar  substances,  passing  or  dropping  on  the  red-hot 
chain,  from  a  syphon  tube  which  regulates  its  supply.  This  causes  the 
tar  or  melted  resin  to  throw  off  an  abundance  of  bi-carburet  of  hydrogen 
gas.  The  gases  being  mixed  in  this  manner,  are  immediately  conveyed 
into  the  gasometer  for  use,  without  any  purifying  vessels  whatever,  none 
being  required.  The  great  advantages  arising  from  this  invention  appear 
to  be,  the  small,  simple,  and  cheap  apparatus  required,  and  the  beautiful, 
clear,  and  bright  light  produced,  surpassing  the  ordinary  coal  gas ;  also, 
its  perfect  purity,  being  free  of  any  nuisance  in  its  manufacture ;  and, 
above  all,  so  pure  and  innoxious  that  it  may  be  burnt  in  any  private  room 
without  the  least  ill  effects  or  smoke  resulting  from  it.  This  can  be 
made  and  supplied  at  a  price  considerably  less  than  that  of  coal  gas. 
Thus,  we  see  accomplished  the  foretelling  of  that  eminent  chemist  and 
philosopher,  the  late  Sir  Humphry  Davy  :  "  that  at  some  future  time  gas 
would  be  generated  from  water  for  general  purposes,  surpassing  coal  gas 
in  brilliancy  and  purity." 

ON  SOIIE  PEOPERTIES  OF  CARBON.      BY  M.  LAZOWSKI. 

The  Properties  of  Carbon  are  numerous ;  they  have  been  partly- 
studied,  but  every  day  produces  new  facts :  when  it  is  in  a  state  of  igni- 
tion, it  possesses  some  very  remarkable  properties. 

When  a  piece  of  ignited  charcoal,  which  is  very  clean  and  free  from 
ash,  is  immersed  into  a  solution  of  a  metallic  salt,  it  reduces  the  metallic 
salt  which  is  contained  in  it,  and  the  metal  itself  is  deposited  with  aU  its 
natural  brilliancy  on  the  piece  of  charcoal.  Thus,  the  salts  of  tin,  copper, 
platina,  palladium,  mercury,  silver  and  gold,  &c.,  furnish  most  brilliant 
deposits. 

M.  Lazowski  has  remarked,  he  says,  that  when  the  salts  are  too  acid 
or  too  much  concentrated,  no  effect  is  produced.  The  dilute  solutions  of 
the  salts  of  copper  often  yield,  by  covering  the  charcoal,  the  most  varied 
shades  of  colour,  from  the  finest  azure  blue  to  that  of  metallic  copper. 
The  parts  of  the  charcoal  upon  w  hich  certain  metals  are  deposited  in  pre- 
ference, are  the  extremities  ;  whilst  other  metals  cover  equally  all  the 
surface  of  the  reducing  body ;  at  other  times,  and  this  occurs  with  the 
protochloride  of  tin,  the  metal  appears  in  very  brilliant  crystals,  dis- 
seminated on  the  periphery  of  the  charcoal. — Journ.  de  Chim.  Med. ; 
Fhilos.  Mag.  No.  212. 


CONSTITTTTION  OF  THE  ATMOSPHERE, 

M.  DoYERE  having  had  particular  occasion  to  examine  the  phenomena 
of  respiration  of  man  and  animals  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the  vapour 
of  aether,  he  was  induced  to  try  the  protochloride  of  copper  as  an  absor- 
bent of  oxygen  in  gaseous  mixtures.  The  favourable  results  of  the 
employment  of  this  reagent  having  induced  him  to  pursue  the  study  of 
eiidiometry,  he  succeeded  in  effecting  a  combination  of  instruments  with 
simple  means  of  correction  and  easy  management,  which  gave  the  original 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  178 

volume  of  a  gas,  and  that  of  the  residue  which  any  absorbent  leaves, 
within  a  ten-thousandth  part. 

The  author  was  surprised  to  find  that  his  method  indicated  larger  pro- 
portions of  oxygen  than  those  generally  admitted,  and  that  even  among 
them  considerable  variations  occurred.  M.  Doyere  continued  his  opera- 
tions for  four  months,  and  the  results  proved  that  the  composition  of  the 
air  varies  incessantly.  In  general  the  variation  is  slight,  and  the  propor- 
tions of  oxygen  varying  between  208  and  210  parts  in  1000 ;  but  this 
variation  was  found  to  go  as  low  as  205,  and  as  high  as  212.  These 
great  differences  never  occurred  suddenly ;  the  quantity  having  diminished 
or  increased  as  gradually  as  consists  with  such  a  description  of  facts.  M. 
Doyere  shows  that  his  results  harmonize  perfectly  with  those  of  MM. 
Boussingault  and  Dumas  obtained  at  Paris;  with  those  which  were 
obtained  by  M.  Stas  at  Brussels  ;  and  with  the  great  work  achieved  by  M. 
Lewy  with  respect  to  the  air  of  the  North  Sea,  and  that  of  Guadaloupe. 
He  also  proves  that  Dr.  Front's  experiments  on  the  weight  of  the  air, 
and  those  published  by  M.  Regnault,  agree  with  his  view  of  the  subject, 
and  prove  that  the  air  is  continually  varying. 

He  shows,  also,  that  the  densities  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen  given  by  M. 
Regnault  do  not  agree  with  the  composition  of  the  air  when  stated  to 
contain  only  209  of  oxygen  ;  and  that  they  indicate  213  thousandths  of 
oxygen  if  the  mean  density  of  nitrogen  be  adopted,  and  212  to  215  if  the 
extreme  densities  resulting  from  the  experiments  of  M.  Eegnault  be  pre- 
ferred.— Comptes  Rendus ;  Philos.  Mag.  No.  220. 


ANALYSIS  OF  IMPURE  AIB. 

Lassaigne  has  examined  the  nature  of  the  Air  of  those  places  where 
men  and  were  living  in  a  crowded  state,  and  where  there  was  hardly  any 
communication  with  the  external  atmosphere.  The  results  obtaine4 
were  almost  invariably  the  same.  Of  100  volumes  of  air  there  were 
79.35  to  80.10  azote,  19.35  to  20.10  oxygen,  0.52  to  0.62  carbonic 
acid.  The  air  near  the  ceiling  contained  as  much  carbonic  acid  as  that 
near  the  floor. 

Grager,  of  Miihlhausen,  ascertained  the  proportion  of  ammonia  con- 
tained in  the  atmospheric  air,  by  allowing  the  latter  to  pass  through 
hydrochloric  acid,  and  binding  it  thus  to  platina.  He  found  that  1.06 
cubic  metre  at  0°  C.  contained  0.0008466  grammes  of  carbonate  of  am- 
monia, or  that  100,000  parts  of  atmospheric  air  contained  0.6148,  that 
is,  three-fifth  millionths  of  carbonate  of  ammonia.  An  inquiry  on  rainy 
days  and  in  dry  weather  was  attended  with  the  same  results. 


ozone  in  the  atmosphere, 
Professor  Schonbein  has  stated  that  the  peculiar  substance  to  which 
he  has  given  the  uame  of  Ozone  is  to  be  detected  in  varying  proportions 
in  the  Atmosphere ;  in  which  it  is  to  be  discovered  by  a  mixture  of  iodide 
of  potassium  and  starch.  Slips  of  paper  are  smeared  with  the  following 
composition :  a  drachm  of  common  starch  is  mixed  with  an  ounce  of 
boiling  water,  and  the  solution  boiled  until  it  is  of  the  consistence  of  that 
used  in  the  laundry  :  then  twelve  grains  of  iodide  of  potassium  are  to  be 


T74  YKAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

added,  and  the  whole  well  mixed  together.  'I'he  presence  of  ozone  is  in- 
dicated by  the  decomposition  of  the  potassium  salt  and  the  formation  of  a 
blue  iodide  of  starch.  Dr.  MofTatt,  from  the  results  which  he  has  ob- 
tained (and  a  great  number  of  specimens  showing  the  changes  produced 
on  the  iodide  of  potassium  were  exhibited  to  the  Section),  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  presence  of  ozone  in  large  quantities  in  the  atmo- 
sphere is  invariably  attended  with  catarrh  and  mucous  diarrhoea. — Fro- 
needings  of  the  BritUh  Association. 

AIR  AND  WATER  OF  TOWNS. 

A  REPORT  on  this  inquiry  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  by 
Dr.  Smith.  In  commencing  his  statement,  the  author  says,  it  has  long 
been  believed  that  the  Air  and  the  Water  have  the  most  important  in- 
fluence on  our  own  health,  and  superstitions  have  therefore  constantly 
attached  themselves  to  receptacles  of  the  one  and  emanations  of  the 
other.  The  town  has  always  been  found  to  differ  from  the  country  :  this 
general  feeling  is  a  more  decisive  experiment  than  any  that  can  be  made 
in  a  laboratory.  The  author  proceeds  to  examine  all  the  sources  from 
which  the  air  or  the  water  can  be  contaminated.  The  various  manu- 
factures of  large  towns,  the  necessary  conditions  to  which  the  inhabitants 
are  subjected,  and  the  deteriorating  influences  of  man  himself,  are  ex- 
plained. If  air  be  passed  through  water,  a  certain  amount  of  the  organic 
matter  poured  off  from  the  Inngs  is  to  be  detected  in  it.  By  continuing 
this  experiment  for  three  months,  Dr.  Smith  detected  sulphuric  acid, 
chlorine,  and  a  substance  resembling  impure  albumen.  These  substances 
are  constantly  being  condensed  upon  cold  bodies,  and  in  a  warm  atmos- 
phere the  albuminous  matter  soon  putrilics  and  emits  disagreeable  odours. 
The  changes  which  this  substance  undergoes  by  oxidation,  &c.,  are  next 
examined,  and  shown  to  give  rise  to  carbonic  acid,  ammonia,  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen,  and  probably  other  gases.  The  ammonia  generated 
fortunately  from  the  same  sources  as  the  sulphuretted  hydrogen  materially 
modifies  its  intiueuces.  The  consequences  of  the  varying  pressure  of  the 
atmosphere  have  been  observed  ;  and  it  is  shown  that  the  exhalations  of 
sewers,  &c.,  are  poured  out  in  abundance  from  every  outlet  when  the 
barometric  pressui-e  is  lowered.  By  collecting  the  moisture  of  a  crowded 
room  by  means  of  cold  glasses,  and  also  dew  in  the  open  air,  it  was  found 
that  one  was  thick,  oily,  and  smelling  of  perspiration,  capable  of  decom- 
position and  production  of  animalcules  and  conferva,  but  the  dew 
beautifidly  clear  and  limpid.  Large  quantities  of  rain-water  have 
frequently  been  collected  and  examined  by  Dr.  Smith ;  and_  he  says, — I 
am  now  satisfied  that  dust  really  comes  down  with  the  purest  rain,  and 
that  it  is  simply  coal  ashes.  No  doubt  this  accounts  for  the  quantity  of 
Bolphites  and  chlorides  in  the  rain,  and  for  the  soot,  which  are  the  chief 
ingredients.  The  rain  is  often  alkaline,  arising  probably  from  the  am- 
monia of  the  burnt  coal,  which  is  no  doubt  a  valuable  agent  for  neutra- 
lizing the  sulphuric  acid  so  often  found.  The  rain-water  of  Manchester 
is  about  2i°  of  hardness, — harder,  in  fact,  than  the  water  from  the 
neighbouring  hills  which  the  town  intends  to  use.  This  can  only  arise 
from  the  ingredients  obtained  in  the  town  atmosphere.     But  the  most 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  175 

curious  point  is  the  fact  that  organic  matter  is  never  absent,  althougli  the 
rain  be  continued  for  whole  days.  The  state  of  the  air  is  closely  con- 
nected with  that  of  the  water ;  what  the  air  contains  the  water  may 
absorb, — what  the  water  has  dissolved  or  absorbed  it  may  give  out  to  the 
air.  The  enormous  quantity  of  impure  matter  filtering  from  all  parts  of 
c  large  town  into  its  many  natural  and  artificial  outlets,  does  at  first  view 
present  us  with  a  terrible  picture  of  our  underground  sources  of  water. 
But  when  we  examine  the  soil  of  a  town,  we  do  not  find  the  state  of 
matters  to  present  that  exaggerated  character  which  we  might  suppose. 
The  sand  at  the  Chelsea  Waterworks  contains  only  1"43  per  cent,  of 
organic  matter  after  being  used  for  weeks.  In  1827,  Liebig  found 
nitrates  in  twelve  wells  in  Giessen,  but  none  in  wells  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  from  the  town.  Dr.  Smith  has  examined  thirty  wells  in 
Manchester,  and  he  finds  nitrates  in  them  all.  Many  contained  a  sur- 
prising quantity,  and  were  very  nauseous.  The  examination  of  various 
wells  in  the  metropolis  showed  the  constant  formation  of  nitric  acid ;  and 
in  many  wells  an  enormous  quantity  was  detected.  It  was  discovered 
that  all  organic  matter,  in  filtrating  through  the  soil,  was  very  rapidly 
oxidized.  The  presence  of  the  nitrates  in  the  London  water  prevents 
the  formation  of  any  vegetable  matter :  no  vegetation  can  be  detected, 
even  by  a  microscope,  after  a  long  period.  The  Thames  water  has  been 
examined  from  near  its  source  to  the  metropolis,  and  an  increasing 
amount  of  impurity  detected.  In  the  summary  to  this  report,  Dr. 
Smith  states  that  the  pollution  of  air  in  crowded  rooms  is  really  owing 
to  organic  matter  and  not  merely  carbonic  acid, — that  all  the  water  of 
great  towns  contains  organic  matter, — that  water  purifies  itself  from 
organic  matter  in  various  ways,  but  particularly  by  converting  it  into 
nitrates, — that  water  can  never  stand  long  with  advantage  unless  on  a 
large  scale,  and  should  be  used  when  collected,  or  as  soon  as  filtered. 


CHLORIDE  OF  GOLD  AS  A  TEST  OF  ORGANIC  MATTER  IN  COMMON  WATER. 

M.  A.  DuPAsauiEB  states,  that  after  having  found  by  numerous  ex- 
periments that  nitrate  of  silver  was  an  uncertain  test  of  the  presence  of 
organic  matter  in  waters,  he  tried  other  processes,  and  at  last  found  that 
Chloride  of  Gold  might  be  successfully  employed.  The  method  of  em- 
ploying it  is  to  put  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  grammes  of  the  water  to 
be  examined  into  a  flask,  and  to  add  to  it  sufficient  solution  of  perfectly 
neutral  chloride  of  gold  to  render  it  slightly  yellow,  and  afterwards  to 
boil  it.  If  the  water  contains  only  the  usual  quantity  of  organic  matter 
found  in  drinkable  waters,  it  retains  its  yellow  colour ;  if,  on  the  con- 
trary, it  contains  an  undue  proportion  of  organic  matter,  it  immediately 
becomes  brown,  then  assumes  a  violet  or  bluish  tint,  which  indicates  the 
decomposition  of  the  chloride  of  gold  by  the  organic  matter.  By  con- 
tinuing the  ebullition,  the  violet  or  bluish  tint  becomes  deeper,  if  the 
proportion  of  organic  matter  be  considerable ;  but  if  the  liquid  becomes 
slightly  brownish  or  greenish,  it  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  water 
contains  an  unusual  quantity  of  organic  matter.  The  solution  of  gold 
must  contain  no  excess  of  hydrochloric  acid,  as  that  would  prevent  the 


170  YEAU-BOOK  OF  FACTS, 

decomposing  action  of  the  organic  matter. — Jnurn.  de  PJiarm.  etde  Chim. 
See  the  entire  paper  in  the  Fhilosophical  Magazine,  No.  219. 

NEW  INVESTIGATIONS  OF  SEA-WATER. 

FoRCniiAMMER  has  found  the  water  of  the  Mediterranean  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  jNlalta  to  contain  more  salt  water  than  that  of  any 
other  locality.  1,000  parts  of  it  contained  37.177  solid  matters,  an*d 
among  these  20.046  chlorine.  All  sea-water,  after  being  filtered,  con- 
tains carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime  in  solution,  also  silica ;  but  of  the 
latter  never  more  than  0.03  in  1,000  parts.  Lewy  ascertained  the 
nature  of  gases  contained  by  the  sea  in  solution  at  various  times  of  the 
day.  These  experiments  were  instituted  in  the  mouths  of  August  and 
September  near  Langrune  (department  of  Calvados),  and  from  them  it 
appears  that  there  is  more  oxygen  at  daytime  than  at  night,  but,  as  re- 
gards carbonic  gas,  just  the  contrary  is  the  case.  The  portion  of  oxygen 
varied  from  32.5  to  34.4  per  cent.;  that  of  carbonic  acid  from  12!o  to 
19.4  per  cent. ;  that  of  azote  from  48.1  to  53.7  per  cent.  There  was 
also  found  a  small  quantity  of  hydrosulphuric  acid,  about  0.25  to  0.75 
per  cent. — Chemical  Times^  No.  122. 

DETECTION  OF  FREE  SULPHURIC  ACID  ADDED  TO  WINES. 

The  Detection  of  a  small  proportion  of  Sulphuric  Acid  added  to  red 
wines,  cannot  be  effected  by  means  of  barytic  salts,  for  all  wines  contain 
greater  or  smaller  quantities  of  the  sulphates  of  potash  and  lime. 

M.  Lassaigne  states  that  in  an  examination  undertaken  by  him  and 
MM.  Ossian  Henri  and  Bayard,  they  found  that  it  was  not  possible  to 
separate,  by  the  action  of  pure  sulphuric  ether,  four  or  five  thousandths 
of  sulphuric  acid  added  to  red  wine,  and,  consequently,  that  this  method 
did  not  always  answer  in  proving  the  existence  of  tliis  acid  in  the  free 
state. 

After  many  attempts,  the  authors  ascertained  a  simple  reaction,  which 
allows  of  determining  the  presence  of  this  acid,  even  when  it  exists  in 
wines,  in  the  proportion  of  a  thousandth  and  a  half. 

When  a  piece  of  paper  which  has  been  touched  with  pure  wine  is  dried 
at  a  gentle  heat,  the  spotted  portion  is  unaltered ;  whereas,  paper  which 
has  been  moistened  with  wane  to  which  a  very  small  quantity  of  sulphu- 
ric acid  has  been  added,  reddens,  and  becomes  brittle  and  friable  between 
the  fingers,  when  slightly  rubbed,  before  tbe  paper  becomes  at  all 
coloured. 

Pure  wine,  to  whicb  nothing  has  been  added,  leaves,  by  spontaneous 
evaporation,  a  violet-blue  spot;  whereas  wine  to  which  a  very  small 
quantity  of  sulphuric  acid  has  been  added  (two  or  three  thousandths), 
gives,  by  drying,  a  rose-coloured  spot. 

On  examining  the  sensibility  of  tbis  simple  process,  the  authors  found 
that  they  were  able  to  detect  by  its  means  one  thousandth  5  of  sulphuric 
acid  in  red  wine. 

The  paper  most  proper  for  the  experiment  is  common  glazed  paper, 
containing  starch  or  fecula.  Tbis  kind  of  paper  is  well  known  in  com- 
merce ;  and  it  is  easy  to  discover  it  by  the  blue  coloui:  which  it  assumes 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  177 

when  moistened  with  an  aqueous  solution  of  iodine. — Journ.  de  Chim. 
Med.i  Philosophical  Magazine,  No.  212. 

FRIGORIFIC  MIXTURE. 

It  is  stated  by  M.  B.  T.  Jourdan,  that  when  a  mixture  is  made  of 
equal  weights  of  commercial  hydrochloric  acid  and  finely -powdered  sul- 
phate of  zinc,  the  Cold  produced  sinks  the  thermometer  from  50°  to  20°  F. 
— Journ.  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chim. 


ON  THE  DISTILLED  WATERS  OF  CHERRY-LAUREL  AND  BITTER 
ALMONDS.      BY  M.  LEPAGE. 

The  author  having  made  numerous  experiments  on  the  above  prepara- 
tions, has  deduced  from  them  the  following  summary  of  inferences : 

1.  Volatile  oil  and  hydrocyanic  acid  pre-exist  in  larg'e  quantity  in  the 
green  leaves  of  the  cherry-laurel ;  these  two  products  are  readily  separated 
by  means  of  ether. 

2.  Exsiccation  completely  dissipates  the  volatile  oil  and  hydrocyanic  acid, 
and  consequently  deprives  them  of  their  medicinal  and  poisonous  properties. 

3.  There  occurs,  however,  a  principle  in  the  dry  leaves  which  cold  water  is 
unfit  to  remove,  but  which  is  taken  up  by  boiling:  water,  or  still  better  by 
alcohol.  This  principle,  put  in  contact  with  milk  of  sweet  almonds,  acts 
like  a  solution  of  amygdalin. 

4.  There  is  no  advantage  in  allowing  before  distillation  the  green  leaves  of 
the  cherry-laurel  to  macerate  in  water,  even  with  the  addition  of  the  milk  of 
sweet  almonds,  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  stronger  distilled  water:  for 
the  cold  water  does  not  dissolve  the  substance  contained  in  these  leaves  ana- 
logous to  amygdalin,  and  susceptible  of  being  transformed  by  emulsion  into 
hydruret  of  benzoyle  and  prussic  acid. 

5.  In  the  decoction  remaining  after  distilling  the  leaves  of  the  cherry-laurel> 
the  bitter  matter  described  by  Winkler  always  occurs ;  this  is  susceptible  of 
being  transformed  into  essential  oil  and  hydrocyanic  acid  by  almond 
emulsion. 

6.  Cherry-laurel  water  distilled  from  dry  leaves,  first  macerated  in  boiling 
water,  to  which  milk  of  sweet  almonds  is  added  when  cold,  contains  hydro- 
cyanic acid  and  volatile  oil,  but  in  much  smaller  quantity  than  that  prepared 
with  fresh  leaves :  the  dry  leaves  ought,  therefore,  never  to  be  substituted 
for  them. 

7.  The  water  prepared  with  the  dry  leaves  macerated  in  cold  water,  before 
distillation,  contains  also  a  quantity  of  hydrocyanic  acid,  but  no  quantity  of 
volatile  oil  appreciable  by  the  minutest  tests. 

8.  The  various  reagents  which  it  is  convenient  to  employ  to  appreciate 
the  quantity  of  distilled  bitter  almond  and  cherry-laurel  waters  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes. 

First  C^a**.— Reagents  which  serve  to  prove  the  presence  of  hydrocyanic 
acid;  these  are  nitrate  of  silver,  acid  sulphate  of  ferrosoferric  oxide  of  iron 
and  potash,  and  proto-salts  of  mercury  : 

Second  C/a**.— Reagents  which  serve  to  prove  the  presence  of  the  volatile 
oil;  these  are,  ammonia,  ammoniuret  of  copper,  iodine  and  bromine:  chlo- 
rine, which  was  not  tried,  might  probably  act  like  the  two  last. 

9.  Ammonia,  the  sulphate  and  the  sulphotartrate  of  quina,  cannot  be  em- 
ployed to  determine  the  strength  of  distilled  chei-ry-laurel  and  bitter  almond 
waters ;  but  chloride  of  gold  employed  cold  in  proper  proportion,  appears 
suitable  for  this  purpose.  When  this  salt  reacts  upon  the  hot  distilled  waters, 
hydrochloric  acid  is  formed,  and  cyanide  of  gold  is  deposited  by  concentrating 
the  liquor. 

10.  The  distilled  waters  above  named,  when  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air 
in  wide  open  vessels,  simply  covered  with  paper,  lose,  after  a  certain  time, 
all  the  oil  and  acid  which  they  contain ;  the  bitter  almond  water  requiring 

N 


178  lEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

about  a  month,  and  the  cherry-laurel  water,  which  is  more  stable,  ten  weeks 
to  three  months. 

11.  These  distilled  waters  also  undergo  the  same  alteration  in  well-clORed 
vessels  if  partly  empty ;  but  when  the  vessel  is  small,  and  not  too  frequently 
opened,  the  waters  scarcely  lose  their  active  principles  in  four  or  five 
months. 

12.  At  the  expiration  of  twelve  months,  these  waters,  kept  in  vessels  per- 
fectly filled  and  with  g^lass  stoppers,  lost  none  of  their  active  principles.  In 
this  case,  as  also  when  kept  in  partially  full  bottles,  there  occurs,  after  a 
certain  time,  a  deposit  of  a  liffht  yellowish  sediment. 

13.  Lastly,  a  small  quantity  of  an  ammoniacal  salt  always  occurs  in  these 
distilled  waters  when  they  have  underg-one  change.— Jowrn.  de  Pharm.  et 
de  Chitn.;  Philosophical  Magazine,  No.  223. 


ARSENIC  IN  SULPHURIC  ACID. 

According  to  Dupasquier,  Arsenic  is  found  in  Sulphuric  acid  as 
Arsenious  acid.  He  does  not  think  tliat  hydrosulphuric  gas  is  capable  of 
removing  all  arsenic  ;  but  the  sulphuretted  alkalies,  aud  more  especially 
sulphuret  of  barium,  are  best  adapted  for  it.  Wohler  informs  us  that 
the  considerable  portion  of  arsenic  contained  (according  to  Meuser)  ia 
the  sulphuric  acid  from  Gaslar  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Government, 
and  the  experiments  instituted  for  the  removal  of  that  impurity  have 
shown  that  10,000  pounds  of  the  acid,  when  analyzed,  according  to 
Schnedermann,  contained  three-tenths  of  a  pound  of  arsenic.  Quite  a 
similar  result  was  obtained  by  Herzog. 


RED  CORPUSCLES  OF  THE  BLOOD. 

Dr.  Owen  Rees,  F.R.S.,  has  communicated  to  the  Philosophical 
Magazine,  No.  219,  a  series  of  investigations  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
change  from  Venous  to  Arterial  Blood  is  brought  about  by  the  contact  of 
Oxygen. 

We  have  not  room  to  quote  the  experiments ;  but  the  following  are 
the  leading  points  of  Dr.  Rees's  views  : — 

In  the  first  place,  he  does  not  consider  the  serum  or  any  part  of  the 
blood  to  contain  an  alkaline  carbonate,  but  only  to  yield  mch  salt  by 
incineration.  His  theory  for  the  production  of  the  arterial  tint  has  no 
reference  to  the  decomposition  of  a  carbonate  in  the  venous  blood,  but  to 
the  production  of  the  phosphate  of  soda  by  the  decomposition  of  animal 
organic  salts. 

Secondly,  the  analyses  which  have  been  made  of  arterial  and  venous 
blood,  showing  identity,  or  nearly  so,  of  the  ash  obtained,  are  in  no  way 
opposed  to  Dr.  Rees's  observations ;  for  the  reason  that,  when  the  whole 
blood  {clot  and  serum)  is  incinerated,  the  process  of  ignition  does  just 
what  respiration  would  do,  and  produces  phosphoric  acid  from  the  phos- 
phorized  fats  of  the  venous  blood-corpuscles.  The  difference  between  the 
two  kinds  of  blood  is  shown  by  the  incineration  of  the  serum  only  of  the 
two  kinds  of  blood ;  for  then  no  corpuscles  are  present  to  afford  phos- 
phorus to  the  venous  serum  for  the  production  of  phosphoric  acid. 

The  very  marked  degree  of  difference  which  Dr.  Rees  has  detected 
between  venous  and  arterial  serum,  leads  him  to  believe  that  the  quantity 
of  blood  circulating  is  far  less  than  is  generally  supposed. 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  179 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  as  yet  no  correct  means  of 
ascertaining  this  interesting  point. 


FORMATION  OF  HYPONITRITE  OF  SILVER. 

M.  Perioz  concludes  from  experiments, — 

1.  That  nitrate  of  silver  behaves  up  to  a  certain  point  similarly  to  the 
alkaline  nitrates,  being,  like  them,  partially  converted  by  heat  into 
hyponitrite. 

2.  That  this  hyponitrite  is  formed  only  in  the  presence  of  nitrates 
which  give  it  stability,  such  as  the  nitrates  of  silver,  potash,  soda,  and 
other  alkaline  nitrates. — Ann.  de  Ch.  et  de  Phys. ;  Fhilns.  Mag., 
No.  219. 


CHEMICAL  NATURE  OF  WAX. 

An  investigation  on  this  subject,  by  Mr.  B.  Collins  Brodie,  has  been 
read  to  the  Royal  Society,  and  will  be  found  at  full  in  the  Philosophical 
Magazine,  Nos.  221  and  223.  Mr.  Brodie  prefatorily  sums  up  the  pro- 
gress hitherto  made  in  this  inquiry,  which,  by  his  own  experiments,  he  is 
able  to  confirm  as  true. 

It  has  been  ascertained  that  wax  is  separable  by  alcohol  into  two  por- 
tions, which  have  been  called  cerine  and  myricine ;  that,  by  the  action  of 
potash  upon  wax,  an  acid  or  acids  may  be  obtained,  and  also  an  unsapo- 
nifiable  body,  ceraine ;  and  that  by  the  distillation  of  wax  we  obtain 
volatile  oils,  solid  hydrocarbon,  and  an  acid  which  has  been  surmised  to 
be  margaric  acid,  from  its  resemblance  to  that  substance. 

Mr.  Brodie  then  gives  to  the  Society,  in  three  sections,  the  results  of 
his  investigation  on  the  Nature  of  Wax.  The  first  paper  contains  an 
inquiry  as  to  the  constitution  of  the  so-called  cerine;  or  that  portion  of 
the  bees'-wax  which  is  the  more  soluble  in  boiling  alcohol.  The  second 
paper  treats  of  the  chemical  constitution  of  a  wax  from  China,  a  substance 
which,  although  it  considerably  differs  in  its  appearance  and  properties 
from  bees'-wax,  in  the  form  in  which  it  comes  before  us  in  nature,  is 
nevertheless,  chemically  speaking,  closely  analogous  to  that  body.  In  a 
third  paper  is  considered  the  nature  of  myricine,  the  other  constituent  of 
the  bees'-wax  itself.  To  ensure  the  purity  of  the  wax  used  in  the  experi- 
ments, Mr.  Brodie  prepared  it  himself  from  the  comb.  It  was  made  by 
bees  in  the  county  of  Surrey,  in  the  years  1845  and  1846. 


COLOURING  MATTERS  OF  MADDER. 

Mr.  J.  HiGGiN,  in  a  paper  read  to  the  British  Association,  after 
describing  the  three  Colouring  Matters  of  Madder — xanthin,  rubiacin,  and 
alizarin,  and  the  means  he  employs  to  separate  them  in  a  pure  form, — 
proceeds  to  show  that  the  opinion  usually  entertained — that  it  is  the 
alizarin  only  which  is  the  valuable  part  of  madder — is  incorrect ;  and 
several  experiments  were  adduced  to  prove  that  in  proper  circumstances, 
such  as  obtain  in  ordinary  madder  dyeing,  the  xanthin  and  rubiacin  con- 
tribute very  materially  to  the  effect.  They  are  shown  not  to  act  directly, 
but  become  changed  into  alizarin,  which  then  combines  with  the  mor- 
dants.    This  change  is  considered  by  the  author  to  be  induced  by  a 


180  YEAR-BOOK  OF  PACTS. 

peculiar  azotizcd  ferment  found  in  madder,  whereby  xanthin  becomes 
rubiacin,  and  this  latter  alizarin ;  and  the  opinion  is  held  out  that  all 
colouring  matter  in  madder  is  derived  primarily  from  xanthin. 

■WHITENING  LACE. 

M.  Blanchet  has  described  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences^  the 
serious  consequences  resulting  from  the  process  of  Whitening  Brussels 
Lace  to  the  persons  employed  in  it.  In  this  process  the  carbonate  of  lead 
is  used ;  and  a  large  portion  of  it  is  carried  into  the  atmosphere,  where  it 
is  inhaled,  and  thus  produces  a  serious  affection  of  the  intestines.  It  is 
also  very  injurious  to  the  sight  and  to  the  hearing.  M.  Leroy  D'Etiolles 
submitted  a  new  and  improved  lithotritic  instrument. — Atheneeuniy 
No.  1051. 


I 


CHLOROrORM. 

Composition. — Prof.  Brande  has  delivered  at  the  Royal  Institution,  a  lec- 
ture "On  the  Composition  of  Ether  and  Chloroform,  and  their  Physiological 
Effects."  Having  given  a  succinct  outline  of  the  chemical  history  of 
ether,  from  the  first  notice  of  this  substance  in  the  Dispensatories  of  the 
16th  century  to  the  present  time,  Prof.  Brande  noticed  the  more  recent 
discovery  of  the  nature  and  composition  of  chloroform  by  Dumas,  Liebig, 
and  other  continental  philosophers.  The  formation  of  these  bodies  was 
traced  from  their  ultimate  elements.  It  was  shown  how  growing  vege- 
tables elaborate  starch  from  the  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  which 
they  derive  from  the  soil — how  starch  may  be  made  to  pass  into  sugar — 
and  how,  in  the  process  of  fermentation,  sugar  is  converted  into  alcohol 
— how  alcohol,  as  was  experimentally  demonstrated,  is  split  up  (as  it 
were)  into  ether  and  water  when  brought  into  contact  with  oil  of  vitriol 
at  a  particular  temperature.  The  derivation  of  chloroform  from  the 
same  substance  (alcohol)  by  means  of  chlorine,  with  the  aid  of  a  basic 
oxide,  was  explained.  The  curious  relation  of  this  liquid  to  the  acid  de- 
rived from  ants  (from  which  its  name  originates),  as  well  as  the 
modern  hypotheses  in  regard  to  organic  metalloids,  were  briefly 
stated,  and  many  experiments  were  made  to  demonstrate  the  phy- 
sical and  chemical  properties  of  ether  and  chloroform.  The  re- 
maining portion  of  Prof.  Brande's  discourse  was  devoted  to  an  inquiry 
into  the  physiological  effects  of  the  vapours  of  these  substances. 
These  effects  were  classified  as  being  comprised  in  five  definite  and  pro- 
gressive stages: — 1.  In  the  first  stage,  which  is  transient,  the  patient  is 
exhilarated,  but  conscious  of  what  passes  before  him,  able  to  direct  the 
motions  of  his  limbs,  and  sensitive  to  pain.  2.  In  the  second  stage  men- 
tal functions  as  well  as  voluntary  movements  are  performed,  but  irregu- 
larly. The  patient  knows  not  where  he  is; — is  generally,  but  not 
always,  ready  to  do  what  he  is  directed.  This,  according  to  Dr.  Snow, 
who  has  investigated  the  whole  subject  with  great  accuracy,  is  the  stage 
of  dreams.  3.  It  is  in  the  third  stage  that  the  mental  functions  and 
voluntary  movements  become  dormant,  although  external  impressions 
may  here  produce  involuntary  action.  Any  pain  inflicted  in  this  stage 
might  call  forth  a  groan,  but  it  would  not  be  expressed  by  articulate 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  181 

words.  4.  In  the  fourth  stage  no  movement  besides  that  occasioned  by 
the  action  of  the  heart  and  lungs  takes  place.  This  stage  is  charac- 
terised by  the  snoring  of  the  patient,  which  indicates  him  to  be  in  a 
condition  of  absolute  insensibility.  5.  In  the  fifth  stage,  which  has  been 
witnessed  only  in  the  inferior  animals,  the  breathing  becomes  laboured 
and  irregular,  involuntary  and  voluntary  muscles  are  alike  powerless, 
respiration  and  circulation  successively  cease,  and  death  ensues. 

Having  alluded  to  the  psychological  question  whether  (as,  for  example, 
in  the  second  stage)  it  was  possible  that  pain  should  be  felt,  but  not  remem- 
bered afterwards.  Prof.  Brande  concluded  by  remarking  that  this  new 
application  of  chloroform  exhibited  organic  chemistry  from  a  point  of 
view  from  which  philosophers  delighted  to  regard  it ;  that  a  proof  was 
here  afforded  of  the  utility  of  every  discovery ;  while  the  hope  was  en- 
couraged that  human  researches  in  this  branch  of  science  might,  ere  long, 
be  rewarded  by  obtaining  something  which,  in  its  capability  of  benefiting 
mankind,  might  become  in  regard  to  chloroform  what  chloroform  was  to 
ether. 

Effect  on  Animals. — Dr.  Plouviez,  of  Lille,  has  experimented  on  a  dog 
with  chloroform.  A  small  dog,  weighing  about  eight  pounds,  was  made 
to  inhale  a  gramme  and  a  half  of  chloroform.  At  the  expiration  of  10  to 
15  seconds  the  animal  was  in  a  state  of  insensibility.  The  breathing  was 
soon  difiicult,  and  in  a  short  time  the  animal  was  dead.  The  time  that 
elapsed  between  the  exhibition  of  this  dose  (about  the  twentieth  part  of 
an  ounce)  and  death  was  a  minute  and  a  half.  On  dissection,  there  was 
nothing  to  indicate  the  cause  of  death.  Dr.  Plouviez,  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain what  course  could  be  taken  in  the  event  of  such  an  accident  occurring 
to  a  human  patient,  made  several  experiments  with  various  animals  which 
were  ceasing  to  breathe  after  the  use  of  chloroform.  He  introduced  air 
into  the  lungs  in  the  same  way  as  is  done  with  persons  who  have  been 
suffocated  with  the  fumes  of  charcoal,  by  stimulating  the  act  of  respira- 
tion, and  from  time  to  time  slightly  compressing  the  chest.  By  adopting 
this  means,  all  the  animals  speadily  resumed  their  former  state.  In 
some  cases  he  even  waited  until  the  breathing  had  entirely  ceased,  and 
the  animals  were  apparently  dead.  In  various  periods  of  time  from 
thirty  seconds  to  four  minutes,  he  was  able  to  bring  them  to  life. 

Chloroform  in  Manufcxtures. — The  powerful  solvent  capabilities  of 
chloroform  are  now  by  experiment  fully  established.  Caoutchouc,  resin, 
copal,  and  gum-lac, — bromine,  iodine,  the  essential  oils,  &c.,  yield  to  its 
solvent  power.  This  property  may,  it  is  believed,  prove  extensively  of 
advantage  in  many  of  the  tine  and  useful  arts. — Pharmaceutical  Times, 

A  EIVAL  TO  CHLOROPOEM. 

A  NEW  agent  for  producing  insensibility  to  pain  has  lately,  it  is 
asserted,  been  discovered  in  Norway,  and  tried  with  much  success  in 
Christiania.  The  Morgenblad  states  that  it  consists  of  sulphate  of 
carbon,  which  may  be  obtained  in  abundance  from  charcoal  with  very 
little  trouble  and  at  a  small  cost.  It  is  employed  in  the  same  way  as 
chloroform,  the  place  of  wliich  it  will  probably  soon  take.  The  discovery 
has  been  made  by  ]VL  Herald  Thaulow,  an  apothecary  in  Christiania. 


182  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

EFFECT  OF  CHLOROFORM  ON  SENSITIVE  PLANTS. 

Dr.  Mariet  states,  in  the  Ti-ansactions  of  the  Physical  Society  of 
Geneva :  '*  If  a  drop  or  two  of  pure  chloroform  be  placed  on  the  point  of 
the  common  petiole  of  a  leaf  of  the  sensitive  plant,  the  petiole  is  soon 
seen  to  droop,  and  directly  afterwards  the  leaflets  collapse  in  succession, 
pair  by  pair,  beginning  with  those  that  are  situate  at  the  extremity  of 
each  branch.  A  minute  or  two  afterwards  (the  time  varying  with  the 
irritability  of  the  plant),  most  of  the  leaves  near  that  on  which  the 
chloroform  was  placed,  and  situate  below  it  on  the  same  stem,  drooped 
one  after  the  other,  and  their  leaflets  collapsed,  although  not  in  so  decided 
a  manner  as  those  of  the  leaf  to  which  the  chloroform  was  applied.  After 
a  certain  time,  which  varies  with  the  condition  of  the  plant,  the  leaves 
gradually  open  ;  but  when  touched  they  are  no  longer  irritated  so  as  to 
collapse,  as  they  do  in  their  natural  condition.  They  remain  in  this 
passive  state,  benumbed  as  it  were,  for  a  considerable  time,  and  it  is  not 
generally  until  some  hours  have  elapsed  that  they  regain  their  original 
sensibility.  If,  however,  while  in  this  passive  state,  the  leaves  be  again 
touched  with  chloroform,  they  collapse  as  before.  It  is  not  till  after 
several  doses  that  they  lose  their  sensibility  entirely,  or  at  all  events 
until  the  next  day ;  sometimes  they  wither  completely  after  too  many 
applications  of  the  chloroform.  The  purer  the  chloroform,  and  the  greater 
the  excitability  of  the  plant,  the  greater  are  the  eff'ects  produced.  If, 
instead  of  putting  the  chloroform  on  the  base  of  the  petiole,  a  little  be 
droj)ped  on  the  leaflets  near  the  extremity  of  a  branch,  the  eff'ect  is  very 
nearly  the  same  as  before.  The  leaflets  on  the  brancJh  collapse  pair  by 
pair,  the  common  petiole  droops,  then  the  leaflets  on  the  other  branches 
approach  others  in  their  turn.  At  the  end  of  two  or  three  minutes,  the 
nearest  opposite  leaf,  and,  if  the  plant  is  active,  most  of  the  other  leaves 
lower  down  on  the  same  si  em,  follow  their  example.  "When,  after  a  time, 
the  leaves  reopen,  they  manifest  the  same  insensibility  as  before. 

What  is  most  curious  in  all  this  is  the  manner  in  which  the  action  of 
the  chloroform  spreads  from  branch  to  branch,  and  from  leaf  to  leaf, 
though  the  liquid  disappears  by  evaporation  almost  as  soon  as  it  is  placed 
on  the  plant.  The  action,  as  has  just  been  seen,  seems  to  advance  from 
the  leaf  to  the  stem,  and  then  down  the  latter ;  as  a  general  rule,  those 
leaves  which  are  above  the  one  acted  on  by  the  chloroform  are  not 
afiected.  De  CandoUe,  on  making  similar  experiments  on  the  same  plant 
with  a  drop  of  nitric  or  sulphuric  acid,  observed,  on  the  contrary,  that 
the  leaves  above  that  touched  were  afi'ected,  while  those  below  were  not. 
This  fact  is  explicable  by  consideriDg  the  corrosive  poison  as  borne  along 
by  the  ascending  sap ;  that  is,  of  course,  from  below  upwards.  But  how- 
are  we  to  explain  the  apparent  transmission  of  the  efi'ects  of  the  chloroform 
in  the  opposite  direction,  from  above  downwards  ?  Is  it  the  descending 
sap  w  hich  has  the  peculiar  property  of  carrying  the  narcotic  efi'ects  of  this 
peculiar  compound  from  one  part  of  the  sensitive  plant  to  another  ?  or 
can  there  be  in  this  plant  any  special  organs  susceptible  of  being  afi'ected 
by  certain  vegetable  poisons  in  any  way  not  unlike  that  in  which  the 
nervous  system  of  animals  is  afi'ected  ?  Notwithstanding  the  interest- 
ing facts  made  known  by  Dutrochet  and  others,  this  subject  is  still  in  too 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  183 

uncertain  a  state  to  enable  a  cautious  man  to  give  any  opinion.  Experi- 
ments of  the  same  kind  as  the  above,  made  with  rectified  ether,  gave 
results  somewhat  similar  to  those  just  detailed. 


PASSAGE  OF  HYDROGEN  THROUGH  SOLID  BODIES. 

M.  Lou  YET  states,  that  if  a  current  of  Hydrogen  Gas  emanating  from 
a  capillary  orifice  be  directed  against  a  sheet  of  paper  held  a  few  milli- 
metres from  the  orifice,  so  that  the  current  be  perpendicular  to  it,  the 
paper  is  traversed  by  the  gas.  But  the  gas  is  not  sifted  through  as  might 
have  been  expected :  it  passes  as  a  current,  and  may  be  inflamed  behind 
the  paper  as  though  nothing  intervened  between  the  gaseous  current  and 
the  ignited  matter ;  and  farther,  spongy  platinum  becomes  incandescent 
behind  the  paper,  in  the  path  of  the  current,  if  the  paper  be  three  or  four 
centimetres  from  the  orifice,  provided  the  metal  is  placed  against  the 
paper,  or,  at  least,  a  very  slight  distance  from  it.  The  pressure  under 
wh'ch  the  phenomenon  is  produced  does  not  exceed  from  ten  to  twelve 
cectimetres  of  water.  To  M.  Louyet's  great  surprise,  he  has  established 
tbat  hydrogen  gas  traverses  with  equal  facility  gold  leaf  and  beaten  silver. 
Tins,  surround  spongy  platinum  with  several  folds  of  gold  or  silver  leaf, 
and  direct  against  it  a  current  of  hydrogen,  the  platinum  will  become  iu- 
candescent,  and  the  gold  or  silver  will  adhere  to  its  surface.  Behind  leaf 
tin,  also,  spongy  platinum  is,  in  like  manner,  strongly  heated.  Through 
I  thin  membrane  of  gutta  percha,  such  as  is  obtained  by  evaporating  a 
slight  layer  of  it  from  a  solution  in  chloroform,  hydrogen  also  passes ; 
but  hydrogen  gas  does  not  sensibly  pass  through  pellicles  of  blown  glass, 
however  thin  they  may  be. — Literary  Gazette. 


PHOSPHORESCENT  LIGHT. 

Fis(;her  has  instituted  a  series  of  experiments  on  the  Light  produced 
from  Phosphorus,  from  which  it  appears  that  this  phenomenon  only 
attends  the  oxidation  of  the  phosphorus,  and  can,  therefore,  only  be  ob- 
tained when  the  metal  is  exposed  to  some  kind  of  air  containing  oxygen, 
and  until  the  latter  is  wholly  consumed.  In  the  vacuum  of  Torricelli,  no 
light  whatever  can  be  obtained,  even  by  heating  the  phosphorus  to  the 
boiling  point. — Chemical  Times,  No.  122. 


INFLUENCE  OF  LIGHT  IN  PREVENTING  CHEMICAL  ACTION. 

Mr.  R.  Hunt  has  described  this  phenomenon  to  the  British  Associa- 
tion. Having  called  attention  to  "several  experiments  in  which  certain 
luminous  rays  had  been  found  to  protect  photographic  agents  from 
chemical  change — particularly  in  the  researches  of  Sir  John  Herschel, — 
he  proceeded  to  describe  his  own  experimental  investigation  of  this  subject. 
Taking  a  piece  of  highly- sensitive  photographic  paper,  which  would 
blacken  in  a  few  seconds  by  the  light  of  an  argand  gas  burner,  he  threw 
upon  it  a  condensed  spectrum  which  had  been  previously  analyzed  by  a 
peculiar  yellow  medium  ;  and  then,  by  means  of  a  mirror,  reflected  the 
strong  light  of  the  sun  upon  the  paper.  It  was,  therefore,  under  the 
influence  of  the  unaltered  reflected  radiations,  and  also  of  the  spectrum, 


184  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

from  which  the  chemical  agency  had  been  as  nearly  as  possible  separated. 
The  result  was,  that  the  paper  was  blackened  over  every  part  except  that 
portion  upon  which  the  strong  line  of  spectral  light  fell,  which  was  pro- 
tected from  change  and  'preserved  as  a  white  band  in  the  midst  of  the 
darkened  paper.  This  experiment  was  thought  by  the  author  strongly 
confirmatory  of  the  view  which  he  had  taken,  that  actinism,  or  the 
chemical  principle,  and  light,  so  far  from  being  identical,  are  opposed  in 
action  to  each  other. — Athenaum,  No.  1086. 

ON  THE  COLOURED  PHOTOGRAPHIC  IMAGE  OF  THE  SOLAR  SPECTRU3£. 
BY  M.  EDMOND  BECftUEREL. 

The  author,  in  the  course  of  his  researches  upon  the  chemical  action 
of  Light,  was  led  to  this  remarkable  fact,  that  the  Solar  Spectrum  cculd 
form  its  image  with  colours  corresponding  to  its  own,  upon  a  plate  of 
silver  properly  prepared.  For  this  purpose,  the  plate  may  be  attacked  by 
free  chlorine,  with  the  precautions  indicated  in  the  note  presented  to  the 
Academy :  the  sensitive  coating  which  is  formed  upon  the  surface  of  the 
plate  is  red  in  the  prismatic  red,  yellow  in  the  yellow,  green  in  the  green, 
blue  in  the  blue,  and  violet  in  the  violet.  The  reddish  tint  turns  to 
purple  in  the  extreme  red,  and  extends  even  beyond  Fraiiuhofer's  line  i ; 
as  to  the  violet,  it  continues  far  beyond  A,  gradually  becoming  moE 
feeble.  When  the  action  of  the  spectrum  is  permitted  to  last  a  long  tim«, 
the  tints  become  dark,  and  the  image  finally  takes  the  metallic  lustre: 
the  colours  have  then  disappeared. 

According  to  the  preparation  of  the  plate  and  the  thickness  of  the  sen- 
sitive coating,  any  of  the  tints  of  the  spectrum  may  be  made  to  predo- 
minate :  thus,  a  surface  well  prepared,  and  previously  in  diflfused  light 
coloured  purple  under  a  deep  red  glass,  gives  a  beautiful  coloured  photo- 
graphic image  of  the  spectrum,  in  which  the  orange,  yellow,  the  green, 
and  the  blue,  are  marked  with  the  greatest  clearness.  The  substance 
formed  upon  the  surface  of  the  silver  is  not  the  white  chloride,  but 
probably  a  subchloride,  since  it  is  not  strongly  coloured  beyond  the  visible 
violet,  as  the  chemically  precipitated  chloride  is,  and  the  maximum  of 
action  is  found  in  the  yellow,  where  the  maximum  of  luminous  intensity 
is,  or  moves  towards  the  red,  according  to  the  preparation  to  the  plate. 
To  get  a  tolerably  rapid  action,  it  is  necessary  to  use  a  strongly  concen- 
trated spectrum.  These  effects  explain  the  red  colour  of  the  chloride  of 
silver,  and  of  the  sensitive  paper  formed  with  that  compound,  in  the  red 
rays,  which  has  been  already  observed  by  MM.  Seebeck  and  Herschel. 

The  author  has  succeeded  in  preparing,  by  means  of  free  chlorine,  and 
also  by  using  bichloride  of  copper,  a  sensitive  coating  of  the  chloride  of 
silver,  so  impressed  that  now  only  certain  parts  of  the  spectrum  are 
represented  with  their  colours ;  but  besides,  white  light  makes  a  white 
impression. 

The  compound  formed  upon  the  surface  of  the  silver  by  the  action  of 
chlorine,  is  the  only  one  hitherto  found  which  shows  the  properties  here 
mentioned.  Up  to  the  present  time,  it  appears  necessary  to  keep  the 
coloured  prismatic  images  in  the  dark,  and  the  author  has  not  found  the 
means  of  fixing  it  under  the  influence  of  light.    If  the  fixation  could  be 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  185 

accomplished,  and  if  the  sensitiveness  of  the  material  was  greater,  we 
could  not  only  draw,  but  also  paint  by  light ;  nevertheless,  the  results 
mentioned  show  that  the  solution  of  the  problem  is  possible. 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  PHENOMENA. 

There  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Action  of  the  Red,  Orange,  and  Yellow  Rays  upon  Iodized  and  Bromo- 
iodized  Silver  Plates  after  they  have  been  affected  by  Day-light,  and 
other  Phenomena  of  Photography,"  by  M.  Claudet.  It  was  sho^^^l  by 
MM.  E.  Becquerel  and  Gaudin,  that  a  photographic  image  on  a 
Daguerreotype  plate  might  be  developed  by  the  action  of  the  light  which 
permeates  yellow  and  red  glasses,  without  the  aid  of  mercurial  vapour. 
M.  Claudet  has  continued  his  researches  on  this  point,  and  he  con- 
firms those  results  in  a  very  striking  manner.  Numerous  specimens 
were  exhibited,  in  which  it  was  shown  that  the  powers  of  the  so-called 
continuating  rays  in  developing  the  image  were  not  much  inferior  to  the 
mercurial  vapour — presenting  a  positive  image  like  it,  but  differing  from 
it  in  the  tint  by  which  it  is  suffused.  M.  Claudet  suspects  that  this 
result  is  owing  to  the  decomposition  of  the  iodide  and  bromo-iodide  of 
silver  by  the  least  refrangible  rays,  and  that  the  whites  are  represented 
by  finely  divided  silver  in  the  place  of  mercury.  The  rate  of  action  when 
the  chemical  agency  permeates  these  coloured  media  is  infinitely  reduced 
for  these  preparations ;  but  still  it  is  evident  that  some  of  the  photo- 
graphic principle  permeates  them,  and  also,  that  those  rays  which  cor- 
respond in  colour  with  those  media  have  a  peculiar  scale  of  action  of  their 
own. — Atherueum,  No.  1086. 


THE  PHOTOGRAPHOMETER. 

This  instrument  has  been  invented  by  Mr.  A.  Claudet,  for  indicating 
to  the  Photographer  the  intensity  of  the  chemical  rays,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  sensitiveness  of  his  preparation. 

The  apparatus  is  very  simple,  and  serves  equally  for  processes  on  paper 
or  on  metallic  plates.  It  indicates  the  intensity  of  the  chemical  rays  at 
all  moments  of  the  day  during  atmospheric  variations,  and  at  the  instant 
we  may  wish  to  operate.  It  serves  also  to  compare  the  degree  of  sensi- 
tiveness of  the  different  photographic  preparations. 

For  an  instrument  of  this  kind,  it  is  important  in  the  first  place  to 
have  a  motion  always  uniform,  without  complicated  or  expensive  me- 
chanism. This  is  obtained  by  a  means  founded  upon  the  principle  of 
the  fall  of  bodies  sliding  down  an  inclined  plane.  The  sensitive  surface 
is  exposed  to  the  light  by  the  rapid  and  uniform  passage  of  a  metal  plate 
having  openings  of  different  lengths  which  follow  a  geometric  progres- 
sion. It  is  evident  that  the  exposure  to  light  will  be  the  same  for  each 
experiment,  because  the  plate  furnished  with  the  proportional  openings 
falls  always  with  the  same  rapidity,  the  height  of  the  fall  being  constant, 
and  the  angle  of  the  inclined  plane  the  same.  Each  opening  of  this 
moveable  plate  allows  the  light  to  pass  during  the  same  space  of  time, 
and  the  effect  upon  the  sensitive  surface  indicates  exactly  the  intensity  of 
the  chemical  rays.    The  rapidity  of  the  fall  may  be  augmented  or  di- 


186  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

minished  by  altering;  the  inclination  of  the  plane  by  means  of  a  graduated 
arc,  furnished  with  a  screw,  by  which  it  may  be  tixed  at  any  angle. 
The  same  result  may  be  obtained  by  modifying  the  height  of  the  fall  or 
the  weight  of  the  moveable  plate.  The  photogenic  surface,  whether  it 
be  the  Daguerreotype  plate,  the  Talbotype  paper,  or  any  other  prepara- 
tion sensitive  to  light,  is  placed  near  the  bottom  of  the  inclined  plane. 
It  is  covered  by  a  thin  plate  of  metal  pierced  with  circular  holes,  which 
correspond  to  the  openings  of  the  moveable  plate  at  the  moment  of  the 
passage  of  the  latter,  during  which  the  sensitive  surface  receives  the  light 
wherever  the  circular  holes  leave  it  exposed. 

M.  Claudet  has  described  the  instrument  fully,  in  a  paper  communi- 
cated by  him  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  printed  in  the  Philo- 
sophical Magazine,  No.  223.  We  quote  an  illustration  of  the  use  of  the 
instrument. 

By  placing  beneath  each  series  of  holes  a  different  sensitive  surface, 
each  of  these  surfaces  will,  during  the  fall  of  the  moveable  plate,  receive 
the  same  proportion  of  the  same  light,  and  thus  their  different  degrees  of 
sensitiveness  may  be  compared.  In  this  manner  we  learn  the  compara- 
tive sensitiveness  of  different  preparations  of  the  iodide,  of  the  bromo- 
iodide  and  chloro-iodide  of  silver,  and  of  the  various  photogenic  papers  ; 
for  it  is  indispensable,  in  making  an  exact  comparison,  to  operate  with 
the  same  light,  and  during  strictly  the  same  space  of  time,  as  it  is  known 
that  the  light  varies  from  one  minute  to  another. 

M.  Claudet  announces  a  very  extraordinary  fact  which  his  apparatus 
has  furnished  him  with.  Pie  does  not  give  it  as  the  result  of  a  calcula- 
tion mathematically  correct ;  but  he  cannot  be  far  from  the  truth  in 
stating,  that  the  pure  light  of  the  sun  modifies  the  bromo-iodized  silver 
plate,  communicating  to  it  an  affinity  for  mercurial  vapour  which  pro- 
duces the  white  image  in  the  Daguerreotype,  in  a  space  of  time  which 
cannot  be  much  more  than  the  thousandth  part  of  a  second.  M.  Claudet 
made  the  experiment  in  the  following  manner : — He  let  the  light  of  the 
sun  fall  upon  the  plate  through  an  opening  of  a  millimetre,  whilst  this 
opening  passed  over  a  space  of  250  millimetres  in  one  quarter  of  a 
second,  as  near  as  he  could  judge ;  this  light  could  not  therefore  have 
acted  on  the  plate  during  much  more  than  the  yo^o^h  part  of  a  second, 
and  nevertheless  this  inconceivably  short  space  of  time  sufficed  to  pro- 
duce a  decided  effect. 

M.  Claudet  suggests  the  following  applications  of  his  photographo- 
meter — to  ascertain  :  What  is  the  effect  of  the  compound  light,  and  that 
of  the  different  separated  rays  of  the  solar  spectrum  ?  How  much 
photogenic  light  is  lost  by  reflection  from  parallel  mirrors,  prisms,  and 
other  substances,  and  by  refraction  through  lenses  ?  The  proportion  of 
photogenic  rays  in  the  lights  obtained  from  various  sources,  including 
that  produced  by  electricity  ?  If  the  photogenic  light  varies  with  the 
height  of  the  atmosphere  and  with  the  changes  of  temperature  ?  If  it  is 
affected  by  the  electrical  state  of  the  atmosphere  ?  In  fine,  what  is  the 
proportion  of  the  protogenic  rays  at  each  hour  of  the  day,  and  at 
different  points  in  space  at  a  given  moment  ? 


CHEMICAL  SCIENCE.  187 

ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  CREATINE,  ETC,      BY  DR.  GREGORY. 

