suppose is a sufficient answer to the questions put to him, relative to those two important propositions upon which the truth or falsehood of the whole Newtonian system may be said to depend. Kinclaven commenced his attack upon the electrical theory with a high hand, forgetting, or, rather, ignorant of the fact, that the theory upon which he had staked his reputation, as a philosopher and mathematician, is hollow to its very centre: that the very first proposition which this theory presents for our acceptance, rests upon nothing better than a loose assumption, that neither is, nor can be demonstrated, and of which it can only be said, that it is as absurd, as it is unphilosophical. Whether the truth may be agreeable to Kinclaven or otherwise, I must take the liberty to inform him, that unless he, or some other disciple more learned than he, can, without subterfuge or equivocation, give plain satisfactory demonstrations to the two propositions to which I have pointed, the whole Newtonian system must fall to pieces. He seems to feel this already, and, as a last resort, has taken refuge behind the shield of orthodoxy; that ancient palladium that has, in all ages, afforded a convenient hiding place to the vanquished disputant and intolerant dogmatist. But, thanks to the march of science, this stale trick will serve no longer. When the Copernican system was first announced to the world, it was at once refuted by the unanswerable arguments of orthodoxy; and had not its venerable author been already beyond the reach of human power, he would have been convinced of his errors by inquisitions, racks, and dungeons. But we have reason to rejoice that the reign of Inquisitors is gone, and that the Copernican system remains a lasting monument of their ignorance and intolerance. Again, when Galileo announced his discovery of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn, he also was met by the unanswerable arguments of the Inquisitors, and was, by these wise and good men, fully convinced of his errors by being confined in a dungeon. It is true the Inquisition is gone; this great bulwark of ignorance, superstition, and tyranny, has crumbled to dust. But I grieve to say the spirit of the Inquisition is left; and I grieve still further to perceive that this spirit should be exhibited by one holding, and in some respects justly so,

such high pretensions to scientific attainments, as your correspondent Kinclaven. If the power remained, there can be little doubt that the same unanswerable arguments would be resorted to as formerly, and the voice of reason would be crushed by the humane administrators of the Holy Office." So much for Kinclaven's unanswerable argument; let us now see how much the argument is worth.

66

He says, "I referred him to his own pastor for a solution of his own proposition." Well, Kinclaven, what do you think the Pastor says in answer to this query? He says that he has carefully examined the record, and that he finds no such words as "first impulse," 99 66 cen trifugal force," "centripetal force," " mentum," or "angular velocity." He has confessed his total ignorance of all such things, and you have confessed your ignorance; where shall I apply next for information?

mo

So much for his answer to the first question; let us now turn to the second-That unless the angular velocity is continually sustained, it would be quickly annihilated by the action of gravity. Kinclaven says, "Here again, I am sorry to inform Mr. Mackintosh, that this second question has no great pretensions to absolute wisdom." Perhaps not, Kinclaren : let us see how much wisdom there is in the answer you have given. "The an swer to the first part of the question," says Kinclaven, "is, gravitation ;" and then he proceeds to enlighten us with the old story, which may be found in any school-book, about the "maximum and minimum attraction," the " maximum and minimum momentum, &c.," and seems to imagine, in the supreme darkness of his mind, that nothing more need be said upon the subject. "Further," he says,

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suppose the gravitating force of the sun were to be destroyed, then the angu lar motion of the planets would immediately cease; and what would be the result, the whole race of inhabitants belonging to the solar system would be frozen to death." Now this, when put into plain language, means simplythat the earth, under the action of the momentum alone, continually endeavours to proceed in a straight line, and would, therefore, under this one force, as it is absurdly called, be carried off from the system into far distant space; but the sun's attraction holds it back, as with a

