against the globe, he discovered the existence of a controllable electric fluid, and that this electric fluid could be made to pass from one body to another without actual contact. This was a grand and sublime discovery. It was the first real step toward the final establishment of the electro-magnetic telegraph.

MUSINGS OF A TELEGRAPHER.

BY GEO. G. W. MORGAN.

Он, man! how graciously on thee has Heaven
Bestowed its varied gifts to make thee blest;
Each element of earth to thee is given,

The visible and latent; amongst the rest,

The Telegraph, e'er willingly to pay

Its service-[Sir, we aint at work to-day.]

What hope! what joy! each day to thee is known,

Whilst space, a captive, bound, is at thy door,

Brought from the Frigid or the Torrid zone,

To yield his tribute and increase thy store, And backward flies the tyrant to his zones"[Is any answer here for Mr. Jones?]"

Speedy o'er earth and sea, 'mid frost and cold,

And forests where the untamed brute is free

No slave of man has ever toiled for gold

With half the zeal that it has toiled for thee-
Asking slight tribute for the service made-
"[To send this South, sir, it must be prepaid.]"

Affection, Friendship, Love, a mighty debt

Owe to this willing, never-failing slave.
"All safe and well-pray, write me; don't forget."
"Father is sick-I fear too sick to save"-
"Wife's got a bouncing boy." All in a breath.
Well, such is life, or rather Life and Death.

Oh, Commerce, thou art blessed; to days gone by-
No power now can hold thee in its chains;
Unfettered hence thine outspread wings may fly,

And at thine ease can coolly count thy gains.
"Please stop my goods, for Buncombe this day failed."
Oh, dear; oh, dear; these Com's must all be mailed.

CAL PROPERTIES.

GUTTA Percha-the Malayan term given to a concrete juice taken from the Isonandra Gutta Tree-is indigenous to all the Islands of the Indian Archipelago, and especially to the Malayan Peninsula, Borneo, Ceylon, and their neighborhoods,

where are found immense forests of this tree, yielding this product in great abundance. Its fruit contains a concrete edible oil which is used by the natives with their food. The gutta (or juice) circulates between the bark and the wood of the tree, in veins whose course is distinctly marked by black longitudinal lines. The natives were originally in the habit of felling the tree when they required a supply, but have been taught by experience that the juice can be obtained by cutting notches at intervals in the trunk, and save the life of the tree for future tappings, as our maples for successive years yield their sap to the sugar manufacturers. The juice consolidates in a few minutes after it is collected, when it is formed by hand into compact oblong masses of from seven to twelve or eighteen inches in length by four to six inches in thickness, and these when properly dried, are what is known as the Gutta Percha of commerce.

It is only ten years since the knowledge of the existence of this ductile secretion dawned upon the world. Dr. Montgomeric, an assistant surgeon at Singapore, observed in the possession of a native, the handle of a wood-chopper of such singular material that it awakened his attention, and on inquiry and examination he found it to have been made of the juice of this strange tree,—becoming plastic when dipped in hot water, and when cold regaining its original stiffness and rigidity. Within this brief period, the exudations of these dense forests have assumed, more especially in England, innumerable forms. It is singular indeed, that there should circulate in the veins of the primeval forests of Malacca and the neighboring Isles, a sap or juice so long a stranger to the civilized world, possessing such extraordinary virtues, and in the short period of ten years entering so largely and variously into the service of man, and destined to become his servant in a greater variety of forms than any other material yet discovered.

Mr.

