attracted the lightning, it will, of course, be abundantly clear that it is preferable to remove from the person all metallic objects, such as watches, chains, bracelets, and rings, when a thunder-storm is in progress.-Chambers's Journal. A NEW MILL.-Most people are aware that it is exceedingly difficult to reduce to powder any stiff or sticky substance. Superphosphate of lime, an artificial manure, is one of these substances; and in consequence of the difficulty, Mr. T. Carr, of Bristol, England, designed a disintegrating flour-mill, and machine for pulverizing minerals without grinding, crushing, or stamping. The principle of this machine may be familiarly de. scribed: A lump of sticky material thrown into the air, and struck with a stick, will fly to pieces; so Mr. Carr constructs cylindrical iron cages, with sticks or beaters whirling round therein, and with a contrivance for driving through the material to be crushed, in such a way, that the lumps are struck by the sticks and reduced to any required degree of smallness, or even to powder. The flying lumps offer but very little resistance, consequently, there is but little friction, and the power of the beaters is not impeded, as it would be by the passing through a mass of lumps at rest. And thus it is found in practice, that clays, ores, and other minerals can be granulated or pulverized at pleasure. But, perhaps, more important is the adaptation of the machine to a flour-mill. In this case it is not lumps of clay or iron ore, but grains of wheat that are struck by the beaters, which are driven round at a speed of about four hundred revolu. tions a minute. So effectual is the process, that the grains are instantaneously reduced to meal; this meal is removed in the way usually adopted in flour-mills, and the bran and flour are separated. The quantity of flour yielded is the same as from mill-stones, but the quality is far superior. The reason for this is easily seen: the flour has not been pressed or squeezed, and, to use the miller's term, is not "killed," but is delivered in a finely granular condition, whereby it absorbs more water when used. Bread made from this flour is lighter, and will keep better than ordinary bread; and another point worth attention is, that, as the bran is beaten off the grains in comparatively large flakes, there is a more perfect separation of bran from flour than in that ground by mill-stones. Two mills of the construction here described have been in work at Edinburg more than a year. Each one disintegrates twenty quarters, or one hundred and sixty bushels of wheat an hour; as much as could be produced by twenty seven pairs of ordinary mill-stones in full work. And in actual practice, the difference in value on sixtyeight sacks of flour is five and a half per cent in favor of the new mill, which, at the rate of twenty quarters an hour, would produce a large sum in the course of a year. THE HEAT OF THE SUN.-The most recent theory concerning the heat of the sun is, that it is caused by the shrinking of the sun's own mass. and some of our astronomers and physicians are discussing the question. Of course, a mass so enormous will give out an amount of heat enormous in proportion; but the shrinking goes on so slowly that many ages must elapse before any diminution in the amount of the sun's heat will become perceptible. In the last number of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, calculations are given of the rate and quantity; and the author remarks, in conclusion, that the application of this theory to other bodies is almost without limit: "the earth has contracted, and has stored up a corresponding amount of heat in the non-conducting rocks and soils; the stars, by their intrinsic brilliancy, indicate the operation of the force of gravity upon contracting matter; the nebulæ afford examples of the commencement of this operation; and periodical variations in light now become perturbations; and all these phenomena are subject to the great principle known as the conservation of energy." The nebula in Argus has been observed recently in Tasmania, where it is always visible. The foregoing views acquire importance, from the fact that the light of this nebula has largely increased, while the whole form has changed its appearance. Grand changes are going on in those far remote regions of the sky. AN AUSTRALIAN TELEGRAPH LINE.