After  some  remarks  on  the  present  state  of  animal  chemistry,  the 
author  commenced  by  giving  a  brief  account  of  the  recent  discoveries  of 
Liebig  in  regard  to  the  constituents  of  the  "juice  of  flesh,"  or  the  liquid 
contained  in  the  substance  of  the  muscles,  which  is  distinguished  from 
the  blood  by  the  large  quantity  of  free  acid  which  it  contains.  This  re- 
markable animal  fluid  has  been  found  by  liiebig  to  contain  phosphoric 
and  lactic  acids  in  large  quantity,  inosinic  acid  in  small  proportion,  and 
some  other  acids  not  yet  studied;  also  potash  in  large  quantity,  with  a 
little  soda,  a  considerable  proportion  of  magnesia,  and  a  little  lime, 
chloride  of  potassium,  with  a  little  chloride  of  sodium,  and,  besides  some 
compounds  of  animal  origin  not  yet  investigated,  the  new  base  creatinine, 
and  the  very  remarkable  substance  creatine,  first  discovered  by  Chevreul, 
but  in  vain  sought  for  by  Berzelius  and  other  chemists. 

He  then  described  the  process,  essentially  that  of  Liebig,  by  which 
creatine  is  extracted  from  the  flesh  of  quadrupeds,  birds,  and  fishes,  in  all 
of  which  hitherto  tried  it  has  been  found,  although  in  small  and  variable 
quantity.  A  table  was  exhibited,  showing  the  per-centage  obtained  from 
different  kinds  of  flesh  and  fish ;  and  the  result  was,  that  this  interesting 
substance  may  be  most  easily  and  cheaply  prepared  from  fish,  es])ecially 
the  cod,  herring,  salmon,  and  mackerel,  all  of  which  yielded  much  more 
than  beef  or  horse-flesh,  and  nearly  as  much  as  fowl,  which  was  the  most 
productive.  The  maximum  proportion  of  creatine  was  32  per  1,000 
parts  of  flesh;  the  average  about  TS  per  1,000. 

The  author  stated  that  he  had  found  inosinic  acid  only  in  the  flesh  of 
fowl  and  turkey ;  and  he  is  informed  by  Baron  Liebig,  that  it  is  quite 
possible  that  this  acid  may  also  have  been  confined  to  the  flesh  of  fowls 
in  his  experiments,  as  it  was  often  absent,  although  he  cannot  now  ascer- 
tain the  cases  in  which  it  was  present. 

He  concluded  by  stating,  that  as  creatine  is  found  in  the  urine  along 
with  creatinine,  it  appears  to  be,  in  part  at  least,  a  substance  intended  for 
excretion.  Its  crystalline  character  renders  this  probable;  and  at  all 
events,  if  it  has  any  function  to  perform  in  the  body,  that  function  is  not 
yet  known.  It  must  be  regarded,  in  the  meantime,  as  one  of  the 
numerous  series  of  less  complex  products  derived  from  the  decomposition, 
in  the  body,  of  the  effete  tissues ;  and  although  we  cannot  yet  produce  it 
artificially,  yet  from  the  rapid  progress  recently  made  in  the  study  of  the 
products  of  decomposition  of  the  albuminous  substances,  we  may  hope 
soon,  not  only  to  do  this,  but  also  to  discover,  frpm  these  products,  the 
true  formula;  of  the  albuminous  compound. — From  the  French :  Fhilos. 
Mag.  No.  220. 


188  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 


ZOOLOGY. 

NUMBER  OF  VERTEBRATE,  MOLLUSCOUS,  ARTICULATED,  AND  RADIATED 
ANIMALS. 

The  number  of  Vertebrated  Animals  may  be  estimated  at  20,000. 
About  1,500  species  of  mammals  are  pretty  precisely  known,  and  the 
number  may  probably  be  carried  to  about  2,000. 

The  number  of  Birds  well  known  is  4,000  or  5,000  species,  and  the 
probable  number  is  6,000. 

The  Reptiles  number  about  the  same  as  the  Mammals — 1,500  desdribed 
species — and  they  will  probably  reach  the  number  of  2,000. 

The  Fishes  are  more  numerous ;  there  are  from  5,000  to  6,000  species 
in  the  Museums  of  Europe,  and  the  number  may  probably  amount  to 
8,000  or  10,000. 

The  number  of  Molluscs  already  in  collections,  probably  reaches  8,000 
or  10,000.  There  are  collections  of  marine  shells,  bivalve  and  univalve, 
which  amount  to  5,000  or  6,000 ;  and  collections  of  land  and  fluviatile 
shells,  which  count  as  many  as  2,000.  The  total  number  of  molluscs 
would,  therefore,  probably  exceed  15,000  species. 

Among  the  articulated  animals,  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  number  of 
species.  There  are  collections  of  coleopterous  insects  which  number 
20,000  to  25,000  species ;  and  it  is  quite  probable,  that  by  uniting  the 
principal  collections  of  insects,  60,000  or  80,000  species  might  now  be 
counted ;  for  the  whole  department  of  articulata,  comprising  the  Crus- 
tacea, the  cirrhipeda,  the  insects,  the  red-blooded  worms,  the  intestinal 
worms,  and  the  infusoria,  as  far  as  they  belong  to  this  department,  the 
number  would  already  amount  to  100,000 ;  and  we  might  safely  com- 
pute the  probable  number  of  species  actually  existing  at  double  that  sum. 

Add  to  these  about  10,000  for  radiata,  echini,  star-fishes,  medusae,  and 
polypi,  and  we  have  about  250,000  species  of  living  animals;  and  sup- 
posing the  number  of  fossil  species  to  equal  them,  we  have,  at  a  very 
moderate  computation,  half  a  million  of  species. — Principles  of  Zoology, 
By  Agassiz  and  Gould.     Part  I. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  ANIMAL  SPECIES. 

Professor  C.  B.  Adams  states,  in  illustration  of  the  principles  of 
Distribution  of  Species,  as  connected  with  climate,  so  ably  enforced  by 
Professor  Agassiz,  that  four  hundred  species  of  moUusca  have  been  found 
in  a  small  part  of  the  island  of  Jamaica  in  a  few  weeks ;  that  one-fourth 
of  these  are  land-shells,  of  which  new  species  were  found  by  the  col- 
lector with  every  ten  miles  travel.  As  a  remarkable  example  of  the 
difference  oi  station  of  different  species,  a  small  salt  pond  on  the  peninsula 
of  Port- Royal  is  described,  in  which  Ceriihium  atratum  occurred  very 
abundantly  from  the  margin  to  eighteen  inches  depth,  where  C.  literatum 
commences,  and  extends  to  three  feet  in  depth.    Although  the  two 


ZOOLOGY.  189 

species  approximate  to  contact  at  the  zone  of  eighteen  inches  in  depth, 
they  do  not  intermingle. — American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts. 
Professor  S.  S.  Haldeman  has  stated  to  the  Association  of  American 
Geologists  and  Naturalists,  that  an  insect  was  sent  to  him  from  Rio,  by 
Dr.  J.  C.  Reinhardt,  with  information  that  this,  or  an  allied  species,  had 
been  seen  by  him  on  board  the  United  States  ship.  Constitution,  in 
Cochin  China,  and  subsequently  in  all  the  ports  of  the  Pacific — the  ship 
touching  at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  Western  Mexico,  and  passing 
Cape  Horn  and  Brazil — a  wider  geographical  distribution  than  has 
heretofore  been  given  to  this  genus.  The  insect  proves  to  be  an  Evania, 
and  its  extensive  distribution  is  attributable  to  the  fact  that  this  genus  is 
parasitic  on  the  Blatta  (or  cockroach)  which  is  known  to  be  extensively 
abundant  upon  ships  between  the  tropics. 

INFLUENCE  OF  TEMPERATURE. 

Lieut.  Spratt  has  presented  to  the  British  Association,  a  very 
interesting  report  "  On  the  Influence  of  Temperature  upon  the  Distribu- 
tion of  Fauna  in  the  jEgean  Sea,"  and  which  is  shown  to  be  the  govern- 
ing principle  of  the  distribution  of  the  marine  animals.  Among  the 
more  important  results  of  this  inquiry,  is  the  fact  that  we  have  the 
climate  of  a  parallel  represented  in  marine  depths  as  in  terrestrial  eleva- 
tion; and  thus  it  appears  that  density  in  depth  is  not  so  great  an 
antagonist  to  the  existence  of  animal  life  as  is  generally  supposed. 
Prof.  E.  Forbes  stated  that  Lieut.  Spratt's  researches  quite  confirmed 
the  correctness  of  the  views  he  had  taken  with  regard  to  the  distribution 
of  animals  and  plants :  and  the  further  researches  made  by  the  dredge 
since  the  time  he  first  announced  them  at  Cambridge,  had  likewise  done 
80.  Sir  E.  Belcher  generally  confirmed  the  correctness  of  Lieut.  Spratt's 
measurements  of  temperature  :  he  had  always  found  the  mud,  or  bottom 
of  the  sea,  of  the  same  temperature  as  the  water  directly  above  it ;  he 
had  seen  fish  brought  up  from  a  depth  of  150  fathoms.  The  bottoms  of 
vessels  were  examined  with  great  facility  by  means  of  tubes,  and  in  clear 
water  the  sea  bottom  had  been  seen  at  a  depth  of  thirty-three  fathoms. 
He  alluded  to  the  great  difierence  of  temperature  produced  by  currents  in 
the  sea.  Thus,  the  gulf-stream  often  exhibited  a  temperature  of  86**, 
whilst  the  surrounding  ocean  was  not  more  than  60°. — Prof.  E.  Forbes 
stated  that  animals  brought  up  from  a  depth  of  270  fathoms  lived  very 
well  in  water  on  the  deck  of  a  vessel :  thus  showing  that  pressure  had 
little  to  do  with  their  existence.  The  inference,  that  light  penetrated  to 
great  depths  in  the  ocean,  was  founded  on  the  existence  of  colour  in 
plants  at  those  great  depths.  As  a  proof  that  the  influence  of  temperature 
was  very  great,  he  might  state  that  an  entirely  diffex'ent  Fauna  and  Flora 
existed  in  the  gulf-stream  to  that  which  existed  on  its  borders. — Mr.  J. 
Ball  believed  that  adaptation  to  pressure  was  speedily  effected  in  animals. 
— Dr.  Carpenter  stated  that  animals  differed  in  their  power  of  bearing 
pressure.  The  condor,  in  descending  from  its  flight,  frequently  passed 
through  three  miles  of  atmosphere  in  a  few  moments.  The  whale  was 
said  to  go  from  the  surface  to  the  depth  of  1,000  fathoms.  Man,  although 
at  first  affected  by  the  rarefied  air  of  a  mountain,  soon  got  used  to  it, 


190  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

OSTEOLOGICAL  ERRGE. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  from  Dr.  Macdo- 
nald,  "  On  the  erroneous  Division  of  the  cervical  and  dorsal  Vertebrse, 
and  the  Connexion  of  the  first  Rib  with  the  seventh  Vetebra  in  the 
Mammifers,  and  the  true  normal  Position  of  the  Head  of  the  Ribs  in 
Mammals."  Dr.  Macdonald  pointed  out  an  interesting  application  of 
comparative  anatomy  of  the  osteology  of  mammals,  in  correction  of  an 
error  in  descriptive  zoology  introduced  by  the  illustrious  Cuvier,  and 
blindly  continued  by  all  succeeding  systematizers  and  copyists.  It  is  at 
present  the  received  opinion,  that  all  mammals  except  the  Brachypus 
have  seven  cervical  vertebrae— that  is  to  say,  unconnected  with  the  ribs. 
This  will  not  be  found  to  be  the  case  in  the  Quadrumana,  Camivora  (ex- 
cept  PhocEe),  Rodentia,  Pachydermata,  Pecora,  and  Cetacea.  In  all 
these  the  head  of  the  first  rib  is  articulated  opposite  the  intervertebral 
space,  and  partly  articulated  to  the  body  of  the  seventh  vertebra ;  and 
thus  becomes  a  dorsal  vertebra.  A  more  extended  examination  will 
show  that  the  normal  situation  of  the  head  of  the  rib  is  intervertebral . 
Thus,  in  Man  the  twelve  ribs  will  have  thirteen  vertebrae  connected  with 
them.  Dr.  Macdonald  referred  to  the  various  osteological  museums  in 
London,  Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow,  which  he  had  enjoyed  the  opportunity 
of  examining ;  the  skeletons  of  the  Seal,  Seahorse,  and  Kangaroo,  were 
the  only  exceptions.  Thus,  while  a  correction  of  a  widely-circulated 
error  was  proposed,  Dr.  Macdonald  at  the  same  time  suggested  the  geue- 
ral  principle  of  the  normal  situation  of  the  ribs  being  in  the  interspace 
of  the  vertebrae,  and  showed  the  extension  of  this  principle  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  rest  of  the  skeleton ;  where,  even  to  the  fingers  or  toes, 
this  may  be  exhibited.  The  second  part  of  the  communication,  showing 
the  analogy  between  the  arrangement  of  the  bones  of  the  arm  and  hand 
with  tie  foot  in  Man,  was  for  the  purpose  of  correcting  the  homologies 
that  have  been  proposed  for  the  pectoral  fins  in  the  osseous  fishes. — 
Athenceum,  No.  1089. 


MICROSCOPIC  EXAMINATION  OF  THE  BLOOD  AND  NERVES. 

There  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  series  of  "  Observa- 
tions on  the  Circulation  of  the  Human  Blood,  and  on  the  Structure  of 
the  Nerves  in  the  Glands  in  the  inferior  Surface  of  the  Tongue,"  by  Dr. 
A.  Waller.  The  author  describes  some  microscopic  observations  on  the 
minute  glands  at  the  inferior  surface  of  the  tongue.  These  minute  glands, 
of  about  the  size  of  a  pin's  head,  are  removed  by  him  from  the  living 
tongue,  and  immediately  subjected  to  observation  under  the  microscope, 
for  which,  by  their  transparent  nature,  they  are  particularly  adapted. 
He  states  that  by  this  means  he  has  been  enabled  to  discover  several 
points  relating  to  the  structure  of  glands  which  cannot  be  observed  in 
these  tissues  after  death.  The  movement  of  the  blood  through  the  capil- 
laries is  there  seen  for  the  first  time,  and  is  found  to  present  all  the  same 
phenomena  as  in  the  web  of  the  frog  or  other  transparent  tissues.  The 
nerves  distributed  to  the  various  cells  of  which  the  glands  consist  are  very 
numerous,  and  may  be  traced  to  the  extremities  of  the  separate  cells, 
where  they  terminate,  some  in  free  extremities,  others  in  vesicles  whose 


ZOOLOGY.  191 

diameter  is  several  times  larger  than  that  of  the  nerve  tube  itself.  Near 
their  union  with  the  glandular  duct  is  a  small  ganglion,  which  contains 
the  usual  elements,  viz.,  vesicular  globules  and  gelatinous  and  tubular 
fibres. 


NERVES  AS  A  HOMOLOGICAL  CHARACTER. 

Prof.  Owen  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Value  of  the  Origins  of  Nerves  as  a  Homological  Character."  The  author 
stated  that  he  was  led  to  offer  a  few  remarks  on  this  subject  from  the 
circumstance  that  the  supply  of  nerves  to  the  arms  of  man  from  the  lower 
cervical  pairs,  and  not  from  cranial  nerves,  had  formed  a  difficulty  to 
some  in  accepting  his  determination  of  the  general  homology  of  the  arms 
as  diverging  appendages  of  the  costal  arch  of  the  occipital  vertebra. 
Since  the  determination  of  a  general  homology  was  dependent  on  that  of 
the  special  homology  of  parts,  it  was  requisite  to  inquire  how  far  the  pre- 
liminary and  minor  conclusions  were  affected  by  that  condition  of  the 
nerves  which  had  been  supposed  to  invalidate  the  major  proposition  cited. 
The  author  assumed  that  it  would  be  granted  that  the  arms  of  man  were 
homologous  with  the  fore-limbs  of  beasts,  the  wings  of  birds,  the  pec* 
torals  of  fishes.  But  in  the  wing  of  the  fowl  the  nerves  were  derived 
from  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  pairs,  counting  backwards  from  the 
brain,  whilst  its  homologue  in  man  received  nerves  from  the  fifth  to  the 
eighth  pairs.  Taking  a  closer  instance  of  special  homology.  Prof.  Owen 
showed  that  the  wings  of  the  swan  derived  their  nerves  from  very  dif- 
ferent pairs  from  those  that  supplied  the  wings  of  the  swift ;  and  he  pre- 
sumed that  a  still  greater  difference  in  their  relations  to  the  neural  axis  must 
have  characterized  the  nerves  of  the  pectoral  paddles  in  the  ichthyosaur 
and  plesiosaur  respectively.  The  difference  in  the  origins  of  the  nerves 
of  homologous  parts  was  also  manifested  in  the  ventral  fins  of  fishes, 
which  present  such  great  varieties  of  relative  position  to  the  head  as  to 
afford  the  ichthyologist  his  characters  of  the  orders  Abdomitiales,  Tho- 
racici,  Jugulares.  Now,  if  these  differences  in  the  place  of  origin  of 
nerves  do  not  invalidate  the  conclusions  of  special  homology,  the  author 
contended  that  they  were  equally  inconclusive  against  the  determination 
of  general  homologies.  He  briefly  stated  the  facts  confirmatory  of  the 
ideas  of  Aristotle  and  Cuvier,  as  to  the  special  homology  of  the  arms  of 
man  with  the  pectoral  fins  of  fish  ;  and  summed  up  the  arguments  that 
had  been  given  in  his  work  on  the  "  Homologies  of  the  Skeleton,"  in 
favour  of  viewing  the  attachment  of  the  scapular  arch  to  the  occiput  in 
fishes,  as  the  normal  one,  in  relation  to  the  archetype,  and  as  proving 
that  arch  to  be  the  hseraal  one  of  the  occipital  vertebra,  and  the  pectoral 
fins  to  be  the  radiate  appendages  of  such  hsemal  arch. — Athenceumy 
No.  108S. 


LUMINOUS  SPECTRA  ON  THE  RETINA. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  "  On  the  Luminous 
Spectra  exerted  by  Pressure  on  the  Retina,  and  their  Application  to  the 
Diagnosis  of  the  Affections  of  the  Retina  and  its  Appendages,"  by  Dr.  A. 
Waller.     These  observations  relate  to  the  luminous  spectra  which  appear 


l93  yea:i-book  of  facts. 

in  the  field  of  vision  when  the  eyeball  is  compressed,  or  when  the  head 
has  received  a  sharp  blow,  and  in  various  other  circumstances.  After 
having  described  the  discoveries  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  others,  the 
author  goes  on  to  relate  his  own  observations,  and  finds  that  these  spectra 
vary  according  to  the  part  of  the  eyeball  which  is  compressed.  If  com- 
pressed at  the  upper  jjart  they  appear  to  be  most  bright,  and  consist  of 
several  concentric  rings  alternately  bright  and  dark.  He  shows  that 
these  spectra  may  be  employed  with  great  advantage  as  a  means  of  discri- 
minating the  diseases  of  the  retina  and  optic  nerve  from  those  which  affect 
the  crystalline  lens,  the  iris,  and  the  other  parts  in  front  of  the  retina.  In 
amaurosis,  glaucoma,  and  other  affections  of  the  nervous  parts,  the 
spectra  are  found  to  become  more  faint  in  proportion  as  the  nervous  powers 
are  injured,  and  are  entirely  absent  when  the  visual  powers  are  more 
deeply  impaired.  On  the  other  hand,  in  those  numerous  affections  of 
the  eye  where  the  rays  of  light  can  no  longer  form  their  images  on  the 
retina  on  account  of  the  opacity  of  the  parts  which  they  have  to  traverse, 
the  ocular  spectra  are  found  to  be  unimpaired  in  their  brightness.  The 
author  cited  uumerous  cases  in  confirmation  of  this  statement. — Athenaum, 
No.  1087. 


ANIMAL  TORPIDITY. 

Me.  R.  a.  Browne,  of  Philadelphia,  has  read  to  the  American  Asso- 
ciation a  paper  entitled,  "  Animal  Torpidity,"  He  first  treated  of  the 
respiration  of  hibernating  animals.  With  mammals  the  respiration  does 
not  cease  at  once,  but  gradually,  and  no  oxygen  is  consumed  by  the  ani- 
mal in  a  completely  torpid  state.  The  respiration  of  the  torpid  state  may 
be  only  imperfect,  as,  for  instance,  when  the  animal  breathes  and  then 
ceases  from  breathing  for  minutes,  and  it  may  be  for  hours.  Animals,  when 
about  to  enter  the  tori)id  state,  seek  retirement.  The  mammals  roll 
themselves  up  into  as  small  a  compass  as  possible,  and  retire  into  holes  or 
caverns ;  the  moilusca  retreat  into  their  shells ;  flies,  spiders,  &c.  creep 
into  holes. 

Opinions  are  various  upon  the  point  of  the  total  extinguishment  of 
respiration  during  torpidity.  Some  naturalists  assert,  that  in  hibernation 
animals  do  not  breathe,  while  others  contend  that  respiration  is  not 
extinct.  A  torpid  animal  immersed  in  carbonic  acid  gas  will  not  die. 
The  respiration  of  animals  is  subordinate  to  temperature — in  summer 
quick ;  in  autumn,  slow  ;  in  winter,  none  at  all.  Experiments  have  shewn 
that  hibernating  animals  consume  oxygen,  considerable  in  volume,  when 
in  an  active  state ;  that  the  consumption  diminishes  as  the  temperature 
falls ;  that  they  can  exist  in  an  air  which  will  neither  support  life  nor 
combustion  ;  that  in  a  torpid  state  the  consumption  of  oxygen  is  small : 
and  that  in  a  perfect  state  of  torpidity  no  oxygen  is  consumed,  and  there 
is  no  respiration. 

Mr.  Browne  is  also  of  opinion  that  torpidity  is  neither  life  nor  death, 
but  an  intermediate  state — neither  is  it  sleep  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 
word. 

The  circulation  of  hibernating  animals  is  suspended  in  a  state  of  pro- 
found torpidity. 


ZOOLOGY.  193 

The  digestion  also  is  arrested,  and  all  food  is  declined.  Absorption 
goes  on,  but  tbis  is  an  entirely  different  process  from  digestion.  The 
secretions  are  also  arrested.  The  organs  of  relation  are  paralyzed.  A 
torpid  dormouse  cannot  be  roused  by  a  shock  of  electricity ;  bats  do  not 
feel  wounds  or  hurts,  and  can'jbe  aroused  only  by  heat  and  currents  of  air. 

In  the  anatomical  structure  and  physiology  of  hibernating  animals,  a 
similarity  is  observed,  especially  in  the  construction  of  the  thymus  gland. 
Some  naturalists  are  of  the  opinion,  that  fat  or  the  omentum  is  provided 
as  a  covering  from  the  cold  or  for  consumption,  while  others  look  upon 
it  as  purely  an  accidental  circumstance.  Mr.  Browne  is  of  opinion 
that  fat  is  not  an  accidental  circumstance,  but  has  to  do  with  hibernation. 
The  blood  remains  in  a  fluid  state  during  hibernation. 

Mr.  Browne  considers  that  the  fibrine  and  albumen  which  are  deficient 
in  the  blood  of  hibernating  animals,  are  converted  into/«!^;  inconse- 
quence of  which  the  blood  is  preserved  from  concretibility,  and  the  store- 
house of  fat  is  laid  up,  upon  which  the  animal  subsists  when  digestion  is 
extinguished. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  habits  of  hibernating  animals  to  distinguish 
them,  for  their  habits  vary  in  different  countries.  Hibernation  may 
depend  on  a  difference  of  temperature.  Lizards  hibernate  in  France,  and 
do  not  in  the  Island  of  Santa  Cruz, 

The  immediate  causes  of  torpidity  are,  cold,  heat,  drought,  want  of 
oxygen,  and  necessity  for  repose. 


SKULLS  OF  CHIMPANZF.ES. 

Professor  Owen  has  read  to  the  Zoological  Society,  a  paper  on  the 
Skulls  of  adult  and  aged  male  and  female  Chimpanzees  from  the  Gaboon 
River,  much  exceeding  in  size,  and  specifically  distinct  from,  the  previously 
known  Troglodytes  niger.  The  existence  of  this  formidable  animal  in 
that  district  was  first  made  known  to  Professor  Owen  by  Dr.  Savage,  in  a 
letter,  dated  April  22,  1847,  which  contained  drawings  of  two  skulls 
obtained  by  him  in  that  locality ;  Professor  Owen,  therefore,  proposes  to 
call  it  Troglodytes  Savagei.  The  skulls  which  formed  the  subject  of  the 
paper  were  placed  in  Professor  Owen's  hands  by  Mr.  Stutchbury  of 
Bristol,  who  obtained  them  through  the  assistance  of  Captain  G.  Wag- 
staff,  who  visited  the  Gaboon  during  the  past  summer.  Professor  Owen 
entered  into  a  minute  comparison  of  the  corresponding  parts  of  T. 
Savagei  and  T.  ti'ger,  and  carefully  established  the  characters  which  prove 
a  true  specific  difference  between  them — observing  that  some  scepticism 
might  be  expected  from  naturalists  who  had  not  been  able  to  realize  those 
differences  by  the  actual  comparison  of  specimens ;  but  he  felt  no  doubt  but 
that,  as  was  the  case  of  the  Pithecus  mono,  more  extended  knowledge  of  the 
new  species  would  confirm  the  validity  of  its  distinction.  In  size,  the 
T.  Savagei  excels  even  the  great  orang,  the  skull  of  the  oldest  male 
measuring  II5  inches  in  length. — Athenmim,  No.  1062. 


DEATH  of  a  large  ELEPHANT  AT  LIVERPOOL. 

The  fine  Elephant,  Eajah,  so  many  years  the  boast  of  the  Liverpool 
Zoological  Gardens,  has  been  shot,  in  consequence  of  having  killed  his 

o 


194  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

keeper.  It  was  at  first  thought  advisable  to  destroy  the  elephant  by 
poison  ;  and  for  this  purpose,  two  ounces  of  prussic  acid,  with  twenty-five 
grains  of  aconite  (monkshood),  were  mixed  with  treacle,  and  adminis- 
tered in  a  bun.  This  the  animal  readily  devoured.  In  about  five  minutes 
he  betrayed  slight  symptoms  of  uneasiness  and  sickness,  sank  on  his 
knees,  lay  down  on  his  side,  and  made  a  spasmodic  movement  of  the  legs, 
as  if  dying.  It  was  then  thought  that  the  poison  was  taking  the  desired 
effect ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  he  recovered  himself,  rose,  and  walked  about 
his  stable,  and  appeared  in  his  ordinary  healthy  state.  In  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour,  as  the  poison  had  not  taken  eff'ect,  the  elephant  was 
shot  by  rifle-ball. 

This  elephant  had  been  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Atkins  between  eleven 
and  twelve  years  :  it  cost  him  £800,  and  at  the  time  of  its  death,  being 
improved  in  size  and  appearance,  was  estimated  worth  £1,000.  The 
animal  was  35  years  old,  and  the  following  are  its  principal  dimensions  : — 

Height,  10  feet ;  girth  of  body,  18  ft.  ;  length  along  the  back-bone,  12  ft. ; 
round  thickest  part  of  the  head,  12  ft. ;  round  the  top  of  trunk,  3  ft.  6  in.  ; 
length  of  the  trunk,  8  ft. ;  round  of  the  tusk,  1  ft. ;  round  the  fore  shoulder, 
1  ft.  6  in. ;  round  small  part  of  the  fore  leg,  3  ft. ;  round  the  foot,  4  ft. ;  length 
of  tusks,  4  ft. ;  length  of  the  ear,  2  ft.  3  in. ;  breadth  of  the  ear,  1  ft.  9  in. ; 
weight,  nearly  four  tons. 


THE  LLAMA  AND  ALPACA. 

A  COMMUNICATION  has  been  received  by  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences, 
from  M.  Christian  Bonafoux,  giviug  an  account  of  the  attempt  made,  by 
order  of  the  King  of  Holland,  to  acclimatize  the  Llamas  and  Alpacas  of 
Chili.  Four  years  ago,  thirty-four  of  these  animals,  males  and  females, 
were  imported  into  HoUaud,  and  put  into  the  royal  park,  Scheviningen, 
near  the  Hague,  where  they  have  propagated  freely.  The  climate  does 
them  no  injury,  and  they  merely  seek  the  shelter  prepared  for  them  when 
there  is  snow  on  the  ground. 


TREE  KANGAROO. 

A  SPECIMEN  of  the  Tree  Kangaroo,  (Bendrolagtis  mustusj,  the  first 
that  has  arrived  in  Europe  alive,  has  been  added  to  the  Menagerie  of  the 
Zoological  Society.  Its  habits,  &c.  are  perfectly  unknown,  audit  is  hoped 
that  the  specimen  now  here  may  live,  so  that  its  manners  may  be  better 
observed.  Its  general  appeai'ance  much  assimilates  to  the  common 
Kangaroo,  having  many  of  that  animal's  peculiarities.  We  find  the  upper 
lip  slit ;  the  claw  of  the  inner  toe  (hind  foot)  double,  as  in  the  Kangaroo. 
It  seems  to  have  the  power  of  moving  quickly  on  a  tree :  sometimes 
holding  tight  with  its  fore  feet,  and  bringing  its  hind  feet  up  together 
with  a  jump ;  at  other  times  climbing  ordinarily. — This  specimen  has 
been  engraved  in  No.  341  of  the  Illustrated  London  News. 

A  collection  of  living  animals  has  been  formed  in  Nabia  and  Senaar, 
for  the  Zoological  Society,  by  the  command  of  Ibrahim  Pacha,  and  which 
are  now  in  Cairo.  The  Society  have  received  five  ostriches,  shipped  at 
Bombay,  as  a  present  from  J.  W.  Hadow,  Esq. 


ZOOLOGY.  195 

THE  KIANG,  OR  WILD  HORSE. 

A  LIVE  specimen  of  the  Kiang  or  Wild  Horse,  (Equus  hemionus),  pur- 
chased at  Bagesur  by  the  Lieut. -Governor  of  India,  has  been  sent  to  Cal- 
cutta, from  whence  it  was  to  be  despatched  overland  to  the  Zoological 
Society  of  London.  It  was  some  eighteen  months  old,  and  about  twelve 
hands  in  height.  It  was  caught  when  very  young  on  the  elevated 
(15,000)  plains  of  Thibet,  and  has  been  thoroughly  tamed;  there  is 
every  probability,  therefore,  that  it  would  reach  England  in  good  condition. 

THE  ORNITHORHYNCHUS. 

Prop  Owen  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Os  Humero-capsulare  of  the  Ornithorhynchus."  He  referred  to  the 
discovery  by  Prof.  Nitzsch  of  a  small  accessory  bone  articulated  to  the 
coracoid  and  humerus  in  certain  birds,  called  "  os  humero-capsulare," 
and  stated  that  he  had  discovered  an  ossicle  attached  to  the  head  of  the 
humerus,  and  to  the  capsule  of  the  shoulder-joint,  of  the  Ornithorynchus 
paradoxus.  It  was  equally  distinct  fi'om  the  proximal  epiphysis  forming 
the  head  of  the  bone,  and  from  that  which  caps  the  great  tuberosity  in 
the  young  animal,  and  it  was  present  in  full-grown  Ornithorynchi.  It 
appeared  to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  Meckel ;  and,  although  but  a  small 
instance  of  resemblance  to  birds,  was  interesting  as  an  additional  proof  of 
the  affinities  of  the  paradoxical  mammal. — Athenceum^  No.  1088. 


THE  FRIGATE  BIRD. 

The  Bishop  of  Norwich  has  presented  to  the  Ipswich  Museum  of 
Natural  History,  a  specimen  of  the  Frigate  Bird,  of  which  his  lordship 
has  given  the  following  account : — It  is  literally  a  tenant  of  the  air ;  it 
lives  in  the  air,  sleeps  in  the  air,  and  never  comes  to  the  shore  except  in 
the  breeding  season.  The  explanation  of  this  extraordinary  phenomenon 
is  as  simple  as  possible.  It  is  admirably  constructed  for  the  purposes 
of  its  existence.  It  has  an  enormous  pouch  beneath  its  throat,  its  skin 
is  loose,  its  bones  and  arteries  are  like  air-vessels ;  and  with  an  extra- 
ordinary expansion  of  tail  and  wings,  it  can,  by  imbibing  a  quantity  of 
air,  and  rarefying  it  within  its  body,  become,  in  fact,  an  air-balloon.  In 
this  manner  it  floats  in  the  air,  even  during  sleep. 


THE  WILLOW  WREN. 

A  SPECIMEN  of  the  melodious  Willow  Wren,  {Sylvia  Hippolais  of 
Temminck),  was  killed  at  Eythorne,  near  Dover,  on  June  15  ;  this  being 
stated  in  the  Daily  News  as  the  first  instance  of  the  capture  of  the  bird  in 
the  British  Isles.  It  is  a  beautiful  specimen,  and  in  perfect  plumage  ; 
and  the  person  who  shot  it  was  attracted  by  its  extraordinary  loud  and 
melodious  song.  Gould  states,  in  his  "Birds  of  Europe,"  that  it  is  some- 
what singular  that  this  species,  so  familiar  to  every  naturalist  on  the 
Continent,  and  which  inhabits  the  gardens  and  hedgerows  of  those 
portions  of  the  coasts  of  France  and  Holland  that  ai-e  immediately  opposite 
our  own,  should  not,  like  the  rest  of  its  immediate  congeners,  more 
diminutive  in  size,  and  consequently  less  capable  of  performing  extensive 
flights,  have  occasionally  strayed  across  the  Channel,  and  enlivened  our 


196  TEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

groves  with  its  rich  song,  which  is  far  superior  to  that  of  either  of  the 
three  other  species  of  the  group,  and  only  equalled  by  those  of  the  black- 
cap and  the  nightingale. 

FISHING  WITH  CORMORANTS. 

Mr.  Salvin,  of  Croxdale,  has  obtained  from  Holland  four  tame 
Cormorants,  which  he  has  succeeded  in  training  to  the  Chinese  mode  of 
fishing.  Upon  one  occasion  they  fished  the  river  down  to  Hornby,  a 
distance  of  three  miles,  and  caught  as  many  trout  and  eels  as  filled  a 
moderate-sized  pannier.  A  ring  is  placed  round  their  necks,  to  prevent 
them  from  swallowing  large  fish,  but  which  leaves  them  at  perfect  liberty  to 
gulp  down  anything  not  exceeding  the  size  of  a  gudgeon.  The  heaviest 
iish  they  caught  was  a  trout  a  pound  and  a  half  weight ;  but  in  the  river 
Keir,  the  day  before,  one  of  them  brought  up  a  "  mort,"  weighing  two 
pounds.  The  birds,  on  these  occasions,  are  put  into  such  parts  of  a  river 
as  are  known  to  be  favourite  haunts  of  fish,  and  their  activity  under  water 
in  pursuit  of  fish  can  be  compared  to  nothing  so  appropriate  as  a  swallow 
darting  after  a  fly.  They  are  about  the  size  of  a  common  barn-door 
fowl,  and  have  their  wings  partially  clipped,  though  not  so  as  to  deprive 
them  altogether  of  the  power  of  flight. — Local  Newspaper. 


LARGE  AND  EXTINCT  BIRDS  OF  NEW  ZEALAND. 

Prof.  Owen  has  read  to  the  Zoological  Society,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Beaks  and  Skulls  of  Dinornis,  Palapteryx,  and  other  large  apparently 
Extinct  Birds  of  New  Zealand ;"  in  the  course  of  which  he  demonstrated 
that  the  conjecture  thrown  out  in  his  second  Memoir  on  Dinornis,  of  the 
existence  of  two  genera  among  the  remains  then  under  consideration,  was 
now  amply  confirmed.  The  beak  of  Palapteryx  is  decidedly  struthious. 
The  beak  and  skull  of  the  Dinornis  difler  very  essentially  from  any  form 
either  recent  or  extinct,  and  were  evidently  of  enormous  proportional 
power.  After  a  careful  and  detailed  examination  of  the  crania  of  these 
genera,  of  which  most  fortunately  there  are  two  nearly  perfect  examples, 
Prof.  Owen  directed  the  attention  of  the  meeting  to  the  cranium  of  a 
bird  found  in  exactly  the  same  state  as  the  preceding,  and  under  the  same 
conditions,  which  bears  the  closest  affinity  to  the  existing  Forphyrio, — 
still  abundant  in  New  Zealand  and  parts  of  Australia.  In  bulk,  however, 
it  is  nearly  four  times  larger.  To  this  form  Prof.  Owen  gives  the  name 
Notornis.  The  fourth  form  which  was  exhibited  he  referred  to  the  ex- 
isting genus  Nestor.  It  was  indicated  by  an  entire  u])per  mandible.  The 
paper  was  illustrated  by  drawings ;  and  the  bones  which  formed  the 
subject  of  them  were  exhibited  on  the  table  by  the  courtesy  of  Dr. 
Mantell,  for  whom  they  had  been  collected  by  his  son,  IMr.  Walter 
Mantell,  of  Wellington,  New  Zealand.  The  collection  formed  by  Mr. 
Mantell — which  is  of  much  larger  extent  than  any  previously  transmitted 
to  this  country — is  almost  entirely  from  the  volcanic  sand  of  Waingon- 
goro,  and  the  bones  are  consequently  in  a  very  different  condition.  Many 
of  them  are  as  perfect  as  if  they  had  just  been  taken  from  the  macerating 
tub ;  and  the  great  number  which  Mr.  Mantell  has  succeeeded  in  re- 
covering will  enable  Prof.  Owen  to  elaborate  the  structure  of  these  intc- 


ZOOLOGY.  197 

resting  birds  with  a  degree  of  completeness  which  could  scarcely  have 
been  hoped  for  when  the  idea  of  these  great  relics  of  the  gigantic  bird 
race  of  Polynesia  first  dawned  upon  the  world  in  1839.  Dr.  Mantell 
gave  a  lucid  account  of  the  circumstances  and  locality  in  which  the  re- 
mains were  found  ;  and  expressed  his  readiness  to  afford  an  opportunity 
of  examining  the  whole  series  to  any  members  of  the  Society  who  were 
desirous  of  availing  themselves  of  his  offer. — Athenaunu 

FOOD  OF  FOWLS. 

Capt.  Ibbotson  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  portions 
of  a  paper  which  he  has  translated,  by  Prof.  Sau,  "  On  the  Chemical  and 
Physiological  Phenomena  presented  by  Fowls  fed  on  Barley."  This 
paper  contained  the  results  of  an  elaborate  series  of  experiments  per- 
formed by  the  author  on  the  composition  of  tbe  food  and  the  excretions 
of  two  chickens.  It  was  found  that  hens,  when  sitting,  lose  a  great 
portion  of  their  weight ;  and  that  during  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the 
egg-shell  they  require  carbonate  of  lime.  The  carbonate  of  lime  appears 
held  in  solution  by  carbonic  acid  before  it  is  deposited  in  the  shell,  and  is 
s  ipplied  from  without.  The  albumen,  or  white  of  the  egg,  contained 
sufficient  phosphate  of  lime  to  account  for  this  substance  in  the  bones  of 
the  chick.  The  shell,  though  apparently  solid,  was  found  to  act  as  an 
organ  by  which  certain  gaseous  constituents  were  got  rid  of  from  the 
substance  of  the  egg, — thus  favouring  the  changes  going  on  in  the  albu- 
men and  yolk. 

ECHINUS  AND  ASTEEIAS. 

Peof.  Agassiz  has  made  to  the  Association  of  American  Geologists 
and  Naturalists,  a  communication  upon  the  subject  of  Echinoderms, 
shewing  that  there  is  no  essential  difference  between  the  types  or  families 
of  Echinus  and  Asterias.  He  explained  many  points  in  the  animal 
economy  of  the  Echinoderms  not  before  known,  and  shewed  the  affinities 
existing  between  the  Echinus  and  Asterias.  He  fully  proved  great  uni- 
formity of  structure  in  the  two  species.  He  shewed  that  Asterias  has  an 
external  skeleton  as  well  as  Echinus.  He  explained  the  circulation,  and 
while  speaking  of  the  functions  of  certain  organs,  took  occasion  to 
observe  that  physiologists  were  greatly  in  error  when  they  determined  an 
organ  by  its  function.  He  also  shewed  the  existence  of  minute  aquatic 
tubes  or  canals,  and  of  gills  injboth  species.  The  Echinoderms,  when 
first  taken  from  the  water,  are  of  a  brilliant  red  colour,  but  they  shortly 
change  to  a  bright  green  after  death.  They  can  only  be  obtained  from 
water  to  the  depth  of  from  90  to  150  and  200  feet.  Professor  Agassiz 
had  a  month's  excursion  in  one  of  the  United  States'  surveying  vessels, 
Lieutenant  Commanding  Davis,  on  the  coast,  and  collected  his  specimens 
during  this  excursion. 


LUCERNARIA. 

An  insulated  fact  of  great  interest  observed  in  a  Lucernaria  is,  that 
this  polypus  has  ocelli,  eight  in  number,  identical  iu  their  appearance 


198  TEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

with  the  eyes  of  the  Echinodermes  and  Madnsse,  and  placed  in  the  notches 
among  the  tentacular  fasciculse. — Professor  Agassiz. 

"  SINGING  SHELLS." 

Mr.  Lovell  Reeve  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  a 
"  Notice  of  an  Observation  made  by  Mr.  Taylor  at  Bathcaloa,  Ceylon, 
on  the  Sounds  emitted  by  Mollusca."  Going  at  night  on  the  lake 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  fort,  Mr.  Taylor  was  struck  by  a  loud 
musical  noise  proceeding  from  the  bottom  of  the  water.  It  is  caused  by 
multitudes  of  some  animal  inhabiting  shells, — at  least,  the  natives  call 
them  "  Singing  Shells."  The  sounds  are  like  those  of  an  accordion  or 
^olian  harp,  guitar,  or  such  like,  vibrating  notes,  and  pitched  in  diffe- 
rent keys. 

Lieut.- Col.  Portlock  then  drew  attention  to  the  Ilelix  apertus,  which  is 
very  remarkable  for  its  property  of  emitting,  when  irritated,  a  strong  and 
well-marked  sound,  which  Rossmaesler  describes  as  indicating  irritation. 
The  IIeli:v  apertus  is  very  abundant  in  Corfu,  appearing  sticking  on  the 
squill  leaves  in  the  spring,  when  about  the  beginning  of  March  the  annual 
increment  of  growth  of  the  shell  is  perfectly  soft.  If  the  animal  be  irri- 
tated by  a  touch  with  a  piece  of  straw  or  other  light  material,  it  emits  a 
distinctly  audible  sound,  possessing  a  singular  grumbling  or  querulous 
tone.  This  it  frequently  repeats  if  freshly  touched,  and  continues  so  to 
do  for  apparently  an  unlimited  space  of  time. 

THE  GKEAT  SEA-SERPENT. 

An  interesting  controversy  respecting  the  existence  of  the  Great  Sea- 
Serpent  has  been  excited  by  a  new  attestation  of  its  existence,  in  the 
following  communication  from  Plymouth,  dated  Oct.  7  : — 

"When  the  T^cedalus  frio;ate,  Captain  M'Quhae,  which  arrived  here  on  the 
4th  Inst.,  was  on  her  passage  home  from  the  East  Indies,  between  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  and  St.  Helena,  her  captain,  and  most  of  her  officers  and  crew,  at 
four  o'clock  one  afternoon,  saw  a  sea-serpent.  The  creature  was  twenty 
minutes  in  sight  of  the  frigate,  and  passed  under  her  quarter.  Its  head  ap- 
peared to  be  about  four  feet  out  of  the  water,  and  there  were  about  sixty  feet 
of  its  body  in  a  straight  line  on  the  surface.  It  is  calculated  that  there  must 
have  been  under  water  a  length  of  thirty  or  forty  feet  more,  by  which  it  pro- 
pelled itself  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  miles  an  hour.  The  diameter  of  the  exposed 
part  of  the  body  was  about  sixteen  inches;  and  when  it  extended  its  jaws, 
which  were  full  of  large  jagged  teeth,  they  seemed  sufficiently  capacious  to 
admit  of  a  tall  man  standing  upright  between  them.  The  ship  was  sailing' 
north  at  the  rate  of  eight  miles  an  hour.  The  Dcedalus  left  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  on  the  30th  of  July,  and  reached  St.  Helena  on  the  16th  of  August." 

Next  the  following  report,  by  Captain  M'Quhse,  was  forwarded  to  the 
Admiralty : — 

"Her  Majesty's  ship  Dadalus,  Hamoaze,  Oct.  11. 
"Sir,— In  reply  to  your  letter  of  this  day's  date,  requiring  information  as 
to  the  truth  of  a  statement  published  in  the  Times  newspaper,  of  a  sea-serpent 
of  extraordinary  dimensions  having  been  seen  from  her  Majesty's  ship  Da- 
dalus,  under  my  command,  on  her  passage  from  the  East  Indies,  I  have  the 
honour  to  acquaint  you,  for  the  information  of  mv  Lords  Commissioners  of 
the  Admiralty,  that  at  5  o'clock  p.m.,  on  the  6th  of  August  last,  in  latitude 


ZOOLOGY.  199 

24°  44'  S.,  and  longitude  9°  22'  E.,  the  weather  dark  and  cloudy,  wind  fresh 
from  the  N.W.,  with  a  long:  ocean  swell  from  the  S.W.,  the  ship  on  the  port 
tack  heading  N.E.  by  N.,  something  very  unusual  was  seen  by  Mr.  Sartoris, 
midshipman,  rapidly  approaching  the  ship  from  before  the  beam,  ^  The  cir- 
cumstance  was  immediately  reported  by  him  to  the  officer  of  the  watch, 
Lieutenant  Edgar  Drummond,  with  whom  and  Mr.  William  Barrett,  the 
Master,  I  was  at  the  time  walking  the  quarter-deck.  The  ship's  company 
were  at  supper. 

"  On  our  attention  being  called  to  the  object,  it  was  discovered  to  be  au 
enormous  serpent,  with  head  and  shoulders  kept  about  four  feet  constantly 
above  the  surface  of  the  sea ;  and  as  nearly  as  we  could  approximate  by  com- 
paring it  with  the  length  of  what  our  maintopsail-yard  would  show  in  the 
water,  there  was  at  the  very  least  sixty  feet  of  the  animal  d.  jleur  (Veau,  no 
portion  of  which  was,  to  our  perception,  used  in  propelling  it  through  the 
water,  either  by  vertical  or  horizontal  undulation.  It  passed  rapidly,  but  so 
close  under  our  lee  quarter,  that  had  it  been  a  man  of  my  acquaintance  I 
should  have  easily  recognised  his  features  with  the  naked  eye ;  and  it  did 
not,  either  in  approaching  the  ship  or  after  it  had  passed  our  wake,  deviate 
in  the  slightest  degree  from  its  course  to  the  S.  W.,  which  it  held  on  at  the  pace 
of  from  12  to  15  miles  per  hour,  apparently  on  some  determined  purpose. 

"  The  diameter  of  the  serpent  was  about  15  or  16  inches  behind  the  head, 
which  was,  without  any  doubt,  that  of  a  snake ;  and  it  was  never,  during  the 
20  minutes  that  it  continued  in  sight  of  our  glasses,  once  below  the  surface  of 
the  water :  its  colour  a  dark  brown,  with  yellowish-white  about  the  throat. 
It  had  no  fins,  but  something  like  the  mane  of  a  horse,  or  rather  a  bunch  of 
sea-weed,  washed  about  its  back.  It  was  seen  by  the  quartermaster,  the 
boatswain's  mate,  and  the  man  at  the  wheel,  in  addition  to  myself  and  officers 
above  mentioned. 

"  I  am  having  a  drawing  of  the  Serpent  made  from  a  sketch  taken  imme- 
diately after  it  was  seen,  which  I  hope  to  have  ready  for  transmission  to  my 
Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty  by  to-morrow's  post.— I  have,  &c. 

"  Peter  M'Quh^,  Captain. 

«  To  Admiral  Sir  W.  H.  Gage,  G.C.H.,  Devonport." 

The  drawing  above  named  was  subsequently  received  by  the  Lords  of 
the  Admiralty,  and  with  two  other  representations  of  the  animal,  all 
drawn  under  Capt.  M'Quhse's  eye,  were  engraved  in  the  Illustrated 
London  News,  No,  341,  for  Oct,  28,  1848 ;  and  these  three  representa- 
tions were  subsequently  certified  by  Capt.  M'Quhse  to  be  correct. 

This  number  of  the  Illustrated  London  News  also  contains  a  letter 
from  a  gentleman  long  resident  in  Norway,  and  addressed  to  the  Secretary 
to  the  Admiralty,  in  testimony  of  the  existence  of  a  sea-serpent ;  together 
with  an  interesting  precis  of  "  Evidences  of  the  former  appearance  of  the 
Sea-Serpent;"  and  an  illustrated  account  of  "the  Great  American  Sea- 
Serpent." 

Next  appeared  the  following  letter  addressed  by  Professor  Owen  to 
the  Editor  of  The  Times  .— 

Sir, —  Subjoined  is  the  answer  to  a  question  relative  to  the  animal 
seen  from  the  Bcedalus,  addressed  to  me  by  a  nobleman  distinguished  in 
literature,  and  taking  much  interest  in  science. 

As  it  contains  the  substance  of  the  explanation  I  have  endeavoured  to 
give  to  numerous  inquiries,  in  the  Hunterian  Museum  and  elsewhere, 
and  as  I  continue  to  receive  many  applications  for  my  opinion  of  the 
"  Great  Sea-Serpent,"  I  am  desirous  to  give  it  once  for  all  through  the 
medium  of  your  columns,  if  space  of  such  value  may  be  allotted  to  it. — 
I  am,  sir,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

Lincoln's-inn-fields,  Nov.  9.  Richabd  Oaven. 


200  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

The  sketch*  will  supfpest  the  reply  to  your  query,  "  whetlier  the  monster 
seen  from  the  Dcedalus  be  anything:  but  a  saurian  ?"  If  it  be  the  true  answer, 
it  destroys  the  romance  of  the  incident,  and  will  J)e  anythinj;  but  acceptable 
to  those  who  prefer  the  excitement  of  the  iinafrination  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  jude:ment.  I  am  far  from  insensible  to  the  i)Ieasure8  of  the  discovery  of 
a  new  and  rare  animal ;  but  before  I  can  enjoy  them,  certain  conditions— 
e.  g.  reasonable  proof  or  evidence  of  its  existence— must  be  fulfilled.  I  am 
also  far  from  undervaluing:  the  information  which  Captain  M'Quha  has  g-iven 
us  of  what  he  saw.  When  fairly  analysed,  it  lies  in  a  small  compass  ;  but  my 
knowledg:e  of  the  animal  kine:dom  compels  me  to  draw  other  conclusions  from 
the  phenomena  than  those  which  the  gallant  captain  seems  to  have  jumped  at. 
He  evidently  saw  a  lare:e  animal  moving  rapidly  throug-h  the  water,  very 
different  from  anything  he  had  before  witnessed— neither  a  whale,  a  grampus, 
a  great  shark,  an  alligator,  nor  any  other  of  the  large  surface-swimming 
creatures  which  are  fallen  in  with  in  ordinary  voyages.  He  writes,  "  On  our 
attention  being  called  to  the  object,  it  was  discovered  to  be  an  enormous 
serpent"  (read  "animal"),  "with  the  head  and  shoulders  kept  about  four 
feet  constantly  above  the  surface  of  the  sea.  The  diameter  of  the  serpent" 
(animal)  "was  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  inches  behind  the  head;  its  colour  a 
dark  brown,  with  yellowish  white  about  the  throat."  No  fins  were  seen  (the 
captain  says  there  were  none;  but  from  his  own  account  he  did  not  see 
enough  of  the  animal  to  prove  his  negative).  "  Something  like  the  mane  of  a 
horse,  or  rather  a  bunch  of  sea-weed,  washed  about  its  back."  So  much  of 
the  body  as  was  seen  was  "not  used  in  propelling  the  animal  through  the 
water,  either  by  vertical  or  horizontal  undulation."  A  calculation  of  its  length 
was  made  under  a  strong  preconception  of  the  nature  of  the  beast.  The  head, 
e.  g.,  is  stated  to  be  "without  any  doubt  that  of  a  snake;"  and  yet  a  snake 
would  be  the  last  species  to  which  a  naturalist  conversant  with  the  forms  and 
characters  of  the  heads  of  animals  would  refer  such  a  head  as  that  of  which 
Captain  M'Quhse  has  transmitted  a  drawing  to  the  Admiralty,  and  which  he 
certifies  to  have  been  accurately  copied  in  the  Illustrated  London  News  for 
October  28,  1848,  p.  265.  Your  Lordship  will  observe,  that  no  sooner  was  the 
captain's  attention  called  to  the  object,  than  "  it  was  discovered  to  be  an 
enormous  serpent ;"  and  yet  the  closest  inspection  of  as  much  of  the  body  as 
was  visible  dfleur  d^eau  failed  to  detect  any  undulations  of  the  body,  although 
such  actions  constitute  the  very  character  which  would  distinguish  a 
serpent  or  serpentiform  swimmer  from  any  other  marine  species.  The  fore- 
gone conclusion,  therefore,  of  the  beast  bein^  a  sea-serpent,  notwithstanding 
its  capacious  vaulted  cranium  and  stiff  inflexible  trunk,  must  be  kept  in  mind 
in  estimating  the  value  of  the  approximation  made  to  the  total  length 
of  the  animal,  as  "at  the  very  least  sixty  feet."  This  is  the  only  part  of 
the  description,  however,  which  seems  to  me  to  be  so  uncertain'as  to  be 
inadmissible  in  an  attempt  to  arrive  at  the  right  conclusion  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  animal.  The  more  certain  characters  of  the  animal  are  these  :— Head, 
with  a  convex,  moderately-capacious  cranium,  short  obtuse  muzzle,  gape 
of  the  mouth  not  extending  further  than  to'  beneath  the  eye,  which  is 
rather  small,  round,  filling  closely  the  palpebral  aperture ;  colour  dark  brown 
above,  yellowish  white  beneath ;  surface  smooth,  without  scales,  scutes,  or 
other  conspicuous  modifications  of  hard  and  naked  cuticle.  And  the  captain 
says,  "  Had  it  been  a  man  of  my  acquaintance,  I  should  have  e  isily  recog- 
nised his  features  with  my  naked  eye."  Nostrils  not  mentioned,  but  indicated 
in  the  drawing  by  a  crescentic  mark  at  the  end  of  the  nose  or  muzzle.  All 
these  are  the  characters  of  the  head  of  a  warm-blooded  mammal ;  none  of 
them  those  of  a  cold-blooded  reptile  or  fish.  Body  long,  dark  brown,  not 
undulating,  without  dorsal  or  other  apparent  fins  ;  "  but  something  like  the 
mane  of  a  horse,  or  rather  a  bunch  of  sea-weed,  washed  about  its  back." 
The  character  of  the  integuments  would  he  a  most  important  one  for  the 
zoologist  in  the  determination  of  the  class  to  which  the  above-defined  creature 
belonged.    If  any  opinion  can  be  deduced  as  to  the  integuments  from  the 

*  This  was  a  reduced  copy  of  the  drawing  of  the  head  of  the  animal  seen  by 
Captain  M'Quhse,  attached  to  the  submerged  body  of  a  large  seal,  showing 
the  long  eddy  produced  by  the  action  of  the  terminal  flippers. 


ZOOLOGY.  201 

above  indication,  it  is  that  the  species  had  hair,  which,  if  it  was  too  short  and 
close  to  be  distinguished  on  the  head,  was  visible  where  it  usually  is  the 
longest,  on  the  middle  line  of  the  shoulders  or  advanced  part  of  the  back, 
where  it  was  not  stiff  and  upright,  like  the  rays  of  a  fin,  but  "  washed  about." 
Guided  by  the  above  interpretation  of  the  "  rnane  of  a  horse,  or  a  bunch  of 
sea-weed,"  the  animal  was  not  a  cetaceous  mammal,  but  rather  a  great  seal. 
But  what  seal  of  large  size,  or  indeed  of  any  size,  would  be  encountered  in 
latitude  24°  44'  south,  and  longitude  9"  22'  east,  viz.  about  30O  miles  from  the 
western  shore  of  the  southern  end  of  Africa  ?  The  most  likely  species  to  be 
there  met  with  are  the  largest  of  the  seal  tribe,  e.  g.  Anson's  sea-lion,  or  that 
known  to  the  southern  whalers  by  the  name  of  the  "  sea-elephant,"  the 
Phoca  proboscidia,  which  attains  the  length  of  from  20  to  30  feet.  These 
great  seals  abound  in  certain  of  the  islands  of  the  southern  and  antarctic  seas, 
from  which  an  individual  is  occasionally  floated  off  upon  an  iceberg.  The 
sea-lion  exhibited  in  London  last  spring,  which  was  a  young  individual  of  the 
Phoca  proboscidia,  was  actually  captured  in  that  predicament,  having  been 
carried  by  the  currents  that  set  northward  towards  the  Cape,  where  its  tem- 
porary resting-place  was  rapidly  melting  away.  When  a  large  individual  of 
the  Phoca  proboscidia  or  Phoca  leonina  is  thus  borne  off  to  a  distance  from 
its  native  shore,  it  is  compelled  to  return  for  rest  to  its  floating  abode  after  it 
has  made  its  daily  excursion  in  quest  of  the  fishes  or  squids  that  constitute 
its  food.  It  is  thus  brought  by  the  iceberg  into  the  latitudes  of  the  Cape,  and 
perhaps  further  north,  before  the  berg  has  melted  away.  Then  the  poor  seal 
is  compelled  to  swim  as  long  as  strength  endures ;  and  in  such  a  predicament 
I  imagine  the  creature  was  that  Mr.  Sartoris  saw  rapidly  approaching  the 
Dtedalus  from  before  the  beam,  scanning,  probably,  its  capabilities  as  a 
resting-place,  as  it  paddled  its  long  stifl"  body  past  the  ship.  In  so  doing  it 
would  raise  a  head  of  the  form  and  colour  described  and  delineated  by  Capt. 
M'Quhae,  supported  on  a  neck  also  of  the  diameter  given ;  the  thick  neck 
passing  into  an  inflexible  trunk,  the  longer  and  coarser  hair  on  the  upper  part 
of  which  would  give  rise  to  the  idea,  especially  if  the  species  were  the  Phoca 
leonina,  explained  by  the  similes  above  cited.  The  organs  of  locomotion 
would  be  out  of  sight.  The  pectoral  fins  being  set  on  very  low  down,  as 
in  my  sketch,  the  chief  impelling  force  would  be  the  action  of  the  deeper 
immersed  terminal  fins  and  tail,  which  would  create  a  long  eddy,  readily 
mistakeable  by  one  looking  at  the  strange  phenomenon  with  a  Sea-Serpent 
in  his  mind's  eye  for  an  indefinite  prolongation  of  the  body. 

