The analogy of the golden color with the shade of the flower supported this view; also the diminution of luminosity with increasing darkness, the reverse of which would occur if phosphorescence were the source. this paper, adopted its principles as his mode of arrangement. Buildings had now been erected on this principle, which contained from fifteen hundred to three thousand people, whom they perfectly accommodated, without difficulty, and Dr. Lankester quoted Linnæus as an authority with perfect comfort both to speaker and hearer. for a similar appearance: he was the first to de- He had little doubt, from experiments he had scribe it. Many others had mentioned it since, recently made, that as many as ten thousand but without any attempt to account for it. Dr. people might be so arranged as to hear a good Allman's was probably the best explanation. speaker with ease and comfort. The principle It was a singular fact, however, that it had of Mr. S. Russell's construction is, to place the never been seen in any but bright golden-color-speaker in the focus of a curve which he calls ed flowers; and hence there was a possibility the curve of equal hearing, or the isacoustic of the color having much to do with the ap- curve, and to place the seats of all the auditors pearance. Mr. Babbington mentioned a moss in such a manner that their heads shall all be in Cornwall which in caves threw out a phos- arranged in this curve. Such is the vertical phoric light. section of the building. The horizontal section Dr. Allman read a paper on the phospho- was either circular or polygonal, having the rescence of some animals of the annelidae family. speaker at the centre. This form had been He stated that in a bog lately, on turning up some found perfectly successful in affording the highpeat one night, he noticed a vivid green light, est degree of comfort both to the hearer and which on examination proved to proceed from speaker, and therefore he submitted it with consome worms. They were all luminous through-fidence to the section as a practical and estabout, and on irritating them, by holding them over alcohol, the light was greatly increased. lished principle more than as a mere theoretical speculation. The writer next proceeded to investigate the Mechanical Science.-Mr. S. Russell commu- nature and causes of such evils as are found in nicated to the section a paper on the application buildings of the usual forms. One class of these of our knowledge of the laws of sound to the evils arose from the known laws of reflexion of construction of buildings. It is well known, as sound; a second class from the spontaneous oshe stated, that the adaptation of buildings to the cillations of the column of air in the room. From purposes of seeing and hearing, to the accom- this phenomenon he was enabled to explain the modation of speaker and hearer, was one of the fact, that, in the generality of buildings, there most important tasks of the architect, and also existed a certain key-note or pitch in which the one in which he was least successful. The blame voice of the speaker is best heard. He showed of this subject was by no means to be laid on the how it was possible to predict what the key-note architect exclusively, as had been too often done, of a building would be, and gave rules by which but was at least equally to be shared by the a speaker might ascertain that pitch. A third man of science, whose duty especially it was to class of evils arose from the phenomena of interdetermine the laws of sound, and to develop their ference of sound; and the author pointed out application in such a manner that the architect the forms which were most liable to this evil. In should have nothing more to do than simply to one case he stated that a building constructed at consult a scientific treatise, in order to find all the expense of the government expressly for the the principles and maxims which should direct purpose of accommodating a large assembly, him in this important branch of acoustics. This, had been found so utterly unsuitable that it had however, had not hitherto been sufficiently ac- been abandoned, and a new one, at a great excomplished. The object of this paper was two-pense erected in its stead. The evils in this case fold. First of all, to apply our knowledge of the known laws of sound to the phenomena of speak- In Part 2 the author explained certain new ing and hearing, in a given building; and, sec- phenomena in sound which he had recently disondly, to develop certain laws of sound recently covered. He had been engaged, in another secdiscovered and not generally known, and to show tion of this Association, in the examination of their application to the same practical purposes. water-waves: and, from the phenomena discovPart 1 of the paper consisted of the application ered in these waves, he had been led to take a of the known laws of sound to the construction new view of the