Volume 11 (1865) (424 pages)

246 Che Rlining and Srientitic Press, Weebanical A New Principle of Furnace Building, An unnsoolly large nmonnt of ottentiou has been directed to improvements in fnroace building, doting the last four or five years, both in Europe and on this contineut. Ameng the improvements renlly novel, may he classed those quite recently introduced by Mr. E. B. Wilson, of Loudon ond Glasgow, Great Britain, by which be claima to effect a perfect combustion of tke coal, with an cutire absence of smoke, and © conseqnent attainment of the highest possible degree of economy iu furnace working. Tbe editor of the Glasgow Morning Journal, after a free and carefnl examinatiou of the improvement, says that “the invention seems now to have been bronghé to the highest state of practical efficiency.” The principle npon which Mr. Wilson has based bis improvement. is thot of carrying ou combustion inversely to the nsnal practice— that is, by forming ihe fuel from the upper surface downward and inward, instead of from the lower snrface, upward and ontwaord. In carrying ont this idea. says the Journal the invention dispenses entirely with furnace bors, nud instead of the ordiuary feed door. introduces nn aperture in the top of the furnace. throngh whicb both fuel and air are snpplied, aud which can be readily opened or closed as required. Tbe coal, introduced at this opening in small pieces, falls on a sort of curved inclined plane, where it lies ina sloping bank till consumed. In front of the heap of coals is what the inventor calls n“‘mixing chamber,” formed by raising tbe roof of the lurnace ina slanting direction. As combustion goes on. the whole mass of fuel slides gradually downwards, leaving room for the fresh coal, which, in small quantities, and at short intervals, is supplied at the top. When the furnace is in full operatiou, the door ahove descrihed is kept wholly or partly open, and the whole of the atmospheric air necessary to carry ou combustion is admitted throngh the inlet thus made. On first rushing iu the ait passes through o cold stratnm of fnel, extending a few inches downwards. Below this the eval commences to smoulder, giving off [ree carbon vapor and hydrogeneons gases. ‘These gaseous prodnets become rapidly nnd completely combined with oxygen, whilst at the same time a sulticient surplus of oxygen is admitted to keep in vigorous combustion the solid carhou on the onlside of the smouldering fuel. It will thus be readily noderstood that before the gases evolved from the coal can pass through the outlying stratum of burning carhon., the gaseous mixture, of course, catches fire. aud adds to the heat ohtained from the solid fael that derived from its own perfect combustion. While this process is going on, the heating chamber of the furnace is kept continuously Blled with intense white fame. he etfectual burning of the gases throwu off from the fuel is, we need hardly say.a great source of economy. fu the ordinary process ot hurning coal on fire-hars, these gases pass immediately from the hottest part of the fuel, through the cooler coal lying on the top, and thence to parts of the furuace of still lower temperature. the result heing that the greater portion of them escapes into the chimney unconsumed. By Mr. Wilson's method, agaiu, the gases pass front a cooler stratum of coal into one ina violent state of combustion. and are. in consequence, completely hurnt, thus adding iminensely to the heating power of the furnace. The improved furnace has been applicd botb toa puddling furnace and to a furnace employed for beating bars for subsequent manipnlition. {t is said that the invention gives the highest satisfaction hoth to the employers ard . the einployed, in the estnblishment where the experiment was tried._ The saving of fuel was found to he fully one-third, as tested side hy side with a furuace of the old construction, The refuse, after forty-eight honors’ work, did not half fill an ordinary hand-harrow. The fornace is, moreover, almost self-regulating, as it requires hut a small supply of coal every ten minutes, while the mass of fuel slides down automically into the interior. The refuse is removed once each twenty-four honrs, throuch a small door in the side, which is kept hermet: tically sealed, except during the operation o removing the relnse, which occupies bnt a few minutes only. The time required for getting the furnace at work is nlso less than tbat re. quired for those of ordinary construction. It is said that the improvement can be added, with small expense only, to furnaces generally. The inventor has been experimenting with his furnace for several