THE LIGHTHOUSE SYSTEM.
Imperfect Illumination of the old Lighthouses--First
Improvements--The Argand Lamp and Reflecting Mirrors--Revolving
Lights--The Catoptric System--Varieties of Lights--The Dioptric
System--Its Details--Introduction of this Method into Great
Britain--Comparison of the two Methods--The Drummond and Voltaic
Lights--Gurney's Lamp--Captain Basil Hall's Experiments--Ventilation
of Lighthouses.
Since there is something more or less common in the modes of lighting
and in the general economy of all lighthouses, a general view of the
subject is likely to prove of more interest than particular details.
In consequence of the rotundity of the earth, the distance at which a
beacon light ceases to be visible depends upon its elevation. The
height to which a lighthouse may be carried is a simple question of
expense. The greater part of the pharos of the Romans were much higher
than the most celebrated modern towers. Yet, as it respects optical
effect, the feeble rays which were diffused from the wood or
coal-fires at their summits, could never have traversed the thick fogs
which in all climates occasionally overspread the lower regions of the
atmosphere.
Nevertheless, as to the strength of the light, the modern lighthouses
were, until lately, little superior to the ancient. At the time of the
erection of the Eddystone lighthouse civil engineering was greatly in
advance of practical optics. That noble structure was lighted by
tallow candles, without reflectors or the aid of any kind of apparatus
for concentrating the light. 'For more than half a century this feeble
light was all that directed the mariner in the very high-road of
commerce.' So late as the year 1811 it was lighted with twenty-four
wax candles. In 1812 the Lizard lighthouse, certainly one of the most
important in the kingdom, was maintained with coal-fires. The
Bidstone, a leading light to the port of Liverpool, was furnished with
an enormous spout lamp, with a wick twelve inches in width, the smoke
from which was so great as to completely darken the upper surface of
its reflector. The first important improvement was the introduction of
that admirable invention the Argand Lamp, with a double stream of air.
Four or five of these lamps would doubtless give as much light as the
large fires kept by the Romans; but if those lamps are furnished with
reflecting mirrors, the luminous effect is prodigiously increased.
The light of inflamed bodies spreads itself equally in all directions.
One portion is absorbed by the ground, another is dissipated in space.
The navigator, whose route we are anxious to enlighten, profits only
by the rays that proceed in a horizontal direction, or nearly so, from
the lamp to the sea. But such of the horizontal rays as are directed
towards the land are of course entirely lost to the purposes of the
lighthouse. This zone of horizontal rays forms not only a very small
portion of the total light, but has also the serious inconvenience of
becoming much weaker by divergence, so as to convey to a distance but
a very feeble light. To destroy this divergence, and to profit by all
the light of the lamp, was the task to be accomplished, before
lighthouses could be rendered useful to the full extent.
The application to this purpose of deep metallic mirrors, known under
the name of parabolic mirrors, has been found effectual to the
purposes required. When a lamp is placed in the focus of such a
mirror, all the rays which emanate from it are reflected from the
polished surface, and converge in one direction: their original
divergence is destroyed, and they form, as they issue from the
apparatus, a cylinder of light, parallel with the axis of the mirror.
This light would be transmitted with undiminished brilliancy to a
great distance, did not the atmosphere absorb a portion of it.
It must, however, be admitted, that this method is not free from
defect. It is true, we direct towards the horizon of the sea, a vast
number of rays, which would have been lost upon the ground, in space,
or landward; we also destroy the primitive divergence of those rays
which fall within the range of the seaman; but the cylinder of
reflected light is of no greater size than that of the mirror; the
zone which it illuminates has precisely the same dimensions, at
whatever distance, and, unless we employ a number of similar
reflectors differently inclined, there will be a number of large
spaces in the horizon completely obscure, from which the pilot will
never see any signal whatever. This serious objection has been removed
by imparting, by means of clock-work, a uniform rotatory motion to the
reflector. The collection of rays proceeding from the mirror is thus
directed to all the points of the horizon in succession. Every vessel
perceives the signal-light during one instant, and immediately after
it is seen to disappear; and if, in a great extent of coast, the
different lights revolve in different times, the various signals
become thus individualized. According to the interval of time, which
elapses between two successive appearances or eclipses of the light,
does the sailor recognize the part of the coast which is in view: he
is thus no longer liable to mistake a planet, or a star of the first
magnitude, at its rising or setting, or a fire lighted on the coast by
fishermen, charcoal-burners, &c. for the light of the lighthouse;
mistakes, which have often led to the most deplorable wrecks.
