The Express. — London, England, 1851-06-28 00:00:00

i f•- life, and we heartily trust that it may meet the eye of some rich collector of carious furniture, who, by purchasing the first attempt, may furnish capital and encouragement (or future and more educated efforts. Similar observations splay to the sculptured and perforated arm-chair, carved in Irish bog oak, and forming the joint contribution of three poor working men in Lisburn, Antrim Co., Ireland. With good designs these executive capabilities amongst our peasantry might soon be bsunght to bear fruit of • high order of excellence. The last-named article is exhibited by Curran and Seas, Lisburn, Ireland. The ustieteted por celain tthle, noticed in Thursday's paper, is exhibited by Wean. Gillen, and is the design and manufacture of W. T. Copeland. FLAX. (emose notice•] Bridport has certainly claims to take high rank among those places that compete with her in the manufacture of the stronger and coarser classes of goods which arc produced from hemp and 84X. The arrangement displayed in the cams containing these staple commodities is of itself admirable, and does great credit to the local com mitter, amongst whom we observe the well-known came• of Messrs. Edwards, Ewer's, Gundry, Ilounsell, Kendall, Stephens, dec., several of whom enjoy an European reputation in consequence of the long acknowledged ex tell,-nee of their manufactures. These comprise, as we briefly stated on a previous occasion, the stoutest canvas fitted for the storm-sails of a hue-of-battle ship, down to the finer textures applicable only to the painter's straining frame ; of fishing nets fur the capture of shrimps and white bait, or with meshes sufficiently strong to retain the egglo nitrate el shoals of pilchard ur mackerel, or to re sist the struggles of the enraged or inveigled sal mon. Ilridport is celebrated, moreover, for the quality of the lines and twines of all kinds produced there; fur the webs of which the girths of saddles and the "rollers" fog purse-cloths are subsequently formed ; for bagging, sacking, tarpaulins, waggon tilts, and floor-cloth, as well as the seaming twine by means of which the sacks, Ike., are sewn togethe r. Messrs. Dixou and Longstaff, the well-known manufacturers at Stockton-on-Tees, have transmitted a goodly show of sail-cloths, made from Baltic long lax of very high quality, all wove n in the hand-loom. Not far from these Mr. Moore, of Crinkbournc, has a very fine sample of sail-cloth, woven by steam-power from long Irish ties, without startle, or, indeed, any description of dressing. Thirty-nine yards of the warp here used weigh just .1311 w, the total weight of the ticislied "bolt" being • as neatly SA possible forty-six pounds. In order that the uninitiated reader may form a due estimate of this state ment, it may not be out of place to mention that canvas for sail-eloth is usually made 21 (though occasionally 36) inches in width, in pieces eaflul "bolts," varying from 3G to 42 yards in length. A bolt of the best navy canvas is reckoned at :1$ yards. To distinguish the different qualities for the ►manger or lighter sails, each bolt is numbered, and a bolt 21 inches wide and of the length above specified, ought to weigh as follows :—No. 1, filbs.; No. 2,4111 w.; No. 3, 3811 n.; No. 4, lilbs.; No. 6, 321bs. ; No. G, 2911*. ; No. 7, 2411 e..; No. ft, 211b5.; No. 9, laths.; No. 10, Irilbs. Consequently, if the length and width of a bolt of Mr. Moores caievaa accords with these dimensions, the weight of his adleluth is 21bs. more than that required ley govern ment. Ills canvas, we may *tat", is worked through a lni score reed, containing WO double thread. One inch in width of the warp, two feet long, will support a weight of 309ihs. One inch in width of the weft two feet long, has been found to carry .118Ibs. without breaking. We question much whether the same could be said of any sailcloth at present in use in the service. The importance of the subject render; it most desirable that it should Ice duly investigated, and if it be found that' a superior quality is procurable to that already in use, no time should he lost in adoptiug the improvement. The is ere:4...ed security to life and property that would be attained, by obviating many difficulties and dangers that now sie frequently occur would far more than compensate for any trifling additional outlay. Without adverting briefly to details, few non-professional readers would credit the enormous quantity of cloth annually required for the use of the navy. We shall furnish some data wherefrom they may draw their own dealuetiowe, by specifying the , quantity required for a single suit (Asada for one lirst-rate. The number of yards in her main-course is 904 ; in her jib, 426; fore-eourse, 683 ; fore-topsail, SO6 ; top-gallant sail, 21$; main-topsail, 1,007 ; maintopgallant-tertil, 200; siren-topsail, 463 ; mizen-tupgallant sail, 139 ; driver, 552. The remainder, including mivare-sails, stay-sails, studding sails, amount in all to 7,029 yards, being a total of more than twelve thousand live hundred yards, and weighing seven tons ; while the spare-mils consume in their construc tion about seven thousand sir hundred yards of cloth, and weigh four tons and a tmarte r additional. Specimens of navy canvas may be BMA ranged along the north wall (mar the flax machinery, inClass 5), from the manufactories of Mears. llenny and Sons, and Mr. D. Fraser, of Arbroath. The latter shows samples both bleached and boiled, together with his improved brown canvas with flat warp.. Mr. W. Salmond, of Arbroath,l exhibits in this departmixt :the bleached unstarched sail cloth of a high quality, until:ached tarpaulins, best tow' " nitric," best brown tow double canvas, &e. Messrs. ltantsay and Smart, of Arbroath, have sent brown canvases of different qualitie► for nations purposes. Messrs. Ander son, %ieul, and Co., Curr and Co., of the same place, ex hibit nspectively, along the northern wall, imperial and Russia ducks, ticklenburglet, Mania sheeting, hemp tarpau lins. tart llings,Osnaburgs, mined hemp sacking, flour-sacks, toffee-hags, brown flax sheeting, loom elowlas, loom sheet ing, &c. Messrs Rernall and Co., of Little Chelsea, contribute I , i several varieties of mats mid matting, as does Mr. Ilenry , Trate.. of Abingdon. Some of these latter are of a novel style and quality well adapted fur halls and galleries, being at I the same time cool to the eye and strong and durable in ar pomace. They resemble in some respects India matting,li bat, we should think, would greatly surpass it in wear. Mr. Eilirington, of llotolph-lane, amongst other thing., I has sent in speeimens of his composition cloth, made from the best long Ibis, and perfectly waterproof. It is in tended for railway luggage, truck covers, waggon tilts, and, we presume, for temporary roofing of any description. Mr. G. Raeford, of Ositeshead, is the inventor of an es- 1 , eeedingly strong quality of sailcloth. The patented Mr 1 , youvemeut here consists in the introduction of what ar e termed, " strap.," containing an extra proportion of warp, ! giving, in fact, to the fabric the strength of additional , seams. To prevent the excess of length of the strapped over the plain parts, to obviate the possibility of chafing, as well r. inconvenient stiffness, fie., the "strap" is woven with a double twill. ley this means a real and importan t proteetion is secured to plain cloth, together with • very great degree of flexibility. A piece of this cloth, one inch wide, double twilled, in the manner above described, will bear a strain of five hundred and eighty pounds, the navy proof required for ordinary canvas of the stoutest quality and strongest make loin,: only three hundred and twenty pouuds. The adoption of such a safeguard as the use of this patent canvas would prove must be of the greatest value, nut only to the navy. hut to the mercantile marine. So many difikulties and impeilinter.ts are, how ever, usually thrown in the way of inventors, even after the iniimrtance of their labours has been tested and admitted. that w. can scarcely hope fur many years to congratulat e that service over which the Admiralty presides upon the substitution of Meson. Milvain and llarford's canvas in lien of the inferior sailcloth now in vogue. Several men east vessels have already proved the immense superiority of sails from the above manufactory over those in common use, and we understand that the storm sail. of more than one gut Blass yacht base been similarly constructed. trowels"..