months. At first he fonod considerable difficnlty iu getting beyond a certnin degree of heat; but by snbsequeut modificatious of his improvement, be was finolly enabled to ohtain the ntmost intensity of beat; which can niso be concentrated within a limited space, or diffused over considerable nrea.as is desired by the operator. If the statement ns given by the Glasgow Journal is correct, in the maiu, this invention isa most important desideraluzm, and wonld he well werth looking ofter and inquiring into by the fonndry meu of this State. We see no reasou why it should vot be equally applicable to furnaces for making steam. although no . mention is made of such on application by the . anthority hefore us. A Lixsesep On, Mancracrory, with o ea. pacity to work up 1,500 bushels of flaxseed weekly. is to he established on Townsend . the spot. Upon finding no trace of the fire they retorued, ratber chagrined, not, however, without first satislying themselves bya thorongh examination of the premises. All nround oppeared one blaze of light, tbe sky looked like a inass of fire.” The picture taken during this startling illumination, “came ont,” we are told, “ with great sharpness and vividness, tbe honses near being -bronght ont prominently It, in fact, eqnaled any pictore taken on a bright day.” — Mechanics’ Magazine. RamroapD ACcIDENTS IN MassacHUsETTs.— From the annual retorus of tbe Directors of all the railroads iu the State of Massachnsetts, made to the Legislature, for the year ending Nov. 30, 1864, it appears that the whole nomher of passengers transparted in the cars from Nov. 30, L863, to Nov. 30, 1864, was eighteen million two hundred and six thonsand and twenty-three, (18.206,023.) and of this vast nuniber not a passenger in the cars wns killed. ‘Three persons in attempting to get on, and vine in passing from one car to another, or in jumping or falling off the platform while the trains were in motion, were killed or fatally injored. Thirty-one persons were killed during ef A ne Street. near the Soutb Beacb, in this city. . the year, while lying or walking on the tracks. The uecessary macbiuery for the same i: al_ Avecsts Larnrsos,a young workman, bos ready contracted for in the East. Au estab-/ invented a machine of extreme simplicity, in lisbment for breaking flax and mannfacturing . tended for tbe fabrication of iron tubes by the linen, in connection with the oil factory, is also . Srp eaon force. ee ree 7 ; : = s composed of a cylinder, 0 g ands projected, thus adding two more important in-, By which tae dt ee nae dnstrial interests to those already established rapid rotary movement digs through the liquid in the State, and which are calculated to reu; mass in the direction of the axis of the apparader California every year more and more inde . pendent of the older States of the Union and of Enrope. Mancracrortes 1x Cattrorsr4.—Tbe censns ~ see returns for 1860 represeut 3.777 mannlacturing establishments in California and Oregou in that year, witb an invested capital of $23,380,334, paying for the raw material consnmed $28. 483.626 ; employing 50,737 male and 6% female . hands; paying for labor $29,037,543, and _pro. ducing annually goods amonnting in volue to $71,229,989, $44,927,333 of which were the prodnets of gold mining. . Tnx Inox.—Experiments on thin rolling sheet-iron appear to be coutinued in England. Tbe latest effort is said to be a sheet of iron . so thin that it requires forty-eight bundred ' sheets to make one inch in thickness. ‘That is working the thing down rather too fine for onr credulity. The tbickness designated wonld not exceed that of tissne paper. tus, while it forces it to ndhere to the sides of the cylinder, and to assume its form. Refrigeration effects solidification, and hy opening the cylinder a perfectly smooth and straight tube is withdrawn. The economy of this method is considerahle, ond homogenity is perfect. One is surprised that a method so simple has not heen discovered and applied hefore. A pLay of preventing boiler incrnstations, tecently adopted in France, consists in lining the boiler with a metallic network at some distance from the sides. The theory is, that the lime salts will be produced upon this network, which can he easily removed, ard from which the crnst can he readily detached. IMPROVEMENT IN THE GrrrarD Lyyecror BY Mr. Terck.—As this instroament was originally constracted, the cylinder which receives the steam, its nozzle, and the needle which occupies its axis, slid together in the enveloping jacket when it was necessary to chonge the opening of the annular orifice by which tbe feed-water mixes with the stenm. This arrangement requires two stoffing boxes. Mr. Turck removes these hoxes. and renders the ey ae £1 oe _. cylinder, nozzle and needles fixed, and avoids Cuear Rests.