The reflectors originally employed were casts in plaster of Paris,
from a mould formed to the parabolic curve, and lined with facets of
mirror-glass. The power of these reflectors, however, was
comparatively small, from the reflecting surface being composed of
numerous pieces, in each of which only one point coincided with the
curve of the parabola.
The Trinity House having been at great pains to improve the reflecting
apparatus on the coast of England, with the advice and assistance of
eminent scientific men, adopted parabolic reflectors made of silvered
copper; and these, from their superior effects, have ultimately been
introduced into all the lighthouses of the united kingdom. In the
northern lighthouses, the reflectors consist of copper coated with
silver, in the proportion of six ounces of silver to one pound
avoirdupois of copper, which are rolled together, and then, with much
labour and great nicety, by a process of hammering and polishing,
formed to the parabolic curve of a mould made with mathematical
precision. The focal distance of the curve is four inches. The diagram
for the Bell-Rock reflectors was drawn by Professor Leslie, and the
mould was made by Mr. Adie the optician. The powers of this elegant
production of the mechanical art are said to be quite astonishing; and
by comparing its highly-polished and regularly-curved surface with the
previous glass reflector, the superiority of the former seems to be
immense: indeed, its influence extends to the horizon formed by the
height of the lighthouse-tower and the earth's curvature. The
reflectors in general use measure over the tips twenty-one inches as
applicable to stationary, and twenty-live inches for revolving lights.
The Catoptric or reflecting system was first adopted under the
direction of Borda, at the Corduan Lighthouse, probably about the year
1780. The system was soon introduced into England; and one of the
first acts of the Northern Lights' Board, so early as 1786, was to
substitute reflectors in place of coast-lights, which till then had
been the only beacons on the Scotch coast.
In the improved lights the best spermaceti oil and the Argand lamp
have been introduced. The keepers are professionally adepts in the
management of lamps; and should a drop of oil be spilt, the floor is
covered with painted floorcloth to receive it. The Argand lamp-burners
are tipped with silver, to prevent the waste and imperfection to which
copper is subject, from the excessive heat of the burner.
In appearance the lights may be classed as _stationary_, _revolving_,
_flashing_, and _intermittent_. In the first, as its name implies, the
light has a steady and uniform appearance, and the reflectors, which
are smaller than those used for revolving lights, are ranged in
circular zones upon a chandelier or piece of iron frame-work, with
their axes inclined at such an angle as shall enable them to
illuminate every part of the horizon. The _revolving_ light consists
of a frame built upon a perpendicular shaft, and the reflectors, which
are of large size, are ranged on perpendicular planes or faces, which
are made to revolve in periodic times, by means of a train of
machinery kept in motion by a weight. When one of those illuminated
planes or faces is brought towards the eye of the observer, the light
gradually increases to full strength: when, on the contrary, the angle
between two of these faces comes round, the observer is in darkness.
By these alternate changes, the characteristic of the lighthouse is as
distinctly marked to the eye of the mariner as the opposite extremes
of light and darkness can make it. The _flashing_ light is a
modification of the revolving light, and is practically a beautiful
example of the infinite celerity of the passage of light. The
reflectors are here also ranged upon a frame, with faces which are
made to revolve with considerable rapidity; and the light thus
emerging from a partial state of darkness exhibits a momentary flash,
resembling a star of the first magnitude, and thereby produces a very
striking effect. The _intermittent_ light bursts suddenly into view,
like a star of the first magnitude, and continues a stationary light a
minute and a half, when it is as suddenly eclipsed for half a minute;
and by this simple arrangement a strongly marked distinction in the
lights of the coast is introduced. This is accomplished by the
perpendicular motion of shades before the lights. A variety of all
these lights is introduced by interposing before the reflectors plates
of red glass, which produce the beautiful red light alluded to in the
lines of Sir Walter Scott, when he notices the 'ruddy gem of changeful
light.' The red and white light is caused by the revolution of a frame
on the sides of which the lights are placed alternately, with and
without coloured media. There are varieties in this kind of light,
some being so arranged that two white lights should be seen in
succession, and then one red; and others, that two red should be
seen, and then one white. When there is a necessity for what is called
a _leading-line_, as a guide for taking some channel, or avoiding some
danger, _double lights_ are exhibited from two towers, one of which is
higher than the other; and when seen in one line, these form a
direction for the course of the shipping.