• has contributed largely and satisfactorily to the Great Exhibition. Foremost among the contributors from that noble city we find Messrs. Sails:ton and Son, Cox, Lawson, Leadbetter. Don, Bell, Mori, Eaason, de. Their productions in au and hemp consist of military duck and sheeting. dowlas, huckaback, common bleached and power loom canvas, tailor's padding canvas, coal and corn sacking, hop-pocketing, bed-ticking, twilled sheeting, fancy linens, end • very peculiar article manufactured fur the Russian market, denominated 40-inch cream coloured fancy cheek sheeting. Mr. J. Smith, of East Greenwich, has a well assorted case, containing tarred bolt-rope, tarred and white rope of every different quality, from 10-inch cables, and the largest sued shrouds to the smallest twines, manufactured by machinery from Russian, Manilla, and Italian hemp, as well as from Irish, Baltic, and Egyptian flax and tow. Mr. It. S. Soper, of Norton Folgate, sends various sizes of patent soh lines, fancy skipping ropes, die. Sir John !Sudden and Co., of Liniehouae, in addition to the usual varieties of tarred and untamed cordage, have deposited specimens of their power-loom woven 'oilcloths, which are celebrated for their durability and strength. From Kirkaldy the Messrs. Lockhart have sent up fine featherbed ticking, composed entirely of liar bleached diaper bedroom towels, double huckaback, bags for holding THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY, EVENING JUNE, 28, 1851. While speaking of cheapens, we must not omit s, leek whief4,4bpielknot ensfilliket,i, Asint of the *lion.- Official C.enfaiie; for ten- RellOii with itsWrenty Ayes of closely prise matter, is the .egnised Islracle of lanionritsokicsl economy. ...Mee, cost, viefity and hniiityl of production are claimed :lay the printers of- the present day as the elements of their superiority over their predeceners. In essential qualities, such as the beauty and accuracy of workmanship, the Crys tal Palace, as we have said, affords no specimens which were not, or might not have been, rivalled by the articles sold at the first I,eipsic fair, nearly two centuries' ago. But if we enlarge our definition of the term " printed paper," we eater upon a domain where the modern producer has it aL his own way. A totally new genus of this article has grown np of late years, in regard to which execution and art are still in the infancy of development. The beginnings of this novel invention were very mo.. dest. Its first idea was derived from the Lan cashire mills and the cheap printed calicoes therein produced. While the patterns were transferred to the woven tissues only through the primitive medium of wooden blocks, a rough imitation of the process was contrived with respect to paper by rubbing a coloured paste through the apertures of a perforated plate. This was called stencilling, and in the more expensive qualities several platei were sue cessively used, and a more elaborate pattern produced by the superposition of different colours, in the same manner as the figured calicoes were variegated by a multiplicity of wood-blocks, but of course partaking of the same faults in 'tie unavoidable inaccuracies of junction and coincidence and the general coarseness of execution, which no care of die workmen could entirely remove. Presently the great improvement was accomplished by the Lancashire manufac turcrs of printing by rollers. A wide range was thus opened to the application of taste and design in the patterns to be transferred to the bleached cloth:, and at the same time the cost dwindled by rapid degrees, until it has become, even for the most beautiful and intricate figures, a mere fraction of that charged for the simplest check or spot of a single colour, not many years ago. Following, as before, in' ' the wake of the calico printer, and adopting his in ventions, the manufacturer of printed paper is now able to produce articles of singular beauty for ornamental pur poses, with many capabilities to fulfil more utilitarian ends, and bordering, if they do net reach, the domain of high art. But, whether art or manufacture, it presents a branch of production of which we see as yet only the beginning. I Most of the processes arc still novel and imperfect. What has been done serves but to hold forth a promise for future attainments. And the result will be, to give further de velopment to one of the best prerogatives of modern science. Through another region of industry will be ex tended the power to multiply, cheapen, and popularise the cre ations of artistic genius ; to place before the eyes of the poorest classes graceful forms, picturesque groupings, and colours harmoniously Went, in.ensibly tesching them that refine ment of taste from which a refinement of manners and an elevation of character are safe to follow at uo distant interval. The English ,specimens of this description of printed , paper are scanty and somewhat mediocre in character. In many respects they fall short of what we have seen outside the walls of the Industrial Exhibition. There are a few coloured maps showing the useful purposes for which chro motypy may be employed, some tolerable specimens of Mu. minattl printing, and a large collection of fancy paper bor . eler.al with flowers, arabesques, &c., in gold anti colours, of which the Messrs. De la Itue and Co. are the chief exhibi tors. In France we find a large and varied selection, sup plied mostly by Parisian manufacturers. Drawing-room and dining paper, printed in panels, exhibiting land-capes , , bouquets of flowers, allegorical figures, or intricate tra- eerier, arc shown to suit the idiosyncrasy of every apartment or the caprice of every decorator. Some are gau dy rainbow-tinted designs, manifesting a fantastic, not to say vulgar, taste. Others, again, are sober and sad-coloured mien gh—fit for the admirers of Racine and legitimate t agedy. Other, again, arc prepared for the study or school-room, Easing ornament subserve to education, by lining the walls i with the representatian.s of historical incidents, heroic, or mythological personages. Among these are two companion panels exhibited by I'aul Mabrun of Paris, containing a series of medallion portraits of the French and English sovereigns, distinguished characters, from the earliest period of authentic history. But for the highest example of the excellence attainable in this branch of art we must go to Austria. In the contribution from the Imperial printing establishment at Vienna, already re ferred to, there hang ride by side a series of what look at that sight like duplicate paintings, represent