phenomena of the sound-wave. of buildings. The author prefaced this part of He had found in the water-waves of the first the paper by describing a form of building which order certain phenomena, which he denominated had been found to be perfectly adapted to the polarity, lateral accumulation, and non-reflexion; purpose of seeing and hearing with distinctness and on examining the phenomena of sound, he and comfort, and which appear to combine, in a found there analogous phenomena. By this great degree, the requisites of such a building means he was enabled to explain many phenomThis arrangement of building had been describ-ena of sound hitherto anomalous, and to discoved by him in a paper communicated to the Roy-er the cause of certain evils in buildings which al Society of Arts of Scotland some years ago, but had not been actually constructed on a large scale until lately, when a young and clever architect, Mr. Cousins of Edinburgh, having been employed to construct some large buildings, felt the necessity of studying the question of sound as an element of construction, and, lighting on | were those of the second and third class. had not been formerly accounted for. The phe- MISCELLANY. the working of Mr. Vincent's apparatus at Bourbon, we are prepared to supply apparatus at least equally SUGAR. We gladly avail ourselves of the oppor-effective. tunity of giving publicity to the following facts, which recent experiences have brought to light and established, in the manufacture of sugar, and published by Messrs. H. O. & A. Robinson, of Old Jewry. 1. The cane contains 18 parts in 100 of its weight of pure saccharine substance, the whole of which is crystallizable molasses being the product of a vicious process of manufacture. 2. Instead of the actual produce in merchantable sugar approximating to 18 parts of 100 of the weight of the canes of the sugar colonies, only 5 parts in 100 finds its way to the European market. 3. The waste (with the exception of the comparatively trifling value of the molasses) is, therefore, in the enormous proportion of 13-18ths, or 72 per cent. of the saccharine substance of the cane. 4. This almost incredible waste is solely caused by the defectiveness of the machinery and apparatus employed in the colonies, and by the want of skill in the manufacture. It may be divided thus: 6-18ths, or 33 per cent., is left unexpressed from the canes by the mill, in the shape of juice. 7-18ths, or 39 per cent., represents the proportion rendered uncrystallizable by the vicious treatment of the juice expressed, and that destroyed and dissipated by the action of fire with the common pans.* 5. The beet-root contains 9 parts in 100 of its weight of saccharine substance. 6. At the commencement of the manufacture a few years ago on the continent, 2 parts in 100 only was the produce obtained, equivalent to a waste of 75 to 80 per cent. 7. At the present time, by the aids of science and improved apparatus, the produce is 5 parts in 100 of its weight in merchantable sugar, i. e., the waste has been reduced to 37 per cent. These facts lead to the conclusion that a great increase may be obtained in the produce of the cane by similar aids. In that part of the process which consists in ex pressing or extracting the juice from the cane, we have enjoyed the most favorable opportunities of perfecting the machinery, and we have recently invented a new description of sugar-cane mill and steam-engine, capable of diminishing, to the extent of 30 per cent., the waste of juice which takes place in the common vertical cattle-mill, and of 20 per cent. that which occurs with the common horizontal-mill and steam-engine. The result that we can accomplish by the adop tion of both these improvements, may be briefly stated at, as a minimum, the delivery to consumption in Europe of double the present average produce from the canes, with an important amelioration in quality.-Colonial Magazine. NEWSPAPER REPORTING AS A POLITICAL ENGINE.-When Jefferson expressed the opinion that a free press is more essential to a country than a government, he only put two ideas in logical sequence-it is necessary to know what a country is and does, before you can tell how to govern it; and if the country itself knows what it is and does, public opinion must exercise a more effectual rule than a government acting in ignorance. The value of freedom in a press by no means consists alone in freedom of commentary. Commentary is in great part the concentrated reflex of public opinion; but public opinion cannot exist without information on facts as they arise: opinion is complete, mature, and potent, in proportion as that information is copious, correct, and freely circulated. The freest and most vigorous commentary, unsupported by a full statement of the facts on which it rests, would have little more influence than mere book-learning and abstract reasoning. Moreover, it is only with absolute freedom