When the French were recovering from the long night of terror, during
which their commerce had been ruined and their ships disabled, they
directed attention to lighthouses, and resolved to discard the very
imperfect and insignificant reflectors then in use. They investigated
the subject with their usual scientific skill, and the result was the
invention and adoption of the system of lenses instead of reflectors,
known as the Dioptric system.
A transparent lens reduces to parallelism all the luminous rays which
traverse it, whatever be their original amount of divergence, provided
these rays proceed from a point or focus suitably situated. The
substitution of glass lenses for reflectors is not a new idea, since
we find that a proposal to that effect was made by a London optician
to Mr. Smeaton, in 1759, for illuminating the Eddystone lighthouse,
but was not adopted by him. M. Fresnel mentions that lenses had been
used in England so far back as 1789, in the tower light-room at
Portland Island, but from some cause or other were discontinued.
On account of the great loss of light by reflexion at the surface of
mirrors, the French adopted the lenses, and they soon discovered the
source of failure in our use of them; they saw that, in order to
render lenses superior to reflectors, the intensity of the
illuminating flame must be considerably increased, as well as the size
of the lenses; also, that these lenses must have a very short focus;
and that, if constructed by the ordinary rules, their thickness would
be great, their transparency diminished, and their weight far too
great for the safety of the machinery whereby the lights were
revolved. Fresnel therefore adopted the ingenious device proposed by
Condorcet, that of constructing a lens of a number of distinct
pieces. This method was also proposed by Dr. Brewster, in 1811.
Fresnel also invented a lamp, with a number of concentric wicks, the
lustre of which was twenty-five times greater than the best lamps then
existing.
In a lighthouse on the dioptric system, the lantern is constructed
with eight sides, which form an octagonal prism around the lamp in the
centre. The centre of each side is occupied by a plano-convex lens,
something similar to a burning-glass, having a diameter of about
fifteen inches. This central lens is not sufficient to cover the
entire side. Indeed, a lens of sufficient size for the purpose would
be very costly and bulky, even supposing it could be manufactured. To
remedy this defect, the central lens is surrounded by a series of
glass rings, the external surface of which is so formed as to have
precisely the same optical effect as the great central lens. A
transverse section of one of these zones or rings presents the form of
a wedge, one side of which is slightly curved.
By this arrangement each lens transmits to all the points of the
horizon in succession a light equivalent to that of from three to four
thousand lamps with double currents, and eight times greater than the
light produced by the silver parabolic reflectors; it is, according to
Arago, the same amount of light as would be obtained if it were
possible to bring together the third of the whole number of gas-lights
which illumine the streets, the shops, and the theatres of Paris; and
this wonderful result is obtained from a single lamp.
This lamp has four concentric burners, which are defended from the
action of the excessive heat produced by their united flames, by means
of a superabundant supply of oil, which is thrown up from the cistern
below by a clock-work movement, and constantly overflows the wicks. A
very tall chimney is necessary in order to supply fresh currents of
air to each wick with sufficient rapidity to support the combustion.
The carbonization of the wicks is not very rapid; and after they have
been burning a long time, the flame is not sensibly diminished, as
the great heat evolved from the mass of flame promotes the rising of
the oil in the cotton.
In the year 1820, in the course of some investigations connected with
the Trigonometrical Survey of Great Britain, and conducted by a
deputation of scientific persons from London and Paris, M. Fresnel
exhibited from the French side of the channel, by means of his lens
and a large lamp, a powerful light which was observed by the English
across the channel. The brilliancy of this light so struck Lieut.-Col.
Colby, of the Royal Engineers, who was engaged in these observations,
that he immediately corresponded with Mr. Stevenson as to its probable
use upon the Scottish coast. A considerable time was occupied in
inquiry and negotiation, when at length, on the 26th October, 1836,
the light at the Isle of May was changed from the catoptric to the
dioptric system, and a committee of the Royal Society of Edinburgh met
at Dunbar, a distance of thirteen miles from the lighthouse, to make
observations on the two lights, which were exhibited in contrast. In
their report they conclude:--
'1. That at a distance of thirteen miles the mean effect of the new
light is very much superior to the mean effect of the old light
(perhaps in the ratio of two to one). 2. That at _all_ distances the
new light has a prodigious superiority to the old, from the equality
of its effects in all azimuths. 3. That the new light fulfils
rigorously the conditions required for the distribution of light to
the greatest advantage. 4. That at distances much exceeding thirteen
miles, the new light must still be a very effective one, though to
what extent the committee have not observed. The light is understood
to be still a good one, when seen from Edinburgh at a distance of
about thirty miles.'