. cord, and the earth, under the action of the two forces, is compelled to revolve -round the centre of attraction. Now this is all very plain, and easily understood, so far as it goes. There is, indeed, a little mystification introduced when the maximum and minimum forces are drawn into the account, but this mystification may be got rid of by considering, that so far as the forces are concerned, the earth's orbit may be taken as a perfect circle; that is, whatever is lost by either force on one side of the ellipse is compensated on the opposite side. Those who feel any difficulty upon this point, will, perhaps, be enabled to perceive the case more clearly by referring to the parallel case of the level and undulating railway. A level railway, embracing the whole earth, would form an orbit for a railway carriage, but this would not represent the actual orbit, or path, of the earth round the sun. The earth's orbit, or path, would be truly represented by a line of railway, consisting of one long undulation, so that the carriage would be continually accelerated in descending towards the perigee, or lowest point of the line, and exactly, in the same ratio, retarded in ascending towards the apogee, or highest point; therefore, we perceive, that by the undulation of the earth in her orbit, nothing is either gained or lost to the velocity. Now, if to the railway carriage a sufficient velocity could be imparted and maintained, no rails would be required to sustain the load, so long as the required velocity was sustained, the carriage, whatever its weight might be, would be sustained above the surface of the earth; so long as the velocity remained undiminished, the carriage would revolve round the earth without touching the surface. Well, Kinclaven, you are a clever mathematician, which I readily admit, I wish I could say as much for some other parts of your philosophy-perhaps you can solve the following problem-suppose a railway carriage has a velocity imparted to it (by whatever means), sufficient to sustain it ten yards above the surface of the earth, and let its weight be one ton (that is, the gravitating force of the earth soliciting it towards the surface is one ton): now if the impelling force be wholly withdrawn, and the carriage left to move by the force of momentum only, would the same initial velocity be maintained, and would

it continue to float round the earth for ever at a distance of ten yards from the surface, notwithstanding that it is constantly solicited towards the surface with a force equal to one ton. This is a very plain case, which I hope you will be able to understand.

I am afraid you do not very clearly perceive he spirit of the objection contained in my second proposition; if you did, you never could have supposed that it could be removed by the verbiage about "maximum and minimum momentum," &c. contained in your last letter. To prevent all unnecessary cavil, of which there has been too much already, you shall have a perfect vacuum (which is granting more than you can prove with respect to the planets), and every other condition you may choose (except a constant impelling force); that is, the moving body must be actuated by gravity and momentum only-the original force, by which the momentum was created, being wholly withdrawn.

Kinclaven has given up the "first impulse;" he has reluctantly confessed that it is far beyond his "ken," but having got himself somewhat bewildered with the "maximum and minimum momentum," he still flourishes boldly about the " rigid demonstrations." Well, we must endeavour to remove the mystification and draw him into closer quarters, and then we shall find that the grand system of first impulses, of gravity and momentum, rests upon-nothing.

In your last Number there is a very silly letter signed "A Country Teacher," in which he (said "Country Teacher") furiously attacks Mr. Thorne's geological observations, without offering one geological argument in support of his opinions, for which I suspect there is a very sufficient reason-he is not possessed of any geological knowledge whereou to found an argument: if he were, he could not have treated the subject in the superficial manner exhibited in his letter. Before he attempts to instruct others in geology, I would advise him to procure a little knowledge for himself; knowledge, I can assure him, is a very useful acquisition, especially for "A Country Teacher."

The Country Teacher says, "It appears that Mr. Mackintosh has one staunch supporter in the person of Mr. Thorne" -I beg to inform him that Mr. Thorne

does not stand alone in his support of the electrical theory; I have received letters from several learned societies and scientific institutions-the Geological Society of London amongst others-I have received personal and written acknowledgments from several parties distinguished for their astronomical attainments, and members of the Royal Astronomical Society, that the objections which I have brought against the Newtonian Theory are unanswerable. The electrical theory has received the commendations of several eminent Professors, amongst whom is Professor Faraday. I have the satisfaction to know that the general views there advanced have been adopted by more than one Professor in the University of Cambridge; so it will be seen, Mr. Thorne does not stand alone as a supporter of the electrical theory; neither does he nor they support it, nor is it proper that they should, unless they feel an assurance that it is founded in truth. He whose mind is stored with geological facts, can hardly withhold his assent to the conclusions advanced in that theory; whilst he, on the other hand, who is deficient in geological knowledge, can hardly be convinced by any mode of argument. It is vain to expect that any individual can form a correct opinion or conclusion upon any given subject, whilst he is deficient in the necessary knowledge upon which that opinion is to be based, or from which that conclusion is to be deduced.