—A “ House Building Com. the contact of the cold water with the wall of pany ” has heen organized in New York, for the steam-nozzle, by interposing between the the purpose of supplying men in moderate cir-. cylinder which receives the steam and the cumstances with decent houses, at liviug rents. . jackct a metallic piece surronnding the cylinder ‘The company builds the houses in couvenicut and its nozzle. This envelope alone is mov! ds able, and by its longitndinal motion eioses or blocks, with good space for coulmon grounds, . 95ens the annular space by which the feedand sells them at cost and interest. wnter enters. ‘The Committee of the Society ‘A Moxsrer Pic Trotcu bas recently been . for the Encouragement of National Industry structed at Dorchester, England, for the . 2PP™¥e of tbe change, nnd publish the specieonsinuct eS ee ' fication and drawing. farmons Dorsetshire enim ut feet ious. aud . . Sco eanerss fr Jeeenaeise Themen shaped likes homeo ice. a ioe PISS The Irish Farmers' Gazelle, of Anenst 5th, will he able to feed out of it at one time. contains the followiug : A New Conscsmiste has been patented in _4 native of Russia has discovered a process Paris. said to be very pure charcoal, finely ground aud made into a paste with starch, The paste is moulded into cakes or halls of by which timber, though newly felled, may become so hard as to resist the influences of the most trying climates for an indefinite period. different sizes, and theu dried. When per. the most curious part of the iuvention is, that fectly dry. these may be lighted with a luciter jt does not involve the nse of chemicals of auy match, and will contiuue to burn steadily. like sort, snch us steeping in creosote, ete., and German tinder, withont giving flame or suioke. that the process is applied to the tree while ‘The combustible is intended tor heating urns, ; growing. The isventor is now making archafferettes, etc. ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR INDESTEDNESS.—The . Liverpool Post says that the must curions cir. ecnmstances in the assemblage of Euglisb ond . Freuch ships at Plymouth is, that both these . uations “owe mainly to the Americans the models npon which they are now perfecting . their vessels.” That is vot the only thing tor . which they are indebted tons. ‘Lhe experi. ment of big gaus in naval warfare is another important fact which they are just hegiuning to . be impressed with. New Artiricrsa, Licat.—Mr. Jas. Wilkinson, of Chelsea, is endeavoriug to rival the . maguesium light, for photographic purposes, hy means of a mixtnre of phosphorus and nitrate ot potash. He recently burnt a qnarter . of a pound of this mixture in bis garden, at . night, with a view to obtain a photograph of a f. wind engine which was heing erected in an ; adjoining garden, and he states that “the . leugth of time from when it was first lit notil . it was finally borot ont was nearly six minutes. The utmost cost wasa fraction over fonrpence. ‘The reflection of the lignt might he seen for two miles around. So bright was it that the . fre-eugine authorities mistook it for an ordin. ary conflagration, aud burried their engines to rangements for the supply of his timber to railway contractors in Englaud, and will not require any remuneration fnrther than tbe amonnot which shonld he paid for ordinary timber, until the period shall have elapsed heyond which the ordinary railway sleepers, telerraph poles, ete., require to be replaced. ‘The railway sleepers require renewing at intervals of from four to six years; hut tbe inventor of the new process of. preparing timber asserts that he will snpply an article which geed not be disturhed for fifty years. Haxssrow'’s Hyrnrostarie Excryvs—The new quartz mill at Rocky Falls is completed. The motive power is one of Redding & Hansbrow’s hydrostatic engines, andas many hopes and fears bave been felt and expressed hy the puhlic as to the probable snccess of the experiment, we are bappy to say the thing worked likeacharm, and all that is ouw lacking isa little more water. Shonld the working of this engiue prove a success, and there now appears no good reuson to donbt it. it will prove an immense saving where wood is scarce and high— Gold Hill Neves. Tuers are 250,000,000 Incifer matches daily consumed in Eegland. Sharp Financial Practice—The Romance of Insurance, Perhaps tbe most singular specimen of an_ jusnranee company tbat ever existed wos the “ Plate-Glass Insnrance Co.” that Sonrished in London