to have been caused by some internal convulsions, by volcanoes, or earthquakes.

As there has been numerous blocks of stone found on the earth's surface, some forty or fifty miles from their parent rock, may not some three or four of Mr. Mack intosh's moons, which were originally attendant on the earth, have fallen to its surface and broken into fragments? This would account for the abrupt and rocky appearances of various places on the earth's surface. But, by-the-bye, f cannot see, as he says, "the earth was formerly much larger than it is at present," how it can be smaller now, after the acquisition of these three or four moons, than it was originally! A very copious discharge of the electric Auid from the earth would be required to sweat it down from its original, to its >present dimensions !!

In conclusion, I beg to observe, that the above period of conjunction may be objected to on account of the length of time occupied in its completion. It appears from the latest discoveries of geologists, that the revolutions which the earth has undergone, must have occupied a much longer period of time than that assigned by Moses, for the creation of the world; but this does not militate in the least against the testimony of Moses, as he does not say that the earth was then created, but that "it was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep" from which it appears the earth was in existence previous to the time to which he alludes; and might, probably have undergone some dreadful catastrophe, which destroyed all its former inhabitants, if any existed. As there are hundreds of valcanoes in an active state of ignition at the present time, and also a great number which have become extinct, may not their origin have been occasioned by a general conflagration? or how are we otherwise to account for so many burning mountains dispersed over the earth's surface?

If a conflagration is admitted antecedent to the creation of man, as recorded by Moses, a great part of the waters which now cover the earth's surface, would, by the intense heat of the earth, have been converted into vapour, and suspended in the atmosphere, which, together with clouds and smoke, would have obscured the sun, whence darkness would have been on the face of the deep,

*Mechanics' Magazine, vol. xxiv. p, 234,

as related by Moses. We are also taught to believe that the world will, at some future period, be destroyed by fire; but it is not probable that the earth will be annihilated, as it may, after this catastrophe, be rendered a more delightful residence for a future race of intelligent beings than it is at the present time.

We have the greatest reason to suppose that the fixed stars are suns, attended by planetary bodies, with their attendant satellites or moons, similar to those of our system; and that they are, in all probability, inhabited by intelligent beings, of whose nature and constitution we can form no conception, as the Almighty has made nothing in vain. Of his kingdom there is no end, neither as to time or space. As an illustration, suppose the number of fixed stars, visible in our best telescopes, to amount to one hundred millions, exclusive of their attendant planets and satellites, and that the Almighty had created as great a number of systems as above stated, in every second of time, during a nonilliont of years, they would still be very far short of occupying one nonillionth part of infinite space, admitting them all to be placed at the same distance from each other as the fixed stars!

There may be stars placed at a distance from us so remote, that a body moving with a volocity of a nonillion of miles in one second of time, would occupy a nonillion of years in passing from them to our earth!! These numbers are, however, far above our comprehension, it being impossible for finite beings to comprehend infinity.

I am,

Sir, Yours, &c,
JAS. UTTING, C. E.

Lynn Regis, Dec. 20th, 1836.

SIR JOHN SOANE'S MUSEUM. It has been already stated in the Me chanics' Magazine, that the splendid museum and library of the late Sir John Soane have become vested in the nation by his decease. By a clause in the Act of Parliament, by which Sir John was empowered to carry his intentions into effect, it was, however, provided that in case he should choose to leave his collection, by will, to the British Museum, there to be preserved separately, with the title of "The Soane Collection," the house in Lincoln's-inn-fields, together with the

† A nonillion is a million nine times repeated; its value is equal to unity followed by 54 cyphers.

proposed endowment for the support of the Museum, should be considered a part of his private estate, and descend to his heirs, instead of to the nation. We believe the purport of the will is not, at present, known; but it is most probable that the original intention of Sir John, as developed in the Act of Parliament, will not have been interfered with by its provisions; and that, consequently, the mansion, as well as its contents, may now be looked on as public property.

It seems, by no means, to have been intended by the donor, that admission to his collections should be granted to the public as liberally as is now the case at the British Museum. The Act directs, that "free access shall be given at least two days in the week, in the months of April, May, and June," to "amateurs and students in painting, sculpture, and architecture, and to such other persons as shall apply for and obtain admission thereto, at such hours, in such manner, and under such regulations, for consulting and inspecting, and benefitting by the said collections, as the said Sir John Soane shall have established previous to his decease." From this it will appear how erroneous is the prevalent idea, that the restricted admission granted by Sir John during the last two years; was merely provisional: and that as soon as the Museum became public property, the public were to be admitted to it as freely as to the pre-existing national establishment. It may be remarked, however, that the trustees have the power to establish new regulations, and that, if they do, they will most probably tend to the increase of facilities of admission. If it become the regular state of things for the Museum to be open only two days in the week, for three months in the year, and that only to the select few who are able to procure tickets of admission, it will be a public institution in name alone.