ing heads, flowers, fruit, a family group, &e. Further in spection shows that one individual of each pair is really is painting very beautifully executed, and rich in colouring i while its counterfeit resemblance is a copy of the same de sign, colour and all, identically reproduced by a process of steam-printing. If we look closely, no doubt the inferio rity of the mechanical to the human artist becomes visible. The down of the peach is not quite so filmy ; the tints of the bouquet do not melt into one another by such delicate shades. Still the fac-similes appear wonderful, especially when we learn that while the paintings were executed at a cost of 2:10 florins (25/.) for a single copy, the printed pic tures can be obtained by as many thousands as may please to want them at the price of one shilling a piece ! although inferior to the use of the galvanic battery men tinted in our last notice, is a great improvement upon the pmetice of using a rush filled with gunpowder. By the side of this fusee are several blasting cartridges, the object of which is to prevent the accidents Which occur in tamping" or ramming the powder down with sand or day, as well as to save the time which is taken up In dry ing blast holes that are wet. These cartridges are made of all sizes, and by boring a piece of the above-mentioned fusee down into the middle of the powder, it is fared in the centre, and the greatest effect produced. They may also be used under water. The fusee is invented by Mr. Brun• ton, and the cartridge by Mr. Copeland, of Pendennis. The mining tools used by the Cornish miners are ex hibited by Mr. Taylor. An apparatus for ventilating coal mines is exhibited, to gether with a sectional model of a coal pit shaft, to Blue strate its working, by the inventor, Mr. Cawley, of Soho, near Birmingham. The means by which he proposes to remove the foul gases from the mine are the following : A rerolfing fan is fitted into a close case, which is connected with a series of sheet iron pipes fitting into each other ; these are carried along the roof of the workings as far as they extend, and into the cavities called " goofs," filled with foul air. When a rotary motion is given to the fan it acts as a pump, and draws up through the pipes all the air which is contained in the gallery and passages of the mine; this tends to create a vacuum, which is immediately counteracted by the pure air which rushes in at the top of the shaft, and replaces that which is removed by the fan. The fan may be either an ordinary blade one, or in the form of a screw, according to the circumstances of the case. This apparatus is capable of displacing 7,000 cubic feet of air in one minute, when driven at a compara t;sely slow rate, and in about 30 minutes would so com pletely clear out the largest mine as to render it perfectly safe. The expense attending its use is very small ; it can be worked by the winding engine for about half-an-hour before the miners go down. Another advantage is, that it only requires one shaft, instead of making the expense of an upcast and downcast shaft necessary. Messrs. White and Grant, of Glasgow, exhibit a safety cage for drawing up the materials or men from the mines. Mr. Fourdriuier, of Sunderland, and Mr. Begg, of Glasgow, also send similar inventions; they are essentially the same in principle, although there arc some slight differ ences in their construction. The first has, in addition to the contrivance for preventing its fall, a self-acting memo of detachment from the drawing rope, the object of which is to stop the cage from being dragged over the wheel at the top ; an accident which not unfre quently happens when steam power is used for drawing. A bolt fitting into a socket is fastened to it by means of a pin to which a projecting arm is attached; when this comes in contact with the drawing wheel the pin is immediately withdrawn, and the bucket left suspended by its safety springs. The two others have no provision of this kind. They are to be found among the machinery in the north west side. from ces of ge ± : flour, grain, potatoes, & c., mann! tnred ea tow. Mears. Vemyss , of the , exlha yarn dyed blue linen, " fast" in - tir ; borde r hueleabeck, and a piece of Jae die bind*, entirely of flax yarn. . , . Mr. Robert JeffreS of dizzy -kill, Glosgow, kirealdy, Forfar, and Brechin, has provided Sir different -rpeoimeni of hurkaback, one or two of dowlu, nine varieties of ticks, loom sheeting, diaper, &c., all of prime quality. The firm of Jameson and Co., the well-known" importers and manufacturers of Hull, have arranged their centribu' Lion in a manner practically useful and instructive. We have here samples of Petersburg, Riga, and Friesland flag, both in the rough and in the dressed states. Petersburg hemp, rough and dressed, both " loop and shorts," Best Indian jute, also rough and dressed. Near these, sad carefully classified, appear the yarn, canvas, itc., made from each severally. Mears. Hall and Messrs. Spyce ex hibit patent made cordage from Baltic hemp, and else some from Manilla hemp, together with cordage for sailing and steam-vessels, mince, collieries, tho whale, and the deep sea fisheries. In some of these, manual labour only is em ployed, in others the aid of steam is called in. We must not conclude this notice without calling atten tion to the goods of some exhibitors properly belonging to the present division, but erroneously arranged (either from want of space or some other cause) along with the cotton manufactures (Claes 11). The articles to which we refer are numbered from 91 to 113, and comprise those belonging to Mr. S. Sadler, of Irunmonger.lane ; Mr. Coulson, of Lisburn, in Ireland. Messrs. Capper, of Once-church-street ; 3l'Leoronan, of Bucklersbury ; Richardson, of Barnsley; and Messrs. Wilks, of Watling-street. Their contributions consist Of bleached linen, uranium, and sheeting', for the home and foreign trade; Damask table and breakfast cloths, napkins. de., beautifully wrought; striped or banded towelling; hockaback; bleached sail canvas; cambric handkerchiefs; eatehries ; Irish linens of very fine quality. I'ItINTED PAPER. Limited to its aboriginal meaning, there aro few, I if any, specimens of " printed paper" to be seen within the walls of the Crystal Palace that are calculated to attract the attention of the most confirmed bibliomaniac. Typography, I as an art, seems to have attained a very early maturity. Within a comparatively brief period of the incident which I has enabled Mr. Macßae to render memorable the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1841, the " Presentation of the ' first Specimens of the first Printed Book by Caxton to his Patron, Edward 1V.," the typefounder and letterpress printer had exhausted even the possibilities of improve ' ment. For delicacy and beauty, the publications of the Aldose, and the Stephenses have never been surpassed— perhaps not equalled—hy any subsequent typographist. The " original editions," the " large paper copies" the works printed on vellum, of which Dibdin wrote so lovingly, and for which Earl Spencer bid against half a dozen honourable and noble competitors, until the price of a single volume exceeded that which a fair domain will now fetch in the Irish Encumbered Estates Court, day all modern rivalry. The printers of that age had sounded the depths of their "art and mystery." After 3 centuries of practice and contrivance their doings have never been outdone. It is true that they took unheard-of trouble to attain excellence in their per formance, such as