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_The Colosseum_.
The curious mechanism by which it is proposed to elevate the visiters at
this emporium of wonders, is as follows: A large bucket or tank of water
will be connected with a movable platform that any number of persons may
be placed in equilibrium with its fluid contents, and directly a
sufficient quantity of water is introduced to produce a preponderance in
the tank, the persons stationed on the platform will ascend.--_The
Atlas_.
_Spots on the Sun_.
An ingenious individual in Providence has very recently succeeded, by
means of a seven-feet telescope, constructed by himself, on a new
principle, in bringing the entire image of the sun into a darkened room,
upon a white screen, to the size of eight feet in diameter. He writes us
that his astonishment was great when he perceived that every spot now upon
the face of the sun, nine in number, was distinctly transferred to the
screen, and was so plain that he could see every movement of them in their
various and sudden changes. He says he could plainly discover that those
spots were immense bodies of smoke, apparently issuing from volcanoes; and
as they seem occasionally forced upward from the craters, now forming
dense clouds, and now dispersing, considers those phenomena as accounting
for the rapid changes of those spots. The escape of such a vast quantity
of gas from the interior of the body of the sun would, he observes, as it
surrounds that luminary, produce that bright and dazzling appearance which
is the atmosphere of the sun. This theory may not accord with the opinions
of others who have made observations on the subject; but the writer, at
any rate, entertains the strongest belief of its truth. With the same
instrument, which is but just finished, he has also examined the moon, and
states his conviction that that body is covered with perpetual snow and
ice, the dark spots discoverable on its surface being frozen seas, and the
lighter spaces land covered with snow. Those circular places, which have a
rising cone in the centre, he thinks are extinguished volcanoes, as no
clouds are perceptible over the moon's face; which being covered with snow
and ice, accounts, as he imagines, for its clear atmosphere, or for the
absence of an atmosphere. This vast accumulation of ice and snow upon the
moon's surface may be explained, the writer conjectures, by the nature of
the moon's revolutions. He offers to construct instruments of the above
description, by which these phenomena may be observed, at prices from 50
to 100 dollars; and at the same rate to furnish solar microscopes, on a
new principle, with a magnifying power at 12 feet distance, of
5,184,000.--_Boston Bulletin_.
_National Repository_.
Nearly two hundred specimens of curious works in arts and manufacture have
already been laid before the committee of this establishment; the opening
of which will take place in a few days.
_Iron Trade_.
In 1820, the whole iron made in Great Britain was 400,000 tons: in 1827,
it had increased to 690,000 tons, from 284 furnaces. About three-tenths of
this quantity are of a quality suitable for the foundry, which is all used
in Great Britain and Ireland, with the exception of a small quantity
exported to France and America. The other seven-tenths are made into bars,
rods, sheets, &c., of which a large quantity is exported to all parts of
the world.--_Repertory of Arts_.
_Indian Claystone_.
In some parts of India, the claystone contains numerous small _nodules_ or
lumps of clay iron-stone, which seldom exceed the size of a walnut. These
are picked up by the natives, and are smelted by means of charcoal in a
very small, rude furnace, blown by the hand-bellows, common all over
India, and still used in Europe by the Gipsies. Many of the hills composed
of claystone are neatly devoid of vegetation; their surface being bare and
smooth, and of a red or black colour. The soil produced by the action of
the atmosphere is not very productive; and so liable is it, in some
places, to consolidate, when deprived of its moisture, that, if it be not
constantly cultivated, it soon becomes hard and bare, and checks all
vegetation.
_Public Improvement_.
The spirit of general improvement pervades every part of the continent,
and is even more active in France than in Britain. In Britain, the spirit
of improvement is chiefly evinced in public works, and in the useful arts
and manufactures, and its efforts are characterized much more by
superfluity of wealth than by science or refinement: in Germany this
spirit is evinced in public buildings, in a superior taste, in
agriculture, and education--_Gard. Mag_.
_The Himalaya Mountains_.
This vast accumulation of sublime peaks, the pinnacles of our globe, is so
extensive, that a plane, resting on elevations 21,000 feet, may be
stretched in one direction as far as the Hindoo Cosh, for upwards of 1,000
miles, above which rise loftier summits, increasing in height to nearly
6,000 feet more.
_To make Gold Size_.
Melt one pound of asphaltum, and pour into it another pound of linseed
oil, rendered drying by litharge; add also to it half a pound of red lead
or vermilion. When the varnish becomes thick or pasty, thin it by adding
one pound, or a pound and a half of spirit of turpentine; as more is
required in winter than in summer.
_Indian Corn_.
Mr. C. Hall Jessop, of Cheltenham, asserts that he "was the first who
recommended the Indian corn for field culture in this country," which he
did "in a letter to G. Talbot, Esq., of Guiting, seven years ago."
_Polishing Stones_.
The Hindoos polish all kinds of stones by means of powdered _corundrum_,
mixed with melted lac. The mixture being allowed to cool, is shaped into
oblong pieces, of three or four inches in length. The stone is polished by
being sprinkled with water; and at the same time rubbed with three oblong
masses; and the polish is increased by masses being used successively with
finer grains.
_Sensitive Plant_.
Mr. Burnet and Mr. Mayo have found, that at the moment the sensitive plant
is touched, so as to occasion motion, it _changes colour_. They have also
found that when a sensitive plant has been made to droop, the part in
which the moving power resides is blackened, so as to absorb the light of
the sun; the restoration of the plant to its natural state is much longer
in taking place.
_Indian Mills_.
In India, granite is hewn into hand-mills for grinding corn; two or four
of which are a load for an ass or a bullock, and are thus carried to the
bazaar for sale. These are the primeval mills of all countries, which are
mentioned in Scripture, and are still common among all uncivilized
nations.
_Musk_.
Dr. Davey, by some recent experiments, has proved that when musk, in
admixture with quicklime, smells of ammonia, it is impure or adulterated;
and further, that, to preserve it well, it should be made perfectly dry;
but when it is to be used as a perfume, it should be _moistened_.
_Loch Lomond_.
Mr. Galbraith has recently determined the quantity of water annually
discharged by the river Leven from the basin of Loch Lomond to be about
59,939 cubic feet per minute. Now, as 36 cubic feet of fresh water are
very near equal to a ton, this gives 1,665 tons per minute; and, supposing
the year to be 365 days, 5 hours, 40 minutes, the annual discharge, at
that rate, will be 877,295,085 tons. But as the river was rather below its
average height, one-third may be added to this result; and we have about
1,200,000,000, or twelve hundred millions of tons per annum.
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