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BALANCE OF VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE. In...
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GAS FROM WATER. It is frequently reporte...
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Water in Mines.—It is well known in coal...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Notes And Extracts. Where Is The Standar...
them subjects to think of , and matter for conversation , that in some degree would exercise their understandings . The conversation of French women , who are not so rigidly nailed to their chairs to twist lappeta and knot ribands , is frequently superficial ; butl contend that it is not half so insipid as that of those English women , whose time is spent in making caps , bonnets , and the whole mischief of trimmings , not to mention shopping , bargain-hunting , & c , & c .: and it is the decent , prudent women , who are most degraded by these practices ; for their motive is simply vanity . — Vindication of the KigMa of Woman . _ The Sad Condition of Domestic Servants . — There is nothing in which the age of imagination ,
that handmaid of charity , may be more advantageously employed than in considering the condition of domestic servants . Let a man endeavour to realize it to himself , let him think of its narrow sphere , of its unvarying nature , and he will be careful not to throw in , unnecessarily , the trouble even of a single harsh word , which may make so large a disturbance in the shallow current of a domestic ' s hopes and joys . How often , on the contrary , do you find that masters seem to have no apprehension of the feelings of those under them , no idea of any duties on their side beyond " cash payment , " whereas the good old patriarchal feeling towards your household is one which the mere introduction of money wages has not , by any means , superseded , and which with
cannot , in fact , be superseded . You would bear lenity from a child many things , for which , in a servant , you can find nothing but the harshest names . Yet how often are these poor , uneducated , creatures little better than children ! You talk , too , of ingratitude from them , when , if you reflected a little , you would see that they do not understand your benefits . It is hard enough sometimes to make benefits sink into men ' s hearts , even when your good offices are illustrated by much kindness of words and manners ; but to expect that servants should at once appreciate your care for them is surely most unreasonable , especially if it is not accompanied by a manifest regard and sympathy . You would not expect it if you saw the child-like relation in which they stand to you . — The Claims of Labour .
Solitude not Good for Man . —Generally speaking , life upon a solitary island is not very beneficial . The uniformity in the surrounding circumstances ; the monotony of the days , in which ever recur the same impressions , the same occupations ; the want of employment , of active thought , and of living diversions , cause the soul , as it were , to grow inward , and the feelings and the thoughts to collect themselves around certain circumscribed points , and to grow firmly to them . We see this in Iceland and its formerly powerful race ; how the slightest misunderstanding gave birth to quarrels , how quarrels grew into hatred , and hatred to burning and bloodshed , and all this from the monotonous pressure of
time , and the recurrence of the same bitter billow-stroke against the heart . We see it in the Faroe Isle , in those quiet , insane figures which wander about among the rocks and the mist . For , if misfortune and adversity come , and the human being has no place to flee to where he can disperse their impressions ; no place to go to from these mists and these dark cliffs , his understanding must at length become clouded . Nevertheless , I love solitude , and the soul ' s undisturbed communion with itself , and cannot further pursue the conclusion to which these instances seem to lead than to say , that it is not good for man to be alone—for a long time . —Frederika Bremer ^ s Kaster Offering .
WiiKuii has Religion Fled ?—To begin with our highest Spiritual function , with lieligion , we might ask , Whither has lieligion now fled ? Of Churches and their establishments we here say nothing ; nor of the unhappy domains of Unbelief , nnd how innumerable men blinded in their minds must *• live without God in the world ; " but , taking the fairest side of the matter , we ask , What is the nature of that same Religion , which still lingers in the heart 3 of the few who arc called , and call themselves , specially the licligious ? Is it a healthy religion , vital , unconscious of itself ; that shines forth spontaneously in doing of the Work , or even in preaching of the Word ? Unhappily , no . Instead of heroic martyr Conduct , and inspired and soul-inspiring Eloquence , whereby Religion itself were brought home to our living bosoms , to live and
reign there , we have " Discourses on the Evidences , " endeavouring , with smallest result , to make it probable that cuich a thing as Religion exists . The must enthusiastic Evangelicals do not preach a Gospel , but keep describing how it should and might be preached : to awaken the sacred fire of faith , as by a sacred contngion , is not their endeavour ; but , at most , to describe how Faith shows and acts , and . scientifically distinguish true Faith from false . Religion , like nil else , is conscious of itself , listens to itself ; it becomes less and less creative , vital ; more and more mechanical . Considered as a whole , the Christian Helicon , of late ages , has been continually dissipating itself into Metaphysics ; and threatens now to disappear , as some rivers do , in deserts of barren sand . —Carli / lc ' s Miscellanies .