-By recent advices from Australia, we learn that the line of telegraph which is to cross that great country from north to south is nearly complete, and that the colonists look forward eagerly to the day when they shall send a message direct to England. The entire distance is seventeen hundred miles, and of this more than fourteen hundred miles are finished, so that intercommunication will not be much longer delayed. When we remember that the interior of Australia has always been regarded as a howling desert, this enterprise appears the more been to make known the fact, that the interior is remarkable, and one of its immediate effects has not a desert, but presents a vast expanse suitable for grazing and agriculture. There are, however, no great rivers, and the sea-board is distant, so the colonists propose to construct a narrow-gauge railway, at a cost of about three thousand pounds a mile, supplemented by grants of land, by the side of the telegraph, which shall be to settlers what rivers or the sea are to other places. What a field this will open for industry and enterprise ! As an instance of the unconcern with which a journey through the interior is now regarded, we mention that the superintendent of the telegraph distance of seventeen hundred miles, to see that is to drive in an American buggy down the whole the line is in working order. ANTS AND THEIR FOOD.-Some naturalists have questioned the fact, that ants store up seeds or grain to be used as food, and other naturalists have set themselves to observe, with a view to settle the question one way or the other. The last part of Transactions of the English Entomological Society contains a few notes from an observer at Mentone, which support the popular view. He dug deep into the sandstone slopes till he came to the extremity of the ants' nests, and there he found a chamber filled with grass seeds. He had seen the insects dragging the same sort of seeds outside; and to test further, he strewed millet and hemp-seed about the entrance, and these were carried in. At the end of a fortnight they were brought out again, the explanation being, that they had begun to germinate; and by watching, he saw that the ants gnawed off the radicle from each seed, (which would prevent further growth,) and then dragged them once more into their granary. The species of ant here concerned is that known to entomologists as the Aphenogaster. This statement of their habits seems to settle the question; but the same observer will extend his observations, so as to ascertain whether other species have the same habit. A SCIENTIFIC Voyage Round THE WORLD.— The English government have undertaken to send out a ship for a three years' voyage round the world, entirely in the interests of science, but chiefly in relation to zoology and natural history. Dredging operations will be carried on in every latitude, and at every possible depth, and careful observations will be made of ocean-currents. So much may be accomplished in three years, that we may hope, when the vessel returns, to find our knowledge of the physical geography and of the animal life of the sea largely extended. The Admiralty promise that the ship shall be ready next autumn; and when we mention that Professor Wyville Thomson, of Edinburgh, is to have charge of the scientific staff, readers may feel assured as to the success of this interesting expedition. Besides this, the government of India are supporting a project, set on foot by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, for deep-sea dredging in the Indian Ocean. Money has been allotted for the purpose, and the Royal Society, who are the scientific advisers for all the world, have been re quested to select the requisite apparatus. Thus there will be three expeditions at work at the same time, and the life of the globe will be investigated and illustrated in a way never before equal ed. ENGLISH WEATHER-CHARTS.-For some time past, the Meteorological Office has published a daily weather-chart, and at two o'clock in the afternoon, most of the subscribers resident in London receive a copy, showing what was the state of the weather at eight o'clock in the forenoon in Great Britain and Ireland, in Norway, and over a large part of France. It is obvious that many persons besides meteorologists are in terested in knowing what weather prevailed over great part of Europe six hours ago, and the weather-chart tells them day after day of all changes of wind and weather, of rain and shine, and heat and cold, and whether the sea was rough or smooth. A tourist about to cross the Channel might lay aside his misgivings if he saw that the sea had been smooth or moderate at eight o'clock A.M. A similar record is shown for the Irish Sea; and if any one is curious even about the Bay of Biscay, he can satisfy his curiosity with the daily weather-chart.