our busy and time-saving artists would never stream of wasting in the pursuit of an ideal perfec r tion. What extant printer would spend ten years in the persevering endeavour to collect a perfect " fount" of type , or would expose the sheets of a voluminous work in the plan, with an offer of fifty pounds reward to whoever could detect a typographical error or a blemish in the impression ? , Our existing generation of producers would not exert the t patience, or the present race of purchasers would not stand the cost, at which such elaborate perfection can only be attained. liiiatiMprovements we modern; have been able to ac complish lies entirely in another direction. At an alarming sacrifice of accuracy and finish, we have secured an almost mir.sculous superiority in price, dimensions, and rar laity of execution. Let us step into the department appropriated to moving machinery. There stands a vertical cylinder steam print ing machine. It is throwing off copies of a journal whose' columns of small type are copiously interspersed with elaborate wood-cuts. Take up one of the printed sheets. Compared with an illustrated work from the Aldine pre..., or an old classic printed " in usum Delphini," we should throw aside the modern specimens of typography with deserved contempt ; type and engravings seem la !mutably coarse, full of errors and imperfections, and the whole impression is blurred and foggy, like the London sun during this instant month, of June. But, considering • that the illustrations represent events not sixty hours old— that the types were all set up since the pro ions afternoon— ! and rho impression is worked otf at the rate of 100 per ' minute—the result heroine, a marvel of mechanical and artistic skill. Mere rapidity of production has rendered, • the printedsheet, which would have been nowise remarkable if disinterred from the abysses of some old library, one of the wonders of the world. Or suppose we p.m through the swing-door into one of - • • • •• • • the courts that lie between the " machinery" and the nave• Here we pause before a large sheet of printed paper, exhi- bibs' by Messrs. Bradbury and Evans. It is a compound of typography and engraving, designed to commemorate the Great Exhibition itself, and is surrounded with a broad decorative border, filled with allegorical figures, and quaint descriptive groups and scenes. In many a page of some antique missal and " book of offices" we might find illu minations displaying two-fold skill in design, and teu-fold the artistic and inventive power that has been expended upon the huge parallelogram before us. But, again, the dimensions would strike with bewilderment Caxton or Albert Darer. How a sheet of paper could be made so large, or blocks of engraved wood could measure so many superficial inches, or the two be brought together with so true and beautiful a result would have defied their utmost powers of comprehension. Thu execution of the parts might have provoked many disparaging comments, but the dimensions of the whole must have seemed to them altogether marvellous. ' Once more let us pass on to a neighbouring bay. What are those volumes of " printed paper," placed open, tier I ahem tier, and row beside row, within this vast glass ere monist the wall? They present the Holy Scriptures, In different languages, exhibited by the Bible Society. The print and paper are decent, but nothing more. But of the lan guages in which they arc printed, nine-tenths have never before been exhibited in typography, many never in writ ten characters of any sort, and fur some the bible missions ties themselves had to construct letters, grammars, diction*, rim, and everything that was required to exalt a fragment ary and barbarous patois to the dignity of a language. If we crow the nave into the German department, we shall find among the splendid collection of articles sent from the imperial printingroffice in Vienna, a series of alphabets in every tongue, arranged in proper order from the " Amberio" to the Zeud," still more extensive in the range of variety. It was the wonderful cheeping* of his first printed bibles as compared with the cost of manuscript copies which is said to have drawn suspicion upon Faust, forted him to reveal his secret, and associated his name in subsequent times with so many wild legends of diabolical agency. Oer printers now have improved upon the prices of the early typographers even more than these succeeded in doing on primitive scribes and amanuenses. In the nave within the boundary of the Visited Stater, stands a reading doh copiously strown with broad newspaper sheets. Of that this manipulation is no doubt rude. The type is ;pale and shambling, the paper flimsy, and the impression blotched and foggy. But look at the cost ! For a mass of typo graphy, which, thrown into an octavo form, would make the moiety of a respectable volume, the charge is only I cent., I equivalent to an English halfpenny. Thousands of sheets, various in name, style, and contents, are sold every week at this almost nominal price in all parts of the Union. Into the literary excellence they display no will not stop to inquire. That may be looked tom as an accident so far as the considerations we an new ruining may be concerned. Given the smallest Ibeeelemol megia or profit upon the printed sheet, and the 1 1 matists are quite ma likely to be good as if the price were toefeld. Perhaps more so. Let but the writer's genius be emancipated from government censorship, and the manu facturer's skill be relieved as far as possible from Excise re strictions, and the quality of the article they will combine to produce will depend, nut on the absolute cost, but on the Latelleetual taste of the community, the state of education and amml culture among the great body of purchasers. The supply of this, as of all other productions, is regulated by the demand. We do not know that gross, scurrilous. and vulgar writing can be bought cheaper than compositissi of higher and purer quality. But this we do know—thme Whether the superficial inches of type in a newspaper be filled with the best or the worst species of literary composi tions must bo governed, not by the price, so long as this is sufficient slightly to overlap the cost of the materials, but by the wants and tastes of the society in which it is in tended to circulate. ILLUSTRATIONS OF MINING. In resuming our notice of this subject, we shall first mention the methods for removing the water from mines, as far as they arc shown in the Exhibition. This is one of the most troublesome and expensive of mining I . operations, and requires to be carried on continuously in mines which are below the surface, as the water is always filtering through the fissures and crevices of the superior strata, and depositing itself in the lowest part of the mine. i During the last few years steam power has been applied to this purpose, especially in Cornwall, where its use has partially given rise to a very valuable improvement in the construction of the steam-engine, which consists in a combination of the high pressure and condensing engines. By this means the quantity of water raised is so great, that mineral veins have been worked by its aid in situations where it would hitherto have been impossible. Water power, when a sufficient supply is at hand, can be advantageously made use of for this purpose. Among the machinery in motion in the north-west side of the building, close to the centrifugal pump, is a model of the pumping machinery which is used at the copper mines of the Devon Great