some twenty years ago. We doubt whetber any of onr California mining sbare operators ever played quite so sharp a game as that-narrated below : at the time alloded to, plate-glass of enormous dimensions was beginning to be brought into use for shop wiudows in tbe great theronghfares, and these monster panes seenied especially to provoke the destractive propensities of that class of yonng bucks who were in the babit of “travelling” late, ringing bells, changing signs, breaking street lamps, and perpetrating all manner of miscbief. ‘lo aggravate matters, it so happened, by some legal oversight, that the law making the smashing of windows a misdemeanor was so worded as to afford no protection to panes ahove a certain size. ‘This fornisbed perfect immunity to joybawkers in their attacks npon the lanrest and costliest show windows. and the cbop keepers suffered accordingly. But nowa bright idea occnrred to one of the most active and enterprising of the “ destroctives.” work among his companions and organized a « Plate-Glass Insurance Co.’ for the insnrance of panes too large to be within the protection of tbe law. A room fronting upon a crowded Street was taken, showy signs put np, and hnsiness commenced with all due formality. Meantime energetic outside measnres were taken to lend an impetns to the bnsinessThe fashionable quarters of London were diz. tricted among the steckholders, and it was mnde the duty of each to devote himself zeak onsly to breaking all the windows in his district not covered hy the policies of the company. Under tbis able management, « tbe Plate-Glass Insnrance Co.” was soon floating on the top wave of prosperity, and business ond money flowed so iast as almost to appall the stockholders. The losses were few and promptly paid, while the receipts were enormons and the pnblic confidence in the company nnbonnded. It was in this condition of affairs that the directors sagacionsly determined to avail themselves of the present smiles of fortune, and place themselves beyond the risk of ber caprice. They had issued immense numhers of policies for a year ; the preminms were nlready paid; every one likely tn insnre had jusured ; what then, was the nse of continning the expense of carryiug on the bnsiness and risk of losses? These views met with the noanimons approval of the stockholders. A meeting was accordingly held, and the resolntions formally passed, dissolving the company and dividing the capital on band. Tbns terminated the existence of the * Plate-Glass Insnrance Co.,” efter o hrief bot brilliant career of a few montbs. Its history is calcnlated to fornish a yaluable moral for those who are capable of deriving a lesson from the experience of others. Gop Mixinc in Wates.—Ahont two years ago a number of companies were started with the view of working the anriferoua quartz deposits discovered iu several localities in North Wales, and sngh was the confidence entertained at the time in the snecess of Welsh gold mining, that capital was obtained withont difficulty from the over-crednlous pnblic. ‘The temporary snecess of the Vigra and Clogan mines was the great inducement to enter iuto these specniatious, and the warning that appeared from time to time in the Times had little effect npon the investing classes. Among the com. panies formed were the Cambriau, East Cambriau, Welsh Gold Mining, Castell Carn, Dorchan, Dolfrwynog, East Clogan, St., David, and many others, and fally oue-half the number are by this time either in conrse of winding up, or neable to proceed, owing to having spent the whole of their capital, andthose that are atill working show hardly any prospect of success. he Vigra and Clogan n1ine, which formerly gave such promising indications, has not paid any dividends for three years, which proves that gold mining in the Principality is a specnlation iu the widest sense of the term. Quartz containing a certain percentage of gold has heen discovered at all the mines, bnt the cost of rednetion has teen far above the yield of pnre metal, and bence tbe nnprofitable character of the specnlations, aud notil the mechanical appliances for extracting the gold from tbe quartz are more perfect and less costly than at present, gold mining cannot he snecessinlly carried on in Wales.—London Times. Tue scientific expedition to Brazil, under aAgassiz, is chiefly to test bis glacial theory, which is tbat at same past period a very large part of the earth was long covered with two vast caps of snow and ica, centered at the poles, lappicg far down toward the equator, and iu magy parts 12,000 or 15,000 feet thick. He has already made some important discoy. eries substantiating his theory. . He set to_