On a further comparison of results, it was found that the light of one
of the great annular lenses, used in the revolving lights of the first
order, was equal to the united effect of about eight of the large
reflectors employed in the revolving lights on the Scottish coast. At
the Isle of May and Inchkeith the quantity of sperm-oil consumed by
the great lamp is equal to that burned by fourteen of the Argand lamps
used in the Scotch lights. Hence by dioptric means the consumption of
oil necessary for the fourteen reflectors will produce almost as
powerful a light as that which would require the oil of twenty-four
reflectors in the catoptric system, and consequently there is an
excess of oil equal to that consumed by ten reflectors, or four
hundred gallons in the year against the Scotch system.
The Dutch were the first to adopt Fresnel's system. In the year 1834
the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses sent Mr. Alan Stevenson to
Paris to inspect the system, and his report was so favourable, that
the reflecting apparatus of the revolving light at Inchkeith was
removed, and the dioptric instruments substituted. The new light was
exhibited on the evening of the 1st of October, 1835, and so great was
the satisfaction afforded, that a similar change was made at the fixed
light of the Isle of May. The Trinity-House of London followed next in
adopting the improved system, and a revolving dioptric light of the
first order was erected at the Star Point in Devonshire.
In the lighthouses of this country sperm-oil is the most usual fuel.
In France[6] an oil is burned called Colza oil, expressed from the
seeds of a species of wild cabbage. In the lighthouses on the
Mediterranean olive-oil is used. In a few lighthouses near large towns
coal-gas has been advantageously adopted. Much also has been said in
favour of the Drummond and Voltaic lights, which, on account of their
prodigious intensity would appear to be most desirable; but the
uncertainty which attends their exhibition renders it at present
impossible to adopt them: but there is a yet more fatal objection--the
smallness of the flame renders them wholly inapplicable to dioptric
instruments, which require a great body of flame in order to produce a
degree of divergency sufficient to render the duration of the flash
in revolving lights long enough to answer the purpose of the mariner.
In the year 1835, Mr. Gurney proposed a lamp of great power in which
the flame of oil or wax was sustained by streams of oxygen gas, a
method said to be more economical than the combustion of oil in
atmospheric air. The Trinity House entertained the proposal, and
instituted a number of experiments. In applying this light to
reflectors it is intended to use three small flames, each about
three-eighths of an inch in diameter, productive, it is said, of an
effect equal to that of ten Argand lamps. But for lenses the burner
has seventeen films of flame, and is said to possess six times the
power of the Fresnel lamp.
In the year 1840, Captain Basil Hall instituted a series of
experiments to ascertain whether the well-known superior brilliancy of
a revolving light could not be obtained for a fixed or continuous
light, that is, for one equally visible in all directions at the same
moment. His idea was, that by giving a certain velocity of revolution
to a series of lenses round a fixed light, as in Fresnel's
arrangement, a continuity of illuminative power, equal almost in
brilliancy to that of a slowly revolving light, might be produced. The
apparatus was arranged so as to cause a series of eight lenses one
foot in diameter and three feet focal distance to revolve with any
velocity up to sixty revolutions per minute round a central lamp. The
light from this lamp being concentrated by refraction through the
eight lenses into eight pencils, having a divergence of about eight
degrees each, illuminated when at rest not quite fifty degrees of the
horizon; but when this system of lenses was put into rapid motion,
every degree of the three hundred and sixty degrees of the horizon
became illuminated, so that to spectators placed all round the horizon
the light would appear continuous and equally brilliant in every
direction. The only question would be, whether or not this continuous
light is essentially less intense than the light seen through the
lenses at intervals when in slow motion; and this is a point which
further inquiry must decide.
One of the causes which has tended to improve the brilliancy of
lighthouses, has produced inconveniences, which long existed without
remedy. During the combustion of a pound of oil, the union of its
hydrogen with the oxygen of the air produces more than a pound of
water in the state of vapour. When a cold wind is blowing upon the
lantern of the lighthouse from without, this vapour is condensed into
water upon the inner surface of the glass, and in very severe weather
forms a crust of ice, in some cases, as much as four inches thick in
the course of one night. This not only very much dims the brilliancy
of the light to the sailor, but also entails a great amount of labour
on the light-keepers, and injury to the lantern. The combustion of the
oil also produces a large quantity of carbonic acid gas, which is of a
very deleterious nature, and in many cases rendered the light-keepers'
rooms almost uninhabitable. Under these circumstances, the Trinity
House made application to Dr. Faraday to investigate the subject, with
a view to the discovery of some remedy. With his usual skill and
sagacity, Dr. Faraday instituted a number of inquiries and
experiments, and visited some of the principal lighthouses. The result
was the contrivance of a complete method of ventilating lighthouses.