Consolidated Mining Company. These mines arc situated in the valley of the Tamar, near Tavistoek. It consists of two largo overshot wheels, of4o feet diameter and 12 Let in the breast. The water by which they are turned is obtained from the Tamer, at a point of suffi cient height about half a mile distant, from whence it is led by an artificial canal to the wheels. One of the pumps is an extraordinary sucking pump, the other is constructed on the hydraulic principle, with a plunger by means of which the water is pressed out. This pump has only been working for about a month, but is found to be very superior to the other ; it is capable of raising 98 gallons of water at every stroke, while the suck ing pump raises only 65 gallons. They both work at 7, feet stroke. The pumps are at a distance of three-quarters of a mile from the water-wheels, and are connected with them by means of lung jointed metal rods, supported along their whole length by rollers fixed in the ground at short distances. We were informed that, although the first cost of this machinery was altogether 12,0001-, its working is very economical ; it requires only the occa sional attention of one man, and it is estimated that the company have effected a saving of 15,0001. by tho substitu tion of it fur steam power. It was constructed by Mr. Na ' thaniel Smith, of Tavistock, and is exhibited by the com pany. The model is a working one, and is set in motion by water from the water works. Plans and sections of the position of the mineral lodes, shafts, river, &c., are to be found with it. An ingenious compound valve for large pumps is exhi bited by Mr. limiting, of Falmouth, by which the loss of power from raising the water on the piston is obviated. In this model the piston works air.tight, and raises the water above a valve opening upwards during the upward stroke, and in the downward stroke forcing it through another valve at the side, which is opened by the pressure of the water, and closes from its own weight when the I pressure is removed, and thus preventing the return of the water. Mr. Gowan, of Edinburgh, exhibits a model of a steam crane, Sad a sectional drawing of a boring machine, which is used in the Redhall quarries, and with which holes may be bored to a depth of 40 or 50 feet, of from 3 to 6 inches in diameter. There is unfortunately no sufficient description of the machine given. The safety fuse for igniting the charge of powder in blasting is a very valuable invention : it consists of a tube made of coarse canvas, and covered on the outer surface with some kind of pitchy or bituminous matter, which will render it impervious to moisture ; the tube is filled with gunpowder in such a way that the fusee burns with a uniform rapidity, and gives the men sufficient time to get out of the way of danger. This, BRITISH FURNITURE. While the visitors at the Exhibition wait patiently for their turn to enter the suite of apartments furnished in tho Austrian fashion, iu the foreign nave, and give unqua lified admiration to the rather cumbrous articles which they contain, the British furniture department, at the other end of the building, is comparatively neglected, although within it may be found specimens of every variety of ornamental furniture, and of every species of decorative cabinet work, each of which in its class would come triumphantly out of • comparison with ite:Oreign competitors. A contemporary has been rather severe on the exertions of our native artists' in this department, alleging that in every case they have sacrificed utility to ornament, and exhibited only articles suited to the state rooms of a palatial residence. A moment's reflection will show how little force there is iu this criticism. The palm of excellence of work and soundness of material, of fitness for the purpose intended, and of efficiency in carrying out that purpose, had long been conceded to the British workman and his productions. Ilia success in the useful branches of his trade was attested by the demand fur his work in the markets of the world, but in the more decorative branches he was supposed to be behind the foreigner ; and, therefore, he has chosen gallantly to meet his competitor on his own ground, and, if possible, foil him with his own weapons. A glance at the varied and elegant contents of the spacious areas which have been allotted to British furniture, will prove how successful have been his endeavours. Beginning in the nave, Mr. Lecand s (Tottenham-court-road), elegant console frame and table will be found to possess all the beauty usually found in gilt furniture. They are ela borately carved in American pine and lime-tree, and splen didly gilt and burnished, which gives them a fine palatial effect. In the same compartment is a beautiful table slab in English porcelain, unticketed, but remarkable for the purity and beauty of its torquois colour, and the delicacy of the paintings with which it is ornamented. hlessrs.Gillow, of Oxford-street and Lancaster, exhibit a splendid collection of furniture in English woods. Me EOM hunter's walnut side board and wine-cooler are magnificently carved, and the loo table is one of the handsomest things in the Exhibition. There:is also a sofa, which is an epitome of comfort and luxury , and a library chair, which leaves nothing to be desired either in design or execution. On the wall is a magnificent picture frame, designed by Pugin, which has all the pecu liarities of that artist. Wilkinson, (Ludgate-hill), have a state bed of carved walnut, with crimson hangings, which is of rather massive proportions. The same firm exhibit a wardrobe in satin wood, which is beautifully light and cheerful, and is contrived a double debt to pay, by having a large mirror inserted in the centre door. A mirror by Rogers in English walnut is a splendid specimen of wood Carving, tasteful in design, and elaborate and skilful in execution. The marqueterie table by 'Watson (Spring sheet, Paddington), only requires to be placed in a more prominent position to make it one of the lions of the Exhi bition. Within a moulding of carved ebony it contains a series of inlaid designs in coloured woods, of which one hardly knows which to admire most, the design or the execution. This beautiful article, which is placed in a comparatively obscure corner, should be placed in the nave, where the visitor might compare it with the Turin table, sow so much visited and admired. Tmllope and Son have made a successful attempt to revive the old style of inlaid fu r situreby preparing an entire bedroom suite insatinwood in laid in marqueterie, the woods being inserted in their natural colours. The whole has a light and elegant effect, and ex hibit the capabilities of the beautiful material to great advantage. The library chimney piece by Midland (Mary lebone) will be admired by the advocates of cinquc ce n t ° . _ _ . revival. This and many others of the specimens have been referred to before, and we need therefore only repeat our admiration of their excellence, without going into details. The above are only a few of the noticeable features in the British section. The colketioa will bear visiting again and again ; and in the meantime we trust enough has been said to lead the stream of public curiosity into a most attractive channel. The visitors have now made themselves tolerably familiar with the foreign furniture; and if they will only give an equally careful inspection to home-made wares, they will be somewhat surprised to see what treasures they have hitherto comparatively neglected PUBLIC DINNER AT DERBY