-Chambers's Journal. MORTALITY AS AFFECTED BY MARRIAGE.In a paper read by M. Bertillon before the Academy of Medicine of Paris, the author-using as evidence the statistics of France, Holland, and fluences of conjugal association as compared with Belgium-strongly maintained the healthful inthat of celibacy. The figures show that, between the ages of 20 and 35 years, 1000 married men furnish six deaths; 1000 bachelors, 10 deaths; and 1000 widowers, 22 deaths. From 30 to 35 years of age, the same classes, respectively, furnish 7.11 and 17 deaths. From 35 to 40 years of age, the mortality is 71⁄2, 13, and 171⁄2 per 1000 respectively. And so on in a series of tables for all ages, the married man has greater longevity than the single man. The same advantage of the married state obtains in the case of females, though up to the age of 30 the difference is not so apparent as in the other sex. From 30 to 35 the mortality is 11 per 1000 for single women, and only 9 per 1000 for married women, and this difference increases up to the age of 55. Thus from 50 to 55 years of age, 1000 wives furnish only 15 or 16 deaths, while as many single women or widows furnish 26 or 27. This advantage remains very notable beyond that age, diminishing but little. In France, however, under 25, and in Paris, under 20 years of age, marriage is far from favorable, but even injurious, as also in the case of males. The mortality of unmarried girls of from 15 to 20 is 7.53 per 1000; the mortality of wives of the same age being 11.86. The mortality of girls from 20 to 25 is 8.32; of wives of the same age, 9.92. SAND-ENGRAVING.-Glass-engraving and the shaping of stone by means of a jet of sand, of ber, has been tried with success at Paris. Any which we have given particulars in a former numor, if required, the whole surface may be ground pattern on the glass may be produced at pleasure, or deadened. The cutting force of sand is such, under the influence of the blast, that it will pierce the hardest substances, even a steel file. A diamond loses weight if exposed to the jet for one minute; and in the same time a topaz entirely disappears. But to engrave glass, the pressure need not be great; and it is found in practice that glass may be engraved if the sand be driven by no greater power than the wind from an ordinary blow-pipe. On the other hand, it is remarkable that little or no effect is produced by the full blast on soft substances, such as caoutchouc, paper, and the gelatine used in photography. A POPULAR FALLACY.-In an article on Lon gevity, Professor Owen has explained how it is that aged persons are said to have cut new teeth late in life. Many readers will remember to have heard or read of such occurrences, which are regarded as extraordinary. The facts are these: it often happens that teeth break or decay, and leave a stump in the gum. The gum closes over the place, and the incident is forgotten. As years go by, the jaw and the gums shrink; the long-buried stump is in consequence laid bare, and is hailed as a new tooth, and is sometimes mentioned in the newspapers as a kind of wonder. Thus a "fact" is shown by competent authority to be an error; and it is always well for public opinion to get rid of an error. ART. OLD MAPS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.-The rarest gems of cartography in the Museum are those with which Mr. Major has connected his own name by making out of them important new history in connection with our knowledge of the progress of geographical discovery. For example, among the manuscript maps in the Museum we have the Dauphine mappemonde, undated, but about 1530, the mappemonde of Jean Rotz of 1542, and that of Pierre Desceliers of 1550, from all which Mr. Major has demonstrated that Australia was discovered (though by whom not known, but he thinks probably, and almost certainly, by the Portuguese) before 1530. There is also in the collection an anonymous manuscript map, not original, but which Mr. Major has found to be a copy of Teixeira, on which is laid down Australia with a legend on the north part showing that it was discovered in 1601 by a Portuguese named Manoel Godinho de Eredia, a date earlier by five years than the earliest authenticated discovery previously known, namely, that by the Dutch ship, the Duyfhén, in 1606. Mr. Major's notice of this transferred the honor of the discov Florence. It is of the date of 1351, and is the earliest collection of maps known which throws any light on the history of medieval geographical discovery. From this rare and curious collection, combined with collateral documents, Mr. Major Islands, which had previously been supposed to has for the first time shown that the Madeira have been first discovered by Prince Henry's navigators in 1418-20, were discovered, together with the Azores, a hundred years earlier, by Portuguese ships under Genoese captains.