On the dioptric system, the remedy was simple: it was merely to erect
a tall chimney over the central lamp, and lead it out at the roof; by
which means, the draught of the lamp was improved, and all the
products of combustion carried off. On the catoptric system, with
revolving lights, each lamp was furnished with a chimney, which passed
out at its upper extremity, through a small hole in the reflector into
a fixed central hollow shaft, which served the purpose of a
ventilating chimney to all the lamps. These plans are said to have
been eminently successful in removing the inconveniences, which
rendered the light less efficient, and the lighthouse an unwholesome
and even dangerouse place of abode.
[Footnote 6: In the year 1836 the coast of France were provided with
no less than ninety-six lighthouses.]
THE END.
Parker's
Collections in Popular
Literature.
Collections in Popular Literature,
publishing by
John W. Parker, West Strand,
London.
It has frequently been suggested to the Publisher, that he might
render an acceptable service to the friends of Education, and greatly
assist those who desire to promote the intellectual amusement of the
people, by producing a series of Popular Books, at low prices,
calculated, by their unexceptionable tendency, for general use in
families; from which School Libraries might be formed, Reward Books
selected, and Lending Libraries supplied; which, on account of their
convenient form and size, would be welcome as Fireside and Travelling
Companions; books, in short, which might be found instructive and
entertaining wherever introduced.
These suggestions he is now carrying out, in compliance with certain
conditions, namely, that the works produced shall be unexceptionable
in subject and in treatment; that the series be sufficiently varied to
meet the requirements of all classes of readers; and that each book
shall be complete in itself, and procurable for a very small sum.
The COLLECTIONS IN POPULAR LITERATURE will, therefore, embrace most of
the features of an Encyclopædia, though the subjects will not be
divided into fragments, or scattered over many volumes; each subject
being treated with fulness and completeness, and its information
brought up to the present time.
The Plan will embrace new and improved Editions of certain Standard
English books, but the majority of the works will be newly written,
translated, compiled, or abridged, for the present purpose; and the
volumes will appear from time to time in sufficient variety to extend
simultaneously, and in due proportion, the various branches of Popular
Literature. The whole will be prepared with an especial view to the
diffusion of sound opinions--to the promulgation of valuable facts and
correct principles--and to the due indulgence of general literary
taste.
It is not intended that this series shall form a periodical, according
to the strict acceptation of that term. Several works are already
published, and others will quickly follow; they will all be uniformly
bound in cloth and lettered. There will be no necessary connection
between the various works, except as regards general appearance, and
each, being complete in itself, may be had separately; nevertheless,
the volumes, distinct, yet uniform in their object, will together form
a valuable library, and may be collected and classified under the
following heads:
I. Popular History.
Under the comprehensive title of History, we purpose giving an
extensive series of interesting and instructive works. Among these
will be carefully-considered narratives of some of those moral
tempests which have so often agitated the world, when men have
continued a long course of disobedience to the laws of God and the
recognised laws of man. We shall make it our business to record the
change of a dynasty, the rise and career of a monarch, a usurper, or a
ruler, whose actions have thrown a new aspect on the political
institutions of a country; we shall trace the rise and progress of
great commercial or manufacturing enterprises, whereby the wealth and
prosperity of a nation have been obviously increased; we shall notice
the train of events whereby the prevalent or established religion of
a country has been changed. These and other subjects of a like
character will enable us to bring up many stores from a mine
peculiarly rich in instructive and entertaining matter.
It is of course impossible, in such a notice as this, to include all
the features of so important a division of our COLLECTIONS IN POPULAR
LITERATURE as History; but some idea may be formed of it from the
following list of works which are nearly ready for publication:
A History of the Invasion of Russia by Napoleon Bonaparte;
its Causes and Consequences. 2_s._ 6_d._
The Lord and his Vassal: a Familiar Exposition of the Feudal
System in the Middle Ages; with its Causes and Consequences.