that the practice of giving unreserved information can obtain; for if the informant has to think at every sentence whether a particular statement will pass the censorship or whatever authority performs the function of one, sheer distaste at so irksome a task will at once teach him to re An experience of nine years of one of our firm as an engineer in the cane countries, added to our practice here as constructors of colonial sugar ma-ject all doubtful matters, and nothing but what is chinery and apparatus since the year 1838, enables us to state that such a conclusion is no longer problematical, and that it is perfectly practicable to obtain an increase of produce from the cane fully equal to that which is above shown to have taken place with the beet-root. agreeable to the authorities will appear. Those who defy that rule will be parties hostile to established authority, and their information will have the discredit that attaches to extreme and irregular views. On the other hand, perfect freedom of statement tends very materially to encourage mod In that part of the process which consists of con-eration, by neutralizing extreme opinions: the amverting the cane-juice into sugar, after its expression by the mill, the French, owing to the means of experimenting afforded their men of science by the beet-root juice, have taken the initiative in improvement. The late Mr. Vincent was the first to establish, at the Island of Bourbon, an improved apparatus for operating upon the cane-juice, by means of which upwards of 35 per cent. more sugar is obtained from the juice. Since then, Mr. Villa Urutia has had put on his estate at Cuba, a similar apparatus, with a favorable result, according to the Havanna mercantile circulars, of 30 to 35 per cent and an improved quality. Having had the advantage of perfecting our knowledge of this part of the manufacture by actual and careful observation of ple reports of the London papers go along with the more decidedly colored commentaries of the original writing; every person of note in the country, of whatever party, has his opinions on the whole fully and faithfully developed in each of the prin cipal papers; so that every newspaper reader throughout the country is supplied with facts and reflections, and ample materials for opinions of his own, independently of any one section of partypoliticians. In this way, the newspaper has come to perform a very important function, impossible to be rightly performed without thorough freedom of statement: it is the "channel of information" between all classes in the country-it tells the country what the Legislature and Government are doing; it tells the Government. and Legislature what the country is about; it lets the rich and the poor know what is going forward beyond their own sphere. A newspaper is a political map of the country, as necessary to the statesman as a geographical map to the general. Practically, the English press is the freest in the sometimes they are brought forward—as at the world; and one important result is seen in the ex- trials in the manufacturing districts-to prove facts traordinary activity of its reporting department. which they have witnessed in their professional Each of the chief papers has "our own correspond- capacity. Were that practice to be frequent, they ent at every commanding point in the world, and would be avoided, or excluded from many a politi many of those correspondents are actual reporters. cal meeting, the dangers of which are neutralized As soon as any remarkable series of events sets in, by publicity. There should be no set rule on the in any quarter of the globe, "our own correspond-subject expressly exempting them from summons as ent" or "our own reporter" travels thither. The witnesses; for that would at once invest them with war in Syria had its professional reporters; "gen- inconvenient immunities and responsibilities: but tlemen connected with the press" have established the conductors of the crown prosecutions would do a permanent footing in India; and if that class had well to bear in mind, that whenever a newspapernot reached China during the late war, arrange- reporter is called as a witness, injury is done to that ments had evidently been made which are tanta- organ of general publicity which is one efficient mount to having "our own reporter" on the scene safeguard of peace and good government.-Spectator. of every enterprise. No sooner is Spain once more under the dominion of revolution, than the spirit of the English press roves the land in every direction, and the cockney and ale-house politician have a more comprehensive and faithful view of the seat of civil war than the people at Madrid or Barcelona. THE GRAND DUKE MICHAEL OF RUSSIA.