Another fact: the water of a well at Camden Town (London) was so unfit for locomotive purposes that it could not be kept in the boilers on account of priming. 'To get over the difficulty, the railway company arranged with the canal alongside, by putting down a double acting-pump with separate outlets and inlets, so that in one stroke the pump would have a measure of water from the canal and put it into the tank for the locomotives, and the return stroke would take the water from the well and put it into the canal.'
Many attempts have been made to turn kite-flying to practical uses, but with scarcely any other result than to shew that in the art of kite-flying we are far behind China and Japan. Success depends on the shape of the kite; and if a kite presents a flat surface to the wind, it will be unsteady, and cannot be employed in a successful experiment. The proper form for a kite is that of a hemisphere with the convex side to the wind: no wings and a light tail. The string should be fastened a little above the centre. A kite thus constructed will, as is stated by Dr Joule of Manchester, 'stand in the air with almost absolute steadiness. He found that by pulling strings fastened to the right and left sides of the horizontal bow, the kite could be made to fly thirty degrees or more from the direction of the wind, and hence that it would be possible to use it in bringing a vessel to windward. One great advantage of such a mode of propulsion over ordinary sails would be that the force, however great, could be applied low down, so as to produce no more careening than that desired by the seaman.'
Another measuring instrument likely to be useful to engineers, architects, surveyors, and travellers who require to measure the heights of buildings, trees, cliffs, or hills, in some instances difficult of approach, has been described by Mr Laslett at a recent meeting of the Institute of British Architects. It is the 'Metroscope,' 'an instrument for measuring inaccessible heights and distances, and for levelling.' To be able to measure the width of a river, or the height of a tower to the very top of the weathercock, is a manifest advantage, which is further increased by the instrument being provided with a scale, on which the measure can be read off in feet and inches, or feet and decimals. To give a clear idea of the construction, diagrams would be necessary; and it must suffice here to say that it combines adjusting screws, spirit levels, reflecting mirrors, and a telescope; as may be seen by any one who will call at Pastorelli's, 208 Piccadilly, London.
The third volume of the Report on the Geological Survey of Victoria (Australia), by Mr Brough Smyth, has been published. It furnishes interesting information concerning the surveys going on in different districts—the several goldfields—the volcanic rocks—the palæontological remains—the various methods of treating auriferous pyrites—the gold found in the water of mines—the mineralised woods, and precious stones. Apart from its scientific statements, the book is valuable for the historical particulars it gives of the discovery of gold, and of the 'rushes' of enthusiastic diggers. The total amount of gold produced up to 1875 exceeds L.182,000,000 sterling. Announcements of discoveries of minerals are often made for speculative purposes, and the process of 'salting' appears to be as well understood in Victoria as in Nevada; and in one instance a rumoured discovery of coal—a seam of lignite—proved, on examination by a government geologist, to be a trick: the specimen lumps had been ploughed in.
A line of telegraph from one end of Africa to the other is talked of. From Alexandria to Khartoum, 1100 miles, a wire is already erected, and is to be carried on to Gondokoro. From this place to the northern termination of the South African lines stretching from Cape Colony, the distance is about two thousand miles; and it is thought that to erect and maintain a line across that wild region would not be more difficult than it was to carry a line across the great continent of Australia. Travellers in the interior might then flash their messages to Cairo or Cape Town at pleasure.
[LINES TO A LATE-BORN MOUNTAIN LAMB, ON A BLINK OF SUNSHINE IN WINTER.]
Wee lammie, on yon Scottish hill,
Sport while ye may, and tak your fill
O' this bit glint o' simmer still,
Puir feckless[1] thing;
Winter a routh[2] o' cauld and chill
Too soon will bring.
Sport while ye may, my bonnie fay;
'Twill last na lang this autumn day;
For sour and dour,[3] without delay
Auld Winter's bound
His heavy hand o' skaith[4] to lay
On all around.
Unsheltered on the bare hill-side,
The sleety storm is sair to bide;
Caught in its arms, O wae betide
The hapless hour!
In thy sair stress, whar will ye hide
Frae its fell power?