TO MR. C. FOX, THE CONTRACTOR. This day week a numerous and highly respect able party of gentlemen a,sembled at the Royal Hotel, Derby, to do honour to their townsman, Mr. Charles Fox, the builder of the Crystal Palace. Mr. Paxton and Mr. Henderson were invited as guests on the occasion ; cilia we may here state that it is the intention of the town and county of Derby to pay a similar mark of respect to Mr. Paxton very shortly. The dinner was served up in the Atheneum room at the Royal Hotel. About 140 gentlemen sat down, including the mayor of the borough, who pre sided, Mr. C. Fox, Mr. Paxton, the Right Hon. Edward Strutt, Mr. J. Strutt, Mr. Bass, 'M.P., Mr. Heyworth, M.P., Mr. Geach, M.P., Mr. Alderman Mousley, Mr. Alderman Sanders, Mr. Alderman Moss, &c. The usual leading toasts, followed by the health of the Duke of Devonshire, having been given and responded to Mr. Alderman MOUBLEY proposed the toast of the evening: " The health of Mr. Fox," prefacing it with a brief eulo gistic sketch of Mr. Fox's career. Mr. FOX having returned thanks, proceeded to give an outline of the mechanical and scientific operations carried out by him in the construction of the Crystal Palace, from the first excogitation of the idea of a great building of glass and iron by Mr. Paxton, to its triumphal opening under royal auspices on the Ist May last. Mr. Fox concluded his address in the following terms—When the Royal Commis sioners confided to ui the construction of tho building for the Exhibition of Industry of all Nations, I felt that in some degree the credit of England was in our hands—that we had it in our power to achieve that which would prove eminently successful, or in failing to do so, would be a source of the most serious disappointment and disgrace, and that we were therefore bound by considerations of no ordinary kind to exert every effort in our power to carry the work to completion in the shortest possible time, and at any per sonal sacrifice, and without regarding the question of expense, the more especially as his Royal Highness Prince Albert hod invited the world to this great festival of the Ist May, and it was essential as a point of national honour that this vast edifice should be ready for the' reception of his guests. I need not remind you that we completed the contracts, and that our beloved Sovereign presided at the inauguration on the day which had been originally appointed. (Cheers.) I feel a peculiar pleasure in having carried out this great un dertaking in the consideration that it is not a temple in which the representatives of nations will meet together 1 for the purpose of adjust i ng ma tt ers of strife, or ques tions of warfare, but one in which the Prince has in vited all the family of man to assemble in harmony and good fellowship, and were juries composed of distinguished , ' foreigners and Englishmen meet together as friends to de side upon the comparative merits of those beautiful objects of art and manufactures which are the happy results of peaceful commercial emulation. (Cheers.) Again thank ing you for the honour you have this day conferred upa t me, the recollection of which will never be effaced from my memory, and also for the kind patience with which p m have listened to my remarks, I conclude by wishing Soa the long enjoyment of health and of that happiness and prosperity which aro the sure results of those enlightened views which arc fast spreading over the world, and which the people of Derby have ever been among the foremost to advance. (Mr. Fox resumed his seat amidst loud cheers.) The MAYOR then rose to propose the health of a cm , demon to whom this country and the world owed a debt of gratitude—he meant his friend Mr. Paxton. (Loud cheers.) The toast was drank with three times three. Mr, PAXTON said that on the present occasion he would trouble them very little concerning himself; but having designed the Crystal Palace, he thought they would a u agree with him that the next hod step he took wa. to zr, to his friends, Messrs. Fox and Ilenderson, to a.k flair' ift4,y would undertake to carry it out. (Cheers.) Haling 144 dealings with Messrs. Fox and Ilenderson before. he had, during the progress of his plans, always had his cyc viont that firm as the parties best calculated to erect the and accordingly he called at Mr. Fox's office on 5.it 3 ,1 1 afternoon with his plane under his ann. After a f, w liminary remarks he asked Mr. Fox if it was his Mt , to send in a contract for the Building Commits, e's plan; to which he replied that he thougl.t of so .1 ~ Ile (Mr. Pazton) then said, "1' have son here that I think you will approve or same time banding hi, plans across the table. Mr. 1.,x having looked at them, ',aid they were beautiful ; and (Mr. Paxton) then asked him if he would go into th, ni, 1 4 which he replied in the affirmative. " Well, but," " Mr. Fox, will you go in to win ?" His reply was, " µ• e will." (Cheers.) And now they bade! seen the realivitiott of his (Mr. Paxton's) de , ign. (Loud cheers.) That de.ign, as it now stood, was perfectly in accordance with and had never been altered at all, except in matters of de tail. (Loud cheers.) Mr. Fox made the working drawings and that gentleman and Mr. lientlerson had been indefati gable in carrying them out. In conclusion, he had only to add, that he had come amongst them on the present ai a. 'ion with pleasure, to do honour to his fiend Mr. F, s. The healths of the Mayor, the members for the borunrh, the royal commissioners, betttr health to Mr. !lend,-,.r-a, and several other toast., were also given, and the caup,l separated at 11 o'clock. TO THE EDITOR 07 TIID EXll,Eles. SlR,—We have witnessed the roust perfect sit , ess in the opening, and hitherto in the carrying on, .if ti,.. hibition of Industry of All Nations; and there is reason to believe that a large surplus in funds will 1... of the results of this great undertaking. In the absence of such resources as a national d r a Kaffir war, the disposal of this surplus will he a • f much difficulty to the commissioners, and it is si re.0...y a question of much interest and importance to the mitt., e.. 1 on which free discussion should be invited. I th• r.: venture to ask ter a corner of the Express for ti, lowing remarks: It will, I think, be admitted that a mode of imp! .y ;;,e our expected surplus for the universal good would 1.;., • ferable to its investment in objects of mere national as each nation would then derive advantage from h., which it had assisted to accumulate. llut I would ad's= higher line of :tegument. One of the first and most important steps in the civil lion of a country is the increase of its objects and its mt.,' of communication with its metropolis. An action of ft., nature has commenced, in regard to the world, by the . lection in England's capital of the products of many tries. And it is now England's duty not to rest, hut to pr.i secute energetically the advantages thus obtained. With this view the surplus in question cannot be burnt .1. better account than the estahlistimi nt of an "instittion f universal science," for which it will be necessary to or.-, • more substantial building, ;mil thence to issue a si coed Mt,- tation to the nations of the earth, requesting them to .0,.. point commissioners to meet us periodically tor the !tarp,: of receiving communications of, and awarding viz, fury inventions and discoveries of every description. The Crystal Palace, or rather a part of it, would form in admirable museum to be attachtil to this institution, at which the student might learn from time to time 14.