It  is  very  probable  that  not  one  on  board  the  Dcedaliis  ever  before  beheld 
a  gigantic  seal  freely  swimming  in  the  open  ocean.  Entering  unexpectedly 
upon  that  vast  and  commonly  blank  desert  of  waters,  it  would  be  a  strange 
and  exciting  spectacle,  and  might  be  well  interpreted  as  a  marvel ;  but  the 
creative  powers  of  the  human  mind  appear  to  be  really  very  limited,  and  on 
all  the  occasions  where  the  true  source  of  the  "  great  unknown"  has  been 
detected— whether  it  has  proved  to  be  a  file  of  sportive  porpoises,  or  a  pair 
of  gigantic  sharks— old  Pontoppidon's  sea-serpent  with  the  mane  has  uni- 
formly suggested  itself  as  the  representative  of  the  portent,  until  the  mystery 
has  been  unravelled. 

The  vertebrae  of  the  sea-serpent  described  and  delineated  in  the  "  Wernerian 
Transactions,"  vol.  i.,  and  sworn  to  by  the  fishermen  who  saw  it  ofi"  the  Isle 
of  Stronsa  (one  of  the  Orkneys)  in  1808,  two  of  which  vertebrae  are  in  the 
Museum  of  the  College  of  Surgeons,  are  certainly  those  of  a  great  shark,  of  the 
genus  selache,  and  are  not  distinguishable  from  those  of  the  species  called 
"  basking- shark,"  of  which  individuals  from  30  feet  to  35  feet  in  length  have 
been  from  time  to  time  captured  or  stranded  on  our  coasts. 

I  have  no  unmeet  confidence  in  the  exactitude  of  my  interpretation  of  the 
phenomena  witnessed  by  the  Captain  and  others  of  the  Dcedalus.  I  am  too 
sensible  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  characters  which  the  opportunity  of  a  rapidly 
passing  animal,  "  in  a  long  ocean  swell,"  enabled  them  to  note,  for  the  deter- 
mination of  its  species  or  genus.  Giving  due  credence  to  the  most  probably 
accurate  elements  of  their  description,  they  do  little  more  than  guide  the 
zoologist  to  the  class,  which,  in  the  present  instance,  is  not  that  of  the  ser- 
pent or  the  saurian. 

But  I  am  usually  asked,  after  each  endeavour  to  explain  Captain  M'Quhae's 


202  TEAB-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

sea-serpont,  "Why  there  should  not  be  a  g^reat  sea-serpent?"— often,  too,  in 
a  tone  which  seems  to  imply,  "  Do  you  think,  then,  there  are  not  more  mar- 
vels in  the  deep  than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy?"  And  freely  con- 
ceding that  point,  I  have  felt  bound  to  five  a  reason  for  scepticism  as  well  as 
faith.  If  a  2:is'antic  sea-serpent  actually  exists,  the  species  must  of  course 
have  been  perpetuated  through  successive  generations  from  its  first  creation 
and  introduction  in  the  seas  of  this  planet.  Conceive,  then,  the  number  of 
individuals  that  must  have  lived  and  died,  and  have  left  their  remains  to 
attest  the  actuality  of  the  species  during:  the  enormous  lapse  of  time  from  its 
beginning  to  the  6th  of  August  last !  Now,  a  serpent,  being  an  air-breathing 
animal,  with  long  vesicular  and  receptacular  lungs,  dives  with  an  effort,  and 
commonly  floats  when  dead  ;  and  so  would  the  sea-serpent,  until  decomposi- 
tion or  accident  had  opened  the  toneh  integument  and  let  out  the  imprisoned 
gases.  Then  it  would  sink,  and,  if  in  deep  water,  be  seen  no  more  until  the 
sea  rendered  up  its  dead,  after  the  lapse  of  the  oeons  requisite  for  the  yielding 
of  its  place  to  dry  land— a  change  which  has  actually  revealed  to  the  present 
generation  the  old  saurian  monsters  that  were  entombed  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean  of  the  secondary  geological  periods  of  our  earth's  history.  During  life 
the  exigencies  of  the  respiration  of  the  great  sea-serpent  would  always  compel 
him  frequently  to  the  surface  ;  and  when  dead  and  swollen— 

"  Prone  on  the  flood  extended,  long  and  large," 
He  would  lie 


floating  many  a  rood ;  in  bulk  as  huge 


As  whom  the  fables  name  of  monstrous  size, 
Titanian  or  earth-born,  that  warred  on  Jove." 

Such  a  spectacle,  demonstrative  of  the  species  if  it  existed,  has  not  hitherto 
met  the  gaze  of  any  of  the  countless  voyagers  who  have  traversed  the  seas 
in  so  many  directions.  Considering,  too,  the  tides  and  currents  of  the  ocean , 
it  seems  still  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  dead  sea-serpent  would  be 
occasionally  cast  on  shore.  However,  I  do  not  ask  for  the  entire  carcase. 
The  structure  of  the  back -bone  of  the  serpent  tribe  is  so  peculiar,  that  a  single 
vertebra  would  suflice  to  determine  the  existence  of  the  hypothetical  ophi- 
dian ;  and  this  will  not  be  deemed  an  unreasonable  request  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  the  vertebrae  are  more  numerous  in  serpents  than  in  any  other 
animal.  Such  large,  blanched,  and  scattered  bones  on  a  sea-shore,  would  be 
likely  to  attract  even  common  curiosity ;  yet  there  is  no  vertebra  of  a  serpent 
larger  than  the  ordinary  pythons  and  boas  in  any  museum  in  Europe. 

Few  sea- coasts  have  been  more  sedulously  searched,  or  by  more  acute  na- 
turalists (witness  the  labours  of  Sars  and  Loven),  than  those  of  Norway. 
Krakens  and  sea-serpents  ought  to  have  been  living  and  dying  thereabouts 
from  long  before  Pontoppidon's  time,  to  our  day,  if  all  tales  were  true  ;  yet 
have  they  never  vouchsafed  a  single  fragment  of  their  skeleton  to  any  Scan- 
dinavian collector ;  whilst  the  other  great  denizens  of  those  seas  have  been  by 
no  means  so  chary.  No  museums,  in  fact,  are  so  rich  in  the  skeletons,  skulls, 
bones,  and  teeth  of  the  numerous  kinds  of  whales,  cachalots,  grampuses, 
walruses,  sea  unicorns,  seals,  &c.,  as  those  of  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden ; 
but  of  any  large  marine  nondescript  or  indeterminable  monster,  they  cannot 
show  a  trace. 

I  have  inquired  repeatedly  whether  the  natural  history  collections  of  Bos- 
ton, Philadelphia,  or  other  cities  of  the  United  States,  might  possess  any 
unusually  large  ophidian  vertebrae,  or  any  of  such  peculiar  form  as  to 
indicate  some  large  unknown  marine  animal;  but  they  have  received  no 
such  specimens. 

The  frequency  with  which  the  sea-serpent  has  been  supposed  to  have  ap- 
peared near  the  shores  and  harbours  of  the  United  States  has  led  to  its  being 
specified  as  the  "American  sea-serpent;"  yet,  out  of  the  200  vertebrae  of 
ever^'  individual  that  should  have  lived  and  died  in  the  Atlantic  since  the 
creation  of  the  species,  not  one  has  yet  been  picked  up  on  the  shores  of  Ame- 
rica. The  diminutive  snake,  less  than  a  yard  in  length,  "killed  upon  the 
sea-shore,"  apparently  beaten  to  death,  "  bv  some  labouring  people  of  Cape 
Ann,"  United  States  (see  the  8vo.  pamphlet,  1817,  Boston,  page  38),  and 


ZOOLOGY.  203 

figTired  in  the  Illustrated  London  News,  October  28,  1848,  from  the  orig^inal 
American  memoir,  by  no  means  satisfies  the  conditions  of  the  problem. 
Neither  do  the  Saccopharynx  of  Mitchell .  nor  the  Ophiognathus  of  Harwood— 
the  one  4^  feet,  the  other  6  feet  long  :  both  are  surpassed  by  some  of  the  con- 
gers of  our  own  coasts,  and,  like  other  muraenoid  fishes  and  the  known  small 
sea-snakes  {Hydrophis)  swim  by  imdulatory  movements  of  the  body. 

The  fossil  vertebrae  and  skull,  which  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  Koch  in  New 
York  and  Boston  as  those  of  the  great  sea-serpent,  and  which  are  now  in 
Berlin,  belonged  to  different  individuals  of  a  species  which  I  had  previously 
proved  to  be  an  extinct  whale  ;  a  determination  which  has  subsequently  been 
confirmed  by  Professors  Miiller  and  Agassiz.  Mr.  Dixon,  of  Worthing,  has 
discovered  many  fossil  vertebrae  in  the  eocene  tertiary  clay  at  Bracklesham, 
which  belon?  to  a  large  species  of  an  extinct  genus  of  serpent  {Palceophis), 
founded  on  similar  vertebrae  from  the  same  formation  in  the  Isle  of  Sheppey. 
The  largest  of  these  ancient  British  snakes  was  20  feet  in  length;  but  there 
is  no  evidence  that  they  were  marine. 

The  sea  saurians  of  the  secondary  periods  of  geology  have  been  replaced  in 
the  tertiary  and  actual  seas  by  marine  mammals.  No  remains  of  Cetacea 
have  been  found  in  lias  or  oolite ;  and  no  remains  of  plesiosaur  or  ichthyosaur, 
or  any  other  secondary  reptile,  have  been  found  in  eocene  or  later  tertiaiy 
deposits,  or  recent  on  the  actual  s  a-shores  ;  and  that  the  old  air-breathing 
saurians  floated  when  they  died  has  been  shown  in  the  "  Geological  Transac- 
tions" (vol.  v.,  second  series,  p.  512).  The  inference  that  may  reasonably  be 
drawn  from  no  recent  carcase  or  fragment  of  such  having  ever  been  disco- 
vered, is  strengthened  by  the  corresponding  absence  of  any  trace  of  their 
remains  in  the  tertiary  beds. 

Now,  on  weighing  the  question  whether  creatures  meriting  the  name  of 
"  great  sea-serpent"  do  exist,  or  whether  any  of  the  gigantic  iharine  saurians 
of  the  secondary  deposits  may  have  continued  to  live  up  to  the  present  time, 
it  seems  to  me  less  probable  that  no  part  of  the  carcase  of  such  reptiles  should 
have  ever  been  discovered  in  a  i  ecent  or  unfossilized  state,  than  that  men 
should  have  been  deceived  by  a  cursory  view  of  a  partly  submerged  and  ra- 
pidly moving  animal,  which  might  only  be  strange  to  themselves.  In  other 
words,  I  regard  the  negative  evidence  from  the  utter  absence  of  any  of  the 
recent  remains  of  great  sea-serpents,  krakens,  or  Enaliosauria,  as  stronger 
against  their  actual  existence  than  the  positive  statements  which  have  hitherto 
weighed  with  the  public  mind  in  favour  of  their  existence.  A  larger  body  of 
evidence  from  eye-witnesses  might  be  got  together  in  proof  of  ghosts  than  of 
the  sea-serpent. 

To  this  letter  appeared  the  following  reply  in  the  Times : — 
Sir, — Will  you  do  me  the  very  great  favour  to  give  a  place  in  your 
widely-circulating  columns  to  the  following  reply  to  the  animadversions 
of  Professor  Owen  ou  the  serpent  or  animal  seen  by  me  and  others  from 
Her  Majesty's  ship  Dcedalus  on  the  6th  of  August  last,  and  which  were 
published  in  the  Times  of  the  14th  inst.  ? 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 
London,  Nov.  18.  P.  M'Q,uh^, 

Late  Captain  of  Her  Majesty's  Ship  Dcedalus. 

Professor  Owen  correctly  states  that  I  "  evidently  saw  a  large  creature 
moving  rapidly  through  the  water,  very  different  from  any  thing  I  had  before 
witnessed  ;  neither  a  whale,  a  grampus,  a  great  shark,  an  alligator,  nor  any 
other  of  the  larger  surface-swimming  creatures  fallen  in  with  in  ordinaiy 
voyages."  I  now  assert— neither  was  it  a  common  seal  nor  a  sea-elephant, 
its  great  length  and  its  totally  different  physiognomy  precluding  the  possibi- 
lity of  its  being  a  Phoca  of  any  species.  The  head  was  flat,  and  not  a  "ca- 
pacious vaulted  cranium  ;  nor  had  it  "a  stiff  inflexible  trunk"— a  conclusion 
to  which  Professor  Owen  has  jumped,  most  certainly  not  justified  by  the 
simple  statement,  that  no  "  portion  of  the  60  feet  seen  by  us  was  used  in  pro- 
pelling it  through  the  water,  either  by  vertical  or  horizontal  undulation." 


204  YEAR-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

It  is  also  assumed  that  the  "  calculation  of  its  lenpth  was  made  under  a 
strong;  preconception  of  the  nature  of  the  beast"— another  conclusion  quite 
the  contrary  to  the  fact.  It  was  not  until  after  the  great  length  was  developed 
by  its  nearest  approach  to  the  ship,  and  until  after  that  most  important  point 
had  been  duly  considered  and  debated,  as  well  as  such  could  be  in  the  brief 
space  of  time  allowed  for  so  doing,  that  it  was  pronounced  to  be  a  serpent  by 
all  who  saw  it,  and  who  are  too  well  accustomed  to  judge  of  lengths  and 
breadths  of  objects  in  the  sea  to  mistake  a  real  substance  and  an  actual  living 
body,  coolly  and  dispassionately  contemplated,  at  so  short  a  distance,  too,  for 
the  "  eddy  caused  by  the  action  of  the  deeper  immersed  fins  and  tail  of  a 
rapidly-moving  gigantic  seal  raising  its  head  above  the  surface  of  the  water," 
as  Professor  Owen  imagines,  in  quest  of  its  lost  iceberg. 

The  creative  powers  of  the  human  mind  may  be  very  limited.  On  this 
occasion  they  were  not  called  into  requisition ;  my  purpose  and  desire  being, 
throughout,  to  furnish  eminent  naturalists,  such  as  the  learned  Professor, 
with  accurate  facts,  and  not  with  exaggerated  representations,  nor  with  what 
could  by  any  possibility  proceed  from  optical  illusion  ;  and  I  beg'  to  assure 
him  that  old  Pontoppidan,  having  clothed  his  Sea-Serpent  with  a  mane,  could 
not  have  suggested  the  idea  of  ornamenting  the  creature  seen  from  the 
Deedalus  with  a  similar  appendage,  for  the  simple  reason  that  I  had  never 
seen  his  account,  or  even  heard  of  his  Sea-Serpent,  until  my  arrival  in  London. 
Some  other  solution  must,  therefore,  be  found  for  the  very  remarkable  coin- 
cidence between  us  in  that  particular,  in  order  to  unravel  the  mystery. 

Finally,  I  deny  the  existence  of  excitement  or  the  possibility  of  optical 
illusion.  I  adhere  to  the  statements,  as  to  form,  colour,  and  dimensions, 
contained  in  my  official  report  to  the  Admiralty ;  and  1  leave  them  as  data 
whereupon  the  learned  and  scientific  may  exercise  the  "  pleasures  of  imagina- 
tion," until  some  more  fortunate  opportunity  shall  occur  of  making  a  closer 
acquaintance  with  the  "  great  unknown"— in  the  present  instance,  most 
assuredly,  no  "  ghost." 

The  evidence  of  the  officer  on  watch,  Lieut.  Edgar  Drummond,  one  of 
the  few  eye-witnesses  of  the  alleged  monster  that  passed  the  Dadabis, 
next  appeared  in  the  Cormvall  Gazette : — 

I  beg  to  send  you  the  following  extract  from  my  journal :— H.M.S.  Daedalus, 
Aug.  6,  1848 ;  lat.  25°  S.,  long.  9"  37'  E. ,  St.  Helena,  1015  miles,  in  the  4  to  6 
watch,  at  about  5  o'clock,  we  observed  a  most  remarkable  fish  on  our  lee 
quarter,  crossing  the  stem  in  S.W.  direction.  The  appearance  of  its  head, 
which,  with  the  back  fin,  was  the  only  portion  of  the  animal  visible,  was 
long,  pointed,  and  flattened  at  the  top,— perhaps  ten  feet  in  length ;  the 
upper  jaw  projecting  considerably.  The  fin  was,  perhaps,  twenty  feet  in  ths 
rear  ot  the  head,  and  visible  occasionally.  The  captain  also  asserted  that  he 
saw  the  tail,  or  another  fin  about  the  same  distance  behind  it.  The  upper 
part  of  the  head  and  shoulders  appeared  of  a  dark  brown  colour ;  and  beneath 
the  under  jaw  a  brownish  white.  It  pursued  a  steady  and  undeviating  course, 
keeping  its  head  horizontal  with  the  water,  and  in  rather  a  raised  position, 
disappearing  occasionally  beneath  a  wave  for  a  very  brief  interval,  and  not 
apparently  for  the  purposes  of  respiration.  It  was  going  at  the  rate  of, 
perhaps,  from  twelve  to  fourteen  miles  an  hour,  and,  when  nearest,  was 
perhaps  100  yards  distant ;  in  fact,  it  gave  one  quite  the  idea  of  a  large  snake 
or  eel.  No  one  in  the  ship  had  ever  seen  anything  similar,  so,  at  least,  it  is 
extraordinary.  It  was  visible  to  the  naked  eye  for  five  minutes,  and  with  a 
glass  for  perhaps  fifteen  more.  The  weather  was  dark  and  squally  at  the 
time,  with  some  sea  running. 

Edgar  Drummond,  Lieut.  R.M.S. 

Daedalus,  Southampton,  Oct.  28, 1848. 

This  called  forth  the  following  letter  from  a  Correspondent  of  the 
Athencpum,  No.  1103  : — 

By  publishing  last  week  an  extract  from  the  journal  of  Lieut.  Edgar 
Drummond,  describing  a  most  remarkable  fish  that  was  observed  from  the 


ZOOLOGY.  205 

deck  of  H.M.S.  Daedalus  on  the  6th  of  August  last,  you  have  both  terminated 
a  somewhat  interesting  controversy,  and  confirmed  the  accuracy  of  Professor 
Owen's  doubts  as  to  the  existence  of  the  Great  Sea  Serpent.  An  attentive 
comparison  of  Lieut,  Drummond's  minute  and  rational  account  with  the 
rough  sketch  contained  in  the  accompanying  log-book,  of  a  large  fish  of  the 
Cachelot  species  that  was  seen  by  the  captain,  officers,  passengers,  and  crew 
of  the  Hon.  East  India  Company's  ship,  Castle  Huntly,  on  the  1st  of  May, 
1821,  in  lat.  4°  12'  N.,  long.  24°  27'  W.,  will,  I  have  little  doubt,  readily  con- 
vince all  whose  inquiries  you  may  kindly  facilitate,  that  the  animal  seen  by 
Capt.  M'Quhae  was  not  a  sea  serpent,  but  one  of  the  species  of  Cachelot,  or 
black  fish,  already  referred  to.  It  is  now  scarcely  worth  while  to  point  out 
the  manifest  errors  apparent  in  the  several  statements  on  this  subject  that 
have  preceded  Lieut.  Drummond's.  I  may,  however,  mention  that  the  accu- 
mulated rate  of  speed  at  which  H.M.S.  Daedalus  and  the  serpent  (query,fish?) 
are  represented  to  have  passed  each  other,  in  opposite  directions,  renders  it 
wholly  impossible  that  an  object  of  only  four  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea 
could  have  been  kept  in  sight  lor  twenty  minutes,  however  good  the  glasses. 
I  am,  &c.  H.  W. 

Lloyd's,  Dec.  14. 

To  this  the  Editor  of  the  Athenaum  replied  : — "  We  have  little  doubt 
from  the  drawing  figured  in  the  log-book  that  it  was  a  shoal  of  black 
fish." 

We  should  also  add,  that  Nos.  1101  and  1102  of  iheJt/ienaum  contain 
a  close  analysis  of  Captain  M'Quhse's  statement,  and  the  argumentative 
reply  of  Professor  Owen ;  and  in  No.  1657  of  the  Literary  Gazette  will 
be  found  a  resume  of  the  evidence  of  Pontoppidan,  with  illustrations. 

Several  of  the  Numbers  of  the  Zoologist  for  the  year  1847  contain 
contributions  attesting  the  appearance  of  the  Sea-Serpent ;  and  a  volume 
of  the  Naturalist's  Library,  edited  by  Dr.  Robert  Hamilton,  comprises 
similar  evidence. 

In  the  Westminster  and  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  published  January, 
1849,  will  be  found  a  clever  paper  on  this  much-vexed  question ;  the 
writer  of  which  is  disposed  to  consider  that  the  "  Sea-Serpent"  may  be 
an  Enaliosaurian.     We  quote  a  postulate  passage  from  this  article : — 

"  Who  shall  say  that  a  tribe  of  animals  is  extinct?  Does  not  the  crocodile 
occur  in  the  wealden,  cheek-by-jole  with  the  plesiosaurus  ?— and  do  not 
crocodiles  still  exist  ?  Is  not  the  elephant  both  fossil  and  recent  ?— is  not  the 
hyaena  fossil  and  recent?— do  not  insects,  scarcely  distinguishable  from  our 
own,  exist  in  the  secondary  series  ?  We  have  seen  the  impressions  of  the 
wings  of  dragon-flies  that  would  defy  the  scrutiny  of  an  entomologist  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  those  of  recent  genera.  Hence  we  infer,  that  although 
certain  species,  now  found  in  a  fossil  state,  may  perhaps  no  longer  exist  in  a 
recent  state,  yet  there  is  no  law  of  nature,  no  analogical  reasoning,  which 
should  forbid  the  existence  of  their  congeners.  Although  we  may  not,  perhaps, 
have  the  identical  species  of  plesiosaurus  discovered  by  Miss  Anning,  and 
described  by  Mr.  Conybeare,  yet  there  is  nothing  to  forbid  the  existence  of  a 
cognate  species  !  So  that  it  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  profoundest  dis- 
coveries of  the  geologist  to  imagine  the  enaliosaurians  existing  in  their  pristine 
glory.  All  that  geology  would  require  is,  that  the  Norwegian  species  should 
not  be  identical  with  those  of  the  lias  or  the  wealden.  Seeing,  then,  that 
unquestionable  evidence  brings  before  us  an  animal  not  known  in  our  me- 
thods ;  seeing  that  this  animal  presents  many  points  of  similarity  to  the 
enaliosauri ;  seeing  that  geology  offers  no  impediment  to  the  supposition  that 
enaliosauri  still  exist ;— we  trust  that  it  will  neither  be  considered  impossible 
nor  improbable  that,  in  certain  unknown  forms  of  the  enaliosauri,  a  key  to 
the  mystery  of  the  sea  serpent  will  eventually  be  found." 


206  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 


BOTANY. 


VITALITY  OF  SEEDS. 

At  the  late  Meeting  of  the  British  Association,  Mr.  II.  E.  Strickland 
read  the  Report  of  the  committee  for  the  conducting  of  experiments  on 
the  Vitality  of  Seeds,  and  invited  the  contribution  of  seeds  for  the  experi- 
ments now  going  on  in  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Oxford. 

The  reading  led  to  a  conversation,  in  which  Dr.  Carpenter,  Mr.  Joshua 
Clarke,  Mr.  Jerdan,  Mr.  Jeffrey,  Dr.  Daubeny,  and  Mr.  Babington  took 
part.  Instances  were  related  in  which  seeds  had  retained  their  vitabty 
for  a  very  great  period,  and  reference  was  made  to  the  well-known  ex- 
periments with  wheat  found  in  mummies.  Dr.  Daubeny  stated  that  in 
no  case  was  the  growi;h  of  the  wheat  found  in  mummies  free  from  suspi- 
cion. He  had  recently  heard  of  an  experiment  conducted  with  great 
care  in  which  seed  from  au  uuroUed  mummy  was  sown, — a  plant  came 
up,  but  when  it  was  examined,  it  turned  out  to  be  maize,  a  plant  of  the 
New  World,  and  consequently  must  have  been  introduced  into  the 
mummy  subsequently  to  the  discovery  of  America. — Mr.  Babington  ex- 
pressed his  conviction,  from  au  examination  of  the  evidence  in  support  of 
the  supposed  growth  of  seeds  found  in  mummies,  that  it  was  quite  insuffi- 
cient to  support  the  inference  that  seeds  retained  their  vitality  for  periods 
of  two  or  three  thousand  years. — Athenceum,  No.  1088. 


INFLUENCE  OF  CARBONIC  ACID  GAS  ON  PLANTS  IN  GLASS  CASES. 

At  the  late  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  Mr.  Hunt  having  read 
the  Eeport  of  a  Committee  appointed  on  this  inquiry.  Dr.  Daubeny  ex- 
plained the  nature  of  the  apparatus  employed  in  these  experiments.  It 
was  subject  to  considerable  leakage,  but  the  Carbonic  Acid  Gas  was  con- 
stantly supplied.  It  had  been  found  that  an  atmosphere  of  20  per  cent, 
killed  the  plants  contained  in  the  Case.  With  respect  to  the  influence  of 
this  gas,  it  appeared  to  be  just  as  injurious  to  the  llowerless  as  the  flower- 
ing plants.  He  suggested  that  these  experiments  should  be  extended  to 
animals.  One  of  the  objects  of  these  researches  was,  if  possible,  to  ascer- 
tain whether  an  atmosphere  highly  charged  with  carbonic  acid  could  have 
assisted  in  the  great  development  of  vegetation  which  occurred  during 
the  growth  of  the  great  coal  forests  in  the  early  history  of  the  world. 
Dr.  Lankester  suggested  that  the  experiments  should  be  extended  to 
other  gases.  But  few  experiments  had  been  conducted  on  this  subject, 
and  some  misunderstanding  existed  even  with  regard  to  them.  Liebig 
had  supposed  that  suljihuretted  hydrogen  had  great  influence  on 
vegetation,  and  he  had  long  ago  observed  that  certain  forms  of 
plants  lived  in  sulphureous  waters,  and  that  plants  flourished  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  waters  weakly  charged  with  sulphuretted 
hydrogen.  Dr.  Carpenter  thought  Dr.  Lankester's  suggestion  valuable. 
He  suggested  that  the  great  development  of  zoophytic  limestone  during 
the  coal  period  depended  on  the  fact  that  the  water  charged  \nth  car- 
bonic acid  had  dissolved  the  carbonate  of  lime  which  had  thus  been 
introduced  into  the  structure  of  the  animals  from  whence  it  was  deposited. 
It  had  been  observed  recently  that  wherever  springs  existed  charged  with 


BOTANY.  207 

carbouic  acid,  and  containing  carbonate  of  lime,  there  the  deposition  of 
coral  skeletons  is  very  large. — Athenaum,  No.  1087. 


CURIOUS  FACT  IN  BOTANY. 

The  late  President  Harrison,  in  an  address  before  the  Historical 
Society  of  Ohio,  said : — *'  The  process  by  which  nature  restores  the  forest 
to  its  original  state,  after  being  once  cleared,  is  extremely  slow.  The  rich 
lands  of  the  West  are,  indeed,  soon  covered  again,  but  the  character  of 
the  growth  is  entirely  different,  and  continues  so  for  a  long  period.  In 
several  places  upon  the  Ohio,  and  upon  the  farm  which  I  occupy,  clearings 
were  made  in  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  and  subsequently 
abandoned  and  suffered  to  grow  up.  Some  of  these  new  forests  are  now 
sure  of  fifty  years'  growth,  but  they  have  made  so  little  progress  towards 
attaining  the  appearance  of  the  immediately  contiguous  forest,  as  to 
induce  any  man  of  reflection  to  determine  that  at  least  ten  times  fifty 
years  must  elapse  before  their  complete  assimilation  can  be  effected.  We 
find  in  the  ancient  works  all  that  variety  of  trees  which  give  such  unrivalled 
beauty  to  our  forests,  in  natural  proportions.  The  first  growth  on  the 
same  kind  of  land,  once  cleared,  and  then  abandoned  to  nature,  on  the 
contrary,  is  nearly  homogeneous,  often  stinted  to  one  or  two,  at  most 
three  kinds  of  timber.  If  the  ground  has  been  cultivated,  the  yellow 
locust  will  thickly  spring  up;  if  not  cultivated,  the  black  and  white 
walnut  will  be  the  prevailmg  growth.  *  *  *  Qf  what  immense  age, 
then,  must  be  the  works  so  often  referred  to,  covered  as  they  are  by  at 
least  the  second  growth  after  the  primitive  forest  state  was  regained  ?" 
This  fact  of  two  different  kinds  of  wood  springing  out  of  the  same  soil, 
accordingly  as  it  has  been  differently  reclaimed  and  cultivated,  is  very 
remarkable. — Literary  Gazette^  No.  1657. 


INSTINCT  OF  VEGETABLES. 

If  a  pan  of  water  be  placed  within  six  inches  on  either  side  of 
the  stem  of  a  young  pumpkin  or  vegetable  marrow,  it  will  in  the 
course  of  the  night  approach  it,  and  will  be  found  in  the  morn- 
ing with  one  of  its  leaves  floating  on  the  water.  This  experiment  may 
be  continued  nightly  until  the  plant  begins  to  fruit.  If  a  prop  be  placed 
within  six  inches  of  a  young  convolvulus  or  scarlet-runner,  it  will  find  it, 
although  the  props  may  be  shifted  daily.  If  after  it  has  twined  some 
distance  up  the  prop,  it  be  unwound  and  twined  in  the  opposite  direction, 
it  will  return  to  its  original  position,  or  die  iu  the  attempt ;  yet,  not- 
withstanding, if  two  of  these  plants  grow  near  each  other,  and  have  no 
stake  around  which  they  can  entwine,  one  of  them  will  alter  the  direc- 
tion of  its  spiral,  and  they  will  twine  round  each  other.  Duhamel 
placed  some  kidney  beans  in  a  cylinder  of  moist  earth ;  after  a  short 
time  they  commenced  to  germinate,  of  course  sending  the  plume  upwards 
to  the  light,  and  the  root  down  into  the  soil.  After  a  few  days  the 
cylinder  was  turned  one-fourth  round, — and  again  and  again  this  was 
repeated  until  an  entire  revolution  of  the  cylinder  had  been  completed. 
The  beans  were  then  taken  out  of  the  earth ;  and  it  was  found  that  both 
the  plume  and  radicle  had  bent  to  accommodate  themselves  to  every 


208  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

revolution, — and  the  one  in  its  effort  to  ascend  perpendicularly,  and  the 
other  to  descend,  had  formed  a  perfect  spiral.  But  although  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  roots  is  downwards,  if  the  soil  beneath  be  dry,  and  any 
damp  substance  be  above,  the  roots  will  ascend  to  reach  it. — Farmers' 
Magazine. 


FORESTS  OF  THE  INDIAN  ARCHIPELAGO. 

We  quote  the  following  vivid  picture  from  the  Journal  of  the  Indian 
Archipelago,  a  work  which  has  scarcely  yet  reached  Europe. 

"The  greater  part  of  the  Archipela.ito  is  at  this  moment,  as  the  whole 
of  it  once  was,  clothed  to  the  water's  edge  with  wood  ;  and  when  we  pass 
into  the  deep  shade  of  its  mountain  forests,  trees  of  gigantic  forms  and 
exuberant  foliage  rise  on  every  side  :  each  species  shooting  up  its  trunk  to 
its  utmost  measure  of  development,  and  striving,  as  it  seems,  to  escape  from 
the  dense  crowd.  Others,  as  if  no  room  were  left  for  them  to  grow  in  the 
ordinary  way,  emulate  the  shapes  and  motions  of  serpents,  enwTap  their 
less  pliant  neighbours  in  their  folds,  twine  their  branches  into  one  con- 
nected canopy,  or  hang  down, — here,  loose  and  swaying  in  the  air,  or  in 
festoons  from  tree  to  tree, — and  there,  stiff  and  rooted,  like  the  yards 
which  support  the  mast  of  a  ship.  No  sooner  has  decay  diminished  the 
green  array  of  a  branch,  than  its  place  is  supplied  by  epiphites,  chiefly 
fragrant  orchidacese,  of  singular  and  beautiful  forms.  The  interrupted 
notes  of  birds,  loud  or  low,  rapid  or  long-drawn,  cheerful  or  plaintive, 
and  ranging  over  a  greater  or  less  musical  compass,  are  the  most  pleasing 
sounds  heard ;  the  most  constant  are  those  of  insects,  which  sometimes 
rise  into  a  shrill  and  deafening  clangour ;  and  the  most  impressive  are 
the  prolonged  complaining  cries  of  the  unkas.  As  we  penetrate  deeper 
into  the  forest,  green  and  harmless  snakes  hang  like  tender  branches. 
Others  of  deeper  and  mingled  colours,  but  less  innocuous,  lie  coiled  up, 
or,  disturbed  by  the  human  intruder,  assume  an  angry  and  dangerous 
look,  but  glide  out  of  sight.  Insects  in  their  shapes  and  hues  imitate 
leaves,  twigs,  and  flowers.  Monkeys,  of  all  sizes  and  colours,  spring  from 
branch  to  branch,  or,  in  long  trains,  rapidly  steal  up  the  trunks.  Deer, 
and  amongst  them  the  graceful  palandoh,  no  bigger  than  a  hare,  and 
celebrated  in  Malayan  poetry,  on  our  approach  fly  startled  from  the  pools 
which  they  and  the  wild  hog  most  frequent.  Lively  squirrels,  of  dif- 
ferent species,  are  everywhere  met  with.  Amongst  a  great  variety  of 
other  remarkable  animals  which  range  the  forests,  we  may,  according  to 
our  locality,  encounter  herds  of  elephants,  the  rhinoceros,  tigers,  the 
tapir,  the  babirusa,  the  orangutan,  the  sloth  ;  and,  of  the  winged  tribes, 
the  gorgeously  beautiful  birds  of  paradise,  the  loris,  the  peacock,  and  the 
argus  pheasant.  The  mangrove  rivers  and  creeks  are  haunted  by  huge 
alligators.  An  endless  variety  of  fragile  and  richly-coloured  shells  not 
only  lie  empty  on  the  sandy  beaches,  but  are  tenanted  by  pagurian  crabs, 
which,  in  clusters,  batten  on  every  morsel  of  fat  sea-weed  that  has  been 
left  by  the  retiring  waves.  The  coasts  are  fringed  with  living  rocks  of 
beautiful  colours,  and  shaped  like  stars,  flowers,  bushes,  and  other  sym- 
metrical forms.  Of  multitudes  of  peculiar  animals  which  inhabit  the 
seas,  the  dugong,  or  Malayan  mermaid,  most  attracts  our  wonder. 


BOTANY.  209 

THE  GUTTA  PERCHA  TREE. 

The  Gutta  Percha  Tree  is  of  a  large  size,  from  60  to  70  feet  in  height, 
and  from  2  to  3  feet  in  diameter.  Its  general  appearance  resembles  the 
genus  Durio,  or  well-known  Doorian,  so  much  so  as  to  strike  the  most 
superficial  observer.  The  under  surface  of  the  leaf,  however,  is  of  a  more 
reddish  and  decided  brown  than  the  Durio,  and  the  shape  is  somewhat 
different. 

Only  a  short  time  ago  the  tuban  tree  was  tolerably  abundant  on  the 
island  of  Singapore ;  but  already  all  the  large  timber  has  been  felled,  and 
few,  if  any,  other  than  small  plants  are  now  to  be  found.  The  range  of 
its  growth,  however,  appears  to  be  considerable;  it  being  found  all 
np  the  Malayan  Peninsula  as  far  as  Pinang,  where  it  is  ascertained  to 
be  abundant ;  although,  as  yet,  the  inhabitants  do  not  seem  to  be  aware 
of  the  fact ;  several  of  the  mercantile  houses  there  having:  sent  down 
oi'ders  to  Singapore  for  supplies  of  the  article,  when  they  have  the  means 
of  supply  close  at  hand.  The  tree  is  also  found  in  Borneo,  and  probably 
in  most  of  the  islands  adjacent. 

The  localities  it  particularly  likes  are  the  alluvial  tracts  along  the  foot 
of  hills,  where  it  flourishes  luxuriantly,  forming,  in  many  spots,  the 
principal  portion  of  the  jungle.  But  notwithstanding  the  indigenous 
character  of  the  tree,  its  apparent  abundance  and  wide-spread  diffusion, 
the  gutta  will  soou  become  a  very  scarce  article,  if  some  more  provident 
means  be  not  adopted  in  its  collection  than  at  present  in  use  by  the 
Malays  and  Chinese. 

The  mode  in  which  the  natives  obtain  the  gutta  is  by  cutting  down 
the  trees  of  full  growth,  and  ringing  the  bark  at  distances  of  about  12  to 
18  inches  apart,  and  placing  a  cocoa-nut  shell,  spathe  of  a  palm,  or  such 
like  receptacle,  under  the  fallen  trunk  to  receive  the  milky  sap  that 
immediately  exudes  upon  every  fresh  incision.  This  sap  is  collected  in 
bamboos,  taken  to  their  houses  and  boiled,  in  order  to  drive  off  the 
watery  particles  and  inspissate  it  to  the  consistence  it  finally  assumes. 
Although  the  process  of  boiling  appears  necessary  when  the  gutta  is 
collected  in  large  quantity,  if  a  tree  be  freshly  wounded,  a  small  quantity 
allowed  to  exude,  and  it  be  collected  and  moulded  in  the  hand,  it  will 
consolidate  perfectly  in  a  few  minutes,  and  have  all  the  appearance  of  the 
prepared  article. 

When  it  is  quite  pure  the  colour  is  of  a  greyish-white ;  but  as  brought 
to  market  it  is  more  ordinarily  found  of  a  reddish  hue,  arising  from 
chips  of  bark  that  fall  into  the  sap  in  the  act  of  making  the  incisions, 
and  which  yield  their  colour  to  it.  Besides  these  accidental  chips,  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  intentional  adulteration  by  sawdust  and  other  materials. 
Fortunately,  it  is  neither  difficult  to  detect  nor  clean  the  gutta  of  foreign 
matter,  it  being  only  necessary  to  boil  it  in  water  until  well  softened, 
roll  out  the  substance  into  thin  sheets,  and  then  pick  out  all  impurities, 
which  is  easily  done,  as  the  gutta  does  not  adhere  to  anything,  and  all 
foreign  matter  is  merely  entangled  in  its  fibres,  and  not  incorpor^ited  in 
its  substance.  The  quantity  of  gutta  obtained  from  each  tree  varies  from 
five  to  twenty  catties,  so  that,  taking  the  average  at  ten  catties,  which  is 
a  pretty  liberal  one,  it  will  require  the  destruction  of  ten  trees  to  produce 

o* 


210  TEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

oue  picul.  Now,  the  quantity  exported  from  Singapore  to  Great  Britain 
and  the  Continent,  from  1st  January  1845,  to  Juae  1847,  amounts  to 
6,918  piculs,  to  obtain  which  69,180  trees  must  have  been  sacrificed. 
How  much  better  would  it  therefore  be  to  adopt  the  method  of  tapping 
the  tree  practised  by  the  Burmese  in  obtaining  the  caoutchouc  from  the 
Ficus  elaf.tica  (viz.,  to  make  oblique  incisions  in  the  bark,  placing  bam- 
boos to  receive  the  sap  which  runs  out  freely),  than  to  kill  the  goose  in 
the  manner  they  are  at  present  doing.  True,  they  would  not  at  first  get 
so  much  from  a  single  tree,  but  the  ultimate  gain  would  be  incalculable, 
particularly  as  the  tree  seems  to  be  one  of  slow  growth,  and  by  no  means 
so  rapid  as  the  Ficus  elastica.  We  should  not  be  surprised,  if  the  demand 
increases,  and  the  present  method  of  extermination  be  persisted  in,  to  find 
a  sudden  cessation  of  the  supply. — Journal  of  the  Indian  Archipelago. 

MANUFACTURE   OF   INDIAN-EUBBER   SHOES. 

Mr.  Edwards,  in  his  Voyage  up  the  Amazon,  describes  this  process. 
He  states  that  two  gallons  of  milk  will  suffice  for  ten  pairs  of  shoes, 
and  this  quantity  can  be  collected  every  morning  for  several  months.  In 
making  the  shoes,  two  girls  sit  in  a  little  thatched  hut.  From  an  inverted 
water-jar,  the  bottom  of  which  had  been  broken  out  for  the  purpose, 
issued  a  column  of  dense  white  smoke,  from  the  burning  of  a  species  of 
palm  nut,  and  which  so  filled  the  hut  that  we  could  scarcely  see  the 
inmates.  The  lasts  used  were  of  wood,  exported  from  the  United  States, 
and  were  smeared  with  clay  to  prevent  adhesion.  In  the  leg  of  each  was 
a  long  stick,  serving  as  a  handle.  The  last  was  dipped  into  the  milk, 
and  immediately  held  over  the  smoke,  which,  without  much  discolouring, 
dried  the  surface  at  once.  It  was  then  re- dipped,  and  the  process  was 
repeated  a  dozen  times,  until  the  shoe  was  of  sufficient  thickness,  care 
being  taken  to  give  a  greater  number  of  coatings  to  the  bottom.  The 
whole  operation,  from  the  smearing  of  the  last  to  placing  the  finished 
shoe  in  the  sun,  required  less  than  five  minutes.  The  shoe  was  now  of 
a  slightly  more  yellowish  hue  than  the  liquid  milk,  but  in  the  course  of  a 
few  hours  it  became  of  a  reddish-brown.  After  an  exposure  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  it  is  figured  as  we  see  upon  the  imported  shoes.  This  is  done 
by  the  girls  with  small  sticks  of  hard  wood,  or  the  needle-like  spines  of 
some  of  the  palms.  Stamping  has  been  tried,  but  without  success.  The 
shoe  is  now  cut  (rom  the  last,  and  is  ready  for  sale,  bringing  a  price  of 
from  ten  to  twelve  vintens  or  cents  per  pair.  It  is  a  long  time  before 
they  assume  the  black  hue.  Brought  to  the  city,  they  are  assorted,  the 
best  being  laid  aside  for  exportation  as  shoes,  the  others  as  waste  rubber. 

AMERICAN  COTTON  IN  INDIA. 

Dr.  Wight,  in  a  paper  "  On  the  Culture  of  American  Cotton  in  India, 
and  the  proper  time  for  sowing  it  in  various  localities,"  is  of  opinion, 
that  in  his  district,  as  indeed  throughout  the  western  coast  of  the  Penin- 
sula, where  the  NE.  monsoon  is  usually  of  short  duration,  July  is  the 
most  favourable  time  for  sowing  the  Mexican  variety  ;  while  August  and 
all  September  is  the  best  season  for  localities  along  the  eastern  coast,  the 
same  monsoon  being  there  of  greater  force,  and  extending  over  a  lougcr 


BOTANY.  21 1 

period ;  aud  that  as  respects  districts  subject  to  the  SW.  monsoon,  the 
last  week  of  May  and  all  June  will  probably  be  found  the  most  suitable 
seasons,  the  exact  time  being  determined  by  the  individual  season  and 
average  duration  of  the  rains  at  each  station. 

THE  JALAP-PLANT. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Balfour,  in  a  "  Notice  of  some  Plants  which  have  Flowered 
recently  in  the  Edinburgh  Botanic  Garden,"  states : — Although  jalap 
has  been  used  in  European  medicine  for  nearly  two  centuries  and  a  half, 
it  is  only  within  a  few  years  that  its  botanical  source  has  been  correctly 
ascertained.  The  plant  long  cultivated  as  the  true  Jalap-Plant  in  the 
stoves  of  Europe,  and,  among  the  rest,  in  the  Botanic  Garden  of  Edin- 
burgh, is  the  Convolvulus  Jalapa  of  Linnaeus  and  Willdenow,  or  Ipomoea 
macrorhiza  of  Michaux,  a  native  of  Vera  Cruz.  But  between  the  years 
1827  and  1830,  it  was  proved,  by  no  fewer  than  three  independent  au- 
thorities,— M.  Ledanois,  a  French  druggist,  resident  at  Orizaba  in  Mexico ; 
Dr.  Coxe,  of  Philadelphia,  through  information  supplied  by  M.  Fontagnes, 
an  American  gentleman  who  resided  at  Jalapa ;  and  Schiede,  the  botanical 
traveller,  from  personal  observation, — that  therootof  commerceis  obtained, 
not  from  the  hot  plains  around  Vera  Cruz,  but  from  the  cooler  hill  country 
near  Jalapa,  above  6000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  where  it  was  exposed 
to  frost  in  the  winter  time ;  and  that  the  plant  which  yields  it  is  an  entirely 
new  species  of  the  Convolvulaceae.  Schiede  introduced  the  plant  for  the  first 
time  into  Europe ;  and  it  has  been  cultivated  in  various  botanic  gardens  of 
Germany.  In  this  country  it  was  probably  first  cultivated  in  the  Botanic 
Garden  of  Edinburgh,  from  a  tuber  sent  by  Dr.  Coxe,  of  Philadelphia,  to 
Dr.  Christison,  in  1838.  Dr.  Graham  could  not  describe  it  at  that  time, 
because,  owing  to  unacquaintance  with  the  habits  of  the  plant,  it  was 
forced  in  the  stove,  and  died  the  same  year,  after  forming  numerous 
flower-buds,  of  which  only  one  became  partially  developed.  In  1844,  a 
plant  from  the  Chelsea  Botanic  Garden,  cultivated  in  a  cold  frame  in  the 
Edinburgh  garden  during  the  winter  and  spring,  and  uncovered  in  the 
summer  and  autumn,  flowered  luxuriantly  in  September.  A  drawing  was 
taken  by  Dr.  Graham,  but  it  has  not  been  found  among  his'papers.  Ulti- 
mately, Mr.  M'Nab  resolved  to  try  whether  the  plant  could  be  raised 
from  slips ;  and  the  experiment  has  proved  completely  successful,  A 
tuber,  of  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut  formed  in  the  course  of  three  months. 
The  stem  made  little  progress  the  next  summer ;  but  when  transferred  to 
the  cold  frame  in  the  spring  of  1846,  formed  the  plant  which  flowered  in 
October,  from  which  the  description  has  been  taken. 

Some  still  maintain  that  the  plant  requires  a  stove-heat  to  make  it 
flower.  In  the  Botanical  Register  for  September,  1847,  the  following 
remarks  are  made  in  regard  to  it : — "  In  cultivation  this  should  be  regarded 
as  a  stove  herbaceous  climber,  which  grows  freely  in  a  mixture  of  sandy 
loam  and  leaf  mould  in  equal  portions."  In  the  Botanic  Garden  of 
Edinburgh,  the  plant  continues  to  thrive  in  a  cold  frame,  as  already  men- 
tioned.— Jameson's  Journal,  No.  87. 


218  TEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

ALPINE  PLANTS. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Balfour,  in  his  "  Notice  of  a  Botanical  Excursion  in  the 
Highlands  of  Scotland,"  observes  : — There  is  something  peculiarly  attrac- 
tive in  the  collection  of  Alpine  Plants.  Their  comparative  rarity,  the 
localities  in  which  they  grow,  and  frequently  their  beautiful  hues,  conspire 
in  shedding  around  them  a  halo  of  interest  far  exceeding  that  connected 
with  lowland  productions.  The  Alpine  Veronica  displaying  its  lovely  blue 
corolla  on  the  verge  of  dissolving  snows;  the  Forget-me-not  of  the 
mountain  summit,  whose  tints  far  excel  those  of  its  namesake  of  the 
brooks ;  the  Woodsia  with  its  tufted  fronds  adorning  the  clefts  of  the 
i-ocks ;  the  snowy  Gentian  concealing  its  eye  of  blue  in  the  ledges  of  the 
steep  crags ;  the  Alpine  Astragalus  enlivening  the  turf  with  its  purple 
clusters ;  the  Lychnis  choosing  the  stony  and  dry  knoll  for  the  evolution 
of  its  pink  petals ;  the  Sonchus  (Mulgediwn)  raising  its  stately  stalk  and 
azure  heads  in  spots  which  try  the  enthusiasm  of  the  adventurous  collec- 
tor ;  the  pale-flowered  Oxytropis  confining  itself  to  a  single  British  cliflF ; 
the  Azidea  forming  a  carpet  of  the  richest  crimson ;  the  Saxifrages  vvith 
their  white,  yellow,  and  pink  blossoms  clothing  the  sides  of  the  streams  ; 
the  Saussurea  and  Erigeron  crowning  the  rocks  with  their  purple  and 
pink  capitula ;  the  pendent  Cinquefoil  blending  its  yellow  flowers  with 
the  white  of  the  Alpine  Cerastiums  and  the  bright  blue  of  the  stony 
Veronica ;  the  stemless  Silene  giving  a  pink  and  velvety  covering  to  the 
decomposing  granite ;  the  yellow  Hieracia  whose  varied  transition  forms 
have  furnished  such  a  fertile  cause  of  dispute  among  botanists ;  the  slender 
and  delicate  grasses,  the  chickweeds,  the  carices,  and  the  rushes,  which 
spring  up  on  the  moist  Alpine  summits ;  the  graceful  ferns,  the  tiny 
mosses,  with  their  urn-like  thecse,  the  crustaceous  dry  lichens  with  their 
spore-bearing  apothecia,  all  these  add  such  a  charm  to  Highland  botany 
as  to  throw  a  compai-ative  shade  over  the  vegetation  of  the  plains. — 
Jameson's  Journal.  No.  89. 


ON  THE  RIPENING  OP  FRUITS  AND  THE  GELATINOUS  BODIES  OF 
VEGETABLES,   BY  M.  E.  FREMY. 

The  author  gives  the  following  summary  of  the  facts  detailed  in  his 
memoir  on  the  above-named  subjects : — 

1.  There  exists  in  the  tissues  of  vegetables,  and  principally  in  the  pulps 
of  fruits  and  of  roots,  a  substance  insoluble  in  water,  which  he  has  named 
pectose  :  its  characteristic  property  is  that  of  being  converted  into  pectin 
by  the  influence  of  the  weakest  acids.  It  differs  essentially  from  cellulose 
in  all  its  properties. 

2.  Pectin  exists  in  the  juices  of  ripe  fruits  :  it  may  be  artificially  ob- 
tained by  causing  boiling  weakly  acid  liquors  to  act  upon  pectose.  Pectin 
ought  to  be  considered  as  a  weak  acid ;  it  does  not  precipitate  the  neutral 
acetate  of  lead,  and  changes  into  pectic  acid  under  the  iMuence  of  soluble 


3.  Pectin,  submitted  for  some  time  to  the  action  of  boiling  water,  ac- 
quires the  property  of  precipitating  neutral  acetate  of  lead,  and  is  con- 


BOTANY.  218 

verted  into  a  new  substance,  which  M.  Fremy  calls  parapectin ;  it  is 
neutral  to  test-papers,  and  occurs  in  the  juices  of  perfectly  ripe  fruits. 

4.  Parapectin  is  transformed,  under  the  influence  of  acids,  into  a  sub- 
stance which  the  author  calls  metapectin ;  it  has  the  properties  of  a  weak 
acid,  reddens  tincture  of  litmus,  and  precipitates  chloride  of  barium  ;  it 
may  be  named  metapectinic  acid. 

5.  The  preceding  substances  form  compounds  which  are  soluble  in  a 
certain  number  of  acids,  and  principally  with  sulphuric  and  oxalic  acids. 
These  compounds  are  crystallizable,  and  form  gelatinous  precipitates  with 
alcohol. 

6.  There  accompanies  pectose  in  vegetable  tissues  a  peculiar  ferment, 
called  by  M.  Yvemj  pectase ;  this  has  the  property  of  transforming  pectin 
successively  into  two  gelatinous  acids,  which  are  the  pectosic  and  pectic 
acids ;  this  change  occurs  without  the  presence  of  air  or  the  disengage- 
ment of  gas,  and  constitutes  the  pectic  fermentation,  which  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  lactic  fermentation.  Pectase  exists  in  vegetables  in  two 
states,  one  soluble  aud  the  other  insoluble. 

7.  When  pectin  is  submitted  to  the  action  of  pectase,  the  acid  first 
formed  is  a  new  acid,  the  pectosic ;  it  differs  from  pectic  acid  in  being 
completely  soluble  in  boiling  water. 

8.  Pectosic  acid  is  transformed  into  pectic  acid  by  the  prolonged  action 
of  pectase ;  the  pectosic  and  pectic  acids  are  also  formed  when  pectin  is 
added  to  an  alkali  either  free  or  carbonated,  or  under  the  influence  of  lime, 
barytes,  or  strontia. 

9.  Pectic  acid  dissolves  in  considerable  quantity  in  neutral  alkaline 
salts,  and  especially  in  ammoniacal  salts,  which  contain  an  organic  acid  ; 
gelatinous  double  salts  with  an  acid  reaction  are  then  formed,  which  are 
precipitated  in  a  gelatinous  state  by  alcohol. 

10.  Pectic  acid,  kept  for  several  houi-s  in  boiling  water,  completely 
dissolves,  and  is  transformed  into  a  new  acid,  the  parapectic  acid. 

11.  Parapectic  acid  changes,  under  the  long-continued  influence  of 
water,  into  a  powerful  acid,  the  metapectic  acid. 

These  two  last  acids  arise  under  several  circumstances,  and  principally 
by  the  reaction  of  acids,  alkalies,  or  of  pectase,  pectin,  and  pectic  acid  ; 
they  possess  the  property  of  decomposing  by  ebullition  the  double  tartrate 
of  potash  arul  copper,  like  glucose. 

12.  Gelatinous  substances  exposed  to  a  temperature  of  392°  Fahr.  dis- 
engage water  and  carbonic  acid,  and  are  converted  into  a  black  pyrogenous 
acid,  which  the  author  calls  pt/ropectic  acid. 

13.  Gelatinous  substances  exhibit  all  the  generic  characters  of  acids, 
the  capacity  of  saturation  and  their  power  augmenting  in  proportion  as 
they  recede  from  pectose  ;  they  appear  to  be  all  derived  from  a  ternary 
molecule  C^H^O^,  and  differ  from  each  other  only  as  to  water. 

14.  The  properties  of  the  gelatinous  substances  of  vegetables  afford  an 
explanation  of  the  alterations  which  a  fruit  undergoes  when  submitted  to 
the  action  of  heat,  as  well  as  of  the  formation  vegetable  jellies.  Vegetable 
jellies  may  be  produced — 1st,  by  the  conversion  of  pectin  into  pectosic 
and  pectic  acids  under  the  influence  of  pectase  ;  2ndly,  by  the  combina- 
tion of  pectic  acid  with  the  organic  acids  contained  in  fruits. 


214  TEAR-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

15.  The  pectose  contained  in  green  fruits  is  successively  transformed, 
during  ripening,  into  pectin,  metapectin,  and  metapectic  acids.  These 
changes  are  determined  by  the  influence  of  acids  and  pectase. 

It  will  appear  from  this  summary,  in  the  opinion  of  the  author,  that 
after  havin^i  ascertained  the  nature  of  the  principal  properties  of  the  sub- 
stances which  constitute  the  pulp  of  certain  fruits,  he  was  led  to  observe 
that  the  gelatinous  substances  of  vegetables  undergo  modifications  by  the 
influence  of  reagents  entirely  comparable  to  those  to  which  they  are  sub- 
ject during  vegetation. — Ann.  de  Ch.  et  de  Phys. ;  Phil.  Mag.  No.  223. 


GERMINATION  IN  THE  LOWER  TRIBES  OF  PLANTS. 

Mr.  G.  H.  R.  Thwaites  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper 
*'  On  an  apparently  undescribed  state  of  the  Palmelljc,  with  a  few  Ob- 
servations on  Germination  in  the  Lower  Tribes  of  Plants."  The  Pal- 
mellas,  which  are  usually  described  as  consisting  of  several  cells,  have 
been  observed  by  Mr.  C.  E.  Broome  to  originate  in  branched  filaments. 
This  fact  had  also  been  recorded  by  Mr.  Thwaites,  who  considered  that 
the  separation  of  the  cells  from  the  filaments,  and  the  fact  of  each  of 
the  cells  assuming  an  independent  vitality,  should  be  viewed  as  a  gem- 
mation taking  place, — being  rather  a  division  of  the  individual  plant  than 
a  reproduction  of  the  species ;  and  therefore,  that  the  subsequent  fissipa- 
rous  division  of  these  separated  cells  would  be  a  continuation  of  the 
same  process  of  gemmation.  He  pointed  out  the  very  general  occur- 
rence of  gemmation  in  the  lower  plants ;  and  thought  that  the  tendency 
to  produce  gemmae  in  the  lower  tribes  seemed  to  warrant  our  considering 
that  what  had  been  described  by  authors  as  a  second  form  of  fructification 
in  some  of  the  Algse  should  be  rather  referred  to  gemmation  ;  for 
example,  the  tetraspores  of  the  Floridese,  and  the  spores  of  Vaucheria. 
He  stated,  in  conclusion,  that  he  did  not  think  that  the  cilia  with  which 
this  last  body  is  endowed  indicated  any  higher  development  than  where 
these  organs  were  absent. 

Dr.  Carpenter  regarded  these  observations  as  of  the  ntmost  importance, 
as  they  pointed  to  the  same  condition  of  things  in  the  vegetable  as  had 
been  observed  by  Steenstrup  in  the  animal  world.  He  difiered  from 
Steenstrup  wuth  regard,  not  to  his  facts,  but  to  his  terms.  There  were 
two  modes  of  reproduction  amongst  plants,  as  pointed  out  by  Mr. 
Thwaites — the  one  by  spores,  the  other  by  germs.  The  question  was  as 
to  whether  this  fact  was  more  fully  explained  by  calling  it  an  "  alterna- 
tion of  generations."  He  regarded  all  the  germs  produced  from  the 
same  spore,  not  as  several  individuals,  but  as  portions  of  the  same  indivi- 
dual. He  drew  also  attention  to  the  analogous  functions  performed  in 
the  cells  of  the  lower  and  higher  plants. 