246 Che Rlining and Srientitic Press, Weebanical A New Principle of Furnace Building, An unnsoolly large nmonnt of ottentiou has been directed to improvements in fnroace building, doting the last four or five years, both in Europe and on this contineut. Ameng the improvements renlly novel, may he classed those quite recently introduced by Mr. E. B. Wilson, of Loudon ond Glasgow, Great Britain, by which be claima to effect a perfect combustion of tke coal, with an cutire absence of smoke, and © conseqnent attainment of the highest possible degree of economy iu furnace working. Tbe editor of the Glasgow Morning Journal, after a free and carefnl examinatiou of the improvement, says that “the invention seems now to have been bronghé to the highest state of practical efficiency.” The principle npon which Mr. Wilson has based bis improvement. is thot of carrying ou combustion inversely to the nsnal practice— that is, by forming ihe fuel from the upper surface downward and inward, instead of from the lower snrface, upward and ontwaord. In carrying ont this idea. says the Journal the invention dispenses entirely with furnace bors, nud instead of the ordiuary feed door. introduces nn aperture in the top of the furnace. throngh whicb both fuel and air are snpplied, aud which can be readily opened or closed as required. Tbe coal, introduced at this opening in small pieces, falls on a sort of curved inclined plane, where it lies ina sloping bank till consumed. In front of the heap of coals is what the inventor calls n“‘mixing chamber,” formed by raising tbe roof of the lurnace ina slanting direction. As combustion goes on. the whole mass of fuel slides gradually downwards, leaving room for the fresh coal, which, in small quantities, and at short intervals, is supplied at the top. When the furnace is in full operatiou, the door ahove descrihed is kept wholly or partly open, and the whole of the atmospheric air necessary to carry ou combustion is admitted throngh the inlet thus made. On first rushing iu the ait passes through o cold stratnm of fnel, extending a few inches downwards. Below this the eval commences to smoulder, giving off [ree carbon vapor and hydrogeneons gases. ‘These gaseous prodnets become rapidly nnd completely combined with oxygen, whilst at the same time a sulticient surplus of oxygen is admitted to keep in vigorous combustion the solid carhou on the onlside of the smouldering fuel. It will thus be readily noderstood that before the gases evolved from the coal can pass through the outlying stratum of burning carhon., the gaseous mixture, of course, catches fire. aud adds to the heat ohtained from the solid fael that derived from its own perfect combustion. While this process is going on, the heating chamber of the furnace is kept continuously Blled with intense white fame. he etfectual burning of the gases throwu off from the fuel is, we need hardly say.a great source of economy. fu the ordinary process ot hurning coal on fire-hars, these gases pass immediately from the hottest part of the fuel, through the cooler coal lying on the top, and thence to parts of the furuace of still lower temperature. the result heing that the greater portion of them escapes into the chimney unconsumed. By Mr. Wilson's method, agaiu, the gases pass front a cooler stratum of coal into one ina violent state of combustion. and are. in consequence, completely hurnt, thus adding iminensely to the heating power of the furnace. The improved furnace has been applicd botb toa puddling furnace and to a furnace employed for beating bars for subsequent manipnlition. {t is said that the invention gives the highest satisfaction hoth to the employers ard . the einployed, in the estnblishment where the experiment was tried._ The saving of fuel was found to he fully one-third, as tested side hy side with a furuace of the old construction, The refuse, after forty-eight honors’ work, did not half fill an ordinary hand-harrow. The fornace is, moreover, almost self-regulating, as it requires hut a small supply of coal every ten minutes, while the mass of fuel slides down automically into the interior. The refuse is removed once each twenty-four honrs, throuch a small door in the side, which is kept hermet: tically sealed, except during the operation o removing the relnse, which occupies bnt a few minutes only. The time required for getting the furnace at work is nlso less than tbat re. quired for those of ordinary construction. It is said that the improvement can be added, with small expense only, to furnaces generally. The inventor has been experimenting with his furnace for