• ;-re gress made, and the bar to the further advancement to it science. Room would at the same time be latfurd..l to Denarius's" and for a great number of Mr. Paxton's gestions being carried into effect. I will not at present enter into details, merely remark:cc that, looking to the hearty manner in which our first :sic Whin has been responded to by so many nations, it he imagined that our second—and fur sucha purpose—wo.i.d I remain unheeded. II have this huncur to be, sir, your most obedient Ilionh:a servant, DELTA. London, June 27. THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO TIIF. is nisi] - - stood that her Majeatyhas pignitied her intention todf• with the form of being met by the City anthorit Temple-bar upon the evening of . the visit .r to the City. I that her Majesty has also signified her wish to dt with the form of an address upon the occasion. It ported amongst the members of the corporation th • Queen will be met at the gates of Guildhall by the I - Mayor, who will there present the City sword to her %I - jesty ; and that she has most gritiously expresied her •• to see the hallcrowded with her loyal subjects. It is - Herod that her Majesty has chosen to be present At A 6,!1 rather than a dinner, because on many more of her can be accomodate(' n't an entertainuarilt of the form, 1.11:4. LECTURESHIP CONTI:AT IN Sr. DussrAN's, ir xxx.—A very numerous and respectable meetin prrishionetv of St. Dunstan's took place on Tltursd..y ev. s ing, at the 'Town-house, Mile-end-road, on chi. t, pursuant to the adjournment front the 12th inst. ; Epp, Esq., overecer, in the chair. The report of Ow aistant town clerk stated that Mr. Poole waited upon 0.! bishop on the 13th inst., and was duly licensed, after taking the necessary oaths, &c., to the office as an assistant with his duties specifically defined—viz., "'Po real on Sunday afternoons in the said church, and then . .e, there also to preach, and having assigned unto him t 4 due performance of the said duties such yearly stipend a, the committee for receiving the voluntary contribution. o'nott the parishioners shall collect ; and as it was ni ess-ttry t: this license should be duly registered in the Bishop' , ISoctors'-commons, it was iinposdble to forward i; bet-e• Sunday, the lath inst. ; hut, as it is usual for the declara tion signed by the bishop, and bearing his lordship's oil office, to be acknowledged its sufficient authority Isr the possessor to undertake his duties, the declaration was for warded to the rector, with a note front the Rev. szamel Gower Poole, stating that he was perfectly ready to ten mum° his duties on the following Sunday, the 1.10. if convenient to the rector, and begging his reply the rector replied that he wished to see the license. This eou'..l not be forwarded, owing to the above reason. The rta tsr then simply returned the declaration without any moos, r. The license reached the Rev. S. G. Poole on the loth, and on the following morning was fOrMardelt to the rector by the Rev. S. G. Poole, with a note stating that lie we , pre pared to enter on his duties on the following Sunday after noon, the 22nd. The rector kept the license till Saturday evening, when he returned it without any answer. ten Sunday afternoon Mr. Poole attended the church, and read prayers to a most attentive and huge congregation, ease out the hymn, and proceeded to the vestry. Ou his return, he found the rector in the pulpit, when he quit tly pro ceeded, and took his seat on the north side of the altar. The serious outbreak that followed has been air .uly de tailed in this journal on Monday last. The ad tpttun of this report was moved by Mr. Newton, and seconded by Mr. Richard Smith; and the meeting adjourned till "f burs day neat. COMMERCIAL TRAVELLERS' BENEVOLENT IS,q4 TUTlON.—Yesterday, the half-yearly meeting of the mem bers of this institution took place at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street. Mr. Jcukyn Jones in the choir. A re port was read, which stated that a deputation had been ap pointed to confer with the " old institution," with a view to bring about a junction of the two societies; but it was found to be impossible to carry out this intention without sacrificing the main principle upon which the pr.-eat stitution was established. The members of the hoard were therefore using their best endeavours to promote the biter , di of this society. The commercial travellers nitre a soy large body, amounting to more than 30,000, and were el posed to a great variety of circumstances, and, however provident they might be, it was impossible that there should not be some members of the body incapacitated from fol lowing their avocations. The receipts had amounted to 5381. Os. lid., and the disbursements to 1001. fis. Gil., hosing a balance of 3781. ls. Od. The report having been adopted, resolutions were passed in conformity with the principle , it embrased, and the meeting separated. A TRIAL TRIP OF TIIE BARON OsY took place yesterday, when a chosen party assembled to witness her performance and speed from Blackwall to the Nero and back. The Baron Osy is built to replace the old Princess Victoria, which ran on the Antwerp line, in con junction with the Antwerpen. The engines of the Berm Osy are the same as were made fifteen years ago by Caird and Co. for the Princess 'Victoria, and arc of 720 hope power. With these engines the last named steamer, though only 420 tons burthen, never attained a higher speed than 10 statute miles per hour. It remained to be seen whether a better built boat might not be made to go much faster with the same engines. Accordingly the Baron u.y, hid! is a steamer of 4570 tons beechen, was tried yesterday. and attained a speed per hour of 15]; statute miles, with a slack tide against her. An interesting incident marked the trial trip to the More. The Baron Osy was proceeding at half speed from Blackwell when she was overhauled below Woolwich by the fast steamer of the Boulogne line, the City of Paris. This vessel hail scarcely passed when the full force of steam was put upon the engines of the Ikaroo Osy, which bowled away in great style till she ultimately forged a-head of the City of Paris in Nortlitieet Rope, just above Gravesend; the speed attained during the rue being, as above stated, 15} statute miles an hour. Dancing and merriment were the order of the day on board, and the afternoon was most pleasantly spent under the auspices of Captain Jackson, who we believe assumes the command of the new vessel. Mr. Mills, of the Fox Hole Collieries, near Swansea, exhibits a model, descriptive of an invention of his, for the purpose of opening and closing the doors which are used in the galleries of mines, by the aid of which he proposes to obviate the necessity of employing boys for the purpose. The object is effected by a reversion of levers, which arc so attached to the doors that the carriages close the door through which they have just passed at the same time that they open the one through which they are to pass. The levers act the same whichever way the carriages are going. This arrangement has been adopted in the collieries of C. 11. Smith, Esq., of Llans amlet, for the last two years with satisfactory results. After the ores have undergone a rough process of picking in the mine., to separate the pieces of rock and other matter which are not of any use it is still necessary that they should be sub jected to some more effectual method of purification before they arc fit for smelting. The way in which this is done with