Dr.  Daubeny  thought  it  most  important  that  the  analogies  between  the 
higher  and  lower  plants  should  be  made  out.  Botanists  had  begun  at 
the  wrong  end  in  beginning  with  the  highest.  The  most  philosophical 
way  was  to  begin  with  the  lowest  and  to  proceed  to  the  highest.— 
Athenceum,  No.  1087. 


BOTANY.  215 

THE  EBONY  PLANT. 

M.  Ant.  Bertolini  says  : — "  The  Ebony  of  Ezekiel  and  Solomon  was 
a  product  of  Ethiopia,  which  agrees  perfectly  with  what  Herodotus,  Athe- 
nens,  Strabo,  and  other  authors,  have  written  on  the  subject.  But  have 
we  direct  proofs  that  this  ebony  has  been  since  found  growing  sponta- 
neously in  that  country?  Is  -the  tree  which  produced  it  known  to 
botanists  ?  Theophrastus,  in  speaking  of  ebony,  says  that  it  is  a  tree 
having  the  appearance  of  a  Cytisus,  and  by  a  Cytisus  he  meant  the 
Cytisus  Laburnum,  Linn.,  which  has  papilionaceous  flowers  arranged  in 
long  clusters,  and  composite  leaves." 

M.  C.  Fornasini,  who  has  long  resided  in  Inanbane  in  Mozambique, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  CafFraria,  and  near  Sofala,  sent  me,  some  time 
ago,  says  the  author,  specimens,  with  leaves  and  flowers,  of  a  plant  which 
is  considered  in  that  country  as  the  true  ebony,  and  stating  that  the  tree 
was  common  among  the  Caffres  and  in  the  surrounding  countries.  The 
flowers  are  papilionaceous,  and  its  leaves  composite ;  it  was  thus  easy  for 
me  to  recognise  in  it  the  ebony  with  the  appearance  of  a  Cytisus  de- 
scribed by  Theophrastus  :  Bendron  Ihammodes  Cytisi  modo.  I  also 
received  a  piece  of  the  wood  of  this  tree,  which  enabled  me  to  determine 
its  qualities.  On  examining  the  flower  and  fruit,  I  do  not  find  that  it 
can  be  referred  to  any  of  the  known  genera  of  Papilionacese  or  Legumi- 
nosffi,  which  leads  me  to  suppose  that  it  has  hitherto  escaped  the  notice 
of  botanists,  and  ought  to  constitute  a  new  genus,  which  I  have  thought 
proper  to  name  Fornasinia,  after  the  discoverer : — Fornasinia  ebenifera, 
Bert.  Arbor.  This  genus  is  intermediate  between  Loncliocarjms  of 
Humboldt  and  Bonjfland,  and  Neuroscapha  of  Tulasne. — L'Instituti 
Jameson's  Journal.  No.  89. 


cultivation  of  tea  in  china. 
A  valuable  book  upon  this  subject  has  been  published  by  Mr.  Ball, 
late  Superintendent  of  the  British  Tea  Factories  at  Canton.  It  is,  un- 
questionably, the  most  complete  work  yet  produced  upon  the  Culture  of 
'Tea;  and  the  author,  in  presenting  a  copy  to  the  Asiatic  Society,  stated, 
that  in  its  publication  he  had  been  actuated  mainly  by  a  desire  to  aid  the 
cultivator  in  the  attempts  now  in  progress  for  the  cultivation  of  tea  on  an 
extended  scale  in  British  India.  He  explained  that  the  growth  of  the 
plantj  instead  of  being  conflued  to  narrow  limits,  extended  over  the  vast 
space  of  28°  of  lat.  and  30°  of  long., — that  instead  of  being  a  delicate 
plant,  it  was  of  a  hardy  nature,  exhibiting  great  powers  of  adaptation  to 
climate  and  ease  of  propagation, — that  instead  of  a  poor,  sandy  soil,  it 
required  a  somewhat  compact  and  rich  one ;  one  retentive  of  moisture  but 
of  easy  filtration, — that  it  was  not  like  the  vine,  which  sends  forth  its 
roots  in  search  of  food,  but  required  its  aliment  within  narrow  limits  and 
near  the  surface  of  the  soil  which  it  inhabits — and,  since  it  was  cultivated 
for  leaves  and  not  fruit,  it  required  all  the  aids  favourable  to  vegetation 
and  abundant  foliage  which  fertility  of  soil,  heat,  and  moisture  aflbrd. 
As  regards  the  processes  of  manipulation,  they  are  simple  and  inexpen- 
sive ;  but  like  most  arts  require  an  apprenticeship,  Mr.  Ball  observed 
that  it  was  generally  admitted  that  the  natives  of  India  have  a  decided 


216  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

predilection  for  tea ;  and  could  this  article  be  afforded  at  a  sufficiently 
Ijw  price  its  consumption  would  rapidly  spread  over  that  immense 
peninsula;  that  its  use  extends  over  the  whole  of  Central  Asia,  from 
the  Gulf  of  Corea  to  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  from  the  Altai  to  the  Hima- 
layan Mountains,  and  that  tea  made  up  into  cakes  or  tablets,  and  deno- 
minated brick  tea,  may  be  seen  traversing  this  immense  region  in  all 
directions.  He  remarked  that  when  we  consider  the  abstinence  from 
anknal  food  imposed  on  the  Hindoo  by  his  religion,  the  introduction  of 
the  Mongolian  method  of  using  tea  in  its  broth-like  form,  mixed  with 
butter  and  milk,  would  furnish  not  only  a  refreshing  but  a  somewhat 
substantial  adjunct  to  his  meagre  dietary  ;  while  the  leaf  used  as  an  inlu- 
sion  would  administer  greatly  to  his  comfort,  health,  and  sobriety.  The 
population  of  British  India  is  estimated  to  amount  to  114,400,000. 
Supposing  these,  like  the  Chinese,  all  consumers  of  tea,  the  vast 
tracts  of  mountain  and  otherwise  unemployed  lands  would  be  brought  into 
cultivation — industrial  activity  into  action  by  its  manipulation,  as  well  as 
by  the  new  and  indirect  demands  on  industry  which  it  would  develope — 
and  new  sources  of  revenue  would  be  opened  to  the  Government,  An 
extensive  cultivation  of  the  tea-plant  would  be  greatly  instrumental,  too, 
in  promoting  an  opening  to  commercial  intercourse  with  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  Central  Asia,  not  readily  effected  by  other  means. 

Col.  Sykes,  in  seconding  the  motion  for  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Ball, 
moved  by  Sir  G.  Staunton,  remarked  that  this  is  one  cause  why  the 
progress  making  in  its  cultivation  is  not  more  known ;  that  the  greatest 
portion  of  the  tea  manufactured  in  the  hills  is  consumed  by  the  natives, 
and  never  comes  down  to  Calcutta.  He  noticed  the  singular  fact  that 
the  inferior  kinds  of  tea,  which  are  unsaleable  in  India,  have  made  their 
way  across  the  frontier  into  the  empire  of  China ;  where  they  are  sold  to 
the  Tartars  at  a  higher  price  than  could  be  obtained  for  real  China  tea. 

Dr.  Wallich  observed  more  particularly  upon  the  tea  of  Assam,  which  is 
not  in  favour  in  England  ;  that  although  it  is  not  good  alone,  it  is  of  a 
valuable  quality  for  mixing  with  the  tea  of  China,  to  which,  in  small 
quantities,  it  gives  extraordinary  strength  and  flavour.  He  said  that  the 
fault  of  the  climate  of  Assam  is  that  it  is  not  cold  enough.  Tea  is  a 
hardy  plant,  that  requires  four  or  five  months'  wintering,  after  which  the 
new  leaves  are  of  beautiful  quality.  This  hybernation  the  plant  cannot 
get  in  Assam ;  but  in  Kumaon  it  finds  a  climate  perfectly  suited  to  its 
habits.     The  price  in  Assam  is  'dd.  to  10^?.  per  pound. 

Prof.  Royle  bore  testimony  to  the  good  qualities  of  the  Kumaon  tea ; 
but  said  it  would  be  still  better  if  the  plant  could  be  obtained  from  the 
north  of  China,  where  the  best  tea  is  produced.  The  peculiar  qualities 
of  this  south-country  tea  are  well  known  to  the  English  tea-brokers, 
although  they  are  unacquainted  with  the  peculiar  localities  which  give 
rise  to  these  differences.  They  always  compare  the  Kumaon  produce  to 
the  Ankoi  tea  of  China,  which  comes  entirely  from  the  southern  pro- 
vinces. There  are  two  kinds  of  tea-plant  in  China — the  Thea  Bohea  and 
the  Thea  viridis.  The  latter  is  the  best,  but  he  feared  that  in  India  we 
had  only  the  former.  It  was  not  true  that  one  plant  produces  black  tea 
and  the  other  green ;  both  green  and  black  are  produced  from  the  same 


BOTANY.  217 

plant  by  differeut  modes  of  preparation,  though  probably  one  species 
may  be  more  adapted  for  one  colour  and  the  other  for  the  other.  The 
success  of  the  cultivation  in  Kuraaon  is  complete ;  land  is  in  plenty  and 
rent  low,  while  good  labour  is  accessible  in  any  quantity  at  four  rupees  a 
month.  He  had  been  termed  a  visionary  ten  years  ago  for  having  advo- 
cated the  introduction  of  the  plants  into  India,  where  they  are  already 
producing  important  results,  though  certainly  not  comparable  to  what 
will  be  found  when  the  culture  shall  become  general. 

TEA-PLANTING  IN  INDIA. 

In  the  Tear-hook  of  Facts,  1848,  p.  230,  we  noticed  Mr.  Jameson's 
proof  of  the  capability  of  the  Valley  of  the  Dhoon,  and  the  adjacent  dis- 
tricts, for  the  production  of  Tea.    We  have  now  to  add  that  the  Govern- 
ment grant  for  this  experiment  is  to  extend  over  a  series  of  years,  at  the 
rate  of  one  lakh  (£12000)   per  annum;  and  that  Mr.  Jameson  is  of 
opinion  that  Annandale  and  Uotghur,  in  the  Simla  jurisdiction,  are  suite  d 
to  the  object  in  view.     And  crossing  the  Sutlej  at  Kotghur,  he  has  pro- 
ceeded as  far  as  Kangra,  via  Koolse  and  Mundee.   Villages  are  now  being 
built  everywhere  on  the  old  sites  of  those  that  were  burnt  and  destroyed 
by  the  Sikhs.     At  Gumpta  is  the  descent  into  the  Becar  Valley,  a  mag- 
nificent plain,  well  irrigated ;  after  which,  there  is  a  series  of  valleys  on 
to  Noorpoor, — viz.  the  Rakloon,  Kangra,  Rilloo,  &c.,  varying  in  height 
from  8,000  to  4,500  feet,  and  separated  from  each  other  by  small  ranges 
of  hills,  running  N.  and  S.     To  the  north,  these  valleys  are  formed  by  a 
high  range  (at  the  date  of  the  communication,  December  15,  1847) 
covered  with  snow,  and  to  the  south  by  a  lower  range.     The  revenue 
derived  from  these  valleys  was  then  about  two  lakhs  (£25,000)  of  rupees ; 
and  when  the  plant  is  brought  generally  into  cultivation,  the  revenue  is 
expected  to  be  increased  cent,  per  cent.      In  the  Beeas,  Paklun,  Kangra,  a 
and  Rilloo  valleys,  there  is  stated  to  be  nearly  as  much  land  adapted  for 
tea  cultivation  as  would,  if  thus  used,    supply    the  whole  European 
market.   The  principal  products  now  cultivated  are  rice,  wheat,  and  sugar  ; 
the  latter  is  described  as  wretchedly  poor,  being  very  small,  and  contain- 
ing but  little  sacchariue.matter.   W^eare  told  that,  much  as  has  been  writ- 
ten of  the  Dhera  Dhoon  and  its  capabilities,  it  falls  far  short  of  the 
Kangra  and  Rilloo  valleys.     Here  many  sites  for  tea  plantations  have 
already  been  selected ;  one  in  Raklim,  a  waste  of  4  miles  by  3.    In  short, 
it  is  clear  that  in  a  few  years  these  valleys  must  become  important  for 
tea  culture,  as  the  smaller  sites  selected  by  Mr.  Jameson  are  too  nume- 
rous to  mention.     At  present,  tea  is  imported  from  Yorkund,  in  Noor- 
poor, packed  in  bulk  ;  it  is  much  valued  by  the  natives ;  the  finer  sorts 
are  sold  as  high  as  six  rupees, — a  proof  that  the  use  of  tea  would  become 
much  more  general  in  that  as  in  other  quarters,  provided  it  was  sold  at 
a  lower  rate.     The  Dhera  Dhoon  certainly  possesses  one  great  advantage 
over  the  hill-country  beyond  the  Sutlej,  and  that  consists  in  the  facility 
of  transit  presented  by  the  Jumna  and  Ganges.     At  Kangra,  the  distance 
from  the  plaius  is  four  marches ;  but  these  once  got  over,  the  Sutlej  and 
the  Indus  will  afford  an  excellent  outlet  to  Bombay.     The  arrangements 
now  in  progress  will,  in  a  few  years,  put  the  government  in  possession  of 


218  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

vast  tea-forests  from  the  banks  of  the  Kalee  to  Noorpore,  and  those  who 
formerly  considered  the  idea  of  supplying  the  home  market  with  tea 
from  India  as  a  mere  chimera,  must  ere  long  be  convinced  that  the  thing 
M  to  be  done,  The  quantity  of  seeds  produced  in  Gurwal  and  Kumaon 
this  season  exceeded  one  hundred  mauuds ;  besides  which,  the  tea-plant 
is  easily  reared  from  cuttings  and  layers. — Abridged  from  the  helhi 
Gazette ;  quoted  in  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  88. 

In  Jameson's  Journal,  No,  89,  will  be  found,  in  part,  quoted  from  the 
Journal  of  the  Agri-UorticuUural  Society  of  India,  a  valuable  paper 
descriptive  of  the  tea  plantations  of  Kumaon  and  Gurwal,  and  of  the 
mode  of  manufacturing  black  and  green  teas.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr. 
Jameson,  superintendent  of  the  Botanic  Gardens  of  Upper  India,  and  is 
drawn  up  in  the  shape  of  a  report  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the 
N.W.  Provinces. 


SYSTEM  OF  ZOOLOGICAL  NOTATION. 

Pkof.  Ovten  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Development  and  Change  of  the  Teeth  in  the  Kangaroos,  and  on  the 
Homologies  and  Notation  of  the  Teeth  in  Mammalia."     The  Professor 
commenced  by  observing  that  one  of  the  results  of  the  determination  of 
the  homologies  of  parts  of  ihe  animal  body  was  the  power  of  denoting 
them  by  symbols,  and  gave,  in  illustration  of  the  advantage  of  this 
substitute  for  verbal  definitions,  some  descriptions  of  the  order  of  deve- 
lopment and  change  of  dentition  in  different  mammalia,  and  especially  in 
the  genus  Macrojms  (Shaw).     After  describing  particulars,  in  which  the 
proposed  notation  for  the  individual  teeth  was  exemplified.  Prof.   Owen 
proceeded  to  observe,  that  the  substitution  of  signs  for  verbal  descriptions 
was  at  once  the  power  of  the  algebraist  and  the  proof  of  the  exactness  of 
-  mathematical  reasoning.     To  gain  the  like  power  for  anatomical  science 
should  be  the  chief  aim  of  its  cultivators.     To  this  end  the  determination 
of  the  homologies  of  parts  was  the  indispensable  step, — which  should  be 
followed  by  denoting  the  part  by  a  symbol,  indicating  it  under  all  its 
modifications  of  forms,  and  in  all  the  species  of  animals  in  which  such 
part  existed.     Prof.    Owen  concluded  by   stating   his   conviction   that 
nothing  would  influence  more  the  rapid  and  successful  progress  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  structm-e  of  animal  bodies,  than  the  determination  of 
the  nature  of  the  parts  by  tracing  their  homologies,  and  the  condensation 
of  the  propositions  respecting  them  by  attaching  to  the  parts  so  deter- 
mined, symbols,  or,  at  least,  single  substantive  names,  distinctly  defined  ; 
the  bones  might  be  denoted  by  simple  numerals,  as  was  proposed  in  his 
work  on  the  "  Archetype  of  the  Skeleton."     And  the  eliect  of  the  few 
symbols  for  the  teeth,  which,  when  explained,  were  so  easily  remembered, 
had  been  shown  to  be  to  render  unnecessary  the  endless  repetition  of  the 
verbal  definitions  of  the  parts,  to  harmonize  conflicting  synonyms,  to 
serve  as  a  universal  language,  and  to  convey  the  writer's  meaning  in  the 
fewest  and  clearest  terms.     The  entomologist  had  already  partially  ap- 
plied this  principle  with  much  success,  and  the  signs  (j  and  9  for  male 
and  female  constantly  occurred  ;  the  astronomer  had  early  availed  himself 
of  it  in  the  signs  0  and  J)   for  the  sun  and  moon,  and  in  the  difterent 


BOTANY.  219 

symbols  of  the  planets,  &c. ;  and  Mr.  Babbage  has  advocated  the  use  of 
this  powerful  instrument  of  discovery  in  geometrical  science  in  his  paper 
"  On  the  Influence  of  Signs  in  Mathematical  Reasoning." 

Dr.  Carpenter  remarked  on  the  value  of  comparative  researches  in  the 
development  of  organs,  and  felt  that  Prof.  Owen's  proposed  system  of 
notation  would  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  zoologists.  He  inquired  the 
relation  between  the  tiue  molars  and  the  milk  teeth  in  the  human  being. 
Prof.  Owen  regarded  the  true  molars  as  more  analogous  to  the  deci- 
duous molars  than  to  the  pre-molars.  Prof.  E.  Forbes  believed  that  this 
paper  would  be  the  commencement  of  a  new  era  for  zoology,  and  that  a 
system  of  notation  would  be  much  the  most  efficient  mode  of  describing 
the  parts  of  animals. 

The  reader  is  specially  recommended  to  refer  to  the  abstract  of  this 
valuable  communication,  in  No.  1086  of  the 


NEW  SPECIES  OF  ARGONAUT. 

Mr.  Lovell  Reeve  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  a 
paper  "  On  a  new  Species  of  Argonaut,  with  some  Observations  on  the 
A.  gondola,  Dillwyn."  Among  the  argonauts  captured  by  Sir  Edward 
Belcher  during  the  voyage  of  the  Saraarang,  are  two  species, — one  distinct 
from  any  hitherto  described,  the  other  identical  with  a  species,  A.  gon- 
dola, described  upwards  of  thirty  years  since  by  the  President  of  the 
Section,  Mr.  Dillwyn,  in  his  "  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Shells,"  but 
which  had  been  disposed  of  by  subsequent  writers  as  a  variety  or  imma- 
ture state  of  the  A.  hians  or  tiiberculosa.  Specimens  of  each  species  were 
taken  alive  on  the  Samarang  by  means  of  a  gauze  net  at  night,  and 
drawings  of  the  animal  were  exhibited,  made  by  Mr.  Adams  from  the 
living  animal  at  the  time  of  its  capture ;  and  the  author  had  satisfactorily 
identified  Mr.  Dillwyu's  species  by  means  of  these  and  other  specimens 
in  different  stages  of  growth  collected  by  Mr.  Cuming  in  the  seas  adja- 
cent to  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  A.  Ouoenii  is  distinguished  from  any 
species  hitherto  described  by  its  laterally  compressed  form  and  prominent 
development  of  the  wrinkles.  The  A.  gondola  is  chiefly  remarkable  on 
account  of  the  wide  prolongation  of  the  auricles  on  either  side  ot  the  spine, 
whilst  the  keel  of  the  shell  is  unusually  wide,  with  the  tubercles  distant 
and  more  compressed.  The  lateral  wrinkles  are  much  less  numerous 
than  in  A.  tuberculosa,  to  which  Mr.  Dillwyn's  species  had  been  ascribed, 
and  do  not  fade  into  solitary  warts. 

Sir  Edward  Belcher  stated  that  the  animals  were  taken  between  St. 
Helena  and  the  Line,  and  that  they  were  always  caught  an  hour  before 
daylight. 


220  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 


THE  GLACIAL  THEORY  NOT  ABANDONED  BY  ITS  AUTHOR,  PROF. 
AGASSIZ. 

In  some  influential  quarters  in  this  country,  and  also  on  the  Continent 
of  Europe,  it  is  believed  that  Professor  Agassiz  has  abandoned  his  famous 
and  ingenious  Glacial  Theory ;  but  the  following  extract  from  a  valuable 
work,  entitled  Principles  of  Zoology,  just  published  by  Agassiz,  shews 
that  this  belief  is  unfounded : — The  Modern  Epoch — Reign  of  Man. — 
The  present  epoch  succeeds  to,  but  is  not  a  continuation  of,  the  Tertiary 
age.  These  two  epochs  are  sepai-ated  by  a  great  geological  event,  traces 
of  which  we  see  everywhere  around  us.  The  climate  of  the  northern 
hemisphere,  which  had  been,  during  the  Tertiary  epoch,  considerably 
warmer  than  now,  so  as  to  allow  of  the  growth  of  palm-trees  in  the  tem- 
perate zone  of  our  time,  became  much  colder  at  the  end  of  this  period, 
causing  the  polar  glaciers  to  advance  south,  much  beyond  their  previous 
limits.  It  was  this  ice,  either  floating  like  icebergs,  or,  as  there  is  still 
more  reason  to  believe,  moving  along  the  ground,  like  the  glaciers  of  the 
present  day,  that,  in  its  movements  towards  the  south,  rounded  and  po- 
lished the  hardest  rocks,  and  deposited  the  numerous  detached  fragments 
brought  from  distant  localities,  which  we  find  everywhere  scattered  about 
upon  the  soil,  and  which  are  known  under  the  name  of  erratics,  boulders, 
or  greyheads.  This  phase  of  the  earth's  history  has  been  called  by  geo- 
logists the  Glacial  or  Drift  'period. — (See  Part  i.  p.  203.) 


GLACIERS  OF  THE  HIMALAYA. 

Lieut.  R.  Strachey,  Bengal  Engineers,  has  communicated  to  the 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  N.  S.  No.  8,  a  paper, 
descriptive  of  the  Glaciers  of  the  Pindur  and  Kuphinee  Rivers  in  the 
Kumaon — Himalaya.  He  is  also  fully  satisfied  of  the  actual  existence 
of  many  other  glaciers,  both  from  accounts  of  residents  and  visitors,  and 
from  his  own  observation.  Lieut.  Strachey  therefore  concludes,  that  in 
the  Himalaya,  as  in  the  Alps,  almost  every  valley  that  descends  from  the 
ranges  covered  with  perpetual  snow,  has  at  its  head  a  true  glacier. 


GLACIERS  IN  NORTH  WALES. 

The  Dean  of  Westminster  has  exhibited  to  the  British  Association,  a 
Map  of  North  Wales,  and  sketches  of  rocks  in  the  valleys  around  Snow- 
don,  and  pointed  out  the  various  indications  of  the  former  existence  of 
Glaciers  in  these  valleys.  The  detritus  in  this  district  was  stated  to  be 
entirely  local,  and  to  have  no  relation  to  the  northern  drift.  The  best 
localities  for  observing  the  eff'ect  of  the  moving  masses  of  ice  which 
formerly  occupied  the  seven  valleys  of  Snowdon  are  at  Pont  Aber-glaslyn, 
near  Beed-gelert,  where  the  surface  of  the  rocks  below  the  superficial  soil 
is  worn  and  furrowed  in  the  direction  of  the  valley ;  at  Capel  Cerrig, 
where  there  is  a  great  extent  of  naked  rock  all  exhibiting  the  effects  of 
glacier  action  ;  the  vale  of  Llanberris ;  the  valley  of  Naut-Francon, 
where  glaciers  descending  from  Llyn  Ogwyn  and  other  elevated  lakes  and 


GEOLOGY.  221 

tarns  have  propelled  moraines  not  only  along  the  valley,  hut  also  across 
Lake  Idwal,  then  filled  with  ice,  to  its  northern  shore  ;— at  Llyny-Gader, 
also,  there  were  very  remarkable  round-topped  hillocks  worn  and 
smoothed  by  the  progress  of  the  ice.  The  Dean  then  gave  an  account  of 
the  principal  phenomena  of  glacier  action  in  Switzerland,  where  they 
are  believed  to  have  formerly  extended  much  farther  then  at  present. 

DILUVIAL  SCRA.TCHES  ON  THE  ROCKS  NEAR  EDINBURGH. 

Dr.  Fleming,  in  a  paper  read  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh, 
states  that,  recently,  an  opportunity  had  presented  itself  of  observing,  at 
a  newly-opened  sandstone  quarry,  dressed  and  scratched  surfaces,  at  an 
elevation  above  the  level  of  the  sea  greater  than  any  examples  of  the 
same  kind  of  diluvial  action  as  yet  recorded,  as  occurring  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  locality  is  eastward  of  the  east  Cairn  Hill,  in  the  Pent- 
land  Hills,  at  a  place  termed  "Thomson's  Walls,"  and  its  elevation, 
according  to  Knox's  Map  of  Mid-Lothian,  is  1400  feet. 

Dr.  Fleming  then  stated  that,  in  the  autumn  of  1847,  in  addition  to 
the  example  of  a  dressed  and  scratched  surface  130  yards  westward  of  Gran- 
ton  Pier,  on  a  level  with  the  beach,  he  had  observed  a  similar  occurrence 
at  the  east  side  of  the  harbour  of  North  Berwick,  near  the  "  Auld  Kirk," 
on  the  surface  of  a  rock  of  amygdaloid ;  and  added,  that  he  had  found 
similar  scratches,  at  the  sea-level,  on  the  south  side  of  Montrose  Basin. 

The  author  next  adverted  to  an  example  of  dressed  vertical  surfaces, 
with  horizontal  s,cvdXc\ies,  on  the  northern  base  of  North  Berwick  Law. 
He  likewise  referred  to  the  horizontal  scratches  on  a  vertical  face  of  a 
rock  recently  exposed  at  the  Hadderwick  Lime- Quarries,  north  from 
Montrose. 

Dr.  Fleming  next  called  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  the  Blackford 
Hill  example  of  a  dressed  and  scratched  surface,  and  intimated  that  the 
scratches  had  a  dip  to  the  eastward,  reaching,  in  some  cases,  to  50°.  He 
stated  it  as  probable,  that  the  phenomena,  instead  of  having  resulted  from 
diluvial  action,  have  been  produced  by  the  abrading  operations  of  the 
Braid  Bum.  

TRANSPORTING  POWER  OF  CURRENTS. 

At  the  late  meeting  of  the  Association  of  American  Geologists  and 
Naturalists,  Prof.  W.  B.  Rogers  remarked  that  the  subject  of  the  Trans- 
porting Power  of  Water  in  the  force  of  Rivers,  Currents,  Waves,  &c.,  is 
one  which  at  yet  stands  in  need  of  experimental  investigation.  We 
have  yet,  indeed,  no  accurate  data  on  the  subject,  and  it  would  form  a 
most  important  contribution  to  geological  science,  were  the  power  of 
aqueous  transportation  really  ascertained  in  numerical  force. 

Prof.  Agassiz  said,  that  the  rate  of  currents,  as  transporting  agents, 
was  not  accurately  ascertained.  There  were  no  data  to  determine  the 
transporting  power  of  the  agent  or  currents  which  transported  the 
boulders  and  drift.  But  the  data  of  the  glacier  movements  have  been 
accurately  determined. 

Mr.  Dana  stated  that  publications  had  appeared  in  England,  shewing 
the  velocity  if  water ;  but  the  deductions  arrived  at  were  on  mathematics 
and  not  experimental  grounds. 


222  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

Professor  Agassiz  said,  that  in  the  early  history  of  glaciers  their  move- 
ments were  explained  on  mathematical  grounds ;  but  experiment  had 
shewn  that  the  whole  matter  was  erroneous. 


TRANSPORT  OF  BOULDERS. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  Geological  Society,  "  On  the  Transport 
of  Erratic  Boulders  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  level,"  by  C,  Darwin,  £sq. 
Boulders,  believed  to  have  been  derived  from  rocks,  now  only  found  at  a 
much  lower  level,  have  been  discovered  in  many  parts  of  this  country  and 
in  America,  They  are  mentioned  by  Prof.  Phillips  in  Yorkshire,  as  carried 
from  the  bottom  of  the  vale  of  Eden  over  the  top  of  Stainmoor  ;  the  author 
himself  saw  them  on  Ben  Erin,  near  Glen  Roy ;  Mr.  Maclaren  and  Mr. 
Milne  describe  them  on  Arthur's  Seat,  near  Edinburgh ;  Mr.  Gumming, 
in  the  Isle  of  Man  ;  and  Prof.  Hitchcock,  in  North  America :  so  that  no 
doubt  of  the  fact  can  exist.  Mr.  Darwin  shows  that  they  cannot  be  de- 
rived from  rocks  once  occurring  at  the  same  level  and  now  destroyed. 
He  also  states  that  the  phenomenon  cannot  be  explained  from  unequal 
elevation  of  the  land,  which  would  imply  the  most  capricious  and  unequal 
movements  on  the  surface  of  both  continents,  and  often  within  very  limited 
spaces — as  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  where  the  blocks  within  two  miles  of  the 
parent  rock  are  found  nearly  800  feet  above  it.  He  also  remarks  that 
they  cannot  have  been  picked  up  by  icebergs  from  the  bottom  of  deep 
water  and  then  thrown  on  the  land.  He,  therefore,  proposes  the  theory 
that  they  were  moved  by  coast  ice,  which  caught  them  up  repeatedly,  and 
during  the  gradual  depression  of  the  land,  which  we  know  was  then  going 
on,  transported  them  always  to  higher  and  higher  levels,  or  rather  kept 
them  from  siuking  along  with  the  sinking  land.  In  consequence  of  being 
inclosed  in  ice,  the  boulders  resemble  so  much  drift  timber — which  must 
•  always  remain  floating  on  the  surface — and  is  at  length  driven  on  the 
shore.  These  boulders,  by  their  elevation  above  their  original  locality, 
thus  mark  the  extent  to  which  the  land  sank  during  the  period  of  their 
transport,  and  also  its  subsequent  elevation ;  and  are  thus  like  buoys  of 
stone  by  which  nature  marks  the  former  movements  of  the  earth's  crust. 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  ROCKS  IN  THE  ERRATIC  BASIN  OF  THE  RHONE. 

M.  A.  GuYOT  has  communicated  to  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  89,  a 
series  of  facts  on  this  inquiry,  which,  in  his  opinion,  affirms : — 

1st.  That  the  Distribution  of  the  species  of  Rocks  in  the  interior  of  the 
Basin  of  the  Rhone  is  subject  to  a  law. 

2nd.  That  this  law  is,  in  all  respects,  conformable  to  that  which  re- 
gulates the  arrangements  of  moraines  on  an  actual  glacier  composed  of 
many  tributaries. 

3rd.  That  the  great  glacier  which  the  extension  and  arrangement  of 
the  Alpine  debris,  which  constitute  the  erratic  basin  of  the  Rhone,  pre- 
supposes, had  its  head  in  this  prodigious  mass  of  the  Pennine  Alps  and 
Mont  Rosa,  the  most  elevated,  most  extensive,  and  richest  in  snowy 
peaks  and  profound  valleys — in  a  word,  the  most  colossal  of  all  those 
which  convey  their  tribute  to  the  valley  of  the  Rhone ;  a  /ast  receptacle 


GEOLOGY.  223 

of  eternal  snow  and  ice,  which,  even  in  the  present  day,  knows  no  rival 
atiiong  the  Alps ;  insomuch  that  the  whole  of  Haut  Valais,  on  the  one 
hiiud,  and  the  valleys  which  descend  from  Mont  Blanc  on  the  other,  act 
simply  as  its  affluents. 

Thus  we  explain  the  grouping  of  the  species  of  rocks  in  parallel  and 
linear  zones,  their  distribution  in  special  localities,  and  their  respective 
situation,  always  conformable  to  the  position  of  the  valleys  from  which 
they  have  issued.  Thus,  by  means  of  the  law  of  central  or  median 
moraines,  we  give  an  explanation  of  the  remarkable  fact,  that  the  blocks 
which  come  from  the  most  remote  valleys  and  the  most  elevated  peaks, 
such  as  the  Pennine  rocks,  are  likewise  those  which,  notwithstanding 
their  often  enormous  size,  stray  the  greatest  distance  from  their  primi- 
tive sites.  According  to  this  hypothesis,  the  preservation  of  the  blocks, 
their  angular  forms  or  striated  surfaces,  their  passage  across  lakes,  their 
elevated  position  on  the  sides  of  mountains,  for  which  no  other  hypothesis 
gives  any  probable  account — in  a  word,  the  erratic  phenomena — are  no 
longer  in  our  eyes  an  impenetrable  mystery. 


FOLDINGS  IN  THE  APALLACHIAN  STRATA. 

Prof.  Rogers,  in  a  paper  read  by  him  to  the  British  Association, 
"  On  the  Geology  of  Pennsylvania,"  remarks : — Between  the  Tertiary  plain 
and  the  Apallachian  hills,  is  a  great  tract  of  unfossiliferous  rocks  (azoic 
and  metamorphic)  at  least  10,000  feet  in  thickness,  and  along  their 
western  boundary  for  100  or  150  miles  the  newer  rocks  all  dip  binder 
them:  this  extraordinary  circumstance  was  first  explained  by  Prof. 
Rogers,  who  has  shown  that  it  is  the  result  of  the  Folding  of  the  Rocks. 
The  Apallachian  chain  consists,  in  fact,  of  a  series  of  parallel  anticlinal 
and  synclinal  folds,  all  leaning  over  to  the  west,  so  much  as  to  invert  the 
series  of  beds  on  the  west  of  each  synclinal :  these  folds  are  steepest 
where  they  plunge  beneath  the  azoic  series,  and  open  out  gradually  west- 
ward, until  the  strata  become  horizontal  in  the  Ohio  coal-field.  Prof. 
Rogers  then  gave  a  summary  of  his  theory  of  the  origin  of  these  great 
parallel  foldings  in  the  Apallachian  strata,  which  he  attributes  to  a  series 
of  earthquake  movements  flowing  forward  in  a  particular  direction  in 
i;arallel  lines ;  and  he  illustrated  this  view  by  a  description  of  three  re- 
markable earthquakes  in  the  year  1833.  The  first,  that  of  St.  Domingo, 
was  experienced  by  the  officers  of  a  British  vessel,  at  sea,  who  stated  that 
looking  at  the  coast  they  had  seen  "  the  crests  of  the  hills  waving  like  the 
back  of  a  serpent  in  gentle  motion."  These  undulations  had  been  traced 
along  lines  on  which  they  were  synchronous.  The  second,  the  earthquake 
in  the  vale  of  the  Mississippi,  in  which  the  lines  of  synchronous  shock 
ranged  N.N.E.  and  S.S.W.  for  500  miles  :  at  a  parallel  300  miles  east  of 
the  first,  the  shock  was  experienced  eight  minutes  later ;  and  all  along 
the  Atlantic  shore  twenty  minutes  later;  the  sensation  was  not  that  of  a 
harsh  grating  of  subjacent  rocks,  but  a  billowy  heave.  Third,  a  few 
months  later  another  earthquake  afi'ected  the  whole  volcanic  line  of  the 
"Windward  Isles  and  Bermuda  simultaneously,  and  was  attended  by  a 
sudden  return  to  activity  of  some  of  the  dormant  craters  :  in  the  course 
of  twenty-two  minutes  it  had  flowed  to  the  United  States,  and  rocked 


284  YEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

the  whole  coast  from  Florida  to  New  York.  All  these  phenomena  were 
considered  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  a  flexible  crust  resting  ou  a  fluid 
nucleus  ;  and  as  in  former  times  the  crust  may  have  been  more  flexible, 
and  the  volcanic  forces  more  energetic,  the  whole  surface  may  have  been 
thrown  into  billowy  undulations,  and  these  have  become  permanently 
fixed  by  the  successive  injection  of  lava  into  the  cracks  and  fissures  of  the 
various  folds,  thus  preventing  their  return  to  horizontality. — Athenatm, 
No.  1087. 

MUD -SLIDE  IN  MALTA. 

Mr.  a.  Mtlward  has  described  to  the  British  Association,  an  exten- 
sive Mud- Slide  in  the  Island  of  Malta,  with  the  view  of  elucidating  the 
motion  of  viscous  bodies  and  the  analogous  phenomena  of  glaciers. 
Previous  to  the  autumn  of  1846,  a  large  quantity  of  mud,  dredged  from 
the  harbour  of  Valetta,  was  deposited  on  level  ground  between  the  har- 
bour and  cliflF,  and  covered  about  two  acres  of  ground.  The  autumnal 
rains,  aided  by  the  overflow  of  a  tank  on  the  cliff',  caused  the  main  body 
of  the  mud  to  flow  from  the  side  next  the  sea,  where  it  was  piled  up 
highest,  towards  the  cliff :  the  mud  descended  in  streams,  whose  inclina- 
tions were  greatest  at  their  origin,  and  their  surface  was  marked  by  alter- 
nate curved  bands  of  coarse  and  fine  material,  the  rough  bands  being 
slightly  in  relief:  where  the  descent  was  steepest  the  curved  bands 
were  broken  and  irregular.  As  the  surface  of  the  mud  dried,  two  sets  of 
fissures  were  formed, — one  in  the  direction  of  the  stream,  the  other  follow- 
ing the  curved  bands.  In  the  spring  of  1848,  a  smaller  slide  took  place, 
in  which  the  surface  of  the  mud  was  raised  into  curved  bands  or  waves 
1^  to  2  feet  high,  the  ridges  being  fonned  of  the  coarser  materials. 
It  appears  that  in  the  first  instance  the  surface-mud  was  semi-fluid,  and 
flowed  over  a  comparatively  dry  and  hardened  surface,  but  afterwards 
the  surface-mud  dried  by  exposure,  whilst  that  below  remained  moist. — 
Athenaum,  No.  1087. 


CHAT  MOSS. 

Mr.  G.  W.  Ormerod  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association, 
some  particulars  of  the  Drainage  of  a  Portion  of  Chat  Moss.  The  surface 
of  the  moss  varies  from  80  ft.  to  100  ft.  above  the  sea  level ;  its  bottom, 
at  the  deepest  part,  is  100  ft.  below  the  sea-line.  Part  of  this  moss  is 
now  being  laid  dry  by  means  of  open  drains,  under  the  directions  of  Mr. 
Ormerod.  After  cutting  the  drains,  the  level  of  the  peat  falls  rapidly : 
near  the  main  leader  it  sank  perpendicularly  5  ft.  6  in.  in  nine  months, 
and  in  one  part  2  ft.  0  in.  in  a  single  week. 

The  Dean  of  Westminster  inquired  whether,  after  the  peat  had  been 
burnt,  a  fertile  soil  could  be  obtained  without  the  addition  of  lime  and 
other  materials,  which  usually  cost  as  much  as  £20  per  acre.  In  the 
borders  of  the  Irish  bogs  many  tracts  had  been  reclaimed  by  small  occu- 
pants, who  worked  upon  them,  and  exercised  a  proper  economy  with 
regard  to  manures.  But  if  large  tracts  of  bog  had  to  be  reclaimed  by 
landowners  who  had  to  pay  for  everything,  it  became  a  question  of  cost 
which  had  not  been  answered.     Mr.  Ormerod  replied,  that  a  considerable 


GEOLOGY.  225 

amount  had  been  reclaimed  on  the  borders  of  chat  moss,  and  that  the 
occupants  were  so  well  satisfied  with  the  experiment  that  they  were  going 
on  with  it.  It  was  usual,  after  taking  the  water  off,  to  delve  it  and  apply 
town  manure  mixed  with  marl  from  the  borders  of  the  morass. 


DECOMPOSITION  OF  ROCKS. 

M.  Ebelmen,  at  the  conclusion  of  a  memoir  on  this  subject,  examines 
one  of  the  most  important  questions  relating  to  the  natural  histoiy  of 
the  globe, — that  of  the  relations  which  necessarily  exist  between  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  alteration  of  rocks,  and  the  composition  of  atmospheric 
air.  "  The  different  bases  which  separate  from  the  silex  by  the  Decom- 
position of  igneous  Rocks,  determine,  in  fact,  the  precipitation,  the 
mineralization  of  the  oxygen  and  of  the  carbonic  acid  ;  the  last  element 
in  particular  is  absorbed  in  great  quantity,  and  a  simple  calculation 
shows  that  a  small  body  of  decomposed  plutonic  rocks  is  sufficient  for 
the  complete  precipitation  of  the  carbonic  acid  contained  in  the  air. 
Now,  the  argillaceous  bed  of  stratified  formations  induces  the  decom- 
position of  immense  masses  of  plutonic  rocks ;  and,  consequently,  the 
precipitation  of  quantities  of  carbonic  acid  out  of  all  proportion  with 
those  actually  exisisting  in  the  atmosphere.  This  result  may  be  ex- 
plained without  any  necessity  of  admitting  that  the  air  has  possessed,  in 
the  different  geological  epochs,  a  very  different  composition  from  that 
which  it  now  presents. 

"  I  observe  in  volcanic  phenomena,"  says  M.  Ebelmen,  "  the  prin- 
cipal cause  which  restores  to  the  atmosphere  the  carbonic  acid  which  the 
decomposition  of  rocks  continually  precipitates  from  it.  We  know  that 
this  gas  is  disengaged  in  abundance  from  the  ground  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  active  volcanoes,  and  even  from  extinct  volcanoes.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  witness  the  formation  of  igneous  rocks,  accompanied  with  the 
disengagement  of  a  gas,  which  the  destruction  of  these  same  gases  wiU 
precipitate.  The  central  heat  of  the  globe  will  therefore  be  indispensable 
for  the  maintenance  of  organic  life  on  its  surface.  The  beautiful  experi- 
ments of  Saussure  on  the  influence  of  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air  on 
the  nourishment  of  vegetables,  are  no  longer  sufficient  to  explain  the  per- 
manence of  the  composition  of  atmospheric  air.  We  see  that  phenomena 
entirely  of  a  different  kind  must  be  introduced  for  the  solution  of  the 
question,  and  that  the  mineral  elements  of  the  crust  of  the  earth  likewise 
concur,  by  the  inverse  reactions,  the  one  on  the  other,  to  produce  this 
equilibrium." — From  Ulnstiiut :  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  88. 


CYPRESS  BASINS. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  American  Association,  by  Dr.  Dickson, 
on  the  Cypress  Basins  of  Louisiana  and  Mississippi.  He  spoke  of  the 
geographical  distribution  of  the  cypress — the  habits  of  the  tree.  It  runs 
parallel  with  the  cotton  plant.  But  a  small  proportion  of  the  w^ood  is 
available  for  mechanical  purposes.  But  little  can  be  transported  to 
market,  as  the  specific  gravity  is  greater  than  that  of  water.  The  cypress 
growing  along  the  basins  is  of  an  inferior  character ;  that  growing  along 
the  Mississippi  river  is  a  much  better  wood.     There  are  remains  of 


228  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

cypress  stumps  which  must  he  at  least  4000  years  old.     In  the  texture 
and  quality  of  the  wood  there  is  great  variety. 

NATURAL  BRIDGE  IN  ILLINOIS. 

In  Jackson  county,  Illinois,  on  the  south  side  of  Muddy  River,  near 
Murfreesborough,  there  is  a  Natural  Bridge  thrown  across  the  bed  of  the 
rivulet  from  buttresses  of  nearly  equal  size,  worn  out  of  the  solid  rock  by 
the  water,  as  smoothly  as  if  cut  out  by  a  chisel.  The  bridge  is  a  solid 
block  of  limestone,  84  feet  in  the  span  of  the  arch  from  buttress  to  but- 
tress, 22  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  stream,  15  feet  wide,  7  feet  thick  in 
the  middle,  and  about  12  feet  thick  at  the  ends  resting  on  the  two  but- 
tresses. The  appearance  of  the  whole  is  that  of  a  modern  stone  bridge, 
except  that  the  north  end  is  a  little  lower  and  narrower  thau  the  other, 
though  the  inclination  is  not  more  thau  2^  feet  in  its  length  on  the  top. 
It  is  120  feet  long,  and  firmly  and  conveniently  set  into  the  opposite 
banks,  and  over  it  is  a  good  road  for  horses. 

POSITION  IN  THE  CRETACEOUS  SERIES  OF  BEDS  CONTAINING 
PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME. 

In  a  letter  in  the  Gardeners'  Chronicle  of  the  19th  of  February  last, 
Mr.  Paine,  of  Farnham,  gives  an  account  of  some  strata  in  which  Phos- 
phate of  Lime  occurs  in  sufficient  abundance  to  render  it  of  importance  to 
agriculture  ;  and  the  editor  expresses  a  hope  that  the  notice  may  lead  to 
the  successful  search  for  like  underground  wealth  in  other  parts  of  the 
country.  A  paper  has  been  presented  to  the  Geological  Society,  by 
Mr.  R.  C.  A.  Austen,  in  part  fulfilment  of  this  hope.  Many  observers, 
as  M.  Brongniart,  Dr.  Buckland,  Sir  H,  de  la  Beche,  and  Dr.  Fitton,  have 
noticed  the  occurrence  of  phosphates  of  lime  in  the  gault.  The  author 
has  also  noticed  them  in  his  account  of  the  vicinity  of  Guildford.  The 
important  part  of  the  recent  discovery  is,  therefore,  only  that  this 
substance  is  so  abundant  as  to  have  great  economic  value.  Near  Guild- 
ford, phosphate  nodules  are  abundant  in  the  upper  greensand.  In  the 
gault  below,  concretions  of  phosphate  of  lime  are  not  so  uniformly 
diffused,  but  occur  in  two  seams — one  in  the  argillaceous  portion  of  the 
bed,  the  other  very  low  in  the  mass.  Both  beds  are  very  persistent;  but 
in  consequence  of  the  undulatious  of  the  strata  along  the  base  of  the 
escarpment  of  the  North  Downs,  it  is  only  a  few  places  that  will  repay 
those  who  may  look  for  this  mineral  substance,  the  beds  of  gault  and 
greensand  being  often  far  below  the  surface.  The  phosphates  have  been 
found  beneath  Newland's  Corner,  near  Guildford,  at  Puttenham,  and  other 
places.  The  greensand  and  gault  at  Farnham  also  contain  beds  produc- 
tive of  phosphates  of  lime.  The  nodules  have  the  form  of  coprolites,  but 
differ  from  these  bodies  in  internal  structure. — Athencsum,  No.  1064. 

A  paper  was  next  read  to  the  Geological  Society,  "  On  the  Presence  of 
Phosphoric  Acid  in  the  Subordinate  Members  of  the  Chalk  Formation," 
by  J.  C.  Nisbet.  From  the  marl  near  Farnham  there  was  obtained  by 
washing  a  substance  evidently  coprolitic,  containing  28  per  cent,  of 
phosphoric  acid,  while  the  general  mass  contains  as  much  as  2  to  3  per 
cent.      In  tome  nodules  from  the  gault  near  Maidstone  so  much  as 


GEOLOGY.  227 

23  per  cent,  was  also  obtained,  and  some  nodular  masses  of  shells  from 
the  Shanklin  Sands  showed  15  per  cent,  of  this  important  substance. — 
Athenceum,  No.  1064. 


PHOSPHATE  OF  LIME  IN  THE  ISLE  OF  WIGHT. 

Capt.  Ibbetson  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper 
"  On  the  Position  of  the  Chloritic  Marl,  or  Phosphate  of  Lime  Bed  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight."  The  upper  greeusand  stratum,  which  has  received  so 
much  attention  lately  from  the  discovery,  by  Mr.  Payne,  of  Farnham, 
that  it  contained  abundance  of  phosphate  of  hme,  is  extensively  developed 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  The  phosphate  bed  is  the  uppermost  portion  of 
the  greensand,  immediately  under  the  chalk  marl,  and  is  a  grey  marl  full 
of  green  particles  of  silicate  of  iron  and  of  quartzose  sand.  In  its  upper 
part  the  fossils  occur  in  a  bouldered  state ;  but  in  the  lower  there  is 
abundance  of  aramoniates  (A.  splendens  and  varians)  and  scaphites  in 
good  condition,  mixed  with  coprolitic  masses  rich  in  phosphate  of  lime. 
This  bed  occurs  along  the  whole  outcrop  of  the  upper  greeusand,  on  the 
southern  slope  of  the  chalk  range  which  extends  from  Compton  Bay  to 
Culver  Cliff,  through  the  centre  of  the  island,  and  occupies  in  some 
parishes  a  considerable  breadth  of  surface :  it  also  occurs  in  belts  sur- 
rounding the  masses  of  chalk  at  St.  Katharine's  Down  and  adjoining. 
Much  of  the  intervening  country  consists  of  arid  lenuginous  sands,  upon 
which  the  phosphate  beds  might  be  employed  with  great  adv^mtage. 
Captain  Ibbetson  alluded  to  the  tradition  that  some  portion  of  the  high 
ground  near  St.  Katherine's  Down  had  subsided  considerably  even  during 
the  last  half-century,  and  he  attributed  this  subsidence  to  the  shrinking 
of  the  gault  and  fuller's  earth  beds  of  the  lower  greensand,  which  are 
continually  wasted  by  the  percolation  of  the  water. — Mhenceum,  No.  1086. 

GEOLOGY  OF  SOUTH  WALES. 

Sir  H.  T.  De  la  Beche,  in  a  striking  paper  read  to  the  British 
Association,  thus  glances  at  the  history  of  this  district  "in  comparatively 
modern  times,  when  we  find  evidence  of  subsidence  beneath  the  sea,  and 
of  agencies  by  which  the  present  form  of  the  surface  was  accomplished, 
the  present  land  must  have  been  at  least  1,500  feet  lower  ;  and,  there- 
fore, nearly  all  under  the  sea.  There  is  also  evidence  that  the  climate 
became  cold,  that  there  were  glaciers  in  the  mountains  of  North  AVales 
and  icebergs  floating  round  the  shores,  carrying  blocks  of  stone  and  gravel, 
and  presenting  all  the  phenomena  of  Polar  regions.  The  sea  also  accumu- 
lated beds  of  clay,  in  which  the  few  existing  shells  are  of  Arctic  character. 
Still  later  the  land  must  have  risen  again  above  the  sea  to  an  elevation 
greater  than  it  now  has  ;  for  we  find  sub-marine  forests  fringing  all  the 
shores  of  Europe  from  Spain  to  Norway,  Of  this  one  of  the  best  exam- 
ples occurs  in  Swansea  Bay,  where  the  stumps  of  oak  and  alder  may  be 
seen  at  low  water  20  or  30  feet  lower  than  they  could  have  grown." 


BORING  OF  MOLLTTSCA  INTO  ROCKS. 

At  the  late  meeting  of  the  British  Association,  Mr.  A.  Hancock  stated 
that  three  theories  had  been  advocated  as  to  the  wav  in  which  the  Mol- 


I^2i  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

lusks  effect  their  entrance  into  Rocks,  &c.,  in  which  they  are  found.  The 
first  is,  that  the  animal  works  with  the  shell  in  the  manner  of  a  rasp  or 
an  auger.  The  second,  that  it  secretes  an  acid  whereby  the  substance 
with  which  it  comes  in  contact  is  dissolved.  The  third,  that  the  effect 
is  produced  by  the  vibratile  action  of  the  parts  exciting  constant  currents 
of  water  against  the  substance,  aided  by  its  impetus  when  drawn  in  down 
the  elongated  body  of  the  animal.  The  author  objects  to  all  these  theo- 
ries, and  proposes  a  new  one :  he  believes  that  the  anterior  portion  of  the 
animal  is  the  excavating  instrument.  This,  in  Teredo  and  Pholas,  is 
composed  of  the  foot  and  edges  of  the  mantle,  which  together  fill  up  the 
frontal  gape  of  the  shell.  In  Saticava  and  Gastroclioena  it  is  formed 
wholly  of  the  edges  of  the  mantle,  which  are  united  and  thickened.  The 
form  of  the  excavation  corresponds  to  the  form  of  these  organs.  On  a 
minute  examination  of  the  surface  of  the  foot  of  Teredo  Norwegica,  it  is 
fouud,  under  the  microscope,  to  be  crowded  with  minute  brilliant  points, 
which,  on  being  compressed,  consist  of  comparatively  large  crystalline 
bodies  embedded  within  them.  Similar  crystalline  bodies  are  embedded 
in  the  edges  of  the  mantle  surrounding  the  foot.  In  Pholas,  the  same 
appearance  is  presented  both  in  the  foot  and  the  surrounding  edges  of  the 
mantle.  Saxicava  rugosa  has  also  the  anterior  portion  of  the  animal 
abundantly  provided  with  crystalline  bodies  like  those  already  described ; 
so  also  with  the  foot  and  mantle  of  Patella  vulgata.  These  bodies  are 
constantly  being  shed.  Acetic  acid  has  no  effect  on  them ;  and  in  Saxi- 
cava strong  nitric  acid  produces  no  change  after  several  days'  immersion. 
Those  of  Pholas  and  Teredo  appear  to  be  ultimately  acted  on  by  this  acid, 
but  are  never  totally  destroyed  by  it.  It  is  by  means  of  these  bodies  that 
the  author  believes  the  animal  rasps  down  the  substances  in  which  they 
are  found.  The  whole  of  these  animals  are  also  supplied  with  powerful 
muscles  by  which  they  may  effect  the  necessary  movement  for  the  pro- 
duction of  this  result.  Judging  from  analogy,  the  author  believes  that 
all  the  boring  moUusks  excavate  in  the  same  manner ;  none  by  the  rasping 
or  cutting  of  their  valves,  none  by  a  solvent,  none  by  ciliary  currents. 
In  the  same  manner  he  accounts  for  the  gradual  disappearance  of  certain 
portions  of  the  columella  in  the  gasteropodous  moUusca ;  not  by  the  pro- 
cess of  "  absorption,"  as  has  been  supposed. 

An  interesting  discussion  followed,  in  which  Prof.  Phillips,  Prof.  Owen, 
Prof.  E.  Porbes,  Mr.  Bowerbank,  Dr.  Carpenter,  and  others,  joined.  The 
President  of  the  section,  (Mr.  L.  W.  Dillwyn,)  drew  attention  to  a  fact 
stated  by  Mr.  Osier  in  his  paper  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  on 
the  boring  of  mollusks ;  that  in  one  instance  he  had  observed  that  the 
Saxicava  rugosa,  in  boring  through  a  calcareous  rock,  had  been  arrested 
in  its  course  by  a  layer  of  argillaceous  matter,  thus  lending  great  support 
to  the  solvent  theory.  The  discussion  will  be  found  reported  in  No.  1 086 
of  the  Atheneewn. 


NEW  HYDROGRAPHIC  MAP  OF  THE  BRITISH  ISLES. 

On  this  New  Map,  exhibited  by  Mr.  A.  Petermann  to  the  British 
Association,  there  are  about  1,550  rivers  distinguished  by  names,  480 
lakes  and  ponds,  and  40  waterfalls ;  the  canals  with  their  altitude,  as  well 


as  that  of  the  rivers  aad  lakes,  and  the  great  drains  in  the  fen  districts. 
Mr.  Petermann  stated  there  to  be  20  rivers  iu  England,  10  in  bcotland, 
and  10  in  Ireland,  each  draining  500  square  miles  and  upwards.  Of 
these — 

18  draiu  an  area  each  =   500  to   1,000  square  miles. 

14  „  =1,000  „    2,000  „ 

8  „  =2,000  „  10,000  „ 

These  last  eight  are — The 

Humber  (including  Trent  and  Ouse)  to  Spurn  Point 9,550 

Severn  (to  Flat  Holmes)    8,580 

Shannon  (to  Loop  Head  and  Kerry  Head)    6,946 

Thames  (including  Medway)  to  Nore  Light 6,160 

Barrow  : 3,410 

GreatOuse    2,960 

Bann    2,345 

Tay,  as  far  as  Rhynd 2,250 

The  river  Amazon  draius  a  tract  of  2,275,000  square  miles. 


THE  DEAD  SEA. 

The  following  interesting  facts  are  from  Captain  Lynch's  Official 
Report  of  the  American  Exploring  Expedition  to  the  Dead  Sea : — 

"  The  bottom  of  the  northern  part  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  almost  flat  (a  plain). 

"  The  meridional  lines  at  a  short  distance  from  the  shore  vary  but  little  in 
depth;  the  greatest  depth  found  up  to  the  date  of  this  letter  (May  3d)  was 
188  fathoms,  or  1,128  English  feet.  Near  the  shore,  the  bottom  is  generally  a 
saline  incrustation,  but  the  intermediate  portion  is  of  soft  mud,  with  several 
rectangular  crystals— most  frequently  cubes  of  pure  salt.  On  one  occasion 
we  obtamed  only  crystals  with  the  lead  line. 

"  In  the  same  proportion  that  the  north  part  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  deep,  so  is 
the  southern  part  shallow,  to  the  extent  that  for  a  quarter  of  its  length  the 
depth  was  found  to  be  but  18  feet,  its  southern  bed  presented  no  crystalli- 
zations, but  its  shores  are  covered  with  incrustations  of  salt,  and  on  landing, 
the  footmarks  in  an  hour's  time  were  covered  with  crystallizations. 

"  The  shores  in  face  of  the  peninsula,  and  its  western  side,  present  evident 
marks  of  destruction. 

"  Birds  and  insects  are,  without  doubt,  to  be  found  on  the  shore  ;  some- 
times ducks  on  the  sea,  for  we  saw  some,  but  we  could  find  no  living  object 
in  the  sea.  However,  the  salt  sources  it  receives  contain  fish  belonging  to 
the  ocean.  I  feel  certain,  says  Capt.  Lynch,  that  the  result  of  our  expedition 
will  confirm  to  the  very  letter  the  history  of  the  Holy  Land,  as  regards  the 
sunken  cities. 

"After  the  examination  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the  expedition  proceeded  to 
determine  the  height  of  the  mountains,  and  the  level  of  a  plain,  from 
Jerusalem  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea. 

"They  found  the  summit  of  the  western  coast  of  the  Dead  Sea  more  than 
1,000  feet  above  its  surface,  and  level  with  the  Mediterranean.  It  is  a  singular 
fact,  that  the  distance  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  Dead  Sea— that  is, 
the  height  of  its  shore,  the  elevation  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  diflference 
of  the  level  between  the  bottom  of  these  two  seas,  and  the  depth  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  should  thus  be  an  exact  multiple  of  the  elevation  of  Jerusalem  above  it. 