Hkukditauy Whalth and Im . ENV . ss . —There is a homely proverb , which speaks a shrewd truth , that whoever the devil limi t * idle he will employ . And what but habitual idleness can hereditary wealth and titles produce ? For mini is so constituted , that he can only attain u proper use of his faculties by exercising them , and will not exercise them unless necessity of some kind first set the wheels in motion . Virtue likewiso can only be acquired by the discharge of relative duties ; but the
importance of these sacred duties will scarcely be felt by the being who is cajoled out of his humaniiy by the flattery of sycophants . There must be more equality established in society , or morality will never gain ground , nnd this virtuous equality will not rest firmly even when founded on a . rock , if one half of mankind are chained to its bottom by ( ate , for they will be continually undermining it through ignorance or pride . — Vindication of the Mights of Woman .
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Balance Of Vegetable And Animal Life. In...
BALANCE OF VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE . In scientific books on the air , a good deal has been said of the balance between the animal and vegetable kingdom being sustained . That is , animals breathe out carbonic acid , upon which plants feed , and convert it again into wholesome air . Mr . Robert Warington has endeavoured to put it in practice on the scale of an experiment in a laboratory . Two small gold fish were put into a water
twelve-gallon vessel , about half filled with , having also mud and sand at the bottom , together with loose stones , under which the fish might go . A plant was put in , with its roots in the mud and sand ; the leaves began to decay and the matter became turbid , the air also , no doubt , becoming unwholesome for the fishes , when it occurred to him to use water snails to remove the queer slimy matter and other impurities from the water . " Five or six of these creatures were consequently introduced , and by their continued and rapid
locomotion and extraordinary voracity , soon removed the cause of interference , and restored the whole to a healthy state , thus perfecting the balance between the animal and vegetable inhabitants , and enabling them to perform their vital functions with health and energy . " The fishes breathe out carbonic acid , the plant takes the carbon and forms vegetable matter of it , leaving oxygen for the fish to breathe again . The snails eat up the decomposing part of the plant , the fishes eat up the young snails " as soon as they exhibit signs of vitality and locomotion , " and the excretions of the fish go
to nourish the plant . This is a beautiful experiment , although it be not quite a perfect one . We should like to see it completed by having it done in confined air . The advantage of using a fish lies in the small amount of air consumed ; another experiment in the air would only be still more interesting . We are aware , however , that men are too apt to complain ; and , instead of asking for more , it would , perhaps , be more advisable for us to reap whatever satisfaction we can from what Mr . Warington has already done .
Gas From Water. It Is Frequently Reporte...
GAS FROM WATER . It is frequently reported that now at last some one has found a mode of making gas from water . To make gas from water , or rather to convert water into gases , is easy , and the mode has been long known . These gases will explode violently ; if well regulated and only a moderate amount allowed to come from the jet , they will burn vigorously and
produce great heat . But they give very little light . Gas from water is not , therefore , to be considered a novelty ; water is resoluble into gases , and gas , when it burns , is resolved in part into water . The water of the whole earth may be viewed simply as the product of combustion of two gases . A cold substance held over a gas flame , will become wet from the amount of water formed .
It would , however , be a great discovery , to make this gas which is formed from water capable of giving light . It has been tried in Lancashire , but in that case it has been mixed with gas from oil and resin . The large amount of illuminating power in the latter gas made up for the imperfect illuminating power of the former . It has been tried to illuminate with it by using chalk , which becomes white hot in the flame , and gives out a great amount of the most brilliant light . But none of these modes have been found cheap and convenient .