several months. At first he fonod considerable difficnlty iu getting beyond a certnin degree of heat; but by snbsequeut modificatious of his improvement, be was finolly enabled to ohtain the ntmost intensity of beat; which can niso be concentrated within a limited space, or diffused over considerable nrea.as is desired by the operator. If the statement ns given by the Glasgow Journal is correct, in the maiu, this invention isa most important desideraluzm, and wonld he well werth looking ofter and inquiring into by the fonndry meu of this State. We see no reasou why it should vot be equally applicable to furnaces for making steam. although no . mention is made of such on application by the . anthority hefore us. A Lixsesep On, Mancracrory, with o ea. pacity to work up 1,500 bushels of flaxseed weekly. is to he established on Townsend . the spot. Upon finding no trace of the fire they retorued, ratber chagrined, not, however, without first satislying themselves bya thorongh examination of the premises. All nround oppeared one blaze of light, tbe sky looked like a inass of fire.” The picture taken during this startling illumination, “came ont,” we are told, “ with great sharpness and vividness, tbe honses near being -bronght ont prominently It, in fact, eqnaled any pictore taken on a bright day.” — Mechanics’ Magazine. RamroapD ACcIDENTS IN MassacHUsETTs.— From the annual retorus of tbe Directors of all the railroads iu the State of Massachnsetts, made to the Legislature, for the year ending Nov. 30, 1864, it appears that the whole nomher of passengers transparted in the cars from Nov. 30, L863, to Nov. 30, 1864, was eighteen million two hundred and six thonsand and twenty-three, (18.206,023.) and of this vast nuniber not a passenger in the cars wns killed. ‘Three persons in attempting to get on, and vine in passing from one car to another, or in jumping or falling off the platform while the trains were in motion, were killed or fatally injored. Thirty-one persons were killed during ef A ne Street. near the Soutb Beacb, in this city. . the year, while lying or walking on the tracks. The uecessary macbiuery for the same i: al_ Avecsts Larnrsos,a young workman, bos ready contracted for in the East. Au estab-/ invented a machine of extreme simplicity, in lisbment for breaking flax and mannfacturing . tended for tbe fabrication of iron tubes by the linen, in connection with the oil factory, is also . Srp eaon force. ee ree 7 ; : = s composed of a cylinder, 0 g ands projected, thus adding two more important in-, By which tae dt ee nae dnstrial interests to those already established rapid rotary movement digs through the liquid in the State, and which are calculated to reu; mass in the direction of the axis of the apparader California every year more and more inde . pendent of the older States of the Union and of Enrope. Mancracrortes 1x Cattrorsr4.—Tbe censns ~ see returns for 1860 represeut 3.777 mannlacturing establishments in California and Oregou in that year, witb an invested capital of $23,380,334, paying for the raw material consnmed $28. 483.626 ; employing 50,737 male and 6% female . hands; paying for labor $29,037,543, and _pro. ducing annually goods amonnting in volue to $71,229,989, $44,927,333 of which were the prodnets of gold mining. . Tnx Inox.—Experiments on thin rolling sheet-iron appear to be coutinued in England. Tbe latest effort is said to be a sheet of iron . so thin that it requires forty-eight bundred ' sheets to make one inch in thickness. ‘That is working the thing down rather too fine for onr credulity. The tbickness designated wonld not exceed that of tissne paper. tus, while it forces it to ndhere to the sides of the cylinder, and to assume its form. Refrigeration effects solidification, and hy opening the cylinder a perfectly smooth and straight tube is withdrawn. The economy of this method is considerahle, ond homogenity is perfect. One is surprised that a method so simple has not heen discovered and applied hefore.