-His Imperial Highness has joined the Emperor of Russia at the Prussian capital, having, it is said, relinquished for the present his intention of visiting England. Political motives are assigned for this A troublesome enigma arises in our own country, sudden resolve, as it is well known that his Imin South Wales; "our own reporter" is sent to solve it-and he does so. The able and intelligent perial Highness, who has been travelling in Gerreporter of the Times is a good type of his class. many under the name of Count Paulowski, intended He is ubiquitous in his activity; his courage-and has been on a visit to the Ducal Court, to Antwerp, to have proceeded direct from Darmstadt, where he the office of a reporter sometimes needs no small and there to have embarked for Dover, where his share of cool courage-is unhesitating, to poke, unExcellency the Baron Brunnow has been sojournarmed and unprotected, into the most suspiciousing in expectation of his arrival.-Court Journal. nooks; and, with the practice of his craft strong upon him, he seizes at once upon the essential SILK COCOONS.-Notwithstanding the disappointpoints Some Welsh papers, before the invasion of any accredited reporter, accused their London con- ment of many, who, since the year 1839, engaged temporaries of defective local information. There in the culture of the morus multicaulis, and other is nothing more delusive than mere "local informa- varieties of the mulberry, and the raising of silktion." Persons on the spot are not only warped by worms, there has been, on the whole, a steady inclose interests in disputed matters, but, from that crease in the attention devoted to this branch of incircumstance, they attach undue importance to tri-dustry.-This may be, in part, attributed to the vial things, and overlook things which are really of ease of cultivation, both as to time and labor remoment, but so familiar to them as to become mat- quired, and in no small degree, also, to the fact ters of course. In the accounts from which we that, in twelve of the States, a special bounty is make extracts this week, the passing sketch of a paid for the production of cocoons, or of the raw remote dingle, the quotation of a translation into silk. Several of these promise much hereafter in English by a Welshman-showing in its phrases at this product, if a reliance can be placed on the estionce that the translator is no "ignorant" man, and mates given in the various journals, more particuyet that he is remarkably ignorant of the language larly devoted to the record of the production of silk. of our rulers and laws-these are traits which There seems, at least, no ground for abandoning would have escaped the man of "local informa- the enterprise so successfully begun, of aiming to tion," but which forcibly illustrate material circum- supply our home consumption of this important arstances of the disturbance. Moreover, none but a ticle of our imports. In Massachusetts, Connectipractised hand, confident in the name and resources cut, New-York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Tennesof a great London journal, would have had so much see, and Ohio, there has been quite an increase tact and boldness in pushing himself into the very above the amount of 1839. The quantity of raw heart of the riot-beyond all troops, and police, and silk manufactured in this country the past year is other regular functionaries. estimated at more than 30,000 pounds. The maA knowledge of the actual state of the disturbed chinery possessed for reeling, spinning, and weavdistricts is of the utmost value. One great means ing silk, in the production of ribands, vestings, which "our own reporter" had at his command, damask, &c., admit of its being carried to great consisted of the prestige attaching to newspaper perfection, as may be seen by the beautiful specipublicity as an auxiliary to agitation of any kind-mens of various kinds deposited in the National of confidence in the substantial honesty of respectable newspaper reports, and of faith in the writer's singleness of purpose. The strange gentleman was admitted solely as a newspaper-reporter, where it is obvious that any other collector of information would have been avoided, or misled, if not roughly treated. This feeling it were well to encourage to the utmost, as affording the best facility to that full information whose advantages we have described. That object suggests a useful practice to be observed in courts of justice-to abstain from calling reporters as witnesses in crown prosecutions of a political kind. Newspaper men are admitted to all kinds of meetings, in the just belief that they go there for no purpose of collecting judicial "evidence;" but Gallery at the Patent Office. The amount of silk stuff's brought into this country in some single years from foreign countries, is estimated at more in value than 20,000,000 dollars. The silk manufactured in France in 1840, amounted to 25,000,000 dollars; that of Prussia to more than 4,500,000 dollars. Should one person in a hundred of the population of the United States produce annually 100 pounds of silk, the quantity