A History of the French Revolution; its Causes and
Consequences. Newly written for this Collection.
The Ruins of Rome and their Historical Associations;
including an Account of the Modern City and its Inhabitants.
The Private Life, Manners, and Customs of the Ancient
Romans. From the French of D'Arnay; carefully edited, and
forming a valuable work for study or amusement.
Constantinople and its Historical Associations; with some
Account of its Institutions and the Manners and Customs of
the People.
History of the Rise and Progress of the Trading Communities
of the Middle Ages.
Trading Communities of Modern Times; a Popular View of the
Origin, Structure, and General Tendency of the Joint-Stock
Trading and Commercial Bodies of Modern Times.
The Ruins of Athens and their Historical Associations; with
Notices of the Modern City and its Inhabitants.
A History of London, Ancient and Modern.
A History of the Endowed Schools of Great Britain.
The Incas of Peru, with some Account of the Ruins of their
Greatness.
A popular History of the British Army.
A popular History of the British Navy.
II. Popular Biography.
One of the most useful and pleasing forms under which knowledge can be
presented to the general reader is that of the Biography of
distinguished men, who have contributed to the progress of that
knowledge in some one or other of its various departments. But it too
frequently happens, that the biographical notices of great men consist
rather of personal, trivial, and unimportant details, than of a clear
and broad outline of the influence which they exerted upon the pursuit
and upon the age in which they were distinguished. The true object of
Biography is, while tracing the progress of an individual, to show not
only what result his active life has produced on the well-being of his
fellow-men, but also the position which he occupies as one of the
"great landmarks in the map of human nature."
Yet we are not satisfied with a biography which regards its subject in
his public capacity alone: we are naturally curious to ascertain
whether the same qualities which rendered him celebrated in public,
followed him likewise into private life, and distinguished him there.
We regard with interest, in his private capacity, the man who has been
the originator of much public good: we look with an attentive eye on
his behaviour when he stands alone, when his native impulses are under
no external excitement; when he is, in fact, "in the undress of one
who has retired from the stage on which he felt he had a part to
sustain."
But a detail of the public and private events in the life of a
distinguished man, do not alone suffice to form a just estimate of his
character. The reader requires to be made acquainted with the state of
a particular branch of knowledge, at the time when the individual
appeared, whose efforts extended its boundaries. Without this it is
impossible to estimate the worth of the man, or the blessings and
advantages conferred upon society by his means.
On the other hand, in tracing the history of any particular branch of
knowledge, unless connected with Biography, we lose sight of
individual efforts; they are mingled with the labours of others, or
are absorbed into the history of the whole, and are consequently no
longer individualized: hence we are likely to fail in recognising the
obligations due to our distinguished countrymen, or to deprive of
their just merit those of our foreign brethren, whose useful lives
have influenced distant lands as well as their own.
With these views it is proposed that each Biography shall consist of
three distinct portions:
1 The history of a particular department of knowledge, up to the time
when the individual appeared by whom its boundaries were extended.
2 A _general_ sketch of the life of such individual, with _particular_
details of the improvements effected by him.
3 The progress of such branch of knowledge, from the date of such
improvements up to our own times.
The following subjects will be immediately published:
Smeaton and Lighthouses.
Sir Joseph Banks and the Royal Society.
Sir Humphrey Davy and the Safety Lamp.
Linnæus and Jussieu; or, the Rise and Progress of Systematic
Botany.
Cuvier and his Works; or the Rise and Progress of Zoology.
Brindley and Canals.
Watt and the Steam-engine.
Wedgwood and Pottery.
Telford and Roads and Bridges.
Caxton and the Printing Press.
Galileo and the Telescope.
Sir Isaac Newton and the Progress of Astronomical Discovery.
Sir Christopher Wren and St. Paul's Cathedral.
Addison and the English Essayists.
Jeremy Taylor and some Account of his Times and Works.
Wilberforce and the Slave Trade.
Each work being a Popular Biography, with an Historical Introduction
and Sequel.