I remain, Sir, yours, &c.
T. S. MACKINTOSH.

BADDELEY'S STATIONARY FIRE-ENGINE.

Sir, I am much obliged to P. R. for his commendatory remarks upon my stationary fire-engine; at the same time, must beg to state that the application of that machine to the protection of towns or other populous places from fire, was no part of my plan. On the contrary, I most positively deny the fitness of stationary engines for any such purpose. If P. R. will refer to my letter in No. 710, he will see that the apparatus was designed for the yards of public buildings or large manufactories. For such places as the Bank of England, the British Museum, the large cotton and other mills in Yorkshire, Lancashire, &c. A

stationary fire-engine of the kind I have submitted, has peculiar advantages, and is calculated to afford very great protection against fire.

There are a few stationary fire-engines in various parts of the metropolis, and the extreme rarity of their employment exhibits in the clearest possible manner the very circumscribed nature of their utility.

I had proposed another application of this form of engine, which I did not notice in my former communication; viz., as a floating-engine for the river, docks, &c. Mounted on a suitable boat, it would make one of the most convenient, as well as the most elegant machines, ever constructed for this purpose. It was submitted to the London Fire-establishe ment when their new floating-engine was under consideration, but was not considered suitable for the purpose they contemplated, viz. the employment of a varying quantity of power, according to the exigency of the case-with a preference for the vibratory to the rotarymotion.

I remain, Sir,
Yours respectfully,

March 28, 1837.

WM. BADDELEY.

COLONEL MACERONI'S ANIMATION OF HORSE-HAIRS,

Sir, In Number 710, Captain Ogle animadverts on my idea of vitalizing horse-hairs, or other substances, by a proper application of the galvanic influence. In reply to his remarks, I take the liberty of requesting that he would do me the honour of perusing with attention, the four papers of mine that have already appeared in the Mechanics' Magazine, on the theory he appears to deprecate, and which, with your permission, I shall further develope in occasional communications. The theory, which Captain Ogle says, I have "inconsiderately promulgated," is, that the galvanic actions, or those of light or solar emanations-of electricity, magnetism—those we call chemicals; and crystallizations — together with the phenomena of vegetable and animal life, are all one and the same-identical in action (the electromotive) as they, and all things are in origin and in substance (the solar). I plead guilty to having promulgated such ideas, and for

Fig. 3.

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the last twenty years, but not "inconsiderately," as Captain Ogle has it.

I will venture further to trespass on his leisure, by praying him to read my paper, "On Submarine Lightning and the Phosphorescence of the Sea,, in Nos. 400 and 401 of the Mechanics' Magazine.

I am glad that you have spared me the metaphysico-theological part of Captain Ogle's observations, because verily (as you say) they are "unsuitable" to admixture in philosophical disquisitions. Even the Banko - Buckland - Sillimanic class of philosophers are beginning to feel that they cannot get on without making this allowance.

F

B

Sir,-The frequency of breaking glassretorts, induced me to turn my attention to the construction of one of more durable materials for distillations on a small scale, over the ordinary gas-lamp. In the accompanying figures, A is the body of the still, the whole of which is made of tin, except the bottom, which is of copper tinned inside. The bottom is deeply indented, as is seen in the section (fig. 2), for the purpose of exposing a large surface to he action of the heat. The head B fits into a double rim x, on the body of the still, which acts as a water-valve, and effectually prevents the escape of the steam. The inner part of the rim should not be quite so high as the outer, as the condensed liquid, trickling down the inside of the head and filling the rim, has a tendency, by finding its own level, to overflow on the outer side; by drilling a few holes in the inner rim, I effectually remedied this oversight. The steam passes into the cone C, where it is condensed by the cold water in the cistern E, and the product collected within the cone, is conveyed by the pipe F (to which a leader or glass tube can be luted) into any suitable receptacle. The stop-cock G is merely for drawing off the heated water from the cistern, when it is requisite to replace it with cold; any plan of passing a current of cold water through the cistern, would, of course, be an improvement. The body of the still is made shallow to allow the rapid escape of the steam. Mine holds three quarts; and by means of it, I drew over half a gallon of compound spirit of juniper in about two hours. The heat from the gas is quite sufficient to distil the same quan