would be nearly 18,000,000 pounds, which at 5 dollars per pound, and much of it might command a higher price, would amount to nearly 90,000,000 dollars-nearly 30,000,000 dollars above our whole cotton export, nine times the value of our tobacco exports, and nearly five or six times the average value of our imports of silk. That such a productiveness is not incredible, as at first sight it may seem, may be evident, from the fact that the Lombard Venetian Kingdom, of a little more than 4,000,000 of population, exported in one year 6,132,950 pounds of raw silk ;-which is a larger estimate, by at least one half, for each producer, than the supposition just made as to our own country. Another fact, too, shows both the feasibility and the importance of the cultivation of this product. The climate of our country, from its southern border even up to 44 degrees of north latitude, is suited to the culture of silk.-Colonial Magazine. LOSS OF THE HAIR FROM THE EFFECTS OF TERROR.-Dr. O'Connor detailed the particulars of a remarkable case, in which the hair was entirely lost from the effects of extreme terror; a healthy boy, twelve years of age, awoke screaming from the vivid impression made on his mind by a dream, in which he thought he was about being murdered; the next day his hair began to fall off, and in a fortnight he was quite bald, and he continues so, though several years have elapsed. Dr. O'Connor observed, that although the opinion exists among physiologists, that depressing passions, such as grief or terror, may turn the hair gray, or cause it to fall off, yet well authenticated cases of such phenomena are very rare; for this reason he deemed it right to lay this case, which came under his own observation, before the Section.-Athenæum. ALLIANCE IN HIGH LIFE.-The marriage of the Marquess of Ormonde with Miss Paget is to be solemnized on Tuesday next, the 19th inst. The Duchess of Gloucester will come to town from Kew to honor the ceremony with her presence. The marriage which has been some time on the tapis between Lord Paget, son of the Earl of Uxbridge, and grandson of the Marquess of Anglesea, with Miss Greville, daughter of Captain Greville, R. N., and niece of Brooke Greville, Esq., is postponed till winter. His lordship is about to take his departure for the continent.-Court Journal. NAVIGATOR'S ISLANDS.-The Rev. T. Heath read parents; on the contrary, widows and orphans INIMITABLE PUNS -The city-jester, who is maintained at the Mansion House to "poke fun," was asked the other day in what capacity the ex-regent of Spain was to be feted; whether as a sovereign ruler, or merely a distinguished general and statesman; he answered, "Simply As-part-hero." The Lord Mayor laughed heartily at being got thus out of a dilemma by his fool. It was the same inspired Wit, who, in the late mayoralty of Sir John Pirie, when a South-sea missionary party, of the tea-total species, were to be entertained, said, "If he were Mare, he would put them in mind of their mission by giving them the principal island as drink.” "How so?" inquired the remembrancer, (who repeated the story.) "I would," said the jester, "give them Oat-tea-hay-tea to tipple with their Sandwiches." It is supposed that nothing more brilliant than this was ever spoken at the Mansion House; though it is not even mentioned in the Isl-pamphlet we have just received respecting the City Good Things, extracted from the Westminster Review.-Ibid. SCINDE. The overland mail from India arrived terest. in London, August 2d, bringing intelligence from Bombay to the 19th of June. From the newly-acquired province of Scinde, the news is of great inThat most fertile district, which, under a good government, and properly cultivated, will become a garden, is now nearly pacified by the measures adopted by Sir Charles Napier, its present governor. He has made terms with most of the chiefs, and even Meer Shere Mahomed is stated to have offered to make his submission provided he could have his private property secured to him. There is no doubt that within a short time the compacification of the country will be effected.Colonial Magazine. a paper on the inhabitants of the Navigator's Islands. EXPENSE OF THE EXPEDITION TO CHINA.-A parliamentary return, just published, shows that the sums paid, or to be paid, on account of the war with China, amount to 2,879,8731., of which sum 864,954 are required to be voted in 1843-44, as balance due to the East India Company.