"Another  fact  not  less  curious  is  that  the  bottom  of  the  Dead  Sea  forms 
two  sunken  plains— one  elevated,  the  other  depressed.  The  first  part,  southV 
is  composed  of  clay  or  fat  mud,  covered  by  an  artificial  bay  ;  the  latter,  the 
upper  part  and  more  north,  of  mud,  incrustations,  and  rectangular  salt 
crystaUizations,  extending  to  a  great  depth,  and  with  a  narrow  ravine  defiling 
in  the  midst  of  it,  corresponding  with  the  Jordan  at  one  extremity,  and  Wady 
Seib  at  the  other." 


280  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

LAND-SHELLS  OP  THE  PACIFIC. 

One  of  the  grand  results  shewrTby  the  naturalists  of  the  United  States' 
Exploring  Expedition  is,  that  the  Land-shells  of  the  Islands  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean  are  entirely  different  in  different  islands ;  each  island  appearing  to 
have  a  species  of  shell  j)eculiar  to  its  own  formation.  These  shells  could 
not  have  been  derived  from  the  continent,  but  must  have  originated  on 
the  respective  islands  where  they  are  found. 


PRESENT  AND  FOTOIFIl  EXTENT  OF  THE  ISLAND  OP  HELIGOLAND. 
BY  M.  WIEBEL. 

It  appears  (1.)  that  the  well-known  map  of  Heligoland  by  Meyer, 
according  to  which  the  island  once  contained  nine  parishes,  is  entirely  a 
work  of  the  imagination;  (2.)  that,  on  comparing  the  map  made  in  the  year 
1793  by  the  Danish  engineer,  Wessel,  of  which,  however,  only  a  three- 
inch  reduction  remains,  with  the  author's  own  measurements,  "the  co- 
efficient of  destruction  in  a  century  for  the  whole  circumference  of  the 
rock  washed  by  the  sea  does  not  en  the  average  amount  to  more  than 
three  feet;"  (3.)  that,  in  the  time  of  Adam,  of  Bremen  (an  extended 
description  by  whom  is  still  in  existence),  and  of  Charlemagne,  the  island 
was  only  a  little  larger  than  at  present. — Geological  Journal,  No.  14. 


RISE  OF  THE  NILE. 

In  the  Athenaeum,  No.  1097,  Nov.  4,  1848,  we  find  the  following 
note  of  this  phenomenon  : — 

The  waters  of  the  Nile  have  risen  this  year  to  an  unusual  and  destructive 
height.  A  correspondent  from  Cairo,  speaking  of  this  calamity  which  has 
succeeded  to  the  fearful  pestilence  by  which  E  ,^ypt  has  been  ravaged— and 
which  is  said  to  have  taken  133,000  victims,  Cairo  fumishina;  a  contmeent  of 
10,000— says :— "  Nearly  the  whole  crop  of  Dura,  it  is  feare  I,  will  be  destroyed; 
and  you  can  conceive  the  distress  which  will  ensue,  as  the  fellaheen  subsist 
almost  entirely  upon  it.  Tlie  water  was  in  the  streets  of  Cairo  a  few  (feys 
since,  the  canal  havin»-  flowed  through  the  courts  of  the  houses ;  but  the 
g'overnment  has  had  the  mouth  of  the  canal  so  dammed  that  only  a  small 
quantity  of  water  can  flow  in.  Boolak  and  C)ld  Cairo  are  almost  under 
water.  The  reason  of  this  extraordinary  rise  appears  to  be  this  :— the  Pashas 
and  great  men  find  cotton  to  be  the  most  profitable  thing  they  can  sow  in 
their  fields  ;  and  as  the  water  must  not  flow  over  this  cotton.  Upper  Egypt  is 
full  of  dykes  and  dams  which  confine  the  Nile  to  a  much  smaller  space." 


COMMON  SALT, 

The  amount  of  Common  Salt  in  all  the  oceans  is  estimated  by  Schaf- 
hautl  at  3,051,842  cvibic  geographical  miles.  This  would  be  about  five 
tim.es  more  than  the  ma-s  of  the  Alps,  and  only  one-third  less  than  that 
of  the  Himalaya.  The  sulphate  oi  soda  equals  633,644-36  cubic  miles, 
or  is  equal  to  the  mass  of  the  Alps.  The  chloride  of  magnesium, 
441,811-80  cubic  miles;  the  lime  salts  109,339-44  cubic  miles.  The 
above  supposes  the  mean  depth  to  be  but  300  metres,  as  estimated  by 
Humboldt.  Admitting,  with  Laplace,  that  the  mean  depth  is  1000 
metres,  which  is  more  probable,  the  mass  of  marine  salt  will  be  more 
than  double  the  mass  of  the  Himalava. — Silli?ria?i's  Journal,  No.  16. 


GEOLOGY.  231 

SILIFICATION  OP  PLANTS  AND  ANIMALS. 

The  beautiful  manner  in  which  Silica  has  entered  the  interstices  of 
vegetable  matter,  even  shewing  the  succulent  parts  of  plants  which  must 
have  been  in  a  state  of  partial  decay,  is  well  known.  We  have  the  finest 
vegetable  tissues  most  perfectly  preserved  by  means  of  silica.  Dr. 
Mantell  has  already  pointed  out  to  us  what  he  considered  the  soft  parts 
of  molluscs  also  preserved  in  silica.  Mr.  Charlesworth  states  that  in  a 
collection  which  constitutes  part  of  the  well-known  museum  of  Miss 
Bennett,  of  \Mltshire,  he  has  found  several  examples  of  Trigonia  with 
their  branchiae  well  preserved  in  silica.  As  silica  may  have  and  has 
filled  up  cavities  left  by  shells,  thns  giving  us  the  most  perfect  represen- 
tation in  silica  of  that  which  was  once  carbonate  of  lime,  great  care  is  of 
course  required,  so  that  the  mere  filling  up  of  the  interior  of  univalve  and 
bivalve  shells,  before  the  matter  of  the  shells  themselves  disappeared,  or 
even  when  these  are  still  left,  be  not  taken  for  the  preserved  remains  of 
the  fleshy  portions  of  the  molluscs.  We  should  expect,  in  cases  of  real 
preservation,  as  in  those  of  vegetables,  that  the  original  tissue  would  be 
found  by  slicing  in  the  usual  manner.  Mr.  Charlesworth  considers  that 
in  the  specimens  he  notices,  the  fleshy  parts  of  the  Trigonia?  are  really 
silicified ;  and  states  that  the  silica  has  only  preserved  some  of  the  soft 
parts  without  filling  the  entire  cavity  of  the  shell,  and  so  that  the  filaments 
of  the  branchise  have  all  the  appearance  of  an  elaborate  piece  of  dissection. 
Certainly,  the  entire  cavity  of  the  shell  not  being  filled  up  is  very 
important,  and  as  we  find  that  the  tissue  of  succulent  vegetables  has  been 
preserved  in  silica,  it  may  be  fairly  asked,  why  may  not  the  fleshy  parts 
of  molluscs  be  thus  also  preserved? — Sir  Henry  T.  De  la  Beche,  F.F.M.S. ; 
Anniversary  Address  to  the  Geologicat  Society. 


CHANGES  OF  THE  VEGETABLE  KINGDOM,  ETC. 

M.  Adolphb  Brongniart  concludes  a  paper  "  On  the  Changes  of 
the  Vegetable  Kingdom  in  the  difi'erent  Geological  Epochs,"  as  follows  : 
— If  we  compare  the  vegetables  of  the  families  which,  like  the  ferns  and 
coniferse,  have  been  perpetuated  during  all  the  geological  periods,  from 
the  most  ancient  up  to  the  present,  we  perceive  that  such  as  belong  to  the 
most  remote  creations  approach  particularly  plants  of  these  same  families 
which  now  inhabit  regions  of  the  earth  having  a  climate  very  different 
from  our  own ;  and  that  such,  on  the  contrary,  as  we  meet  with  in  the 
most  recent  beds,  become  so  much  the  more  analogous  to  the  species 
which  still  grow  in  these  same  countries,  as  the  geological  period  to  which 
they  belong  approaches  nearer  our  own. 

Everything,  therefore,  proves,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  difi'erent 
vegetable  creations  which  have  succeeded  each  other  on  the  globe  have 
become  more  and  more  perfect ;  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  climate  of 
the  surface  of  the  earth  is  greatly  modified  since  the  earlier  times  of  the 
creation  of  living  beings  up  to  the  commencement  of  the  present  epoch.— 
L'lnstitut;  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  88. 


232  YEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

ANALOGY  BETWEEN  THE  FOSSIL  FLORA  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  MIOCENE 
AND  THE  LIVING  FLORA  OF  AMERICA. 

Prof.  Agassiz,  in  a  letter  to  R.  I.  Murchisou  {Athenaum,  No.  1023) 
says :  "  I  think  I  made  a  lucky  and  quite  an  unexpected  hit,  by  tracing 
the  close  analogy  between  the  Fossil  Flora  of  the  European  Miocene 
deposits  (molasse)  and  the  living  Flora  of  the  temperate  parts  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America.  The  correspondence  extends  to  all  the 
types  of  organised  beings.  After  having  seen  the  Chelydra  alive  in  the 
swamps  here,  under  the  shade  of  trees  analogous  to  those  which  cover 
the  ancient  soil  of  Oeningen  (so  celebrated  for  its  profusion  of  terrestrial 
and  fresh-water  fossil  remains),  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  the  climate 
could  not  have  been  tropical  in  Europe  at  the  time  when  the  strata  of 
Oeningen  were  deposited.  Again,  I  may  observe,  that  there  is  the 
closest  affinity  between  the  Flora  of  the  Atlantic  shores  of  North  America 
and  that  of  Japan ;  where  we  have  the  Megalobatrachus,  the  correspond- 
ing living  type  of  the  Andrias,  or  great  Salamander  of  Oeningen." 

FOSSIL  REMAINS  IN  SOUTH  WALES. 

Mr.  C.  S.  Bate  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper 
"  On  Fossil  Remains  recently  discovered  in  Bacon  Hole,  Gower ;  also 
some  from  beneath  the  Bed  of  the  River  Tawe."  Bacon  Hole  is  a  fissure 
in  the  limestone  rock  on  the  sea-coast  west  of  the  headland  of  Poldy,  and 
about  nine  miles  from  Swansea ;  it  is  about  twenty  feet  above  high- 
water  mark,  and  narrows  rapidly  from  the  entrance  to  the  extremity, 
where  it  divides  into  two  fissures  :  it  is  thirty  feet  wide  in  the  centre  of 
the  main  chamber,  and  128  feet  long.  The  sea  appears  to  have  already 
removed  part  of  it,  as  the  shore  below  is  strewn  with  masses  of  breccia 
and  stalagmite.  The  floor  is  highest  at  the  entrance  and  inclines  gra- 
dually inwards ;  the  roof  of  the  cave  at  the  highest  point  does  not  exceed 
twelve  feet,  but  the  two  fissures  at  the  end  rise  to  a  much  greater 
height.  The  fissure  above  the  cavern  is  filled  by  a  deposit  of  carbonate 
of  lime — which,  however,  only  forms  one  stalactite,  the  "flitch  of  bacon," 
from  which  the  cavern  takes  its  name :  on  the  floor  the  stalagmite  is  ex- 
tremely thick,  and  requires  to  be  blown  up  with  gunpowder  before  the 
breccia  below  can  be  explored.  In  this  have  been  discovered  bones  of 
the  deer,  ox,  cave  bear,  hyena  (?)  and  bat,  and  the  seed  of  a  plant ;  the 
cave  does  not,  however,  appear  to  have  been  inhabited  as  a  den.  Mr. 
Bate  also  exhibited  antlers  of  the  red  deer  from  the  clay  about  six  feet 
below  the  bed  of  the  River  Tawe,  discovered  in  digging  the  foundation  for 
a  bridge  and  other  works. 

The  Dean  of  Westminster  remarked,  that  the  entrance  of  the  cave  of 
Paviland  and  others  on  this  coast  had  been  washed  away  by  the  sea. — 
uilhencBum,  No.  1086. 


THE  IGUANODON. 

Dr.  Mantell,  Vice-President  of  the  Geological  Society,  communicated 
at  its  meeting  on  May  25,  a  paper,  "  On  the  Structure  of  the  Jaws  and 
Teeth  of  the  Iguanodon." 

The  recent  discovery  of  the  right  dentary  bone  of  the  lower  jaw  of 


GEOLOGY.  233 

an  adult  Iguanodon  with  teeth,  having  enabled  the  author,  with  the 
aid  afforded  by  other  specimens,  to  determine  the  structure  of  the 
maxillary  organs  of  that  gigantic  herbivorous  reptile,  the  result  of  his 
investigations  are  embodied  in  the  present  communication. 

The  most  important  of  the  fossils  described  in  this  memoir  consist  of 
the  anterior  part  of  the  right  side  of  the  lower  jaw,  which  was  dis- 
covered a  few  weeks  previously,  in  a  quarry  in  Tilgate  Forest,  by  Captain 
Lambart  Brickenden,  F.G.S. 

The  author,  with  the  able  assistance  of  Dr.  A.  G.  Melville,  instituted 
a  comparison  between  all  the  teeth  of  the  Iguanodon  to  which  he  could 
obtain  access,  and  those  of  recent  saurians ;  and  the  result  of  the  inves- 
tigation is  detailed.  The  new  light  shed  on  the  structure  and  functions 
of  the  dental  organs,  confirms,  in  every  essential  particular,  the  inferences 
deduced  by  the  author  from  the  detached  teeth  alone,  in  his  memoir  of 
1825 ;  and  it  also  reveals  an  extraordinary  deviation  from  all  known 
types  of  reptilian  organization,  and  which  could  not  have  been  predicated ; 
namely,  that  this  colossal  reptile,  which  equalled  in  bulk  the  gigantic 
Edentata  of  South  America,  and  like  them  was  destined  to  obtain  support 
from  comminuted  vegetable  substances,  was  also  furnished  with  a  large 
prehensile  tongue  and  fleshy  lips,  to  serve  as  instruments  for  seizing  and 
cropping  the  foliage  and  branches  of  trees ;  while  the  arrangement  of  the 
teeth  as  in  the  ruminants,  and  their  internal  structure,  which  resembles 
that  of  the  molars  of  the  sloth  tribe  in  the  vascularity  of  the  dentine, 
indicate  adaptations  for  the  same  purpose. 

Among  the  physiological  phenomena  revealed  by  Palseontology,  there 
is  not  a  more  remarkable  one  than  this  modification  of  the  type  of 
organization  peculiar  to  the  class  of  reptiles,  to  meet  the  conditions  re- 
quired by  the  economy  of  a  lizard  placed  under  similar  physical  relations ; 
and  destined  to  effect  the  same  general  purpose  in  the  scheme  of  nature, 
as  the  colossal  Edentata  of  former  ages,  and  the  large  herbivorous  mam- 
malia of  our  own  times. 


LARGE  PLESIOSAURUS. 

The  Dean  of  "Westminster  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  letter, 
describing  a  large  Plesiosaurus,  discovered  in  the  Alum  Works  of  Mr. 
Moberlev,  at  Kettleness,  near  Whitby :  length  of  the  head.  3  ft.  2  in. ; 
neck,  5  ft.  10  in. ;  back,  7  ft.  1  in.;  tail,  6  ft.  10  in.;  total,  22  ft. 
11  in. ;  width  of  anterior  paddles,  nearly  13  ft. 


SAUROIDAL  FISHES. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Wernerian  Society,  on  April  22nd,  Professor 
Jameson  exhibited  and  described  several  highly  interesting  objects :  in 
particular,  a  fine  cast  of  the  head  of  the  Sivatherium  from  the  Himala 
Mountains,  with  portions  of  the  head  itself :  also  a  cast  of  the  Pterodac- 
tyle,  a  winged  sort  of  reptile :  likewise  magnificent  specimens  of  the 
teeth  and  great  jaw  of  the  Sauroidal  Fishes  of  Agassiz,  from  the  Gilmertoa 
Quarries  ;  forming  undoubtedly  the  richest  collection  of  remains  of  Sau- 
roidal fishes  in  Europe. 


234  TEAR  BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

FOSSIL  SEPIA. 

Prof.  Buckman  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Discovery  of  some  Remains  of  the  Fossil  Sepia  iu  the  Lias  of  Gloucester- 
shire." Remains  of  the  Belemnite  and  other  animals  allied  to  the  recent 
Cuttlefish  abound  in  the  lias  formation  ;  but  the  chambered  portion  of 
the  Iklemnite  is  seldom  present,  and  the  ink-bag  of  the  Sepia  is  still 
more  rare.  One  specimen  discovered  by  Mr.  Buckman  is  rather  more 
than  half  the  shell  or  "  bone"  of  a  Sepia,  nine  inches  long  and  six  inches 
wide ;  in  the  centre  of  the  specimen  is  preserved  the  ink-bag,  which  con- 
sists of  about  six  drachms  of  a  jet  black,  hard,  and  splintery  substance, 
easily  ground  down,  and  capable  of  being  used  as  sepia  or  Indian  ink. 
Another  specimen  is  four  inches  long  by  two  inches  wide,  and  is  marked 
by  three  raised  lines,  which  meet  in  a  point  at  the  base.  The  ink-bag  is 
seen  in  the  centre  of  this  specimen  also.  They  were  obtained  from  a  bed 
of  fissile  marl,  about  four  inches  thick,  in  the  upper  lias,  near  Chelten- 
ham, along  with  plants,  insects,  ammonites,  and  four  species  of  fish, 
besides  the  uucinated  arms  of  another  cuttle-fish. 


FOSSIL  BONES  OF  THE  LARGE  BIRDS  OF  NEW  ZEALAND. 

Dr.  Mantell  states,  in  two  communications  to  Professor  SiUiman, 
senior:  This  collection  of  eight  hundred  fossil  bones, — all  the  bones  of 
birds  (with  a  single  exception,  the  femur  of  a  quadruped,  probably  a  dog), 
is  the  most  interesting  and  extensive  that  has  been  sent  from  New  Zealand 
to  Europe,  and  probably  from  any  part  of  the  world — has  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  examination  of  Professor  Owen,  who  made  the  subject  his  own 
by  his  former  beautiful  Memoirs  on  the  I>lnorms  Ajtteryx.  The  collec- 
tions include  three  distinct  types.  The  beak  of  the  Dinornis  is  like  a 
cooper's  adze,  and  seems  designed  to  tear  up  the  roots  of  plants ;  the 
base  of  the  skull  is  prolonged  below  the  foramen  magnum  in  a  very  extra- 
ordinary manner,  for  the  attachment  of  powerful  muscles,  by  which  the 
mandibles  were  acted  upon. 

Palapteryx  (Paleo-apteryx)  is  a  new  genus,  more  allied  to  the  Apteryx 
than  is  the  Dinornis.  The  Notornis  (the  term  signifying  Southern  Bird) 
is  a  new  genus  of  Ballidce,  and  related  to  a  living  genus  of  nocturnal 
parrot,  a  genus  still  existing  in  New  Zealand. 

The  state  of  preservation  of  the  bones  is  remarkable  ;  they  are  in  this 
respect  wholly  unlike  those  formerly  sent.  They  are  light  and  porous, 
and  of  a  delicate  fawn  colour,  resembling  the  bones  from  the  caverns  of 
Germany.  They  were  found  embedded  in  a  loose  sand,  the  detritus  of 
earthy  augitic  rocks,  much  resembling  the  loose  alluvial  deposits  brought 
down  by  streams  and  rivulets  in  volcanic  countries,  as  in  Auvergne  and 
the  Phlegrsean  fields.  There  are  but  a  few  bones  of  the  most  gigantic 
species  ;  the  collection,  fortunately,  is  the  richest  iu  those  bones  that  are 
most  rare  in  the  British  and  Hunterian  Museums. 

Dr.  Mantell  adds :  *'  I  have  had  Mr.  Dinkel  (the  celebrated  artist,  for- 
merly employed  by  Prof.  Agassiz,)  to  make  a  restored  outline  of  the 
Dinornis,  or  rather  of  its  skeleton,  which  I  have  been  able  to  make  com- 
plete from  the  collection  of  ray  son,  Mr.  Walter  Mantell.  The  originals 
of  the  colossal  species  must  have  been   glorious   bipeds,  some  ten  or 


GEOLOGY.  235 

twelve  feet  high,  with  a  beak,  as  already  remarked,  like  a  cooper's  adze. 
The  birds  were  of  all  dimensions,  from  those  of  a  water-hen  to  the  colos- 
sal moa. 

"  The  collection  is  offered  for  sale  to  the  British  Museum.  To  form  it 
must  have  been  a  work  of  great  labour,  exposure,  and  even  danger ;  the 
bones  were  found  in  places  distant  from  any  English  settlement,  and  they 
had  to  be  brought  on  men's  shoulders,  through  untracked  forests,  lakes, 
moors,  &c." — American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts. 

There  have  been  communicated  to  the  Geological  Society,  some 
"  Additional  Remarks  on  the  Geological  position  of  the  deposits  in 
New  Zealand  which  contain  bones  of  Struthioiis  Birds,"  also  by  Dr. 
Mantell.  A  recent  letter  from  Mr.  Walter  Mantell,  in  New  Zealand, 
gives  particulars  regarding  the  occurrence  of  these  fossil  bones.  They 
were  found  near  the  embouchure  pf  the  Waingongora,  which  rises  in  the 
volcanic  ridge  of  Mount  Egmont.  The  river  seems  recently  to  have 
changed  its  course,  probably  in  consequence  of  the  elevation  of  the  land, 
and  is  now  cutting  through  a  lofty  cliff  of  loose  conglomerate  overlying  a 
finely  laminated  sand.  The  latter  rests  on  a  blue  clay,  containing  recent 
marine  shells.  In  a  loose  sand  drift,  at  the  base  of  an  ancient  cliff,  Mr. 
Mantell  had  an  opening  made,  and  soon  came  to  the  bed  containing 
bones.  These  were  at  first  so  soft  that  if  strongly  grasped  they  fell  into 
clay.  Many  bones  were  found, — some  of  them  apparently  lying  in  their 
natural  position ;  but  the  natives  from  the  neighbouring  village  collected 
around  him,  and  began  digging  themselves,  and  not  only  interrupted  hia 
researches,  but  trampled  on  and  destroyed  the  bones  he  had  laid  out  in 
the  sun  to  dry.  Along  with  the  bones  were  portions  of  egg-shells,  one 
fragment  measuring  four  inches  long.  If  the  native  traditions  be  worthy 
of  credit,  the  ladies  have  cause  to  mourn  the  extinction  of  the  Dinoruis 
— as  the  long  feathers  of  its  crest  were  prized  by  their  ancestors  above  all 
other  ornaments. — Athenaum,  No.  1073. 


LARGK  FOSSIL  TREE. 

A  FOSSIL  Tree,  of  considerable  size,  has  been  found  at  the  Pentwyu 
Iron  Works,  imbedded  in  a  blue  siliceous  shale,  containing  iron  ore,  and 
forming  a  moderate  angle  of  inclination  with  the  horizon.  The  tree  was 
in  an  erect  position,  and  perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  stratification.  A 
thin  coating  of  coal,  apparently  the  carbonized  bark,  enveloped  it,  which 
was  so  friable  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  discern  the  character  of  the 
external  markings.  The  internal  cast,  however,  partook  of  the  same  na- 
ture as  the  surrounding  stratum  ;  and,  beneath  the  coaly  covering,  there 
were  evident  indications  of  flutings,  or  longitudinal  strise,  the  appearance 
of  which  was  very  similar  to  that  presented  by  decorticated  trunks  of  re- 
cent forest  trees.  The  base  of  the  trunk  thickened  out  considerably,  and 
large  spreading  roots  projected  on  every  side.  The  circumference  of  the 
base,  immediately  above  the  junction  with  the  roots,  is  six  feet,  and  from 
thence  it  diminishes  to  four  feet,  in  a  height  of  about  five  feet,  beyond 
which  it  has  not  yet  been  followed.  The  informant  is  of  opinion  that 
this  tree  grew  on  the  precise  spot  where Jt  is  now  found,  and  considers  it 


236  YEAB-BOOR  OF  FACTS. 

a  variety  of  the  SigillaricB,  of  which  about  forty  species  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  coal  measures. 

FOSSIL  FOOT-PRINTS  IN  AMERICA. 

Many  years  ago,  Dexter  Marsh,  a  labouring  mechanic  of  Greenfield, 
discovered  on  the  flagging  stones  with  which  he  was  laying  a  side  walk, 
what  appeared  to  him  to  be  the  foot-prints  of  a  strange  bird.  The  geo- 
logists pronounced  them  to  be  such,  and  to  belong  to  a  period  before  the 
creation  of  man.  Mr.  Marsh  has  since  traversed  the  valley  from  northern 
Massachusetts  line  to  Wathersfield,  Connecticut,  sometimes  spending  weeks 
in  quarrying  rocks,  with  the  sole  view  of  discovering  these  ancient  tracks. 
He  has  communicated  the  results  to  Silliman^s  Journal,  wherein  it  is 
stated  that  Mr.  Marsh  has  in  his  possession  more  than  800  foot-prints  of 
birds  and  quadrupeds,  besides  having  furnished  many  specimens  to  others. 
In  some  cases,  these  specimens  are  so  distinct  as  not  only  to  show  the 
joints  of  the  toes,  but  the  perfect  impression  of  the  skin.  He  has  perfect 
traces  of  quadrupeds  so  small  that  a  half  dime  will  cover  the  wliole  foot ; 
and  again,  others  of  birds  where  the  foot  measures  half  a  yard  from  the 
toe  to  the  heel,  so  that  if  the  birds  which  made  them  were  proportioned 
like  those  we  now  have,  they  must  have  stood  twenty  feet  high. — Boston 
Chronotype. 

Professor  Hitchcock  has  read  to  American  Association,  a  paper,  being 
an  attempt  to  discriminate  the  animals  which  had  made  the  Fossil  Foot- 
marks  in  the  Connecticut  valley.  He  has  discovered  forty- seven  species 
in  nineteen  localities.  At  some  length,  he  argued  the  propriety  of  his 
giving  names  to  the  birds  as  well  as  to  the  foot-prints.  He  then  stated 
the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  footmarks  which  led  him  to  assign  the 
names  that  he  had  done,  to  the  birds — such  as  thick  and  narrow  toes, 
winged  feet,  number  of  toes,  absolute  and  relative  length  of  toe,  spread 
of  lateral  toes,  projection  of  middle  toe  beyond  the  lateral  ones,  distance 
between  the  tips  of  the  lateral  toes,  distance  between  the  tips  of  middle 
and  outer  toes,  direction  of  hind  toe,  character  of  the  claw,  width  of  toe, 
number  and  length  of  the  phalanges,  the  impression  on  the  mud,  length 
of  step,  distance  of  feet  from  line  of  direction,  &c.  The  number  of  toes 
varies  from  three  to  five. 

He  explained  the  means  by  which  to  distinguish  between  the  marks  of 
quadrupeds  and  bipeds,  described  the  classes  into  which  he  had  divided  the 
birds,  and  pointed  out  their  aflSnities.  In  one  specimen  which  he  had  found, 
every  alternate  step  was  tm-ned  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees  from  the  line 
of  direction.  He  could  explain  this  only  by  the  conjecture  that  the  ani- 
mal had  broken  its  leg,  and  for  want  of  good  medical  advice  the  leg  was 
set  awry,  and  this  was  the  cause  of  the  very  singular  footmark  left  on  the 
rock.  Some  giant  footsteps,  twenty  inches  in  length,  he  believed  to  be 
those  of  frogs.  They  resembled  closely  in  character  the  embryo  foot  of 
a  frog  which  had  been  shewn  to  him  by  Prof.  Agassiz  ;  and  here  he  would 
remark  that  the  fossils  discovered  more  generally  resemble  the  embryo 
of  animals  of  the  present  day  than  adults. 


GEOLOGY.  237 

FOSSILS  OF  ANTHRACITE. 

Mr.  J.  E.  Teschmacher  has  made  to  the  Association  of  American 
Geologists  and  Naturalists,  a  communication  upon  the  inquiry  into  the 
Fossil  Vegetation  of  Anthracite  Coal,  shewing  that  the  plants  of  which 
the  coal  is  ibrmed  are  the  same  as  those  found  in  the  shale.  He  treated 
his  subject  under  the  five  divisions  of  the  external  parts  of  plants — the 
internal  parts,  the  vessels,  the  leaves  and  the  seed.  Several  specimens  of 
coal  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  T.  to  illustrate  his  ideas  upon  the  subject. 
They  were  very  beautifully  marked  by  leaves,  seed,  and  vessels  of  plants. 

Prof.  J.  W.  Bailey  also  read  to  the  Association,  a  paper  upon  the  struc- 
ture of  anthracite  coal.  He  found  the  evidence  of  the  leaves,  &c.  in  the 
coal.  Thin  slices  of  coal  shewed  very  plainly  the  vegetable  tissue.  But 
there  was  no  evidence  that  arborescent  plants  had  entered  into  the  forma- 
tion of  coal ;  it  was  only  the  deciduous  and  soft  portions  which  had  been 
converted  into  coal.  Anthracite  coal  had  alone  been  examined ;  soft 
coal  containing  so  large  a  quantity  of  bitumen  could  not  so  readily  be 
tested. 

A  few  remarks  passed  between  Professor  Bailey  and  Mr.  Teschmacher, 
upon  an  apparent  discrepancy  in  their  views  in  relation  to  the  subject  of 
coal. 


ALKALI  IN  COAL. 

Professor  Rogers,  in  a  paper  "  On  the  Decomposition  of  Rocks, 
&c."  among  the  points  of  interest  incidentally  determined  during  the 
investigations,  mentions  the  curious  and  instructive  fact,  that  anthracite 
coal,  bituminous  coal,  and  lignite,  treated  by  the  tache  process,  give 
unequivocal  evidence  of  alkali,  while  the  ashes  of  these  materials  simi- 
larly treated  yield  no  trace  of  alkali.  It  thus  becomes  evident,  that  the 
absence  of  alkali  in  the  ashes  of  these  combustibles,  instead  of  being  a 
consequence  of  its  absence  in  the  coal  itself,  is  really  due  to  the  liigh 
temperature  at  which  the  ash  is  formed.  We  have  here  the  explanation 
of  a  fact  which  might  otherwise  appear  inconsistent  with  the  admitted 
vegetable  origin  of  coal. — Silliman's  Journal,  No.  15. 


COAL  IN  AMERICA. 

The  three  great  Coal  Fields  of  America  are :  the  Ohio,  740  miles  long 
and  180  wide,  covering  an  area  of  60,000  square  miles — a  surface  greater 
than  that  of  England  and  Wales ;  the  Illinois  coal-field,  covering  50,000 
square  miles;  and  the  Michigan,  occupying  15,000  square  miles.  Besides 
these,  there  are  numerous  anthraciticbasins  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia; 
the  farthest  being  100  miles  S.E.  of  the  margin  of  the  Ohio  coal-field. 
In  passing  across  these  coal-fields  there  is  a  gradual  diminution  in  the 
quantity  of  bituminous  matter  from  W.  to  E.  All  the  coal,  of  every  kind, 
rests  on  the  same  basis  of  rock,  with  the  same  fossils  distributed  through 
it,  and  the  particular  coal-beds  can  be  identified  even  when  separated  by 
an  interval  of  50  miles.  The  anthracite  field  is  5,000  feet  deep,  and  con- 
tains 50  seams  of  coal ;  the  bituminous  coal-field  of  Ohio  is  2,800  feet  deep. 
The  working  of  these  coal-fields  is  increasing  rapidly  ;  3,000,000  tons  of 
anthracite  and  1,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  coal  are  annually  raised ;  and 


238  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

700,000  tons  of  iron  manufactured.  A  process  for  smelting  iron  ore  with 
anthracite  was  long  wanted,  and  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  had 
offered  a  premium  for  such  a  discovery.  This  was  first  achieved  by  Mr. 
Craig,  in  South  Wales,  by  whom  a  patent  was  obtained  in  England ;  and 
for  the  use  of  it  in  America  one  iron-master  guaranteed  him  a  premium 
on  all  the  ore  smelted, — but  from  want  of  an  international  patent-right, 
the  process  was  soon  imitated,  and  in  some  cases  improved  upon,  by  other 
parties  in  America.  The  anthracite  coal-mines  on  the  Lehigh  river,  Penn- 
sylvania, are  worked  like  an  open  quarry  on  the  slope  of  a  mountain  rising 
900  feet  above  the  river ;  the  coal  is  60  feet  thick,  and  surrounds  the 
quarry  in  black  glistening  walls,  capped  by  40  feet  of  yellow  sandstone ; 
it  is  conveyed  by  a  self-acting  railway  for  eight  miles  down  a  declivity  of 
from  100  to  140  feet  per  mile ;  the  whole  cost  of  obtaining  it  being  2d. 
a  ton.  This  great  bed  of  coal  splits  up  into  a  number  of  divisions  when 
quai-ried  at  some  distance. — Professor  Rogers,  ante. 

AUSTRALIAN  COAL. 

In  the  course  of  an  examination  before  a  Select  Committee  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council  of  New  South  Wales,  the  Rev.  William  Branwhite  Clerk, 
a  Fellow  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London,  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
there  exists  in  New  South  Wales  an  ample  supply  of  Coal  for  all  the  uses 
of  the  colony.  In  Newcastle,  U.S.  the  seams  of  coal  are  nineteen  feet 
thick,  and  in  Illawarra  about  ten  feet.  Mr.  Clerk  calculates  that  in  the 
Newcastle  (U.S.)  district  alone  the  available  supply  on  three  square  miles 
is  equal  to  27,000  tons  annually  for  700  years.  He  thinks  that  coal 
would  not  be  found  in  Ceylon,  which  is  composed  exclusively  of  granite 
and  gneiss ;  but  that  it  would  be  found  in  other  islands  of  the  Indian 
Archipelago,  as  it  occurs  in  Borneo.  Steam  navigation  from  Australia 
may  be  assisted  by  coal  found  at  Talmahano,  south  of  Valparaiso ;  and  also 
in  the  Upsallatra  ranges  of  the  Cordillera :  and  he  expects  that  it  would 
be  detected  in  the  mountains  of  the  same  great  chain  to  the  eastward  of 
Copiapo.  Coal  is  found  abundantly  in  New  Zealand  and  in  Kerguelen's 
Land.  Mr.  Clerk  has  communicated  the  detailed  results  of  his  inves- 
tigations to  the  Geological  Society ;  and  no  doubt  these  will  ajipear  in 
their  Transactions.  In  a  country  where  the  climate  is  so  mild  and  wood 
so  plentiful  as  in  New  South  Wales,  it  is  only  when  coal-mines  are  found 
sufficiently  near  to  rivers  and  sea-ports  to  be  sold  at  a  moderate  rate  for 
steam-boats,  that  they  wiU  be  much  valued  in  this  generation. 


COAL  IN  LABUAN. 

Sir  H.  T.  De  la  Beche,  in  his  Anniversary  Address  to  the  Geological 
Society,  observes  that  two  visits  have  been  made  to  Labnan,  now  a  British 
possession,  not  only  important  for  its  geographical  position,  but  also  for 
the  Coal  discovered  in  it.  From  communications  made  to  the  Museum 
of  Practical  Geology,  chiefly  from  the  Admiralty,  we  are  enabled  to  state 
that  the  coal  observed  on  the  north-east  coast  of  Labnan  by  Mr.  Brooke 
(the  Rajah  of  Sarawak),  Captain  Bethune  and  Mr.  Wise,  in  March  1845, 
and  a  specimen  of  which,  weighing  280  lbs.,  was  brought  by  Mr.  Wise  to 
this  country,  and  presented  to  the  Museum  of  Practical  Geology,  is  now 
found,  by  Lieut.  Gordon  and  others,  to  form  part  of  a  nine- feet  bed,  ex- 


GEOLOGY.  239 

tending  from  the  NE.  point  in  a  WSW.  direction  for  about  four  and  a 
half  miles,  and  dipping  about  24°  to  the  SSE.  This  coal  rests  upon  a 
clay-bed,  and  is  noticed  as  containing  a  quantity  of  small  lumps,  described 
as  resin,  which  were  not  found  in  the  specimen  above  mentioned.  The 
coal  of  Labuan  is  merely  a  portion  of  a  mass  of  associated  sandstones  and 
shales,  apparently  intermingled  with  many  seams  and  beds  of  coal,  vary- 
ing in  thickness,  and  which  form  a  portion  of  the  adjacent  mainland  of 
Borneo,  extending  to,  and  more  inland  than,  the  town  of  Brunai.  The 
most  considerable  bed  yet  noticed  is  up  a  stream  named  the  Kiangi,  tri- 
butary to  the  Brunai  river,  and  not  far  from  the  town,  where  it  occurs 
eleven  feet  thick,  and  in  a  highly-inclined  position.  Close  to  it  is  another 
bed,  three  feet  thick.  From  the  statements  of  Mr.  Hiram  Williams,  who 
was  sent  by  the  Admiralty  to  examine  this  coal-district  in  1845,  it  has 
evidently  been  much  disturbed  and  contorted. 

It  should  be  observed  that  several  hundred  tons  of  the  Labuan  coal  have 
been  raised,  and  that  the  bed  is  now  worked.  The  steamers  which  have 
used  this  coal,  though  it  more  approaches  the  character  of  candle  or 
cannel  coal,  than  the  ordinary  bituminous  varieties,  report  well  of  it. 

DISCOVERY  OF  COAL  AT  VANCOUVER'S  ISLAND. 

On  the  north  and  east  sides  of  Vancouver's  Island,  a  recently- disco- 
vered river  debouches  into  Johnstone's  Straits,  near  the  mouth  of  which 
large  seams  of  Coal  crop  out  on  the  surface  of  the  soU.  At  this  point, 
tlie  trading  steamer  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  navigating  the 
Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuga,  obtains  ready  and  plentiful  supplies.  Mr.  Dunn, 
who  was  a  trader  and  interpreter  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  steamer 
Beaver,  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  discovery  of  this  coal :  "  Some 
of  the  natives  at  Fort  M'Loughlin  having,  on  coming  to  the  fort  to 
traffic,  observed  coal  burning  in  the  furnace  of  the  blacksmiths,  they 
were  told  that  it  was  the  best  kind  of  fuel,  and  that  it  was  brought  over 
the  great  salt  lake,  six  months'  journey.  This  intelligence  having  been 
reported  at  Fort  Vancouver,  instructions  were  given  to  make  the  neces- 
sary inquiries  and  exploration.  Mr.  Finlaison  and  part  of  the  crew  went 
on  shore,  and  after  some  inquiries,  and  a  small  distribution  of  rewards, 
found  from  the  natives,  that  the  original  account  given  at  Fort  M'Loughlin 
was  true.  The  coal  turned  out  to  be  of  excellent  quality,  running  in  ex- 
tensive fields,  and  even  in  clumpy  mounds,  and  most  easily  worked,  all 
along  that  part  of  the  country." 

THE  SOUTH  WALES  COAL  FIELD. 

Mr.  Booker,  at  their  late  meeting,  stated  to  the  British  Association, 
that  there  were  159  blast  furnaces  in  the  district  employed  in  smeltmg 
iron,  and  that  550,000  tons  of  iron  were  annually  manufactured.  The 
coal  raised  in  the  district  was  employed  as  follows : — 

1,500,000  tons  annually  in  the  manufacture  of  iron. 

200,000    „  „  „  „  copper. 

150,000    „  „  „  „  tin. 

750,000    „    employed  in  domestic  purposes  and  in  agriculture. 
1,750,000    „    exported. 

4,350,000  tons  per  annum. 


240  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

At  this  rate,  and  snppositin:  tlie  coal  to  exist  only  over  100  square  miles, 
there  was  suQicient  for  1,400  years  to  come.  The  value  of  the  exports 
from  the  district,  consisting  of  iron,  &c,  in  a  state  of  rough  manufacture, 
amounted  to  £4,000,000  a  year. 

,     ,     DISCOVERY  OF  METALLIFEROUS  DEPOSITS. 

M.  Amedee  Burat,  in  a  paper  in  the  Annales  des  Mines,  "  On  the 
Continuity  of  Metalliferous  Deposits  in  Depth,"  observes : — The  only 
prominent  facts  which  may  be  cited  as  discoveries  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury,  are — 1st,  The  washing  of  the  auriferous  sands  of  the  Oural,  which 
have  increased  to  an  annual  produce  of  more  than  10,000  kilogrammes  of 
gold,*— 2d,  The  copper-mines  wrought  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Santiago,  which  were  opened  in  1833,  on  the  old 
works,  and  now  send  40,000  tons  of  the  mineral  to  Swansea,  with  the 
mean  title  of  16p.  0/0,  that  is  to  say,  6,400,000  kilogrammes  of  copper. 
— 3d,  The  Calamine  mines  of  Belgium  and  Rhenish  Prussia,  which, 
from  a  produce  scarcely  worth  naming,  now  yield  12,000,000  kilo- 
grammes of  zinc. — 4th,  The  lead- mines  of  Missouri  and  Illinois,  the 
importance  of  which  is  not  yet  appreciated,  but  which,  it  is  said,  would 
produce  30,000,000  kilogrammes  of  lead. — 5th,  The  copper-mines  of 
Lake  Superior,  the  working  of  which  is  projected  on  a  large  scale. 

To  these,  says  Prof.  Jameson,  we  may  add  the  very  productive  mines 
of  red  copper-ore,  and  green  and  blue  malachite  of  Burra-Burra,  in 
Australia. 

And,  subsequently,  the  gold  washings  on  the  Sacramento  river,  in 
Alta  California. 

M.  Burat's  paper,  translated  in  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  90,  will  be 
read  with  immediate  interest ;  more  especially  as  it  shows  the  importance 
of  the  extension  of  the  application  of  geology  to  the  working  of  mines. 


TIN  IN  THE  MALAY  PENINSULA. 

At  the  two  extremities  of  the  peninsular  zone  of  elevation,  Junk- 
Ceylon  and  Bunka,  Tin-sand  is  diffused  in  such  quantity,  that  its  collec- 
tion has  never  had  any  other  limit  than  the  number  of  persons  employed 
in  it.  In  Junk-Ceylon  and  Phunga,  under  a  barbarous  government, 
about  13,000  piculs  (a  picul  is  equal  to  ISS^  lbs.)  are  annually  dug  out 
of  the  soil.  In  Banka,  under  a  European  government,  but  without  any 
improvement  on  the  usual  Chinese  modes  of  excavating,  washing,  and 
smelting,  the  production  has  increased  from  25,000  piculs  in  1812, 
when  it  was  a  British  possession,  to  60,000  piculs. 

At  numerous  intermediate  localities  throughout  the  Peninsula,  tin  is 
likewise  obtained. 

The  present  produce  of  the  whole  Peninsula,  including  Sinkep  and 
Linga,  the  only  two  islands  of  the  Johore  Archipelago  where  it  is  now 
sought  for,  is  probably  above  40,000  piculs.  The  produce  for  many 
years  past  has  ranged  between  that  quantity  and  30,000.  The  peninsular 
range,  therefore,  including  Banka,  yields  upwards  of  100,000  piculs;  so 

*  Kilogramme,  equal  to  21b.  3oz.  avoirdupois. 


GEOLOGY.  241 

that  it  equals  or  exceeds  that  of  Cornwall  (6,000  tons),  and  may  be 
expected  to  increase  steadily. 

Seeing  that  tin  is  procured  in  all  parts  of  the  Peninsula  where  it  is 
sought  for,  and  in  proportion  to  the  enterprise  and  labour  which  are 
devoted  to  the  search,  we  may  consider  the  entire  zone  as  a  great 
magazine  of  tin.     It  is,  in  fact,  incomparably  the  greatest  on  the  globe. 

The  finest  ore  of  Banka  yields  as  much  as  80  per  cent,  of  metal,  the 
common  sorts  from  40  to  60.  The  quality  of  the  Peninsular  ores  has 
not  been  ascertained  so  carefully.  We  are  not  aware  that  more  than 
70  per  cent,  has  ever  been  obtained. — Abridged  from  the  Journal  of  the 
Indian  Archipelago. 

MINES  IN  AUSTRALIA. 

The  export  of  Copper  and  Lead  Ores  from  this  colony  during  the 
past  year  have  been  declared,  in  a  semi-official  form,  at  more  than  one 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  'pounds.  Hitherto  the  exports  of  lead 
or  silver-lead  ores  have  formed  a  small  proportion  of  the  gratifying  ex- 
port aggregates  of  the  colony  ;  but,  according  to  present  appearances,  the 
disparity  will  henceforth  not  be  so  remarkable.  The  silver-lead  mines  of 
Glen  Osmond  are  being  vigorously  and  successfully  prosecuted  \  and  to 
the  productiveness  of  the  contiguous  property  of  Wheal  Watkius  is  about 
to  be  added  a  like  productiveness  in  Wheal  Gawler,  also  adjoining. 
These  three  properties  present  a  longitudinal  continuation  of  metalliferous 
ground  more  than  equal  to  the  celebrated  East  Wheal  Rose,  of  Cornwall ; 
and  as  we  are  upon  the  question  of  quantity,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
acquaint  the  uninformed  as  to  what  is  elsewhere  accomplished  in  lead 
minerals  within  a  limited  space.  We  have  it  on  authority  which  we 
cannot  doubt,  that  as  large  a  quantity  as  seven  hundred  tons  of  silver-lead 
ore,  averaging  16/.  per  ton,  was  raised,  sampled,  and  sold  at  East  Wheal 
Rose,  within  the  period  of  a  month  in  the  last  year. — Adelaide  Observer. 


BURRA'BURRA  COPPER  MINES  OF  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA. 

In  the  Year-book  of  Facts,  1 849,  p.  245,  we  gave  some  account  of 
these  mines.  We  add  a  few  statistics  of  the  subsequent  workings,  from 
ihQ  Athenamm,  date  May  13,  1848:— 

"  The  huge  cargoes  which  have  been  shipped,  the  piles  of  ore  we  had 
seen  at  the  port,  the  hundreds  of  draught -oxen  and  laden  drays  met  in 
their  progress  to  the  wharf,  the  thousands  of  tons  of  ore  around  the 
workings,  and  near  the  intended  smeltmg-house,  their  daily  accumula- 
tions, and  the  reports  of  credible,  unbiassed  witnesses,  had  prepared  us  to 
expect  much ;  but  before  we  had  passed  through  a  single  gallery,  as  the 
larger  horizontal  diverges  or  levels  are  very  properly  called,  we  saw 
enough  to  convince  us  we  had  commenced  the  examination  of  a  mine 
incomparably  richer  and  more  productive  than  any  mine  of  any  kind  we 
had  ever  seen  in  the  United  Kingdom.  .  .  .  The  present  openings 
or  workings  consist  of  twenty-nine  shafts  or  winzes,  the  deepest  being 
one  hundred  and  forty- four  feet  (at  which  depth  a  lode  of  very  rich  ore 
has  recently  been  cut),  and  they  amount  in  the  aggregate  to  1,860  feet 


242  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

in  depth ;  also  seventy  galleries  or  levels,  the  united  lengths  of  which 
measure  7,292  feet,  or  rather  more  than  one  mile  and  a- half.  .  .  . 
The  directors  estimate  the  total  quantity  of  ores  raised  in  the  twelve 
months,  ending  to  the  20th  ult.,  was  7,900  tons ;  but,  as  in  calculating 
the  small  ores  retained  for  smelting  at  the  mine  at  1,462  tons  they  were 
greatly  below  the  mark,  and  have  been  raising  largely  ever  since,  the 
entire  quantity  produced  within  thirteen  -nonths  may  safely  be  set  down 
at  10,000  tons.  The  prices  obtained  in  the  sales  of  Burra-Burra  ores  at 
Swansea  already  shew  an  average  of  something  more  than  £23.  16^.  per 
ton;  so  that  even  deducting  £8.  16*.  per  ton  for  carriage,  freight,  and 
charges,  the  mine  may  be  said  to  have  yielded  value  equal  to  at  least 
£150,000,  estimated  upon  the  ground  (or  at  grass,  as  miners  would  say) ; 
and  all  this  within  the  short  space  of  thirteen  months  from  the  com- 
mencement. Nor  is  this  large  amount  likely  to  be  a  maximum,  for  the 
malachite,  red  oxide,  and  other  rich  kinds  of  ore,  have  become  predomi- 
nant ;  and  as  the  mine  is  undoubtedly  equal  to  the  production  of  300 
tons  or  more  per  week  of  ores  likely  to  yield  a  much  higher  average  than 
heretofore,  it  is  not  difficult  to  foresee  the  immensity  of  future  returns. 
The  great  importance  of  the  operations  at  this  mine,  as  beneficially  affect- 
ing the  trade  and  commerce  of  South  A.ustralia,  may  be  judged  of  from 
the  fact,  that  the  sums  already  distributed  in  thirteen  months  by  this  one 
concern,  amongst  other  industrious  settlers,  for  carriage  alone,  must  have 
exceeded  £10,000 ;  those  expended  in  wages,  and  the  various  items  of 
disbursements,  £20,000 ;  and  the  British  or  Colonial  freights,  which 
cannot  be  less  than  £15,000. — Athenceum,  No.  1072. 

An  interesting  series  of  views  of  the  Burra-Burra  Mines,  from  draw- 
ings brought  to  England  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Graham,  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful proprietors,  has  been  engraved  in  the  Illustrated  London  News. 


DISCOVERY  OF  IRON-ORE  IN  BORNEO. 

Very  rich  Irou-ore  has  been  discovered  recently  in  the  so-called  Laut- 
lands  forming  the  S.  E.  corner  of  Borneo,  and  situated  S.  E.  from  Fort 
Tabenio,  near  the  formerly  flourishing,  now  deserted,  Kampong  Tabasa, 
and  at  7  or  8  English  miles  distance  South  from  Kampong  Plearie  (also 
called  Piayhary  or  Palaihari)  inhabited  by  Chinese  and  Malays,  engaged 
in  the  collection  of  gold  dust.  The  above-mentioned  grounds  are  chiefly 
to  be  found  in  the  Western  declivity  of  a  hill  of  gentle  rise,  covered  all 
over  with  stupendous  blocks  of  ore,  some  of  them  measuring  500  or  600 
cubic  feet. 

Though  iron-ore  be  found  everywhere  else  in  the  Island,  viz.  at  Pontai 
or  Pontein,  20  miles  from  Plearie,  the  Tambago  ore  is  so  much  esteemed 
in  the  East  Indies,  that  its  fabricate  is  preferred  to  the  best  Swedish 
iron. 

The  ore  is  very  pure  red  iron  oxyde,  which  after  a  perfect  reduction  in 
thousand  parts  gives  about  700  parts  pure  iron  metal,  whilst  the  most 
unfavourable  result  still  shows  a  capacity  of  metal  of  68,6  per  cent.  Of 
magnetic  iron-stone,  only  a  trace  is  discovered. — New  Rotterdam  Gazette. 


GEOLOGY.  243 

GOLD  IN  BRAZIL. 

At  the  35th  annual  meeting  of  the  Royal  Geological  Society  of  Corn- 
wall, there  was  read  a  "  Description  of  the  Brazilian  Method  of  Washing 
(dressing)  Gold."  By  Mr.  William  Jory  Henwood,  F.R.S.,  F.G.S.,  Chief 
Commissioner  of  the  Gougo  Soco  and  Bananal  Gold  Mines.  The  ore  on 
issuing  from  the  stamps'  grates  passes  over  an  inclined  plane,  covered 
with  bullocks'  hides,  with  tlie  hair  uppermost,  and  with  baize,  and  these 
rough  surfaces  entangle  and  collect  the  larger  portion  of  the  precious 
metals.  The  sand  thus  collected  is  then  washed  in  shallow  bowls,  until 
all  the  impurities  are  separated  from  the  gold,  by  movements  of  the 
vessels  similar  to  those  of  the  shovel  in  vanning  tin  ore.  The  writer's 
object  is  to  suggest  the  possibility  of  some  modification  of  the  use  of 
rough  substances,  for  collecting  tin  and  copper  ores  when  stamped,  before 
their  reception  in  the  stamps'  pits,  and  thus  to  shorten  the  time,  and 
economise  the  labour  now  consumed  in  dressing  the  richer  portions  of 
stamped  work. — Literary  Gazette,  No.  1657. 


GOLD  IN  CANADA. 

Pkof.  B.  Silliman  has  made  an  exploration  of  "  the  Gold  Region" 
of  Canada,  and  given  an  account  of  his  examinations  of  masses  of  gold 
found  iu  the  valley  of  the  Chaudiere.  They  were  firmly  imbedded  in 
what  ap])cared  to  be  slate,  but  which  is  probably  a  concrete  of  detritus 
cemented  by  oxide  of  iron.  The  presence  here  of  mineralogical  features 
similar  to  those  observed  in  other  gold  regions,  affords  grounds  for  the 
hope  that  this  may  become  a  rich  auriferous  district.  At  the  date  of  this 
communication  to  the  New  York  Express,  (Dec.  1848)  no  excavations  of 
great  extent  had  been  made ;  but  a  few  tons  of  gravel  had  been  washed 
in  a  rude  way,  with  the  Berks  rocker,  and  had  yielded  about  four  dollars 
of  gold  to  the  ton  of  gravel. 


GOLD   MINES  IN  ENGLAND. 

It  is  well  known  that  our  metalliferous  rocks  aud  lodes  yield  Gold  and 
Silver,  although  in  most  instances  too  minute  to  render  them  of  any  com- 
mercial value.  It  is,  however,  stated  in  the  Mming  Journal  for  Dec.  23, 
that  the  mineral  lodes  in  North  Wales  yield  gold,  a  bar  of  which,  weigh- 
ing 3  lb.  7  oz.  has  been  placed  in  the  Editor's  hands,  as  the  product  of 
the  East  Cwm-hesian  Mine,  near  Dolgelly.  The  mine  is  worked  for  lead, 
and  the  lode  is  represented  to  us  as  being  "  interlaced"  with  strings  of 
gold.  Some  6  lbs.  or  7  lbs.  of  the  precious  metal  have  been  obtained,  and 
the  ore  at  bank  will,  we  are  informed,  yield  at  least  200  ozs.  of  gold. 

NORWEGIAN  SILVER. 

From  the  Swedish  official  paper  of  the  27th  of  October,  we  learn  that 
on  the  14th  of  September,  the  workmen  employed  in  the  King's  mine, 
which  is  one  of  the  Kouigsberg  silver  mines  in  Norway,  found  a  lump  of 
native  silver  weighing  208  lbs. ;  and  that  on  the  6th  of  October  another 
lump  of  native  silver,  equally  pure  in  quality,  of  no  less  weight  than 
436  lbs,  was  dug  out  of  the  same  mine.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  being 
recorded,  that  about  twenty  jears  ago,  this  mine  was  offered  for  sale  iu 


244  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

London,  for  the  sum  of  £10,000 ;  but  the  capitalists  of  that  day  had  not 
sufficient  confidence  in  the  treasures  it  was  represented  to  possess,  to  give 
this  comparatively  small  price.  Subsequently,  the  Norwegian  Govern- 
ment  were  urged  by  the  scientific  of  that  country  to  work  the  mine  for 
the  benefit  of  the  state.  The  operations  were  prosecuted  with  vigour ; 
and  for  a  considerable  number  of  years  this  mine  has  annually  yielded  to 
the  Government  a  larger  revenue  than  the  price  which  could  not 
previously  be  obtained  in  England  for  the  mine  itself. — AiJienceum, 
No.  1104.  

THE  KOH-I-NOOR  DIAMOND. 

In  the  Delhi  Gazette,  the  Koh-i-noor  Diamond  is  described  to  be  "  the 
largest  and  most  precious  in  the  world."  This  is  very  far  from  being  the 
case.  The  Koh-i-noor,  or  "  mountain  of  light"  formed  one  of  the  eyes 
of  the  jewelled  "  peacock"  of  the  famous  "musnud,"  or  throne  of  Aurung- 
zebe,  the  " Tukht-i-taoos"  (peacock  throne).  Its  twin  jewel,  the  "Koh- 
i-toor,"  is  numbered  among  the  crown  jewels  of  Russia.  The  latter 
weighs  139  carats,  and  is  a  facsimile  of  the  other,  and  of  this  I  possess 
an  accurate  model.  It  is  a  rose  cut,  and  it  is  presumed  they  originally 
constituted  together  a  double  rose-cut  diamond,  similar  to  that  of  the 
"Maximilian"  diamond,  which  descends  as  an  heir-loom  to  the  eldest 
son  of  the  reigning  Emperor  of  Austria.  The  "  Deria-i-noor,  or  "  sea 
of  light,"  which  studs  one  of  the  armlets  of  the  Schah  of  Persia,  is  a  table 
diamond,  but  of  extreme  purity,  and  weighs  186  carats.  The  diamond 
of  the  Rajah  of  Matan,  in  the  Island  of  Borneo,  the  "Pit,"  or  regent 
diamond  of  France,  and  that  which  studs  the  imperial  sceptre  of  Russia, 
infinitely  surpass  in  value  the  Koh-i-noor.  Runjeet  Singh,  Rajah  of  the 
Punjaub,  plundered  the  "  Koh-i-noor"  from  the  ex-princes  Schah  Shujah- 
ool-Moolk  and  Schah  Femaun.  At  the  death  of  Runjeet  Singh,  this 
diamond  fell,  by  "  lot  of  inheritance,"  to  Schah  Soojah-ool-Moolk,  and, 
at  his  death,  was  bequeathed  to  the  hideous  idol  of  Orissa !  The  recent 
war  in  Mooltau,  and  the  disturbances  in  the  Punjaub,  have  induced  the 
British  resident  at  Lahore  to  secure,  as  a  hostage,  the  person  of  the 
Maharajah  (boy  king),  Dhuleep  Singh,  and  at  the  same  time  to  seize  the 
Koh-i-Noor.  The  "  Nassuck"  diamond,  plundered  during  the  Mahratta 
war  from  a  Peshwah  or  feudal  chieftain,  is  a  kindred  exploit. —  Comuni- 
cated  by  Mr.  J.  Murray  (of  Hull)  to  the  Mining  Journal.^ 


DISCOVERY  OF  STONES  RESEMBLING  DIAMONDS  IN  RUSSIA. 