tity of water in the course of an evening, and by this means a small drug establishment may be supplied, at little expense, with distilled water, cinnamon water, &c. There is, also, a very important saving to which it may be applied; the dregs of tinctures, even after being pressed, contain a considerable quantity of spirit; these, if put into the still with a portion of water, may be distilled as long as any spirit comes over. I suspend the still over the lamp, from the ceiling, by chains which fix upon three hooks, soldered upon the body; and it is thus out of the way, and free from the danger of being accidentally overturned.

Yours truly,

HENRY WATSON.

Chichester, Feb. 28th, 1837.

P. S.-A correspondent, in a recent Number of the Magazine (No. 701), inquires as to the quantity of moisture evolved from the flame of the gas-lamp. › For instance, when my still, filled with cold liquid, is first suspended over the flame, its bottom is quickly bedewed with moisture, which collects into drops until the increasing heat of the still prevents the continuance of the deposition. cause is obviously the hydrogen of the flame, uniting with the oxygen of the atmosphere during combustion, and the water is the result of their union.

The

SIR GEORGE HEAD'S HOME-TOUR IN THE MANUFACTURING DISTRICTS.

We owe the production of the volume before us, apparently, to the fraternal emulation of its author. When Captain Head (now Sir Francis Head, and Governor of Upper Canada,) attained to some literary distinction by the raciness of his "Rough Notes of a Journey across the Pampas," he was followed at a short interval by his brother, and brothercaptain, with a budget of adventures related in a similar strain, although with a change of scene, under the title of "Forest Scenes and Incidents in the Wilds of North America ;"-and now again, the literary world have scarcely recovered from the 66 sensation duced by the "Bubbles from the Brunnen of Nassau " of Sir Francis, when they are called upon for more admiration of affected quaintness of style, and would-be oddity of remark, by the appearance of

pro

the "Home Tour" of Sir George; a book intended to be precisely of the same description, in every thing but the locality of the men and things described in its pages.*

This "Home Tour" is hardly what it professes to be; in the first place, it does not describe any particular tour at all, but consists of a number of detached sketches of places "here, there, and every where," jumbled together often without any thread of connexion whatever, and at the best of times with a very loose and slender one. In the second place, in spite of this hop-step-and-jump method of getting over the ground, it embraces any thing but a complete view of the "manufacturing districts" after all. Thus, Manchester is pretty nearly the only place in Lancashire which is visited by Sir George, and even in the few pages he has devoted to this metropolis of the cotton-trade, he contrives to avoid any description of its staple manufacture. Birmingham, the "toy-shop of Europe," and the adjoining parts of Staffordshire, the grand seat of our vast and interesting iron-trade, are excluded from this strangely-arranged Tour: the West Riding of Yorkshire is not,-but our author passes by the opportunity of making amends to the offended genius of hardware, afforded by the proximity of Sheffield, and actually makes his escape to the north without deigning so much as a word on its wonders! A feat like this could only be performed by the aid of his skimble-skamble style of "getting through his work:" your regular plodding every-day traveller would have found it impossible; but nothing is easier to the tourist who can pass from Carlisle in one chapter to Greenock in another (and that, too, in a tour in England), without condescending to explain to his readers how, why, when, or wherefore, he made the transition.

Nor does our author hesitate to extend his journeyings out of the manufacturing districts whenever he finds himself in the mood so to do. Thus, albeit, he avoids all but one corner of Lancashire, and takes no notice of one of the manufacturing capitals of Yorkshire, he makes

* A Home Tour in the Manufacturing Districts of England, in the Summer of 1835. By Sir George Head, author of "Forest Scenes and Incidents in the Wilds of North America." London, 1836. Murray. 8vo., page 434.