There would be no pecuniary difficulty in the way of affording more extended admission, as the Act empowers Sir John to invest 30,0007. in the public funds; out of the interest of which, the "Curator" of the institution is to be paid a salary of 3001. per annum, in addition to which, he is to reside rent-free in the mansion. The Act provides, that the curator sha!I be appointed (after the first, who is to be named in Sir John's will) by the Council of the Royal Academy, and that

he must be an English architect, who shall have distinguished himself, or gained a prize." The trustees are partly to be elected by the survivors of the original trustees named by Sir John, with the addition of five elected respectively by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, the Royal Academy, the Royal Society, the Society of Arts, and the Society of Antiquaries. Of course, should the collections have been left to the British Museum, all these provisions will be cancelled.

The exterior of the "Soanean Museum" is pretty well known to the London public of the interior they know but little (and are likely to know little, if the restrictive directions of the Act be too closely complied with), except from the work devoted to its illustration, published a year or two ago, by Mr. Britton. At the latter end of 1835, Sir John Soane himself also privately published a work of the same description, with numerous embellishments,, from which a general idea of the Museum and its contents may be gathered. The arrangement of the interior would seem to be a curious amalgamation of the private gentleman's residence with the public museum. Thus, one of the principal apartments combines in itself the characters of dining-room and library; the "Sepulchral Chamber" is in rather close contact with the breakfast-room; and picture-rooms and bedchambers, dressing-closets and modelrooms, &c. &c., are jumbled together in most admired disorder. As the mansion, even when thrown open, is still to be the residence of Sir John's grandson, we suppose the restrictions as to access, which have been alluded to, were dictated by a wish to preserve his domestic comfort, which might indeed be seriously compromised, if the public were to use the same apartment for a library which he required at the same time for a diningroom!

The great "lion" of the collection, it is well known, is the Sarcophagus, brought over by Belzoni, from Egypt. It is of alabaster, of exquisite workmanship, and literally covered with hieroglyphics. It was offered, after it had been publicly exhibited for some time, by Belzoni's widow, we believe, to the British Museum. For what reason, it is not stated, the authorities of the Museum refused to purchase, and Sir John Soane immediately after became its pos

sessor at the same price-2000l., for which it had been offered to the nation. It is now placed at the centre of an apartment prepared expressly for its reception, and appropriately ornamented in the Egyptian style. The other principal treasures of the collection are a vast number of architectural models and draw. ings of all countries, and almost all eras, the lead being taken by the various designs on which Sir John Soane most prided himself; including especially the Bank, the National Debt Office, and the Council Chamber, among those which were exe. cuted and among those which were not, two designs for a royal palace, one drawn at Rome about 1770, and the other at London in 1821; a view of a proposed triumphal bridge, which gained the Royal Academy prize sixty years ago; and the plans for new Houses of Parliament, which received the approbation of the Legislature so long ago as 1794, but, as all the world knows, were never carried into effect. The collection of architectural books is particularly valuable; nor is the library at all deficient in literary curiosities of a more general character. It possesses the splendid copy of the great work on Egypt, presented by the Institute to Denon; and another work, an unique, of inestimable valuethe original MS. of the "Gierusalemme Liberata," in the hand-writing of TASSO himself!

The mind of Sir John Soane appears to have been rather deeply tinged with eccentricity. The two great men he held in highest estimation, were apparently Napoleon Bonaparte and William Pitt! He placed the highest possible value on a miniature of the former, which purports to have been taken in the early part of his career, expressly for the (future) Empress Josephine; and portraits and statues of the latter are profusely strewn throughout the collection-one, most appropri ately, being placed on a model of the National Debt Office! The collection of pictures is in all respects of high excellence, and particularly rich in the works of modern British artists, of whom Sir John was a warm patron. He possessed some of the finest works of Lawrence, Wilkie, Westall, Stanfield, and a host of others; and the ceiling of the library is splendidly decorated with paintings from the classical pencil of Howard. To sculp ture the same remarks will apply. Sir Francis Chantrey is one of the original

trustees nominated in the Act, and his productions, with those of Westmacott and other distinguished professors of the British school, hold a prominent place in the Fine Arts department of the Museum.

It is to be regretted that Sir John entertained so rooted an antipathy to his two surviving sons: it is painfully apparent even in the pages of the work devoted to a description of his "House and Museum," and seems to have originated from an impression on his mind, that they had attacked his professional reputation through the medium of the press. Be that as it may, it will hardly be worthy of the nation to take possession of the father's treasures of art, without making some provision for the sons; if it be the case, as it is understood to be, that they are (one of them at least) in destitute circumstances, and without any hope of deriving benefit under Sir John's testamentary disposition of his property.

PROCESS OF EVAPORATION.

Sir,-If W., p. 239, will carry his experiment of the inverted tumbler a little farther, he might easily ascertain how much rarefied air would pass through the bottom of the vessel; as soon as he perceives all, or the greater part of the water to have been driven from the inverted glass, let him remove the whole apparatus together from the fire that it may cool, and when cold, I am much mistaken if he does not find the tumbler again filled with water, thereby proving that not a particle of atmospheric air has passed through the bottom of the boiler. The water to be used in this experiment should be previously boiled.