-From "Memories of the British Museum," by Robert Cowtan. DECORATION OF ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL.Ever since the death of Sir Christopher Wren, there has been more or less talk in England about completing St. Paul's Cathedral; but it is only within a month that the subscriptions to the "restoration fund" have reached a figure which justtifies a controversy. Of course there was a committee, and of course an architect had to be appointed, and hereupon arose the question whether he should be a Medievalist or a Classicist. Owing Classicist who had neglected to "pair off," the to the absence from the committee meeting of one Medievalists carried the day, but a protest from the minority promptly followed, and it has since turned out that Mr. Burges, the architect-elect of views concerning Sir Christopher's work, and the majority, is possessed of highly irreverent other sibyls in the interior decoration of the great proposes to introduce the Persian, Cumæan and Protestant Cathedral, placing them in juxtaposition with "angels clad as deacons," with martyrs, ed the Confessor. Inasmuch as the author of with Holy Innocents, and with Edward, surnamDies Ira is, perhaps, the highest authority for ranking the sibyl with the prophets and martyrs, many Churchmen object to this arrangement, and at latest advices the discussion was waxing warm. lay element should object to the revival, nowadays, It is at least natural that a large proportion of the of a style of ecclesiastical art which originated at a period at best half pagan, and although the ery from Holland to Portugal, and the late King Sibylla," poetical license is one thing and decorachoir may very probably chant “ Teste David cum Dom Pedro V., who had been intending to give tive license is decidedly another. At any rate, him a decoration in recognition of his previous Mr. Burges and the Dean of St. Paul's, who is work on "Early Voyages to Terra Australis," reported to be in sympathy with him, are “catchthen said, "Now Mr. Major shall have the Towering it" at the hands of high-art critics all over the and Sword," that being the highest Order the King had to confer; and accordingly he bestowed on him the Knighthood of that Order. There is also in the Geographical collection a photograph copy of a famous atlas made at Venice in 1436 by Andrea Bianco, who afterwards was employed on Mauro's map. One of the points of interest in this atlas is, that it is the earliest that contains the full delineation of the island of Antillia, supposed to have been America. There has recently been added to the collection a photograph facsimile (made expressly for the Trustees) of the Portulano Medicco in the Laurentian Library at United Kingdom. The Pall Mall Gasette detects in the division the old controversy between the clerical order and the secularizing tendencies of it seems to them to symbolize the sacerdotal the age. The clergy are for the Gothic because theory, though their better taste should have opposed its use when forbidden by consistency and uniformity.-Christian Union. A DISTINCTION IS NOT A DIFFERENCE.-The late Patrick Park modeled in Edinburgh a gigancic undraped statue, 18 feet high, of the great Scottish patriot and hero, Sir William Wallace. 253 the site of the Temple of Venus and Rome, looking toward the Colosseum, when, at the depth of a few centimeters, he came upon a large piece of porphyry. He informed a workman at the near excavations of the Palace of the Cæsars of his discovery; and, upon further research, were found three beautiful fragments of porphyry col umns. M. GUSTAVE DORE is about to challenge the opinion of the world of art on a grand scale. He has just finished a picture, 30 feet long by 20 wide, at which he has been working pretty constantly composition is "Christ leaving the Temple," and for about four years. The subject of this large it contains about 400 figures. This picture is to Paris, and to be sent to London for public exhibibe shown for a few days in the painters' studio in A friendly critic remonstrated against the nudity. The sculptor defended it. "Wallace," he said, "though he was once a man, has become a myth, and as a myth he does not require drapery." The reasoning would have been correct if the fact had been true. Wallace is a great historical character and not a myth; but if the sculptor had called him Hercules the plea would have been allowed, and the nudity would have excited no unfavorable comment. In consequence of the mistake in which the sculptor persisted, he could induce no one to support him in the design of erecting it in Scotland. It excited the laughter of many, and the reprobation of more, until in a gust of passionate disappointment he seized a hammer and dashed his work to pieces. On a smaller scale, and as the representative of a personage in Greek mythology, the work would have excited universal admiration. In like manner, the sculptor who executed a nude statue of the Great Napo. the equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington, A FRENCH critic on art, M. Louis Tiardot, says leon, which long stood, and perhaps still stands, at the foot of the staircase in the