A  LETTER  from  St.  Petersburgh  in  the  Journal  des  Debats,  announces 
the  discovery,  not  far  from  the  right  bank  of  the  Nikolaiefska,  in  the 

*  Conversion  of  the  Diamond  into  CoAe.— In  a  note  addressed  to  the  3/mi«5' 
Journal,  Mr.  Murray  observes,  that  the  discovery  of  the  Conversion  of  the 
Diamond  into  Coke  having  recently  been  assigned  to  Dr.  Faraday,  he  claims 
the  priority,  and  quotes,  in  conclusive  proof,  his  (Mr.  Murray's)  Memoir  on 
the  Diamond,  2d  edition,  1839,  p.  83.—"  I  embedded  a  fragment  of  diamond 
in  a  nidus  of  hydrate  of  magnesia,  and  having  submitted  it  to  the  intense 
flame  of  this  powerful  though  dangerous  instrument  (the  oxy-hydrogen  blow- 
pipe), the  diamond  parted  suddenly  into  minute  fragments,  displaying  on 
their  surfaces,  as  determined  by  the  lens,  the  conchoidal  fracture,  and  became 
as  black  as  jet  r' 


GEOLOGY.  245 

goverument  of  Tobolski,  in  Siberia,  of  a  rich  mine  of  stones  in  the  midst 
of  the  establishment  for  the  washing  of  auriferous  sands.  These  Stones 
present  a  perfect  resemblance  to  Diamonds,  except  that  they  are  a  trifle 
less  heavy  and  less  hard,  although  harder  than  granite.  Specimens  of 
the  stones  have  been  deposited  in  the  Imperial  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory at  St.  Petersburgh,  and  Russian  mineralogists  propose  to  call 
them  diamantoide. 


LAPIS-LAZULI. 

The  Petersburgh  Academy  of  Sciences  has  published  the  following 
particulars  relative  to  Lapis-lazuli  and  Mica :  "  Both  these  minerals  are 
found  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Baikal,  especially  in  the  river  Hindianka, 
and  in  all  the  rivers  which  fall  from  Mount  Khamardaban.  Mineralogists 
have  not,  however,  yet  succeeded  in  finding  the  flow  of  the  lapis-lazuli, 
notwithstanding  the  minute  researches  which  have  been  made  in  divers 
points  of  the  localities.  Mr.  Moor,  the  mineralogist,  who  spent  two 
summers  on  the  banks  of  the  Hindianka,  succeeded  only  in  discovering 
the  flow  of  glaucolithe,  or  calcareous  blue  spath,  and  every  attempt  since 
made  to  ascertain  the  place  of  the  formation  of  the  lapis-lazuli  has  been 
uusuccessful.  The  natives  affirm  that  this  precious  stone  is  met  with 
after  the  heavy  rains  have  washed  down  the  pebbles  found  in  the  beds  of 
the  rivers.  With  regard  to  mica,  it  is  found  in  great  abundance  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Hindianka,  even  with  the  ground,  in  the  form  of  not 
very  thick  flakes,  lying  upon  a  bed  of  soft  clay,  as  if  it  had  been  deposited 
upon  it.  The  inhabitants  frequently  resort  to  these  places  to  carry  off 
the  mica,  which  they  put  into  their  window-frames  in  place  of  glass. 

A  NEW  VOLCANO. 

A  New  Volcano  has  oppeared  at  Amargoura,  one  of  the  Oceanic 
Islands,  about  twenty  leagues  to  the  north  of  the  isles  of  Vavao.  Mr. 
Williams,  the  American  consul,  and  Captain  Sampson,  give  the  following 
particulars :  "  On  the  9th  of  July  and  two  following  days,  violent  shocks 
of  an  earthquake  were  felt  at  Vavao,  at  regular  intervals  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes ;  they  were  felt  even  on  board  the  vessels  anchored  in 
the  port.  On  the  night  of  the  11th,  vivid  flashes  of  lightning  were  seen 
in  the  direction  of  Amargoura,  which  illumined  the  whole  heavens.  On 
the  morning  of  the  12th,  everything  was  covered  with  ashes,  reduced  to 
an  impalpable  powder ;  and  the  air  was  filled  with  a  suffocating  smell  of 
sulphur."  Mr.  Williams  left  Vavao  on  the  13th,  and  made  for  the 
place  of  the  eruption.  As  he  approached,  he  saw  immense  columns  of 
smoke  and  ashes  rising  high  into  the  air.  On  arriving  close  to  the 
island,  he  observed  that  just  above  the  level  of  sea  an  immense  crater 
•had  developed  itself;  the  interior  was  in  a  state  of  violent  commotion : 
quantities  of  burning  matter  were  thrown  up,  and  then  poured  down 
again  in  torrents  upon  the  plain  around.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the 
ashes  were  thrown  to  an  immense  distance  in  the  very  eye  of  the  wind, 
which  was  blowing  a  perfect  hurricane  from  the  N.E.  At  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  12th,  the  American  ship  Charles  Morgan,  which 
was  more  than  thirty  miles  N.E.  of  Amergoura,  was  covered  with  showers 


246  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

of  ashes.  At  sunrise  the  powder  with  which  the  air  was  densely  charged 
appeared  of  a  fiery  red  colour,  rolling  in  space  like  masses  of  smoke. 
A.t  eight  o'clock  it  was  still  dark.  At  eleven  the  sun  began  to  pierce 
through  this  terrible  cloud,  and  soon  after  midday  the  ship  was  under  a 
perfectly  pure  sky,  having  made  more  than  forty  miles  amid  this  fall  of 
ashes.  Another  vessel,  the  Massachusetts,  experienced  precisely  the 
same  phenomenon,  though  it  was  sixty  miles  further  east  than  the 
Charles  Morgan.  The  colour  was  greyish,  and  the  specific  gravity  1-076. 
On  analysing  them,  they  were  found  to  contain  a  large  proportion  of 
copper,  a  small  quantity  of  iron,  and  some  sulphuric  acid. — Literary 
Gazette,  No.  1625. 

ERUPTION  or  VESUVIUS. 

A  REPORT  of  the  Mountain,  dated  February  22,  states :  At  6  p.  M. 
a  large  mouth  was  opened  beneath  the  crater,  whence  issued  three  streams 
of  lava.  On  the  23rd,  in  the  direction  of  Erba,  the  current  of  lava 
arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  crater. — 28th.  At  7  a.  m.  a  column  of  about  40 
feet  in  height  issued  from  the  mountain,  having  all  the  colours  of  a  rain- 
bow. At  10  a.  m.  issued  ten  circles  of  flame  with  three  colours — green, 
white,  and  black  [the  original  colours  of  1820].  They  formed  a  cone  8 
f)al.  8  in  height,  under  which  and  whence  are  issuing  two  currents  of 
lava,  which  are  winding  about  like  snakes.  In  the  direction  of  Mandro, 
the  lava  opened,  and  flames  issued  which  became  so  many  streams. — Cbr- 
respondent  of  the  Athenceum,  No.  1061. 

subterranean  fire. 
The  village  of  Lower  Haugh,  near  Rotherham,  on  the  estate  of  Earl 
Fitzwilliam,  has  an  extensive  bed  of  coal  beneath  it,  which  has  been  burn- 
ing with  greater  or  less  intensity  for  at  least  twenty  years.  The  coal  in 
certain  places  bassets  out,  that  is,  it  comes  up  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground ;  and  it  was  at  one  of  these  bassets  that  the  fire  originally  com- 
menced, having  been  ignited  by  a  "  clamp"  (a  fire  for  burning  stones  in- 
tended for  road  materials).  The  Subterranean  Fire  has  coutinued  to  ad- 
vance in  various  directions  up  to  the  present  time,  its  progress  being 
manifested  by  the  appearance  at  intervals  of  smoke  and  flames  at  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground ;  the  spread  of  which  has  generally  been  stopped,  how- 
ever,  by  puddling  the  eruptions  with  clay,  &c.  We  understand  that  a 
good  many  years  ago  the  destruction  of  the  mausoleum  of  the  Went- 
worth  family  was  threatened  by  the  approach  of  the  fire,  but  happily  the 
calamity  was  averted  by  severing  the  bed  of  coal.  Latterly,  the  work  of 
destruction  appears  to  have  been  going  on  with  unwonted  rapidity. 
The  ground  in  several  large  tracts  is  one  huge  hot-bed.  The  exposed  earth 
is  quite  warm,  even  in  the  depth  of  winter.  The  unnatural  heat  engen- 
ders a  disagreeable  smoke,  which  is  continually  ascending  and  adulterating 
the  atmosphere,  doubtless  to  the  detriment  of  animal  health ;  and  the 
houses  in  the  worst  localities  are  often  filled  with  warm  air  strongly 
charged  with  sulphur,  rendering  them  as  habitations  little  better  than  a 
coal-pit.     The  cellars,  naturally,  are  the  worst. — Sheffield  Times. 


GEOLOGY.  247 

PSEUDO- VOLCANIC  PHENOMENA  OF  ICELAND. 

In  the  first  volume  of  Chemical  Reports  and  Memoirs,  published  by 
the  Cavendish  Society,  the  most  attractive  paper  is  that  '*  On  the  Pseudo- 
A^olcanic  Phenomena  of  Iceland,"  contributed  by  Professor  Bunsen. 
The  following  quotation  will  show  the  line  of  research  advocated,  and  in 
a  great  measure  adopted  by  the  author  in  this  paper : — "  The  attention  of 
geologists  has  hitherto  been  almost  exclusively  directed  to  the  metamor- 
phism  of  rocks  from  the  action  of  tire.  The  metamorphic  transforma- 
tions effected  by  the  action  of  gas  and  water  at  low  temperatures,  as  we 
still  see  them  exemplified  on  a  small  scale  in  the  fumeroles,  must, 
however,  have  played  a  no  less  important  part  in  the  more  ancient 
plutonic  disturbances,  and  exercised  an  immeasurable  degree  of  influence 
in  the  formation  of  the  substance  constituting  the  accumulated  masses  of 
the  strata  of  the  secondary  period.  I  have  endeavoured,  in  the  present 
treatise,  to  bring  prominently  forward  some  indications  and  relations  that 
may,  perhaps,  lead  the  geologist  in  the  right  path  for  investigating  these 
structures.  Everything  seems  to  indicate  that  we  are  justified,  not  merely 
from  observations,  but  from  more  experimental  investigations,  in  re- 
ferring the  metamorphoses  of  rocks  to  hydalothermic  and  pyrocaustic — 
or,  where  these  occupy  the  same  scene  of  action — to  hydatocaustic  forma- 
tions. I  do  not  know,  however,  whether  the  time  has  yet  arrived  when 
we  may  introduce  these  denominations  into  the  nomenclature  of  science. 
Siich  distinctive  appellations  certainly  remain  devoid  of  application  until 
the  test  of  experiment  has  decided  the  question  in  all  its  bearings  ;  and 
geological  chemistry  is,  unfortunately,  still  far  from  having  attained  to 
this  object." 

A  theory  of  geyser  irruptions  is  given,  for  which  the  following  results 
of  experiments  made  by  M.  Descloizeaux  and  the  author  form  the  data  : — 
1.  "  That  the  temperature  of  the  column  of  the  geyser  decreases  from 
below  upwards,  as  had  already  been  shown  by  Lottin  and  Robert.  2. 
That,  setting  aside  small  disturbances,  the  temperature  goes  on  increasing 
regularly  at  all  points  of  the  column  from  the  time  of  the  last  eruption. 
3.  That  the  temperature  in  the  unmoved  column  of  water  did  not,  at 
any  period  of  time  up  to  a  few  minutes  before  the  great  eruption,  reach 
the  boiling  point  that  corresponds  to  the  atmospheric  and  aqueous 
pressure  at  the  point  of  observation.  4.  That  it  is  at  mid-height  iu  the 
funnel  of  the  geyser  where  the  temperature  approaches  nearest  to  the 
boiling  point  corresponding  to  the  pressure  of  the  column  of  water,  and 
tlat  it  approaches  nearer  to  this  point  in  proportion  to  the  approximation 
of  the  period  of  a  great  eruption." 

It  is  difficult  to  express  in  few  words  the  author's  theory  without 
giving  an  illustrative  plate  which  his  work  furnishes.  As  far  as  we  can 
sum  it  up,  it  appears  to  depend  upon  the  hotter  portion  of  water  below 
being  kept  for  some  time  from  ebullition  by  the  column  above ;  as  it 
becomes  elevated  to  a  certain  point  it  overcomes  the  resistance  of  the 
superincumbent  column  and  bursts  into  vapour ;  by  this  vaporization  it 
relieves  from  pressure  the  still  hotter  water  below  it,  and  so  the  whole 
rapidly,  almost  suddenly,  enters  into  ebullition.     We  do  not  know  whe- 

& 


248  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

ther  the  water  in  the  geyser  springs  contains  much  air  dissolved.  If,  as 
is  most  probably  the  case,  it  does  not,  ebullition  would  necessarily  be 
sudden,  and  be  performed  by  "  soubresauts,"  as  M.  Donny  has  shown  in 
an  interesting  paper  published  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Brussels  Academy, 
The  hi^h  temperature  below,  and  the  absence  of  dissolved  air,  would,  it 
appears  to  us,  satisfactorily  account  for  the  intermitting  bursts  of  ebulli- 
tion in  the  geyser  springs.  The  phenomena  can  be  artificially  imitated, 
as  Mr.  Grove  has  shewn  in  a  communication  to  the  British  Association 
at  Oxford,  reported  in  the  Literary  Gazette,  (No.  1590),  by  exposing 
water  deprived  of  air  to  a  constant  som-ce  of  heat,  such  as  a  platina 
wire  through  which  a  current  of  voltaic  electricity  is  passed.  Under 
these  circumstances  the  water  does  not  boil  in  the  normal  manner,  but 
at  regular  intervals  sudden  bursts  of  vapour  take  place,  by  which  a  large 
body  of  water  is  suddenly  projected,  and  if  so  contrived  as  to  again  fall 
upon  the  source  of  heat,  an  intermitting  action,  exactly  similar  to  the 
geyser  eruption,  is  produced. 

The  following  quotation  from  Prof.  Bunsen,  allowing  something  for 
Germanic  phraseology,  gives  a  graphic  description  of  the  physical  charac- 
teristics of  Iceland  : — "  Inaccessible  fields  of  snow  cover  the  summits  of 
the  mountains,  and  reveal,  at  great  distances,  the  limits  of  the  region  of 
glaciers,  which  penetrate  with  their  huge  masses  of  ice  for  a  length  of 
many  miles, — even  to  the  lower  range  of  plateaux,  and  may  be  traced  by 
the  bluish  reflection  of  their  dazzling  masses  in  the  glacier  ice.  It  is 
owing  to  these  icebergs,  which  cover  almost  a  tenth  part  of  the  island, 
that  Iceland,  taking  into  account  its  climatic  relation,  is  characterised  by 
so  remarkable  an  abundance  of  atmospheric  deposition  ;  and  it  is  to  the 
same  cause  we  must  refer  the  singular  development  of  the  phenomena  of 
springs,  which  is  intimately  connected  with  the  peculiar  structural  rela- 
tions of  palagonite  rock.  Vast  masses  of  water  break  through  the  fissures 
and  arches  of  the  glaciers,  or  rush  in  cascades  down  the  icy  walls  of  the 
mountain  slopes,  not  unfrequently  converting  a  district  of  many  miles 
into  a  bottomless  mass  of  moving  mud,  in  which  the  streams  accumulate 
before  they  can  form  for  themselves  a  well-defined  and  regular  bed  for 
their  waters.  Innumerable  inland  seas,  vast  marshes  and  swamps,  which 
make  this  barren  and  desolate  country  appear  even  more  terrible  to  the 
eye  of  the  traveller,  are  the  consequence  of  such  overflowings,  diifusing 
a  mass  of  waters  over  the  elevated  plateau  of  the  island,  which  finds  its 
way  into  the  deep  declivities  along  the  gently-inclining  strata  of  rocks, 
to  nourish  the  various  systems  of  springs." — Quoted  in  the  Literary 
Gazette,  No.  1657. 


COKE  IS  CRYSTLETULAR  DIAMOND. 

Mr.  James  Nasmyth,  of  Bridgewater  Foundry,  Patricroft,  near  Man- 
chester, has  tested,  as  it  weie,  and  proved  the  fact,  of  the  identity  of 
Diamond  and  Coke,  by  the  discovery  that  the  minute  laminated  crystals, 
or  crystlets  of  coke,  are  capable  of  cutting  glass  with  the  true  diamond 
clearness  of  cut,  or  without  merely  scratching.  No  other  settiny  too  is 
necessary  to  prove  this  fact,  than  the  crumbling  consistency  of  the  coke 
itself  in  mass,  so  that  a  fragment  of  coke,  switched  at  random  across  a 


GEOLOGY.  249 

paae  of  glass  ia  the  sunshine,  is  suflOicient  not  only  to  exhibit  the  depth 
of  the  clear  cuts,  but  the  prismatic  colours  in  all  their  purity  and  beauty. 
Ground  to  impalpable  powder,  Mr.  Nasmyth,  as  intimated  in  the  Mining 
Journal,  has  found  that  coke  constitutes  what  we  may  call  the  true 
"diamond  paste,"  for  sharpening  razors, — probably,  indeed,  if  we  may 
venture  to  say  so,  the  only  secret  of  the  diamond  pastes  so  largely  adver- 
tised, if  they  merit  even  so  worthy  a  supposition.  The  adamantine  pro- 
perties of  black  oxide  of  manganese,  and  its  peculiar  affinities,  induced  an 
ingenious  chemist  to  suggest  its  strong  analogy  to  carbon :  is  it  possible 
that  it,  too,  when  in  fragments — much  more  tirmly  crystalline  as  it  is  in 
mass  than  coke — may  cut  glass  with  'practical  facility  ? 

NEW  FOSSIL  PISH  OP  THE  CARBONIFEROUS  PERIOD. 

Mr.  F.  M'Coy  has  communicated  to  the  Cambridge  Philosophical  So- 
ciety, a  paper  on  this  subject ;  in  which  he  states,  that  having  premised  the 
species  of  Fish  of  the  Carboniferous  Limestone  enumerated  in  the  third 
volume  of  the  Poissons  Fossiles  of  M,  Agassiz,  to  be  for  the  most  part 
still  uupublished,  beiug  without  definitions  or  figures,  through  the  kind- 
ness of  Capt.  Jones,  li.N.,  M.P.  &c.  he  was  enabled  to  study  the  original 
specimens  of  twenty-eight  out  of  the  thirty  unpublished  species  from 
Armagh  in  M.  Agassiz's  list,  and  is  therefore  certain  of  the  species  de- 
scribed by  him  being  so  far  distinct  from  those  alluded  to.  The  greater 
number  of  the  examples  here  described  are  in  the  cabinets  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge  (principally  collected  by  the  Rev.  W.  Stokes,  of 
Caius  College),  and  of  Captain  Jones ;  a  few  from  the  lower  carboniferous 
shales  of  Ireland  are  only  known  in  that  of  Mr.  Griffith  of  Dublin. 

The  number  of  new  species  described  and  figured  in  this  paper  is  forty- 
one,  of  which  several  belong  to  genera  not  previously  known  in  rocks  of 
the  cai-boniferous  period,  many  showing  a  strong  affinity  to  the^Devouian 
type  of  form.  Thus,  we  have  two  species  of  Psatmnosteus,  one  of  Chelyo- 
phorus,  one  (doubtful)  of  Coccosteus,  one  oi  Aster olepis,  two  oi  Iloma- 
canthus,  and  one  of  Cosmacantlms,  genera  hitherto  only  found  in  the  Old 
Red  Sandstone. 


PSEUDO-MORPHOUS  CRYSTALS. 

Mr.  Tennant,  F.G.S.  has  communicated  to  the  British  Association,  a 
''  Notice  of  Pseudo-morphous  Crystals  from  the  Volcanic  Districts  of 
India."  Some  specimens  of  crystalline  changes  were  exhibited,  in  which 
those  of  one  form  had  been  removed  and  those  of  another  had  taken 
their  place  and  assumed  the  original  form,  although  it  was  not  the  shape 
in  which  the  crystal  is  naturally  found. 


CEPHALOPODA  IN  THE  OXFORD  CLAY. 

Da.  Mantell  has  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society,  "  Observations 
on  some  Belemnites  and  other  fossil  remains  of  Cephalopoda,  discovered 
by  Mr.  Reginald  Neville  Mantell,  C.E.,  in  the  Oxford  Clay,  near  Trow- 
bridge, in  Wiltshire." 

The  author  states,  that  a  line  of  railway  now  in  progress  of  construction 
to  connect  the  large  manufacturing  town  of  Trowbridge  with  the  Great 


250  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

Western,  being  part  of  the  Wilts,  Somerset,  and  Weymouth  line,  traverses 
extensive  beds  of  the  Oxford  clay  of  the  same  geological  character  as  those 
at  Christian-Malford  in  the  same  county,  which  furnished  the  remarkable 
fossil  cephalopods  described  by  Mr.  Channing  Pearce  under  the  name  of 
Belemnoieuthis,  and  by  Professor  Owen  (in  a  memoir  which  received  the 
award  of  a  Royal  Medal  of  this  Society,)  as  the  animals  to  which  the 
fossils  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  Belemnites  belong. 

The  son  of  the  author,  Mr.  R.  N.  Mantell,  being  engaged  in  these 
works  imder  the  eminent  engineer  Mr.  Brunei,  availed  himself  of  the 
opportunity  to  form  an  extensive  and  highly  interesting  collection  of  the 
fossils  of  the  Oxford  clay,  and  other  oolitic  deposits  cut  through  or  ex- 
posed by  the  engineering  operations.  Among  those  transmitted  to  the 
author  are  many  illustrative  examples  of  Belemnoteuthes  and  Belemnites , 
some  of  which  confirm  the  opinions  entertained  by  the  late  Mr.  C. 
Pearce,  Mr.  Cunnington,  and  other  competent  observers,  that  the  body 
and  soft  parts,  with  the  cephalic  uncinated  arms,  &c.  of  cephalopods, 
obtained  from  Christian-Malford  by  the  Noble  President  and  Mr.  Pearce 
Pratt,  and  referred  by  Professor  Owen  in  the  memoir  above-mentioned 
to  the  Belemnite,  belong  to  a  distinct  genus — the  Belemnoteuthis. 

The  author  considers  the  facts  described  as  proving  that  the  ce- 
phalopod  of  the  Belemnite  was  entirely  distinct  from  the  Belemnoteu- 
this; and  that  the  muscular  mantle,  cephalic  arms,  and  other  parts 
referred  by  Professor  Owen  to  the  former,  exclusively  belong  to  the 
latter  genus. 

He  concludes  that  the  remains  of  at  least  three  genera  of  'naked  Ce- 
phalopoda occur  in  the  argillaceous  deposits  of  the  oolite  in  Wiltshire  : 
namely,  the  first  or  true  Calamary,  with  a  horny  dorsal  gladius  or  pen  ; 
the  second,  the  Belemnoteuthis,  or  a  decapod  with  uncinated  cephalic 
arras,  ink-bag,  pallial  fins,  and  a  corneo-calcareous  phragmocone  ;  and 
the  third,  the  Belemnite,  which  possessed  a  phragmocone  having  the 
apical  part  implanted  in  the  cavity  or  alveolus  of  a  guard  or  osselet, 
\Yhich  in  its  original  state  resembled  in  substance  the  sepiostaire  of  the 
Cuttle-fish,  but  is  generally  found  mineralized  by  calcareous  spar;  and 
the  peristome,  possessing  two  or  more  elongated  shelly  processes ;  both 
the  guard  and  the  phragmocone  being  invested  with  a  corneo-calcareous 
capsule  or  receptacle.  He  observes,  lastly,  that  the  body  and  other  soft 
parts  of  the  cephalopod  of  the  Belemnite  are  at  present  unknown. 


THE  REINDEER  IN  IRELAND. 

Prop.  Oldham  has  communicated  to  the  Geological  Society  of  Ireland, 
a  memoir  bearing  upon  the  later  geological  changes  which  have  beea 
effected  upon  the  area  occupied  by  the  British  islands,  as  also  upon  the 
climate  of  the  time.  He  announced  the  discovery  of  the  undoubted 
remains  of  the  Reindeer  (Cervus  tarandus),  in  peat,  marl,  and  clay,  near 
Kiltiernan,  in  the  county  of  Dublin,  in  company  with  numerous  antlers 
of  the  Irish  elk  {Megaceros),  The  evidence  on  this  head  is  valuable, 
more  particularly  when  added  to  the  inference  of  Professor  Owen,  in  his 
Report  on  British  Fossil  Mammalia,  that  these  animals  once  existed  in 
our  islands,  and  to  the  statement  of  Dr.  Mantell  respecting  the  remains 


J 


GEOLOGY.  251 

of  reindeer  found  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  Two  other  Irish  specimens ,  in 
bad  preservation,  had  previously  been  under  the  notice  of  Mr.  Ball,  of 
Dubliu.  The  value  of  this  undoubted  occurrence  of  the  reindeer  in 
Ireland  will  be  at  once  apparent  to  those  who  remember  the  views  taken 
by  Professor  Edward  Forbes,  and  published  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Geolo- 
gical Survey,  respecting  the  comparatively  recent  separation  of  the 
British  islands,  by  elevation  of  the  mass  and  subsequent  sea  action,  from 
the  main  continent,  thus  cutting  off  the  animals  and  plants  which  ema- 
nated thence  from  the  remains  of  the  parent  stock.  And  this  discovery 
is  of  the  more  value,  when  we  connect  it  with  the  inferences  to  be  drawn 
from  the  mixture  of  the  reindeer-bones  with  those  of  the  Megaceros. — 
Jameson's  Journal,  No.  90. 


ARTIFICIAL  COLOURS  IN  AGATE. 

The  change  of  Colour  produced  Artificially  in  the  Agates  by  the 
workers  in  them  at  Oberstein,  an  art  learned  from  the  Italians,  is  of  much 
interest  mineralogically,  since  it  shows  the  very  different  porosity  of  dif- 
ferent layers  in  the  agates,  the  least  porous  bands  not  being  necessarily 
the  nearest  to  the  centre,  but  dispersed  irregularly  through  the  mass. 
To  this  porosity  Mr.  Hamilton  calls  attention,  citing  the  researches  of 
M.  Noeg^erath,  who  states,  that  in  some  layers  the  minute  hollows  can 
be  seen  by  means  of  a  magnifying  glass ;  that,  while  some  are  round, 
others  are  long,  and  that  they  sometimes  run  into  one  another.  These 
hollows,  Mr.  Hamilton  considers,  may  form  interstices  between  the 
radiating  crystals.  By  immersion  for  some  time  in  honey  and  water  or 
olive  oil,  so  that  the  pores  of  the  agate  become  more  or  less  filled  with  a 
substance  to  be  carbonised,  a  subsequent  soaking  of  the  stone  in  sulphuric 
acid  produces  a  difference  in  the  tints  of  the  agate  according  to  the  poro- 
sity of  the  layers,  the  most  porous  becoming  black,  while  the  least  porous 
remain  white  or  uncoloured.  By  immersion  in  a  solution  of  sulphate  of 
iron,  and  a  subsequent  heating  of  the  agate,  a  cornelian  red  is  in  like 
manner  obtained  for  the  most  porous  layers,  the  iron  being  converted  into 
a  peroxide,  while  the  least  porous  layers  continue  unchanged  in  colour.* 
It  would  be  out  of  place  further  to  dwell  upon  the  infiltration  of  mineral 
matter  in  solution  into  the  isolated  cavities  of  rocks.  The  mode  in  which 
the  various  minerals  occur  is  highly  interesting,  as  also  their  connection 
with  the  matter  filling  veins  and  fissures  in  adjoining  parts  of  the  same 
or  adjacent  rocks,  as,  for  example,  the  tilling  of  the  fissures  in  the  red 
conglomerate  by  the  same  kind  of  siliceous  matter  which  entered  into  the 
cavities  of  the  igneous  rocks  of  Idal,  the  layers  having,  in  both  cases,  ad- 
justed themselves  to  the  surfaces  on  which  they  were  accumulated. — Sir 
Renry  T.  Be  la  Beche's  Anniversary  Address  to  the  Geological  Society. 


THE  TREBICH  GROTTO,  NEAR  TRIESTE. 

In  the  Geological  Society's  Journal  there  is  an  interesting  account,  by 

*  Mr.  Hamilton  believes  that  not  a  few  of  the  agates  which  have  come  down 
from  ancient  times  have  been  tlius  treated. 


252  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

M.  Morlet,  of  the  discovery  of  a  large  and  extensive  Cavern  or  Grotto  at 
Trebich,  about  a  league  north-east  of  Trieste  : — 

The  Kant  formation  in  the  maritime  district  of  Illyria  consists  principally 
of  limestone,  which  rests  on  sandstone.  It  presents  a  curious  appearance,— 
being'  full  of  holes  and  fissures.  The  whole  rock  is  so  traversed,  and  as  it  were 
sown  over  with  deep  funnel-shaped  and  crateriform  abysses,  that  the  mass  of 
strata,  1,000  feet  thick,  is  described  as  being  fuller  of  pores  than  a  sponge. 
Hence,  the  rain  speedily  sinks  into  the  interior  of  the  mountain,— and  the 
only  water  seen  on  the  surface  is  at  most  a  few  small  pools.  In  the  region  of 
the  sandstone  and  slate,  on  the  contrary,  running  water  is  not  wanting? ;  but 
immediately  on  reaching  the  limestone  formation  the  water  falls  into  it, — 
often  through  highly  romantic,  portico-like  openings,— and  continues  its 
course  under  ground,  returning  to  the  light  only  when  the  sandstone  again 
appears.  In  heavy  storms  of  rain  the  water  accumulates  in  the  interior  of 
the  mountains,  and  swelHng  up  to  a  great  height  drives  out  the  air,  frequently 
with  much  violence,  through  the  narrow  fissures  and  caverns  connected  with 
them  above.  Tliis  circumstance  shows  that  holes  which  on  the  surface  are 
very  small  are  yet  often  continued  deep  into  the  interior.  The  want  of  water 
in  Trieste  has  long  been  felt;  and  an  examination  of  many  of  these  holes  in 
the  vicinity  of  that  town  was  made,  with  the  view  of  discovering  some 
subterranean  'stream  which  might  supply  the  inhabitants  with  water.  At 
length  an  opening  of  no  great  width,  but  sinking  perpendicularly  into  the 

f  round,  was  discovered  at  Trebich,  and  followed  with  great  perseverance, 
he  fissure  sometimes  expanded  into  a  wide  cavern,— sometimes  contracted 
to  a  rent  of  scarce  a  finger's  breadth,— and  required  great  labour  on  the  part 
of  the  workmen,  in  blasting,  &c.,  to  follow  up  the  chasm.  Once,  in  a  wide 
part  of  the  opening,  all  trace  of  its  continuation  was  lost ;  when  suddenly  an 
intelligent  miner  from  Carinthia  heard  a  loud  roaring  and  howling,  and  con- 
cluded that  the  water  in  the  interior,  rising  in  consequence  of  heavy  rain, 
was  forcing  the  air  through  some  narrow  opening.  He  then  found,  near  the 
roof  of  the  cave,  a  small  fissure  which  again  led  in  the  right  direction.  At 
length,  after  eleven  months  of  hard  labour,  he  discovered  a  very  capacious 
cavern  or  grotto,  270  feet  high,— at  the  bottom  of  which,  1,022  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  62  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea-level,  a  consider- 
able stream  of  running  water  was  found.  The  water  enters  the  cavern  by  a 
low  vault ;  and  flowing  among  the  numerous  large  blocks  which  have  fallen 
from  the  roof,  expands  into  a  long  narrow  lake.  The  lake  was  explored  by 
means  of  a  raft,  and  was  found  to  pass  under  a  vault  which  descended  below 
the  surface  of  the  water.  This  put  a  stop  to  the  investigation.  During  heavy 
rain  the  water  has  already  been  seen  to  rise  240  feet ;  but,  judging  from  an 
old  float  of  a  mill-wheel  found  in  a  higher  part  of  the  cavern,  it  must  some- 
times attain  to  a  height  of  300  feet  above  its  usual  level. 


PARALLEL  ROADS  OF  LOCHABER,  AND  GLACIERS. 

In  a  paper  communicated  to  Jameson's  Journal,  No.  89,  by  Mr.  James 
Thomson,  jun.  M.A.,  he  remarks,  that,  in  calling  in  the  aid  of  Glaciers 
towards  the  explanation  of  the  Parallel  Roads,  no  gratuitous  or  unsup- 
ported assumption  is  made.  So  many  various  and  independent  proofs  of 
the  existence  of  a  glacial  climate  in  these  countries,  during  some  of  the 
most  recent  geological  periods,  have  been  accumulated,  especially  within 
the  last  few  years,  that  we  may  now  regard  it  as  an  established  fact,  and 
use  it  like  a  stepping-stone  to  assist  us  in  farther  investigations.  In 
addition  to  other  proofs  of  a  cold  climate  derived  from  organic  remains, 
and  from  effects  w^ich  appear  to  have  been  produced  by  icebergs  floating 
at  sea,  indications  of  glaciers,  in  some  instances  of  an  unequivocal  charac- 
ter, are  to  be  met  with  in  various  mountainous  parts  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland.  Such  appearances,  more  or  less  satisfactoi-y,  have  been 
pointed  out  by  various  authors,  of  whom  it  may  be  sufficient  to  mention 


GEOLOGY.  253 

Buckland,  Lyell,  Bowman,  Agassiz,  Maclaren,  and  Forbes.  In  the 
island  of  Skye,  in  particular,  among  the  CiichuUin  Hills,  which  have 
been  lately  explored  by  the  above-mentioned  author.  Professor  Forbes, 
there  are  to  be  seen  more  striking  and  indisputable  traces  of  glaciers  than 
in  any  other  locality  which  has,  of  yet,  been  examined.  This  is  in  a 
great  degree  to  be  attributed  to  the  durable  nature  of  the  hypersthene 
rocks  of  which  those  hills  are  composed ;  a  property  which  has  caused 
their  surfaces  to  retain  not  only  the  general  forms,  but  also  the  most 
minute  markings  produced  by  the  glaciers ;  and  which,  at  the  same  time, 
has  prevented  these  from  being  concealed  under  a  coating  of  decayed 
materials.  The  face  of  the  country  seems,  in  fact,  to  have  retained, 
almost  absolutely  unaltered,  all  the  appearances  which  it  presented  on  the 
retiring  of  the  ice. 

In  the  Lochaber  district,  among  other  indications  of  the  action  of 
glaciers,  Agassiz  has  pointed  out  one  which  is  interesting  in  itself,  and 
more  so  when  taken  in  connection  with  the  foregoing.  At  the  mouth  of 
Loch  Treig,  the  rock  consists  of  gneiss,  intersected  by  veins  of  quartz. 
The  quartz  everywhere  projects  two  or  three  inches  above  the  gneiss,  its 
upper  surface  being  polished  and  striated,  exactly  as  is  the  case  with 
quartz  veins  exposed  to  the  action  of  glaciers  at  the  present  day.  It  is 
clear  that  the  gneiss  and  the  quartz  had  originally  been  planed  down  to 
one  even  surface :  and  that  the  gneiss,  not  being  perfectly  durable,  has 
since  decayed  away,  and  thus  left  the  quartz  veins  standing  in  relief. 

Sir  George  Mackenzie,  in  a  paper  communicated  to  JamesorCs  Journal, 
No.  87,  shows  cause  for  his  opinion  that  "the  Shelves  of  Lochaber"  are 
proofs  of  the  debacle  theory,  assuming  that  such  a  flood  as  this  theory 
assumes  has  happened. 


GEOLOGY  OF  AUSTRALIA. 

In  a  memoir  by  Mr.  Beete  Jukes,  M.A.  F.G.S.,  he  gives  a  short 
abstract  of  all  the  information  collected  by  various  travellers  regarding 
the  geology  of  the  Australian  continent,  including  his  own  observations. 

The  eastern  coast  is  occupied  by  a  great  range  of  high  land,  appearing 
like  a  continuous  chain  of  mountains  when  seen  from  the  sea,  and  rising 
in  several  places  to  5000  feet  or  more  above  the  sea-level.  The  chain 
has  an  axis  of  granite,  with  occasional  large  masses  of  greenstone,  basalt, 
and  other  igneous  rocks.  It  is  flanked  on  both  sides  by  thick  beds  of 
palaeozoic  formations,  chiefly  sandstone,  but  also  containing  limestone 
and  coal.  In  the  northern  portion  of  the  chain.  Dr.  Leichardt  found 
similar  formations,  and  especially  trap  and  granite  near  the  Burdekin 
river.  In  the  Port  Philip  district  there  are  similar  igneous  rocks,  and  on 
the  coast  tertiary  formations,  which  Mr.  Jukes  found  resting  on  the  edges 
of  upturned  palaeozoic  beds.  In  "West  Australia,  the  Darling  range 
consists  of  granite  below,  covered  by  metamorphic  rocks ;  and  between  it 
and  the  sea  is  a  plain  composed  of  tertiary  beds.  In  the  colony  of  North 
Australia,  there  is  a  great  sandstone  plateau,  rising  about  1800  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  probably  of  paleozoic  age ;  whilst  on  the  immediate 
shore,  and  round  the  gulph  of  Carpentaria,  are  beds  supposed  to  belong 
to  the  tertiary  period.     Similar  formations  constitute  the  substratum 


254  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

of  the  central  desert,  in  which  Captain  Sturt  was  compelled  to  turn  when 
half  way  to  the  Gulph  of  Carpentaria,  from  the  southern  coast.  Hence 
Mr.  Jukes  conjectures  that  these  tertiary  rocks  are  probably  continuous 
through  the  whole  central  region,  and  that,  during  the  tertiary  period,  all 
this  portion  of  the  country  was  submerged,  whilst  the  high  lands  on  the 
coast  rose  like  four  groups  of  islands  from  a  shallow  sea.  In  confirma- 
tion of  this  view,  he  remarked  that  a  greater  difference  existed  between 
the  plants  and  animals  of  New  South  Wales  and  Western  Australia, 
though  in  the  same  latitude,  than  between  those  at  the  southern  and 
northern  extremities  of  the  eastern  chain  of  mountains,  distant  20°  of 
latitude  from  each  other. — Geological  Journal,  No.  14. 


SOUECES  or  THE  WHITE  NILE. 

M.  Werne,  in  a  communication  to  the  British  Association,  denies  the 
discovery,  by  M.  Antoiue  D'Abbadie,  of  the  Source  of  the  Nile  in 
7°  49'  N.  lat.  and  34°  38'  long.  E.  from  Paris.  In  1841-2,  the 
Egyptian  Expedition,  to  which  M.  Werne  belonged,  ascended  the  main 
stream  of  the  Nile  as  far  as  the  country  of  Bari,  in  4°  N.  lat. ;  and  they 
were  told  by  the  natives  that  the  sources  of  the  river  lay  still  further 
south.  The  author  argued,  that  if  M.  D'Abbadie's  sources  in  Enarea 
and  Kafa  were  really  those  of  the  rivers  ascended  by  him,  an  intercourse 
between  the  countries  along  the  valley  of  the  stream  must  exist,  and  the 
same  domestic  animals,  produce,  and  articles  of  use,  would  be  found.  In 
Enarea  and  Kafa,  according  to  M.  D'Abbadie,  there  are  horses,  mules, 
coffee,  and  dollars ;  but  no  sheep,  fowls,  or  leather.  In  Bari  the  reverse 
is  the  case,  from  which  M.  Werne  concludes  there  can  be  no  water  com- 
munication between  M.  D'Abbadie's  Nile  in  Enarea  and  Kafa,  and  the 
true  Nile  (Tubirih)  in  Bari.  M.  Weenie  asserted,  that  from  the  form  and 
direction  of  the  mountains  whose  valleys  are  watered  by  the  Nile,  an 
eye-witness  would  form  the  opinion  that  the  river  came  from  a  distance 
of  several  degrees  further  south ;  and  stated  that  Lacono,  King  of  Bari, 
and  his  people,  always  pointed  to  the  south  when  describing  the  sources 
of  the  river.  Lakono  asserted  that  he  had  been  to  the  country  of  Anyau 
(Anjan),  in  which  the  head  streams  of  the  Nile  had  their  origin,  and  said 
that  in  the  four  rivulets  whose  confluence  formed  the  main  stream  the 
water  came  only  to  his  ancles  ;  whereas,  above  the  extreme  point  reached 
by  the  Egyptian  Expedition,  the  Nile  was  a  turbulent  stream,  running 
between  steep  banks  over  a  rocky  bed.  In  M.  Werne's  opinion,  the 
Nile  of  M.  D'Abbadie  is  either  a  tributary  of  the  Blue  River  or  of  the 
Sobat ;  whilst  the  true  source  is  to  be  looked  for  in  the  regions  near  the 
Equator, — where  also  will  be  found  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon. 

Dr.  Beke  next  exhibited  to  the  Association  a  map  of  the  Nile  accord- 
ing to  Ptolemy,  and  another  showing  his  own  view  of  its  course,  in 
which  he  places  the  head  of  the  Nile  in  2°  S.  lat.  and  34°  E.  long,  at 
the  extreme  eastern  edge  of  the  table-land  of  East  Africa,  and  about  300 
or  400  miles  from  Zangebar,  which  he  considers  identical  with  the  island 
Menuthias.  According  to  the  Arabian  geographer,  Ibn  el  Wardi,  the 
Nile  divides  above  the  country  of  the  Zindj  (Zangebar),  one  branch  going 
towards  Egypt,  and  one  towards  the  Zindj  j  and  Dr.  Beke  suggests  that 


GEOLOGY.  255 

the  latter  is  the  river  Lufidji,  which  falls  into  the  Indian  Ocean  about 
8°  S.  lat.,  and  has  some  of  its  sources  near  those  of  the  Nile ;  and  it  is 
common  with  the  natives  to  consider  rivers  which  originate  together  as 
part  of  one  stream.  The  Mountains  of  the  Moon  are  considered  by 
Dr.  Beke  as  a  part  of  the  high  table-land  running  N.  and  S.,  and  sepa- 
rating the  branches  of  the  Nile  from  the  rivers  flowing  to  the  E.  coast 
of  Africa,  and  which  to  the  natives  of  the  coast  appears  like  a  mountain 
range.  Dr.  Beke  considers  the  confluence  at  Khartum,  in  15°  37'  N.  lat. 
of  the  White  and  Blue  Rivers,  as  only  the  junction  of  the  Astapus  with 
the  Nilus ;  and  that  the  real  confluence  of  Ptolemy's  two  arms  of  the 
Nile  is  in  9°  20'  N.  lat.,  where  the  Sobat  Telfi,  or  River  of  Hebert,  joins 
the  White  River.  He  also  believes  in  the  existence  of  a  third  great 
arm  of  the  Nile,  the  Bahr  el  Ghazal  or  Keilah,  which  also  joins  the  main 
stream  in  9°  20'  N.,  which,  he  says,  is  the  Nile  of  Herodotus.  Dr.  Beke 
also  called  attention  to  the  journey  undertaken  by  Dr.  Bialloblotzky  into 
East  Africa  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  southern  limits  of  the  Nile, 
and  invited  assistance  to  that  traveller  in  his  undertaking.* — Athenaum^ 
No.  1087. 


APPLICATIONS  OF  CHEMISTRY  TO  GEOLOGICAL  RESEARCH. 

Prof.  Daubeny  has  delivered  at  the  Royal  Institution,  a  lecture  "  On 
some  of  the  Applications  of  Chemistry  to  Geological  Research."  The 
lecturer  first  noticed  the  phenomena  of  metamorphic  action  in  rocks  as 
requiring  the  aid  of  chemistry  for  their  explanation.  The  formation  of 
mineral  veins  belongs  to  this  subject,  and  may  be  elucidated  by  two 
principles  that  have  been  pointed  out  by  chemistry:  viz.  I.  That 
igneous  rocks  contain  frequently  disseminated  through  them  infinitesimal 
quantities  of  most  of  the  metals  which  exist  in  mineral  veins.  2.  That 
the  latter  are  convertible  into  vapour  at  a  temperature  below  their 
freezing  point.  After  stating  facts  that  lend  support  to  both  these  prin- 
ciples, the  lecturer  pointed  out  their  bearings  upon  the  aggregation  in 
veins  of  mineral  matter  derived  from  rocks  that  had  been  subjected  to 
long-continued  heat,  and  concluded  that  their  occurrence  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  plutonic  and  volcanic  rocks  might  thus  be  accounted  for. 

Another  efi'ect  attributed  to  metamorphic  action  is  the  formation  of 
Dolomites.  Here  carbonate  of  magnesia  appears  to  take  the  place  of 
carbonate  of  lime  without  actual  fusion  having  occurred  to  produce  it, 
since  the  organic  structure  of  the  fossils  is  often  preserved  in  rocks  so 
altered.  Although  the  cause  was  different,  the  effect  seemed  analogous 
to  that  which  has  happened  to  certain  sponges,  &c.,  in  the  greensand 
near  Farnham;  where,  according  to  a  recent  discovery,  phosphate  of 
lime  appears  to  have  taken  the  place  of  a  portion  of  the  carbonate  with 
which  the  marine  production  was  at  first  fossilized.  The  theory  pro- 
posed by  the  lecturer,  in  short,  differed  chiefly  from  that  of  Von  Buch  in 
his  supposing  the  magnesia  to  have  been  derived  from  other  parts  of  the 
limestone  formation,  instead  of  the  igneous  rock  injected. 

*  A  subscription  has  been  opened  to  defray  the  expenses  of  this  journey ; 
and  the  list  of  subscribers  already  includes  the  names  of  several  persons  of 
eminence  in  scientific  discovery. 


256  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

After  recommending  fresh  experiraeiits  to  be  instituted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  setting  at  rest  the  question  relating  to  the  possibility  of  an  actual 
transference  of  magnesia  from  place  to  place,  the  lect<u-er  proceeded  to 
point  out  the  necessity  of  chemistry  for  the  elucidation  of  the  phenomena 
produced  by  igneous  causes  at  the  present  day.  He  alluded  to  the  va- 
rious chemical  phenomena  which  present  themselves  during  the  several 
phases  of  volcanic  action,  all  of  which  ought  to  be  kept  in  view  by  those 
who  pretend  to  give  a  theory  as  to  its  cause.  He  pointed  out  the  dis- 
covery of  Mr.  Grove,  that  heat  is  capable  of  overpowering  the  strongest 
affinities,  as  corroborative  of  the  chemical  theory,  by  shovving  that  if  a 
temperature  ever  existed  which  was  sufficient  to  render  the  most  infusible 
bodies  liquid,  the  elements  of  matter  would  probably  have  been  at  the 
time  uncombined,  so  that  when  any  portion  of  them  sunk  below  that 
point,  the  very  same  chemical  action  must  have  commenced  which  this 
theory  supposes  to  be  going  on  at  present.  The  absence  of  lime  and 
magnesia  from  granite,  and  the  redundance  of  silica  in  it,  are  also  in 
accordance  with  this  theory  ;  and  so,  likewise,  is  the  detection  by  Pella 
of  flames  issuing  from  Vesuvius,  as  the  emission  of  hydrogen  from  volca- 
noes appears  thereby  substantiated. 

Prof.  Daubeny  then  pointed  out  some  of  the  final  causes  of  the  pro- 
cesses alluded  to ;  as,  for  example,  the  offices  discharged  by  the  carbonic 
acid  evolved  from  the  earth  in  decomposing  rocks  and  liberating  their 
fertilizing  materials,  in  the  production  of  new  limestone  rocks  on  the 
surface  to  compensate  for  those  converted  into  silicates  by  volcanic  heat 
in  the  interior,  and  in  the  restoration  of  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere  by 
supplying  oxygen  through  its  decomposition  by  plants.  He  also  alluded 
to  the  accumulation  in  veins  of  the  several  metals  through  metamorphic 
action,  without  which,  owing  to  their  comparatively  minute  quantity, 
they  could  never  have  been  recognized  by  man ;  whilst  those  bodies 
which,  like  phosphates,  are  essential  to  organization,  occur  almost  univer- 
sally diffused.  The  lecturer  concluded  by  entreating  his  hearers  to  call 
in  to  the  elucidation  of  geological  phenomena  the  assistance  of  chemistry, 
as  a  science  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  grammar  to  the  language  of 
Ivature — the  key  to  unlock  the  most  hidden  of  her  mysteries. — Athenaum, 
No.  1066. 


GEOLOGICAL  ACTION  OF  THE  TIDES. 

Lieut.  Davis,  U.S.N.,  has  presented  to  the  annual  meeting  of  "The 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,"  (late  "  The 
Association  of  American  Geologists  and  Naturalists"),  the  following 
paper,  its  object  being  to  exhibit  the  action  of  the  moon  as  tending  to 
alter  the  action  of  the  earth.  By  a  study  of  the  Tide  currents  on  the 
north-eastern  coast  of  the  United  States,  Lieut.  Davis  has  been  led  to  the 
discovery  of  a  connexion  between  the  ocean  tides  and  the  currents,  and 
the  alluvial  deposits  on  its  borders  and  in  its  depths.  The  connexion  is 
thus  traced  :  the  direction  and  velocity  of  the  tides  at  any  place  where 
these  deposits  exist — that  is,  where  the  ocean  is  freighted  with  matter 
held  in  suspension — decides  the  form,  amount,  and  locality  of  the  deposits. 
The  direction  of  the  tides  is  diiferent  at  difierent  places,  but  the  result  of 


GEOLOGY.  257 

their  action  is  to  produce  certain  uniform  or  similar  formations ;  and  it 
was  the  observation  of  this  which  led  Lieut.  Davis  to  the  introduction  of 
a  tidal  theory  into  geology,  the  object  of  which  is  to  develope  the  laws  by 
which  aqueous  deposits  (of  the  sea),  made  during  periods  of  quiet  action, 
have  been  regulated,  and  to  show  that  such  laws  must  always  have 
operated  except  when  suspended  or  controlled  by  the  violent  changes 
which  mark  certain  geological  epochs.  Lieut.  Davis  applies  these  prin- 
ciples of  tidal  action  to  explain  the  cause  of  those  great  sandy  deposits  on 
the  north-eastern  border  of  the  American  continent,  as  well  as  those  at 
the  bottom  of  the  Bay  of  Biscay  (the  Landes  of  France)  and  in  the 
North  Sea  (Holland),  &c. 

In  order  to  illustrate  Lieut.  Davis's  views  more  fully,  the  lecturer, 
Prof.  Pierce,  entered  into  some  of  the  details  upon  which  they  have  been 
formed.  For  this  pm-pose  he  exhibited  a  number  of  charts,  the  first  of 
which  represented  the  deposits  around  the  Island  of  Nantucket.  The 
tidal  current  there  comes  freighted  with  sand,  and  as  it  strikes  the  island 
it  is  deposited.  Yet  the  current,  which  is  acting  there  all  the  time,  is 
not  only  depositing,  but  it  is  also  takhig  away ;  so  that  all  the  time  flow- 
ing in  every  direction,  and  universally  distributed,  not  very  much  is 
accumulated  in  any  one  place.  The  deposits  are  nearly  equally  made  at 
various  points.  The  extremity  of  the  island  has  been  supposed  to  be 
formed  by  deposits  coming  from  the  island  itself  (z.  e.  by  the  shifting 
influence  of  the  changing  current) ;  but  this  is  shown  not  to  be  the  case, 
that  portion  of  the  island  being  formed  solely  by  the  tidal  currents. 

As  an  instance  of  the  force  of  these  currents,  Prof.  Pierce  cited  the 
following : — A  short  time  ago,  a  ship  was  wrecked  at  one  end  of  the 
island ;  and  the  keeper  of  the  lighthouse  at  the  other  end  actually 
supplied  himself  with  fuel  from  the  coal  which  was  originally  deposited 
with  the  wrecked  vessel.  The  coal  was  brought  clear  round  the  island, 
and  deposited  at  its  farthest  extremity,  by  the  mere  force  of  these  currents. 
Bricks  have  in  the  same  manner  been  carried ;  and  at  Siacouset  there  is 
now  standing  a  chimney  actually  built  from  bricks  which  were  carried 
all  round  the  island  in  the  same  way.  And  farther,  let  a  ship  be 
sunk  there,  and  in  a  few  years  it  will  be  completely  covered  with  sand. 
Thus  it  is  that  the  nucleus  of  the  shoals  is  formed.  Sandy  Hook  is  a 
deposit  of  this  kind ;  the  Hook  of  Cape  Cod  is  another.  There  is,  besides 
the  tidal,  another  small  current,  which  meets  the  other,  and  both  together 
possess  great  force ;  and  where  two  tides  meet  as  they  pass  out,  there  will 
be  a  deposit.  And  if  an  island  shore,  that  island  will  thus  soon  he  con- 
nected with  the  main  land.  The  deposit  taking  place  at  the  mouths  of 
harbours  is  generally  an  ocean  deposit:  although  often  regarded  as 
brought  down  by  the  rivers,  being  sand,  its  origin  is  at  once  developed. 
At  Nantucket  (continaed  Prof.  Pierce)  the  land  is  preserved  from  being 
shut  in  by  the  force  of  the  water,  which  must  find  a  passage ;  yet  some 
parts  of  it,  where  there  are  irregularities  in  the  shore,  have  gained  upon 
the  water,  and  partly  surrounded  it,  by  which  the  enclosed  lagoons  are 
formed.  On  this  theory  of  the  tides,  remarked  Prof.  Pierce,  Lieut.  Davis 
thinks  he  can  explain  the  sand  deposits  all  along  our  coast.  In  con- 
nexion with  this,  Mr.  Desor  has  made  observations  "On  the  Distribution 


258  YEAII-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

of  the  Marine  Animals,"  in  which  he  endeavonred  to  account  for  the 
changes,  existence,  &c.  of  the  different  species.  He  observes  that  at 
different  depths  of  the  ocean,  various  distinct  kinds  are  formed,  and  judges 
that  geological  investigation  may  account  for  it. 

This  paper  led  to  some  discussion;  in  the  course  of  which  Dr.  Dickeson 
related  a  remarkable  incident,  where,  at  the  island  of  Galveston,  in  1839, 
a  vessel  from  New  Orleans  was  wrecked  (at  the  south  end)  with  a  con- 
siderable  amount  of  specie.  The  officers  of  the  Custom  House  took 
immediate  measures  to  recover  the  valuable  cargo,  but  in  a  very  little 
time  the  workmen  reported  the  vessel  nearly  covered  with  sand.  A  few 
weeks  after,  at  the  other  end  of  the  island,  some  28  miles  or  thereabout, 
some  fishermen  brought  up  some  of  the  doubloons.  They  were  arrested 
and  imprisoned  on  a  charge  of  robbing  the  wreck ;  their  protestations  of 
having  really  found  the  gold  at  so  great  a  distance  not  being  credited  for 
a  moment,  till  scientific  research  convinced  the  authorities  that  the  metal 
was  really  carried  to  that  distance  of  course  by  the  force  of  the  current. — 
Quoted  in  the  Athenceum^  No.  1094. 


CHEMISTRY  OF  THE  SEA. 

Dr.  Williams  has  read  to  the  Royal  Institution,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Chemistry  of  the  Sea."  Dr.  Williams  commenced  by  demonstrating,  by 
means  of  an  apparatus  contrived  for  the  purpose,  the  effects  of  pressure  on 
fishes  at  definite  depths  beneath  the  surface  of  the  sea.  Having  shown 
that  a  gold  fish,  when  the  water  in  which  it  was  placed  was  subjected  to 
a  pressure  of  four  atmospheres,  became  paralyzed,  Dr.  Williams  stated  the 
following  conclusions  as  deduced  from  his  own  experiments  : — 1st.  That 
round  fishes,  having  an  air-bladder,  cannot,  without  injury,  be  exposed  to 
a  pressure  of  more  than  three  atmospheres.  2d.  That  the  use  of  the  air- 
bladder  is  not  so  much  to  regulate  the  specific  gravity  of  the  animal  as  to 
resist  the  varying  force  of  the  fluid  column,  and  thus  to  protect  the 
viscera  and  abdominal  blood-vessels  against  excess  of  pressure.  3d. 
Though  in  this  case  the  results  are  less  striking,  flat  fish  exhibit  a 
limited  capacity  only  for  sustaining  pressure.  From  these  observations, 
Dr.  Williams  inferred  that  the  condition  of  pressure  regulated  the  distri- 
bution of  fishes  in  depth.  Referring  to  the  ex])erimental  researches  of 
Prof.  E.  Forbes,  he  expressed  his  conviction  that  pressure  would  be  found 
the  most  important  element  in  the  problem  of  submarine  organic  life. 
He  observed  that  the  lower  animals  evinced  a  tolerance  of  pressure 
peculiar  to  each  species,  and  determining  its  zone  of  depth.  The  laws  of 
oceanic  temperature  were  next  explained.  It  was  experimentally  demon- 
strated that  the  expansion  of  sea-water  is  considerably  greater  than  that 
of  pure  water  under  equal  increments  of  heat.  It  w^as,  however,  estab- 
lished by  the  aerometer  that  density  did  not  diminish  in  exact  proportion 
with  the  increase  of  volume.  It  was  argued  that  this  experiment  went  to 
account  for  the  expansion  of  crystals  by  heat,  as  noticed  by  Mitscherlich ; 
and  that  it  also  proved  that  in  the  case  of  two  strata  of  water  of  dissimilar 
temperature  overlying  each  other  in  the  ocean,  the  tendency  to  inter- 
mixture by  vertical  molecular  attraction  was  greater  than  w^ould  be  the 
case  if  the  sea  consisted  of  distilled  water.     It  was  also  contended  that  it 


GEOLOGY.  259 

was  in  accordance  with  the  principles  developed  in  this  experiment  that 
the  warm  water  occupying  the  greatest  depths  in  the  sea  (as  discovered 
by  Sir  James  Boss)  rose  to  the  surface  and  escaped  under  the  form  of 
vapour,  which,  by  diffusing  warmth  through  the  atmosphere,  mitigated 
the  rigour  of  polar  cold.  Eeferring  to  the  stratum  of  water  of  uniform 
warmth  observed  by  Sir  J.  Ross,  the  lecturer  stated  that  he  had  ascer- 
tained by  experiment  that  water  acquires  a  considerable  increase  of  tem- 
perature under  great  pressure,  and  that  he  thought  that  the  temperature 
of  the  deep  sea  could  only  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for  by  the  conden- 
sation of  bulk  which  the  "  air  of  water"  underwent.  The  increase  of 
temperature  measured  downwards  from  the  stratum  of  uniform  warmth  to 
the  sea  bottom,  was  noticed  as  proving  that  the  latent  heat  of  the  dissolved 
air  was  rendered  sensible  as  the  pressure,  i.  <?.,  the  depth,  increased.  Dr. 
Williams  concluded  by  referring  to  the  maximum  density  of  water,  the 
laws  governing  the  solution  of  air  in  water,  and  by  explaining  the  influence 
of  those  conditions  on  the  existence  and  distribution  of  plants  and  animals 
in  the  sea. — Athenaum,  No.  1068. 