The Gutta Percha of commerce is of a light brown color, exhibiting a fibrous appearance, much like the inner coating of white oak bark, and is without elasticity. When purified of its woody and earthy substance, it becomes hard, like horn, and is extremely tenacious; indeed its tenacity is wonderful. Burstall, of Birmingham, refering to some experiments testing the strength of tubes composed of this material, says :-"The tubes were 3-4-inch bore, the material 1-8 thick. They were tested by the Water Company's proving pump, with its regular load of 250 pounds to the square inch; afterwards we added weight up to 337 pounds, and I wished to have gone to 500, but the lever of the valve would bear no more weight; we were unable to burst the pipe." Another gentleman, Mr. Andrew Robertson, of Stirling, says: "I am of opinion that no other material is so well fitted for the above purpose (ex

tinguishing fires and watering the streets in dry weather,) as Gutta Percha; for, although our pressure is perhaps the greatin the Kingdom, being upwards of 450 feet, not the slightest effect could be discovered on the tube or joints, while the same pressure on our leather hose sends the rivets in all directions."

The application of heat to this crude material makes it soft and plastic, and in a temperature of about 200 degrees it becomes quite ductile, when it is capable of being molded into any desired shape, which it will retain when cool. It can be dissolved by Sulphuret of Carbon, or Chloroform, or if immersed for a time in spirits of turpentine. It is repellant of and completely unaffected by cold water, but is softened and made adhesive by warm water. It is a non conductor of heat and electricity; is proof against alkalies and acids, being only affected by the sulphuric or nitric in a highly concentrated state; while the most powerful acetic, hydroflouric or muriatic acids, or chlorine have no perceptible effect upon its structure or capabilities. This gum has qualities entirely differing from the India Rubber. It cannot be worn out. It can be melted and remelted, and repeatedly remolded, without changing its properties for manufacture or losing its virtue. It is lighter than rubber, of finer grain, and possesses certain repellant properties unknown to that material; and is extremely tough. It disregards frost, and displays remarkable acoustic qualities.

In its crude state, Gutta Percha has no resemblance whatever to India Rubber in appearance, nor are its chemical or mechanical properties the same, nor does the tree from which it is taken belong to the same botanical family, or grow in the same latitudes or soil; yet, from the fact that it could be dissolved and wrought into water-proof wares, many have inclined to the belief that the two materials are identically or nearly

the same.

Gutta Percha when immersed in boiling water, contracts in bulk.

India Rubber when immersed in boiling water, expands, and increases in bulk.

Gutta Percha juice is of a dark brown color, and consolidates in a few moments after exuding from the tree, when it becomes about as hard as wood.

India Rubber sap is perfectly white, and of about the consistency of thick cream, when it coagulates, it gives from four to six parts water out of ten; it may be kept like milk, and is frequently drank by the natives.

Gutta Percha first treated with water, alcohol, and ether, and then dissolved with spirits of turpentine and precipitated, yields a substance consistent with the common properties of Gutta Percha.

India Rubber similarly treated, results in a substance resembling in appearance the Gum Arabic.

Gutta Percha by distillation yields 57 2-3 per cent of volatile

matter.

India Rubber by the same process yields 85 3-4 per cent.

Gutta Percha in its crude state, or in combination with other materials, may be heated and reheated to the consistency of thin paste, without injury to its future manufacture.

India Rubber if but once treated in the same manner will be destroyed and unfit for future use.

Gutta Percha is not decomposed by fatty substances; one application of it is for oil vessels.

India Rubber is soon decomposed by coming in contact with fatty substances.

Gutta Percha is a non-conductor of cold, heat and electricity, and, in its natural state, is non elastic, and,with little or no flexibility.

India Rubber is a conductor of heat, cold, and electricity, highly elastic and flexible.

The specific gravity of Gatta Percha is much less than that of India Rubber,-in proportion as 100 of Gutta Percha is to 150 of India Rubber.

Chemists, who have analyzed them, vary a little as to their chemical proportions, but all agree, that the chemical properties and mechanical action of Gutta Percha and India Rubber are so entirely distinct and dissimilar, that they should never be classed under the same head, chemically or mechanically any more than commercially.

M. Arppe, a celebrated German Chemist, says Gutta Percha differs in composition from Caoutchouc, and that the products of dry distillation of Gutta Percha are different from those of Caoutchouc. He considers Gutta Percha to be a mixture of six resins, which have been formed from a CarbHydrogen.