A pLay of preventing boiler incrnstations, tecently adopted in France, consists in lining the boiler with a metallic network at some distance from the sides. The theory is, that the lime salts will be produced upon this network, which can he easily removed, ard from which the crnst can he readily detached. IMPROVEMENT IN THE GrrrarD Lyyecror BY Mr. Terck.—As this instroament was originally constracted, the cylinder which receives the steam, its nozzle, and the needle which occupies its axis, slid together in the enveloping jacket when it was necessary to chonge the opening of the annular orifice by which tbe feed-water mixes with the stenm. This arrangement requires two stoffing boxes. Mr. Turck removes these hoxes. and renders the ey ae £1 oe _. cylinder, nozzle and needles fixed, and avoids Cuear Rests.—A “ House Building Com. the contact of the cold water with the wall of pany ” has heen organized in New York, for the steam-nozzle, by interposing between the the purpose of supplying men in moderate cir-. cylinder which receives the steam and the cumstances with decent houses, at liviug rents. . jackct a metallic piece surronnding the cylinder ‘The company builds the houses in couvenicut and its nozzle. This envelope alone is mov! ds able, and by its longitndinal motion eioses or blocks, with good space for coulmon grounds, . 95ens the annular space by which the feedand sells them at cost and interest. wnter enters. ‘The Committee of the Society ‘A Moxsrer Pic Trotcu bas recently been . for the Encouragement of National Industry structed at Dorchester, England, for the . 2PP™¥e of tbe change, nnd publish the specieonsinuct eS ee ' fication and drawing. farmons Dorsetshire enim ut feet ious. aud . . Sco eanerss fr Jeeenaeise Themen shaped likes homeo ice. a ioe PISS The Irish Farmers' Gazelle, of Anenst 5th, will he able to feed out of it at one time. contains the followiug : A New Conscsmiste has been patented in _4 native of Russia has discovered a process Paris. said to be very pure charcoal, finely ground aud made into a paste with starch, The paste is moulded into cakes or halls of by which timber, though newly felled, may become so hard as to resist the influences of the most trying climates for an indefinite period. different sizes, and theu dried. When per. the most curious part of the iuvention is, that fectly dry. these may be lighted with a luciter jt does not involve the nse of chemicals of auy match, and will contiuue to burn steadily. like sort, snch us steeping in creosote, ete., and German tinder, withont giving flame or suioke. that the process is applied to the tree while ‘The combustible is intended tor heating urns, ; growing. The isventor is now making archafferettes, etc. ACKNOWLEDGING THEIR INDESTEDNESS.—The . Liverpool Post says that the must curions cir. ecnmstances in the assemblage of Euglisb ond . Freuch ships at Plymouth is, that both these . uations “owe mainly to the Americans the models npon which they are now perfecting . their vessels.” That is vot the only thing tor . which they are indebted tons. ‘Lhe experi. ment of big gaus in naval warfare is another important fact which they are just hegiuning to . be impressed with. New Artiricrsa, Licat.—Mr. Jas. Wilkinson, of Chelsea, is endeavoriug to rival the . maguesium light, for photographic purposes, hy means of a mixtnre of phosphorus and nitrate ot potash. He recently burnt a qnarter . of a pound of this mixture in bis garden, at . night, with a view to obtain a photograph of a f. wind engine which was heing erected in an ; adjoining garden, and he states that “the . leugth of time from when it was first lit notil . it was finally borot ont was nearly six minutes. The utmost cost wasa fraction over fonrpence. ‘The reflection of the lignt might he seen for two miles around. So bright was it that the . fre-eugine authorities mistook it for an ordin. ary conflagration, aud burried their engines to rangements for the supply of his timber to railway contractors in Englaud, and will not require any remuneration fnrther than tbe amonnot which shonld he paid for ordinary timber, until the period shall have elapsed heyond which the ordinary railway sleepers, telerraph poles, ete., require to be replaced. ‘The railway sleepers require renewing at intervals of from four to six years; hut tbe inventor of the new process of. preparing timber asserts that he will snpply an article which geed not be disturhed for fifty years. Haxssrow'’s Hyrnrostarie Excryvs—The new quartz mill at Rocky Falls is completed. The motive power is one of Redding & Hansbrow’s hydrostatic engines, andas many hopes and fears bave been felt and expressed hy the puhlic as to the probable snccess of the experiment, we are bappy to say the thing worked likeacharm, and all that is ouw lacking isa little more water. Shonld the working of this engiue prove a success, and there now appears no good reuson to donbt it. it will prove an immense saving where wood is scarce and high— Gold Hill Neves. Tuers are 250,000,000 Incifer matches daily consumed in Eegland. Sharp Financial Practice—The Romance of Insurance, Perhaps tbe most singular specimen of an_ jusnranee company tbat ever existed wos the “ Plate-Glass Insnrance Co.” that Sonrished in London some twenty years ago. We doubt