The small bubbles, which he says form at the bottom of the vessel at the commencement of the operation, he will find to cover the sides also; but he will find the same appearance in a glass after it has stood still some time full of water, the said glass being thoroughly dry at the time of filling it there can be no doubt that these bubbles are atmospheric air, and if removed by agitation or any other means, they will not form again. Now, these bubbles I take to be formed by the breaking up of a very thin stratum of air which adhered to the inner surface of the vessel, and prevented the water from coming into immediate contact with the glass.

Yours, &c. TREBOR VALENTINE.

MR. CROSSE'S OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS EXPERI

MENTS.

(Extract of a letter from Mr. Stutchbury, of the Bristol Institution, to the Editor of the Bristol Guardian, dated Feb. 1, 1837.)

"I feel it a duty due to the cause in which I am engaged, and to the philosopher with whom they have originated, at once to take the liberty of transmitting to the press, and particularly the local press, from which so many reports have emanated, an abstract of a letter I have received from Mr. Crosse, with an account of his experiments, in the language of a private communication (not that which he would probably have chosen had he made the communication himself), and without further comment.

"The following is an accurate account of the experiments in which insects made their appearance:-Experiment the first. I took a dilute solution of silicate of potash, supersaturated with muriatic acid, and poured it into a quart basin resting on a piece of mahogany and a Wedgewood funnel in such a manner that a strip of flannel, wetted with the same, and acting as a syphon, conveyed the fluid, drop by drop, through the funnel upon a piece of somewhat porous Vesuvian red oxide of iron, which was thus kept constantly wetted by the solution, and across the surface of which (by means of two platina wires connected with the opposite poles of a voltaic battery, consisting of nineteen pair of five-inch plates in cells filled with water and 1-500 muriatic acid) a constant electric current was passed. This was for the purpose of procuring crystals of silex. At the end of fourteen days I observed two or three very minute specks on the surface of the stone, white, and somewhat elevated. On the eighteenth day, fine filaments projected from each of these specks, or nipples, and the whole figure was increased in size. On the twenty-second day, each of these figures assumed a more definite form, still enlarging. On the twenty-sixth day, each assumed the form of a perfect insect, standing upright on four or five bristles which formed its tail. On the twenty-eighth day, each insect moved its legs, and in a day or two afterwards, detached itself from the stone and moved at will. It so happened that the apparatus was placed fronting the south, but the window opposite was covered with a blind, as I found these little animals much disturbed when a ray of light fell on them; and, out of about fifty which made their appearance at once, at least forty-five took up their habitation on the north side of the stone. I ought to have added, that when all the fluid, or nearly so, was drawn out of the basin, it was caught in a glass bottle placed under a glass funnel which supported the stone, and was then returned into the basin without moving the stone. The whole was placed on a light frame made for the purpose. These insects have been seen by many of my friends, and appear when magnified very much like cheese mites, but from twice to eight times the size, some with six legs, others with eight. They are covered with long bristles, and those at the tail, when highly magnified, are spiney. After they have been born some time they become amphibious, and I have seen them crawl about on a dry surface.

"Experiment the second. I took a saturated

solution of silicate of potash and, filled a small glass jar with it, into which I plunged a stout iron wire, connected with the positive pole of a battery of twenty pairs of cylinders filled with water alone, and immersed in the same a small coil of silver wire connected with the negative pole of the same battery. After some weeks' action gelatinous silex surrounded the iron wire, and, after a longer period, the same substance filled up the coil of silver wire at the other pole, but in much less quantity. In the course of time one of these insects appeared in the silex at the negative pole, and there are at the present time not less than three well formed precisely similar insects at the negative, and twelve at the positive pole, in all fifteen. Each of them is deeply imbedded in the gelatinous silex, the bristles of its tail alone projecting, and the average of them are from half to three quarters of an inch below the surface of the fluid.

"In this last experiment we have neither acid, nor wood, nor flannel, nor iron ore. I will not say whether they would have been called to life without the electric agency or not. I offer no opinion, but have merely stated certain facts."

NOTES AND NOTICES.

The M'Adam Memorial.-A meeting was held at Spring-gardens on the 24th of January, the Duke of Richmond in the chair, to consider the propriety of raising a subscription for the erection of a suitable memorial of the services of the late John Loudon M'Adam. Resolutions to the effect that such a proceeding was highly expedient were carried unanimously, and subscriptions to a large amount have been already raised. It is, of course, reported that the proposed monument is to be a full-sized copy of the celebrated Colossus of Rhodes.

Mr. Collier offers to give F. H-d the explana tion he requires (see No. 701), if he will furnish Mr. C. with his name.

"Q" may have the information he requires with respect to his proposed patent, by calling at our office.

Errata.-Page 329, column 1, line 5, for "stablistichen" read "stuhlstichen" (steel engravings). P. 348, col. 2, line 7 from bottom, for "expensive" read "extensive."

P. 349, col. 1, line 13, for " only one, America," read" only one America."

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A complete list of Patents from the earliest period (15 Car. II. 1675,) to the present time may be examined. Fee 2s. 6d.; Clients, gratis. Patent Agency Office,

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