many ores is to reduce them to powder while a current of water is running more or less rapidly over them, which carries the whole away in the form of a fine mud. This is made to traverse a long series of channels, called the labyrinth, and sometimes is passed through sieves or ratings. In its passage the metallic particles are first deposited, in consequence of their superior density, while the lighter earthy matters are washed away. The machines which were formerly used for puddling the ore consisted of a series of wooden pillars, armed at the lower end with a heavy lump of iron, and having projecting erns about their middle, these were arranged perpen dicularly in a wooden framework, at the side of which was fixed an axle, on the surface of which were arms placed in such a way as to come in contact with an equal number of those on the stompers, and thus to raise them in succession. The ore was placed in a trough under the stampers, powdered, and washed away to the chan nek and vats for separation. The axles nro turned I either by hand or water lower—in some cases by steam. Mr. Husking exhibits a reversing apparatus for stamping machinery, by which the handle may be turned either way in order to move the stamps : it has also the advantage of giving a better purchase over the machine. Latterly these machines have been partially superseded by crushing rollers, which arc far superior. Oac of these is erected at the Tywanihaile Mines, in Cornwall, the property of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. A model of it is ex hibited by Mr. Taylor. The cylinders are made of har dened cast-iron, and are either plain or fluted—the latter for breaking the larger and harder fragments. The ores arc brought in waggons on a tram-road to the machine, and are then shot into the hopper which feeds the cylinders. One of these cylinders is fixed, the other moveable, so that the fineness of the powder to which the ore is reduced may be regulated by their distance. By means of a weighted lever attached to the moveable cylin der a slight liberty of moans is allowed, so that any very hard lump may pass through without stopping the ma chine or damaging the cylinders. After being crushed the ore falls into a cylindrical Rive called a shak ing trunk, which is kept continually rotating ; the fine part fulls into a trough, by which it is shot into a waggon, and conveyed on another tram-road to a large re servoir, into which it is thrown. Several currents of water rat upon it here from a canal at the top. It is here stirred up, and run through sluices into another cylindrical seise, which separates the rough pieces from the smaller, the lat ter is run by water through a long channel into a trough, *here it is agitated by arms fixed on an axle. This is re peated several tunes, with some modifications, until the ore Is sufficiently purified. Every part of this machine is moved by the same power. It crushes and washes the ore more rapidly and cheaply than say other. It is capable of crushing and sifting 20 tons of the best ore fit for sale in one hour, at a cost of lid. per ton, 10 tons of &age ore in the same time, at a cost of 21d. per ton, or 10 tons of halvans at 30. per ton. Four tons of drags ore jigged by thin machine produce one ton of clean ore worth 31. 17s. 6d. at a cost of 10d. Eight tons of halvans ore shaken by the circular sieve in one hour, or 60 tons per day by a boy to regulate the supply of water and ore, at 4d. per day; one-half this quantity i s rough grained, which is washed by a self-acting tye, iravaged by the same boy, and is afterwards jigged at a Instal 7s. Gel. the thirty tons, producing one ton of clean OM worth 31. ; of the remaining thirty tons three-fourths is seaall grained ore, which runs from the shaking tank to the circular huddle, and is cleaned by twice huddling at a cost l of about one shilling in the pound. The other fourth part Is slime, of which it takes twenty tons to make one ton of clean ore at a cost of 2s. 6d. in the pound. Messrs. Boyd and Hunt exhibit respectively two machines fur washing minerals. The practical use of the latter is proved by the fact of the inventor having edit tined 350,000 francs worth of silver and lead by its usc, from the debris of the old mine of Pont Peen. THE SODA MANUFACTORIES OF THE TYNE. Messrs. Stevenson, of the Jarrow Chemical Com pany, have just prepared an immense mass of crystal soda, two tons weight, for the Great Exhibition. This important branch of our national manufactures has hitherto been un represented, and Bles,rs. Stevenson, having a week or two ago, received a communication front London, stating that if they would send up a large specimen, the commissioners would grant spare on the landing-place of the stair-case, at the entrance of the chemical department, for its exhibition, this specimen has been prepared. The block is eight-sided ; is three feet high ; six feet across the top ; the walls being eight inches thick. This mass of crystal soda is an appropriate type of • branch of manufacture which has now attained to au im incase importance in this country, and which has risen to its present extent from most insignificant beginnings, and with a most unwonted rapidity. The old source of soda was kelp or barilla, which contained it in very small pro. portions. Since the ab o li t i on o f t h e d utyon salt the process at present employed has rapidly extended, and as rapidly has the price declined, the price of to-day being one-half of what it was twelve years ago, and one-fifth of what it was 26 years since. - banks tif the Tyne between Newcastle and Shields and South Lancashire are the principal seats of this impor tant trade, there are large manufactories also at Birming ham, Bristol, and Glasgow. One peculiarity of these works is the quantity of ground they occupy, in the larger ones as much as ten or twelve acres. The quantity of soda crystals annually produced in Great Britain may be eati• gaited at 36,000 tons. The materials used in the process are none of them of great value, but the quantities used are remarkable. The following is an estimate of some particulars regard ing the extent of this trade on the Tyne alone :—Number of men employed, 2,700; annual consumption of coals, 226,000 tons; annual consumption of salt, 45,000 tons; annual consumption of chalk, 50,000 tons ; annual coasump tion of sulphur, 8,000 tone; annual consumption of iron pyrites, 17,000 tons ; annual consumption of nitrate of soda, 1,400 tone. There is a prodigious consumption also of mate rials such as iron, timber, bricks, &c., all of them the pro duce of this country and giving much field for native industry. The soda trade is very peculiar also from the largo amount of shipping which it employs. From the manufac tories being collected in a few favourable spots most of the raw materials and nearly every ton of the finished goods have to be conveyed by sea, the trade on the Tyne receiving and shipping annually 160,000 tons of goods, or nearly 600 tons a day. Crystallised soda contains two-thirds of weight of water, and it is to this water that its crystalline form is owing. When heated the water evaporates and a white dry shape less powder remains. Instead of being crystallised large quantities of soda are turned out in this dry form, known as "soda ash," and it is this variety of soda which is used in the manufacture of these two useful but dissimilar sub- stances soap and glass. The Lancashire manufacturers pro duce scarcely anything but the soda ash, but on the Tyno crystal soda is the staple product.