An American is said to have found a mode of decomposing the water more cheaply than hitherto ; but unless he can make the gas give light , it will never take the place of coal-gas in our streets . It may , however , be used for heating . 11 eating rooms by gas , cooking by gas , boiling by gas , an occasional cup of coflbe for example , are conveniences very little as yet known , but prolmbly destined to be known vvvy extensively . A gas jet can be turned on and lighted with a lucifer match ; the boiling of water enough to make tea or coffee , and the roasting of a mutton chop , may be
commenced instantly , and this may be finished under half an hour . The whole has an appearance of elegance and despatch , whilst the expense is trifling . If the discovery intimated be a bona fide one , it will be valuable for this purpose ; not for lighting , unless another discovery be appended to it . Gas which does not illuminate is equally , if not
better , fitted for heating . It gives no smoke ; it sometimes issues out of the earth , and the inhabitants of these spots learn to use it . A communication to the British Association last year told us of a village in the West of England where the inhabitants have conducted this gas to their fireplaces , and thus a perpetual flame , pale blue and lambent , was burning on the altar of their domestic hearth .
At present , however , scientific men look on these discoveries with some suspicion , and little interest , because , as far as we know , there must be as much power needed to decompose water as there will be heat or power got by burning the gases . That is , if you were to make as much gas as would do in the place of a ton of coals , the gas would cost more than two tons of coals . On the other hand ,
there are some who , although they see no way of making gas from water cheap enough to burn instead of coals , still look forward to it as a consolation , when the time shall come that all the coal in England shall be burned out , when the iron shall be in the ground unmelted , a mere stone , and the iron horse shall lose his fire and cease to snort , unless a substitute be found for the kind of fuel
now used . In connection with this subject we may state , that a plan for using the hot gases from furnaces where iron is smelted , is contained in the Mining Journal . Boilers are heated by hot gases , which were before allowed to escape ; and one company is said to save one thousand tons of coal per week by the method . These things are always to be rejoiced at ; they not only benefit individuals , but they save the resources of the country and preserve its life .
Water In Mines.—It Is Well Known In Coal...
Water in Mines . —It is well known in coalpits that there are times when the gases issue out of the fissures with a loud hissing sound , and that there are pits where this is , in fact , going on , more or less , continually . The greatest amount of gas comes out when the barometer is low , or when there is very little air pressing it down , as might be expected . A contrivance sufficiently ingenious , where it can be adopted , has been made for preventing water from coming into a mine , by adopting the same pressure which represses the gases , and keeps them , when the barometer is high , in their holes and chinks , silent and innocent . The plan is to make the pit
airtight , so that no air can escape , and also to pump air in to drive back the water . The workmen pass down the air-tight pit in suitable boxes , and work in the air-tight mine in an atmosphere condensed to almost three times its ordinary density . Meantime the place is made watertight , and fit for ordinary work . There is certainly something bold in this mode of driving back the waters ; and here , at least , Eolus has got the better of Neptune , and may retort upon him his old saying— " Hasten your flights , and keep to those dreary caverns which are your abode , O Neptune ! "
Self-acting Locomotives . —A new mode of conducting railway trains has been brought under our notice , whereby a large number of men are spared , and the system takes more the appearance of self-acting . There is no driver : according to the proposed plan , the engine is stopped at the station by an inclined plane , which gradually lifts a bar projecting from the engine , and so shuts off the steam . The engine is provided with a feeder tor the furnace , and the stoker of course is not required . All this is possible , and who knows that some day or other it may come to pass . At present , however , machine
it is like the flying Dutchman , or like the flying , or like the parachute , by which we ought to be able to fall safely from the clouds . The only addition which the scheme wants is an apparatus for supplying itself with coals and water as the train is moving , and then , perhaps there is no necessity why it should stop at all . After all , it is dangerous to laugh lest we should be outwitted . Nature acts by laws so unerring that if we only give them a fair field we have nothing to fear . At present we are guided in our railway travelling by skilful hands , but these may err , they become weary also and require rest , whilst machinery may be made to move for years without fatigue or disorder . Just now , however , we prefer a skilful driver .
Mud of the Nile . —The mud of the Nile has been analyzed lately by three French chemists , who agree with former analysts of the same substance , that it contains no phosphoric acid in combination with the earths . This is certainly curious , as we have learnt that no food can be without phosphates , and that a soil is fertile m proportion to the amount of phosphates which it contains . It becomes the men of science to say , then , why the mud grows good crops , and if it is not after all a mere irrigation . But we foar the chemists have made a mistake , because they found organic matter containing nitrogen , matter that smells like burnt flesh , feathers , or bones . Whenever this is present there is phosphoric acid , and no doubt the soil of Egypt is made fertile by the same means by which all other soils are rendered fertile , although it has long been a mysterious country .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 20, 1850, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20041850/page/18/
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