GOLD  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  discovery  of  large  deposits  of  Gold  on  the  San  Francisco,  in  Upper 
or  "West  California,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  events  of  the  "  strange 
eventful"  year  1848. 

It  appears  that  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  gold  was  found  in 
the  black  sands  of  the  rivers  of  West  California,  and  it  was  said  that  the 
country  abounded  with  gold ;  but  this  was  soon  forgotten.  In  1825  a 
mine  was  worked  near  St.  Diego;  and  in  1840,  a  small  thread  of  gold 
was  wrought  in  the  province  of  St.  Barbara ;  but  the  re-finding  of  the 
Gold  Washings  dates  from  other  circumstances.  In  1839,  Capt.  Suter, 
a  Swiss  emigrant,  settled  in  West  California,  and  built  a  fort  named  New 
Helvetia,  on  the  Sacramento.  In  the  spring  of  1848,  one  Mr.  Marshall, 
in  widening  a  mill-cutting  upon  Captain  Suter's  estate,  found  some  gold 
in  coarse  scales :  this  was  on  the  American  river,  25  miles  above  the 
Sacramento.  He  raised  from  one  ounce  to  three  ounces  of  gold  daily, 
and  another  finder,  upon  the  same  stream,  soon  washed  out  a  pound  of 
gold  in  one  day. 

In  the  ravines  of  South  Fork,  gold  is  found  in  the  bed  of  all  the  small 
streams.  It  is  very  coarse  in  grain ;  in  some  specimens  it  holds  mechani- 
cally small  pieces  of  quartz,  showing  that  it  has  been  separated  from  the 
rock,  and  in  other  cases  moulded  in  the  crevice  of  a  rock.  Pieces  have 
been  found  here  as  heavy  as  four  or  five  ounces ;  from  the  weight  of  these 
specimens  it  is  expected  that  the  gold  cannot  have  been  carried  far,  and 
that  the  mines  must  be  in  the  neighbouring  Sierra  Nevada.  Within  three 
months  from  the  day  of  the  discovery,  the  whole  population  of  St.  Fran- 
cisco had  rushed  to  the  Gold  Washing :  and  up  to  September,  the  total 
produce  of  gold  in  California  was  above  £100,000.  The  number  of  gold 
hunters  was  then  6,000;  the  lowest  earning  being  an  ounce,  or  £31.  10s. 
per  day,  and  some  even  earning  £50. 

An  official  survey  of  the  district  has  been  made  by  Col.  Mason,  the 
officer  in  command  at  Monterey,  and  dispatched  to  the  American  Govern- 


260  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

ment ;  as  the  country  belongs  to  the  United  States.     Col.  Mason  thus 
describes  the  Lower  Mines,  or  Mormon  Diggings : — 

"  The  hill  sides  were  thickly  strewn  with  canvas  tents  and  bush  arbours ; 
a  store  was  erected,  and  several  boardinj?  shanties  in  operation.  The  day- 
was  intensely  hot,  yet  about  200  men  were  at  work  in  the  full  ^lare  of  the  sun, 
washing-  for  jrold— some  with  tin  pans,  some  with  close  woven  Indian  baskets, 
but  the  greater  part  had  a  rude  machine,  known  as  a  cradle.  This  is  on 
rockers,  6  feet  or  8  feet  lon^,  open  at  the  foot,  and  at  the  head  has  a  coarse 
grate  or  sieve ;  the  bottom  is  rounded  with  small  elects,  nailed  across.  Four 
men  are  required  to  work  this  machine— one  digs  the  ground.'on  the  bank  close 
to  the  stream,  another  carries  it  to  the  cradle,  and  empties  it  on  the  grate,  a 
third  gives  a  rocking  motion  to  the  machine,  whilst  a  fourth  dashes  on  water 
from  the  stream  itself.  The  sieve  keeps  the  coarse  stones  from  entering  the 
cradle,  the  current  of  water  washes  off  the  earthy  matter,  and  the  gravel 
is  gradually  carried  out  at  the  foot  of  the  machine,  leaving  the  gold  mixed 
with  a  heavy  line  black  sand  above  the  first  elects.  The  sand  and  gold  mixed 
together  are  then  drawn  off  through  augur  holes  into  a  pan  below,  are  dried 
in  the  sun,  and  afterwards  separated  by  blowing  off  the  sand.  A  party  of  four 
men  thus  employed  at  the  lower  mines  averaged  100  dollars  a  day.  The  In- 
dians, and  those  who  have  nothing  but  pans  or  willow  baskets,  gradually 
wash  out  the  earth,  and  separate  the  gravel  by  hand,  leaving  nothing  but  the 
gold  mixed  with  the  sand,  which  is  separated  in  the  manner  above  described. 
The  gold  in  the  lower  mines  is  in  fine  bright  scales." 

After  dwelling,  at  some  length,  on  the  position  of  the  mines,  Col. 
Mason  continues : — 

"  Before  leaving  Sutter's,!  satisfied'myself  that  gold  existed  in  the  bed  of  the 
Feather  River,  in  the  Yuban  and  Bear,  and  in  many  of  the  small  streams  that 
lie  between  the  latter  and  the  American  fork  ;  also,  that  it  had  been  found  in 
the  Cosummes,  to  the  south  of  the  American  fork.  In  each  of  these  streams 
the  gold  is  found  in  small  scales,  whereas,  in  the  intervening  mountains,  it 
occurs  in  coarser  lumps.  Mr.  Sinclair,  whose  rancho  is  three  miles  above 
Sutter's,  on  the  north  side  of  the  American,  employs  about  50  Indians  on  the 
north  fork,  not  far  from  its  junction  with  the  main  stream.  He  had  been  en- 
gaged about  five  weeks  when  I  saw  him,  and,  up  to  that  time,  his  Indians  had 
used  simply  closely  woven  willow  baskets.  His  nett  proceeds  (which  I  saw) 
were  about  16,000  dollars  worth  of  gold.  He  showed  me  the  proceeds  of  his 
last  week's  work— 14  lbs.  avoirdupois  of  clean-washed  gold.  The  most  mode- 
rate estimate  I  could  obtain  from  men  acquainted  with  the  subject,  was  that 
upwards  of  4000  men  were  working  in  the  gold  district,  of  whom  more  than 
one-half  were  Indians,  and  that  from  30,000  to  50,000  dollars  worth  of  gold,  if 
not  more,  was  daily  obtained.  The  entire  gold  district,  with  very  few  excep- 
tions of  grants,:made  some  years  ago  by  the  Mexican  authorities,  is  on  land 
belonging  to  the  United  States." 

The  superabundance  of  information  of  this  great  discovery  has  been 
manifested  in  newspapers,  guide-books  to  the  country,  narratives  of  travels 
and  adventures,  &c.  Mr.  Wyld,  and  other  geographers,  have  published 
maps  of  the  district ;  and,  as  an  accompaniment  to  Mr.  Wyld's  map,  he 
has  printed  some  30  pages  of  useful  "  Geographical  and  Mineralogical 
Notes," 


(BOLD  MINES  OF  WICKLOW. 

About  half  a  century  since,  Gold  was  first  discovered  in  the  stream 
and  valley  leading  from  the  Croghan  Mountains,  in  the  clay-slate  tract 
in  the  county  of  Wicklow,  in  Ireland.  This  metalliferous  portion  ex- 
tended for  upwards  of  ten  miles,  and  very  large  quantities  of  gold  were 
obtained  from  it,  some  lumps  being  worth  £80.  Government  took  up 
the  matter,  and  regular  stream  works  were  established ;  but  they  were 
destroyed  in  the  insurrection  of  1798.    They  were  resumed  in  1801,  with 


GEOLOGY.  261 

the  addition  of  works  for  the  discovery  of  auriferous  veins ;  but  the  search 
was  unsuccessful,  and  the  whole  of  the  works  were  abandoned ;  yet,  they 
are  stated  to  have  produced  £3000  worth  of  the  purest  gold  every  year. 

Neither  the  Government  Commissioners  nor  the  crown  lessees  made  a 
single  experiment  or  trial  to  discover  the  matrix  or  source  of  this  gold, 
which  continues  to  be  produced.  The  mode  of  washing  is  ruder  than  any 
plan  adopted  by  the  Africans  in  the  most  uncivilized  pBrt  of  their  wash- 
ing grounds.  The  celebrated  work  of  Sir  R.  Murchison,  on  the  Ural 
Mountains,  has  called  the  attention  of  some  men  to  the  Wicklow  district, 
in  consequence  of  the  extraordinary  analogy  existing  between  the  two 
places,  particularly  as  regards  the  immense  lode,  or  body,  of  magnetic  iron 
ore  that  carries  itself  in  such  vast  strength  through  the  Carysfoot  and 
Croghan  Mountains,  as  well  as  those  of  Ural.  It  seems  certain  that  this 
iron  ore  is  the  matrix  of  the  gold-  It  is  found  with  it,  and,  as  it  were, 
precipitated  by  it ;  so  that  whatever  success  may  attend  the  capitalists 
that  invest  in  the  undertaking,  it  will  not  be  denied  that  a  highly  inte- 
resting question  remains  to  be  solved  respecting  the  gold  region  of 
Wicklow. 

In  the  Ural  Mountains  they  commenced,  as  in  Wicklow,  by  washings  ; 
and  it  is  now  said  that  the  Count  Demidoif  and  the  Emperor  realise 
£600,000  a  year  profit. 

The  Wicklow  gold  is  of  the  purest  quality,  worth  £3.  18s.  6d.  an 
ounce. — Abridged  from  the  Mining  Journal. 


GEOLOGY  OF  WICKLOW. 

Prop.  Oldham  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Geology  of  pai-t  of  the  County  of  Wicklow."  This  communication  was 
illustrated  by  a  new  Geologicsd  Map  of  Wicklow,  and  a  number  of  sections 
in  the  mining  districts,  published  in  connexion  with  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Great  Britain.  Through  the  centre  of  the  county  passes  the 
granite  ridge  which  extends  from  Dublin  to  Waterford,  nearly  north  and 
south ;  its  highest  point,  Luguaquilla,  3,000  feet  above  the  sea.  On  both 
flanks  of  the  granite  rests  a  series  of  sedimentary  deposits,  whose  general 
strike  is  N.E.  and  dip  S.E.,  and,  therefore,  oblique  to  the  gi-auite,  which 
cuts  them  all  in  succession.  The  oldest  of  these  rocks  are  at  the  north 
end  of  the  east  flank  of  the  granite,  and  consist  of  sandy  and  slaty  beds, 
altogether  from  4,000  to  5,000  feet  thick,  and  stratified  with  the  utmost 
regularity.  These  are  followed  by  argillaceous  beds  and  volcanic  ash  and 
breccia  with  coatemporaueous  greenstone:  a  considerable  number  of 
fossils  have  been  found  in  the  volcanic  ash,  the  equivalents  of  the  lowest 
of  all  the  Silurian  remains  in  Wales.  On  the  western  bank  of  the  granite 
only  this  upper  series  is  found.  Both  series  of  sedimentary  rocks  have 
been  upheaved,  subjected  to  lateral  pressure,  contorted,  and  fractured; 
besides  which,  they  have  all  been  altered  along  the  line  of  contact  with 
the  granite  to  the  extent  of  5,000  or  6,000  feet,  and  over  a  breadth  of 
half  a  mile  on  the  surface.  The  influence  of  the  formerly  heated  granite 
is  shown  in  the  development  of  slaty  cleavage,  and  in  the  production  of 
minerals  not  existing  in  the  unaltered  rock,  in  the  conversion  of  sand- 
stone  into  quartz  rock,  and  of  the  volcanic  mud  into  a  crystalline  horn- 


262 


YEAK-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 


blendic  rock.  The  dip  of  the  slates,  &c.  is  sometimes  70°,  but  usually 
much  less ;  the  granite  extends  under  these,  and  is  shown  again  at  a  dis- 
tance by  denudation.  Portions  of  the  altered  slate  remain  upon  several 
summits  of  the  granite  hills,  and  show  the  original  height  of  the  surface 
of  the  granite,  which  in  these  points  has  been  preserved  from  the  rapid 
decomposition  which  has  wasted  it  all  around.  The  summit  of  Lugna- 
quilla  is  a  mass  of  slate  of  this  kind,  traversed  by  numerous  large  veins  of 
granite ;  similar  vieus  pierce  all  the  rocks  in  contact  with  the  granite, 
and  many  of  them,  having  taken  the  direction  of  the  bedding  of  the  rock, 
appear  as  if  interstratified.  In  Glenmalur  these  granite  veins  may  be 
seen  extending  with  parallel  edges  for  hundreds  of  feet.  Besides  these 
and  the  contemporaneous  greenstones,  there  are  numerous  dikes,  like  the 
Cornish  Elvans,  in  the  southern  and  metalliferous  part  of  the  county ; 
these  are  not  in  the  older  sedimentary  rocks,  but  abound  in  the  upper 
series.  Glenmalur,  in  which  several  lodes  of  lead  and  copper  are  worked, 
is  formed  by  a  great  fault ;  and  ttiere  are  several  other  parallel  lines  of 
dislocation  now  occupied  by  lakes.  The  Vale  of  A.voca  is  also  caused  by 
a  fault  which  shifts  all  the  lodes  :  these  dislocations  extend  into  the 
granite  itself.  In  Wicklow  there  are  no  newer  formations  except  the 
drift ;  but  a  little  westward,  the  edges  of  the  Silurian  rocks  are  covered 
by  the  conglomerates  and  sands  of  the  old  red  system.  The  drift  consists 
of  clays  and  sand  mixed  with  limestone  boulders,  which  are  scratched  and 
furrowed  :  in  some  parts  of  it  organic  remains  occur,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  prove  they  lived  on  the  spot.  The  species,  however,  are  Arctic,  and 
occur  700  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the  sea.  In  the  northern  part 
of  the  county  the  drift  is  gravelly,  and  mixed  with  angular  fragments  of 
older  rocks  adjoining  :  huge  blocks  of  granite  and  quartz  rock  are  strewed 
over  the  county,  the  lower  surface  of  the  quartz  rock  retaining  distinct 
scratches  and  furrows.  The  surface  of  the  county  appears  to  have  under- 
gone extensive  denudation  since  the  deposit  of  the  drift,  as  many  of  the 
ravines  and  cauldron-shaped  hollows  aie  quite  free  from  it. — Athenceum, 
No.  1087. 


GOLD. 

The  following  are  the  principal  localities  in  which  Gold  is  worked  or 
found  : — It  occurs  in  small  quantities  in  the  "VVicklow  mountains  in 
Ireland,  at  Leadhills  in  Scotland,  and  in  some  parts  of  Wales.  In  France, 
there  is  a  true  gold  mine,  that  of  Gaudette,  in  the  valley  of  Oysans.  It 
yields  native  gold  in  a  vein  of  quartz.  It  was  worked  before  the  revolu- 
tion by  Louis  XVIII.,  then  Compte  de  Provence.  The  vein  being  too 
poor,  the  w^orking  was  abandoned.  The  auriferous  rivers  were  very  nu- 
merous. We  may  mention  the  Ariege,  the  Gondu,  the  Ceze,  the  Rhone, 
near  Geneva,  the  Rhine,  near  Strasbourg,  the  Salat,  the  Garonne,  near 
Toulouse,  and  the  Herrault,  near  Montpellier.  Piedmont  contains  gold 
mines,  which  are  worked  at  the  present  day  with  profit.  At  Macugnaga, 
at  the  foot  of  Mount  Rosa,  veins  of  auriferous  sulphuret  of  iron  are 
worked  with  great  activity.  In  Germany,  Salzbourg  furnishes  gold. 
Hungary  and  Translyvania  possess  very  important  gold  mines.  The  gold 
miaes  of  Siberia  are  also  veiy  important.     The  gold  is  accompanied  by 


GEOLOGY.  263 

the  same  minerals  as  found  in  the  auriferous  deposits  of  the  New  World. 
Asia  contains  many  gold  mines.  Africa  possesses  numerous  and  impor- 
tant auriferous  deposits.  America  furnished,  in  modern  times,  the 
largest  amount  of  gold.  North  America  produces  little,  and  only  in 
South  Carolina,  Southern  America,  and  especially  Brazil,  Choco,  and 
Chili,  are  the  most  ])roductive  portions.  It  is  also  found  in  Virginia. 
Mexico,  Peru,  and  Columbia,  furnish  gold,  but  that  of  Mexico  is  princi- 
pally drawn  from  the  silver  mines. — 3Iining  Journal.  (To  these  may  be 
added  the  newly-discovered  gold  deposits  in  Upper  California.) 


GEOLOGY  OF  OPORTO. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  "  On  the  Geology  of 
the  Neighbourhood  of  Oporto,  including  the  Silurian  Coal  and  Slates  of 
Vallongo,"  by  D.  Sharpe,  Esq.  The  town  of  Oporto  stands  on  a  band  of 
granite  four  or  five  miles  wide,  on  which  mica  slate  and  gneiss  rest  on 
both  sides.  To  the  eastward,  these  rocks  are  overlaid  by  a  band  of  sedi- 
mentary rocks,  chiefly  clayslate,  which,  commencing  on  the  coast  about 
thirty  miles  north  of  Oporto,  runs  down  and  crosses  the  Douro  about  six- 
teen miles  above  that  town.  To  the  south  of  Vallongo,  the  slates  overlie 
a  deposit  of  anthracite  in  several  beds,  some  of  them  from  four  to  six  feet 
thick.  This  coal  is  now  worked  in  several  pits,  and  principally  sent  to 
Oporto.  Along  with  it  are  beds  of  red  sandstone,  and  black  carbonaceous 
shales,  with  vegetable  impressions  too  indistinct  to  be  determined,  but 
strongly  resembling  ferns  of  the  coal  measures.  In  the  shales  above  this 
coal,  Mr.  Sharpe  found  many  fossils,  orthides,  trilobites,  and  graptolites, 
most  of  them  new  species,  but  others  well  known  in  the  lower  Silurian 
rocks  of  Northern  Europe.  It  would  thus  appear  that  the  coal  deposits 
of  Oporto  are  included  in  the  Silurian  formations,  and  are  thus  far  below 
the  usual  level  of  the  coal.  Similar  clayslates  and  sandstones  have  been 
described  near  Amarante,  where  they  form  the  celebrated  wine  district  of 
the  Upper  Douro.  The  boundary  between  the  granite  and  the  slates  is 
also  the  exact  limit  to  the  cultivation  of  the  finer  qualities  of  port  wine. 


PLANTS  OF  THE  INSECT  LIMESTONE  OF  THE  LOWER  LIAS. 

Professor  Buckman  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  paper  upon 
this  subject.  The  band  of  limestone  at  the  base  of  the  Lias  is  well  known 
in  Gloucestershire  and  the  adjoining  counties,  from  its  use  in  flooring 
barns  and  kitchens,  and  to  the  geologist  from  having  aff'orded  abundance  of 
insect  remains  resembling  those  of  ordinary  occurrence  in  temperate  cli- 
mates. The  plants  associated  with  these  insects  at  Strensham  in  Worces- 
tershire, are  ferns  {Otopteris) ;  Calamites ;  Confervse ;  Naidita  lan- 
ceolata,  Brodie ;  Hippuris ;  and  EqvAsetum  Brodiei,  Buckman.  The 
ferns  occur  in  fragments,  and  may  have  floated  from  some  distance ;  the 
rest  are  small  aquatic  plants,  which  confirm  the  opinion  that  this  lime- 
stone was  deposited  in  an  estuary,  and  in  a  temperate  climate. 

Prof.  Ramsay  stated  that  the  Palaeozoic  rocks  of  Wales  had  probably 
formed  a  coast  to  the  sea  of  the  lias  period,  and  that  the  Welsh  moun- 
tains then  attained  a  much  greater  elevation  than  at  present ;  so  that,  as 
on  the  Lycian  coast  at  the  present  day,  the  insects  of  the  higher  and 


264  YEAll-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

colder  regions  might  be  constantly  brought  down  by  floods,  and  become 
imbedded  along  with  the  inhabitants  of  a  warmer  region.  Mr.  Strickland 
observed,  that  the  district  over  which  the  insect  limestone  extended  could 
scarcely  have  been  an  "estuary,"  as  there  was  only  evidence  of  land  on 
one  side  of  it :  where  the  lias  abutted  against  the  more  ancient  rocks  of 
Wales,  it  often  presented  the  appearance  of  an  ancient  shingle  beach,  and 
as  he  had  seen  remains  of  marine  saurians  and  the  Ammonites  planorhis 
in  the  same  bed,  he  considered  it  a  truly  marine  formation.  Prof.  Buck- 
man  replied,  that,  as  far  as  he  had  observed,  the  Ammonites  were  always 
found  in  a  layer  two  yards  above  the  insect-bed. — Athenaum,  No.  1086. 

VOLCANOES  OF  THE  INDIAN  AECHIPELAGO. 

Serene  in  their  beauty  and  magnificence   as  the  Mountains   of  the 
Indian  Archipelago  generally  appear,  they  hide  in  their  bosoms  elements 
of  the  highest  terrestrial  sublimity  and  awe,  compared  with  whose  appalling 
energy,  not  only  the  bursten  lakes  and  the  rushing  avalanches  of  the  Alps, 
but  the  most  devastating  explosions  of  Vesuvius  or  Etna,  cease  to  terrify 
the  imagination.   When  we  look  upon  the  ordinary  aspects  of  these  moun- 
tains, it  is  almost  impossible  to  believe  the  geological  story  of  their  origin, 
and  if  our  senses  yield  to  science,  they  tacitly  revenge  themselves  by 
placing,  in  the  remotest  past,  the  era  of  such  convulsions  as  it  relates. 
But  the  nether  powers,  though  imprisoned,  are  not  subdued.    The  same 
telluric  energy  which  piled  the  mountain  from  the  ocean  to  the  clouds, 
even  while  we  gaze  in  silent  worship  on  its  glorious  form,  is  silently  ga- 
thering  in  its  dark  womb,  and  time  speeds  on  to  the  day,  whose  coming 
science  can  neither  foretel  nor  prevent,  when  the  mountain  is  rent ;  the 
solid  foundations  of  the  whole  region  are  shaken;  the  earth  is  opened  to 
vomit  forth  destroying  fires  upon  the  living  beings  who  dwell  upon  its 
surface,  or  closed  to  engulph  them ;  the  forests  are  deluged  by  lava,  or 
withered  by  sulphurous  vapours;  the  sun  sets  at  noonday  behind  the 
black  smoke  which  thickens  over  the  sky,  and  spreads  far  and  wide,  rain- 
ing ashes  throughout  a  circuit  hundreds  of  miles  iu  diameter  ;  till  it  seems 
tothe  superstitious  native  that  the  fiery  abodes  of  the  volcanic  dewas  are 
disembowelling  themselves,  possessing  the  earth,  and  blotting  out  the 
heavens.     The  living  remnants  of  the  generation  whose  doom  it  was  to 
inhabit  Sumbawa  in  1815,  could  tell  us  that  this  picture  is  but  a  faint 
transcript  of  the  reality,  and  that  our  imagination  can  never  conceive  the 
dreadful  spectacle  which  still  appals  their  memories.     Fortunately,  these 
awful  explosions  of  the  earth,  which  to  man  convert  nature  into  the  super- 
natural, occur  at  rare  intervals ;  and,  though  scarcely  a  year  elapses  with- 
out some  volcano  bursting  into  action,  the  greater  portion  of  the  Archi- 
pelago being  more  than  once  shaken,  and  even  the  ancient  granitic  floor  of 
the  Peninsula  trembling  beneath  us,  this  terrestrial  instability  has  ordi- 
narily no  worse  effect  than  to  dispel  the  iDusion  that  we  tread  upon  a  solid 
globe,  to  convert  the  physical  romance  of  geological  history  into  the  fami- 
liar associations  of  our  own  lives,  and  to  unite  the  events  of  the  passing 
hour  with  those  which  first  fitted  the  world  for  the  habitation  of  man.— 
Journal  of  the  Indian  Archipelofjo. 


GEOLOGY.  365 

CHEMICAL  THEORY  OF  VOLCANOES. 

Dr.  Daubeny  has  read  to  the  British  Association,  a  communication 
in  reply  to  Mr.  W.  Hopkins's  "  Objections  to  the  Chemical  Theory  of 
Volcanoes."  The  difficulty  which  Mr.  Hopkins  proposed  was  first,  he 
says,  suggested  by  M.  Gay-Lussac,  and  has  never,  in  his  opinion,  been 
explained  away.  It  consists  in  the  supposed  admission  of  air  and  water 
to  the  lower  regions  of  the  volcanic  mass  by  fissures  conducting  the  sea- 
water  to  the  fluid  lava ;  whereas  the  fluid  matter  below  ought  to  pass  up- 
wards into  the  fissures  and  close  them,  provided  the  hydrostatic  pressure 
at  the  bottom  of  the  fissure  was  greater  than  the  weight  of  the  descending 
column  of  water,  which  must  often  happen,  especiallly  in  such  volcanoes 
as  Stromboli,  in  which  the  permanent  position  of  the  surface  of  the  fluid 
mass  is  known  to  be  at  a  great  height  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  Dr. 
Daubeny  remarks,  that  M.  Gay-Lussac  does  not  deny  that  water  gains 
access  to  the  focus  of  volcanoes ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  asserts  that  the  ad- 
mission of  water  cannot  be  doubted,  since  there  is  never  a  great  eruption 
that  is  not  followed  by  the  evolution  of  an  enormous  quantity  of  aqueous 
vapours,  which,  with  the  muriatic  acid  accompanying  it,  cannot  be  con- 
ceived to  take  place  without  the  admission  of  water  to  the  interior  of  the 
volcano.  The  French  philosopher  urged  the  difficulty  alluded  to,  only  as 
militating  against  the  notion  of  the  interior  of  the  earth  being  in  an  in- 
candescent condition,  and  gives  it  as  a  reason  for  preferring  the  very 
theory  which  Mr.  Hopkins  impugns.  Mr.  Hopkins's  objection,  there- 
fore, is  a  mechanical  one, — answered  by  facts  which  are  undoubted,  how- 
ever difficult  they  may  be  of  explanation  ;  and  does  not  seem  to  apply  in 
any  special  degree  to  the  action  of  water  upon  the  bodies  which  may  be 
assembled  in  the  interior  of  the  earth.  The  admission  of  water  being, 
therefore,  a  fact,  and  not  an  assumption,  chemists  were  fully  at  liberty 
to  speculate  on  the  ulterior  consequences  that  might  arise  from  its 
presence. — Athenaum,  No.  1087. 

DIRT  BANDS  ON  GLACIERS. 

A  PAPER  has  been  read  to  the  British  Association,  entitled  "  An 
Attempt  to  Illustrate  the  Origin  of  Dirt  Bands  on  Glaciers;"  by 
Mr.  A.  Milward.  The  surface  of  a  glacier  is  composed  of  alternate 
bands  of  porous  and  compact  ice,  and  the  former  being  discoloured  more 
readily  than  the  latter,  give  rise  to  "  dirt  bands,"  which  follow  the  direc- 
tion of  the  iiyperbolic  curves  marked  out  by  the  outcrop  of  the  structural 
planes,  known  as  the  "  ribbon"  structure,  being  elongated  low  down  the 
glacier  and  compressed  near  its  source;  they  are  also  almost  apparent 
low  down,  where  the  ice  has  been  longest  exposed  to  the  weather.  The 
writer  suggests  that  the  porous  bands  may  be  formed  during  the  winter 
season,  when  the  ice  is  less  saturated  with  water,  and  forms  more  slowly ; 
and  that  the  compact  bands  mark  the  quantity  of  ice  added  to  the  glacier 
each  summer,  when  its  motion  is  greatest.  He  also  recommends  the 
examination  of  the  upper  part  of  glaciers,  with  the  view  of  ascertaining 
whether  their  surface  is  originally  marked  by  waves  such  as  those  before 
described  on  the  mud-slides. — Athenaum,  No.  1086. 


266  YEAE-BOOK  OP  FACTS. 

THE   SWISS  GLACIEKS. 

A  GLACIER  is  a  mass  of  ice  which  descends  below  the  usual  snow  line, 
from  the  snow  reservoirs  in  the  higher  Alpine  regions,  through  the  rocky 
channels  of  the  Alpine  valleys  and  gorges.  "When  seen  from  some  dis- 
tance, and  from  a  spot  sufficiently  elevated,  the  general  appearance  of  a 
glacier  is  that  of  an  immense  torrent  tumbling  and  rushing  tumultuously 
through  the  sinuosities  of  its  bed,  to  precipitate  itself  into  the  valley 
below,  but  which  has  been  suddenly  stopped  in  its  headlong  course,  and 
unalterably  fixed  at  some  mysterious  and  resistless  bidding.  There  are 
about  four  hundred  of  these  frozen  masses  in  the  Alpine  chain,  the 
greater  part  of  which  are  from  six  to  seven  leagues  in  length  by  half  or 
three  quarters  of  a  league  in  breadth,  and  varying  from  one  to  six  hun- 
dred feet  in  depth ;  and  it  is  computed  that  the  glaciers  between  Switzer- 
land and  Mont  Blanc,  and  on  the  frontiers  of  the  Tyrol,  would  form  a 
single  glacier  of  about  130  square  leagues.  It  is  seldom  that  a  glacier 
cuusists  of  only  one  bed  or  stream ;  in  general,  tributary  glaciers  descend 
from  the  lateral  valleys,  and  blend  with  the  main  stream,  just  as  several 
rivers  unite  to  form  a  larger  one.  Every  glacier  has  peculiar  charac- 
teristics of  its  own,  which  are  often  continued  far  beyond  the  junction  of 
the  separate  streams ;  exactly  as  the  waters  of  different  rivers  refuse  for 
a  time  to  intermingle,  of  which  a  curious  and  well-known  example  occurs 
at  the  confluence  of  the  waters  of  the  Rhone  and  the  Arve,  at  a  short 
distance  from  Geneva.  The  glacier  terminates  at  its  lower  extremity  in 
a  great  promontory  of  ice  protruding  itself  into  the  cultivated  and 
habitable  valleys,  and  from  its  terminal  base  issues  a  stream  more  or  less 
considerable,  according  to  the  size  of  the  glacier,  through  one  or  more 
natural  arches  in  the  ice.  Those  mighty  streams,  the  Rhone  and  the 
Rhine,  and  many  other  rivers,  are  of  glacier  origin,  draining,  as  it  were, 
the  Alps,  and  forming  in  summer,  when  other  waters  are  evaporated  and 
dried  up,  everlasting  fountains  of  fertility  and  plenty  to  the  whole  conti- 
nent of  Europe.  The  edges  of  the  glaciers  are  more  or  less  inclined 
towards  their  containing  walls  or  boundaries,  the  declivity  being  caused 
by  the  melting  and  depression  of  the  ice  at  the  sides,  in  consequence  of 
the  accumulated  heat  reflected  from  the  adjacent  rocks,  aided  by  the 
colour  and  composition  of  the  rocks  themselves,  the  direction  and  expo- 
sure of  the  valleys  forming  the  glacier  bed,  and  the  character  of  the 
prevailing  winds  and  currents  of  the  locality ;  so  that  the  middle  of  the 
glacier  is  raised  above  its  general  level,  the  surface  forming  a  curve. 
Every  glacier  consists  of  three  distinct  and  well-defined  regions,  each 
characterized  by  peculiarity  of  structure,  not  abruptly  separated,  however, 
but  passing  insensibly  into  each  other.  The  more  elevated  part  consists 
of  fields  of  fine  and  powdery  snow,  which  cover  the  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tain summits  and  crests,  and  the  plateaux  or  connecting  surfaces  between 
them.  At  a  certain  depth  these  fields  of  powdery  snow  pass  into  a  coarse 
granular  snow,  or  imperfect  ice,  constituting  the  second  portion  of  the 
glacier,  and  forming  a  band  or  zone  about  1000  feet  in  breadth.  This 
substance  is  not  consolidated  like  common  ice,  but  yields  beneath  the  feet 
as  grain  or  fine  gravel  would  do.  The  third  or  lower  region,  to  which 
the  name  glacier  is  more  specifically  applied,  is  composed  of  compact, 


GEOLOGY.  267 

rough,  uneven  ice.  This  part  of  the  structure  commences  ahout  800 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  is  composed  of  polyhedral  fragments 
of  ice,  from  half  an  inch  to  two  or  three  inches  in  diameter,  increasing 
in  size  as  the  extremity  of  the  glacier  is  approached,  and  separated  from 
each  other  by  capillary  fissures.  Of  all  the  characteristics  of  the  glacier, 
that  which  is  most  calculated  to  excite  our  surprise  and  curiosity  is  its 
regular  motion  of  progression.  Its  advance,  though  noiseless  and  in- 
capable of  being  observed  by  the  eye,  is  steady  and  continual.  Of  this 
motion,  which  is  always  in  the  direction  of  the  declivity — the  forward 
march  of  the  masses  of  rock  and  other  matters  on  the  surface,  which  can 
be  traced  from  year  to  year,  and  even  from  day  to  day — the  totally  dif- 
ferent character  of  those  rocks  from  that  of  the  lateral  rocks,  clearly  iden- 
tifying them  as  belonging  to  localities  thousands  of  feet  above  the  spots 
where  they  are  found— and  the  accumulation  of  those  materials  at  the 
extremity  of  the  glacier — of  themselves  constitute  sufficient  proofs. — 
From  a  Lecture  delivered  hy  William  Wills,  Esq.,  at  the  Birmingham 
Philosophical  Institution. 


THE  DELUGE. 

Geologists  are  now  converging  to  the  opinion  that  there  are  no  sen- 
sible vestiges  of  the  Deluge  u])on  the  earth  ;  and  Dr.  Fleming,  who  is  of 
this  opinion,  contends  also  for  its  consistency  with  the  truth  of  the  Scrip- 
tural deluge,  in  that  it  may  have  been  brought  upon  the  world  without 
the  alteration  of  any  of  its  sensible  features.  And  certain  it  is,  that  if 
the  water  from  beneath  came  by  openings  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  or  by 
the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  being  broken  up,  one  can  imagine  an  ele- 
vation of  level  from  this  cause  without  any  such  disturbance  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  as  might  affect  aught  that  is  visible  either  in  its  islands  or 
continents.  The  stopping  of  the  fountains  of  the  deep,  through  which 
there  was  an  efflux  of  water  from  beneath,  would  restrain  the  further 
increase  of  the  flood  i'rom  that  quarter,  but  unless  there  were  other  open- 
ings made  by  which  a  reflux  co  Id  be  effected,  one  does  not  see  how  the 
decrease  of  the  flood  can  be  accounted  for.  The  wind  might  take  up  all 
that  had  been  deposited  from  above,  but  this  alone  would  not  affect  a  sub- 
sidency  of  the  waters  to  their  former  level.  The  sending  forth  of  the 
dove,  her  finding  no  rest  for  the  sole  of  her  foot,  her  return  to  the  ark, 
the  projection  of  the  hand  through  the  window  to  pull  her  in,  her  second 
mission  and  return  with  the  olive  leaf,  altogether  make  up  a  very  graphi* 
cal  representation.  I  may  here  record  the  strong  interest  I  feel  in 
these  Scripture  histories,  enhanced  I  have  no  doubt  by  the  recollections 
of  my  boyhood,  convincing  me  that  it  is  a  most  useful  education  for  the 
juvenile  mind  to  be  seasoned  and  made  familiar  therewith.  Wilkie,  the 
painter,  told  me  that  the  ark  experiment  of  a  bird  was  tried  with  a  dove 
from  a  balloon,  and  that  it  returned  after  it  had  been  let  out,  and  that  an 
experiment  was  intended  with  a  raven,  but  I  have  not  heard  if  the  latter 
trial  has  actually  been  made. — Dr,  Chalmers's  Daily  Scripture  Readings 


268  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

^gtronomical  ant)  ilWctcorological  i^j^cuomcna. 

COEKECT/ON  OF  METEOKOLOGICAL  OBSERVATION. 

Prof.  Airy  has  communicated  to  the  Royal  Society,  a  paper  "  On  the 
Corrections  necessary  to  be  applied  to  Meteorological  Observations  made 
at  particular  periods,  in  order  to  deduce  from  them  Monthly  Means," 
by  Mr.  James  Glaisher,  of  the  Royal  Observatory. 

The  author,  under  whose  immediate  superintendence  the  whole  of  the 
magnetical  and  meteorological  observations  taken  at  the  Royal  Observatory 
at  Greenwich  have  been  conducted,  by  direction  of  the  Astronomer-Royal, 
has  communicated,  in  the  present  paper,  various  tabular  results  deduced 
from  the  meteorological  observations ;  reserving  for  future  notice  those 
deduced  from  the  magnetical  series.  His  chief  object  has  been  to  deter- 
mine the  corrections  which  are  applicable  to  the  results  obtained 
by  different  observers  at  various  times,  so  as  to  render  them  comparable 
with  one  another.  The  bai'ometrical  and  thermometrical  observations 
there  recorded  have  been  made  at  every  hour  of  Gottingen  mean  solar 
time,  during  the  whole  of  five  years,  namely,  from  the  end  of  1S40  to 
that  of  1845.  The  mean  of  each  hour  represents  the  results  deduced 
from  about  150  observations  ;  those  for  each  month  represent  about  1800 
observations;  and  those  for  the  year  represent  upwards  of  21,000  obser- 
vations of  each  element. 

Tables  are  given,  representing  the  excess  of  the  mean  value  of  each 
element  at  every  hour  of  observation,  in  every  month,  above  the  mean 
value  for  the  month ;  and  also  the  mean  of  the  numbers  so  found,  ar- 
ranged for  the  different  years,  and  likewise  for  the  same  hours  in  every 
month.  The  numbers  were  then  laid  down  on  paper,  as  ordinates  to  a 
curve,  of  which  the  times  were  the  abscissae,  and  a  curve  passed  through, 
pr  very  near  each  point ;  and  the  ordinates  at  every  Greenwich  hour  were 
measured  from  that  curve,  and  their  values  given  in  a  table.  The  accor- 
dance of  the  results  thus  obtained  for  the  same  hours  in  the  same  months 
of  the  different  years  is  very  close  and  satisfactory;  and  shows  that 
observers  may  obtain  very  valuable  approximate  results,  by  taking  a  com- 
paratively small  number  of  observations  in  each  day  at  hours  by  no  means 
inconvenient  in  ordinary  life ;  furnishing  a  close  approximation  to  the 
mean  and  extreme  value,  as  well  as  to  the  diurnal  and  annual  variations 
of  atmospherical  phenomena. 

REMARKABLE  SOLAR  SPOT. 

Mr.  W.  Pringle,  of  Edinburgh,  has  communicated  to  the  Philosophi- 
cal Magazine,  No.  214,  the  details  of  the  perception  with  the  naked 
eye,  of  a  large  obscuration  or  Spot  on  the  sun's  disc,  appearing 
like  a  good-sized  bean  in  sliape  and  size,  on  Tuesday,  January  25.  The 
observation  took  place  at  Ih.  30m.  p.m.,  the  sun's  disc  being  of  a  blood- 
red  colour  at  the  time,  owing  to  the  intervention  of  a  haze  or  fog,  which 
enabled  the  eye  steadily  to  gaze  on  it.  The  obscured  part,  viewed  with 
telescopic  powers  of  60  and  120,  resolved  itself  into  two  large  central 


ASTilONOMICAL  AND  METEOROLOGICAL  PHENOMENA.  269 

spots,  stretching  in  a  direction  ap2)arently  parallel  with  the  sun's  equator, 
surrounded  by  a  great  number  of  smaller  spots,  particularly  on  the  north 
side.  This  mass  of  maculae  melted  into  the  elli])tical  appearance  seen  by 
the  naked  eye.  Herschel  only  once  saw  a  similar  spot  with  the  naked 
eye  (1779).  Probably,  if  the  solar  orb  was  more  frequently  examined 
during  a  fog,  more  of  these  maculae  might  have  been  noticed.  Sunset  or 
sunrise  would  also  be  favourable  times  for  such  observation. 
In  a  subsequent  communication,  Mr.  Pringle  states  : — 
The  great  point  of  interest  and  importance  deducible  from  the  fact 
established,  is  the  extraordinary  enlargement  of  the  solar  spot,  thus  ren- 
dering it  distinctly  and  palpably  visible  to  the  unprotected  eye  at  the 
distance  of  ninety-five  millions  of  miles.  More  than  the  usual  tremendous 
agencies  must  have  been  in  force  to  have  produced  so  great  an  obscura- 
tion. Without  a  micrometrical  observation,  it  is,  of  course,  im])ossible 
to  approximate  to  its  exact  dimensions ;  but  if  the  calculation  be  correct 
which  assigns  about  50,000  miles  as  the  minimum  diameter  required  for 
a  spot  to  be  visible  to  the  unaided  eye,  Mr.  Priugle  was  strongly  inclined, 
from  the  space  obviously  occupied  by  the  obscuration  on  the  solar  disc, 
to  consider  it,  at  a  rude  guess,  to  have  beeu  iu  diameter  at  least  one- 
tifteeth  part  that  of  the  sun. 

LUNAE  ECLIPSE  OF  MARCH  19  1848. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Charles  Mayne,  Killaloe : — 

"  The  Eclipse  was  observed  with  an  excellent  thirty-inch  telescope  of 
two  inches  aperture,  fixed  pretty  firmly  to  the  window -sash.  Nothing 
particular  was  noted  at  first.  The  moon  was  seen  well  at  intervals  between 
clouds  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  then  was  completely  covered.  Some 
considerable  time  after,  one  of  the  family,  going  to  the  window,  exclaimed, 
'  The  eclipse  is  over !'  I  went  to  the  window,  and  saw  the  lohole  of  the 
moon,  the  colour  much  like  that  of  tarnished  copper,  i.  e.  of  a  dullish 
red,  some  parts  being  darker  than  others.  After  looking  at  it  for 
some  time,  I  perceived  with  great  surprise  that  the  eclipsed  part  was 
marked,  but  (from  the  general  efiect  produced  on  the  moon)  only  indis- 
tinctly. Clouds  soon  after  covered  the  whole  sky,  and  the  moon  was  not 
again  visible  till  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  the  end,  when  the 
appearance  was  as  usual,  the  eclipsed  part  nearly  black,  and  the  rest  per- 
fectly bright.  I  am  told  that  Aurora  was  visible  the  same  night." — Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Hoy al  Astronomical  Society. 

Mr.  Eorster,  of  Bruges,  states  that  during  the  whole  of  the  eclipse, 
the  shaded  surface  presented  a  luminosity  quite  unusual,  probably  about 
three  times  the  intensity  of  the  mean  illumination  of  an  eclipsed  lunar 
disc.  The  light  was  of  a  deep  red  colour.  During  the  totality  of  the 
eclipse,  the  light  and  dark  places  on  the  face  of  the  moon  could  be  almost 
as  well  made  out  as  in  an  ordinary  dull  moonlight  night,  and  the  deep  red 
colour,  when  the  sky  was  clearest,  was  very  remarkable  from  the  con- 
trasted whiteness  of  the  stars.  The  British  consul  of  Ghent,  wlw  did  not 
know  that  there  was  an  eclipse,  wrote  to  Mr.  Forster  for  an  explanation 
of  the  blood-red  colour  of  the  moon  at  9  o'clock. 

Mr.  Walkey,  who  observed  the  eclipse  at  Clyst  St.  Lawrence,  near  Col- 


270  YEAR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

lumpton,  says  the  appearances  were  as  usual  till  20  minutes  to  9.  "At 
that  period,  and  for  the  space  of  the  next  hour,  instead  of  an  eclipse,  or 
the  nmhra  of  the  earth  heing  the  cause  of  the  total  obscurity  of  the  moon, 
the  whole  phase  of  that  body  became  very  quickly  and  most  beautifully 
illuminated,  and  assumed  the  appearance  of  the  glowing  heat  of  lire  from 
the  furnace,  rather  tinged  with  a  deep  red." 

At  between  20  minutes  to  nine  and  20  minutes  to  ten,  there  was  a 
very  luminous  appearance  of  the  aurora  borealis.  Mr.  W.  thinks  that 
the  light  reflected  from  this  northern  efi'ulgence  might  have  caused  the 
luminous  appearance  of  the  moon  in  his  part  of  the  country  at  the  time 
when  it  was  under  the  perfect  umbra  of  the  earth  in  other  portions  of 
England. 


THE  LUNAE  ORBIT. 

On  June  9,  several  communications  were  read  to  the  Astronomical 
Society,  the  most  important  of  which  is  Mr.  Aiiy's  account  of  the  cor- 
rection of  the  elements  of  the  Lunar  Orbit,  derived  from  the  recently  pub- 
lished reductions  of  the  Greenwich  observations,  from  1750  to  1830.  It 
is  far  too  elaborate  a  communication  for  us  to  attempt  any  description  of 
it.  The  astronomer  himself  will  find  the  Society's  abstract  much  too 
short.  This  is  the  most  important  comparison  of  the  lunar  theory  with 
observations  (as  distinguished  from  the  formation  of  a  lunar  theory  from 
observations)  that  has  ever  been  made. — Athencenm,  No.  1090. 


LUNAR  RAINBOW. 

Sir  John  Herschel  has  communicated  to  the  Athenceum,  No.  1099, 
the  following : — 

CollingwoodjNov.  13. 

Yesterday  evening,  at  6h.  40m.  p.m.,  I  had  the  gratification  of  wit- 
nessing, for  the  first  time,  the  rare  and  beautiful  phenomenon  of  a  lunar 
rainbow  in  all  its  perfection.  The  moon  (full  on  the  11th  at  Ih.  30m.  a.m.) 
was  near  the  eastern  horizon,  shining  brilliantly  through  a  considerable 
clear  opening  in  the  otherwise  generally  and  densely  clouded  sky.  A 
light,  drizzling,  and  very  uniform  rain  was  falling  with  a  gentle  wind 
from  the  N.E.  The  arch,  very  nearlj{  a  semi-circle,  was  perfect  in  every 
part — apparently  much  better  defined  and  somewhat  narrower  than  the 
solar  rainbow  (circumstances  easily  accounted  for).  Its  span  also  ap- 
peared somewhat  less  ;  which  of  course  was  only  an  illusion.  Though 
much  brighter  than  I  could  have  expected  a  lunar  rainbow  to  appear  (the 
effect,  no  doubt,  of  the  very  dark  background  of  cloud  against  which  it 
was  projected),  it  exhibited  scarcely  any  colour :  barely  enough  to  assure 
the  spectators  that  the  order  of  colour  was  as  in  the  solar  bow — a  faint 
ruddy  tinge  being  sensible  on  the  outer,  and  a  still  fainter  bluish  hue  on 
the  inner  side :  affording  a  striking  illustration  of  that  singular  law  in 
the  physiology  of  vision,  that  the  perception  of  colour  is  not  developed 
unless  under  a  certain  amount  of  the  stimulus  of  light.* 

Not  only  was  the  primary  bow  thus  fully  developed  :   the  exterior  or 

*  For  example,  colours  are  not  disting'iiishable  in  the  prismatic  spectrum 
formed  by  the  lijjht  of  putrescent  shell-tish,  or  rotten  wood. 


ASTRONOMICAL  AND  METEOROLOGICAL  PHENOMENA.  271 

secondary  rainbow  was  also  visible ;  not  indeed  conspicuously,  so  as  to 
attract  attention  unlooked  for,  but  quite  unequivocally,  and  at  its  proper 
distance  from  the  primary.  To  become  sensible  of  its  existence  it  was 
necessary  to  keep  the  eye  wandering.  Neither  were  traces  wanting  of 
the  supernumerary  arcs  which  form  so  conspicuous  an  appendage  to  the 
inner  edge  of  the  solar  rainbow  in  certain  contingencies.  They  were 
indicated  by  a  perceptible  streakiness  fringing  the  internal  border  of  the 
arc,  though  to  say  whether  more  than  one  streak  existed  was  not 
possible. 

The  southern  leg  of  this  fine  arch  was  evidently  formed  within  a  few 
hundred  yards  of  our  station ;  as,  on  ascending  to  the  roof  of  my  dwell- 
ing-house, it  was  seen  on  the  hither  side  of  some  trees  at  that  distance. 
When  first  seen  it  was  perfect,  and  continued  so  for  six  or  eight  minutes 
— when  clouds  obscuring  the  moon  put  an  end  to  it.  I  will  only  add 
further  that  the  impression  produced  by  the  spectacle  was  of  that  pecu- 
liar, solemn,  and  unearthly  kind  which,  once  experienced,  remains  ever 
after  ineffaceable. — I  remain,  &c.  J.  F.  W.  Herschel. 


COLOURLESS  ATMOSPHERIC  ARCH  SEEN  IN  BRAZIL. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Henwood,  F.R.S.,  E.G.,  &c.,  in  a  letter  to  Sir  David 
Brewster,  states: — 

The  village  of  Cattas  Altas  is  situated  in  long.  43°  15'  west,  and  lat. 
19°  58'  30"  south,  on  an  open  undulating  expanse  of  pasture  land,  about 
3,500  feet  above  the  sea,  bounded  on  the  south-west  by  the  mountain- 
chain  of  the  Gara9as,  which  rises  from  4,000  to  5,000  feet  above  it,  a 
deep  narrow  glen  intervening  between  them. 

At  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  May,  I  had 
occasion  to  cross  this  open  country  towards  the  north-west,  almost  on 
the  edge  of  the  ravine.  A  dense  mist  covered  all  the  lower  grouuds, 
whilst  the  little  hills  shone  in  unclouded  sun-light:  in  the  fog,  a  light 
air  from  the  westward  was  perceptible,  but  a  gentle  breeze  in  an  opposite 
direction  prevailed  on  the  hills. 

During  my  journey,  I  passed  several  times  from  sunshine  into  mist,  and 
vice  versa. 

Whilst  immersed  in  fog  on  the  verge  of  the  vale,  and  some  400  feet 
above  its  bottom,  an  arch  of  about  forty-five  degrees  in  altitude  became 
visible.  In  width,  and  indeed  in  every  other  respect,  it  exactly  resem- 
bled a  rainbow,  except  that  the  whole  of  its  upper  part  was  entirely 
colourless,  being,  as  it  were,  a  bow  of  denser  mist  surrounded  by  the 
ordinary  fog.  For  an  altitude  of  about  ten  degrees,  however,  of  the 
lower  portion,  which  was  beneath  the  horizon  of  my  station,  it  had  the 
faintest  possible  tint  of  violet  colour,  which  was  rather  more  perceptible 
in  the  south-eastern  extremity  than  in  the  other. 

On  entering  the  mist  a  second  time,  a  few  minutes  later,  I  observed  a 
similar,  but  fainter  and  less  perfect  arch. 


the  MISSING  P1;ANET. 

On  August  29,  M.  Babinet  made  to  the  Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  a 
communication  respecting  the  Planet  Neptune,  which  has  been  generally 


272  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

called  M.  Leverrier's  planet  ;  the  discovery  of  it  having,  as  it  was  said, 
been  made  by  him  from  theoretical  deductions.  What  M.  Leverrier  had 
inferred  from  the  action  on  other  planets  of  some  body  which  ought  to 
exist  was  verified,  at  least  so  it  was  thought  at  the  time,  by  actual  vision. 
Neptune  was  actually  seen  by  other  astronomers,  and  the  honour  of  the 
theorist  obtained  additional  lustre.  But  it  appears  from  the  communica- 
tion of  M.  Babinet  that  this  is  not  the  planet  of  M,  Leverrier.  He  had 
placed  his  planet  at  a  distance  from  the  sun  equal  to  36  times  the  limit  of 
the  terrestrial  orbit ;  Neptune  revolves  at  a  distance  equal  to  30  times  of 
these  limits,  which  makes  a  difference  of  nearly  200,000,000  of  leagues. 
M.  Leverrier  had  assigned  to  his  planet  a  body  equal  to  38  times  that  of 
the  earth.  Neptune  has  only  one-third  of  this  volume.  M.  Leverrier 
had  stated  the  revolution  of  his  planet  round  the  sun  to  take  place  in  217 
years.  Neptune  performs  its  revolution  in  154  years.  Thus,  then, 
Neptune  is  not  M.  Leverrier's  planet,  and  all  his  theory  as  regards  that 
planet  falls  to  the  ground.  M.  Leverrier  may  find  another  planet,  but  it 
will  not  answer  the  calculations  which  he  had  made  for  Neptune.  In  the 
sitting  of  the  14th  of  September,  M.  Leverrier  noticed  the  communication 
of  M.  Babinet,  and  to  a  great  extent  admitted  his  own  error. 


HONOUES  TO  ASTRONOMEES. 

At  the  Annual  General  Meeting  of  the  Astronomical  Society,  held  on 
February  11th,  the  Report  was  read,  and  stated  that  independently  of  the 
unsatisfied  claims  of  Leverrier  and  Adams,*  the  number  of  worthy  and 
recent  astronomical  labours  was  so  unusually  large  that  the  Council  found 
it  impossible  to  proceed ;  and  also  felt  that  something  should  be  done  to 
commemorate  the  glory  of  the  epoch  as  well  as  the  men  who  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  and  it.  An  unusual  testimonial  was,  therefore, 
awarded,  consisting  of  an  inscription  printed  on  vellum,  to  twelve  pro- 
moters of  astronomy  :  MM.  Adams,  Airy,  Argelander,  Bishop,  Everest, 
Hauren,  Hencke,  Herschel,  Hind,  Leverrier,  Lubbock,  and  Weisse.  The 
Council  left  it  to  the  President  to  justify  these  awards,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  his  own  case,  which  was  described  in  the  Report :  and  Sir  John 
Herschel  accordingly  made  a  full  and  striking  exposition  of  the  claims  of 
his  eleven  co-mates. — Aihenceum,  No.  1061. 


THE  OEIGIN  OF  METEOEIC  STONES. 

Various  theories  have  been  broached  with  respect  to  Meteoric  Stones. 
Some  have  thought  that  they  are  projected  from  volcanoes  on  the  earth 
with  such  force  as  to  convey  them  through  the  air  for  a  great  distance ; 
and  others  are  of  opinion  that  they  are  projected  from  volcanoes  in  the 
moon.  With  regard  to  the  latter  it  has  been  said,  that  if  a  body  were 
projected  at  a  rate  equal  to  6,000  miles  in  a  second,  that  is,  three  times 
faster  than  an  ordinary  cannon  ball,  it  might  be  thrown  beyond  the 

*  It  will  be  recollected  that  at  the  Annual  Meeting  in  1847,  the  bylaw 
which  directs  that  only  one  medal  shall  be  given  in  any  one  year,  produced  a 
discussion  relative  to  the  Leverrier  and  Adams  question,  which  ended  in  no 
medal  being  given  at  all. 


ASTEONOMICAL  AND  METEOROLOGICAL  PHENOMENA.  273 

bounds  of  the  moon's  attraction,  and  brought  in  two  days  within  the 
limits  of  the  earth's  attraction.  There  is,  however,  no  evidence  in  support 
of  the  one  theory  more  than  the  other.  But  there  is  no  necessity  to  go 
either  to  the  moon,  or  to  the  volcanoes  of  the  earth,  for  a  feasible  theory 
on  this  subject.  When  it  is  considered  that  in  the  whole  of  the  metals 
a  large  quantity  is  carried  off  in  various  chemical  forms,  as  in  vapours 
80  attenuated  as  almost  to  set  at  defiance  the  closest  experiments,  and  dis- 
seminated through  the  atmosphere,  it  certainly  requires  but  little  acquaint- 
ance with  the  wonders  of  chemical  science,  to  imagine  it  possible,  that 
in  the  upper  regions  of  air,  some  electrical  or  other  influence  might  bring 
them  wdthin  the  limits  of  cohesion,  when  their  specific  gravity  would  at 
once  cause  them  to  fall  to  the  earth. — i/>-.  E.  Hunt. 


LUMINOUS  METEORS. 

There  has  been  presented  to  the  British  Association,  a  valuable  "  Cata- 
logue of  Observations  of  Luminous  Meteors,  from  September,  1833,  to 
July,  1848,"  by  the  Rev.  Prof.  Powell.  In  the  Report  of  the  Associa- 
tion for  1847,  Prof.  Powell  had  given  an  imperfect  list  of  observed 
luminous  meteors,  so  far  as  he  could  collect  them,  for  the  years  subsequent 
to  the  termination  of  M.  Qnetelet's  Catalogue  ;  from  whose  commu- 
nications, and  from  data  furnished  by  several  journals,  he  had  drawn 
up  the  Catalogue ;  which  is  offered  as  containing  a  condensed  view  of 
existing  observations  collected  in  one  record.  The  original  documents  as 
communicated  are  collected  in  the  Appendix ;  and  references  are  given  to 
the  sources  of  information  in  other  cases.  The  Catalogue  itself  was  not 
suited  to  be  read  in  detail.  It  was  tabulated  under  the  following  heads : 
— Date — Description — Place — Observer — Reference.  Many  of  the  facts 
in  the  Appendix  were  interesting.  The  Secretary  selected  the  following 
as  an  example  : — "Extract  from  the  3fa/ta  Hail  Times,  An^ust  18th, 
1845  ;  '  On  June  18th,  at  9  h.  30  m.  p.  m.  the  brig  Victoria,  from  New- 
castle to  Malta,  in  lat.  36°  40'  56",  long.  13°  44'  36",  was  becalmed, 
with  no  appearance  of  bad  weather;  when  her  top-gallant  and  royal 
masts  suddenly  went  over  the  sides  as  if  carried  away  by  a  squall.  Two 
hours  it  blew  very  hard  from  the  east ;  and  whilst  the  hands  were  aloft 
reefing  topsails,  it  suddenly  fell  calm  again,  and'they  felt  an  overpowering 
heat  and  stench  of  sulphur.  At  this  moment  three  luminous  bodies 
issued  from  the  sea,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  vessel,  and  remained 
visible  for  ten  minutes  (it  is  not  said  what  became  of  them).  Soon  after 
it  began  to  blow  hard  again,  and  the  vessel  got  into  a  current  of  cold 
fresh  air  again.'  At  Ainab,  ou  Mount  Lebanon,  at  the  same  time,  June 
18th,  at  half  an  hour  after  sunset,  the  heavens  presented  an  extraordinary 
and  beautiful  though  awful  spectacle.  A  fiery  meteor,  composed  of  two 
luminous  bodies,  each  apparently  at  least  five  times  larger  than  the  moon, 
with  streamers  or  appendages  from  each  joining  the  two,  and  looking 
precisely  like  large  flags  blown  out  by  a  gentle  breeze,  appeared  in  the 
west,  remaining  visible  for  an  hour,  taking  an  easterly  course,  and  gra- 
dually disappeared.  The  appendages  appeared  to  shine  from  the  reflected 
light  of  main  bodies,  which  it  was  painful  to  look  at  for  any  time.     The 


274  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

moon  had  risen  about  half  an  hour  before,  and  there  was  scarcely  any 
wind." 