Duke of Wellington's London residence, committed a grave error. The naked portrait of a man who lived so recently is an offence not only against the principles of high art, but against decency, as perhaps the great Duke of Wellington would have himself admitted, if any sculptor had been daring enough to model a nude statue of Arthur Wellesley. A GREAT NUMBER of gothic designs have been sent in to the Berlin Architectural Competition for the new houses of Parliament, and it is said that among the jury there are a considerable number of Gothicists who hold that any design not based on a medieval type would be inconsistent with German architectural history. The Cathedral at Berlin has not yet been commenced, because of the conflicting opinions as to the propriety of erecting a Gothic building between the Museum, by Schinkel, and a royal palace of modern classic style. The same views are held in the case of the present competition, by those who re gard the erection, in Berlin, of a Gothic design for the new houses of Parliament as a mistake. MR. RUSKIN, the great art-critic, has recently put forth the following card for correspondents: "Between May and October, any letters meant for me should be addressed to Brantwood, Coniston; between October and May, to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. They must be very short, and very plainly written, or they will not be read; and they need never ask me do any thing, because I won't do it. And, in general I can not answer letters; but for any that come to help me, the writers may be sure that I am grateful. I get a great many from people who know that I must be good-natured' from my books. I was good-natured once; but I beg to state, in the most positive terms, that I am now old, tired, and very ill-natured." THE OTHER DAY, at Rome, a boy was amusing himself by digging up earth with a sharp stone on tion. on the Marble Arch, London, resembles Punch mounted on Balaam's ass. VARIETIES. GEMS OF THE OCEAN.-" Upon the Isle de Chaussy," says that distinguished anatomist, M. de Quatrefages, "the wandering Annelids occupied my special attention. Hitherto I had only known this numerous family of sea-worms through engravings; and although I had formed a tolerably exact notion of their structure, I had not the slightest idea how many points of interest attached to them. When I had once surprised within their secure retreats the Polynoe with its lucid scales; the Phyllodoce with its hundred bright green rings; the Eunice with its purple crest; the Terebella surrounded by a crowd of innumerable living cables, which serve it in the place of arms; when I had seen displayed before my eyes the rich fan of the Sabella, and the enameled coldone before, at the thought of the naturalist hav lar of the Serpula, I no longer smiled, as I had ing conferred upon them the most charming names he could think of. These despised creatures seemed to me no less worthy of a naturalist's homage than the most brilliant insect or the about the violet as a pattern of modesty. The fairest flower. Let no one prate to me any more coquette! See how she shows from far her fresh turf of green leaves, and scatters abroad the perfume that invites you to approach. More skillful than her rivals, she knows that mystery is the loses by displaying her charms in broad daylight; greatest of all attractions, and that the rose herself therefore it is that she seeks the obscurity of the woods and the shelter of the hedge-side. But look at the Annelids! what do they lack when compared with the most splendid inhabitants of earth or air? Yet they shun the light, they withdraw themselves from our view, but with no design to attract; and the naturalist alone knows where to seek the strange wonders which are hidden within the recesses of the rock, and beneath the sandy beds of the ocean. You may smile at my enthusiasm, but come and judge for yourself. All is prepared! Our lamp gives a light almost equal to a jet of gas, while a large lens, mounted upon a movable foot, receives the rays of light, and concentrates them upon our field of view. We have just placed upon the stage a little trough filled with sea-water, in which an Eunice is disporting itself. See how indignant it is at its captivity; how its numerous rings contract, elongate, twist into a spiral coil, and at every movement emits flashes of splendor in which all the tints of the prism are blended in the brightest metallic reflections. It is impossible, in the midst of this tumultuous agitation, to distinguish any thing definitely. But it is more quiet now; lose no time in examining it. See how it crawls along the bottom of the vessel, with its thousand feet moving rapidly forwards. See what beautiful plumes adorn the sides of the body: these are the branchiæ, or organs of respiration, which