III. Popular Science and Art.
When we contemplate the arts and processes of civilized life, we
cannot but be struck with the vast amount of invention and ingenuity
required for their gradual development. Not an article of clothing or
of furniture, not an instrument, implement, or machine, could have
been brought to the state in which we find it, without many successive
steps of invention, due to different minds, supplied at different
times, and brought to light in different countries. But in devoting
several of our volumes to the Useful Arts, we shall not be unmindful
of the fact, that Art is the application of Science to a practical
end. It is proposed, therefore, under the comprehensive title of
_Popular Science and Art_, to include portions of our knowledge of
animate and inanimate nature. The object will be to assist the general
reader to regard with an intelligent eye the varied phenomena of
nature, to gratify the laudable desire of understanding what he sees,
and of preparing him in some measure to enter more fully upon the
study of a given subject. In this way, it is hoped to effect a useful
purpose, by connecting Science and the Useful Arts; for "it is not,
surely, in the country of Arkwright, that the Philosophy of Commerce
can be thought independent of Mechanics; and where Davy has delivered
lectures on Agriculture, it would be folly to say that the most
philosophic views of Chemistry were not conducive to the making our
valleys laugh with corn."
The works already prepared, or in course of preparation, for this
division, comprise the following subjects:
The Useful Arts employed in the Production of Food. 2_s._ 6_d._
The Useful Arts employed in the Production of Clothing.
2_s._ 6_d._
The Useful Arts employed in the Construction of Dwelling Houses.
The Writing-Desk and its Contents, taken as a Text for the
Familiar Illustration of many important Facts in Experimental
Science. 2_s._
Examples of Mechanical Ingenuity.
The Philosophy of the External Senses.
Ancient and Modern Modes of Measuring Time, with curious
Illustrations of the application of Clockwork.
The Rise and Progress of Agriculture.
The Natural History of Birds and Insects injurious to Farming
and Gardening.
The Wonders of the Microscope.
Mathematical Magic.
The Fine Arts will also form an interesting portion of this division.
The object will be, in a few popular histories, to trace the origin,
rise, and progress of Sculpture, Painting, Engraving, Music, &c., and
their influence on mankind.
IV. Popular Voyages and Travels.
Few subjects are more attractive than the narratives of celebrated
travellers. Although they tell us of beings who speak another tongue,
inhabit a different clime, differ altogether from ourselves in
manners, customs, dress, and institutions--yet the sympathy which man
feels for his fellows makes us delight in all the details which talent
and enterprise procure for us. The personal narrative of the traveller
has also a great charm; we seem to participate in his dangers,
excitements, and pleasures; we add to our knowledge in his company;
and the truth and sincerity which pervade the narrative, make us feel
a personal interest in the narrator. It is intended to reprint some of
the narratives of our old English Navigators, especially those of
Discoveries, which have had most influence on the progress of
Geographical Knowledge. It will not be an objection that these eminent
men lived at a period of time distant from our own; for their
Narratives are full of truths, told with plain simplicity.
But the important labours of modern travellers will not be forgotten.
In describing several interesting portions of the earth's surface, we
shall avail ourselves of the most trustworthy individuals, and by a
careful comparison of statements and details, we hope to present
graphic descriptions of some of the most celebrated countries of the
world; as well as of those which have only of late years been
explored. Many voyages of discovery have had their proceedings
recorded in large quartos, the price of which places them above the
reach of the general reader, while their scientific details render
them unfit for popular use: a digest of these works, containing an
epitome of the lighter portions, and the results of the scientific
discoveries, may prove acceptable.
The following works are being prepared for publication:
The Life, Adventures, and Discoveries of Captain William
Dampier; including a History of the Buccaneers of America.
Captain Cook and the Circumnavigation of the Globe.
An Overland Journey and a Steam Voyage to India.
Voyages and Discoveries in the South Polar Regions.
Voyages and Discoveries in the Northern Polar Regions.
Voyages and Discoveries in Australasia and Polynesia.
To these will be added digests of Travels and Adventures in various
Countries of the Old and New Worlds.
V. Popular Tales and Fiction.
The design of this Collection embraces many favourite old works,
which, though containing much that has instructed and delighted our
predecessors, are, nevertheless, but ill adapted in their original
form for general perusal. Among these may be reckoned some works of
fiction, the excellencies of which are often obscured by a grossness
of style not uncommon at the time when they were composed, but which
justly excludes them from family-reading in the present day. Such
works would be acceptable if freed from objectionable passages; and in
undertaking to accomplish this reform, without detriment to the spirit
of the original, the Publisher relies on the approbation of a large
class of persons, who will thus be enabled to place in the hands of
the young, purified editions of those romantic and interesting tales
which are naturally sought for by youthful readers, whose hands they
might otherwise reach, tainted with their original impurities. Every
work will be prepared for this series by a careful editing, in order
to suit the general tone of thought, principle, and feeling which will
pervade the whole Collection, and no work will be admitted, the name
of whose author is associated with considerations painful to Christian
feeling, good taste, or propriety.
