_Tristan d'Acunha._--COSMOPOLITE will be glad to have references to any
authentic sources of information respecting the island of Tristan d'Acunha.
_Production of Fire by Friction._--In most of the accounts written by
persons who have visited the South Sea Islands, we meet with descriptions
of the method adopted by the natives to produce fire by the rapid attrition
of two bits of wood. Now I wish to ask whether any person has ever seen the
same effect produced in this country by similar means? If not, to what
cause is the difficulty--if such difficulty really exists--attributable?
{359} Does it depend upon the nature of the wood used, the condition of the
atmosphere, or the dexterity of the operator? I have not quoted any
particular passages, as they are sufficiently familiar to readers of
voyages and travels in the South Sea hemisphere; and although they exhibit
some diversity in the _modus operandi_, the principle involved is
essentially the same in each mode. I need scarcely add, that I am of course
well aware of the means by which, whether by accident or design, heat is
ordinarily generated by friction in this country.