The Cholera.—An interesting experiment was tried at Newcastle last week, on the state of the atmosphere. A kite was sent up, having attached to it a piece of fresh butcher's meat, a fresh haddock, and a small loaf of bread. The kite ascended to a considerable height, and remained at that elevation for an hour and a quarter. When brought to the ground, it was found that the fish and the piece of meat were both in a putrid state, particularly the fish; and the loaf, when examined through, a microscope, was discovered to be pervaded with legions of animalculae. It may be worth while to repeat the experiment in other places to which cholera may unfortunately extend itself.—Evening Paper.
Foreign Books.—From official accounts it appears that the foreign books imported into the United Kingdom in the year 1830, weighed 3,441 cwt. 3 qrs. 13 lbs. the amount of duty upon which was £11,865 4s. 4d. We find this in a paper on the Duties on Foreign Books in the Foreign Quarterly Review, just published; in which the imported old books have obtained a considerable ascendancy over the new ones.
The lovers of the Fine Arts will hear with sorrow, the destruction by fire of Mr. Wilmshurst's splendid Painted Window of the Tournament of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, described at page 246, vol. xv. of The Mirror. It was completed about two years since at a cost of nearly 2,000l., and three years' labour of the artist.
FAMILIAR SCIENCE.
This Day was published, with many Engravings, price 5s.,
ARCANA OF SCIENCE,
AND
ANNUAL REGISTER of the USEFUL ARTS,
for 1832:
Abridged from the Transactions of Public Societies, and Scientific Journals, British and Foreign, for the past year.