whetber any of onr California mining sbare operators ever played quite so sharp a game as that-narrated below : at the time alloded to, plate-glass of enormous dimensions was beginning to be brought into use for shop wiudows in tbe great theronghfares, and these monster panes seenied especially to provoke the destractive propensities of that class of yonng bucks who were in the babit of “travelling” late, ringing bells, changing signs, breaking street lamps, and perpetrating all manner of miscbief. ‘lo aggravate matters, it so happened, by some legal oversight, that the law making the smashing of windows a misdemeanor was so worded as to afford no protection to panes ahove a certain size. ‘This fornisbed perfect immunity to joybawkers in their attacks npon the lanrest and costliest show windows. and the cbop keepers suffered accordingly. But nowa bright idea occnrred to one of the most active and enterprising of the “ destroctives.” work among his companions and organized a « Plate-Glass Insurance Co.’ for the insnrance of panes too large to be within the protection of tbe law. A room fronting upon a crowded Street was taken, showy signs put np, and hnsiness commenced with all due formality. Meantime energetic outside measnres were taken to lend an impetns to the bnsinessThe fashionable quarters of London were diz. tricted among the steckholders, and it was mnde the duty of each to devote himself zeak onsly to breaking all the windows in his district not covered hy the policies of the company. Under tbis able management, « tbe Plate-Glass Insnrance Co.” was soon floating on the top wave of prosperity, and business ond money flowed so iast as almost to appall the stockholders. The losses were few and promptly paid, while the receipts were enormons and the pnblic confidence in the company nnbonnded. It was in this condition of affairs that the directors sagacionsly determined to avail themselves of the present smiles of fortune, and place themselves beyond the risk of ber caprice. They had issued immense numhers of policies for a year ; the preminms were nlready paid; every one likely tn insnre had jusured ; what then, was the nse of continning the expense of carryiug on the bnsiness and risk of losses? These views met with the noanimons approval of the stockholders. A meeting was accordingly held, and the resolntions formally passed, dissolving the company and dividing the capital on band. Tbns terminated the existence of the * Plate-Glass Insnrance Co.,” efter o hrief bot brilliant career of a few montbs. Its history is calcnlated to fornish a yaluable moral for those who are capable of deriving a lesson from the experience of others. Gop Mixinc in Wates.—Ahont two years ago a number of companies were started with the view of working the anriferoua quartz deposits discovered iu several localities in North Wales, and sngh was the confidence entertained at the time in the snecess of Welsh gold mining, that capital was obtained withont difficulty from the over-crednlous pnblic. ‘The temporary snecess of the Vigra and Clogan mines was the great inducement to enter iuto these specniatious, and the warning that appeared from time to time in the Times had little effect npon the investing classes. Among the com. panies formed were the Cambriau, East Cambriau, Welsh Gold Mining, Castell Carn, Dorchan, Dolfrwynog, East Clogan, St., David, and many others, and fally oue-half the number are by this time either in conrse of winding up, or neable to proceed, owing to having spent the whole of their capital, andthose that are atill working show hardly any prospect of success. he Vigra and Clogan n1ine, which formerly gave such promising indications, has not paid any dividends for three years, which proves that gold mining in the Principality is a specnlation iu the widest sense of the term. Quartz containing a certain percentage of gold has heen discovered at all the mines, bnt the cost of rednetion has teen far above the yield of pnre metal, and bence tbe nnprofitable character of the specnlations, aud notil the mechanical appliances for extracting the gold from tbe quartz are more perfect and less costly than at present, gold mining cannot he snecessinlly carried on in Wales.—London Times. Tue scientific expedition to Brazil, under aAgassiz, is chiefly to test bis glacial theory, which is tbat at same past period a very large part of the earth was long covered with two vast caps of snow and ica, centered at the poles, lappicg far down toward the equator, and iu magy parts 12,000 or 15,000 feet thick. He has already made some important discoy. eries substantiating his theory. . He set to_