Among the new works intended to be included in this division, may be
mentioned a series of tales, illustrative of the manners and customs
of the people of different climes. Of these, the following, among
others, are ready for early publication:
Norah Toole, a Tale of Ireland; My Son Mike, or, the Irish
Emigrant in the United States; and Rob Maxwell, a Tale of
the Highlands of Scotland.
The Spanish Merchant and his Daughter, or, Life in Spain; a
Tale illustrative of Domestic Manners and Customs.
Van-ti, or, Life in China; The Leicesters, or, Life in
Hindostan.
The Merchant and the Friar; or, Truths and Fictions of the
Middle Ages. A New Edition, revised by the Author.
The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man.
Carefully revised and corrected.
The most Delectable History of Reynard the Fox; an old
Romance, thoroughly revised and corrected.
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, newly revised;
with a new Introduction, and Illustrations.
VI. Popular Miscellanies.
Under this head will be published, works of a miscellaneous nature
which do not fall strictly under any of the foregoing divisions, or
which may include several of those divisions. Among the former may be
mentioned a short series of works on in-door and out-door amusements,
the object of which is to furnish young persons with sources of
amusement, innocent in their kind, and healthful in their application
both to mind and body. Among the in-door amusements may be mentioned a
volume which is nearly ready for publication on the game of Chess.
Experience has shown that where Chess is introduced as an amusement
into families and schools, it exerts a highly beneficial influence, by
exciting a taste for more exalted sources of recreation than are
afforded by _games of chance_, which so far from producing a
beneficial influence on the mind, are apt to disturb the temper,
excite animosity, and foster a spirit of gambling. Chess, on the
contrary, is an effort of pure skill; it gives healthy exercise to the
mental powers; it requires caution and forbearance on the part of both
players; it leaves the victor satisfied with having won the game
without the additional stimulus of 'a stake;' and it entails no
humiliation on the vanquished, but rather prompts him to greater
exertions. We propose, therefore, to give the history and antiquities
of the game of Chess, together with a series of Easy Lessons, the
object of which will be to make the young student acquainted with a
few of the leading features of the principal openings, that he may
form some idea of the richness of the territory of Chess, and to add a
selection of Chess Problems. Chess Problems form one of the most
attractive departments of the game; they enable us, more perhaps than
anything else, to appreciate the subtle skill and resources of a
first-rate player, and tend to elevate Chess to the rank of
mathematical science.
Among the works which include several of the foregoing divisions, is
one in four volumes, illustrating the Progress of the Year, wherein
the information given is arranged under the form of Daily Headings.
All the varied phenomena of nature; the animals, the plants, the
minerals, assume different phases, according to the means and
acquirements of the observer, the progress of science, and the climate
under which the descriptions are given. As science advances, the
descriptions of naturalists admit of modification and addition, in
order to keep pace with the progress of discovery; hence our
Year-books require renewal from time to time. The present is an
attempt to furnish a seasonal account of the natural phenomena of the
year, in conformity with the present state of knowledge. The work,
however, will not be confined to natural history, but will be varied
with notices of the arts, antiquities, manners and customs of our
native country; choice selections from our prose writers and poets;
and a series of papers expressly adapted for Sunday reading, so that
on whatever day, and at whatever season, the book be taken up,
something appropriate of an instructive and amusing nature may be
found, calculated either for family reading, or solitary perusal, as a
fireside manual, or a travelling pocket companion.
The following works are intended for early publication:
Chronicles of the Seasons, or the Progress of the Year;
being a Course of Daily Instruction and Amusement from the
Popular Details of the Natural History, Science, Art,
Antiquities, and Biography of our Father Land. In Four
Books. Book the First, containing the Months of January,
February, and March. 3_s._ 6_d._
The History, Antiquities, and Curiosities of the Game of
Chess; including a Selection of Games, illustrative of the
Various Openings, Analyzed and Explained for the use of
Young Players; together with a Choice Selection of Chess
Problems.
The Sea--the Highway of the World; or the History and
Practice of Navigation, in Ancient and Modern Times,
familiarly explained.
The Houses of all Nations; or some Account, Historical and
Descriptive, of the Progress of National and Domestic
Architecture in all Parts and Ages of the World.
The Games and Sports of the Ancients and Moderns.
An Account of Shipwrecks, Fires, and other Calamities, at Sea.