become vermilion as they are swelled by the blood, the course of which you may trace all along the back. Look at that head enameled with the brightest colors : here are the few tentacles, delicate organs of touch, and here, in the midst of them, is the mouth, which at first sight seems merely like an irregularly puckered slit. But watch it for a few moments; see how it opens and protrudes a large proboscis, furnished with three pairs of jaws, and possessing a diameter which equals that of the body within which it is inclosed, as in a living sheath. Well! is it not wonderful? Is there any animal that can surpass it in decoration? The corslet of the brightest beetle, the sparkling throat of the humming-bird, would all look pale when compared with the play of light over the rings of its body, glowing in its golden threads. -From the Animal Creation. A FRENCH JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.-The writer of a book called "Men of the Second Empire," gives the following sketch of a French Jus tice of the Peace: I had often seen this little man strut contentedly out of the mairie at the end of his day's work—that is, toward five P.M.-and wend his way toward his habitual café, where, true Frenchman-like, he spends his hour over a choppe of beer, a game of dominoes, and the evening paper. I had frequently admired the shrewd look of his features, the brightness of his gold spectacles, the trim cut of his gray hair, and the dapper neatness of his black clothes. His face was smooth shaven all but a slight rim of whisker; he wore the red riband of the Legion of Honor at his button-hole, and he invariably eschewed absinthe; three things which stamped him at once as an homme sérieux, and made waiters speak to him with reverence. I might, however, have passed many days of my life without knowing who he was had it not been for a notable occur. rence which brought me into close communion with him. My concierge, Alphonse, who brings me up my letters, appeared one morning bearing visible marks of a personal conflict. His left eye was black, and the place where his nose should have been was occupied by a swollen mass, which, as M. Victor Hugo would say, presented the appearance of nothing human. Alphonse was an old soldier, and rather scrupulous about his personal appearance. "What's this?" I asked; "I hope, Alphonse, you have not been getting yourself into any of these election squabbles?" Alphonse approached the looking-glass, surveyed himself grimly in full face and in profile, and then answered with solemn quiet: "C'est mon ami Jules qui m'a arrangé comme cela; mais c'est égal; on va lui payer ça plus tard.” "What was it all about?" I repeated. Figure to yourself this," exclaimed Alphonse, gesticulating. "Yesterday evening I go to see my friend Jules to talk about these elections. Says I, 'It's M. Devinck, the chocolate merchant, who's the Emperor's candidate in this district. It's the duty of an old soldier to obey the orders of his chief, so I vote for M. Devinck.' 'No,' says Jules, who's an old soldier too, I don't like chocolate. I shall vote for the Emperor.' 'But,' I explained, 'it's all the same thing; the Emperor can't be a deputy himself, so he puts forward M. Devinck; if you vote for M. Devinck you vote for the Emperor.' 'I tell you I don't like chocolate,' cried out Jules; if it was a coffee merchant, I don't say; but chocolate doesn't agree with me, so I vote for the Emperor.' Then your vote won't count,' I said. Ah! the devil it won't,' cried Jules, springing up; 'my vote'll be as good as yours any day,' and, piff, paff, before I could utter a word he gave me a blow in the eye, a blow on the nose, and a kick behind, which sent me rolling outside down the staircase. Mais c'est égal," burst out Alphonse, warming again at the remembrance of his injuries, "I have assigned Jules this morning before the juge de paix, et vous allez voir, il me paiera ça." "I will go with you," I said, "to see the law wreak its vengeance upon Jules. But tell me, how do you obtain an assignation, (summons,) and what does it cost you?" "It costs fifty centimes, (5d.,)" answered Alphonse, "and it is easy to get; all you have to do is to state your case. If Jules is condemned, it is he who will pay the ten sous." "Yes, but what if he should not appear?" "Ah!" cried Alphonse, "then Maître Robin issues a second summons which costs two francs, and this time Jules pays whether he is guilty or not. If he refuses to come the second time, there is a third summons of five francs, which, as before, he is obliged to pay; should he still refuse to appear, then the juge goes to him and adds for so doing another twenty francs to the bill. This time there is no escape. The juge calls upon him to make his defence. If the decision is against him, he is given so much time to |