Sir  "W,  S.  Harris  characterized  this  Catalogue  as  the  commencement 
of  a  store  of  valuable  facts.  The  account  of  the  brig  Victoria  was  to  him 
most  interestint?.  He  had  no  doubt  it  was  an  electrical  phenomenon,  ex- 
emplifying what  Prof.  Faraday  had  described  under  the  name  of  the  glow 
discharge.  Indeed,  he  had  himself  imitated  the  phenomenon  artificially; 
and  had  recorded  a  similar  fact  which  occurred  to  a  vessel  when  sailing 
close  on  a  wind  under  reefed  topsails.  They  saw,  bearing  down  from 
windward,  straight  on  the  ship,  two  wheels  of  fire,  which  the  men  de- 
scribed as  rolling  mill-stones  of  fire.  "When  they  came  near,  an  awful 
crash  took  place,  the  topmasts  were  shivered  to  pieces,  and  the  crew  ex- 
perienced the  same  overpowering  sulphurous  stench.  The  phenomena 
were  thus  accounted  for  :  a  highly-charged  thunder-cloud  was  brought 
down  by  the  wind  on  the  ship ;  its  distance  from  the  sea,  though  beyond 
the  striking  distance,  admitted  of  the  "  glow  discharge,"  which  produced 
the  appearance  of  the  balls  or  wheels  of  fire  that  so  alarmed  the  men. 
When  the  cloud  came  near  the  ship,  its  masts  brought  it  within  striking 
distance, — when  a  discharge  or  thunder-clap  took  place.  The  sul- 
phurous stench  was  a  constant  concomitant  of  such  discharges. — Athe- 
nceum.  No.  1086. 


SHOOTING  STARS,  AND  THEIR  CONNEXION  "WITH  THE  SOLAR  SYSTEM. 

A  PAPER  on  these  phenomena  has  been  read  to  the  Royal  Institution, 
by  Prof.  Baden  Powell.  Luminous  appearances  moving  through  the  sky 
have  been  commonly  known  and  described  under  various  names,  according  to 
their  apparent  size  and  nature,  as  Shooting  Stars,  bolides,  fire-balls ;  and 
the  fall  of  matter  from  the  atmosphere  in  difi^ereut  forms,  sometimes  con- 
nected with  luminous  meteors,  sometimes  apparently  without  such  appear- 
ances, has  been  in  like  manner  recorded  from  ancient  times  under  the 
names  of  thunderbolts,  meteorites,  aerolites,  &c.  Records  of  such  phe- 
nomena have  been  given  by  Chladni  and  others  (see  Edin.  Phil.  Journal, 
No.  2).  Masses  of  great  size  and  weight  have  been  alleged  to  have 
fallen ;  some,  well  authenticated,  are  of  great  density,  and  composed 
almost  of  pure  metal — others  less  metallic,  and  earthy ;  some  light  and 
porous,  soft  or  spongy,  or  even  in  the  state  of  fine  dust,  and  sometimes 
like  mere  dry  fog  or  haze  (see  Arago  "  On  Comets,"  1833).  Sometimes, 
they  have  fallen  hot  or  burning  (as  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope),  {Phil. 
Trans.,  1839,  i.),  and  in  other  instances  distinctly  proceeding  from  a 
luminous  meteor  :  but  if  falling  by  day,  the  li(/ht  might  not  be  seen,  if 
by  night,  the  falling  matter  would  not  be  discovered.  The  matter  has 
been  often  alleged  to  be  produced  by  the  explosion  or  bursting  of  a  solid 
mass;  but  of  this  there  appears  no  proof:  the  detonation  sometimes 
heard  is  only  a  sound  which  may  be  produced,  as  thunder,  without  any 
solid  matter.  The  pieces  which  fall  are,  in  many  instances,  distinct 
rounded  masses,  not  angular  fragments,  as  in  the  meteorite  at  Aiicona, 
May  1846,  and  in  that  at  Launton,  1840.  From  the  Cape  meteor,  1838, 
the  masses  appear  partially  rounded,  but  broken  in  the  fall.     For  lumi- 


ASTRONOMICAL  AND  METEOROLOGICAL  PHENOMENA.  275 

nous  meteors,  the  greater  number  of  which  are  probably  unconnected 
with  any  fall  of  matter,  we  have  the  numerous  observations  collected  by 
Uuetelet  (who  has  given  the  most  complete  catalogue  of  older  observa- 
tions, in  the  Mem.  Acad,  de  Bruxelles,  1842),  Colla  of  Parma  and  Coul- 
vier  Gravier  (British  Association,  1845),  Orlebar  {Bombay  Obs.  1845), 
Lowe  {Atrnos.  Phen.  1846),  Pettit  (Comptes  Rendus,  1846),  and  many 
others. 

These  observations  have  determined,  in  many  cases,  the  height, 
velocity,  and  direction  of  meteors — which  are  all  very  various;  the 
heights  from  the  lowest  to  600  miles  above  the  earth— the  velocities  from 
20  to  220  miles  per  second — the  direction  often  affected  by  perspective, 
but  in  some  cases  serpentine.  The  size  cannot  be  accurately  determined  ; 
but  any  estimates  can  only  apply  to  the  luminous  disc,  which  is  not 
necessarily  that  of  any  solid  body.  The  relation  of  luminous  meteors  to 
electricity  has  been  supported  in  many  instances  by  the  appearance  of 
coruscations  and  flashes  of  light :  a  connexion  has,  also,  been  made  out, 
in  some  cases,  with  Auroras  and  thunder  (by  Quetelet,  Cappoci,  Wart- 
raan,  Poisson,  &c.).  Their  height  is  often  far  above  our  atmosphere,  but 
the  earth's  electricity  may  probably  extend  far  beyond  the  atmosphere, 
and  on  both  points  various  estimates  have  been  formed.  Auroras  have 
appeared  far  beyond  the  height  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  occurrence  of  star  showers  at  certain  epochs  has  been  verified  by 
numerous  observations,  from  early  records  collected  by  Sir  P.  Palgrave 
{Phil.  Ti-ans.  1840)  and  M.  Chasles  (Comptes  Rendus,  March  15,  1841), 
and,  more  recently,  by  Quetelet  and  C.  Gravier,  who  have  collected  ob- 
servations from  all  parts  of  the  world,  especially  America,  substantiating 
periodic  star  showers,  returning  for  a  series  of  years,  about  Nov.  12  and 
Aug.  10;  the  latter  the  most  constant;  the  former  appear  of  late  years 
less  marked.  Observations  of  these  may  often  have  failed,  from  their 
occurring  in  day-time  or  in  cloudy  weather.  These  discharges  have  been 
found  to  be  directed  to  a  fixed  point  in  the  heavens,  through  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  night,  thus  showing  their  cosmical  nature.  In  some 
instances,  instead  of  a  shower  a  single  large  meteor  has  appeared.  Were 
the  minute  bodies  collected  into  a  large  one  ?  On  the  nature  and  laws 
of  these  appearances  there  have  been  various  theories.  Por  an  able  expo- 
sition of  the  chief  of  them,  see  Mr.  Galloway'ij  paper  {Astron.  Soc.  Rep, 
vol.5).  According  to  Chladni,  innumerable  small  bodies  rotate  in  the 
solar  system.  Messier,  in  1777,  saw  a  number  of  small  bodies  pass  the 
disc  of  the  sun.  Many  of  these  must  often  encounter  the  earth,  unless, 
as  Mr.  Strickland  suggests,  they  are  converted  into  satellites — an  idea 
which  has  lately  been  verified  by  M.  Pettit,  who  conceives  he  has  identi- 
fied one  which  performs  its  revolution  in  3h.  20 m.  (Comptes  Rendus, 
Oct.  12,  1846,  and  Aug.  9,  1847).  Sir  J.  Lubbock  suggests  the  idea 
that  such  boaies,  whether  satellitary  or  planetary,  shine  by  reflected  light 
and  disappear  on  entering  the  earth's  shadow.  (Phil.  Mag.  Peb.  and 
March,  1848.)* 

But  for  the   generality   of    small  meteors,   and   especially  for  the 

*  See  an  abstract  of  Sir  John  Lubbock's  paper  in  the  present  volume. 


276  YEAE-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

periodical  showers,  these  views  will  hardly  apply.  We  can  better  sup- 
pose rings  of  dillused  matter  circulating  through  the  planetary  spaces, 
analogous  to  the  zodiacal  ring  and  to  the  matter  of  comets,  —all  which 
are  probably  portions  of  the  primitive  nebulous  matter  out  of  which  the 
solar  system  was  condensed,  and  which  are  gradually  undergoing  conden- 
sation. Out  of  a  ring  of  such  matter,  probably,  the  asteroids  have  been 
condensed,  and  not  formed  by  explosion,  as  supposed  by  Lagrange  and 
others ;  and  to  sucli  condensations  comets  probably  tend :  of  which  a 
striking  instance  has  been  afforded  in  Biela's  comet,  separating  into  two, 
but  only  that  each  may  condense  to  a  nucleus  now  clearly  ascertained  by 
the  observations  of  Mr.  Main  (see  Greenwich  Observations,  1846) ;  while 
the  recent  speculations  of  M.  Leverrier  (Comptes  Kendus,  Dec.  20,  1847) 
suggest  that  periodical  comets  have  been  fixed  in  our  system  by  the 
action  of  the  planets.  A  continuation  of  the  same  analogy  leads  us  to 
imagine  portions  of  such  diffused  matter  revolving,  and  either  encoun- 
tering the  earth  aad  becoming  satellitary  to  it,  and  in  a  high  state  of 
electric  tension, — and  thus,  on  coming  within  its  electrical  action,  a 
discharge  takes  place  and  matter  is  consolidated,  the  metallic  portion 
reduced,  and,  if  within  the  atmosphere,  combustion  and  fusion  may 
ensue;  and  if  previously  tending  directly  to  the  earth,  such  matter 
falls  as  an  aerolite,  whether  solid  or  in  a  diffused  form — not  from  break- 
ing up  or  bursting,  but  from  consolidation ;  of  if  beyond  the  atmosphere 
or  only  moving  through  it,  there  may  be  merely  an  electric  flash  or  deto- 
nation, accompanied  by  sparks  or  a  train.  Where  a  large  aggregation  of 
such  divided  matter  thus  comes  within  the  sphere  of  the  earth's  electricity, 
an  apparent  shower  of  stars  takes  place :  such  masses  may  move  in  orbits 
with  a  period  equal  to  that  of  the  earth  to  produce  annual  showers, 
either  about  the  sun  or  earth,  but  must,  in  any  case,  be  subject  to  great 
perturbations  from  the  moon  and  planets.— JM^;^^M»^,  No.  1068. 

MAGNIFICENT  AURORA  IN  FEBRUARY.. 

There  was  a  magnificent  display  of  Aurora  Borealis,  on  the  evening 
of  Sunday,  Feb.  20, 1848  :  from  numerous  descriptions,  we  find  selected, 
in  the  Athenceum,  the  following  letter  of  Mr.  Temple  Chevallier. — "  In 
the  course  of  a  fine  display  of  Aurora  Borealis  at  Durham,  on  the  20th  of 
February,  an  auroral  arch  was  observed  of  a  very  definite  character. 
At  8h.  16m.,  Greenwich  mean  time,  an  arch  of  bright  light,  having  a 
uniform  breadth  of  about  2°,  suddenly  arose  near  the  horizon  in  the  N.E., 
and  instantly  spread  across  the  whole  sky.  It  passed  a  little  eastward 
and  southward  of  the  stars  of  the  Great  Bear,  directly  across  Capella, 
and  a  little  west  of  the  Pleiades.  From  these  data  it  appears  that  the 
direction  of  the  arch  was  very  nearly  that  of  a  vertical  circle,  passing 
over  the  zenith  of  Durham,  and,  as  usual,  very  nearly  at  right  angles  to 
the  magnetic  meridian.  The  arch  was  not  traced  to  its  western  termi- 
nation. Its  duration  was  less  than  a  minute.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
observations  may  have  been  made  of  the  same  arch  in  other  places,  so 
that  its  height  above  the  earth's  surface  may  be  calculated.  The  baro- 
meter was  remarkably  low  at  the  time,  28'421  inches ;  and  the  thermo- 
meter 39*5.    The  place  of  observation  was  247  feet  above  the  level  of  the 


ASTRONOMICAL  AND  METEOROLOGICAL  PHENOMEXA.  277 

sea.     The  latitude  of  Durham  is  54°  46'  6'',  and  its  longitude  6'  18" 
west  of  Greeuwich. 


DEPTH  OF  RAIN  AT  DIFFERENT  ALTITUDES. 

Mr.  G.  Newport,  F.R.S.,  has  communicated  to  the  Philosophical 
Magazine,  No.  220,  "  An  Account  of  some  Observations  made  on  the 
Depth  of  Rain  which  falls  in  the  same  localities  at  different  altitudes  in 
the  Hilly  Districts  of  Lancashire,  Cheshire,  and  Derbyshire.  By  S.  C. 
Homersham,  C.E."  The  author  states,  that  having  been  present  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Royal  Society,  when  a  paper  was  read  on  the  Meteorology 
of  the  Lake  Districts  of  Westmoreland  and  Cumberland,  by  J.  Miller, 
Esq.,  of  Kendal,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  the  quantity  of  rain  falling 
in  mountainous  districts  appears  to  increase  from  the  valley  upwards  to 
the  altitude  of  about  2000  feet,  and  then  rapidly  to  decrease,  he  wishes 
to  lay  before  the  Society  the  results  of  his  own  observations,  which  lead 
him  to  a  different  conclusion.  He  is  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Miller's  ob- 
servations do  not  warrant  the  conclusion  deduced  from  them,  and  are  also 
at  variance  with  the  recorded  observations  of  Davies  Barrington,  Dr. 
Dalton,  Professor  Dauiell,  and  others,  as  well  as  those  of  Captain  Lefroy, 
and  Colonel  Sabine. 

The  author  then  shows  from  observations  very  carefully  made  in 
Lancashire,  Cheshire,  and  Derbyshire,  from  January  1846  to  March 
1848,  that  more  rain  falls  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top  of  hills  of  less 
elevation  than  2,000  feet  in  the  same  locality,  and  that  the  quantity 
diminishes  in  a  ratio  almost  precisely  corresponding  to  the  height.  The 
details  are  given  in  tables  of  monthly  observations,  made  near  Whaley 
and  Congleton  in  Cheshire,  and  Chapcl-iu-le -Frith  in  Derbyshire,  and 
also  of  other  observations  made  for  the  Corporation  of  Liverpool  at 
Rivington  and  in  the  valley  of  Riddles  worth,  near  Prestou,  in  liaucashire, 
which  have  been  communicated  to  him.  The  whole  of  these  observa- 
tions, carefully  analysed  and  compared,  have  led  the  author  to  a  con- 
clusion opposite  to  that  arrived  at  by  Mr.  Miller. 

The  author  then  proceeds  to  show,  that  the  details  of  Mr.  Miller's 
own  observations  are  in  accordance  with  his,  and  that  they  fully  bear  out 
his  views,  and  not  those  of  that  gentleman ;  and  establish  the  proposition, 
that,  as  a  general  law,  the  quantity  of  rain  deposited  in  the  valleys  and  at 
the  bottoms  of  hills  is  greater  than  in  more  elevated  situations  in  the 
same  locality. 

AN  EIGHTH  SATELLITE  OP  SATURN. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  while  looking  out  for  lapetus,*  Mr.  Lassell 
perceived  two  stars  near  the  presumed  position  of  that  satellite,  which 
differed  considerably  in  brightness,  both  exactly  in  the  line  of  the  inner 

*  The  instrument  employed  by  Mr.  Lassell  is  a  Newtonian  reflector  of  24 
inches  aperture,  equatorialiy  mounted.  This  mairnificeut  telescopeis  entirely 
of  his  own  makina;', — speculum,  stand,  and  observatory.  It  seems  to  be  at 
least  as  powerful  as  the  celebrated  refractors  of  Poulkova  and  Cambridg^e,  U.S., 
and  quite  as  mauajjeabie. 


278  Yf:AR-BOOK  OF  FACTS. 

satellite.  The  smaller  seemed  too  faint  for  lapetus ;  but  to  avoid  any 
mistake,  Mr.  Lassell  made  a  careful  diagram  of  the  two, — as  well  with 
respect  to  Saturn  as  to  some  fixed  stars  ia  the  field.  Ou  the  following 
evening  he  was  astonished  to  find  that  both  stars  had  moved  away  west- 
ward from  the  fixed  stars  to  which  they  had  been  referred,  and  both  seemed 
to  have  accompanied  Saturn.  The  brighter  star  had  gone  a  little  north- 
ward, while  the  fainter,  still  keeping  in  the  Hue  of  the  inner  satellites, 
had  got  sensibly  near  to  the  planet.  From  these  changes  Mr.  Lassell 
very  rightly  concluded  that  both  were  satellites ;  the  brighter  lapetus, 
and  the  fainter,  which  he  names  Hyperion,  a  satellite  hitherto  undis- 
covered. To  verify  this  conclusion,  he  took  difierences  of  right  ascen- 
sion between  each  of  the  presumed  satellites  and  a  fixed  star,  when  he 
found  that  Hyperion  moved  westward  2s.46  in  2h.  36m.,  and  lapetus 
moved  ls.27  iu  Ih.  24m.  in  the  same  direction.  He  also  took  measures 
at  an  interval  of  four  hours ;  which  showed  that  Saturn  and  Hyperion 
preserved  the  same  relative  position  for  that  time.  Finally,  he  ascer- 
tained beyond  doubi  that  there  was  uo  star  now  in  the  place  occupied  by 
Hyperion  on  the  former  evening. 

The  w^eather  had  been  unfavourable  since  the  19th ;  but  a  good  set  of 
measures  was  obtained  on  the  21st,  and  two  hasty  measures  were  caught 
between  clouds  on  the  22d.  The  eastern  elongation  of  the  new  satellite 
from  Saturn  was  found  to  be — 

Sept.  18  4'  20"  estimation  by  comparisou  of  Titan. 
"      21  3  54 
♦*      22  3  27 

The  visibility  of  the  new  satellite  is  perhaps  intrinsically  not  so  great 
as  that  of  Mimas :  still  it  is  rather  easier  to  see,  on  account  of  its  greater 
distance  from  the  planet. 

Mr.  Lassell  adopts  the  nomenclature  for  Saturn's  satellites  proposed 
by  Sir  John  Herschel,  who  names  the  seven  already  discovered,  Mimas, 
Enceladus,  Tethys,  Dione,  Rhea,  Titan,  and  lapetus, —  beginning  with 
the  innermost.  Titan  is  commonly  known  as  Fluyghens's  satellite,  and 
is  visible  in  most  telescopes.  Mimas  is  so  small  as  to  be  seen  with 
difficulty  by  Sir  John  Herschel  with  a  20-foot  reflector,  and  only  under 
favourable  circumstacnes. — Athenceum,  No.  1093. 

By  letters  from  America,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Bond,  of  Cambridge,  U.S., 
detected  the  eighth  satellite  of  Saturn  so  nearly  at  the  same  time  as  Mr. 
Lassell  that  the  steps  of  the  two  discoveries  ruu  together,  and  there  is  no 
priority  in  either  observer  as  to  the  first  suspicion  that  the  new  star  was 
a  satellite.  Mr.  Bond  had  seen  it  ou  the  16th  ;  but  regarded  it  as  acci- 
dental, and  did  not  even  then  make  that  "  careful"  measure  which  he 
thought  it  right  to  do  on  the  18th. 

On  this  satellite  our  opinion  is,  that  the  English  ought  to  say  it  was 
discovered  by  Bond  and  Lassell, — the  Americans  by  Lassell  aud  Bond. — 
Athenaum,  1094. 


MAGNIFICENT  AURORA  IN  OCTOBER. 

The  Rev.  Alfred  Weld,  B.A.,  has  communicated  to  the  Philosophical 
Mayazine,  No.  223,  the  details  of  the  most  magnificent  display  of  Aurora 


ASTRONOMICAL  AND  METEOROLOGICAL  PHENOMENA.  279 

Borealis  known  in  the  north  of  England,  for  many  years,  as  seen  at 
the  Observatory  of  Stonyhurst  College,  near  Clithero,  on  the  evening  of 
Oct,  18.  The  phenomenon  commenced  at  about  6h.  45m.  p.m.,  and 
shortly  after  7  the  spectacle  was  very  grand ;  from  N.E.  to  S.W.  the 
whole  sky,  to  the  altitude  of  30°  to  40°,  was  filled  with  sheets  and 
streamers  of  light,  all  nearly  steady  (if  we  except  a  certain  tremulous 
motion  which  seemed  to  animate  the  whole  mass),  and  chiefly  of  a 
brilliant  crimson  hue. 

Between  9h.  p.m.  and  9h.l5m.  p.m.  the  heavens  presented  the  magni- 
ficent appearance  of  a  mighty  fan  of  crimson  light  stretching  out  from 
a  Andromedse,  and  presenting  over  two-thirds  of  the  heavens,  from  S.W. 
to  E.,  one  unbroken  sheet  of  light,  varied  only  by  its  different  shades  of 
crimson  mingled  with  white,  which  served  to  distinguish  the  rays,  and 
the  vibratory  motion  which  pervaded  it,  while  waves  of  paler  light  shot 
up  from  time  to  time  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  At  this  time  the 
heavens  were  divided  by  a  distinct  and  clearly  defined  line  into  two 
portions,  the  greater  part  being  brilliant  to  the  extreme,  while  the  re- 
mainder, though  cloudless,  appeared  so  black,  that  but  for  the  stars  which 
shone  with  great  distinctness,  it  must  have  been  imagined  overcast 
with  a  very  heavy  cloud ;  the  rays  which  formed  the  boundary  inclined  over 
like  the  sides  of  a  spherical  triangle,  whilst  those  in  the  more  northern 
regions  appeared  vertical. 

At  9h.  16m.  P.M.  the  splendour  of  the  spectacle  reached  its  height. 
The  appearance  could  no  longer  be  compared  to  that  of  a  fan,  but  to  that 
of  a  dome  of  fire ;  the  unillumined  portion  of  the  horizon  became 
confined  to  about  one-fourth  part  of  the  circle,  extending  more  or 
less  between  S.S.W.  and  E.  :  y  Pegasi  became  enveloped  in  the  light 
which  shot  southwards  from  the  summit,  passing  several  degrees  below 
Saturn,  so  that  in  the  S.E.  not  more  than  a  space  of  about  30°  in  alti- 
tude remained  dark,  while  all  the  rest  of  the  heavens  seemed  on  fire. 
The  summit  of  the  dome  presented  several  remarkable  changes  of  ap- 
pearance :  at  one  time  the  rays  met  as  at  a  point,  with  great  regularity  ; 
at  another  there  were  seen  great  irregular  masses  of  light  gathered  round 
it ;  and  at  another  there  was  a  distinct  circle  round  the  centre,  which 
was  dark.  As  the  evening  advanced,  this  crown  changed  its  position 
among  the  stars  to  a  considerable  extent,  retaining,  however,  the  same 
altitude  and  azimuth  as  the  stars  moved  westward.  After  9h.  30m.  p.m. 
the  grandeur  of  the  scene  diminished,  and  at  lOh.  30m.  P.M.  the  crimson 
colour  had  disappeared ;  still  the  streamers  eoutinued  with  great  vigour 
ill  October  19,  at  Ih.  30m.,  at  which  time  the  observations  were  discon- 
tinued. On  the  19th  and  20th,  there  were  also  slight  exhibitions  of 
Aurora.  On  these  days,  the  magnets  at  Greenwich  Observatory  were 
affected.  • 

FALL  OP  A  METEORITE  IN  BOHEMIA. 

At  the  recent  Meeting  of  the  British  Association,  the  Marquis  of 
Northampton  read  a  letter  from  M.  Boguslawski,  on  the  Eall  of  a  Meteo- 
rite, in  two  pieces,  at  Brannan,  in  Bohemia,  on  the  14th  of  July,  1847. 
Another  meteorite  of  larger  size,  but  exactly  agreeing  in  appearance  and 
chemical  composition,  had  been  dug  up,  from  a  depth  of  14  feet,  at 
Sec-Loesgen.  T 


280  YEAR-BOOK  OF  TACTS. 

TRANSIT  OF  MERCURY  ACROSS  THE  SUN,  NOVEMBER  9,  1848. 

The  sky  during  the  da}  was  almost  free  from  cloud  at  all  places  in 
England,  and  was  partially  so  m  the  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey.  The 
time  of  the  jjlauet  touching  the  Sun  was  calculated  to  beat  llh.  2m.  a.m. 
and  the  time  it  did  actually  touch  the  Sun  w^as  about  llh.  5m.  a.m.,  being 
fully  three  minutes  later  than  the  predicted  time.  The  sun  was  more 
than  usually  covered  by  spots.  The  black  spot  on  the  sun  caused  by  the 
interposition  of  the  planet  was  perfectly  round,  and  densely  black,  exiiibit- 
iug  a  great  contrast  in  its  appearance  iu  those  respects  to  the  solar  spots 
themselves.  At  Bruges,  in  West  Flanders,  Dr.  Forster,  F.H.S.A.,  ob- 
served the  eclipse  of  one  of  the  solar  spots  by  the  planet,  and  by  this 
means  he  estimated  its  circumference  to  have  been  30,000  miles. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Royal  Astronomical  Society,  on  Friday,  Nov. 
10,  the  Astronomer  Royal  said  that,  at  tbe  Royal  Observatory,  Greenwich, 
eight  telescopes  were  iu  use,  the  preceding  day,  devoted  to  the  observa- 
tion of  the  Transit  of  Mercury,  some  of  which  were  used  by  throwing  the 
sun's  image  on  a  screen,  and  thus  enabling  any  number  of  observers  to 
view  the  phenomena ;  and  that  with  one  of  the  telescopes  thus  used  the 
image  of  the  planet  was  distorted  on  its  entering  on  the  sun,  but  that  it 
was  seen  perfectly  round  by  all  the  other  telescopes. — Mr.  Glaisher,  in 
the  Illustrated  London  News,  No.  344. 

Mr.  J.  F.  Miller,  in  an  account  of  the  phenomena  as  seen  at  White- 
haven, and  communicated  to  the  above  Journal,  viewed  the  transit  by 
aid  of  a  heliometer,  with  eye-pieces  with  powers  of  230  and  300  :  with 
these  powers  the  planet  presented  a  sharply  defined  jet  black  circular  disc, 
10  seconds  in  diameter,  and  apparently  about  the  size  of  a  shilling,  or 
that  of  a  "  spade-ace"  guinea.  Probably  there  never  was  a  transit  seen 
under  more  favourable  atmospheric  conditions,  since  the  planet  was  dis- 
tinctly visible  from  the  moment  of  appulse  till  within  a  minute  or  two  of 
the  sun's  disappearance  below  the  visible  horizon  of  this  station  to  the 
W.S.W.,  which  is  very  slightly  elevated  above  the  sea-level. 

This  propitious  state  of  the  elements  w^as  the  more  welcome  as  it  was 
wholly  nnlooked  for,  since  large  snow-flakes  descended  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  previous  evening.  The  temperature,  which  was  low  for  the 
season,  only  varied  3^  during  the  period  of  the  transit.  At  11  a.m.  the 
reading  of  the  thermometer  was  32°  5',  and  at  3  p.m.  it  was  34°  5' — the 
maximum  for  the  day  being  35°  5'.  The  barometer  reading  increased 
more  than  ^  inch  during  the  previous  night,  but  it  continued  nearly 
stationary  throughout  the  day  at  30  24  inches.  The  temperature  of 
the  dew  point  varied  from  26°  to  30°,  being  from  6°  5'  to  4°  5'  below 
that  of  the  air. 

Mercuiy  was  first  seen  crossing  the  solar  disc  by  Gassendi,  on  the  6th 
of  November,  1631.  Schakerlaws  made  a  voyage  in  1651  to  Surat,  pur- 
posely to  see  one  there;  and  that  of  tbe  8th  of  November,  1802,  was 
seen  by  Lalande.  A  transit  occurred  on  the  5th  of  May,  1832  ;  but 
mists  and  clouds  nearly  prevented  the  phenomenon's  being  seen  at  all. 
The  last  one  took  place  on  the  8th  of  May,  1845  ;  and  there  will  not  be 
another  until  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  November,  1861. 


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283 

FALL  OF  RAIN  in  the  Year  1848. 

(From  Mr.  Glaisher^s  Meteorological  Tables.) 

The  most  remarkable  meteorolog'ical  phenomenon  of  the  year  1848  was  the 
fall  of  Rain,  which  exceeded  the  averag-e  by  about  one-third  at  most  places, 
and  fell  on  a  greater  number  of  days  than  usual.  At  some  places  the  amounts 
were  one  fourth  larg'er  than  usual.  At  Greenwich  it  was  31-9  inches ;  in  1841, 
it  was  33-3  in. ;  in  1842,  it  was  22*6;  in  1843,  it  was  24*5  in.;  in  1844,  it  was 
25  in. ;  in  1845,  it  was  22-3  in. ;  in  1846,  it  was  25*3 ;  and  in  1847,  it  was  17*6  in. 
The  mean  of  these  values  is  24*4 ;  so  that  the  excess  of  the  fall  of  rain  this 
year  over  the  averag'e  from  the  seven  preceding  years,  is  7'5  inches. 

At  Helston,  it  fell  on  210  days,  and  the  amount  was  44-8  in. ;  at  Falmouth, 
on  208  days,  and  the  amount  was  47*4  in. ;  at  Truro,  516  fell  on  203  days  ; 
at  Torquay,  40-2  in.  fell  on  202  days;  at  Exeter,  36-2  in.  fell  on  199  days  ;  at 
Chichester,  38-2  in.  fell;  at  Beckington,  43-1  fell  on  219  days;  at  Latimer, 
38-5  in.  fell  on  210  days  ;  at  Aylesbury,  347  fell  on  178  days;  at  Cardington, 
31-3  in,  fell  on  196  days ;  at  Derby,  402  fell  on  214  days ;  at  Highfield  House, 
36-2  in.  fell  on  249  days ;  at  Liverpool,  30*8  fell  on  204  days  ;  at  Stonyhurst, 
55-9  in.  fell  on  234  days;  at  Durham,  27'7  fell  on  171  days;  at  Newcastle, 
35*7  in.  on  150  days ;  at  Whitehaven,  48  in.  on  108  davs. 

The  fall  at  Beckington,  in  1845,  was,  24*9  inches  on  134  days  ;  in  1846,  it 
was  32-3  inches;  in  1847,  it  was  28-7  inches. 

At  St.  John's  Wood,  London,  the  fall,  in  1848,  exceeded  the  average  fall 
from  10  years  by  5  inches. 

At  Aylesbury,  the  amount  exceeded  the  average  fall  from  6  years  by  9*5  in. 

At  Empingham,  the  fall  was  30*4,  exceeding  any  fall  since  1830. 

At  Derby,  tlie  fall  exceeded  the  average  from  the  4  preceding  years  by 
10  inches, [and  by  12  inches  that  of  the  average  from  20  years. 

At  Leeds,  the  fall  was  37*9  in.  it  having  fallen  on  244  days ;  in  the  year  1846, 
it  fell  on  174  days,  and  the  amount  was  28*4  inches. 

At  Hereford,  the  average  fall  is  30  inches ;  in  the  year  1848,  it  exceeded 
46  inches. 

At  different  times,  during  the  year,  there  were  frequent  and  long-continued 
falls  of  rain.    There  were  many  exhibitions  of  the  Aurora  Borealis. 


©bituarg 

or  PERSONS  EMINENT  IN  SCIENCE  OR  ART.      1848. 


Berzelius,  the  celebrated  Swedish  chemist :  as  a  skilful  manipulator,  he 

has  had  few  equals  in  the  history  of  Chemistry.    (See  Atheuauin, 

No,  1087.) 
Dr.  Wainwright,  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Medicine  in  the  Medical 

College  of  New  York. 
Mr.  David  Buchanan,  of  Glasgow,  contributor  of  geographical  articles 

to  the  Encyclopcedia  Brilaunica. 
SiE  James  Annesley,  the  eminent  surgeon. 
Adrian  Balbi,  the  geographer. 
Sir   Samuel  Rush  Meyrick,  well  know^n  by  his  work  on  Ancient 

Armour. 
Dr.  Russell,  author  of  several  books  of  Travels. 


OBITUARY.  283 

Sir  John  Barrow,  Bart.,  traveller  in  Southern  Africa,  China,  &c.,  and 
a  popular  writer. 

Sir  Cornwallis  Harris,  traveller  in  Southern  Africa,  Ethiopia,  &c. 

John  Le  Capelain,  of  Jersey,  a  clever  painter  in  water-colours. 

The  VicoMTE  DE  Chateaubriand. 

Mr.  Samuel  Cooper,  the  eminent  surgeon. 

Francois  Cramer,  musician. 

M.  Dartois,  "  the  patriarch  of  the  art  of  chasing." 

Dieffenbach,  the  great  surgeon. 

Thomas  Gray,   "  the  Railway  Pioneer,"  contemporary  with  the  late 

George  Stephenson. 
Charles  Heath,  line  engraver. 

HoMONAiRE  DE  Hell,  while  on  a  scientific  mission  from  the  French 
government  to  Persia. 

Caroline  Lucretia  Herschel,  the  celebrated  astronomer. 

John  Jackson,  the  well-known  engraver  on  wood. 

Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lander,  known  by  his  account  of  "  The  Morayshire 
Floods." 

Mrs.  LowRY,  the  mineralogist. 

Henry  Halle  Seward,  architect. 

Charles  Dyer,  architect  (Bristol). 

William  Nixon,  architect. 

G.  F.  Richardson,  writer  on  Geology. 

G.  F.  RuxTON,  an  acute  writer  on  Geography  and  Ethnology. 

Carl  Johan  Schonherr,  Swedish  entomologist. 

Schwanthaler,  the  celebrated  Bavarian  sculptor. 

George  Stephenson  : — 

"  The  author  of  the  Railway  System,  the  first  great  practical  im- 
prover of  the  locomotive  steam-engine,  the  inventor  (coteinpora- 
neously  with  Davy)  of  the  safety-lamp,  and  a  man  who  displayed 
a  vigorous  and  original  genius  in  everything  which  he  undertook." 

Mhenaum,  No.  1056. 

Dr.  William  Twining,  a  friend  of  "  cretin  civilization." 

James  Watt,  of  the  firm  of  Boulton  and  Watt. 

Thomas  Welsh,  musical  professor. 

Andrew  Wilson,  landscape  painter. 

M.  Vatout,  member  of  the  French  Academy. 

Seraphim  Vlieger,  celebrated  Flemish  artist. 

J.  W.  Wright,  water-colour  painter. 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Agate,  Artificial  Colours  in,  251. 

Air,  Impure,  Analysis  of,  173. 

Air,  Resistance  of,  to  Pendulums, 
117. 

Air  and  Water  of  Towns,  174. 

Alabaster  Sculpture,  to  bring  out,  102. 

Alkali  in  Coal,  237. 

Alpine  Plants,  212. 

American  Patent  Case,  69. 

Anastatic  Printing,  100. 

Aneroid  Barometer,  the,  115. 

Animal  Species,  Geographical  Distri- 
bution of,  188. 

Animal  Torpidity,  on,  192. 

Animals,  Vertebrate,  Molluscous,  &c. 
Number  of,  188. 

Annular  Steam-engines,  36. 

Apallachian  Strata,  Foldings  in,  223. 

Architects'  and  Builders'  Patent 
Square,  64. 

Argonaut,  New  Species  of,  219. 

Arsenic  in  Sulphuric  Acid,  178. 

Astronomers,  Honours  to,  272. 

Atmosphere,  Constitution  of  the,  172. 

Atmospheric  Arch  at  Brazil,  271. 

Atmospheric  Disturbances,  116. 

Atmospheric  Pile-driving  Machine, 
12. 

Atmospheric  Waves,  Birt's  Report 
on, 111. 

Australia,  Geology  of,  253. 

Aurora,  Magniticent,  276,  278. 

Australia,  Mines  of,  241. 

Axle-grease  for  Railway  Carriages,  88. 

Bakerian  Lecture,  the,  166. 

Ball's  New  Treatise  on  Tea,  215. 

Barometer,  the  New  French,  115. 

Battery,  the  Maynooth,  155. 

Bell-hanging,  Improvements  in,  60. 

Berkeley's  Theory  of  Vision,  127. 

Birds,  large  and  extinct,  of  New  Zea- 
land, 196. 

Blood  and  Nerves,  examined  with  the 
Microscope,  190. 

Blood,  Red  Corpuscles  of  the,  178. 

Boiler  Explosions,  Hints  on,  46. 

Botany,  Curious  Facts  in,  207. 

Boulders,  Transport  of,  222. 

Bow-string  Girders,  Wrought-iron, 
for  Bridges,  25. 


Brass  Letters  on  Glass,  97. 
Brewster,  Sir  David,  on  Vision,  127. 
Brickmaking,  New  Machinery  for,  62. 
Bridge,  Foot  Suspension,  at  Sliadweil, 

110. 
Bridge,  Malleable  Iron  Lever,  13. 
Bridge,  Natural,  in  Illinois,  226. 
Bridge,  Suspension,  Fall  of,  14. 
Bridge,  Suspension,  at  Niagara  Falls, 

14. 
"  Britannia"  Tubular  Bridsre,  5. 
British  Isles,  New  Hydrographic  Map 

of,  229. 
Bronzing  Metals,  New  Method  of,  74. 
Brown,  the  colour,  146. 
Bnrra-Burra  Copper  Mines,  241. 
Caen,  Stone  Quarries  of,  64. 
California,  Gold  in,  259. 
Capillary  Attraction,  Experiment  on, 

166. 
Carbon,  Properties  of,  172. 
Carbonate  of  Manganese  in  Ireland, 

169. 
Carbonic  Acid   Gas    on    Plants    in 

Glazed  Cases,  206. 
Carpet  Manufacture  in  America,  101. 
Catamaran,  the,  39. 
Cement,  New  American,  68. 
Cephalopoda  in  the  Oxford  Clay,  249. 
Cesspools  of  the  Metropolis,  79.    . 
Chain  Cables,  Machine  for  Testing, 

57. 
Chat  Moss,  Drainage  of,  224. 
Chemistry  applied  to  Geological  Re- 
search, 255. 
Chemistry  ofthe  Sea,  258. 
Cherry-laurel,    and    Bitter    Almond 

Waters,  on,  177. 
Chimpanzees,  Skulls  of,  193. 
Chinese  Junk  at  Blackwall,  10. 
Chloride  of  Gold,  as  Test  of  Organic 

Matter  in  Water,  175. 
Chloroform,  Eflfect   of,  on  Sensitive 

Plants,  182. 
Chiorofoi-m,  Prof.  Brande  on,  180. 
Chloroform,  Rival  to,  181. 
Chronometers,  Improvement  of,  15. 
Circular  Sawing,  on,  56. 
Clocks  and  Watches,  Curious,  61. 
Coal  in  America,  237. 


INDEX. 


28f 


Coal,  Australian,  238. 

Coal  in  Labuan,  238. 

Coal  in  Vancouver's  Island,  239. 

Coal  Field,  the  South  Wales,  239. 

Coal-gas  Blow-pipe,  Universal,  82. 

Coke  is  Crystletular  Diamond,  248. 

Combustion,  Hunt's    Improvements 

in,  81. 
Combustion  of  Water  with  Fuel,  82. 
Compresses  in  Iron  Steamers,  120. 
Compressed  Air  Locomotive  on  Com- 
mon Roads,  31. 
Conservatory,   the,   at   Chatsworth, 

106. 
Cormorant,  Fishing  with,  197. 
Cotton,  American,  in  India,  210. 
Creatine,  Preparation  of,  187. 
Crystallization  in  the  Dry  Way,  136. 
Crystals,  Pseudomorphous,  249. 
Currents,  Transporting;  Power  of,  221. 
Cutting-  Property  of  Coke,  98. 
Cylinder  Cutting,  remarkable,  77. 
Cypress  Basins  of  Louisiana  and  the 

Mississippi,  225. 
Dead  Sea,  Phenomena  of  the,  229. 
Dee  Viaduct,  the  great,  27. 
Deluge,  the,  Dr.  Chalmers  on,  267. 
Diamond,  the  Koh-i-noor,  244. 
Diamond,  Oxidation  of  the,  168. 
Diamontoide  found  in  Russia,  244. 
Diluvial  Scratches  near  Edinburgh, 

221. 
Dimagnetism,  Prof.  Plucker  on,  148. 
Drainage  of  Land  by  Steam  Power, 

50. 
Draining,  Martin's  Improved,  54. 
Dyeing,  on,  90. 
Ebony  Plant,  the,  215. 
Ebullition,  Remarkable  Experiments 

in,  167. 
Echinus   and  Asterias,  Agassiz  on, 

197. 
Eclipse,  Lunar,  269. 
Electric  and  Chemical  Phenomena, 

Relation  of,  149. 
Electric   Copying  Telegraph,  Bake- 

well's,  162. 
Electric  Fluid,  Gravitation  of,  148. 
Electric  Fluid,  Motion  of,  along  Con- 
ductors, 148. 
Electric  Light,  Staite's  Patent,  163. 
Electric    Telegraphs,     Barlow     and 

Foster's  Patent,  159. 
Electric  Telegraph,  Central  Office  in 
London,  160.  ,     .     , 

Electric  Telegraph  in  Meteorological 

Research,  134. 
Electric  Telegraph,  Subaqueous,  159. 
Electricity   developed  by    Chemical 

Action,  165. 
Electricity,  Firing  Shells  by,  162. 
Electricity  of  Mineral  Lodes,  152. 
Electric  Bronzing  Metals,  157. 


Electro-magnetic  Induction,  165. 
Electro-magnetic  Motive  Power,  152. 
Electro-magnetic  Railway  Signals,  28. 
Electrotype  Process,  Enormous,  157. 

Electrotyping  Daguerreotype,  Advan- 
tage of,  157. 

Elephant  shot  at  Liverpool,  193. 

Enamel,  Ancient  and  Modern,  94. 

Faraday  on  Artificial  Stones,  66. 

Faraday  on  Electrical  Insulation  by 
Gutta  Percha,  153. 

File-making  by  Machinery,  58. 

Fire-escapes  in  the  Country,  101. 

Fires,  to  Extinguish,  80. 

Fire-proof  Construction,  18. 

Floras,  Fossil  and  Living,  Analogy  of, 
232. 

Forests  of  the  Indian  Archipelago, 
208. 

Fossil  Bones  of  Large  Birds  of  New 
Zealand,  234. 

Fossil  Fish  of  the  Carboniferous  Pe- 
riod, 249. 

Fossil  Foot-prints  in  America,  238. 

Fossil  Remains  in  South  Wales,  232. 

Fossil  Sepia,  234. 

Fossil  Tree,  Large,  235. 

Fossils  of  Anthracite,  237. 

Fowls,  Food  of,  197. 

Franklin,  Dufay,  and  Ampere,  Objec- 
tion to  their  Theories,  150. 

Franklin's  Electrifying  Machine,  151. 

Fremy,  M.,  on  the  Ripening  of  Fruits, 
212. 

Friction  Hammer,  Jones's,  48. 

Frigate-bird,  Specimen  of,  195. 

Frigorific  Mixture,  177. 

Fruits,  on  the  Ripening  of,  212. 

Galvanized  Iron,  72. 

Galvanic  Currents  in  the  Blood,  123. 

Gas,  Economy  in,  84. 

Gas  Explosion,  Cause  of,  171. 

Gas,  New  Hydro-carbon,  171. 

Gas,  New  Patent,  84. 

Gas  Statistics,  85. 

Gases  from  Blast  Furnaces,  Heating 
by,  83. 

Gases,  Passage  of,  through  one  ano- 
ther, 149. 

Gases,  Spontaneous,  83. 

Gas-lighting,  Dr.  Fyfe  on,  8. 

Gas-light  Monitor,  85. 

Gas-meter,  Enormous,  85. 

Gelatinous  Compounds,Stevens's,103. 

Geological  Action  of  the  Tides,  256. 

Geology  of  Oporto,  263. 

Geology  of  South  Wales,  227. 

Germination  of  Lower  Piants,  214. 

Glacial  Theory    not   abandoned   by 
Agassiz,  220. 

Glaciers,  Dirtbands  on,  265. 

Glaciers  of  the  Himalaya,  220. 

Glaciers  in  North  Wales,  220. 


286 


Glaciers,  the  SwioS,  266. 

Glass  Manufacture,  Curio>ities  of,  95. 

Glass  Welfrhts,  Venetian,  96. 

Gold  in  Brazil,  243. 

Gold  in  California,  259. 

Gold  in  Canada,  243. 

G"ld  in  England,  241. 

Gold  Mines  in  Wicklow,  260. 

Gold,  new  mode  of  Extracting,  73. 

Gold,  where  found,  262. 

Grotto  at  Triebich,  near  Trieste,  251. 

Gunpowder,  Invention  of,  62,  86. 

Gunpowder  Waggons,  59. 

Gutta  Percha,  to  coat  Wire  with,  155. 

Gutta  Percha,  Composition  of,  87, 

Gutta  Percha  for  Electrical  Insula- 
tion, 153. 

Gutta  Percha  Speaking  Tubes,  87. 

Gutta  Percha  Tree.  209. 

Gypsum,  how  to  Harden,  68. 

Harbour  of  Refuge,  45. 

Harradine's  Patent  Portable  Bureau, 
18. 

Herschel,  Sir  John,  on  Magnetism 
and  Polarized  Light,  121. 

Heligoland,  present  and  former  Ex- 
tent of,  230. 

Horn,  Substitute  for,  101. 

Horology,  lecture  on,  60. 

House  Moved  at  Ipswich,  54. 

House-painting,  on,  93. 

Hydraulic  Engines,  Armstrong's,  49. 

Hydraulic  Pressure  Engines,  on,  48. 

Hydrogen,  passage  of,  through  Solid 

Bodies,  183. 
Hydrographic  Map,  New,  of  the  Bri- 
tish Isles,  228. 
Hydrometer,  Marine,  Use  of,  114. 
Hyponitrite  of  Silver,  formation  of, 

179. 
Iceland,  Pseudo-volcanic  Phenomena 

of,  247. 
Ideal  Colours,  Hunderptfund,  on,  145. 
Iguanodon,  Dr.  Mantell,  on,  232. 
India-rubber-Shoes,  manufacture  of, 

210. 
Insulating  Pipes,  Whishaw's,  77. 
Instinct  of  Vegetables,  207. 
Interference  of  Light,  New  cause  of, 

124. 
Iron  (3re  disovered  in  Borneo,  242. 
Iron,  Steel,  and  Sheet  Iron,  to  Weld, 

73. 
Jalap-plant,  the,  211. 
Junk  from  China  described,  10. 
Kangaroo,  the  'J'ree,  194. 
Kiang,  or  Wild  Horse,  the,  195. 
*'  Knowledge  is  Power,"  162. 
Land,  Drainage  of,  by  Steam  Power, 

50. 
Land-shells  of  the  Pacific,  230. 
Lapis-iazuii  and  Mica,  on,  245. 


Leather,  Ornamental,  98. 
Light,  Decomposition  of,  by  the  Eye. 
140.  '  ' 

Light,  Phosphorescent,  183. 
Light  and  Heat,  Identity  of,  ii:,. 
Light  preventing  Chemical  Action, 

183. 
Light   producing   Chemical   Action, 

129. 
Light  Houses,  Improvements  in,  10. 
Lightning,  Cause  of,  131. 
Lincoln  and  Cambridge,  Drainage  of 
51.  ' 

Lithography,  Progress  of,  99. 
Llama  and  Alpaca,  Acclimatization  of 

194. 
Lochaber,  Parallel  Roads  of,  252. 
Locks,  Rotary,  De  la  Fons's  Patent. 

59. 
Locomotive  Engines,  Balancing  the 

Wheels  of,  30. 
London,  New  Survey  of,  16. 
Lucernaria,  Ocelli  of,  197. 
Lunar  Orbit,  270. 
Lunar  Ranibow,  270. 
Madders,    Colouring     Matters    of, 

91,  179. 
Magneiic  Action,  New,  119. 
Magnetic  Experiments  in  Iron  Steam- 
vessels,  "  Bloodhound"  and  "  Plu- 
to," 120. 
Magnetism  and  Chemical  Action,  Mr. 

Hunt  on,  121. 
Magnetism,  Influence  of,  on  Polarised 

Light,  121. 
Marble  Veneering  on  Slaty  Paint,  103. 
Maynooth  Battery,  the,  156. 
Alechanism,  New  Element  of,  54. 
Melon  Wine,  104. 
Mercury,  transit  of,  across  the  Sun, 

280. 
Metals  in  the  Human  Blood,  1.35. 
Metals,  Li()uid,  for  Cleaning,  75. 
xMetalliferous  Deposits.  Discovery  of, 

240. 
Metallurgic  Processes,  Chemistry  of, 

170. 
Meteors,  luminous,  273. 
Meteoric  Stones,  Origin  of,  272. 
Meteorological  Summary  of  1848, 281. 
Meteorological   Observation,  correc- 
tion of,  268. 
Mineral,  New,  useful  in  the  Arts,  77. 
Mines  in  Australia,  241. 
Model  of  the  Tabernacle,  107. 
MoUusca  boring  into  Rocks,  227. 
Money  by  Railway,  Transmission  of, 

30. 
Mosaic  Art,  present  state  of,  21. 
Motion,  Rapid,  of  the  Observer  on 

Sound,  136. 
Mud-Slide  in  Malta,  224. 


INDEX. 


287 


Naphtha  Sprina:  near  Alfreton,  147. 
Naplitha,  Varieties  of,  86. 
Needlework,  lixtraordinary,  103. 
Nerves  as  a  Homolog-ical  Character, 

191. 
New  Zealand,  Gigantic  Birds  of,  196, 

234. 
Niagara  Suspension  Bridge,  14. 
Nile,  Rise  of  the,  in  1848,  230. 
Nile,  White,  Course  of,  254. 
Obituary  of  Eminent  Persons  in  1848, 

282. 
Oil-Painting,  New  System  of,  144. 
Oporto,  Geology  of,  263. 
Ornithorhynchus,  Prof.  Owen  on,  195. 
Osteological  Error  corrected,  190. 
Owen,  Prof,  on  the  Great  Sea-Serpent, 

200  to  203. 
Oxide  of  ZinCjRochaz's  Improvements 

in.  27. 
Ozone  in  the  Atmosphere,  173. 
Paint,  New  White,  92. 
Parallel  Roads  of  Lochaber,  252. 
Payne's  Fire-proofing  for  Wood,  68. 
Pen,  American  Gold,  105. 
Per! bach's  Process  for  Uniting  Iron, 

75. 
Phosphate  of  Lime  Beds,  position  of, 

226. 
Phosphate  of  Lime  in    the   Isle  of 

Wight,  227. 
Phosphate  of  Lime  in  Surrey,  226. 
Phosphorescent  Light,  Fisher  on,  183. 
Photographic    Image   of    the   Solar 

Spectrum,  184. 
Photosraphic  Phenomena,  185. 
Photographometer,  the,  185. 
Pile-driving  Engine,  Atmospheric,  12. 
Pilot  House,  New,  at  Dover,  107- 
Meteorite  in  Bohemia,  273. 
Plants,  Germination  of,  214. 
Plants  of  the  Insect  Limestone  of  the 

Lower  Lias,  263. 
Planets,  Missing,  271. 
Plesiosaurus,  Large,  233. 
Polar  Clock,  or  Dial,  Wheatstone's, 

124. 
Printing  Machine,  New  American,  55. 
Printing    Machine,    New,  for   "the 

Times,"  6. 
Quarrying  Machine,  70. 
Quartz,  Artificial,  170. 
Railway  Bridges,  Great  Tubular,  5. 
Railway,  Low  Pressure  Atmospheric, 

108. 
Railway  Speed,  24. 
Railway  Viaduct,  Great,  27. 
Rain,  depth  of,  at  different  altitudes, 

277. 
Rain,  depth  of,  in  1848,  282. 
Raaor  Guard,  "  the  I  lantagenet,"19. 
Reflecting  Circle,  the,  135. 


Reindeer,  Fossil,  in  Ireland,  250. 
Retina,  Luminous  Spectra  on  the,  191. 
Retina,  Visual  Impression  upon,  141. 
Rhone  Basin,  Rocks  in,  222. 
Ripening  of  Fruits,  212. 
Rivers,  Fall  and  Velocity  of,  50. 
Rocks,  Decomposition  of,  225. 
Rose-bit,  Expanding,  60. 
Rosse   Telescope,  present  condition 

of,  142. 
Satellite,  Eighth,  of  Saturn,  277. 
Sauroidal  Fishes,  Collection  of,  233. 
Screw-cutting  Machine,  New,  56. 
Screw  Piles,  Mitchell's,  109. 
Screw  Propellers,  Mr.  Cowper  on,  44. 
Sculpturing  by  Machinery,  69. 
Sea,  Chemistry  of  the,  258. 
Sea-Serpent,  the  Great,  198. 
Sea-Serpent,  Capt.  M'Quhse  on,  198, 

203. 
Sea-Serpent,  Prof.  Owen  on,  199. 
Sea-Serpent,  Lieut.  Edgar  Drummond 

on,  204. 
Sea-Serpent  an  Enaliosaurian  ?  205. 
Sea-water,  New  Investigation  of,  176. 
Seeds,  Vitality  of,  206. 
Sewing  Machine,  American,  70. 
Sewers  of  the  City  of  London,  Report 

on,  78. 
Ships'  Bottoms,  Coating  of,  72. 
Ship-building  on  the  Wave  principle, 

39. 
Shooting  Stars,  Sir  J.  W.  Lubbock 

on,  117. 
Shoting  Stars,  274. 
Shuttle,  Improved  Power- loom,  71. 
Silitication  of  Plants    and  Animals, 

231. 
Silver,  Extraction  of,  169. 
Silver  Lead,  Improved  Refining  of, 

72. 
Silver,  Norwegian,  243. 
Silvering  Glass,  New  Method  of,  98. 
"  Singing  Shells"  in  Ceylon,  198- 
Sound  and  Electricity,  Transmission 

of,  138. 
Solar  Spot,  remarkable,  268. 
Sourness,  to  Correct,  105. 
"  Spheroidal"  Steam,  on,  166. 
Spinning  Material,  New,  71. 
Splitting  Paper,  105. 
Spontaneous  Combustion,  Fires  by 

81. 
Square,  the  Patent,  64. 
Steam  Basin,  New,  at  Portsmouth, 

38. 
Steam-boilers,  Incrustation  in,  34. 
Steam-engine,    Alliance    Quadruple, 

34. 

Steam-engine,  Forgotten  one,  33. 
Steam-engine,  Rotary,  34. 
Steaax-engines,  Naval,  33. 


288 


INDEX. 


Steam-frigate,  Russian, "  Vladimir," 

45. 
Steam  Hammer,  Comlie's  Patent,  47. 
Steam    Navigation     introduced    in 

Austria,  37. 
Steam  Navigation  in  the  Indian  Seas, 

36. 
Steam  Plough,  Osborne's,  23. 
Steam-ship  Building,  Improvements 

in,  40. 
Steam-ship,  "  Dispatch,"  36. 
Steamers,  American,  38. 
Stone,  Buckwell's  Artificial,  66. 
Stone  Quarries  of  Caen,  64. 
Stone,  Ransorae's  Artificial,  66. 
Submarine  Foundations,  Mitchell's, 

109. 
Subterranean  Fire  near  RotherhBm, 

246. 
Sulphuric  Acid  added  to  Wines,  176. 
Suspension  Bridge  at  Niagara,  14. 
Tanning  Process,  Lynder's  Patent,20. 
Tea,  Chemical  Analysis  of,  170. 
Tea,  Cultivation  of,  in  China,  215. 
Tea-planting  in  India,  217. 
Telegraphic     Communication,     Mr. 

v\  hishaw  on,  62. 
Temperature,  Influence  of,  189. 
Thermometer,  New  Self-registering, 

133. 
Tide,  Remarkable,  114. 
Tides  of  the  Irish  and  EngUsh  Chan- 
nels, 138. 
Tides,  Geological  Action  of,  256. 
Time-ball,  Regulated,  32. 
Time-Signals   for   Railway  Stations, 

28. 
"  Times"  New  Printing  Machine,  6. 
Tin  in  the  Malay  Peninsula,  240. 
Torpidity  of  Animals,  192. 


Towns,  Air  and  Water  of,  174. 
Trigonometrical  New  Survey  of  Ix)n- 

don,  16. 
Tubing,  Improvements  in,  18. 
Vapour  Engine,  32. 
Vegetable    Kingdom  Changes,    and 

Geolological  Epochs,  231. 
Velocentimeter,  the,  24. 
Ventilation  in  Collieries,  80. 
Ventilometer,the,  17, 
Vesuvius,  Eruption  of,  246. 
Vinegars,  and  their  Analyses,  89. 
Vision,  singular  Irregularity  of,  140. 
Vision  of  Distances,  142. 
Volcano,  a  new  one,  245. 
Volcanoes,  Benefit  of,  122. 
Volcanoes,  Chemical  Theory  of,  265. 
Volcanoes  of  the  Indian  Archipelago, 

264. 
W^atchman's  Clock,  19. 
Waves,  Velocity  and  Height  of,  112. 
W^ax,  Chemical  Nature  of,  179. 
Wedgewood's  Desk  Clip,  106. 
Wheatstone,  Prof,  his  Polar  Clock, 

126. 
White  Nile,  Courses  of  the,  254. 
Whitening  Brussels  Lace,  180. 
Wicklow,  Geologv  of,  261. 
Wicklow,  Gold  Mines  in,  260. 
Willow  Wren,  the,  195. 
Wine  Press,  New,  70. 
Wire,  to  coat  with  Gutta  Perclia,  155. 
Wood,  Drying  of,  by  Steam,  69. 
Wood,  French  Method  of  Preserving, 

69. 
Wood,  to  preserve  from  Fire,  68. 
Zinc  Works  of  StoUberg,  78. 
Zoological    Notation    proposed    by 

Prof.  Owen,  218. 


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