-Ibid. MR. NOTT SCIENCE AND ARTS. ON TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM.'This paper was in continuation of that on Electricity, read on Saturday. The author denied the existence of magnetic poles. The situation of the points of greatest intensity (commonly called poles) in magnets, he conceived to be merely a result of figure. On a globular magnet the maximum intensity is, according to his experiments, situate about 75 from the equatorial zone. He maintained that the earth is a globular magnet, the maximum intensity of which is in lat. 75°, and that the magnetic poles of the earth have never yet been found. Terrestrial magnetism being considered as the effect of electric currents which move on the surface, will be affected by the irregularities of that surface, and hence the anomalies of the earth's magnetism. The author denied the conclusiveness of the argu ments used to show that the earth is an oblate spheroid. He asserted that globular magnets, if freely suspended, would, by their mutual attraction, rotate and revolve round each other; and, finally, that the doctrine of gravitation must ultimately give way to that of universal magnetism.—Athenæum. EGYPTIAN GOLD-MINE. A rich gold-mine is stated to have been discovered in the Soudan, near Dj Doslebel Lall; an event of considerable importance to Egypt and its pasha.--Ibid. HYDRO-ELECTRIC MACHINE.-A new machine, called the hydro-electric, invented by Mr. Armstrong, and which is said to be of greater power GLOW-WORM.-M. Matteuci has found the phosphorescence of the glow-worm to be a phenomenon of combustion, a result of the combination of oxygen with carbon, one of the elements of phospho-than any electrical machine before constructed, was rescent matter.-Lit. Gaz. PHOTOGRAPHY.-M. Daguerre denies the usefulness of a fatty film on the surface of plates for the formation of images. The greasy layer left by the cotton, he says, is injurious. If, as it is said, a layer of the spirit of turpentine applied to the plate be no obstacle to the formation of the image, it is because the iodine, being soluble in it, penetrates the layer and comes into contact with the silver. M. Daguerre recommends for the polishing process a mixture of equal quantities of olive-oil and sulphuric acid to be put on the plate lightly with cotton, and then rubbing with pounce-powder, or a mixture of one part of nitric acid and five of oliveoil.-Ibid. man. CELTIC REMAINS.-In the Duke of Rutland's preserves at Longshaw, near Buxton, has been recently discovered a Hu Cairn, or city of the gods, commonly called in that neighborhood Cael's Wark. It is an elevated plot of ground or rock, of some extent, barricaded on one side by huge rocky piles, heaped one upon another, evidently by the work of Within this enclosure are found fifty rock idols, dagons, &c. One temple is dedicated to Hu Gadarn, the mighty; one to Esus, the supreme god of fire; one to Molk, the god of war, and one to the goddess of victory, Andrasta. To the two last deities human sacrifices were offered. There is also a large temple to Sanham, the lord of death, and one to Baal Sab, the lord of judgment, both perfect; a tolmin, with several tumuli, occupies the centre of this interesting place.-Burton Herald. THE NELSON MONUMENT. It is now confidently stated that the figure of Nelson will be raised to the top of the column in Trafalgar Square on the 29th of October, the anniversary of the victory of Trafalgar. There will be a grand ceremony on the occasion, at which all the Greenwich pensioners are to be present.-Lit. Gaz. ADELAIDE GALLERY.-Fresh electrical wonders have also this week been placed among the numerous attractions here: two electrical eels from the exhibited on Thursday evening at the Polytechnic Institution. The experiments performed were very brilliant, and went far to prove the assertion made respecting it. A shaving of wood was ignited by the electric spark, and an immense battery was charged by it in the short space of eleven seconds. The principle on which this machine is constructed is simple. It consists of a common tubular boiler, isolated by means of glass supporters, and a telescope chimney, capable of being lifted off. The steam is let off by means of curved tubes, opening upon a box filled with a row of iron spikes, on which the steam is condensed. The steam, on being let loose, carries away the positive electricity from the boiler, leaving it in a negative state. The equilibrium is then restored to the boiler, by means of a conductor brought near to it, and the electric spark is elicited.-Athenæum. MILK.-M. Donné described an apparatus for the preservation of milk; an apparatus in which the submitted to a continual rotatory motion, which milk, kept at a low temperature by means or ice, is prevents the cream from separating.—Ibid. MAGNETIC DISTURBANCES.-During the current year considerable magnetic disturbances have been observed at Parma,-on the 6th, 7th, 24th, and 28th of Feb.; the 6th, 12th, 13th, and 14th of March; the 2d, 3d, and 28th of April; and the 9th of June; several of which have also been noted at other continental observatories. The disturbance on the 20th of Feb. occurred during an extraordinary fall of the barometer; and that of the 13th of March was accompanied, between a quarter past eight and a quarter past nine, P. M. by a faint aurora borealis, and by a number of shooting-stars.-Ibid. |